Layta Den...

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end…

As our days in Belize come to a close and we move into the next phase of life and the new adventures that will come with it, we need to, at least for our own peace and sanity, reflect back on what has most definitely already been logged as three and a half of the most memorable years of our lives. It’s been a lot of things: challenging, heartbreaking, daring, often hilarious, and definitely frustrating at times, but more than anything, the most encouraging and eye-opening learning experience of our lifetime. Seeing the way many people live their day-to-day lives in other parts of the world is a lesson in and of itself. It is incredibly humbling, yet powerfully simple. Things we take for granted, issues we sometimes argue or lose sleep over, can seem menial when you step back and look at things from someone else’s perspective. The old adage of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes certainly holds true (some days we weren’t sure we could even walk a few feet in them). The amazing people of Belize have forever become part of who we both are in this life. They have each treated us like family, welcomed us into their homes, fed us, cared for us, and provided nothing but love, laughter, and a feeling of being right at home even though we were far from it. No closing for us would be complete without a few, well, more than a few we guess, but some observations and experiences that we’d like to share since many are representative of our experience and the many stories that we’ve shared with family and friends. We have both been keeping journals since we arrived in June of 2007, every now and again recording that little nuance, quip, or moment in time that you wish could either be frozen or quickly passed over. Here are some for our readers,

· How to take a shower and wash your hair with a half a bucket of water
· Chickens roosting at 3am on the thatch roof above our heads
· Fitting 35 people into a 12 passenger van
· Conversation…”Hey the bedroom temperature is only 85 tonight…not too bad…we can do that” · A Kriol boy referring to our dachshund Maya, “Man, dat da wahn reel sauseege!”
· Stranded…doesn’t really have the same ring to it anymore
· Swinging and spinning amazingly flexible and daring children by the arms until you’re dizzy
· Malaria pills that induce hallucinogenic dreams
· Humans vs. Nature…Nature always wins
· Washing clothes in a giant tub, wringing out by hand, and hanging in the sun to dry…definitely got old quickly
· Waking up early in Indian Church Village and wandering through the Lamanai Maya ruins all by ourselves
· Bus conductors that treat women and children with the respect they deserve
· Bus rides jam packed, with a cool breeze and reggae or Love FM blasting on the airwaves
· Punta rock, Punta Dance, Punta…Punta…Punta!!!
· Ice cold seaweed, wintahfresh gum, and sweets peddled on the bus by people of all ages
· People stopping outside your house and hailing you to say hello
· Sometimes spending $10 dollars for a box of cereal
· Living 3 feet below sea level…no more hurricanes please!!!
· Not sure what the final kill count was, but it’s somewhere around 1 million fire ants, a few thousand carpenter ants, 7-8 roaches, 5 frogs (in our shower), 50 or so millipedes, lost count of spiders large and small, 3-4 geckos (thanks to our dog Maya), and a multitude of flying creatures. “0 snakes and 0 scorpions…Thank you”
· A student that once inquired to Anthony about what people in the US do to protect themselves from dinosaurs
· The large basilisk lizard that often sunned itself on our steps
· Iguanas in the jungle, and in the streets of Belize City
· Walking the dog and seeing parrots and toucans fly by and squawk overhead
· The corn tortilla truck flying through our neighborhood blaring it’s horn
· The speed at which the jungle is able to quickly start taking over an empty home
· Kriol women endearingly using “babes” when thanking or greeting us
· Asking our host sister to take the tarantula off of our mattress during our first night in Belize, flash forward…successfully removing three tarantulas from our home (not sure how they got in)
· Mosquitoes that are bigger, faster, and smarter than any we have ever experienced
· The taste of fresh Belize pepper on everything we ate (Thank you, Marie Sharp’s)
· Kranglish (Kriol, Spanish, and English all mixed into one)
· Huge bags of orange left on our veranda every Sunday morning by the family upstairs
· The need to substitute 90% of the ingredients in a recipe because they just don’t sell everything · Dreaming of living in the Caribbean and enjoying beautiful weather all year round, but then coming to the realization that days on end of 95+ degrees without an air conditioner certainly take a toll. Those of you who have been here can relate
· The smell of fresh barbeque floating through the neighborhood every Saturday
· When there’s a holiday, there’s a holiday. No exceptions.
· September celebrations – done seh it!
· Kids at school that hung and swung from us on a daily basis
· Picking and eating fresh mangoes, limes, and oranges right off tree
· Beans…not sure how many pounds we ate, but definitely quite a bit (some rice too!)
· Riding our bikes everywhere with everything and always admiring those locals that rode around with everything from groceries to a washing maching on their bikes
· The many shades of blue and green of the Caribbean Sea
· Bootleg movies for sale in Belize City
· Being proud to say that we lived in “The Land of the Free, by the Caribe sea” for 3½ years

And finally, a huge thanks to The Gonzalez Family, Ms. Udeen, Ms. Lilith, The Batty's, All the Peace Corps Belize Staff, Our Teachers, Principals, Students, Community Partners, and every Belizean past, present, and future for allowing us the opportunity to live in their beautiful country and share in their amazing and diverse culture. It would have been a much more grueling and difficult journey without your support, guidance, and encouragement along the way.
“Tanks Beliz, yu mek we feel laik paat ah di family!”

Here is a look at 3.5 years in 6 minutes:

This beautiful reflection was so eloquently written by Anthony. The video montage was compiled by ginnie.