Rain Rain Rain

So it's rainy season. It's also September, which means nothing gets accomplished in school. Sure, school is in. The kids come to the building daily, but that doesn't mean they are learning anything.


Yesterday, school was cancelled because of rain. Something about some guy named Karl had a hurricane named after him. It didn't hit here and it was a weak storm to begin with. Just 10 hours of rain that caused the Ministry of EDU to cancel school for the day. That's no big deal, but then I would have expected better today. Nope.

In fact, our STD6 has been on the loose all day. The boys came and hung out with me for over an hour. When I asked them why they weren't in class, they said they were working.
"Working on what?" I asked.
"We don't know, our teacher just told us to go work. So we came to hang out with you," student replied.

Awesome. What are the girls doing? Decorating for a rally that we are having tomorrow. Bottom line is nothing will get done in September. Sometimes we blame it on the rain, most of the time we don't need an excuse.

September is a time for celebrations, which is why they are referred to as the "September Celebrations." Even though there are really only 2 holidays on the 10th and the 21st. Never mind all that. We will have a parade and a float and something else to do everyday of the month.

Most curriculum can't even begin until October. So why don't they just say that? Last year I was told that nothing would happen in September, but I didn't believe anyone. Wow oh wow was I ever wrong.


All the Rage right now

While I don't live in the Toledo District that is mostly comprised of indigenous Mayans, the country is small enough that any news is news everyone hears about.


Believe it or not, Belize has made it all the way to CNN! Not really in the best light but its there regardless.

It all started last sunday when 2 kids went from their village in San Marcos to Punta Gorda Town to sell lime and craboo. They never made it back. Some say they were kidnapped but the bottom line is the kids are still missing and no one knows what happened to them.

As you can imagine, the public was outraged. The police did nothing. This is very usual. I could never imagine a police department more worthless than is the one in Belize. More specifically just the enforcement in general.

Well when the police did nothing, the Mayan people did what they have always done. They went to the local oracle to ask for guidance. This may seem crazy to you but this is the custom and how things are done here. It was done this way for thousands of years before police were around and when the police fail to do their job, it still has a place in the community.

Well this oracle told the villages that these white people who own a crocodile sanctuary ate the hearts of their children and then fed the rest of their bodies to the crocodiles. As you can imagine, this outraged the village. They chartered a bus and went to the sanctuary and burnt down the compound while carrying rifles and machetes.

Luckily the owner and his wife were not there, but all of their property was destroyed. The fire department says they are "looking into the matter further" but I can almost guarantee that no arrests will be made. This is life here and life will go on.

I have included a few links that will show the difference in news coverage you are used to and stories from places like CNN and then from our local Channel 7 here in Belize. Enjoy!

Belize News Sources

CNN version

Long Overdue Absence

It's been awhile. I would and should apologize but then again, I will just use the excuse that I was busy. It's not entirely true but it kind of is.


The truth is actually far from being busy. I have been busy over the summer but in a different way. Where as during the school year I am busy at school (which consists of a lot of time in front of the computer, writing this blog), during the summer I am busy in a totally different kind of way.

I'm free during the summer. I can mostly do whatever I want and am not held down by the ups and downs and expectations of the school day. So because of that I got to travel around a lot and help other people with their projects. I also didn't really have to ask permission to do projects in Yo Creek like I have to have approval for everything from someone on staff before I do anything. I can make my own agenda which is a lot more liberating.

I will also blame Melissa for my lack of blogging. This is, again, a horrible excuse but having a visitor for 2 months doesn't allow for a lot of time in front of a computer. We were too busy seeing and exploring.

The bottom line is it is becoming harder and harder to write about Belize in a way that you can understand because it is becoming more and more of everyday life. I don't understand how people can write blogs back home where they do the same thing everyday. Well I see how they can do it, but why would they expect people to ever read it? That's where I am today.

Yo Creek is still just as amazing as it was the day I moved here almost a year ago, but very few things are new. And if they are new, very few things are story worthy in a way that anyone would understand. I'll try my best but all of the funny pictures and surprising things to find have probably been found.

But, now school is back in and I will try to post at least once a week. I have a lot to catch up on from over the summer and many many pictures to post.

Chess Camp



Since most kids have nothing to do during the summers, I decided to have a chess camp and work with the Belize National Youth Chess Foundation to host a chess camp in the village. The community center let us use the space for free and all the boards were provided by BNYCF.

We had 18 kids come for 5 days and most of them are very qualified chess players now who can teach other kids once school starts and the excitement grows.

