Knights in the USA: Day 1 & 2 - Dogs, Drinks, Dolphins, and Dreams Come True

I apologize for having taken so long to update this blog about my many Belizean adventures, but with the Knights’ trip to the United States this past summer, it seemed to be a daunting task to write a reflection on it because no words seemed adequate to express exactly what happened and what has been on my heart. But I will try my best. After months of planning, thousands of dollars raised, and visas being approved, 7 Knights of the Immaculate travelled from Benque Viejo del Carmen to the border of Chetumal, Mexico. Daniel, David, Edvin, Emil, Johann, Jose, and Rolfy. There, some of them had their first experience of the modern world. We stopped at the mall for some food, where they begin to pull out their cameras taking pictures of the shopping centers and department stores. I knew they certainly were in for a culture shock. We then took an overnight bus from Chetumal to Cancun where some of them took their very first flight. You could see the excitement in their faces as the plane began to lift off the ground. They all leaned over to get a look out the window as we ascended higher and higher into the clouds.

When we eventually landed in Baltimore, after exiting the maze of Miami Airport, they were excited to meet my parents. My mom and dad greeted us there and guided us to where the car was parked. When we entered the elevator, Daniel’s eyes began to glow and widen on his first ever elevator ride. That day they came to my house with their eyes gaping open and their mouths ajar at the grandeur of an American home. That night they enjoyed re-living my high school years of playing pool, Guitar Hero, and watching TV on a big screen. My best friends Brendan, Mark, and Steve stopped by to meet them.

The next day, my brother Vern accompanied us as we went to downtown Baltimore for Little Italy’s St. Anthony’s Festival. Although it hadn’t started yet, the boys enjoyed walking through the neighborhood until they entered a few stores. It was funny to see them overly excited about what they could buy at clothing and Baltimore souvenir stores. There in the middle of Fells Point they saw their first ever poodle, which shook hands (Dogs in Benque are ugly, dirty, mangy, and are treated like animals instead of a family member, so needless to say they were very surprised). We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Café, where they had their first experience of free refills. They began to bombard me with questions. “What do you mean free refill?” “What if I get five refills? Is it still free?” “What if I get 100? Is it still free? Is there ever an amount that I will have to pay for it?” After each had 5-8 Cokes, we made our way to the Inner Harbor and to the Baltimore National Aquarium where essentially we saw sea animals that are from their neck of the sea. Here the sea creatures were behind glass that you can literally swim with off the coast of Belize, but yet most of them have not had the same opportunity to do that, so this was a treat for them. They smiled excitedly at the Dolphin Show as dolphins leaped and played with their trainers.

That night we had dinner with the Boffens and the Vidmars, family friends of mine, who had hamburgers and hotdogs authentically welcoming them to America. They played corn-hole or bag toss as well as ladder golf, while conversing with family and friends. After the day of fun, back at the Brokke home base we prayed Evening Prayer and reflected on their favorite part of the trip thus far. I was expecting to hear tales of seeing the city, the Aquarium, stores, airplanes, etc… but what I heard was tales of how much they enjoyed meeting the people I had grown up with and people who had helped them attain their dream of coming to the States. It was the people who had made their experience thus far enjoyable and I was so proud and delighted to hear their words of wisdom, that, and their humorous stories of trying to figure out how to make an automatic toilet flush at the Aquarium.