MAH PHOTODIARY, and also reasons why I’m a buttface

Include the fact that I have shamelessly neglected you, my readers, for AN ENTIRE WEEK.

But no worries. I’ve returned to you, my loves.

Here are some photos from BAY LEEZ, aka The Greatest Place on Earth:

Got off the airplane, got in a strange taxi slash sketchy we-have-candy van and saw THIS. My life is complete from here on out.

Me and mah BUDS. Reppin’ WILLIAM AND MARY

This isn’t real life. It’s just not.

San Mateo, the community we worked in. The poorest, most at-risk community in Belize. BUT also home to some of the greatest people I’ve ever met.

Shown here are the “London Bridges”—a conglomeration of wooden planks which form the quote-on-quote roads and sidewalks between the houses and over the lagoon that comprises San Mateo.

A local grocery store in San Mateo.

I know I’ve never been as thankful as I should be for the garbage collection man.

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Like Venice, but… not.

The road shown here is part of a co-op project between the community of San Mateo and the University of Mississippi. Roads were determined to be the primary need of the community.

Members of our team with some local kids we played soccer with (and lost to).

Me and a child at Holy Cross Anglican School.

TEXTURES.

Oh hai there, art major.

Cute children at Holy Cross.
 

I ordered ‘Whole Fish,’ not realizing that literally meant a WHOLE fish.

We were all stunned by the Spanish-ization of Frosted Flakes. My friend Joel joked that the Belizean slogan must therefore be “Theyyyy’re BUENO.”

Artsy fartsy.

Again.

A RACCOON ON A LEASH?!

Carnival celebrations in Belize = GIANT CITY-WIDE PAINT FIGHT.

You have to walk through the jaws to get in. Greatest bar ever? I think so.

There are barely any cars on the island… only bikes and golf carts. (Again, not real life.)

Can you believe I actually ate this thing? Well, not this one. But I did have conch ceviche (and it was DELICIOUS). However, that was before I discovered how nasty these little buggers are in real life…

I die.

My absolute favorite picture! A local man celebrating Carnival.

Some children on the beach join the festivities.

Another painted child. (Cool colors? Yuss.)

A painted family let me take their photo.

ZOMG! I GOTS PAINTED TOOS.

Crowds in the street watch performers and get painted.

The view from our hotel. (Really.)

More San Mateo.

Futbol!

“Gangs” form on the beach and join in the paint war.

Working on a house in San Mateo.

Teddy bears in the mud :(

ADORABLE! My buddies on Ash Wednesday.

The amazing people I talked about? These are them.

I feel so blessed to have been able to take this trip. If you haven’t heard the crazy story behind it all… well, it’s crazy, trust me. And I’m so thankful that things worked out the way they did.

I’m going to take a break from my usual sarcasm tongue-and-cheek here and just say that I hope all my readers can take a moment and just be thankful, and just appreciate how blessed you are.