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Sunday, August 26, 2007

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:07:21 GMT

“Belize’s spectacular Barrier Reef, with its dazzling variety of underwater life and string of exquisite islands—known as cayes (pronounced “keys”) is…one of the richest marine ecosystems on Earth, it’s a paradise for scuba divers and snorkellers, the incredible coral formations teeming with hundreds of species of brilliantly colored fish.”

“Caye Caulker—Go barefoot on the beach, eat delicious, inexpensive meals and snorkel the Barrier Reef offshore; this relaxed island has everything for a perfect Caribbean vacation…Life on the cayes is supremely relaxing, tempting you to take it easy in a hammock, feast on seafood and sip rum punch as the sun sets.” --Excerpts from “The Rough Guide to Belize”

Although I can attest to the truth of these descriptions about Caye Caulker, clearly the authors have never visited the island with 31 Belizean kids in tow. For one week in July, 4-H conquered the Caulker with our first ever National 4-H Environmental Camp. Myself and 3 other Peace Corps Volunteers (official title: 4-H Youth Agents), Micah, Jerry and Jamie, began working on this camp last December. With the help of 3 other PCVs, the Belize Red Cross, a grant from an environmental NGO, generous donations and support from the 4-H Headquarters in Belize, EZ Boy Tours and many other individuals, we were able to provide a unique experience for the kids in our 4-H Clubs. Although Belize is only about the size of Connecticut, many kids have never left their region. This trip to Caye Caulker was the first time to a caye for most of the children. We exposed the kids to one of the most beautiful aspects of their country, and taught them about the importance of environmental conservation to protect that beauty, as well as basic First Aid, kayaking and snorkeling.

So much happened that I can’t even begin to summarize it in an article short enough to keep your interest.

Highlights:

Snorkeling on Belize’s Barrier Reef—the kids’ enthusiasm was contagious and it really was an once-in-a-lifetime experience for some.
Watching the kids from Progreso freak out about the sea water’s saltiness, which is vastly different than Progreso Lagoon’s brackish water.
Listening to 10 year olds rap about saving the environment.

Things I learned:

If the water smells like rotten eggs, don’t drink it. Mixing it with watermelon juice isn’t a good idea either.
Boys left unattended during night hours can wreak a lot of havoc with just one tube of Colgate toothpaste.
Any changes to T-shirt designs by the T-shirt printing company should be proofread to prevent mistakes like “Envirmental Camp.

This camp was one of the most rewarding and successful events of my first year in Belize. And I slept for 15 hours straight when I got home. Can’t wait till next summer!

School Field Trips

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:18:43 GMT

As the school year wound down in June, kids’ energy levels seemed to rise by the day. What better way to release some of that energy than a field trip?! Since field trips were designated for Fridays, and I didn’t have to teach on Fridays, I was available to help chaperone, and I was lucky enough to be invited to go on 2 trips.

The first trip was with the Infant II and Standard I classes (age 5-7). Our itinerary took us first to the Belize Zoo, then to the airport, and lastly to the Maya Ruins of Altun Ha, and our transportation was a chartered bus (read: old dilapidated school bus). In sharp contrast to most field trips in the States, almost every single kid had a parent/guardian come along. We were somewhere around 36 kids and 32 moms, dads, aunts, sisters, cousins, and next door neighbors. The 3 teachers, myself included, were assigned to watch one of the remaining kids whose parent couldn’t attend. My little charge for the day was a kid I taught in reading—Leroy. Although I had been to all three places before, it was a fun and new experience to see it thru the eyes of these kids. I mean, the last time I was at the airport, I was bawling my eyes out at the sight of Nick’s plane leaving. These kids’ eyes were larger than baseballs at the sight of planes coming and leaving, accompanied by exclamations of “Bwai!!!” Thankfully Leroy was extremely well behaved, even if he did make me climb up all the Maya Ruins, and some twice.

