Belize Navidad!

Ok, so it's not Christmas at all...but Cameron and Eddie gave me that title, and I felt it was too good not to use.

Last night we stayed at a cabana in the jungle; yes a jungle cabana. It was pretty amazing. When I am able to post pictures, you can see it. It was The Education Center for the Belize Zoo, right across the street from the zoo itself. They have a birdwatching spot, an educational building with books and animal skulls and bird feathers. And they give you a delicious breakfast and dinner included! The only drawback? The mosquito really enjoyed my visit. I counted 49 bites this morning, and I actually think I missed a few.

We sauntered around the zoo this morning and it was very impressive. It doesn't feel like a zoo as much as a walk through a tropical jungle with lots of animal sightings. Some zoos feel a lot more restrictive to the animals, and you kind of feel bad for them, sitting there behind bars, being watched by people. This zoo is lush, under a jungle canopy, and there are only thin wire fences between you and the animals. Some fences are electric, just to keep visitors safe, which is a bit of a relief.

They are also big on conservation and education. All of the animals there were either injured in the wild and taken care of at the zoo, or were already pets who are not accustomed to living in the wild. They have lots of great educational programs for kids and school groups, and some clever signage throughout the zoo.

Then we took a bus from the zoo to Belize City, and checked into the Seaside Guesthouse, a hostel-type place with a disheveled charm. It has a beautiful view of the ocean, even if the screen in our sea-view window is mostly missing. It has a porch with TWO hammocks!

Belize this!

There is a gentle rain falling as I sit on the porch of the office, a small wooden structure on the campus where I am staying.

We are packing up our things and heading to Belmopan, the capitol city, which, I hear, is only a capitol city in name. It was moved from Belize City due to a hurricane that wiped the City out, and Belmopan is further inland, a safer place for a capitol. Still, Belize City was built back up, and remains the largest city in the country.

I thought I'd give a word on food here, which I have been enjoying, but not writing much about. My favorite so far are fryjacks with eggs, refried beans, and Marie Sharp's hot sauce. Now, I am not a hot sauce kind of person, but I have surprised myself by putting it on almost every meal. Another favorite is stewed chicken with rice and beans. I had it at Benny's, a small local restaurant with a fun, Christmas-light-strewn ambiance, and only outdoor seating. The chicken was melt-in-your-mouth, and the beans and rice have a slight coconut flavor, with a little Marie Sharp's to give it an extra kick.

Besides the food, another highlight has been the birds- parrots are very common here, as are toucans. I have yet to see a toucan, but I have seen my share of parrots. Belize is a birdwatcher's paradise.

Now, off to Belmopan on a city bus. We will be going to King's Children's Home and then to the Belize Zoo educational center to spend the night. I am not sure how much internet access I will have from this point on, but I will continue to write as I am able.

Belize in Miracles...

(Thanks to Christine for my title suggestion!)

Yesterday was a fascinating day. We set out to San Antonio, a village of about 2500 people, where the San Antonio women's cooperative is quite active. We met with an older woman, Josefa, who started the coop with her daughters. She has 10 children, and realized that the younger women in the village (her kids included) were not learning some of the embroidery and skills that she learned as a child. So, she began teaching them, and they branched out into pottery making after receiving a grant. Since 2001, the coop has grown, and now they raise and sell chickens for food, have a garden, sell beautiful products from pots to ceramic statues to jewelry. They have pigs, and use a methane converter, with which they are able to light their kiln and fires. So yes, they use gas from the pigs as a cheaper and environmentally friendly way to do their work. Then, the manure from the pigs is used to fertilize their garden. It was very exciting for me to see how these women started with a small idea, and before they knew it, it has grown into something very successful! It is a model for us in the U.S.; I think we could learn a lot from what they are doing. Josefa had raised 10 children, and is continuing to give back to the community. The funds they receive from their sales improves conditions for the entire village.

After this inspiring morning, we went another hour and had a picnic at a beautiful waterfall in the rainforest. Despite the fact that it was raining (it is definitely rainy season here), several of us jumped in and swam up to the waterfall. Josh mentioned that I should probably bring students if we do a trip in the future...I agree wholeheartedly!

When we got back to the car after our time at the waterfall, we had a slight problem when we realized that we had, oops, locked all keys in the car. And it was raining...hard. We were 2 hours from anywhere, and I don't think they have AAA in Belize. So we prayed, and circled the car looking for any possible way to open it. Here is where the miracle came in. We finally discovered that we could wedge a stick into the back windows. With just the right stick, we were able to open the window a crack, and somehow maneuver a very long stick to pick up the purse with the keys in it. And yes, if you had seen how secure this SUV was, you would also think it was a miracle.

You better Belize it!