I made a little movie for them and attached it above.

Count It!

The 2010 census is happening in Belize just like back in the mother land. I didn't think I would or should be included but the nice little census guy assured me that I should be included. I agreed with this authority of the law and quickly realized a few things:

  • All I do is skew results
  • I'm probably the only person in the country who lives in a 5 room house with no furniture
  • 5 bedrooms but no stove? Yup, that's me
  • AC in the house? yes. Bathtub? yes. Radio? No
  • Hours per week you work? Define work...
  • Religion? none. - That's not an option, can you pick one? No
  • Children? 172 of them ranging in age from 5-14 (he didn't like that answer)
  • Ethnicity? Is gringo an option? No. OK, I guess I'll be white.

Either way you look at it, I shouldn't be included in this census but since I live there more than 6 months and plan on being there more than a year longer, I get counted. I'm not sure if its just a ploy to increase numbers or to find out just how many outsiders call their country home. Either way, I'm counted and from the numbers, I don't think I did a great job of representing the average Belizean.

Some Random Pictures

For all you visual people
This place gets better every time I walk past it

In case you couldn't read it the first time. I doubt they even know who Bob Barker is and the question that will forever be in my mind is "What does great dog taste like?" For those of you who don't speak a lick of Spanish... Se Vende = For sale

My little friend hanging out in my tomato plant, there is usually a huge lizard there too but he is a bit too fast to take a picture of

Part of the destruction my body took while climbing Victoria's Peak. In all there were:
  • 9 blisters
  • 7 ticks (1 found 3 days later between my toes)
  • countless bug bites
  • Many splinters
  • 2 bad burns on my hips from my pack

I made the mistake of reaching a tree instead of falling, only problem was the tree had thorns. This is after cutting them all out



Hay mucho polbo = There is lots of dust. This is what happens when you hitch hike and have 1 leg hanging out of the truck because there isn't enough room for both of them

Speaking of hitch hiking, you know you are beginning to get integrated when you can pass out in the back of a truck sitting next to a police officer on his way to work. Classic Emily. She is classy after all


You do the math... 24 seats x 2 people per seat should = 48 right? I guess 84 sounded better. Welcome to public transport in Belize. I'm pretty sure I've been on a bus with well over 100 people. Somehow it works

Subway of Belize City

After seeing a sign such as this, it may seem like a beacon of hope. Belize City is the capitol of Belize. It has skyscrapers, train systems, and millions of people right? Wrong. It has no buildings over probably 15 stories, no efficient public transit system, and only about 70,000 people. It is per capita the highest murder rate in the world. It may sound dangerous but its only because there aren't that many people. This "Subway" is at the heart of Belize City. Every time I see it, I get excited. Every time I think of what is inside, I get sad.
You see... this is not a Subway at all. It may be a sub shop, but that doesn't mean it's any good. It used to be a real Subway, but then it was too expensive to pay for the meat to be shipped in and the franchise refused to have its name on something that wasn't to the industry standard. So they pulled out. That doesn't, however, mean they took the signs down. Its much cheaper to just leave everything.
The sign still stands today. The breads, the sauces, the cheeses, pictures... everything is like a real Subway in the United States. The only problem is just because there is a picture of it on the menu, or a oven that says Subway on it, doesn't mean you can expect it to taste anything like you'd want it to.


Why the sign may say one thing, what is inside is obviously different. It's just a skeleton of what should be a Subway. Instead of delicious fresh baked cookies wafting throughout the air, it smells more like Belize City. Dirty. Dirty. Dirty. But then again, on my 2 times walking into this place, I have never seen a Belizean try to eat there. They know better. They are smarter than that.
Want a soda? You better like Sprite. Its the only thing available.
Just how you cant judge a book by its cover, you cant judge a Subway by the sign out front.

Hace Calor!

The saying goes that it's so hot outside that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Well here in Belize, sidewalks are kind of rare but I'm pretty sure that you could fry an egg anywhere you wanted. It would taste better too because it would be fresh from the Mennonites. The egg might even still be warm, straight from the chicken.
As you know, I live in Orange Walk District. Its in the North of Belize. It's hot here. It's usually abbreviated OW for short, but now I'm just starting to realize what OW stands for. OW is due to the heat because it gets so hot that it hurts and makes you say OW! For example:
  • Last Sunday- 112 degrees with a heat index of 123
  • Last Monday- 109 degrees with a heat index of 117
  • This Monday- 100.9 degrees at 8:30am

Those may be the extremes but that doesn't mean we get a nice 80 degree day anytime either. It's hot everyday. It hasn't rained in weeks and I sometimes get hot showers now due to how hot the water gets in the pipe before it turns cold.