The real cultural difference for me came at lunch time. Everyone was told to bring their own lunch. So the day before, I went to town and bought all the necessities for a great bag lunch—pita bread, ham, cheese, chips, apples and cookies. When we stopped at a park to eat, I noticed that everyone else seemed to have brought immensely larger amounts of food than myself. As people began unloading their coolers, I saw that they had all brought rice and beans, stew chicken or fried chicken, and they pulled out their coleslaw or potato salad. This was no brown bag lunch. Several parents offered me some of theirs, unbelieving that I could be satisfied with a sandwich. One wise crack mom shamed me because of my “gringa food.” I admit that I was slightly embarrassed that I had committed a cultural faux pas.

Fast forward to the very next week—Field Trip #2 with the Standard 5 and 6 classes (ages 11-13) to Mountain Pine Ridge. In the days leading up to the trip, the Std 5 teacher, Blanca, told me that she wanted one of the moms to make tamales for the teachers to take for lunch. A day later, one of the students said her mom was indeed going to make tamales for us—how many did I want? I gratefully accepted two, thinking this was my chance to socially redeem myself. I would not be brought down by an American sandwich again. We loaded the bus at 6am, stopped first at the museum in Belize City, then headed west to Mountain Pine Ridge. After our first stop at Rio Frio Cave, the idea of lunch was thrown around. I began looking for a suitable picnicking spot. But as I climbed on the bus to get my food, I saw that everyone had begun eating on the bus already—and what did most of them have?! None other than sandwiches and chips!! Everyone was eager to get to our next destination, Five Sisters Falls, and were content with eating as we drove. And why not? Sandwiches are great finger food. Tamales however, are eaten with a fork and knife, and can be quite messy. So here I was, surrounded by clean sandwich eaters, trying not to spill my plate of tamales all over as we drive down steep, unpaved roads in a chartered bus (again read: old dilapidated school bus—maybe even the one you rode as a kid). The only redeeming part was that Blanca had to eat tamales that way too. Next time, I think I’ll take two lunches, just in case.

What the rainy season brings

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:09:16 GMT

    Hurricane Season, also known as the Rainy Season, started on June 1st. It came right on schedule this year--almost as if a switch had been flipped to start the rain. After many weeks of no rain, the downpours are quite welcome by all, not least myself and the 4-H kids who planted gardens and are now relieved from the twice daily task of watering. However rain is not the only thing that hurricane season brought. Bugs and critters seem to have moved in the area en mass. The worst of these is the doctor fly (tabano en Espanol). Doctor flies are a little bit bigger than a normal house fly with a yellow body. I imagine they are called doctor flies because when they bite you, that areas swells up, and if you didn't know what it was, you might be tempted to go to the doctor. These flies are relentless in their pursuit of me. About a week ago, I was taking a nap in the hammock, and one bit me on the thumb. Within 5 minutes my whole thumb swelled and I could hardly bend it. The next day, I laid down in the hammock again, and felt one land on my face. I swatted it away in time, then pulled the hammock over me to protect myself from another bite. But the tricky little fella found the part of my hand holding the hammock that was sticking out, and bit my ring finger right on the joint. I quickly took off my ring as I knew the swelling would start any minute, and the result was the same as the day before. Despite their seeming cleverness, they are actually kind of slow, so revenge is possible, and the kids and I killed 5 or 6 each day during class last week. Of course that's after I've been bit about 5 or 6 times a day on the leg during class.
    The other noticeable population increases are among the cockroaches (under the toilet seat) and frogs--but the frogs actually add a beautiful new sound to the evening chorus of nature.
    The great part of rainy season is the start of some of my favorite fruits--mangoes, avocados, and best of all, kinep (or guaya en Espanol). Guaya has become my favorite food in Belize by far! It is like a grape, but it's about 75% seed and only 25% flesh. It has a green shell-like covering, which you split open, pop the orange fruit into your mouth, suck the fruit off the seed, and spit out the seed. I have spent hours eating guaya under a shady tree with my host family. It even makes up for the doctor flies.

