What to do when there is a flu...

With no school for a week and a half, no service, and now less friends as at least two girls (out of 7 of us) from my school are returning to the United States, it can sometimes get a little slow. Especially since the news of the morning is that all the businesses in Mexico are closed until Wednesday too. Therefore, with inspiration from a friend, I am learning to talk with my eyes. With the increased use of face masks here this skill could come in very handy soon. I will post when I get better at it, but here is what my and my poor computer camera have so far...

So, in conclusion, it was an AWESOME trip!! Now I have the travel bug like no other and want to plan a trip to travel through Central America, and with luck, South America. If anyone is interested, just let me know...

I think that it is important to know what a country has to offer, so many people go to the beaches of Mexico but miss the beauty of Chiapas high and low lands. If you ever go to Mexico I would say it is one spot not to miss. Also, I love Belize!

bridge to the outskirts of town

the house

"They say, old Fords never die, they just come to Belize. But Fords, Chevrolets even those hardy little Toyotas do die, eventually. We just never bury them in Belize. We leave their metal corpses to decay in the streets, or in front of our homes."

- Karla Heusner, Food for Thought, Chronicles of Belize

What I love about his is how true it is. Just driving down the road there are rusted out cars in front of several of the houses. Contrary to what one may think they are not there because they are unloved, they are there because they are greatly loved. They become part of the tour of the house, the essence. At this ranch I saw the fruit trees, the animals, the house, and of course this pick up truck, or as my guide says, "this is the truck that I learned to drive on." Poor guy.

hazelnut

star apple: purple deliciousness

i watched this juice being made!

in case you couldn't tell, this is the stove

i feel so bad for him!

so i know that some places shoes on a power line mean it's the house of a drug dealer, what the significance of shoes on a tree is i do not know...

Back to Semana Santa...

So here I am in this town San Ignacio where everyone I ask what to do says "the coolest things are outside of town, take a tour." I thought about it. Actually the whole reason I went was the California chica lured me with talk of zip lining and cave tubing. Once I actually got to the town though I felt like instead of paying $100 to hang out with tourists and do stuff that is actually offered in the United States I wanted to get to know the town, really see the Belize mainland for the two days I had there. 

The first day I walked along the river, through the town, and went to the "best" local bar. During the day I met up with some Canadians, Australians, and a Brit whom I went out with at night, a little extra security. I realized it was a beautiful town with colorful houses built into the hills and people relaxing with friends on every corner.

The second day I was about to do the same solo wandering when I met someone who offered to show me around town. A free tour from a local? Yes! We walked along the river where people were cooling off and passed by the jumping spot, a huge rock that rose above the river and provided the perfect platform for jumping into the water below.

After that we went back to his ranch. AWESOME. We picked all this fruits, many of which I have never seen before, straight from the tree and ate them. After walking around and seeing the land his sister cooked us a home cooked meal which showed me how self-sustaining the ranch actually is. Everything in the meal came from the ranch.

beans, tomatoes, and potato like thing - grown on the land

eggs - from chickens

orange juice - picked from a tree and fresh squeezed

water and ice - from the rain

It was incredible and shows how little you really need to be happy. A place to sleep, land, and a nearby river to dip in. As of 1989, when I was born, the ranch did not even have running water or electricity but they were doing great.

So Let's Talk About Swine...

(I just happen to have these pictures from Belize)

I do not know how prevalent talk about the swine flu is in the United States or the rest of the world, but judging from NPR it is in the news quite a bit. I know in Mexico this is definitely the case. Slowly throughout the past three days talk and actions dealing with the flu have increased.

First, Saturday I began reading about it and talking with my mama here and we both agreed that my planned trip to Mexico City in May was a bad idea and not going to happen. 

Then, Sunday I received 10 minute talk about the new rules in the house due to government ordinance (I think?). This is pretty serious considering I have been living here for 4 months without ever having a rule. Except one about losing keys, but that was after I had a few issues with losing my house key. Not preventative but more after the fact where I already experienced the consequences, like being locked out. Anyways, the new rule is simple and most definitely preventative: wash your hands. Wash your hand when you get home from "la calle" - the street. Wash your hands when you get to school. Wash your hands when you are going to eat. Very important too, do not touch your face or nose in between washing hands, especially when en "la calle."