I shower on minimum thrice daily. Yes, I just used the word thrice. I don't care about cleanliness, I care about cooling my body from extreme heat.

Luckily, most of the day I sit in an air conditioned computer lab in pure bliss until I open the door and the sweat begins to pour.

The worst part are the nights. My idea of cooling off is rolling over from my back to my stomach so the sweat from my back can be cooled by the 2 fans blowing on me. I'm like a rotisserie chicken, ever 5 minutes, just turn me over.

It's a great life and I wouldn't change it for the world but I am beginning to understand why Mateo (a 3rd year volunteer) said he had to go home before the summer because he simply couldn't do another summer here.

I guess this the beginning of 2. I hope I survive. Just be thankful my water isn't metered so I can shower all day to keep cool.

Cinco de Mayo

I shouldn't even waste my time on this but since I did St. Patrick's Day and Fat Tuesday, I might as well fill you in on this one too.

It's pretty simple.
Nothing happened.

Once again, no one drinking, no one dancing. No need to go out and party like a fool.

I'm starting to think its more because places of the world like this have something the United States doesn't have: Culture.

Not that the US doesn't have culture, but not a unified culture. Unless you count being xenophobic or flying an American Flag outside your house having culture, but sorry... I don't.

I see culture every day. It's unique, beautiful, and inspiring everyday. Some of it may be boring, but it was created hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago when things were as exciting to watch.

Speaking of years, the US is pretty young. Only 234 years old. May seem like a long time but in the grand scheme of things we are young. Belize may only be 28 years old but the culture was here long before colonialism ever came around.

I think the most disappointing thing about how the US celebrates made up holidays that are supposed to represent other countries' culture is how unwelcoming we are of other cultures. People are busy getting drunk right now, with sombrero on, dancing salsa, trying to be Mexican while in the same country we do our best to keep Mexicans out.

The US is what it is today because of the influence of other cultures and mass immigration, but somewhere along the way, many people decided we couldn't fit anymore. Or better yet, we don't want anymore. Now, those people are Mexicans or anyone of Latin decent and Arizona doesn't want them.

I just hope no one in Arizona is celebrating Cinco de Mayo while at the same time hoping more "Mexican looking people" get arrested for being anything other than white and speaking a language other than English.

Crazy how fast we celebrate the culture of the "other" while making damn sure they don't become one of "us."

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Bill Cosby used to host this TV show back in the day that I never watched but was titled "Kids Say the Darnedest Things."

Yes, they do.

I had them make Mother's Day Cards and then we would print them out. Seems easy, seems fun. Not easy, not fun, but perhaps very funny. Some of the best quotes were:

  • "Mom, thank you for not lashing me, I love you."
  • "Mom you are beautiful and big"
  • "Mom you are fat."
  • "I love when you cook for me"
  • "Your eyes are the color of mud"
  • "You are the best mom I have in this world"

I wish that some of these could be funny if only taken out of context, but for most of them, its simply what they wrote. When I would ask the kids if they were sure that's what they wanted to say, they were adamant about it. I asked the teacher and she said it was fine. Who knows. As much as I try to understand cultural communication, there are some things I may never get.

I may be completely wrong too and the meanings of what those kids wrote is not even close to what I think they mean. Bottom line is every single kid out of 149 mentioned either "I love you" or "Happy Mother's Day," so that has to count for something.

And on that note, Happy Mother's Day a bit early Mom. I love you and sorry I cant be there this year. I'll try my best to call you.

Mangos

Go to your local Kroger or King Soupers today and check out how much mangos are. I bet they are over $1 each. How much are they here?

FREE

Why? Well, just like money in the United States, they grow on trees. They are everywhere. Sounds delicious right. But there is a catch 22 in every situation.

For some odd reason, Belizeans love salt and pepper. So instead of waiting for the mangos to become ripe, they pick them, peel them, and put salt and pepper on them until they taste good.

The idea of waiting for them to become ripe when they are sweet and delicious seems to fall on deaf ears. Similar to sarcasm and inside jokes.

The catch 22 is something I am waiting to find out. Will there be so many mangos once they are ripe that we must eat them before they go bad? By eating them now when they are green, does it help them so none are wasted?

