PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

My host mom, Anita, celebrated her 54th birthday this weekend. It was a grand celebration that included BBQ and a good meal. Everyone sang songs and then quickly left. The reason they left was that 2 of the 5 grandchildren needed to go to the hospital. The family was terribly sick. All of them were running a fever and Kayshaleen, the 3 yr old, was vomiting. I did my best to stay away from them for the most part for my own health.

After they left, I asked what they thought they had. They said they thought Abelito (9) may have Dengue Fever and they wanted to get him tested because he had nothing wrong with him besides a fever and his bones hurt. These are symptoms of the Fever, but also of so many other things. This wasn't nearly as interesting as the story that was coming about the curse of the "bad eye." It goes a little something like this:

Anytime a child is seen by a drunk, or an outcast of society, they can often be given the "bad eye," meaning that he looked at them and put a curse on them. The child often gets really sick and doctors can not explain what is wrong. If nothing is done, the baby can often die of the curse. There are only a few ways to help the child once they have been cursed with the "bad eye." My family was worried that Kayshaleen had been given the "bad eye" that day by a man at the market that was looking at her, who was drunk.

The only way to cure the baby of the spell is to find the man that gave her the curse and have him hold the baby. The problem with this is, often times, the family doesn't know who the man was that gave the child the sickness. If they do know, and can find him, then if he holds the baby, the sickness is cured and the baby will be fine. However, this is extremely hard to do.

The only other way to save the child is to find someone that can cure children. We just so happen to have one woman in our village that knows how. You must take the child to this woman, and she will go fetch a hen. We will wait for the hen to pass an egg. Once a fresh egg has been passed, the egg must be cracked over the baby's forehead. The egg then takes the "bad eye" away. It's almost like the yoke of the eye has the power to heal, but only from this special woman and only with a fresh egg produced from a hen.

While I may not be a total believer, I have been told stories from people in the village that swear it is true. My host sister Malanie was telling me about Abelito when he was only a few months old. He came down with this horrible sickness and wouldn't move. She was living in Independence at the time and called her mom in Yo Creek after going to 2 doctors and they told her there was nothing they could do. My host mom went to fetch the woman who cures the "bad eye" and they drove to Independence right away. After the egg had been broken over Abelito's head, he fell fast asleep and woke up a few hours later happy as can be. She says she remembered seeing a man pass her on the street and look at her baby. She thinks this is the man that gave the spell to her baby that almost killed him.

It seems as if everyone I have talked to knows of this tradition of the "bad eye." Not everyone thinks it is true, but so far it seems as though everyone believes it. When children seem to get sick for no reason, this is usually the culprit. Sometimes they are lucky enough to find the man that gave them the spell, other times they are not. I guess we are just lucky to have someone in Yo Creek that can save our babies.

After telling me their testimonies, they always ask if I believe them. I tell them I believe them, but I'm not sure if I believe in the "bad eye." There is no use in me telling them they are wrong, and for all I know they are right.

Regardless, one thing is universal. Any child that is sick doesn't seem to understand why they feel that way and depend on their parents to make it all better. No matter the culture, race, religion, or location this seems to be a universal truth.

I love to hear the stereotypes that people have of our country in the USA, but until now have I never found it funnier than to hear some of the questions that I have been asked since arriving in Yo Creek. They include:

• Do you have a moon in the US?

My response was "yes," but I found it extremely hard not to laugh. How was she to know? It's a perfectly logical question if you dont know.

• Does air conditioning make you obese?

This was I did laugh out loud because my audience was one that I felt comfortable with that I wouldnt hurt their feelings. There is only one place in the entire village where air conditioning is at and that is my computer lab. Then they see the big American coming out of it everyday and it seems like a perfectly logical question. My answer was that it didnt cause obesity but it probably didnt help it either and then went into the whole debate of calories in vs. calories burned.

• Did you know that water is bad for you?

This was asked because they think I drink an absurd amount of water. I'd estimate that is around 1 gallon per day, sometimes more, sometimes less. People in my family may drink 1 glass of water per day, but they even it out with about 10 Coca-colas per day. Im not sure which one is worse. Water or Coke? It doesnt have high fructose corn syrup in it like the US, but water is a main ingredient. Doesnt that mean that too much Coke is bad for you too? Eh, never mind, I guess I'll just continue to drink water and hope that I dont die.

• How will you eat when there is no woman to cook for you?

I have no idea! Yo Creek has no restaurants so I will be lost when it comes to food. I may have to hire out someone every day because we all know that men are incapable of cooking food. At least good food that is. If they only knew how I really felt about a question like this on so many levels, but the language barrier and my persistence not to judge keeps me quiet.

• Where did you learn to run so fast?

This I just find hilarious after beating a bunch of 9 year olds in a race. I wish I could say that I felt good about myself afterwards but really, I was just the bully who was twice their age showing them that I can run. Forget all about how my legs are twice as long as theirs, and we all know I have short legs which just tells you how small they are.

• Do you know Lebron James? Do you know Barack Obama?

This was hard because here, everyone really does know everyone. Our taxi driver in Belmopan asked us what we were doing one night, we told him going to Independence and trying to catch a water taxi to Placencia. No worries, his uncle lived there and he could give us a ride. The Kevin Bacon 6 degrees of separation is no more than 3 degrees here for the entire country. Just because I live in the same country doesnt mean I get to play 1 on 1 with Lebron and kick it in the Oval Office with the President. It's a shame though.

Im sure questions like these will continue to pop up and I will try my best to post them to the blog when I remember. I can only imagine the more people I meet, the better they will get.

