PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

Did I fall in love on Valentine's Day this year? I most certainly did. I fell more in love than before.

I was asked to go out to a farm with my friend Andrew to help with cows. Little did I know that I would running the cows and helping to move them around to brand them. This was much easier and much harder than I had expected. Much easier because I didn't think the cows would be so dumb to run together in a pack directly where we wanted them to and trap themselves. Much harder because while I would never proclaim myself to be an animal rights activist, some of the things I watched were not so easy to stomach.

We left around 9am to the farm which is about 4 miles north of Yo Creek.

We pulled up and there were about 4 other guys there waiting for us. We were bringing the brand, so we were important. We started a nice fire and put the piece of iron in the fire until it was needed.

Most of the guys worked for Andrew's family. 1 guy was from the Ministry of Agriculture who comes to help out when needed. He did most of the work and administered all the shots the cows received in order to protect them from ticks and parasites.

I mostly just watched and moved boards from time to time when I was needed. It was an easy job. Some may say that animals don't have souls, but I can assure you they were afraid of what was about to happen to them.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for a feast. Andrew's family came out to the farm and barbequed chicken with rice and beans. Once again, another Sunday where I didn't have to cook anything. I sat around in a hammock most of the day and listened to the radio play love ballads with everyone while we told stories of Belizean folk lore. I think I heard the Spanish version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Dear Mama" by Tupac at least 20 times.

As we were coming back to the village, I learned some things that I didn't really care to know but am thankful now that I know them. The farm that his family owns was previously a huge marijuana plantation. There is wreckage of an airplane that was shot down by the Belizean government years ago. The story goes that most elders in Yo Creek used to work as look outs and security for the Americans that used to own the fields. Lets just say that a few of those Americans ended up dead and the problem seemed to fix itself. When I get the full story, I will be sure to fill you in with pictures but those aren't quite available yet.

I finally came home to find one of the teachers had made me some bread and brought it to my house. I, of course, used it to make peanut butter and jelly and called it a night.

Chalk it up to another day of integration and Sunday lovin'.