time management

I'm beginning to understand the importance of time management here: when people go to work, their productivity level, how meals are served/prepared, etc...
...and how it's completely opposite from what I'm used to in the United States. Yes, I was aware that things move at a slower pace than what I'm used to... this is true for everything. For instance, the faster I finish my work...the more time I have to sit and stare at the ceiling. (p.s. the one in the school office is falling in from termite damage). Or, that if I eat to fast...I still have over an hour before work starts up again...Or, that being 'on time' is really a relative term for most things.
 After spending most of yesterday at the computer (updating my blog, of course), I was finally ready to call it a day and walk home to find something to do...perhaps read  more in my current book or nap or who knows what.
 This was not to be...instead, my counterpart decided that after a day of nothingness, the market would be an amazing place to take me. Granted, this appealed to me at first as I'd also spent a majority of the afternoon creating my budget for the month (FYI...still poor) and wanted to check out how much a bed was going to cost me.  So we drove to the market and while my counterpart picked out her vegetables, I asked the prices on beds made by the Mennonites. - I'll be getting one in the future...just not for a while. 
At this point, I've had my fill of the heat and I'm ready to go home...but no, while we were out we also ran other errands.  I believe she could sense my loss of enthusiasm by store 4 and finally offered to drive me home.  When I told her I needed to go to the bank first, she immediately perked up and wanted to shop at more stores in that area. I mustered as much "nice" as I could find and explained that I would only be a minute and then would walk myself home.  Once again, everything takes longer here.
The good news is that I had an activity planned for the evening...YOGA.  I'm new to it, but I'm finding that I love it more each time I attend a class.  For one thing, its an excuse to converse with other PCVs that attend.  Secondly, it helps me release stress and relax for an hour or so.  And last, but certainly not least...it occupies my time two evenings, twice a week!  Beautiful.
Now, this yoga-ing experience may have made me overthink my time management skills for today.  My counterpart agreed that I could leave when I was finished for the day (which at this point usually happens around lunch).  I had every intention of finishing at the school, taking a little break and then heading to the Peace Corps office to research some things in the IRC.
Without fail...my plans never seem to work out.  I arrived at the office only to find the entrance to the IRC locked. No one to answer my knocks.
SNAFU and more time I needed to fill.
Really, this isn't too bad...because now I'm happily sitting in air conditioning, updating my blog and watching Law & Order.  Again, perks to living in Belmopan....but let this serve as a lesson in always being prepared with a back-up plan for occupying an afternoon.  Oh the complexities of time management in the Carribbean.

Swearing in!

It's official- I'm now sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! The past week has been a whirlwind of activities and I'm just now getting around to updating you all on my life. I know you were all on the edge of your seats waiting for my update, right?!

Last week all the volunteers traveled back to Belmopan to complete our Bridge to Service (BTS) training and then swear in on Thursday. So, while everyone else spent hours traversing the hot buses and navigating their way through the jungle in some cases...I simply packed a bag and walked down the street to the Garden City Hotel. I admit, that was nice. Even better was that when I needed to drop things off or grab something I forgot, I could. Apparently there are some advantages to being a local.

The week was pretty uneventful until Thursday. Swearing in Day! Now, I dont know why I had it in my head that the swearing in at the Governor General's would be inside a nice building complete with air conditioning, but I did. Rule #1 of Peace Corps....save yourself and NEVER assume anything. In fact, our ceremony was held outside, sans fans in the midday heat. Now, I'll allow that at least they had a tent to shield my pale skin from the scorching sun...but the heat did nothing to improve the status of my hangover from the party the night before. Lessoned learned: if you're going to drink excessive amounts of alcohol before spending a day in the heat, at minimal you should also be prepared with tylenol and at least a small hand fan...it will save your life.

The actual ceremony went smoothly, with the typical amount of crying and chatting from the back of where I was seated. I'll admit there are parts that I missed...not because of the hangover, but because locals sitting behind me were in a full conversation at top volume. I'm not sure what is culturally acceptable for ceremonies, but I guess that flys here. After the ceremony (and ridiculous numbers of pictures) we were served rice and beans (what else would you have in Belize?!) and...wait for it....TURKEY! we were spoiled...no chicken for us! The fact that this was exciting to several of us speaks to how much chicken we actually consume.

