Normalcy exhaustion

I just realized how out of place I am going to feel during my retreat in the states as I was chasing a large tarantula away from my door with a machete on my way to the latrine, lighting this expedition with my headlamp.  And this is a normal event and did not even cause my pulse to raise or anything.  

Other events from this week, a normal week.

• A 10 year old boy nearly chopped his foot off with a machete, and no one took him to the hospital because both his parents were gone from the village and he was being watched by his fathers first wife.  No, not first as in before a divorce, as in polygamy.  The boy is now fine thanks to someone finally coming to me and getting some antiseptic and bandages, but I was floored when I found out that multiple wives is not only accepted in my village, but it was our newly elected chairman who has the two wives.  He is such a smart, hard working guy.  Even weirder, I understand.  The second wife is the sister of the first, and her husband died and she was left with 6 kids to feed and send to school.  Without a husband, children starve, and few single men here would marry a woman with children.  It made me wonder what I would do.
  

• I went to another wedding on Sunday.  Same family that I lived with, another daughter.  Flora is the third born and the third to get married.  It was a beautiful wedding, at least it was lovely until I almost ran smack into two severed pigs heads hanging from the ceiling as I walked through the kitchen area on my way to greet the bride.  Don’t worry, I have pictures, which can in no way capture the smell of animal carcass after 6 hours in a tropical climate with refrigeration.  Did I mention that Flora just turned sixteen?  Another surprise.  I guess she has been engaged for a year and a half now, so its about time.
  

• My lovely neighbors across the road got a new stereo system from one of their sons who work up in the city.  I cannot even describe how unbelievably loud it is, especially at 4am when their house is up getting ready to catch the bus.  Earplugs and a pillow over my head couldn’t even touch the thumping bass of punta rock that shook me awake at that ungodly hour.  
  

• The water pump was fixed, so I don’t have to haul buckets of water around anymore, woo hoo!
  

All this normalcy is wearing me out; I need a vacation.  One that doesn’t involved hauling my sheets down to the river and sweating over a rock in the sun for an hour just to have clean linens, a break from the 5am wake-up calls from people who want to borrow onions/envelopes/band-aids/pens/etc., and a respite from hot, crowded school buses that stop every 5 miles to let the drunks stumble off, piss on the side of the bus, and run into the shop to get more beer.  If I sound bitter and jaded, don’t be fooled.  I still love my life, I am just going to love it a lot more after a 3 week break.

Mennonite Nights

One of the more fascinating dynamics to where I live in Belize is having
Mennonite neighbors. Many years ago, a few families left the United States
for Belize in order to have a quiet place to raise a farm and a family and
to be free to practice their religion. I respect that, and since then these
families have made quite a home for themselves. They also own and operate
most of the large parcels of farmland around Blue Creek, including hundreds
of acres of rice.

Recently I have gotten to know a few of the girls who were born and raised
here in Belize, but look and speak and much like myself. They come to the
library to check out books and we chat about life and boys. Last night I
went over to their house for dinner and got a taste of mid-western
hospitality in the middle of the jungle. Chicken meatloaf, mashed potatoes,
and rolls for dinner and a fresh mango pie for dessert, served with hot
coffee of course. We talked about our favorite recipes and the flowers in
their garden and their life in Belize. It was amazingly interesting and I
am glad I have had the opportunity to get to know this family. After dinner
one of the girls drove me back to my place, stopping on the way to pick up a
quart of fresh cows milk. I was excited about the fresh milk, the first I
have had since I have been here, but my excitement was curtailed when I was
attacked by their uncle's dogs as I stepped from the truck. I wasn't
injured too badly, but it did shake me up pretty bad, and I have a pretty
good scratch and a ruined skirt to show for it. No harm done, the dogs were
just doing their job.

I got back to my house and patched up my wound and reflected on how strange
my life can be. One night I am eating tortillas and beans by Kerosene lamp
while sitting on a bucket and the next I am sitting in a clean, Western
kitchen eating mashed potatoes and pie with a white table cloth and flowers
on the table.

Homecoming

Did I fail to mention that I after I dropped my friend off at the airport
and returned to my village, looking forward to getting back into the swing
of things, I turned on my water pipe to wash off my dusty feet only to find
absolutely nothing. Seems that sometime over the past two days the newly
elected water board had turned off the pump that feeds to village. They did
this in order to clean the tank and upon cranking it back up discovered that
it was dead. No pump, no water in the tank, no water in the village. Now -
I have maintained during my time in Belize that I would rather be without
electricity than without running water, and now having lived without both at
one time or another, I stand by that assertion. Hauling 10-gallon buckets
full of river water or water from the school rain vat is a chore, and doing
dishes is much more inconvenient when they have to be carried to the river
in order to avoid using precious drinking water. I have been told that the
new pump should come soon, which is anywhere between 2 days and 2 months.
Seems like a perfect time for a vacation.

As I write this, sweating from laundry, dishes, and hauling water, I glance
over at my cat just in time to see her running across the floor with a
5-inch lizard in her mouth. Yuck. Being the well-fed feline that she is,
she insists on throwing the dead reptile around my room before nibbling at
some of the tastier parts. It looks like the tail has already detached, and
I can only hope that I don't find it under my pillow tonight. Ahh, it's
nice to be home again.

