Family Matters

I have nothing but kind words to say about my host family. They were very nice and made me feel at home, even though I might not have been at home. When I first got my information packet about them, I was a bit reserved, for lack of a better word, because three months ago, they lost their youngest daughter. When we got to the house, you could see pictures of Suzy all over the place, and I tried not to bring it up, because I felt that we would get more information about it as they felt comfortable about it.

As time went by, we learned more and more about not only Suzy but also what she was doing with her life – she was studying in Belmopan to work in a medical lab; our host mom told us stories of how she was the smartest in the whole class and was just about to graduate. It was difficult hearing Lily talk about this, and I wasn't sure how I should behave, but I just listened and asked a few more questions. It definitely felt like Cess and I being there helped her, not only because it might have gotten her mind off of the loss of her daughter, but because it was someone new to talk to and express her anger about the situation at.

One evening after a hard day, I woke up from a nap and heard the voice of one of our group leaders – Catherine. We later found out she was part of a group called the Purple Movement, which is aiming to raise money and bring to light the need for  a forensics lab in Belize.

At times like this, I am extremely happy that I live in America; regardless of the issues we have in our society, we are still extremely privileged, and even sheltered. While we were there, a murder occurred in Belize City, where four gang members were murdered. The news actually showed their bodies and the blood splatter in their rooms. I sat there totally surprised, not because the stuff bothered me, but because of how sheltered we are as Americans. Yes, we hear that so-and-so got murdered or so-and-so killed three people because of drunk driving, but, even if we hear all the details, we are never given visuals. And I think that in our imaginations, we always make the situations less gruesome than they actually are.

I’m not sure that made any sense, but I hope it did.

I knew that Belize was a dangerous place with many casualties, as evident by us having a murder story every for our current events in class every week, but when it hits close to home -- when it affects someone that you care about -- it is very difficult to watch the people go through it. 

Even though we said goodbye and left a note for them, I don’t think I will be able to leave it at that; I might give them a call or write a facebook message checking up on them every so often, because they truly left an impression upon my heart.