Welp, the time has come for another dazzling update. I have officially passed the one-year marker in Belize -- a leap year, no less -- and have congratulated myself with a Hershey's dark chocolate bar, a beer, and a long weekend at Francis Ford Coppola's Belizean Resort (kidding about the last one!). Instead of boring your pants off with my long-winded descriptions of the last few months, however, I have decided to ask my sister, Martha, to write a reflection from her recent and oh-so-fun trip to Belize. Her visit with my mom and surprise guest Heather Ferron (best birthday present ever!!) was virtually indescribable (I have attached a few representative pictures), and I am so blessed to have been able to host them here, at my home, in Belize. The comfort of familiar faces, familiar laughs, and familiar hugs was invaluable and has filled my soul to the brim with love and joy -- the currency that will be needed to invest myself in my second year. I think that Martha's words do my current state justice; Belize has been a place of difficulty for me: brokenness, struggle, injustice, homesickness, and exhaustion. But it has also brought me redemption: I have never felt as proud as I did in the moment of embrace between Mrs. Bee, my most beloved co-worker, and my mother, my most beloved role model. A close second was the morning that Melisha and Monique, my favorite Belizean 6 and 8 year olds, showed up in their Red Sox shirts.
I hope that all is well with everyone! Peace be with you all.
Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Molly
As many of you know my mom, Heather Ferron, and I traveled to see Molly in Belize earlier this summer. Although I knew this would be an experience I would treasure my whole life, I did not anticipate how much I would learn about myself, my sister, and the world outside of our suburb home in Acton, MA. Although Molly has definitely dealt with ups and downs throughout her journey in Belize, she has accomplished so much and her hard work and dedication should be recognized. Knowing Molly, like you all do, she would be too humble to talk about her own success so I'm using this opportunity to show how proud I am of my big sister!
On July 15th, 2008 our plane landed in the Belize International Airport. At the sound of a "ding" I jumped up from my seat, nearly hitting my head against the short ceiling of the airplane. My mom, Heather, and I were ready to run to the door but were forced to abide by the rules of society; waiting for each person to slowly unbuckle their seat belt, reach in the overhead bin for their luggage, and slowly walk towards the exit of the plane. After what seemed like ages, we made it into the airport where we faced more lines and more waiting. The anticipation of seeing Molly, the sister I had missed and needed so much during the past year, tingled through my whole body as we waited in line for our passports to be checked and continued to wait for our luggage.
As we finally entered the customs line, the last obstacle to tackle before seeing my sister, I was overwhelmed by emotion. Yes, I was excited to see my sister and relived that we had made it to Belize without any major setbacks or complications. However the nervousness I felt forced me to remain quiet and uncertain as we walked toward the customs officers. The feeling was similar to the one I felt when I entered high school as a freshman and was faced by experienced sophomores, juniors and seniors. It was the feeling of intimidation found when entering a community that has its own people, rules and customs - the feeling of being an outsider.
By the warm welcome of hugs and kisses we all received from my sister I knew that my mom, Heather, and I were all wanted in Belize and I was happy to be there. This calmed my nerves slightly but as we began our trip back to Molly's home in Belize City, I could not shake the feeling that I was different from her and did not belong. I felt like an outsider to Belizean culture, especially as (dread!) a tourist.
This feeling only worsened as we entered Molly's neighborhood and drove up to her house. This was the place that Molly lived, the place that she called home and yet I had never even been there. Later, as we walked to her office at St. Martin's church we passed unfamiliar houses, roads and buildings. To me these were just sights to see, an interesting picture to capture with my digital camera. It was hard to grasp that for Molly, these were the roads she used everyday to walk to work or to the market. These broken down houses were not just decaying buildings but the homes of her neighbors and friends; they were of the members of her community. Although Molly showed us around with love, excitement and a true desire for us to experience what she experiences every day, I still felt insignificant to the bigger picture of Belize City that I could not yet understand.
And then somewhere between Molly's home and the church it hit me. Just one year earlier Molly had flown to Belize City feeling the same nerves and excitement I had felt. She drove to an unfamiliar house that she was forced to call home and was thrown into a strange and different culture and told that she was supposed to live there for two years. She had walked this same road for the first time to a strange church and building that she was going to work at for two years. Although she chose this journey, when she walked into the community of Belize and a house of second year veteran volunteers she must have felt like me an outsider, a visitor to a unfamiliar place- insignificant to a world that was already functioning without her.
After experiencing the culture in Belize I know that it must take patience and commitment to truly absorb it and become a member of the communities there. It has proven to be a great temptation, even for Molly, to give up and return to the comfort found in our familiar culture. After seeing where she is and what she is doing I can understand the struggle she has felt to stay safe and happy in such a foreign country, but she has not let her fear or sadness end her journey in Belize.
The experiences and happiness we shared during our trip as well as Molly's smile, laugh and love remind me that she is the same big sister I have always had, but she is also changed. Through her hard work and dedication she has grown into a recognized member of her Belizean community. She lives humbly with her peers in Belize City, aware of their community's condition and feeling the restrictions of a small salary, a tight budget and simple means. She is not on some overly righteous personal mission to save Belize or lead the community to some revival with her own knowledge and skill; instead she is working hand in hand with the community of St. Martin's and other JVI's on a smaller scale to give the community the support it needs, putting her pride aside and completing jobs and tasks that even many members of Belize society would not be willing to do. The love the Belizean community has shown toward Molly and her fellow volunteers shows that simply their presence as individuals in the community is as treasured and valued as the effort they put into the actual jobs they do every day.
Molly has accomplished something very hard and I am proud that she has stuck with such a tiring and intense journey. I am thankful that I got a chance to share Molly's experience in Belize and now I am even more aware and proud of what she has accomplished knowing where and how she has done it. It is unbelievable that she has overcome the differences in culture that she has faced, and that she has been able to cope with the many personal struggles she has encountered in Belize. Molly is an amazing person and I am lucky to have her as a sister!
Love,
Martha