I may have finally broken through last night to Coralis, the 4 year old that lives with me. She usually challenges me to a staring contest of sorts where I ask her questions in both English and Spanish and she responds to none. Yesterday during lunch, I kept saying "tardes" (afternoon) to her until she would respond. It only took about 30 times. Finally she screamed "TARDES TIO KEVIN." Tio means uncle in Spanish. It was cute. Little did I know that I had just forced a 4 year old to be my best friend and I will now never get away from her. She is the best Spanish teacher I have had yet. She asked me the name of every person in my family that I havent even met yet, what color was their hair, how old they were, and if they had a radio. It was priceless.

She then began to show me how she is learning new songs in school. She is in preschool so there are plenty of songs she learns. Many of them are similar or the same that we would learn except for a few minor adjustments.

The famous ABC song is pretty much the same. It goes something like this:

"ABCDEFG... WUXY and Z teacher teacher dont lash me, because I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me"

Then there is Happy Birthday in English which I had never heard of before. Almost the same, but different.

"Happy Birthday tia Rosi,
Happy Birthday tia Rosi,
Happy Birthday tiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ROSI,
May we wish you many more."

I dont really think that anyone sings it like this, but it was a cute adlib for a 4 year old that she continued to sing for about an hour straight. Once I get my camera, I'll be sure to get a video of it and post it.

For the past month, I have been looking into finding a place to rent so that I can actually be a big kid and live on my own for 2 years instead of leeching off a family and living such an "easy" life as some would say. Now, I want to be able to do all the stuff that regular people do like make food, wash dishes, and clean up after themselves. It's going to be "rough."

Originally, I was told there are no places in Yo Creek to rent. Then within the past week, there have been about 4 places pop up out of nowhere with rooms or houses available. Keep in mind this is a village so things are very cheap. Peace Corps gives us about $100usd a month for rent but doesn't expect us to actually use all of it unless we are being ripped off. I never thought they would try so hard to do just that.

House #1 original offer was $150bz per month. There are additional charges like water, electricity, and maintenance of the yard. It is a 2 story house and I would live on the ground level below the family that owns the house. It has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and shower. Nice living if you ask me.

House #2 was only $100bz per month but it wasn't quite finished yet. Only had 1 bedroom and the bathroom is a latrine (outhouse) with an outside shower. Nothing wrong with this besides the fact that it was very small and I'd like more space. I might as well be picky if I can be.

House #3 is currently being rented by a Japanese volunteer named Yumi. JICA is the Japanese equivalent of Peace Corps. She leaves in March. Its a nice house with 2 stories. I would live above the family. We'll come back to #3.

House #4 was just finished this past week. The nicer of the 4, with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom with tile floor and a ceiling fan (a rare find in Belize). We went yesterday during the afternoon to check it out. The woman said that we'd have to come back later to talk to her husband about the price. No problem.

We come back around 7 to have a little chat. On the bike ride there, Damian (my fellow teacher/facilitator) tells me that realistically I should never pay more than $100bz to rent a house in Yo Creek unless it is huge. We arrive, the guy takes one look at me and assumes I understand none of the conversation. I may not be able to speak as well as I'd like, but I'm starting to realize I can pick up on most conversations and I'm far from dumb. His initial price was $300bz a month which includes nothing. Electricity, water, furniture would all be separate. I almost laughed in his face. We told him how much others were charging and he said he'd be willing to go as low as $275bz per month and throw in a table that I can use. What a guy.

No thank you. He seemed upset that we would turn him down. We went on back to house #1 to let them know that Peace Corps would come by soon to check on the house. She then told me that they talked it over and were willing to cut me a deal of everything included for $250bz per month. I started doing the math. Electricity was about $15 per month, water was $7, yard was $20 and if I wanted it cable is $20. That's only $62 a month. She wants to charge me $100 for that. When I wrote down the numbers for her and showed her that it would only be about $212 a month instead of $250 she seemed disappointed that her trick didn't work.

Now, just for fun, we decided to ride our bikes over to House #3. We were riding our bikes for adventure after all and it was only about 100 yards away. Nothing in Yo Creek is really too far away. They tell us that Yumi is leaving in March and that the house will be available. Only problem is JICA sets up a contract for 2 years that pays the family $415 a month! This is absurd and probably a good reason why people want to charge me so much. Yumi has no idea what JICA pays the family. She moved to Yo Creek and the house was already set up for her. Peace Corps makes us find our own housing. I think it has its pros and cons each way. Needless to say, I dont think house #3 will ever be mine.

Something I am quickly learning, and am not surprised by is the color barrier that exists in Belize. I have talked to many other PCVs and this seems to be the problem in most places. Usually the villages dont get it nearly as bad because there arent as many Gringos running around with money. The color barrier Im talking about is not as much about white vs. people of color, but more about green.

White = Green. Or so it seems. Regardless if you tell someone you are a volunteer or not, or the fact that you work at the school their children attend, they think you have money. This is to be expected. Missionaries flood the country often just giving out hand outs, praying for people, staying for a few weeks and leaving. To stereotype, most of these missionaries are white.

Damian told me that before he moved into the house he is living in now a family of 8 lived in it. I wouldnt call this a huge house but it has 2 bedrooms and is slightly larger than any of the houses I have been looking at with a bathroom and huge backyard with a fence. This family of 8 before him paid $40bz per month and they were kicked out because they couldnt afford it. Even Damian was finding it shocking how much people were trying to charge.

I am not discouraged by this "Gringo Tax" that is put on me. I have benefited enough in my life already due to my white privilege. It's actually kind of eye opening to see what the other side lives like. To be stereotyped and judged based on something so trivial is actually becoming real. I feel as if I could react in a few ways. I could just pay whatever price they offer me and shut my mouth, I could negotiate a bit and then find a happy medium, or I could throw a Gringo fit.