Yesterday got off to a slow start, but in the end, I got even more done than I had hoped. While waiting for a car to be available so we could go into town, the caretaker of the ranch, a Belizian man, came over and chatted with us. I was able to ask him all my questions about Belize- from politics, to social problems, to education, to the drug trade, and so on. He had some very interesting perspectives, as he was born in Belize and has lived here most of his life.

In the afternoon, we headed to San Ignacio, to The Cornerstone Foundation. Josh and I were able to sit down with a staff member and find out all about this NGO, which was very impressive. From women's issues, to health, to youth, to HIV/AIDS Prevention, to relief and aid, Cornerstone covers it all. However, several programs were particularly interesting to me. The government does not provide a free or reduced lunch program for students here, and so some students are not able to afford the food in their school's cafeterias. Cornerstone actually delivers meals to schools that are a little further away, and also allows local kids to eat lunch in their facility.

They also have many services pertaining to HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. They do contraceptive distribution, programming in schools and communities, and even have a group called Y.A.P (Youth Ambassador Program) that teaches youth to be leaders in the fight against AIDS in their community. Which is especially important here, as Belize has the highest percentage of HIV infected persons in Central America, at 3%. However, there are some boundaries to the work that Cornerstone does. In a country where Catholicism is a large percent of the population, and many of the schools are Catholic schools, talk about contraceptives is often not welcome. Also, Cornerstone's budget this year is lower than usual, and they do not have enough money to distribute as many contraceptives as before. Which is a problem for a couple reasons: 1. Many people have come to rely on their distribution, as condoms can be expensive. 2. It is considered shameful for men to buy contraceptives, and so they rarely go into stores and buy them.

All in all, I was very impressed with the organization and everything they are able to do in the community. Here is their website: http://www.cornerstonefoundationbelize.org/

Next, was Mary Open Doors, which is a domestic violence shelter. I stopped by briefly and talked with one of the workers, but I have a meeting with the Director there on Thursday, so I will go more into detail then.

The last place we visited was the Octavia Waight Centre, which is one of the few (I heard 2) homes for older adults in all of Belize. Their website is www.octaviawaightcentre.org. This was a spontaneous meeting, as we saw it and Brin (my sister) suggested it might be a good place to visit, but the Director was more than happy to talk with us. The home has spots for 26 residents, and most of them would have nowhere else to go. They need volunteers for most of what they do, outside of caring for basic needs of the residents. But when it comes to activities, games, and fundraising, they seem to rely on volunteers a lot. And they certainly don't have mental health services.

One of the most poignant moments of our visit, though, was when Josh asked what happened to older adults who were not able to be placed because the Centre was full. The Director got very somber, and replied, "They die." He then told us about how he had recently called several people on the waiting list to fill spots. Three of them had passed away, and all the deaths could have been prevented had they been living at the Centre. As far as I know (and I also asked several people), there are no homeless shelters in this area, besides the domestic violence shelter. So, if you don't have anywhere to go, you live on the street.

I am excited about possibilities from each of these organizations, they are doing some amazing things, but also have needs that are evident.

If you just Belize...

And if you haven't noticed already, I am thinking up a different corny Belize phrase with each post. It's just too easy! Any suggestions are welcome :)

Today I stepped into another world and another time. We spent the day visiting with old-order Mennonites who live off the land in Belize. They have no electricity, no running water, and live and dress very simply and modestly...in very hot weather. My sister, Brin, warned me to bring a long skirt that covers my ankles, and a long sleeve shirt, as normal tropical weather clothing would be inappropriate for the visit.

On 2 past trips, Brin stayed with a family with 8 kids, and has been building relationships with them since. Since the only form of communication is letter-writing, and the mail here is unpredictable, she was unsure if they would be expecting us or not. Nonetheless, we were greeted by the 21-year old daughter who was very happy to meet us. While Josh was sent out to the barn to spend time with the men, Brin and I helped prepare lunch in the kitchen. The Mennonite community has very strict gender roles, and this was evident throughout our time. Our host was very surprised to learn that once married, Josh and I would actually share cooking duties! Her eyes widened when I told her, implying the thought, "Men can cook?!"

While originally from Germany, and still German-speaking (mixed with some Spanish and English), this group has been in Belize for over 50 years. Who knew there was a large population of Mennonites in Belize? They traveled from Canada and Mexico, searching for land and a place where public education was not mandated for their children by the government.

We also met a Canadian woman who was a radical feminist activist turned Belizian Mennonite wife (whew). Her journey to becoming Mennonite was fascinating and challenging. I told her about my social work mission, and she asked me if I'd be bringing social work students back to visit the community. I replied that I might, but I was still working on the social work connection piece. See, the community takes care of itself there. They do all their own social work. They live off the land completely, farming and canning incessantly, so they don't go hungry, they rely on each other when life requires sharing some work. They are deeply religious and this effects every aspect of their lives.