After the ceremony, I promptly went and took a nap, in AIR CONDITIONING. wonderful. I was woken up a few hours later to attend the annual 1st years vs. 2nd years soccer game. Hilarious. 1st years suffered a terrible loss (1-5) but at least our cheerleaders were amazing. As always, I was left with a bruise documenting my time on the pitch. Luckily for me, thats the only thing to prove I was in attendance...my skills are RUSTY (and thats putting it nicely)! Hopefully I can get some back during these next 2 years.

A quick shower later and we were once again on a bus...this time to the Ambassador's house for a reception/dinner. AMAZING. The embassy housing is beyond belief...it was like stepping out of Belize for a while. No pothole filled roads or dimly lit streets with overgrown grass and trash thrown about. Hardly...the lawns were well kept and streets were clean and nicely cemented. The house itself was beautiful and most of us had a jaw-dropping reaction to the fact that we were allowed to freely explore the 1st floor. Tax dollars are definately at work here! Bonus...we were allowed WINE! and beer for the entire evening and were served dinner (prepared by the Ambassador's wife) on official china. You just don't get that everyday.

The night ended back at the GarDen (as we refer to it) with another party and of course, more alcohol. I believe the keg donated by Belikin was finished before it was all over and I'm fairly certain that my head was hitting the pillow just as the sun was coming up. I was spent...but celebrating the fact that 40! of us made it to swearing in was reason enough to get a little crazy.

CONGRATS PCVS BELIZE 2009-2011!!!

Here's the photoshoot of the whole mess. I'll post some of the fun photos later...enjoy!

Just threw on my life jacket...

...we're clearly stuck- not excited anymore




Our lovely passengers crammed
into the first 20ft. of our boat.

This is the boat, stuck on
the reef!

See that rope and the faint lights?...
that would be the rope
we clung to while wading through
the ocean to our rescue boats.

loading into our rescue boats


SAFE on the dock of Blackbird Caye.


So excited to NOT be in the water!



The gathering point once
we were on the island.

Adam and I upon arrival at
Blackbird Caye.

See the faint light on the right side
of this photo? That would be our
boat...still stuck on the reef!


Inside our meeting place
at Blackbird Caye.

Inside our seaside room -
complete with beds & sheets!

our view in the morning...Beautiful!


This is what $40BZ paid for
...and it was completely worth it!

Shipwrecked in Belize

This past weekend was my most interesting, terrifying, and adventurous one spent in Belize thus far. Let's begin at the beginning, when my friend Adam sent me a text Saturday night asking if I would like to have a free trip to the Blue Hole/Half Moon Caye on Sunday.

Pretty stunning if I do say so myself. Naturally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit such an amazing site for FREE (the trip is normally $300). Plus, once again I got to travel outside Belmopan. All I had to do was get myself to the Princess Hotel in Belize City by 7a.m. and then assist my friend with a community educational event being put on by his counterpart agency, the Belize Audubon Society.

So, I did what I always do when presented with an amazing advenuture...I said I'd go. I got ridiculously excited, to the point that I couldn't sleep much which made getting up at 4:40 a bit tough. However, I sucked it up and my gracious host dad, Marlon, had me dropped off at the bus terminal so I could catch the 5:30a.m. bus. Turns out, on Sundays the buses run a bit later so I didn't leave Belmopan until 5:45. At this point I'm nothing but excited and I arrive in Belize City right at 7a.m., take my taxi to the hotel and meet Adam and his counterpart. Apparently, no one else that Adam invited took him up on the offer (in hindsight, I should have taken this as a sign) and I couldn't wait to come back with an experience to brag about.

The locals from Chunox village arrived shortly after I did via their charter bus and we boarded our boat bound for Half Moon Caye. The trip out was relatively uneventful, aside from having to scream above the boat engine to converse. The weather was beautiful: clear skys, brilliant blue waters that changed shade depending on the depth of the ocean. After about two hours on the sea, we reached Half Moon Caye. It's absolutely beautiful - sandy beaches, palm trees, and a cool Carribbean breeze that will make you forget any trouble you thought you had.

We rested for about 20 min. and let people stretch their legs, use the restroom and change to head to Blue Hole. My excitement at this point was at top level...like a kid on Christmas Eve. We piled back into the boat and ventured out to the Blue Hole. It is absolutely stunning and I completely recommend this adventure to everyone that has an affinity for snorkeling and/or diving. Our group jumped in and snorkeled for about an hour, navigating through the coral reef (the Belizean reef is the second largest in the world, following the Great Barrier Reef in Australia).

