Last day to relax

Today will be the last day before the students report to their schools in the morning.  I went snorkeling with a group this morning.  It was amazing.  Right off the beach is a man-made reef with cement blocks and wood.  There were thousands of fish-yellow, purple, blue, pink, striped, even one that looked like stained glass.  I even saw two Royal Blue Tangs-looking for Nemo possibly.
I got my nails done at a local shop yesterday and learned about local life from the shop owner, Vanessa.  She owns and operates her shop with the help of a woman who has her kids on the mainland.  Everyother week she goes to Belize City to see her 4 and 6  year old.  This seems to be very common.  They live with her mother.  Last night we were invited to eat at Michelle's house, one of the teachers from San Pedro HS.  She lives near the high school in a two-bedroom apartment she shares with her 17-year-old daugher, one-year-old son, another teacher from the high school, and her husband.  Two other teachers from the high school were there and they cooked chicken curry for us.  It was great.  They put pig tails, split peas, and dumplings in the sauce and added chicken and rice when it was served.  To eat the pig tail you suck the meat from the bone and throw away the rest.  Not something I tried but some of the students did give it a try.  The five students placed at the high school were there, along with Dennis.  We all had a great time and it was interesting to see how the local professionals live. Michelle's apartment is small but really nice.  It does not appear that there are any true child care centers here.  Children are either in half-day preschool or cared for by a babysitter.  Michelle hired a 16-year-old to come to her house to babysit her son.  She said the girl graduated from high school but her parents could not afford to send her to college so she went to work as a babysitter.

The students are starting to find cheap places to eat.  This morning we ate at a small stand in town and had a full breakfast with freshly squeezed lime juice for $5.50 US.