Belizean Snow

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:44:50 GMT

Pedro, the smart-aleck friend of my host family, once asked me if I had seen the Belizean snow. I said no, and one day when I woke up and couldn’t see more than 50 feet because the fog was so thick, he later informed me that that was the Belizean snow. Maybe. But I think I have found the real Belizean snow, and if not Belizean snow, then Progresoan snow. We have entered the dry season here in Belize, and that means that the white lime (white mahl they call it here) road to Orange Walk that once enveloped vehicles in 3 feet of mud has turned to 3 feet of dust. Okay, so maybe I’ve taken up the Belizean tendency to exaggerate (3 feet of mud—not an exaggeration), but I can honestly say there are spots with a foot of dust. And as sugar cane trucks and busses tear thru it, they create a thick cloud of dust much like being in a snowstorm. As I was going to town on the bus the other day and looked ahead, I frighteningly realized that there could be a cane truck on the other side of that cloud, and we wouldn’t see it until it was practically on top of us. The dust-covered trees and sugar cane plants looked strikingly similar to snow-covered trees and what I imagine snow-covered sugar cane plants would look like. And those of us unlucky enough to be sitting in a seat with a window that is stuck down will arrive in town looking like we’ve aged 50 years because our hair has turned white. Who said there is no winter in the tropics?

Who I admire in Belize

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:21:23 GMT

I have met a lot of people I admire here in Belize. The mother with eight children and another one on the way. My host mom who works untiringly to put her daughters thru school in a society that doesn’t yet value women’s education much. The 5 year old boy who can ride an adult-sized bike while carrying his 2 year old sister. But someone who I have come to hold in high regard is the bus conductor. All bus conductors really, but specifically the one on the bus I frequent from Progreso to Orange Walk Town. In Belize, the busses have drivers and conductors. The drivers…drive, and the conductors run the bus, a job that requires quite a bit of skill, I’ve come to realize. The conductor from Progreso, not over 18 years old, collects the money while the bus is in motion—an incredible talent to be able to do quick math without falling over while the bus maneuvers around and thru potholes the size of small cars. Because the bus doesn’t have assigned stops, other than the final destination point, the conductor is also in charge of keeping track of where everybody wants to get off. Admittedly, this isn’t so much a challenge between Progreso and Orange Walk, where there is only one village between, but from Orange Walk to Belize City, people can ask to get off at the green house just past Tan’s Grocery Store by mile 28 along the Northern Highway, and the conductor remembers dozens of vague requests like that. The challenge on the Progreso route comes on the return trip. The conductor knows where everybody lives and where they need to get off in the village. I’m lucky that the bus route goes on the same street as my house, so I get dropped off at my doorstep! The bus conductor also takes care of any luggage people have, from suitcases to sacks of coconuts to bicycles. The conductor delivers messages and goods for people in the village to people in town. On days that the bus is particularly crowded, he manages to fit people where you wouldn’t think there was room. And the most amazing thing about the conductor from Progreso is that he appears to do all these things without saying more than 3 words the whole time! He can get 5 standing passengers seated with a mere nod of his head. He really went above and beyond the call of duty though when my parents visited. The bus was late arriving at the market, the main pick up stop. Students and shoppers began to rush the bus as it pulled into spot to get a seat. The conductor, seeing my parents and I standing wide-eyed with lots of luggage, was quick to throw his own backpacks on a couple seats to save them for us. By the time he helped us get our bags on the back of the bus, someone had sat in each seat, but he politely asked one to move, and the three of us got a seat, making us much more fortunate than about 20 others who had to stand. Three cheers for Mikey the Progreso bus conductor!

Happy New Year 2007!

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 17:44:04 GMT

I realize that this entry is quite overdue, which means it will also be quite long.

I spent my Christmas and New Years in Progreso with my host family. Christmas in the village was a very enjoyable experience. People decorate their houses with lights, Christmas trees, and wreaths. The radio stations started playing Christmas music, most popularly "Feliz Navidad." The Catholic church started it's tradition of the Posadas, where people gather at night at someone's house, and walk with candles through the village to another's house, singing and praying, as a sort of remembrance of Joseph and Mary looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem. They started 10 days before Christmas and went each night. It was very neat, and I even had some of the words to the songs in Spanish memorized by the end. Christmas Eve, the posada started at someone's house and ended at the church, where they held a Christmas Eve Service. Earlier in the day, one of the teachers I work with commented to me, "I hope they turn down the music in the park this year. Last year they played it so loud during the entire service you couldn't hear a thing said!" The church is sits right across the street from the park, where every year there is an all-night party to bring in Christmas. When we showed up at the church at 11pm, there were already over 100 people sitting outside the church and at the park waiting for the party to start. But thankfully they waited to play their music until after the service was over. It was quite funny to see hundreds of people sitting outside the church while only about 25 attended the service. After the service, I went to the party w/ my host family and friends, and we listened to live Reggae music on a cloudless night until about 1:30am. I wasn't in the mood to make a fool of myself in front of the entire village that night (maybe some other time), so I left before the real dance music got started. Christmas Day was relaxing. That night, my friend Wendy had a party and I danced for almost 4 hours straight! It was such a fun time celebrating with my friends in the village.