Today, Monday, the actions took place. The president closed all schools in Mexico until May 6. Yes, this includes mine. For the moment I am still continuing service in the south side of the city, which I hope is possible to keep doing. When traveling there it is interesting to see all the people on the street with blue face masks. I guess that is a hot commodity now, maybe I should go to the store to get mine before they all run out...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103517402

Belize's bus system

San Ignacio has two main bridges that for me set the scene of the peaceful town set in the hills. Each bride was one lane, the above bridge, Hawksworth Bridge, has the distinction of being the only suspension bride in the country.

this bridge has the distinction of still being in use despite some holes and janky construction

Macal River

The prime day of the local market is Saturday, where several farmers bring in a vast variety of fruits.

Nature's car wash. This is reflexive of the community's interaction with the river. All along it there were kids playing (such as those in the background), families gathered, teenagers hanging out, and most definitely swimming.

even biking through the river?

After Thursday we had accomplished all we had wanted to on the island: relaxing on the beach, discovering the local hangouts, boating to Caye Caulker, and free snorkeling on a boat called "One Love" with the artistic work of a marijuana leaf on the side. (where I hugged a nurse shark and sting rays in the middle of the ocean!) Having seen a lot on the island I decided it was time to head to the mainland to a place called San Ignacio, which I had heard of the day before from a girl from California. All I really knew was that it was on the mainland and apparently pretty safe...

My friend T headed back to Merida as I boarded a cross country bus to go west into Belize into the Cayo district (Belize has 6 districts). The buses of Belize are one of the visible indicators of the poor economic situation of the country, especially in comparison to Mexico's smooth ADO bus line. In Belize City I boarded the old school bus for $3.50USD to get across the country in a 3 hour ride (which I am told is 90 minutes in a car). The bus was crowded front to back, with people spilling into the aisles. Despite the abundance of people, I stuck out as the only white passenger on the bus. It was an interesting feeling that I know several people live daily throughout the world and I am glad to have the experience. The majority of my experience was people taking turns sitting next to me and talking to me because I am different, even though Belize is a country of mixed ethnicities that live in unison. All in all I was glad to make it to San Ignacio without incident, such as the Canadians I met who had taken a similar bus where a passenger tried to stab the money collector. No worries though, it was resolved peacefully. My only problem was driving through nasty smoke that blew onto the highway from the area where the trash from Belize City is burnt. Yuck.

Once in San Ignacio I met up once more with the girl from California and found a comfortable, cheap place to stay for the night.

http://belizex.com/san_ignacio.htm

outdoor bowling!

some friends from last time :) 

the painting is cool, but the real ocean is way better

We went to go see the crocodile feedings that we were told happen daily at 4:30. This is where local guys tie dead chickens to ropes and drag the ropes around to draw crocodiles to the chickens and put on a show. Feeding crocodiles is illegal and has been for a while now, which has never stopped the guys from doing it. Except for the day that we went. Incidentally this was the same day the enforcers of the law came and put up a sign with the local newspaper there to watch. We recovered from our loss of a show and brightened the mood with a picture with the park enforcers and the new sign. At least we were there on a historic day!

Coconut Leo may lack teeth, but he has mad skills for climbing to the top of palm trees and doing backflips.

San Pedro is famous for its nightlife - clubs, dancing, drinking, etc. We decided to skip the crazy scene, such as lady's night at Wet Willy's, and go for some more local fun like the chicken dump. Here is how this works: Pay about 50 cents for a number, feed a chicken, put it in this numbered pen, and if the chicken takes a dump on your number you win money. 

The catch: you have to clean the number first.

This goes for rounds and attracts visitors to the island and locals alike.

when I leave San Pedro it is always sad, but at the same time there is no way I could stay on an island forever..