I don't know the answer to this, but if kids keep coming to school everyday with salt, pepper, and mango in a bag and in a few months when they are ripe I cant find any of them... I'm gonna be pissed.

Think about that next time you go to the grocery and think about buying fresh fruit. Is it really fresh if there are only 3 months of the year where people who live where it grows can eat it?

Victoria's Peak

Someone had the great idea to climb Victoria's Peak. You, like everyone else, may be saying to yourself: What is Victoria's Peak? Well for all you business savvy people out there, here is a bulleted list:
  • At 3,675 feet Victoria's Peak is the highest mountain in Belize
  • Fewer People have climbed this mountain than Everest
  • The hike usually takes 5 days 4 nights with stops at 12k, 19k, 19k, 12k
  • The hike is 27k up and 27k down to make 54km
  • 54km is roughly 33.5 miles
  • We hiked it in 3 days 2 nights only stopping at 19k and 12k
  • It was the worst decision I've ever made
  • 8 left for the hike, 5 made it to summit
  • I made it
  • I do not recommend anyone in their right mind to do this

This was part of the Jaguar Preserve, but we didn't see any. Look at how happy we looked, we almost enjoyed one another.
Now, for those of you who prefer more of a story... here we go.

We camped the night before at base camp (0 km) and left at 6am. By the pictures, you can tell we look clean and well rested. We didn't know what we were about to get ourselves into. We left full of smiles and the first 12 km were a breeze. Most of the trails were nice and wide with wooden bridges over the streams so we wouldn't get wet. We were chatting it up like it was a Sunday stroll without a care in the world. The 30 lbs on my back was nothing. I may have only brought bagged re fried beans, a loaf of bread, some tortillas and a jar of peanut butter, but I had more than enough. Its only a little hike.

Heather, hating her life first. This is 15k when most of us are already thinking "Why the hell am I doing this?"

We crossed over a river at 12 km and stopped to have a small bite to eat. We were all feeling great and my Keens were holding up just as I thought they would. I brought tennis shoes just in case but didn't plan on needing them. Keens can do anything. Now notice some of the faces in the pictures, we are already starting to hate our lives around 14km and we had no idea that we hadn't even reached the hard parts yet. The first day we were hiking to 19 km to camp. The 2nd day we would summit and then stop at 19k again before hiking out the last 19k on Monday morning. As you can imagine, the plan never works out the way it was planned.


Adam wringing out the sweat from his bandanna while we caught our breath and pounded fluids.
Luckily, it wasn't too hot up there. It was probably around 80 degrees most of the hike. Not to mention we were covered by dense jungle about 90% of the time. This may lead you to believe that we were not sweating. This is not true. I have never sweat more in my life. Most of the hike wasn't fun, but we didn't quite know what torture was yet to begin with. We were just searching for the next pole in the ground to tell us how far we had to go.


Adam trying to be sexy at the waterfall. I just wanted water. More H2O please.
17 km was the worst on the first day. It is almost entirely up hill. I know, I know. Its a mountain, it's all up hill right? Right, but not in the way you are thinking. The difference between this measly 3,675 ft peak and a 14,000 ft peak is 1 thing, the little guy is harder.

You see in the US and most hikes you go on, they have these things called switchbacks that allow you to ascend the mountain but not go straight up. You have to walk farther but its not as strenuous and allows for more people of less skill to complete the hike. Not in Belize. It was straight up and straight down. We got our water from streams along the way and pumped them through a filter to purify it. The only problem was when you reached a stream, it meant that you had to go back up hill again. Which is so much harder than it seems.

Dense Jungle and a small clearing where we finally got to put our eye on the prize
At 18 km, we got our first glimpse of old Victoria herself. It was intimidating how steep it was. The picture does not do her justice. We pulled into 19k and thought we were close to death. There was not much talking anymore and most people ate some food, drank fluids, bathed in the river, set up tents, and went to bed around 7pm to wake up at 4am for the hike to the summit.


Me, making it to 19 km, when I was pulled to the site by the spirit of Rambo.
The 19 km camping ground wasn't exactly what most would consider a camping ground but there was a clearing and a make shift structure with half a roof. Good enough. Our feet were disgusting, I had 1 blister by this point.

Katie's feet, mine didn't look any better. Lt. Dan was right about those socks after all.
It is also important to mention that my Keens did fail me. For those of you who really know me, you can imagine how disappointed I was in myself and in my footwear. I had to switch to shoes halfway up the hill at 17 km. I never put them back on my feet until I reached Yo Creek. They are somewhat broken but far from not being able to wear them.

