A month in Belize!

Baanu! (Hello in Q’eqchi)

Hope everyone’s doing well up in the States! I figured it’s been just about a month down here, so it’s probably time for another blog post. I also said I’d post some pictures at some point, so I’ll throw some of those up at the bottom here. We’ve been keeping really busy, the training schedule is pretty rigorous being M-F 8a-5p, longer if we have to go into Belmopan for training days in the office. We sometimes have homework on the weekends as well, and most of our free time is spent hanging out with our host families. We’re also starting some projects around here in Valley of Peace where we’re staying, so that’ll just add to all the stuff we’re doing. Everyone’s super pumped about those though, and all 17 of us are involved in multiple projects. So far, we’re working on putting together a literacy club every T and Th, sports clinics on Saturdays (both of which we’re starting this week, WOO!), a trash cleanup project we’re kicking off in two weeks, and we’re working on putting together a mural of the world map hopefully on the back of the library that we’ll get a bunch of the local kids involved in. Especially pumped about the first two, but all the projects will be fantastic. I think we’re all glad to be giving back to the community in some way, since we’re spending 3 months here and hadn’t done anything for them up until now. We met with the village council last weekend to discuss everything, and they were on board with everything we had planned, so we’re excited about that as well.

It’s not aaalll work work work all the time though, which is nice. We have 4 culture days throughout PST that allow us to experience a lot of the different cultures around Belize, which is awesome. Our first one was last week, and Mayan was up first. We went to a place called Maya Centre, which was pretty awesome. Being a part of the Q’eqchi crew, we were all super pumped for everyone else to experience some of the Mayan culture we’ve been living in for the past three weeks, and it was fantastic. We got to see some traditional Mayan artifacts like the Marimba instrument, some dancing, chocolate making, bug repellant making, traditional lunch of Caldo (which I’ll come back to in a second), and we learned a ton about the history of the Mayan people in Belize. It was fascinating. Now, Caldo. I seriously cannot get enough of this stuff, it’s so amazing. Caldo is a spicy soup that’s the traditional dish of the Mayan people. It’s usually served with chicken (chilan) and either tortilla (wa, pronounced kwah) or poch (which is basically a giant corn brick). I love this stuff. I had it 4 times last week and I’m still not sick of it. And the WA! I love normal tortillas, but the way the Mayan people make wa is so so so much better than any tortillas I’ve ever had. It’s super thin and fantastic, and it’s awesome to see people make it. It’s traditionally the Mayan women who make them (xorok – to make tortillas), but I’ve tried making them once. It actually came out pretty round, but they’re supposed to puff up on the tortilla stone (q’il) when they’re done, and mine definitely did not puff up. Sad day. Still delicious though! Anyway, culture day 1 was awesome, next one is Mestizo (Spanish) a week from Friday and that’ll be awesome too.

Other fun stuff! Hanging with our homestay families is a blast, and my little sister is starting to get more used to me being around, so we play a lot, and that’s pretty great. Hanging out with the rest of BH4 (our cohort) is always a good time, because everyone is wonderful. Learning with the Q’eqchi crew is pretty damn great, and it feels like we’re all coming along really well. On that note, if you’re reading this, we miss you Carly! We’re all sending you our best and hope everything is well back home. Playing with the kids around here is a blast. We ran off to get banana peanut butter smoothies the other day after training (even more amazing than it sounds, especially because they can make them sin leche [without milk]) and ended up playing football (soccer) with some of the kids for awhile in the yard of the shop. So much fun. Chatting with everyone in VoP (Valley of Peace) is such an awesome experience as well. Eating. Seriously, we’d all get super fat around here if we weren’t walking and exercising a ton. The food is soo good, and I swear to you, I’ve never had better pineapple (ch’op in Q’eqchi) and cantaloupe in my life. And mangoes. Blech to the avocados (o) though. For all of you that know that I dislike avocado’s (here’s looking at you Jen and Q), I tried a fresh one the other day when my host mom served it to me with lunch, and I just couldn’t do more than the one piece I had. Just can’t do it, more o for the rest of y’all then! I’ve also had fresh coconut (ko’ok) and that’s spectacular. Star showers! (chahim achink!) This is my favorite part of every night. I bucket bathe outside every night, and there’s nothing quite like looking up and seeing a bajillion stars. It’s breathtaking how many there are out here on a clear night. Finally, just being here in general is amazing. Some days are tough, and it feels like the language isn’t going as well as it should (no worries, it is, especially for being 3 weeks into it), the people don’t want us here, or it’s just really effing hot. But those days are few and far between. Most days I really do love it here. Belize is a strikingly beautiful country, the people are amazing, the culture is fascinating, and the people I’m with are beyond spectacular. Frequently I have a moment here that’s just so amazing that I’m left stunned thinking, “This is exactly where I’m supposed to be right now.” It happens more than you’d think, but it’s great reassurance that I’m not only doing what I’m passionate about and have been dreaming of most of my life, but that it feels right here too. What’s even better about all that, is that I’m pretty sure most (if not all) of us have felt something similar at least once since coming down here. Crazy to think it'll be a month Friday!

Still, it is challenging. The language is hard, integration is a 24/7 job, and while I enjoy more alone time than most of my colleagues, that’s a double-edged sword. It’s nice to be able to get some solo time especially given how exhausting training is, but I also wish at the same time that I was spending that with my family or out in the community. I think all things considered though, there’s been a pretty good balance. I’ve fallen into a bit of a routine here now. Mornings I wake up, clean my room and sweep, then study or read in my room until breakfast. I’ll hang out with the family for a bit and get ready to leave for the day. Training all day, home for lunch and back again, then home for supper. I’ll usually decompress a little bit in my room until dinner, then hang out with the family most of the night until around 7 or 8. Star shower, read or study a bit, maybe watch a movie with the family, and head to bed early. Most nights I’m out by 8:30 or 9 (having to get up around 5:30/6 every morning), and rarely I’ll be in bed as late as 10. Saturdays I’ll lounge about a bit, maybe get together with some fellow trainees, and help my host dad out in the afternoon if there’s something that needs doing around the house. Sundays are extended family days, and we go to my host dad’s parents every Sunday, usually for lunch. They almost always serve Caldo, so I mega love that, and my host grandpa is awesome (and super helpful with Q’eqchi). He told me last week I was coming along well, so that was really encouraging. It’s still really difficult to understand a lot of what they’re saying when speaking to each other since they talk so fast, but again, 3 weeks in.

Overall though, things are amazing down here. Getting ready for month 2 of Belize, and before I know it, I’ll no longer be a PCT (trainee), but a sworn in PCV (volunteer) on September 15. It’s nuts how fast the time is flying, but as our CD (country director) told us early on, the key is to “Be present.”

As promised, here are some pictures below!

Grant, Mia and me on a teeter-totter near our hotel the first week in Belmopan.

People crowding around Mia’s mad piano skills while Josh films it.

First week at CBT (community based training), birthday party at my little sister’s friends house.

 Piñata broken, kids scrambling for candy!

Our first project here, community garden!

4^th of July with everyone at the office!

Some of the awesome scenery on the way to Maya Centre, got yelled at for sticking my head out the window to get this shot. Worth it.

Lindsey! Seriously one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in your life.

Sorry Andy, your face is priceless here.

Chat (aachinak!). Chat is absolutely hysterical, never fails to make us all laugh all the time.

















Learning about herbs and making insect repellant at Maya Centre.