I think I will go with the middle ground here and try to negotiate. I dont expect to pay what Belizeans pay. I think I'd be happy with paying double what Belizeans pay. The Gringo temper tantrum option seems fun, but will get me nowhere. Especially when I am trying to integrate into a community. I was told by someone else to say, "Listen, Im a volunteer, we dont get a lot of money and I think it is rude to charge me as much money as you are trying to charge me. I am here to help you and you are stopping me from doing it effectively." As I remember this "advice" given to me, I realize even more how bad this advice is.

I am asked to be here be the community. Mostly by the school I work at. However, not everyone in the community has any idea who I am or what I entail. It is rude of me to assume people know who I am because I am the sole white person in town. Why would I receive special treatment because I can wear a t-shirt that says Peace Corps on it? To them, I am just another Gringo. Just some other tourist coming in to take their land, steal their money, and water down their culture.

Before I even begin to complain about petty prices that in the long run wont mean that much, I would prefer to make relationships with those in the village to show that I am not here to profit from them. This cant be shown in a few weeks, maybe not even in a few months but this is hopefully why I am here for 2 years. Any outsider coming in has no right to expect preferential treatment regardless of the t-shirt they wear. Most Belizeans dont even pay attention to t-shirts (this is proven by older men wearing "world's sexiest mom" shirts). All you are to them is another outsider until you prove otherwise.

Perhaps even more in the village than in the towns, respect is earned. Families are tight. It's not easy for anyone outside to be granted permission in. It takes time. It takes patience. And I assume it might take a lot of minor disappointments, but with enough energy and persistence I may just become a "Yo Creequeno" like my host mom says.

They have been telling us for months that there are two seasons in Belize: rainy and dry. Rainy season usually lasts from June-November and the dry season is December-May. Give or take a month. The difference has been that until the last few days, it has rarely rained and many have said it was one of the driest rainy seasons in a very long time. Somehow I think Al Gore warned must have been right.

I brought this nice rain jacket here because someone told us it rains all the time. I have carried it for roughly 77 of the 80 we have been in country. It has only rained 3 days during the day where I've been. I'm assuming you can guess just which 3 days it rained.

But today, I am ready! Yesterday I witnessed some of the hardest rains I've ever seen in my entire life that have been fairly consistent for the past few days. Why is all the rain coming now? That's an easy answer: It's still hurricane season. The Caribbean has a new friend named Ida hanging out right now.

Currently Tropical Storm Ida, but formerly Hurricane Ida, is messing around with Nicaragua. She goes back and forth between tropical storm and a hurricane like women go from the blue dress to the red dress. We wont even get into shoes. Current projections say she will take a dip back in the sea tomorrow to gain some strength then cruise up the coast before making landfall again around Cancun, Mexico. The course just so happens to be Belize's coastline. hoo-ra Belize.

Now don't get all worried, Peace Corps has a safety plan for everything. Probably too much to be honest, but its for our own good. They have different stages of safety. They are:

• All Clear - Just any regular day where nothing is going on
• Standfast- Danger is lurking and we are not allowed to go anywhere. Sit waiting for further instructions. Report to your warden your location (there is 1 warden in each district that reports every one's location to PC).
• Partial Consolidation- Everyone meets at a consolidation point in their district and waits together for further instruction.
• Full Consolidation- They bring every PCV in the country to Belmopan and put us up in the luxurious Gar Den City Hotel until everything is back to "All Clear."

Currently, we are at Standfast waiting for instruction. Don't be worried, I have a Leatherman and I think I know how to use it. I have my trusty rain jacket too!

Everyone in Belize right now doesn't seem to be worried, so I will let my paranoia come from them. All the kids still run around, the teachers are smiling, life is good. "Belize is a blessed place," says my principal. I guess I'll believe her.

Basically this is nothing, but I'm still new here so it's exciting to me. In a few months, Standfast will be some joke until the next thing happens and real action begins. I do not wish to see anything too serious because we all know those who lose out the most will not be Peace Corps. It will be those who have the least and live closest to the sea. Most things are all fun and games to us, but the truth is that people's lives could be at stake. Houses may be destroyed, roofs will have to be replaced, crops will be ruined, and we will all be safe and sound inside a hotel room.

It's the biggest contradiction to Peace Corps' mission of integration into a community. Send Americans there to support a community until they need it most, then pull them out to be with the rest of the gringos. Sure, it's about safety, but it's still not fair.

So for now, I will Standfast with my community in Yo Creek, and wait for further instructions.

As I age, I usually try to refrain from going back to my inner child. The problem with this is it is just so damn fun and so easy. We pulled up to the hotel that Adam's host parents had stayed at before and all became pre-pubescent boys giggling like mad. No one else there (those who were not gringos) didn't get what was so funny.

The hotel was named Hotel Ucum. My first question was if it was a promise? Apparently it is not. My next question was wondering who slept in the room before me? I never got an answer for that one.

Someone told us this was one of the nicest, cheapest places to stay in all of Chetumal. When they said cheap, they weren't talking about the price. It was much more expensive than I would have expected to pay, about $35usd for the nicest room haha, and what we got wasn't really all that great. This may sound stupid after my last post, but I complain since they had no other rooms available besides the best rooms there. We expected big things. What we got was a room with 4 empty beer bottles, about 200 pistachio shells on the ground, a floater in the toilet and a 13" tv.

The tv was by far the best part of the room. By best part, I mean most comical. I wasn't aware of this before, but people must really like to steal tvs from hotels in Mexico. That was all I could think of. It was in a small cage that is welded to the wall. Adam, who weighs about 200 lbs. after a nice meal and a few beers, hung on it and it didn't budge.