Me feeling like absolute hell
We left the next morning by headlamp at 5am. I couldn't figure out why, but then after awhile I realized the trick our guide was playing on us. He had hiked Victoria's 25 times and knew how us gringos would react if we knew just how steep the hill we were climbing was. Lucky for us, we could only see as far as our lights would show and just took it one step at a time. One of the hardest things was after the 20 km point the marker signs stopped showing up, but we didn't know that. We thought that the 20th km was the longest one yet and we had been hiking for hours and still hadn't come close to 21 km. Then Marcelo, our Mayan guide, told us we were past 24 km. This was when your mind began to play tricks on you.

Determined. Ready. Stubborn.
I like to think I've done some really stupid things in my day. All the hard workouts from growing up being a wrestler to the 52 1/2 poles in baseball, but nothing ever compared to this. I'm not one to feel sorry for myself on a tough workout, but I was on the verge of tears a few times. On the uphills, my quads would cramp, on the downhills, my hamstrings would cramp. I drank as much water as I could stomach and never peed. That Sunday, I drank 11 liters of water and all and never went to the bathroom until the middle of the night and 2 hydration salts later.
But as many other people know, I'm quite stubborn and when I set out to do something, I'm going to do it. I didn't care if someone was going to have to carry me to the top of that mountain, I was going to make it.

Steep hills and luscious green jungle below
The last few km on the hike are straight up. No need for your walking sticks anymore because they wont help you. It is pretty much hands and knees climbing on rocks that are so wet you could fall at any moment. We were in the jungle after all so it might not have been raining but the moisture was so apparent, all of the trees were dripping all around us.

Just before the summit, coming through the fog
We kept thinking the summit would be just over the next hill because for all that we could see, there was nothing else higher than that. But it seemed to never come. It was only 9am when we reached the summit but it felt like it took forever. Those were the 4 longest hours of my life.

Climbing the rock
Of the 5 (Jacob, Rion, Evi, Fiona, and myself) that left on the 2nd day, we all made it to the top. The 3 (Heather, Adam, and Katie) who stayed back at 19 km to wait for us will never know what they missed out on. But they might be better off for it.

3,675 of the hardest feet you'll ever walk
The summit was a bit of a disappointment. Most of the view was blocked by clouds but there are some things about the top of a mountain that pretty views and majestic skies cant show by taking a picture. The feeling of accomplishment that you get when reaching summit is something you can only understand if you've been there. Due to the clouds, all of the others that didn't leave 19 km think they were the smart ones. That they might be, but I'm glad I made it to the top and felt the rush of being there than giving up and simply using the excuse of "well it was cloudy anyway." The clouds and the views are a side point to the feeling of personal accomplishment by making it there.
Writing in the summit log and the 5 who made it with our trusty guide. European girls are just a stronger breed I guess.
If going up was hard, going back down was humbling. Different parts of my body now hurt that never hurt before because now my body was being used to stop itself from falling down instead of pulling itself up. This is when your feet scream and you grab for a tree to hold your balance only to find that its covered in thorns. Coming down was inspiring because when looking down at some of the hills you had climbed only a few hours ago, you had to wonder just how the hell you did it in the first place.
Instead of camping at 19 km for that night, we decided to go ahead and pack up and move another 7 km onto the next camp site and camp at 12 km. Those 7 km were hell. After hiking to the summit and back, the last thing I wanted to do was put the 30 lbs pack on all over again. But we made that too. Bed time on a mountain is as soon as the sun goes down, if you can keep your eyes open that long. I was asleep that night by 6:30pm. We had hiked from 5am to 5:30pm.



I wish I could say that we all loved each other and made it to the bottom to a grand feast but I think we were all so sick of our own smell and filth that we just wanted to go home and sleep. I was in bed that night by 7:30pm and I didnt even reach home until 6:30. To make things better, I couldnt walk. But we will leave the injuries for another blog post. With other, not so great pictures.

In the end, was it worth it? Probably not. I am very proud that I made it to the top but it's not something I look forward to doing again. That mountain pulled out all I had and it took all I had. It wasn't even about physical endurance because everyone's tank was on empty. It came down to mental toughness and the decision of whether or not you were going to let the grade of the hill decide the grade of strength in you. When I tell Belizeans that I climbed Victoria's Peak, they usually first ask what it is? Then I tell them and they say "Why the hell would you want to do that?" Before I left, I thought I had an answer. Now, upon return, I'm not so sure.