On the way back we had a bit of trouble. Our engine had started smoking the last leg of the trip out to the Blue Hole, so it took us an hour to get back to Half Moon Caye instead of 20min. However, lunch was waiting for us on the island and a new part was being sent from Belize City to repair our boat. We ate and swam in the ocean off the Caye and then had a tour of the island. Half Moon Caye is a reserve and plays host to the Red-footed Boobie (I believe it is the only place in the world where they nest). Part of our tour was allowing the locals to express their ideas on how they could use the resources offered in the reserve without resorting to illegal fishing (a huge and growing problem for the protected areas).

The discussion went well and we timed it so that our boat could be repaired...or so we thought. Turns out there was a bit more of a problem than we thought and for a while, we assumed that we would be stuck on the island for the night (it is offered for camping occasionally so this wasn't too bad an option). I was also loving the fact that not only did I get to snorkel and swim the cayes, but now I would also be fortunate to watch the sunset on the island! What could be luckier?! But, the boat was repaired and just before sunset we all (about 50 of us) piled onto the boat to attempt our long journey home.

The boat moved at a much slower pace then when we were heading to Half Moon Caye. I'm not sure if this was because the engine still wasn't 100% or because it was night on the ocean. I didn't much care...I was exhausted from the day and was more concerned with star gazing on the ocean than anything else. The sky is beautiful here, in the clear night we could see the milky way and it felt like over a million stars.

I had almost drifted to sleep when the trouble, sorry, *adventure* started. The boat had all of the sudden slammed into something hard and immediately stopped. Bear in mind, I have no idea where we are (its pitch black on the ocean) and I immediately think, "sh*&"...this cannot be good. Apparently our boat had navigated its way right into the reef. Apparently this is what happens when your boat has no running lights (so safe). No worries says our captain, we can attempt to navigate out of the mess. WRONG.

In about 10 min. of crashing into the reef, we're told we must move to the front of the boat (all 50 of us crammed into a small, small space and we were issued life jackets- the lovely orange ones that no one ever assumes they'll actually have to wear. For the next couple of hours, we were stuck, helpless, bouncing on the waves and smashing into the reef we were stuck on. It was obvious the boat, and us, would not be making it off the reef. To make it a little more nerve wracking, along with the non existent boat lights, our fair maiden also did not have a radio. PERFECT. How many of you think that cell phone reception works 60 miles off coast? Exactly.

Luckily, a boat that was following us (the one that had repaired our engine) was able to navigate to a local island and radio the coast guard and get another boat to assist us. The two boats were then tied together in deeper water and a long rope was tethered between ours and theirs. We were then told to hop off the boat, one by one wearing tennis shoes...hold the line, and navigate our way over the reef we were stuck on to our rescue boats. Easier said than done. In total, it took about an hour or better to get all of us (men, women, and children) to the boats, which made a couple trips to the island to drop us onto land.

I was among the last trip to the island, known as Blackbird Caye. After wading through the ocean at 10pm, I have never been happier to see dry land in my life! Soaking wet, we made our way to a resort that is non-operational at the moment. We were ushered into a huge space with a thatch roof where I changed out of wet clothes and into some semi-dry ones that had made it through the water in my backpack (which is referred to as my Mary Poppins bag).

Let's reflect on this bag for a minute...all day I had been getting grief for packing so much stuff for a day trip...HOWEVER, thanks to the ordeal we found ourselves in..I must say that I was the most prepared, with the most useful things out of us all. I had tooth paste, deodorant, change of clothes, pajamas, towel, wind-up flashlight, and a first aid kit (I had packed enough in case I missed the last bus to Belmopan and had to stay the night in Belize City). No one made fun of me by the end of the day, thank you very much.

So, once changed, we made a make-shift bed out of our life jackets and my towel. This was not comfortable by any means and we took to calling ourselves, refugees. I admit, I was frazzled and honestly the whole situation made me want to cry...but instead all I could do was laugh each time I thought about the situation I found myself in. Adam decided to see some of the staff and attempt to get us better sleeping accomodations. They graciously offered us a seaside cabin for whatever we could afford. We gave $40BZ for a room that costs $200US a night.