Great Weather for River Otters

So TL is gone. Now who am I going to speak Norwegian with? Guess I'll have to focus on my Mopan and K'etchi . Her journey to Belize was awesome, and I think I gave her a pretty good idea of what my life is like. So if you need to know what it's like to be me, you can just ask her (of course you can still always just ask me, but if I'm not around, she'll work too).

We rode on a lot of buses, ate lots of rice, and sweated even more. She went to meetings with me, smiled at the little kids in my village as they followed us around, and drank Belikin Stout at a less than reputable establishment (what were those women selling out of those fanny packs anyways?) She even got to see the power of the rainy season in the rain forest as my ever beautiful river became a raging beast that swallowed the bridge and our plans to go to a soccer game in one bite. Oh well, we both maintained a relaxed Central American attitude and rolled with it. We did make it the Belize Zoo, which may be the coolest little zoo in the world. With no worries about lawsuits (I think that requires a country with lawyers), they let you get up and personal with some really friendly Jaguars, Monkeys, Toucans, and Otters. Just don't put your fingers through the fence, or do, no one is going to stop you at the Belize Zoo.

Having a guest was great, but it made me realize a couple of things. 1) I really do miss home and all the nice things: good smelling fabric softener, coffee, and not sweating; and 2) I really do love Belize and it is very much home to me now, crowded buses, starchy food, and never-ending rain and all. So I will see many of you back state-side soon enough and by the way, whoever is picking me up at the airport (yes Mom, that's you) better be prepared to make a swing through the Wendy's drive-through for a Frosty. That's a command, not a request.

How to travel like a PCV and other lessons from Belize

When I first received my invitation to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in
Belize, I can't even tell you how many people told me that they were going
to come and visit me (well, I could tell you, but then I'd have to...).
Fast forward one year and the only people who had so far visited me were my
parents, twice, because they love me. And now as of last Tuesday I can add
to that list of truly dedicated my roommate and best friend. She made
sacrifices and suffered so that she could spend two weeks sweating in the
jungle, being bitten by mosquitoes and fighting off snakes. Okay, I lie.
Actually she cashed in some airline miles and showed up Belize for a 2-week
long tropical vacation, but I have to make it sound tough so that everyone
else reading this doesn't get too jealous.

We started our vacation in Belize City with a not-so-crazy night of playing
Hearts with other PCV's. Then it was off to the Caribbean paradise of Caye
Caulker for some R&R. On a whim and despite terribly rough seas, we joined
up with a snorkeling tour at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Good choice. A
full day in the water paid off with close-enough-to-touch encounters with 6'
sting rays, nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays, manatees, and loggerhead
turtles as big as me. We also saw our share of colorful little fish, eels,
and coral. By far the best $40 I have spent in this country. After Caye
Caulker we headed straight south so that I could do some work and TL could
sit back and watch how PCV work is done. I facilitated a meeting of
Belizeans dedicated to protecting the environment in the warehouse that
supplies cacao to Green & Blacks, an organic chocolate now available at
Target. Then a last minute trip to Placencia to say goodbye to some great
friends who have decided to cut their PC experience short and return to the
states gave us some additional beach time. Placencia is also home to
fantastic Gelato and cheap rum drinks, a recipe for a great day.

Now we relax in Blue Creek, after arriving here in true Toledo style. A 6am
bus ride to the Dump junction, a 5 mile ride in the back of a Ministry of
Health Truck, 1.5 miles of walking with too much stuff, .5 miles in an old
school bus to the quarry, then another 1.5 miles in the back of another
truck and we landed at my doorstep. I demonstrated how to do laundry in the
river, we took a swim, ate lunch, then a nap. A great day.

PS: My cat decided that she needed a vacation and abandoned Jeff who was
watching her while she was gone. I was a little sad and worried about her
chances versus a Jaguar, but shortly after we arrived, she showed up at my
house, still happy and healthy.

Hurikayne Seezon

It's that time of year, ladies and gentleman, that exciting season that we
have all been anticipating. It's HURRICANE SEASON! Finally, after months
of hum-drum weather and pathetic little rain showers, we are cranking up the
power. Bring on the inch a minute precipitation and the palm rattling
winds.

I have my pig-tail bucket* all packed up with soda crackers and peanut
butter and I have my radio tuned to Belize Love FM** for all those
informative updates. All I need now is a storm. So weather Gods, don't
disappoint me this year, I need a little action. Not too much, no category
3 and above please, but something to keep life interesting. A good
evacuation and rations by candle-light while the thunder and lightening
lights up the sky, doesn't that sound romantic? Keep it tuned here for
updates.

Just one month until my big trip to the states! Looking forward to fresh
raspberries, real ice cream, air conditioning, movie theatres, coffee shops,
summer ale, pine trees, and all of you.

- Love

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* A pig-tail bucket is a 5-gallon bucket (known as a car-wash bucket back in
the states) that once contained pickled pig-tails, a Belizean delicacy.
These buckets seal tightly, are water-proof, and also make great extra
seating for guests.
** The only station where you can get news, Celine Dion, weather, Big
N'Rich, and Bob Marley in the same hour.