A conversation back at the ranch helped me to process this further. One of the directors coined their lifestyle as "an alternative model of development." We in the U.S. often think development should look just like us, that we should help all the other countries become just like us. But maybe that shouldn't be the end goal in all cases. Furthermore, visiting the Mennonites is a very interesting study on groups and communities (hello, Human Behavior in the Social Environment).

So who knows what might come of this connection in the future, but in the meanwhile, I have plenty to ponder.

Don't Stop Belize-ing

I am currently sitting inside my sister’s small cement apartment with a tin roof in Belize, listening to a rainstorm outside. We arrived at the Guatemala/Belize border this morning after an overnight bus ride and one change in the morning. Being hungry, we went straight into San Ignacio for breakfast. San Ignacio is the second largest city in Belize, which in a country of only 300,000 people, is more like a small town. For breakfast we went to Pop’s, a tiny, charming but crammed eatery, and ate fryjacks (fried dough) topped with eggs and refried beans- delicious!

And then to the 4- acre complex where my sister lives, which is located outside the “city” on a 400- acre farm. During the school year, it is a study abroad program called Creation Care Study Program (CCSP). Students from all different majors come for 5 months to study the environment, ecology, and spirituality in Belize. Some of the organizations I will be visiting are where students have internships throughout their semester.

Today is an orientation of sorts, where I have been able to meet some of the staff at CCSP and sit down with them to talk about a schedule for the week. I have made some appointments, but scheduling here does not happen the way we do it in the U.S.! Sometimes you just have to show up and do the best you can to connect with people and organizations.

I had an interesting conversation with Derek and Ashley, the directors of CCSP. I was curious about the structure of social service in Belize, where only 4% of the country makes above $24,000 ($12,000 USD). They said that the government has a difficult time providing for people, as poverty is widespread. NGOs, or non-profits, do a lot of this work. However, since the earthquake in Haiti, most of the social service funding in the Caribbean (Belize is considered part of the Caribbean), has gone to Haiti. Therefore, the funding for many social service agencies is currently very low to nonexistent. I had never thought about how the disaster in Haiti would greatly affect other countries in need in the Caribbean.

Belize You Me...

In case you are wondering, here is a general itinerary for my trip, though it is subject to change:

May 21-23 My fiancé Josh and I flew into Guatemala City and stayed with a friend working for Mennonite Central Committee, a relief organization.

May 23-29 Though the whole trip will be a learning experience, this portion is devoted particularly to studying Belize- culture, politics, social welfare. My goal is to visit social service organizations and learn about social work opportunities here. I also have a stack of books to read up on international social work and history and culture of Belize in particular.

May 30-June 5 This part is my traveling time with my aunt, cousin, and sister. While it will be less “academic” in nature, I am sure my learning will continue and I will post when possible.

June 6-8 Return to Guatemala City, hopefully including a visit to the social work department of University of Belize. Finally, a long bus back to Guatemala City and a plane ride home on June 8^th.

Belize it or not...

I made it safely to Guatemala City, and was greeted at the aiport by a dear friend. My first lesson began when we jumped into a taxi and had to bargain for an appropriate price. Luckily, Paige speak Spanish very well and was able to haggle.
Then, off to a small market to shop for dinner. The market was more like a small stand with fresh fruits and vegetables. Another lesson in Spanish as I learned the names of some vegetables I have never seen before.
Tomorrow, another day in Guatemala City, and then an overnight trip to Belize!
More to come...

Welcome!

Welcome to my Belize blog!

I will be visiting Belize from May 21 to June 8. One goal of my trip is to increase students’ awareness of international social work opportunities. I will be planning details for a future study abroad trip for students who are interested in experiencing social work in Belize.

To keep students connected to my activities in Belize, I will be blogging throughout my trip. Students who are interested will be able to stay updated on my journey. I am looking forward to this adventure, and I hope others will be able to join in the future! I am open to feedback, questions and comments!

How this trip was born:

I am an avid traveler, and sometime last fall, I began to get “itchy feet.” Translation: I wanted to go somewhere, explore and learn about a new culture. My younger sister is living in Belize for a year, and I have never been there, so that seemed like a great possibility. Professor Hollm encouraged me to follow through with the traveling idea and to form an independent study out of it.

I decided I would go to Belize to learn about international social work, but I didn’t want to stop there. Why not pave the way for other social work students who might want to go to Belize? And so, I decided the independent study would focus on connecting with agencies and organizations, building relationships, and exploring ways to create a sustainable social work trip to Belize.

So, off we go!