When December hits Southern Belize, the sun is supposed to come with it and stay for the next six months. The sun has been nowhere to be found almost this entire week. Today feels much more like Seattle than it does Belize, and it has rendered me bored and frustrated while hiding inside. You see, everything here seems to be set up for outdoor activities, which is appropriate most of the time, but when it rains relentlessly like this there is little to do. Couple that with me being sick all week and it is not hard to imagine that I have not had one of my best weeks here. I caught a fever over last weekend, and was feeling better by Wednesday, when I apparently ate something bad. Let's just say Wednesday night I spent nearly as much time with the toilet as I did with my pillow. Thursday and Friday I didn't work because I was not able to hold down much, but today (Saturday) I am feeling almost back to normal. I sure hope the rain stops soon so I can get back outside and feel alive again, not to mention get back to work in the field.
With all that said, as you can imagine, there is not much to update you on. I did go work out in the field on Tuesday. I helped construct the base for a stove and oven for a young widow who recently moved to a new home. This was actually pretty fun, as my job that day mainly consisted of carrying very heavy sand and concrete bags on my shoulder from the truck to the home, which was about 200 yards away. What made it even more fun was that the trail to get back there was narrow, uneven, muddy, and filled with very excitable pigs. I think the extentionists I was working with have a skewed view, or maybe rather accurate view of gringos and our work ethic. They all seemed to be so concerned about me carrying the bags and cement blocks, and were very quick and persistent in assuring me that I did not need to carry anything. I was having a blast, and those of you who know me know that I love picking up heavy things and challenging myself in that way. It could be argued, rather easily, that that is how I ended up with a back surgery at the age of 19, but we won’t go down that road.
I wish I had some exciting updates for you, or even a philosophical thought, but I’m afraid all the lost nourishment has left me without any brain power. I am going to Honduras the end of next week, so I am excited about that. When I come back from there, I will really only have about two weeks left at the office before I start making my way up the coast to Belize City, where I will start my long journey to Nairobi. I have to concentrate on focusing on this next week, otherwise I get a little frantic that I only have a couple weeks left. Hopefully the weather and my body will return to normal and I will get to go out in the field next week, before leaving for Honduras. I can’t wait to update you on that once I get back. I’m sure it will give me plenty of information and experiences to send your way. Sorry there is not much to tell you this week, but I suppose this is a good lesson that not every week can be filled with nonstop excitement.
The first photo is of me carrying the final sand bag to the home on Tuesday. You can see how dirty and maybe how exhausted I was by this point. Lifting those things up to my shoulder, and then balancing them there for a couple minutes while I walked along the trail was very difficult. The next one is of a HUGE bug that was on the landing of my friend’s apartment building. It was there for almost 24 hours, which worried me that it was plotting something against me and was going to attack when I least expected it. The third photo is of a cloudy sunset that I thought was just beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the really bright and colorful sunsets in the Northwest. That white building on the right is just about the biggest building in Punta Gorda at a skyscraping two stories. Finally, this is a sign for the Belizian beer, Belikin, posted on a tree on the bank of the Moho River. People here really only drink Belikin, Guiness, and Red Stripe, and rum of course. That’s all I have for you this week, I look forward to giving you a lot more to chew on next time I write. Be good to yourselves.
When December hits Southern Belize, the sun is supposed to come with it and stay for the next six months. The sun has been nowhere to be found almost this entire week. Today feels much more like Seattle than it does Belize, and it has rendered me bored and frustrated while hiding inside. You see, everything here seems to be set up for outdoor activities, which is appropriate most of the time, but when it rains relentlessly like this there is little to do. Couple that with me being sick all week and it is not hard to imagine that I have not had one of my best weeks here. I caught a fever over last weekend, and was feeling better by Wednesday, when I apparently ate something bad. Let's just say Wednesday night I spent nearly as much time with the toilet as I did with my pillow. Thursday and Friday I didn't work because I was not able to hold down much, but today (Saturday) I am feeling almost back to normal. I sure hope the rain stops soon so I can get back outside and feel alive again, not to mention get back to work in the field.
With all that said, as you can imagine, there is not much to update you on. I did go work out in the field on Tuesday. I helped construct the base for a stove and oven for a young widow who recently moved to a new home. This was actually pretty fun, as my job that day mainly consisted of carrying very heavy sand and concrete bags on my shoulder from the truck to the home, which was about 200 yards away. What made it even more fun was that the trail to get back there was narrow, uneven, muddy, and filled with very excitable pigs. I think the extentionists I was working with have a skewed view, or maybe rather accurate view of gringos and our work ethic. They all seemed to be so concerned about me carrying the bags and cement blocks, and were very quick and persistent in assuring me that I did not need to carry anything. I was having a blast, and those of you who know me know that I love picking up heavy things and challenging myself in that way. It could be argued, rather easily, that that is how I ended up with a back surgery at the age of 19, but we won’t go down that road.
I wish I had some exciting updates for you, or even a philosophical thought, but I’m afraid all the lost nourishment has left me without any brain power. I am going to Honduras the end of next week, so I am excited about that. When I come back from there, I will really only have about two weeks left at the office before I start making my way up the coast to Belize City, where I will start my long journey to Nairobi. I have to concentrate on focusing on this next week, otherwise I get a little frantic that I only have a couple weeks left. Hopefully the weather and my body will return to normal and I will get to go out in the field next week, before leaving for Honduras. I can’t wait to update you on that once I get back. I’m sure it will give me plenty of information and experiences to send your way. Sorry there is not much to tell you this week, but I suppose this is a good lesson that not every week can be filled with nonstop excitement.
The first photo is of me carrying the final sand bag to the home on Tuesday. You can see how dirty and maybe how exhausted I was by this point. Lifting those things up to my shoulder, and then balancing them there for a couple minutes while I walked along the trail was very difficult. The next one is of a HUGE bug that was on the landing of my friend’s apartment building. It was there for almost 24 hours, which worried me that it was plotting something against me and was going to attack when I least expected it. The third photo is of a cloudy sunset that I thought was just beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the really bright and colorful sunsets in the Northwest. That white building on the right is just about the biggest building in Punta Gorda at a skyscraping two stories. Finally, this is a sign for the Belizian beer, Belikin, posted on a tree on the bank of the Moho River. People here really only drink Belikin, Guiness, and Red Stripe, and rum of course. That’s all I have for you this week, I look forward to giving you a lot more to chew on next time I write. Be good to yourselves.
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