While no one seems to know exactly what Ucum means, most said that it probably was something in the Mayan language and they didn't understand it.


The entire day, it did nothing but rain. As you will see from the pictures we attempted to walk around a bit but we preceded to get soaked. I was the smart one who only brought one set of clothes. Adam decided it would be best to remain wet at Ucum for as long as possible and took a little dip in the kiddie pool. He could have chose to swim in the adult pool, but at Ucum I guess we all have our preference on how we like to stay wet.

This was Adam's family, Adam and myself on the balcony of the hotel. Let's just call this the money shot. The family was a great help and for some unknown reason trusted me to get around a city I'd never been to with a language I didn't speak. I'm still alive


Ucum wasn't the only thing that kept us wet all day. This was some of the rain that never seemed to stop. Its not just rain either, its some of the hardest, most torrential downpour I've ever seen. Without a taxi in sight, we waited for a long time before just deciding to get soaked.

If you don't believe me, or if you want the Ucum experience of your own, please visit their website at http://www.hotelucumchetumal.com/


Now for some other random pictures of the weekend and the Expo...

Kermato? I think this may be where Jim Henson got his idea for one certain green frog.



Later in the night, we went to the Expo which was apparently the thing to be at in Mexico for that weekend. It was the last night everything was on sale. It was basically like a State Fair on crack. Only problem was, like you guessed... it rained the entire time. There was no one there unless you were working.

Growing up in the good ol US of A has made most of us slightly biased over our lives about different places other than what we call home. I can say to an extent, despite traveling internationally, that this still holds some truth.


Let's take Mexico for example. Sure, sure they have cheap tacos and Carona but other than that what do you really know about Mexico that wasn't told to you by some horrible depiction of Mexican culture in a movie or from Taco Bell? The only state any of us have probably heard of is Chihuahua, and I guarantee you didn't know about it other than the ankle biting dogs that rich pompous celebrities love to dress up in their Sunday's best and Halloween costumes. I may be stereotyping the hell out of Americans right now, but it's exactly what we do to Mexicans and I think if you identify with anything above you will agree.


While I am no expert on Mexico (I cant even speak Spanish), I got my first real Mexican experience last weekend. I went to Chetumal. "Where the beer flows like wine & beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano." Ok, it was fun, but it was not that good. It was Mexico though.


Many still refer to Mexico as this 3rd world country so far behind anything in the US that its like living in the land of the dinosaurs. Not in Belize. Belizeans often think of Mexico as a nice place that people go for a good time. Chetumal is far from a tourist hot spot, but after being in Belize for a few months, it seems to be the place to go when you want a taste of your own culture. American Culture that is.


Chetumal has malls, street lights, and even highways with overpasses. This may sound stupid to all of you old glory Americans sitting in your LayZboy recliners with your laptop snuggled in your lap connected to your wireless Internet but its not the case down here. An on ramp to a highway was like seeing MacDonalds for the first time. It makes you sick and also gives you hope all at the same time. Then it makes you sick again. It's capitalism at its best.


I wont lie, I was excited. If I had a camera, I would have taken a few shots of things that no one else would have deemed important. It was a small slice of home in a place that I never thought I'd find.


I guess the moral of the story is after all the rumors you hear from the ignorant of the US, you might even start believing that Mexico and all countries that are not the USA are dirty. This is not true. They have a beauty all unto themselves. And for those of you who have been to Mexico, but never left your all inclusive resort... shame on you. You might as well have stayed at home.

Having never been to Mexico, I was expecting big things. Had I not lived in Belize for the past few months, I would have been disappointed. But it all comes back to perspective. When you go without things like video arcades and giant movie cinemas, you kind of appreciate them more. I say kind of because we didn't go to any of them. They were nice to drive past though and do the occasional "ooh ahh." Come to think of it, I didn't even partake in the rumored national past time of Mexico... drinking Tequila. I had better things to do... like walk about in the rain looking for something I never found and never knew I was looking for.

It rained the entire weekend. Non-stop. But you know what? Mexico has drains in the streets, something Belize has at times but are often so full of trash that no water can get in. I like to think irony is when you go to a place expecting filth and your preconception of what clean is has changed remarkably in just a few months.

I may be living in a village, but I am far from the most remote volunteer in Belize. This blog is proof of that. I have the internet! I have a tv in my room with more channels than I ever had in the US. Some people get excited if the bus comes once a week to take them somewhere so they can get a shower that is not the river. It's all about perspective. Mine has changed, and this is only the beginning. I cant even imagine what a place like Las Vegas or even Newport on the Levee would be like in a year. Me, the socialite that I am, may have an anxiety attack. Flashy lights give us all quite the level of excitement but help the company sell us anything. Often we are just amazed at how much electricity is wasted and how many people we have met that live without it. Perspective.

I realize that I constantly talk about the education system here without ever really explaining it, so this is my attempt to give insight and history to what the education system in Belize is. I will show what national stats that I could find and compare them to what I know from Yo Creek Sacred Heart RC, where I work.

• Belizean education is rooted in slavery and was seen as a way to teach morals to slaves and keep them in line.
• 1860- First school was established. No blacks allowed, only for the few white children who couldnt afford to attend school in England
• They only accepted people from their denomonation in order to teach doctrines, not quality education. The motto was "win souls to build a church."
• 70% of schools in Belize are run by the church. Other 30% are run by the government.
• Until 1998, there was a teacher's college that certified teachers to teach
• Despite the teacher's college, it was not required and until last year high school graduates were allowed to teach with the permission of the Pastor
• Church often hires people in church, regardless of experience
• The government pays 100% of teacher's salaries
• Subjects covered are Language Arts, Science, PE, Expressive Arts, Sewing, Math, Social Studies, and Health.
• Although there are laws on what to teach and at what grade, the enforcement seems to be extremely lacking by both the church and the government.