Between Christmas and New Years I went back to San Ignacio to visit my host family from training. It was nice to catch up with them, and it seemed like such a long time ago since I had been there, a mere Peace Corps Trainee, still enchanted by the beauty of Belize.

New Years was pretty quiet in the village--nothing noteworthy. School started up the second week of January, and I was glad to be back with the kids. I decided to pick up another reading group, which makes 4 total, and to work with them each 3 times a week, instead of just 1 time as I did last fall. It has made my life a lot busier, but I am still enjoying it quite a bit. 4-H is also starting to pick up momentum. Before Christmas we had a successful BBQ to celebrate the end of National Youth Week. The kids performed skits, poems, and dances, and played games and went swimming. This month we elected officers, and are hoping to start the pig-raising, school garden, and sewing projects. Things seem to happen a little more slowly than I would like here, so it's a challenge keeping the kids interested.

My parents came for a week long visit last week, and it was so great! They treated me to 5 days of vacation at a nice resort on the island Ambergris Caye. We went snorkeling with the sharks and sting rays, sailing, and I got to go scuba diving. We also spent plenty of time just relaxing. Then we went back to Progreso for a few days for the real Belizean experience. They were troopers and took the bus to Progreso. They got to meet my host family and other friends and co-workers. My dad even ventured out on a night fishing trip until 1:30am with my host dad! It was hard to say goodbye, but my busyness has kept me from dwelling on it.

Right after they left, I headed to Belize City to compete in my first ever Triathlon! I was the swimmer in a relay team, with two other Peace Corps Volunteers taking part in the biking and running. I am proud to say I came in 2nd in the swim, and our team came in 2nd overall! That's right--your Peace Corps Belize is ranked #2 in the nation!! We were quite proud, even if that meant only having to compete against 5 other teams. We were so happy with the results that we plan to compete as a team again in March. And really, it was just plain fun!

So that's life in Belize for now. I've been in country for about 7 months! Time is flying!

The Life

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:03:19 GMT

There are a lot of things that make my life here different from the States--everything from living conditions, to languages, to customs, to food, to people, to animals. Here are some random things I’ve experienced.

I felt that I was going to make it here just fine the second weekend I was here in Progreso. At a family BBQ, I was given a plate of BBQ chicken, still on the bone of course, coleslaw, beans, and one large flour tortilla. The only thing missing was a fork. I quickly scanned the table and found none. Another scan of the kitchen hut revealed to me that no one else had forks either. Then, just like the family, I ate that whole plate of food with only a flour tortilla and my left index finger and thumb as utensils. Since then, I have learned to eat just about everything with only the help of a tortilla. Soup still requires a spoon of course.

I am quickly learning a lot about the Catholic Church. The people of Progreso belong to one of two churches, Catholic or Seventh Day Adventist, and the Catholics far outnumber the Adventists. Since I work with the Roman Catholic school, they observe all the appropriate ceremonies and customs. One of the more interesting events was the Living Rosary. Girls dressed in fancy white dresses stood for each Hail Mary bead on the Rosary, and boys dressed in white shirts and black pants, some with bowties, stood for each Our Father bead. A few teachers and the participating kids led everyone else through the Rosary prayers. The Rosary seems to be such an integral part of the Catholic faith, so it was a great introduction to it for me. Since Progreso is so small, a mass with a priest is only held once a month at the church, and then the lay leaders hold other, less formal services on the other weeks. I was surprised, and a little disappointed, at the limited options of places to worship here. As one of the teachers told me though, “Progreso is not a religious village.”

