Hurricane Matthew

He's on his way. Right now, he's just TS Matthew - Tropical Storm Matthew, off the coast of Nicaragua, and he's headed towards Belize. Apparently, after he reaches Honduras, he finds his way into Belize's warm water which makes him super happy and he decides to become a "hurricane" rather than a tropical storm. The reports say that he'll hit Belize on Sunday and will be somewhere between a Category 1 - Category 5 hurricane. How exciting!!

I feel completely safe, being so far inland, and living up on a hill, which is why I can say that this is a bit of a thrill. It's funny how the Universe works - we were meant to be going back to Caye Caulker this weekend, the island off the coast. It's a good thing we didn't because they're evacuating the islands as I write this. It's been on and off torrential tropical downpours all day - and the sky has looked somewhat ominous. We had a "hurricane meeting" and made a list of all our supplies and headed off to the local Three Flags Chinese Shop (this is where we buy groceries, etc). Batteries - check. Water - check. Mac and cheese - check. Cookies - check. We loaded up on food and essentials, and felt a bit like scavengers...the isles were packed, the energy was frenetic, and people were out en masse, all preparing for doomsday.

Walking down the giant hill into town, I noticed people boarding up windows and tying things down. In the internet cafe - it's packed, everyone sending off messages before the town's electricity will be just a wish. There's already an air of restlessness moving itself through the community - or maybe it's just in our volunteer house. Plans all had to be canceled for the weekend and the five of us are faced with, well...just the five of us. We're all hoping the television stays current until at least Sunday, because last night we already made it through Pictionary and Battle of the Sexes - not sure how many more games we can can take!

In any case - whether Matthew decides to show up in all his glory, or he passes by with just a whisper of a hello - this has been fun. It's been a new experience I've never been a part of before - something essentially tropical and completely unfathomable - until it happens. It's been nine years since the last important threat of a hurricane hit Belize. Seems like the Universe was listening when I said I wanted new adventures! New adventures for sure - and safety for all.