All of this is for every student to prepare to pass the PSE (pre secondary exams). They are taken country wide and if you do not pass them, you do not go to high school. Not only must you pass it but it only accepts a certain percentile. This creates an automatic ceiling for students going to high school and puts the majority out on the streets. Thus, recreating the cycle of poverty and lack of education.

The system does not allow for repeating of grades. Just moves students up based on "social promotion."

Basic breakdown is 8:4:2, which is primary, secondary, associates

• Infant I - 5 years old
• Infant II- 6 years old
• Standard I- 7 years old
• Standard II- 8 years old
• Standard III- 9 years old
• Standard IV- 10 years old
• Standard V- 11 years old
• Standard VI- 12 years old
• Form I- 13 years old
• Form II- 14 years old
• Form III- 15 years old
• Form IV- 16 years old
• Form VI- 17 years old
• Form VI- 18 years old

Some of these ages vary depending on the birthday of the child, but I know that students must be 13 or younger when they graduate from Standard VI. It is not a typo to have 2 Standard VI classes. Those are considered junior college and if you complete them, Im fairly certain you get an associates degree. After that you go onto University to pursue a bachelors degree.

The problem with this system is how many kids it fails. Almost all schools have uniforms and books that parents must pay for. School fees are very cheap (my school is $15 per year) but often times students have trouble paying. Books are treated very similar to how the college system works in the states so that every year new editions are published and it becomes hard to buy books for every class. Especially if you have multiple children. Kids are only required to attend school up to Standard VI. After this, many are forced into the work place to find jobs that dont really exist for them.

I have heard reports that the national average is around 30% of kids move onto the Forms. Last year, my school sent 95% of its students to secondary school, which is extremely high. In the Cayo district the rate was 24%. I have heard that in Toledo, the poorest district in Belize and where most of PCVs are located, is as low as 6%. It is no wonder why certain areas of the country are falling behind when only 6% of their children are being educated after age 12.

There have been rumors that the government wants to take over education in Belize. Right now, this is simply not possible. Being that the Roman Catholic church has a strong hold on education in this country, they also make the laws and rules for the education system. The RC church has too much power and if the government tries to step in, the education system itself could easily crumble.

There have been many attempts to reform the education system throughout the years, but none have made significant progress. After the teacher's college closed in 1998, it left most of the hiring and firing up to the church. Many schools give jobs to anyonly willing to teach. The difference between Belize and the United States is that teaching a very sought after job here. The most respected person in any community is the Priest, followed by teachers. When I walk around Yo Creek, I am referred to as Mr. Kevin by all adults and as Teacher Kevin by all the kids and some adults. It is a level of respect that I have yet to earn.

Most places dont have teachers that are trained. Like I said earlier, in many Toledo villages teachers can be 18 and teaching already with no experience. In my school, I am extremely lucky to have a very qualified staff. We have 8 staff members (9 if you include me) who teach Infant I-II and Standards I-VI. Of those 8, we have 2 masters degrees, 3 bachelors, and 3 who have gone through the teacher's college. Everyone has atleast 5 years experience. Another great asset is every teacher lives in the village, which is uncommon for most schools. The only drawback that Yo Creek Sacred Heart has is that it's principal is a teaching principal which means she is in the classroom as well as all the administrative things she must do.

The easy question to ask here then is "Why are you at such a nice school when there is so much need at other places around the country and around the world?" Well one of the pros, and one of the cons of Peace Corps is we are only put in places where we are asked for. The obvious problem here is that not everyone knows how to ask. These are problems that may slowly become fixed since after the next training class comes in, there should be a PCV in every village in Toledo. Something that is very important to remember is Peace Corps is not the answer.

Some people want to develop and others do not. What most Americans consider development is a McDonalds on every block with street lights and electricity for everyone. This is simply not possible and Peace Corps would never want this. The best thing I have realized about Peace Corps thus far is that we dont seem to push ideas on people. Our services are asked for, we provide what we can, and hopefully both parties learn from the experience.

Education is needed in all parts of this country. In some places more than others, but I feel lucky to be in a place where the staff is all here for the right reasons and I am supported and treated like I've been here for years despite only being here for a few weeks. I will be teaching Standards I-VI for the next two years in computers to better prepare them for secondary school and beyond.

Today was my first day of teaching and it went something like this. Standard II never got passed the giggles and we had a lot of fun just laughing at the white guy that is really big (thats me). Standard V didnt show up when they were scheduled. Standard IV got to turn the computers on, then turn them off. It was a productive day. Then Standard V just showed up later in the day for 25 minutes (they were scheduled for 45). We played games and other things to waste the time. They seem to know more than I expected about computers anyway. 1 day in, I still have no idea what Im doing, but as long as they dont know that... I'll be just fine.

thanks for reading

Well, its official... I am a United States Peace Corps Volunteer. I can finally be referred to as what my blog is titled: PCV. It happened on October 22, 2009 and from that day on for 2 years I will be serving as a Youth Development Volunteer in the Orange Walk district village of Yo Creek.
The swearing in ceremony happened at the Belize House outside. I think they tricked us by saying it was a house and we all thought this would mean air conditioning and inside but we were duped yet again. It was held outside and it was a very sunny and hot day. Host families came as well as different counterparts of the 40 trainees that became volunteers. We all had to stand, raise our right hands and repeat some words about upholding the consitution of the United States of America and to promote peace and all that jazz. After that... we were PCVs. Easy as that.