A few weeks ago, I attended a funeral, unfortunately, of Wendy’s grandfather. He was 82 and died of a stroke. The customs surrounding death here are quite different from the States. The body is taken to the place of residence. In this case, because the house where he lived was a bit of a mess due to construction, so they had the coffin taken to one of the daughters’ house. All friends and family are invited to a wake at the house, which lasts literally all night. People may come and go as they please, but people did stay till the next morning. I went home with Lupe at the early hour of 11pm. Prayers are said, and snack food and coffee is served. Because of the length of time that people stay, they set up tables and chairs outside, and lots of people just played cards or games. The next day was the funeral at the church. The coffin was then taken by truck back to the house where he lived, while all the other funeral attendees walked behind the pick up. The pall bearers took the coffin for one last walk through the house before heading to the cemetery. Most people here are not buried underground. Instead, a concrete case is built above ground, the coffin is placed inside, and then sealed up with concrete. There was a crew of cement mixers at the site where he was to be buried, so after another short service with the priest, the coffin was laid in the cement box, boards placed on top, and then covered with the fresh cement. As part of the custom, the families hold prayer services (of course accompanied with food) 7 weeks, 7 months, and 1 year after the death.

Some of the fun day trips I’ve taken with my host family have been to Copper Bank, Corozal, and the Belize Zoo. Copper Bank is another village just 5-6 miles north, which lies on a lagoon connected to our lagoon by an intricate creek system. There are a lot more fishermen in that village, because their lagoon leads out to Corozal Bay, which leads to the Ocean. There are some Mayan Ruins nearby, called Cerros, which we were given a short tour of. Corozal is the second closest town to Progreso (Orange Walk being the first). It is about the size of Orange Walk, but much quieter. Most people in Progreso go to Corozal only on their way to Chetumal, Mexico, but going to Corozal is fun because you have to take a hand-cranked ferry across a small river to get there! The Belize Zoo is near Belize City. It is fairly small, but all the habitats are very natural. It’s as if whoever built it just dropped some simple chain-link fences in the bush and then put some animals behind them. I saw spider monkeys, a puma, black and spotted jaguars (known as tigers to the locals), toucans, tapirs, lots of rat-/raccoon-like animals, and crocodiles. Unfortunately because it was a rainy day, the animals weren’t too active, but it was still great.

It was given that when going to a Latin American country, I would stand out as a “Gringa.” I have mostly gotten used to the whistles and comments, but I have not gotten used to the kids’ fascination with touching me. They like to touch my arms and hair. Often they will just reach out and touch me as I walk by. Even one girl who was riding a bike past me reached out to touch my arm as she rode by and greeted me. And with my tan, I’m not even that white!!

The Work

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 12:15:50 GMT

The Work

Coming here to Progreso, I knew I had two tasks ahead of me: to start a 4-H club and to work to improve reading in the Progreso Roman Catholic Primary School. It turns out I have started on these simultaneously. The first week I was here, I went to the 3 upper classes, known as Standard 4, 5, and 6, to recruit them to 4-H. Apparently 4-H is the thing to do these days. About 80 kids turned in interest forms, so Daisy, Wendy, Lupe and I went to work planning the first meeting. At this first meeting, which was mainly a chance to really explain what 4-H is and what will be expected of them as members, while throwing in a few games, we had 75 kids sign up!! Unbelievable and totally out of hand!! From that meeting I learned what a challenge having so many kids involved is, how essential it will be to improve my Spanish, and how to play a great game called “Corta Ferreo” (Cut the Iron—a running game kind of like Duck Duck Goose but way more fun—and let me tell you, with 75 kids in a circle, it’s a long run around the outside!). It’s absolutely wonderful that so many kids are interested, but it’s an absolute nightmare to try to organize and hold a meeting with that many kids. We are slowly getting the parents involved in helping, which will be crucial from the very beginning with so many kids. We’re going to try creating planning committees for each of the interest areas, such as cooking, gardening, camping, etc. Those activities will be open to the whole group, and the kids can participate in as many or as few activities as they like. We have a big job ahead of us, so say a prayer for us!!
When I first arrived, I spent a lot of time at the school just acquainting myself with the flow of things. I talked with teachers and the principal, sat in on their classes, and whatnot. The principal, Mr. Blanco, and I agreed upon a course of action—to pull out the kids from Standard 1-3 who are struggling the most with reading. So as not to detract from their classroom time, I work with them in smaller groups just 1 hour a week. With the help and advice of my Peace Corps friends who are in Education here, I was able to do assessments for which kids would need the most help, and what materials to use. I am starting with phonics, based off a program that the Belize Ministry of Education has given to Infant 1 and 2 teachers. I started last week, and I’m working with 12 Standard 1 students, 7 Standard 2, and 6 Standard 3. I really enjoy working with the kids, and they don’t seem to mind me too much either.
The other aspect of my job is to support the Youth Empowerment Coordinator (YEC) at the district office of the government agency, Youth for the Future in Orange Walk Town. 4-H falls under the direction of Youth for the Future, so it’s a complimentary relationship. I support Beatrice, the YEC, with her work, and she supports me in my role as 4-H leader. Right now Beatrice and I are putting together plans for National Youth Week, the last week in November. I go to Orange Walk just once a week, but the trip into town carries lots of importance to me since it’s usually my one chance to check email and make and receive calls on my cell phone (usually from the boyfriend :). I also have a weekly lunch date with Nikki and Jenny S., the two Peace Corps Volunteers living in Orange Walk. Although I like village life well enough, these trips to town are a breath of fresh air sometimes.

