My weekend in Santa Theresa

Santa Theresa, Toledo District, Belize
Mayan girl with sister and puppy 
I dont know why Im making this face but...
The view from the bus towards Blue Creek.  We crossed the river right after I took this picture.  I was scared for my life!

Hello!  So i have gotten a few people yelling at me for not writing regular like on this here blog. Sorry!  Things have gotten super busy in my life and its hard to find an opportunity to post the sort of long rambling dissertations on belizian life that i would like :)  

  This weekend I went on a volunteer visit...essentially I went and hung out with a currently serving volunteer in her site.  "My" volunteer was Liz,  from New Mexico.  She lives in a super rural village of about 300 Ketchi Mayan people.  To put it mildly,  it was a VERY different Belize from Independence.   I arrived friday night at about 8.  Now in a village without electricity this is late!  Liz lives in a thatch hut right on the outskirts of the jungle.  We got along just fine, which was a relief, spending the weekend with someone you don't know at all can be slightly daunting.  As far as sleeping went,  I crashed out maya style,  in her hammock.  The hammock was made of recycled sweatshirts and basketball shorts and was super comfy.  Lil tip people:  the airplane neck pillows make awesome hammock headrests.  

   So yeah,  the next morning we went for a village walk,  everywhere along the line people hailing us with "Yaah Ms. Liz, who de white bwai??"  May sound bold,  but these are the few that would actually talk to us.  Most seemed pretty shy, and I saw many a pair of eyes staring out at me from behind stick and board walls.  People would invite us in, and invariably we would be handed a bowl of Caldo,  a steaming hot, spicy, salty chicken soup.  I liked it!  The day was spent wandering from place to place,  helping to pluck chickens,  make tamales and go through long silences.  Unlike many other cultures that I am used to,  the maya don't really seem to mind long pauses.  People would stand next to each other for a few minutes after exhausting the pleasantry routine until one would say "OK, I am going" and wander off.  Random :)  

   The weekend was an excellent view into village life.  Its definitely not all roses.  Lots of fun aspects,  but also alot of hard work for Liz,  and an incredibly different culture.  Its funny bc originally I was super pushing for a really rural placement,  but I guess this weekend showed me that there are plusses and minuses to every situation, from Santa Theresa to Belize City.  

   I left for home on Monday morning...the village market bus comes through at about 430 am so as to get to Punta Gorda by 6 (so all the ladies can set up and sell their wares)  On I hopped,  far before daylight,  and was greeted by a packed packed bus of sleepy lil brown people :)  I stood for 2 hours until we reached blue creek.  Its the rainy season, and this is Belize.  The bridge probably shoulda been replaced 10 years ago,  instead see the bus pic....it was high.  We had to wait at the side of the creek for 3 hours for the water to go down enough to pass through.  Even then,  I could feel the bus shuddering and sliding under the weight of all those gallons of water.  Gotta admit,  I was pretty scared,  I thought we were going over the side...the bus was less than a foot from the dropoff, getting pushed further, people are screaming, and I'm thinking about how I am going to grab the lady's baby next to me once the bus flips.  Wild ride.  We made it across, and the bus only broke down once,  delaying us for another 2 hours, before we got to PG.  (This 40 mile 2 hour trip turned into 40 miles in 6...you do the math,  thats slow :)   

   The rest of yesterday was spent hanging out in PG,  (see old post for the pg lowdown)  And I finally got back last night about 7.  As far as how I am doing,  life is going well here...It seems to be getting cooler, (all relative) which is exciting.  I am getting really pumped to find out what my site will be.  This Friday, Oct. 3, I will know the village/town/city where I will spend the next two years of my life.  I am excited to know,  but no longer am I pushing for any one place...I have let go of expectations and it feels great.   I also feel myself calming down and becoming alot more chill.  I am rolling with the punches, keeping from being stressed, and generally really relaxing here.  I'm still same ol intense Jacob,  but I think this experience is really going to help me buff out my rough edges, calm down,  and generally not get so worked up about things out of my control.  Cool huh? Thats about it for now,  I'll let yall know on friday what the lowdown is!!!  

Really?

I couldnt believe they sell it either

Im On Jupiter-- OR--Craziest Day of My Life

So I thought I would take a few minutes and tell you people about the craziest day of my life,  the day that has just proven to me that I am most certainly in a VERY different place than the US of A!  So Friday we went to Belmopan like we do every week. All the trainees meet up, get shots and hang out,  maybe have a few classes.  This week was very different though.  An older volunteer had passed away that week, and all of PCBelize was brought in.  The crazy part was that the initial rumors that she had been raped and murdered turned out to be entirely unfounded and came out in typical belizian sensationalist style.  

