Transition

The transition month between Peace Corps Belize and heading out to travel has been busy, cold, and productive. In the first week, we ordered our travel backpacks (we tested several out at REI and EMS to find the perfect fit and comfort), Keens, Moleskine journals and notebooks, Kleen Kanteens, and booked some of our first nights in each country (all with great discounts thanks to online offers and having been PCVs). All of the gear has arrived and we will get everything packed and ready early so we can relax for our remaining time on this brief visit to the US (this is the longest time we have spent in the US in 3.5 years).

We hope our loyal readers have enjoyed this month and we wish to inform you that we are redesigning the blog and will have a new look for the travel posts. Keep an eye out for the new anthony.ginnie blog in the new year. One of the new features of the blog will be clues to keep you on track with our travels and coming locales. We've decided not to reveal our itinerary so as we head out for a new place, we'll leave you with a clue to keep you intrigued and curious and to see if you can determine the next place.

Let's get started: our first destination brings us to the only Central American country we have yet to visit (this should be an easy one for all of you who've read the blog throughout our time in Belize!).

See you in 2011!!

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.

Our Belizean Moments to Remember

Here’s a lee look back at our moments/favorites throughout our time in Belize.

Anthony

Favorite Belizean meal: Beans n’ Rice

Favorite place in Belize: My Hammock in Belmopan

Favorite shop: Save-U

Favorite dining establishment: CoCo Bongos and Noodle Guy at the Belmopan Market

Favorite Kriol phrase: Shuks Bwai!

Favorite Kriol proverb: Haad ayz pikni goh da maakit too tiam

Most memorable moment: Being asked to be the guest speaker at my school’s 2010 graduation

Most surprising experience: When I walked in flip-flops through foot tall grass in our backyard after dark to get a lime off the tree (not even giving a second thought to the creatures of the night that live there). I commented to Ginnie when I returned that 3½ years ago I never would have even considered.

Funniest experience: The many children that made me laugh on a regular basis

Weirdest experience: Missing Belize when I visited the U.S.

Favorite bus story: Riding back from Cayo on a packed up bus one market day and spending an hour talking with an old Kriol woman and her grandson about Belize, who also continued to share fruit with me for the duration of the ride

Favorite getaway in Belize: San Pedro – just wish it wasn’t so darn expensive

Best experience with the pikni: Pikni running at you full speed, latching on with tight hugs, and refusing to let go; Being hailed from the street by my host brother as we arrived at the house (he’s only 4yrs old)

One experience you’d like to forget: The bout of E-coli I picked up somewhere in Honduras

Overall favorite: The daily 5 minute bike ride to work

Name one modern convenience you look forward to having again: Bookstores

Name something you learned you can live without: Television, Washing Machine, Vehicle

Name one thing you will miss most: Hearing Kriol on a daily basis

Name one thing you will miss least: unavailability of great books

Name one thing you look forward to in the USA: Seeing my wonderful family and friends again

Name one thing you do not look forward to in the USA: Weather that fluctuates more than 15 degrees over the course of a year

Share a lesson learned: Human Beings never fully know what they are capable of, how they will react, or how they will truly feel, until living, breathing, and experiencing a walk in someone else’s shoes.

Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

ginnie

Favorite Belizean meal: Boil Up!

Favorite place in Belize: Most of Cayo District

Most frequented shop: K-Park Quick Stop & SaveU (Belize City); Fansico & New Capital (Belmopan)

Favorite dining establishments: Ko’ox Han nah & Cayo Twist (San Ignacio); the noodle guy (Belmopan Market); Sumathi & Mama Chen (Belize City); Gomier’s (Punta Gorda)

Favorite Kriol phrase: Right now

Favorite Kriol proverb: Weh no kill yu, fatn yu

Most memorable moment: Opening the library at Trinity Methodist School

Most surprising experience: Sweeping a tarantula out of my house by myself

Funniest experience: Camp GLOW and the every meeting with the GLOW girls were pretty fun and definitely funny!

Weirdest experience: The shower head exploding when I was in the shower – I got out before the explosion, but experienced the pre-event with the scalding water and steam

Favorite bus story: When a man’s $20 bill flew out of his hand as he tried to get it in his pocket and everyone around helped find it and get it back to him

Favorite getaway in Belize: a day or two on a caye

Best experience with the pikni: all of them J - the hugs that come as soon as I walk onto the school compound are a pretty great start to any day; Lindy’s daily check-ins and Moleisha grabbing my hand to show me something she has done

One experience you’d like to forget: One morning when the principal lashed 6 boys for being rude to me

Overall favorite: accomplishing my goal and helping the school and the programs at YES to accomplish some of theirs

Name one modern convenience you look forward to having again: a refrigerator with a separate freezer (internal freezers stink especially in a hot climate where they freeze over and then make it so the fridge is not actually keeping things cool)

Name one thing you learned you can live without: a TV, a washing machine, a car (although, my preference is to have the availability of a motorized vehicle)

Name one thing you will miss most: hearing Kriol every day and people hailing each other as they pass on the street

Name one thing you will miss least: extremely loud music or loud anything at all hours (I like noise ordinances; these levels are definitely beyond the allowable decibels back in the US)

Name one thing you look forward to in the USA: paved roads and sidewalks and climate control (but not at the extreme temps that I noticed the stores and some homes keep it – how about a comfortable 78-82?)

Name one thing you do not look forward to in the USA: Coca-Cola made with high fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar

Share a lesson learned: No matter how little a person has in terms of money or possessions, they can be extremely generous and give of what they do have to help their neighbors and their friends and that people are people no matter where they live. Just because something is hard, doesn’t mean we can’t do it and the people who invented the washing machine really did something to save hours of time for others – if only such a machine were accessible to all people who need one it would be so nice!