7am: Celine Time

Yes, it's true, I live in the jungle.  Away from the bothers and annoyances of modern life, right?  My closest neighbors live in a traditional thatch house, wash at the river, and cook over a fire, but they have one rocking stereo system and a massive TV antenna coming out of their thatch.  That's cool, to each his own.  I've learned quite a bit about Belizean Maya taste in music thanks to these neighbors.  For instance, they can play the same CD, at the same time everyday and never ceased to be enthralled by the capability of their sound system to entertain the entire village.  When I first moved in to the teachers house, their music was of the predictable reggae tone and punta rock, but I think someone got a new CD for Christmas and is attempted to wear it out.

That's right folks, Celine Dion's "A New Day" and I have been reunited.  I say reunited because back in the days of PLU, I had these wacky roommates who were slightly obsessed with Ms. Celine, and would spend hours singing into an inflatable mic to the very album that now serenades me EVERY SINGLE DAY. So, to those roommies who shall remain anonymous for their own coolness (hey, I think that you're cool), I think of you each morning at 7am as I drink my coffee to Have you Ever Been in Love.

In other news, on Sunday I traveled out beyond the reach of electricity and modern life.  Nick, a fellow PCV, lives out on the border with Guatemala in Dolores village.  A girl that is working down here with a research farm was driving down that way, so Jeff and I tagged along.  We were lucky enough to arrive in Dolores on the Alcalde's (village leader) birthday, so to celebrate they were having a greased pole contest.  The village erects a 40 ft. stripped log that has been greased with lard and then men from the village take turns trying to climb to the top, where two Cokes and $20 was placed a plastic bag.  After a few hours, the winner used two ropes to tighten around the log and then created footholds with the ropes, loosening and tightening his way up the pole.  Afterwards another village came over to play a soccer match, though I regretfully cannot report the winner since I had to leave before the match was complete.

I put some pictures up to go along with the day in Dolores, so enjoy.