Not sure if you noticed, but I never identified the village that I have called home for the last two years by name on this blog. That was on purpose. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we were discouraged from posting our exact location for issues related to safety and security.
Well, I'm already moved out, and after a week of hard goodbyes, I wanted to document the village that showed me absolute generosity and provided so many lasting memories: Cristo Rey, Corozal. A village of just under 900 people, it is sandwiched between two smaller villages, San Pedro and Yo Chen. The main road through the village is a shortcut to the Mexican border.
I'll miss it--that's for sure. I'll be able to keep in touch with the friends that became my family here, but I won't be able to recreate or even really explain justly the the night sky that makes you feel so tiny because you can see the Milk Way or the smell of smokey air when the sugar cane fields are ablaze and 'black snow' (ash) is falling all around you.
I'm eternally grateful for the privilege to have served here. I'm thankful that the community, collectively, kept me safe, fed, and made to feel like I belonged. Not a day will go by without thinking of Cristo Rey, the village that will always be home.
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| Sugar Cane at Sunset Cristo Rey, Corozal, Belize |
Love always,
Jess
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