   So we left to head back to Independence and caught the last bus out of Belmopan.  People here dont exactly wait in line.  It was the craziest shove fest I have ever seen trying to get on the bus.  Once we finally got on it was standing room only for 2 hours.  (even the space between the seats and the roof was filled with people.) Dont know how they got up there, but there they were!  When we got to Dangriga (halfway)  I heard "Jacob...is Jacob on there?"  Turns out one of my buddies host fathers was in Dangriga and offered us a ride home in his car.  Needless to say we jumped at the opportunity to get off the bus!  Now we thought we were leaving right away.  Turns out we had to joyride around town, watch him play video poker and have rum forced on us for a few hours first.  It was tiresome but also interesting.  We left around 9, made it an hour back before the car started smoking (found out later it blew a head gasket)  We coasted to a stop in Silk Grass (no cell phone service).  We were all pretty sure that we were spending the night there,  so I got comfy and dropped off (what can ya do...just the next thing to happen that day!)  

  Round about 12 a guy stops and asks us if we want a tow back to town (1 hr away at normal speed)  We say yes and we hook up the tow rope.  Towing in belize is interesting to say the least.

   Heres where the story gets interesting.  About 1/2 hour from home we get flagged down.  A pickup is on the side of the road, it has obviously flipped more than once after going right through a telephone pole.  Four people were in the car.  Three had been thrown out.  One's leg was turned around backwards and was screaming,  one's head had been sliced open so I could see his skull,  I pressed a cloth against his head and told someone to hold it there. The guy in the car was obviously in shock, and people were pulling him out of the vehicle.  (probably not good medical care)  He had a gash on his rear that went at least 4 inches down, 8 inches long, fatty tissue spilling from it.  The fourth guy, the driver, was dead on the spot.  I checked his pulse, his body was still warm, but he was gone.  His entire face had been torn off when he was thrown from the car.  

   The ambulance took over an hour to get there,  and the on scene medical care consisted of "can you walk?  ok, lets go to the ambulance"  different world.  The police didnt show up the entire two hours we were there.  We saw them roaring by after we left,  leaving the body there.  I finally got home around 3AM,  a 23 hour day for me.  

    The strange part is,  I dont feel very affected by the incident.  It just feels like I am in a different world and things operate differently.  

here is the link to the news posting.  Its very inaccurate, but gives you an idea of what reporting is like down here.

www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=21801

Happy St. George's Caye Day!!!

A little Mayan boy from San Antonio.  You still hear Mopan Maya spoken in this village.
The church in San Antonio.  The stones are from Mayan ruins, carried in one at a time on the backs of villagers.  It took ten years to move all the stones.
The entrance to Blue Creek Cave.  The cave goes over 30 miles into the mountain, with an entrance on the other side, in Guatemala.
A house in Georgetown, about 2o mins away from my town.  This is a typical dwelling,  raised so as to catch the breeze.
The site of my dream hostel, a five minute walk outside of Punta Gorda
The Youth Development trainees and staff.  From left to right:  Mr. Sebastian Cayetano, me, Melissa, Elias, Abby, Ms Lorna Longsworth (my Kriol teacher) Chris, Terra, Shanton, Ola, Diane, Scott (Youth Development Trainer)  and Julie
Paradise....a home in Barranco
Me on the coast near Barranco.

Happy Day after St. George's Caye Day! 

    Yesterday was a holiday.  We celebrated the British Baymen's defeat of the Spanish in 1797.  It was pretty low key and fun.  There was a little parade and then people just gathered around, had a few drinks and enjoyed having a weekday off.  

   The real fun though,  happened for me this past weekend!  On Saturday all of the Youth Development Trainees hopped in a van to head down to Punta Gorda.  PG is a beautiful little seaside hamlet impossible not to love.  We arrived pretty early to check out the market. It was fun to meet a few of the currently serving volunteers.  After spending a few hours wandering around (I ended up on my own, walking along the shoreside road meeting people)  I came across a half abandoned concrete building.  For some reason it appeared to me completed and all dolled up as a hostel/B&B.  I could totally do that :)  

   Anyways,  we met up with an older volunteer couple.  She is a professional artist and he is a social worker/counselor.  They have come together to create their own great little niche,  they run art as expression/art therapy programs in the schools here.  It was really exciting to see their beachfront home and soak up some of their "life is beautiful" energy.  After a few hours with them we reboarded the van.  (for the record, do not EVER sit in the last seat of a van in Belize.  Its hot.  From there we left for Barranco, A super tiny Garifuna village thats about an hour down a dirt road.  It was quiet and beautiful and just felt wonderful.  I loved it.  So finally it was time to think about where we were sleeping.  We spent a wonderful night in the little Maya village of San Antonio.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The village is built in the mountains, homes of thatch with dirt floors.  We slept in a bunkbed style guesthouse, but the real magic was our meals.  We arrived after dark, and were met by a little barefoot lady with a flashlight.  We walked up a steep hill until we arrived at her home.  Chicken soup and rice by candlelight,  afterwards a discussion about Maya history,  complete with us being shown maya relics that the son had found in the woods.  He talked about how many ruins there are,  many still  yet unexplored!  I bought a pound of coffee from the lady,  and watched her roast the beans right there.  These beans had just been shelled, and picked from the trees that grew behind her house.  (Finally good coffee!!!)  I woke up and bathed in the creek the next morning before we left for the Blue Creek Caves.  (Now this part was cool)  Its an hour long semi strenuous hike alongside the river.  You climb the final hill, and there, right in front of your eyes, is a scene straight outta "The Jungle Book"!!  This massive cave entrance, maybe 100 ft in diameter, with class III rapids pouring out of it just pops outta nowhere.!  Suffice to say, I was psyched.   We crept into the water, staying to the right side to avoid the current.  For about an hour three of us guys worked our way back into the cave,  using handholds where we could, fighting against the current to work our way back into the cave.  Im guessing this wouldn't be ok to do at a tourist attraction in the states :)   We finished off our weekend by visiting a set of Mayan ruins, Nim Li Punit.  All in all it was a wonderful weekend and it felt really really really good to be out and about, rather than staying cooped up in a classroom.  