The cabin, while in disrepair (the resort is under renovation) had a shower and a bed with sheets. SO EXCITING. I hung my clothes out in the breeze, and found myself enjoying watching the spectacle of attempting to dislodge our boat from the reef - you could see it from where our room was). Our day finally ended around midnight....with the relief of a bed and dry land.

We were awoken at dawn to hop back onto boats that took us the rest of the 60miles into Belize City. While I'm not impressed with Belize City, it was amazing to finally be back to a land mass that was bigger than a few football fields. Traversing back to Belmopan was the most exhausting leg of the ordeal...but I did it. I promplty showered, threw in a load of laundry, and napped for most of the afternoon.

Retrospectively, this is exactly the adventure that I always stated I wanted. At the time, I was a little less graceful in appreciating the experience. Aside from a few cuts and bruises, i took a way a few things:

• The Blue Hole is completely worth your money!
• Snorkeling is still my favorite sea activity
• I am cursed with unbelievably bad luck
• Coral reef cuts your feet horribly- bring wading shoes every where
• Mary Poppins bags may look rediculous, but they can save the day
• Always make sure that your boat has its equipment (lights, a radio, navigational tools, and a competant captain)
• Life jackets are sometimes a necessary fashion ensemble
• Island getaways are more fun when planned, but still enjoyable
• Sunset and sunrise are amazing on the ocean
• Dry land is never more appreciated then when you think you won't be seeing it again

Hopefully, I'll post photos soon (Adam has a waterproof camera, so the whole thing is documented) . I forgot my camera cable in the mess of what today was, but the photos I have of the fun part of the day are astonishing and I can't wait to show you all! I hope you all had a wonderful Columbus Day - and a slightly less adventurous one than I did.

Garden City Primary School

Okay...so apparently I was a bit off in my excited description of adventures in Belmopan and beyond. Really, they're mainly adventures in Belmopan because it is where my site placement is for the next two years. I'm working at Garden City Primary School and Tuesday was my first day here with my counterpart and the various staff. Exciting fact #1: I have my own desk in the admin office that comes complete with internet access! LUCKY! Exciting fact #2: I am traveling to the north finally later today! There is a volunteer from Japan that is traveling to visit a school up north where one of his counterparts lives and he's letting me tag along. WooHoo for finally seeing more of this country than the Western Highway.

The first day experience was interesting. My week was supposed to be full of various community activities: going to the market, visiting classrooms, traveling to some government buildings. Instead, I spent most of the morning listening to children getting scolded for fighting during religion class. Ironic, yes...but it let me see an interesting side of education here. For one thing, several teachers were out sick this week and problems seemed to be escalating at rapid succession for a bit. Needless to say, the market adventure was scrapped. Due to the chaos, I spent most of day one sitting at a computer typing lists for the Expressive Arts Program which begins Friday. Yes, I worked the first day during ORIENTATION. This could be an interesting two years. In fact, these days drag on forever...and then, once I think its time to go home, I'm welcomed into a teacher's home for dinner. Its an amazing gesture, but I always find myself fighting to stay awake and maintain politeness at late hours. I'm calling it a work in progress...

Other than that, I'm slowly adjusting to living in the slow place that exists in Belmopan. My new host family is very nice. My host dad works for the U.S. Embassy and my host mother works as a high school principal in Belize City. They have a relationship much like one you would find in the United States: they both work and share the responsibilities around the house...my host dad was the one prepping dinner last night. I also have a host grandmother that currently lives in the house because her health is poor....she's definitely interesting (and I believe in the first stages of Alzheimer's- she asked me no less than 12x how long I'd been in Belize).

The house is amazing...it has a view to the open space beyond Belmopan, with a deck that lets me watch the sunrise while drinking my coffee. I have my own room complete with a new fan (the first one I had sounded like cats being killed, no bueno). Its my favorite place to hang out at the moment. Most days are chaotic and exhasting but there is a place for comfort and relaxing. Last night my host dad and I discussed soccer to excess, debating our favorite teams in the Premiership League (we agreed on ManU) and then we ate cheeseburgers while watching Cardinal baseball. Completely awesome.

Hopefully I'll have time in the next couple of days to post photos to share with you all the new places I'm living and working. Keep updating me on all of your news, I love hearing from you all!