The Family

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 20:35:13 GMT

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Progreso for about 6 weeks now, and out of the States for 4 months! Although each day and week seems to go by slowly, it doesn’t seem long ago that I first arrived. Let me give you a rundown on the living situation and host family. I have a comfortable bedroom with a bed and dresser, with a mirror no less. I’ve decorated with post cards (thanks to those who’ve sent them—if you send one, I’ll put it up too!), pictures from home, a calendar of “Flowers of Belize”, and the paintings I bought in Guatemala. There is a sitting/TV area in the same room as the kitchen, where every night the family watches their Mexican novellas, or soap operas/sitcoms. There is also another small family room area in the front of the house, where I read and write because I can only watch so much of the Mexican novellas. My favorite place to be though, is in the hammock underneath the mango tree, which I usually spend time in everyday except the days it rains. I have quickly gotten used to the outside latrine that is in a little thatched hut out back, and I actually like it quite a bit, and it really isn’t too smelly. Although the family offers to heat water for me for a warm-water bucket shower, I always opt for the more refreshing cold water from the well that comes out of the shower head, or just a cold water bucket shower.

Teresa, my host mom, is a community health worker and has delivered about 150 babies in the village. She is a fabulous cook, and often works as a cook on one of the cayes that has accommodations for research groups. Her husband, Enrique, has been taking a break from work to build the extension on the house, and he can catch the most delicious fish from the lagoon. Their oldest daughter, Lupe, is a social worker in Orange Walk Town. She lives here in the house with her 6-year old daughter, Nyssa, who is in the Standard I class (3^rd year of school) at the primary school where I’m also working. Their only son, Ivar, lives here too, but works in Belize City Mon-Sat, leaving at 4:30am and returning at 7:30pm. He is a mechanic for a tour guide company. Their next oldest daughter, Zelma, was just married this summer to a German Mennonite, Henri (of the modern group, not the traditional-no-electricity-or-cars group), whose nickname is Pepsi. They live in the Mennonite village called Blue Creek, but she often comes to visit for a few days at a time. The next oldest, Zinnia, lives in Belize City and attends University of Belize (UB), getting her degree in Tourism Industry. The 4^th daughter, Daisy, lives in Belize City with her aunt and uncle, and attends UB in Belmopan. Daisy is helping start the 4-H Club here in Progreso, since she was very involved in it when it was active here about 7 years ago. Both Zinnia and Daisy come home on the weekends frequently, and Daisy sometimes during the week to help with 4-H planning. Their youngest daughter, Lali, is in her 3^rd year of high school, which she attends in Orange Walk Town.