San Pedro (Isla Bonita) = Not Belize

View from the pool. Our room was the middle balcony across the water.
Madonna has a song called "Isla Bonita," you may have heard of it. Well, its about San Pedro, Belize. She couldn't have been more right, and the idea that most people get compared to what Belize really is couldn't be more wrong. I got to spend part of my Easter break there because of 2 amazing women that invited us to hang out at their condo they had for the week.


Views of the Grand Caribe Condos
I got out there on a Wednesday and left on Saturday. I had originally planned to leave on Good Friday but as you can see, there were better things to do than go back to the village and read. Instead, I could sit out by the swim up bar and read there with ocean breeze keeping me cool. Much better than the Orange Walk heat.



Swim up bar and a view from our room. Life was tough.
We stayed at Grand Caribe, which is about 3 miles north of the bridge to mainland San Pedro and its a paradise that is discovered but you wish hadn't been. San Pedro was amazing. It was like Mexico, except people spoke English. And not like Mexico at all because most of the people you saw were white.



Need advertising? Not here, just put the word "Bar" really big out in the ocean. Someone will stop. Who? White people with $!
This was tourist haven. There is nothing wrong with a place like this. But there is something wrong if you come to Belize and this is all you see. San Pedro is just one of the many things that are amazing about this country, but its a place like this (and pictures like these) that make people from back home think there is nothing wrong with Belize.

We may have been enjoying our time a bit too much. Sometimes this is needed from a break in the village life.
Being able to go snorkel and watch amazing fish or sea turtles float by is great. Don't get me wrong, I had my fair share of fun. Fishing in the ocean for my dinner, you bet I did. They were damn delicious too.


Fish we caught and made for dinner and me getting ready for my photo shoot.
I have now been to most of the tourist destinations of Belize and I can say that San Pedro is the most beautiful but my least favorite. The problem? Too many white people.
White wine? These lovely ladies brought a case of it. Best idea ever.
You may be saying to yourself, just like the people in my village, that "Kevin, you are white!" I will have to disagree. I may have a slightly clearer skin than most in Belize, but I no longer act like a white person. Wondering what that looks like? It's hard to imagine because its probably like looking into the mirror and we all think we are better than that. Even me, even though I'm really not.
The two lovely ladies who made this happen. Cant thank them enough. Aunt Carol and Momma Ronna are new members of the PC family.
Look at those pictures... Those are white people at their finest. They are usually drunk, they wear flashy colors, always have sunglasses on, eat at restaurants that accept Visa and Mastercard. They are the people in Belize that I despise. Why? Because they are the people that give Americans all over the world a bad name. Despite all of this, despite all of my ranting about how I think I'm better than that... I become one as soon as I get off the water taxi.



The sign says it all... "Living the Dream."
Sure I pretend to talk a little Kriol here and there and I can converse with the waiter in Spanish about what I want, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to order a drink that no one with a Belizean residence card ever has. I become a tourist. Guilty as charged. It's worse than white trash in my mind. Am I ashamed? You bet I am. Does it stop me? Hell no.

I may have worn my sunglasses at night, but look at those fishes. Yes, I said fishes... it's Kriol
San Pedro is not Belize. It probably used to be. But it has been taken over, bought out, and reclaimed as the USA just a few hundred miles south. This is one of the few places that tourists many outnumber the number of people who live there.

Adam, doublefisting, why is this not surprising? This is just before I hated both of them for talking nonstop about Magic the Gathering. Hot tub. Necessary? Nope. Appreciated because we can? Yup.
It's easy to forget people live here all the time when the people you meet who are white live there too and they seem to be on vacation for life. Some would call it retirement, others call it privilege. I know one thing is for sure, laying in sea on a tube while beers are being lowered down to me on a rope is something I never expected when I signed up for the Peace Corps. I guess the blog title does fit from time to time.
It's not floating down the Poudre, but its close and its still great.
San Pedro was a great getaway and I recommend it to anyone who is coming to Belize. But I must warn you, if you are coming to see me, I will not allow you to just sit on a resort and have this be all you see. There is so much more to Belize than just a coastal view with umbrellas in your drink. There is real culture here and its hard to find on an island like San Pedro where everything from the land to the music (thanks Madonna) has been sold away to foreign investors.

Meet Fred. He was our mascot for the week. He was too good to eat. Just like Emily, who gets sexier by the day. We don't know how she does it.