PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

Last night I went to a birthday party of an older guy in the village that now calls me his son. He is quite the comedian and although he was turning 64, he swore that he was really 18. Never mind the grand kids piled on his lap or the scores of family that were in attendance, he was only 18. He sure acts like it anyway, and I couldn't be happier because of it.

When he told me of his party during the morning, I knew that's where I'd be later in the evening. I also thought that there would be some kind of partying going on being that it was Fat Tuesday after all. I assumed they would call it something different. Not Fat Tuesday, not Carnival... Nothing. No one was doing anything. As I walked home around 9 pm (well past my bedtime), the village was completely dead.

Mr. Cantun even had a sister who lived in New Orleans that called to wish him a happy birthday but most of them were convinced that Mardis Gras was a celebration only in the States. Never mind the many more people in the world that celebrate Carnival in a much bigger way than anyone in New Orleans ever dreamed of.

I guess to my surprise, this is just one of the things that Belizeans miss out on. They have every other holiday that they celebrate as well as all the British holidays they still observe from when they were a colony. Carnival must have slipped through the cracks. I know its still relevant because I heard rumors of people going to Chetumal, Mexico to partake in the big festivals that were going on there. That is only 25 miles away. Surely, people here would have heard of it? Nope. Not even a little bit.

The biggest surprise is how much of a Catholic community this is. Or the country is for that matter to miss out on something such as this. Most Belizeans either don't party at all, and the rest seem to make up for those who don't. There are times when just like us, never mind a reason to party, they just do it. So on one of the most internationally renowned days to drink of the year do Belizeans seem to abstain? It doesn't make sense. Seems to go against the laws of gravity.

Tonight at church they get to break in the new Deacon. Its supposed to be a big deal. I don't really know what that means but Ash Wednesday is no laughing matter. Its a big day from what little I know. They celebrate that, why not the day before. Lent hasn't really come up in conversation either.

Which leads me to my big question: Is something missing in Belize or are my conceptions of Catholics in the States wrong? Probably both, but one thing is certain: Catholics here and Catholics at home are not exactly the same.