Both Teresa’s mother and Enrique’s mother and father live essentially next door. Teresa’s mom often brings over really yummy extra bread or cake that she makes, which is probably where Teresa got her great cooking skills. It is at Enrique’s parents’ house that I receive my weekly telephone calls from my parents; our phone still has not been fixed, and my cell phone only gets receptions when I’m in town. Another notable family member is Wendy, a cousin. She is also helping with the 4-H club, and she’s my running partner. We don’t actually run together though; we walk a ways together to the main road, and then I run while Wendy runs and walks, and we meet up at the end and walk back together. But at least starting together helps us stay accountable to getting up and going. One day Wendy actually arrived at our halfway/turn-around point before I did. She took a ride from a passing car.

So it’s a busy household, between the kids and all the other aunts, uncles, and cousins that live in Progreso and stop by often. I think I have finally figured out who all the aunts and uncles and cousins are, and to which side of the family they belong. But it has taken me a full 6 weeks to do so, and I’m sure that it’s not all inclusive. It’s especially difficult to learn the names when my host family simply introduces them or will only refer to them in conversations as “my brother” or “my cousin”.

Two other people who have taken a small concern to my well-being are Maria and Melvin, who are from the States. Maria is actually from Germany originally, so it’s fun to have that connection. They are living in Progreso, a bit farther out though, and are building a small resort and restaurant on the lagoon. Maria very generously has brought me yogurt and apples from Chetumal, Mexico, and invites me over for brewed coffee and a chance to watch CNN Headline News every once in a while. I’m not going to lie, it’s nice to be able to indulge in a few comforts of home sometimes.

Goodbye Guatemala

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 13:46:56 GMT

Guate and I said our goodbyes yesterday. It was somewhat tearful, but we both knew it was coming. It even gave me a present--a runny nose.

My last two weekends in Guatemala were quite enjoyable. Because I missed out on Volcano San Pedro at Lake Atitlan the first time due to the eye infections, I decided to go back with the other group of PCVs who hadn't been yet, Shenna, Jeff, Mike, and Jenny S. We stayed in Panajachel the first night, then took a boat over to the village of San Pedro in the morning. We found a great cheap hotel with a wonderful view of the lake. Then we started our adventure up the volcano. It was quite a tough hike, but so worth it. The view from the top was like being in a plane because we were above the clouds. We had a guide, Jose, to show us the way and give us facts about the area. Then we rewarded ourselves when we got back with a swim/bath in Lake Atitlan. It was surprisingly warm for being at such a high altitude. That night we found a great lakeside restaurant for dinner and relaxed. The next morning we found another great lakeside cafe where we spent the better part of the morning relaxing (and for Mike and I swimming) until we took the bus back. I have to say here that it was on this trip that I realized the inordinate amount of trust I have in operators of public transportation. I have always been a fan of public transportation, and Guatemala is no different. I certainly could never navigate an overcrowded bus around blind corners in the mountains, but I sure the heck know he can!

The last weekend in Guatemala was a 3-day weekend because of their Independence Day on Friday Sept 15th. After viewing some of the festivities on Thursday afternoon, I signed up for a tour to see the active Volcano Pacaya. It was a night tour because I head the lava was spectacular in contrast to the darkness. I was part of a group of 14 with a guide, and there were 2 Germans in the group, so I was happy to get to speak a little bit of Deutsch as well. The lava was unbelieveable! Because of the recent activity of the volcano, we could only go up about halfway to a spot where the lava was coming out. I had pictures of lava flowing down the mountainside as people jumped out of the way to safety, but it was hardly running. It was more like oozing, like stretching bubble gum or taffy really really slowly. I was also blessed to have a clear sky (especially since it was the rainy season), so I could look down at the glowing lava one minute and then up at billions of sparkling stars the next--spectacular! The next morning a group of us, Nikki, Molly, Ali, Ryan, Jenny S., Graham, Jeff, and I, headed away from the cold mountains to the black sand beach of Monterrico. We allowed ourselves a thoroughly relaxing 2 1/2 days sitting on the beach, swimming, reading in hammocks--all the normal great relaxing beach activities.

And now after two short flights yesterday I am back in Belize City. It actually does feel good to be back--to be back in a familiar place where I know how things work and where to go. Our group is starting its final separation as people start heading out to their sites. I will be staying in Belize City until Friday for HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention training, then FINALLY heading out to Progresso. My counterpart, Lupe, is coming for the training this week, so I'm very excited to spend some more time with her before going back and living with her and her family. The reality of the next two years is about to begin!!