This is our PC class of 2009. I think I got cut out of the picture, I was supposed to be on the right side but I guess thats tough luck when you dont have a camera and rely on stealing pictures from other people. We came in with 41 and 40 made it to swearing in. This is remarkable considering the class before us came in with 42, had 35 swear in, and now have 28 remaining. Some people drop like flies. We seem to have 40 dedicated people ready for the long haul.

This is our Country Director Dr. Stephen Miller and Ambassador Thummalapally (Tom-al-i-pal-i). The Ambassador swore us in before Steve got up and made a speech about how we need to be just like an Ol Blues song. It was touching. He never fails in delivering something in a new and interesting way. The Ambassador has only been in Belize for about 5 weeks. He just came from Colorado Springs and was appointed to be the Ambassador of Belize to the United States by the President himself. That President, Obama, just so happened to have been the Ambassador's college roommate or something. Talk about good luck.

The most depressing part of going back to Belmopan was finding out the day before swearing in that Steve would be leaving. He also got appointed by Obama to take a job in Washington for the Peace Corps. He will be missed and we wont get another country director until sometime around January. The things I will miss the most about Steve are how he always seemed to be totally in control while appearing not to care, and how he always had quick little jokes that not everyone understood. He told me during out picture when we were swearing in "welcome to the mafia." Meaning that he was a sociologist as well and we had some kind of secret team now.

Im starting to notice there are many things here that are not what I expected. I guess all the times someone told me "the only expectations one should have in Peace Corps is to have no expectations." I tried, I really did. But there are a few things that I just cant seem to get over.

One of them is something Im convinced someone made up a long time ago and the rest of the world jumped in to make a good joke to us ignorant Americans on the home front. As long as we dont know the secret, then we can continue to make movies that arent factual and we can be the laughing stalk of the world.

I can remember when I was a small tot that while I didnt watch as many as most kids, I did watch a lot of cartoons. From cartoons to movies about the Old West, there is one thing that they all have in common that is total crap.

Roosters crow when the sun comes up.

It seems pretty simple, there are hens running around everywhere all the time, but every once in awhile the rooster gets his time to shine. Right at sun up each morning, he takes a deep breath and then lets out a big cockle-doddle-doo and then everyone wakes up. Then Jesse and Sara plain & tall know when to get up and start milking the cows. I always imagined that just how farms work. The rooster does his thing, then everyone else does theirs. Kind of like a General in the military, they bark the orders and because of that one action, everyone else falls into place and does the required work for the day.

Not in the slightest. While the rooster does crow in the morning, it is not as loud as I would have imagined. Not only this, but everyone has a rooster. They do not get along. While its not possible to get them all together, I think it could be possible for all the roosters of Yo Creek to get together, have a little meeting and come to some agreements. Some of them should be:

1. At what point of sun rise do we crow?
2. How many times will we crow in one day?
3. What are the penalties if someone crows out of turn?
4. Is our machismo ruining our image in the village?

Now, lets get back to the point. The first question needs to be answered so they have some consistency. There seems to be no organization and its annoying. It reminds me of a symphony orchestra all playing to their own tune whenever the hell they want to. It doesnt work. Its a broken record and I think they are better than that.

As for Question #2: I always thought (and the cartoon/movie industry had me duped) that they only crowed in the morning. This is a big fat lie! They never stop. All day, they just run around the village with their chests out crowing at each other. There should be a quota per day. Make it similar to how people aren't allowed to use their horns in NYC, roosters shouldnt be allowed to crow except for sun up and maybe once more through out the day just for fun.

Question #3: Like any law out there, its pointless unless there are consequences for the action that has taken place. I suggest taking their voice boxes out but this is too much of "an eye for an eye" kind of thing and this is the "Peace" Corps after all. Not sure how well that would go over back in Washington. So that wont work, not to mention before long, all of them would be mute and how would Buckwheat the farmer ever know when Sally the Cow needs to be milked? This question may need more thinking.

Question #4: The roosters may not care about this one, but I have noticed something recently. The hens seem to be afraid of them. I am no farmer, nor will I ever be, so I dont know the slightest about these creatures. For all I know (and will assume), hens lay their eggs just fine without the help of a rooster. They sure do lay enough of them. We then take them and eat them before they hatch but its all in the name of controlling the pet population. Roosters seem to think they can prance around in the streets, crowing whenever they want, and sticking their chests in the air as far as they can. It reminds me of a big fight on the playground where one kid screams about how his dad can beat up your dad. No one ever actually does anything but there sure is a lot of screaming going on.

I'll be the first to usually bring up machismo and how men believe they have a special place in the world that is higher than women, but I think we may have learned these behaviors from chickens. Let me explain here... My friend Patrick is convinced that chickens are decedents of dinosaurs (Do you think dinosaur meet tastes like chicken? I do). Watch them if you ever get the chance. Most of them have very short arms, long legs and a wide body. They walk around and stick their head out with every step. They can be very aggressive. Chickens are the exact same way! If chickens are in fact dinosaurs, then they were here long before humans. I know from all my studies that much of our behavior is learned and not just coincidence. Therefore, those first humans had to learn from someone. Why not the dinosaurs? Or the chickens? Dinosaurs were at one time the top of the food chain, now we are. Why not look to them for advice on how to act. So lets say that chickens are dinosaurs and time has gone by. We dont even know it but we look to chickens like we used to look at T-rex, with lots of respect. We then see a rooster, he is in charge, makes a lot of noise, and doesnt ever really accomplish much.