Running out of time...hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the transition into fall!  Stay outta the heat!

Jacob

Answering questions...

So Bridget asked me how you catch a fish using a hand line. It really is just a line with a hook on the end.  As far as cutting my fingers goes, its a relatively thick line, and when the fish tugs you let him pull as much line as he wants!  It makes for a longer fight!!! I have also heard that sometimes people use a bicycle inner tube to protect your fingers.  Most of what we are catching is in the 6 inch range, so its not always necessary.

   As far as what training is like:

 Here is a normal daily routine:

I wake up at about 630, breakfast (called tea here)  and hit class by 830.  Mornings are spent learning Kriol.  We start out with a song (yesterday it was "Gimme da tik") and then move on to the main portion.  We may focus on food, or transportation, or go on a community walk and talk to people etc.  Our classroom is our trainer's ice cream parlour (don't be thinking baskin robbins here folks)  I am picking up the kriol pretty quickly.   Around 1130/12 we head home for dinner (lunch)  which is the big meal in Belize.  Unlike other central american countries there is no siesta :(  I have until about 130, when we return and our group of 6 busses about 15 miles away to little tiny Georgetown. There we meet up with the other three Youth Development volunteers for technical training.  We have studied how to set up a community garden, some games/initiatives to play with kids, what the role of a YD volunteer looks like, work in our PACA books (participatory analysis for community action) etc.  Gtown is a tiny Garifuna town with a serious bug problem.  We be talking sand flies, horse flies, botflies, mosquitoes and my personal favorite....fire ants (dont lean on a tree, sit on the grass, go barefoot or generally do anything natureish.)  These guys are serious!!! Its almost comical....almost.  My legs looked like I had leprosy for a bit!!!

  So yeah, afterwards (about 5) I go back to the house, have tea (a tiny dinner) go for a run and hang out (read, study, shower, chat etc)  I usually end up crashing pretty early unless a few of us get together for a drink.  

    I find myself starting to get used to things and looking at this as my life, as a regular routine, and not as much like a vacation.  Its a cool transition and I am happy about it.

   Still dont know about the placement....Ill update that as soon as I can, but really, I am kinda just gonna go with whatever I am given and be happy...its all about the journey!

   And no placencia yet :(  headed to punta gorda (south), some mayan ruins and the Blue caves tomorrow though!!!!

   Spanish:   a bit.  One of the guys that works for my host father is Honduran and I get to speak with him pretty much daily.  I really want to maintain and improve my spanish, I have talked to another volunteer about getting a tutor eventually.  I really want to keep learning!!!

Thats about all!

jake

AH...thats better!

Terra's host father, Elvis Leslie hauling in a bait net
Cast away???
Terra, Melissa, me and Chris on our island
Worshipping the sun

The cement shack next to my house.

Happy Monday people! Today starts the september month of celebrations. Among other things is Independence Day here in Belize (that would be the 21st) Essentially the entire month is a build up to that day. This weekend was wonderful. I spent a majority of it on the water, which was incredible. As a few of you have heard, at times it has been difficult for me to adjust. These past few days of relaxation and nature have turned me around 100%. Saturday I went out fishing with my host father and the host parents of another volunteer. We left at 4pm and ended up getting back at 1 in the morning. It was a long day to say the least! We set six nets, fished for 3 hours and then spent another three hours dragging all the nets in and removing the fish we had caught. It was a new experience for me to be so intimately involved in the commercial side of the whole fishing bit. The highlight of the night for me was catching a 2 foot long 12.5 lb Snook. He put up a fight!!! We were fishing with hand lines (basically throwing a fishing line into the water, no rod or reel, so fighting it was pretty intense. Iwas jumping back and forth on the boat as the fish swam from bow to stern, wrapping the line around the anchor and generally not going out without a battle. Sweet. All this got to happen as a mind blowing sunset slipped into a dark and star filled night.

The next day I returned to the water, same boat, but this time I was with 3 other volunteers. We got to tour the Big Creek deepwater port, view the shrimp farming operations and visit a super tiny deserted island for a bit. I got to show off my newly learned hand line fishing prowess and enjoy feeling comfortable. (I wasn't in a classroom and I was in the beautiful mangrove forests on the water, how could Jacob not be happy!)

Class is still going well, my host family are all very nice and I am adjusting and enjoying things here! Settlin in folks!

jake