Now think of men. We are in charge, make a lot of noise, dont accomplish much and waste most of our time pumping ourselves up to look better than the others around us. Are you seeing the methods to my mayhem now? Probably not, but next time you see a movie where the roosters wake every one up, know that its a bunch of crap and the only purpose that they are serving is to be a modeling reminder of how to act and to feed our carnivorous appetites when we feel like killing them for crowing too much. The only problem here is we usually eat the hens... ughh male privilege seems to win again.

• We're number one in millionaires.
• We're number one in billionaires.
• We're number one in military spending.
• We're number one in firearm deaths.
• We're number one in beef production.
• We're number one in per capita energy use.
• We're number one in carbon dioxide emissions (more than Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and the United Kingdom combined).
• We're number one in total and per capita municipal waste (720 kilograms per person per year).
• We're number one in hazardous waste produced (by a factor of twenty times our nearest competitor, Germany).
• We're number one in oil consumption.
• We're number one in natural gas consumption.
• We're number one in the least amount of tax revenue generated (as a percentage of gross domestic product).
• We're number one in the least amount of federal and state government expenditure (as a percentage of GDP).
• We're number one in daily per capita consumption of calories.
• We're number one in lowest voter turnout.
• We're number one in number of political parties represented in the lower or single house.
• We're number one in recorded rapes (by a factor of almost three times our nearest competitor -- Canada).
• We're number one in injuries and deaths from road accidents (almost twice as many as runner-up Canada).
• We're number one in births to mothers under the age of 20 (again, more than twice as many as Canada, and nearly twice as many as number two New Zealand).
• We're number one in the number of international human rights treaties not signed.
• We're number one among countries in the United Nations with a legally constituted government to not ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• We're number one in number of known executions of child offenders.
• We're number one in likelihood of children under the age of fifteen to commit suicide with a gun.
• We're number one in lowest eigth-grade math scores.
• We're number one in becoming the first society in history in which the poorest group in the population are children.

Pause and reflect on that list. Doesn't it make the heart swell with a sense of pride, knowing that we as Americans - and no one else - can get to the top in so many categories?

Call this my office. It's the only air conditioned room in the village and 1 of 3 places with internet. I live a tough life. It still needs some work but the computers are state of the art and better than I have used for most of my life.

These are some of the Infant 1 & 2 kids that knock on my door and bother me everyday while Im trying to "work." My two favorite, or the only ones that have actively talked to me instead of just the awkward stare, are the two farthest to the right. The little guy in the red shirt jumps on me at every chance and spouts off at the mouth in Spanish that I can often not understand. I think his name is Barrinito. The girl in the yellow shirt is my favorite thus far. She is very well spoken in English and Spanish and talks to me everyday. It's usually just a repeated line of "Mr. Kevin... haha... Mr. Kevin" but it's cute.


Who would have thought that tires could be so much fun?

Am I the only one that finds this creepy? I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the other ones.

This is the Hawkworth Bridge.As many of you know,bridges kind of get me going. Its nothing compared to some bridges in the world, but in terms of what Belize has to offer, it's one of the best. Traffic only goes 1 way and when the wooden bridge that is a bit down stream goes out (which it does almost every time it rains), traffic is a mess. You would think that instead of spending a lot of money constantly repairing a horrible, sketch wooden bridge that they would just build a second reliable one. That seems smart, but I may just be thinking out loud.

This is Julio and Sheldon.They are cousins. Sheldon, as you should already know, was my host brother in San Ignacio. He is 9, acts 14, and throws tantrums like a 2 year old. You never know which Sheldon you are going to get. Julio is only 4 and I can never understand a word coming out of his mouth. His speech is hard to understand, not to mention on top of that he only speaks Kriol. Such a cute kid, but dont let those looks fool you.
Look what I found! Some of you may be thinking you have no idea what this is, but others know exactly what it is. They take me back to Mrs. Szul's third grade class when I got caught making out with the icing during story time. Dunkaroo's! I saw them on the shelf at the grocery and immediately looked to make sure they were expired but oh lets guess 10 years and sure enough they were fresh! It was one of the greatest moments I've had since I've been here. I remember them tasting better but doesnt everything when you are 10 years old?

Part of me thinks that I should wait until I can a.) remember all the names of my new family and b.) pronounce all the names of my new family, but I figure I will tell you how things all work now and figure out all the details later.

My host mom is Ms. Anita. She is a nice woman who mostly keeps to herself and runs a small shop that is connected to the house. My host dad is Arturo. This is a man's man if there ever was one. I think we are going to be best of friends. He just recently was forced into retirement after he lost his job after 30 years due to a change in the political powers that be. He is a short, stocky man who has a chest as wide as a small truck. If I ever get trapped under a fallen tree in a storm, I want this guy to be there to save my life. I dont care how old he is, he can take care of the job. He is also the sweetest man who's major joys in life revolve around his grand kids.

Anita and Arturo have 4 daughters ranging in age from 24-32. The 3 youngest are married with kids that make up 5 grand kids in total. Amilita (Ami) is the oldest daughter and she lives at home and takes care of the children during the day while the other sisters work. Malani is next, she is married to Abell and has 2 children. Abellito is 9 and Zilani is 5. Milani is a teacher at a high school in another village. I have limited exposure to them thus far. Ina (I am not sure of this name) is next. She lives at home in a room that is an extension to the house with her husband (name I cant remember) and her 4 year old daughter Coralis. Ina teaches 6th form which is basically like Junior College.

Then there is Rosi (its short for something I cant remember). She is 24 and has 2 kids. Her son Jaden is 10 months old and her daughter is 3 named (cant remember). She is the 24 year old that is married but currently separated from her husband and living with Milani. She is at the house a lot and seems to be my sidekick. Ms. Anita says its because we are close in age and she can try to be young again even though she has children.

We talk in broken Spanish and broken English most of the time laughing at one another because I look like an idiot but it's all to be expected in a culture that I have no idea what is going on. Last night we sang Karaoke to songs only I knew in English but they tried their best. They kept telling me I wasn't saying the words right but I am the one that knows most of these songs by heart and the one that speaks English fluently so it was a fun argument to have.

I have it more posh here than I did in San Ignacio to some degree. I have my own room (which they made 15 years ago to host another PCV, Karen, during her training with a private bathroom. From of the looks of the house, it seems that every time the family gets bigger, they just simply build another room onto the house, knock out a wall and put in a door. Easy as that. The best thing about my room is the bed. I think its a king sized bed, I'm not too sure on how the sizes work. I know I'm short and all but I cant touch any other side of the bed if I am touching another side of the bed. Its longer than I am tall both in length and in width.

I think the biggest difference between the Trapp's and the Cal's is the way the host family goes about treating me. The Trapp's have been to the States many times and have family there. They understand American culture and basically let me be unless I asked them something. I lived there, but mostly it was a small conversation here and there with food in between. The Cal's dont have a lot of exposure outside to the USA besides a few volunteers they had 15 years ago. I got in the house and it was like they were looking at an alien for the first time. They asked so many questions, wanted to see pictures, and were so much more interested than the other host family. I feel that I will get more out of this host family and they'll definitely help me integrate more into the village by helping me to learn Spanish among other things.
I realize the only thing that is missing are pictures. Well, as you last read... I am a genius and broke my camera. So those will have to wait. I'd say send me one and I'll send you money but the duties on electronics in this country are through the roof so I'll pass. I hear they are cheap in Mexico and then I can just smuggle it in the country like everyone else.

Until next time, enjoy the playoffs in baseball and enjoy being in a country that understands what baseball is.

It takes about 2 hours on a bus to get from Belmopan to Orange Walk Town. After that its usually another 20 minute bus to the village of Yo Creek. I was lucky enough to have my trusty counterpart Damian with me and he had his car in Orange Walk so chalk that up to $1 saved on the bus ride.

Although compared to others its nothing, I brought way too much crap and it's easy to see. Most people got a car ride all the way back to their site, but I got to have fun and ride the bus. I got to enjoy a wonderful sunset and a seat all to myself the entire ride (which is rare).

Once arriving in Orange Walk and getting into Damian's car, we started going west in the direction of what will be home. He told me the road would be paved but by paved he really meant gravel with pavement in spots from time to time. Granted it was was dark, but this road reminded of the kind of road I would drive someone down if I were thinking of killing them. It was a little scary and reminded me a lot of how horror stories began.

As we started to see lights again after 15 minutes of driving in pitch black, Damian turns to me and says, "Welcome to Yo Creek." Katie Perry is in the background of the stereo singing some remix of "I kissed a girl" and I thought to myself that it was all finally becoming real.

There were no other white people where I'd be going. I couldnt just go down the street to find the next volunteer to hang out with. This was it. Things were about to get very real very fast. Damian had told me that he lived very close to where I would be living with the Cal family, but I didnt think he would mean they were 4 houses away and his last name would be Cal too. They are somehow not related but in a small town, it seems a little bit fishy to me that neighbors would have the same last name but not be related. Who knows? Maybe its like the Smith's or Garcia's, I guess only time will tell.

Destination: Yo Creek
District: Orange Walk
Assignment: Sacred Heart RC School

Sites are in and I got the one site that I never looked into because I thought there'd be no chance of me going there. I guess that's what I get for thinking. While I know nothing about this place, because I havent been there, I'll pretend like I do and ramble on for a bit.

The village is about 1,500 people and is located just 10 miles from Orange Walk town and about 4 miles east of the Mexican border. I will be working in a primary school which the equivalent is roughly K-8 in the states. My primary job is to help run a computer literacy program. From what I have been told they have one of the nicest computer labs in the country but not many people there know how to use them. The computer lab is air conditioned so thats damn exciting! Maybe I wont be going through numerous sets of clothes a day from sweating through what I'm wearing.

Secondary projects are open but ideas are to organize sports teams and possibly coach different sports. There are a few youth groups already formed and they seem to need leadership and organization. Im excited for all these things, despite not being really an expert at any of the things that I get to do.

The best part about this site is that for the most part the village is exactly what I asked for. The job itself could be different things but there seems to be plenty of flexibility. My favorite part is the language. Being so close to Mexico and in the North makes it easy to learn Spanish. My packet says that "Spanish is the primary language here and some people speak English and Kriol."

Chetumal is the nearest big town in Mexico and is rumored to be the greatest place on earth when you are living in Belize. They have everything you can imagine. It's like a WalMart without the non-unionized workers. Instead, it's just capitalism at its best in the 3rd world. Makes no sense with the WalMart analogy, but just go with it. Either way, it only costs $5 bz for me to get there and this is a long shot but I hear they have US microbrews there. Someone is probably just lying to me so I get excited but I'll keep my hopes up and cross your fingers for me.

If you are wondering exactly where Yo Creek is on that map up there, its basically at the bottom of the "v" in River Hondo just west of Orange Walk town.

I will be in Belmopan until Monday morning then I head up there to live for 2 weeks with another host family, then swearing in, then 2 more weeks with the host family... then Im on my own. Visitors will be welcome. Check that: visitors are required.

If you ever thought that songs get overplayed in the US, you have no idea. From what I have been told, every few months Belizeans get hooked on a song and cant stop listening to it. To the point that people will listen to it on repeat for hours and not get tired of it. My host dad has 8 cds in his car right now, this is the first song of every mixed cd.

And being that the song fits the time, since this is my last night in San Ignacio... its only fitting.