Hurricane Matthew

He's on his way. Right now, he's just TS Matthew - Tropical Storm Matthew, off the coast of Nicaragua, and he's headed towards Belize. Apparently, after he reaches Honduras, he finds his way into Belize's warm water which makes him super happy and he decides to become a "hurricane" rather than a tropical storm. The reports say that he'll hit Belize on Sunday and will be somewhere between a Category 1 - Category 5 hurricane. How exciting!!

I feel completely safe, being so far inland, and living up on a hill, which is why I can say that this is a bit of a thrill. It's funny how the Universe works - we were meant to be going back to Caye Caulker this weekend, the island off the coast. It's a good thing we didn't because they're evacuating the islands as I write this. It's been on and off torrential tropical downpours all day - and the sky has looked somewhat ominous. We had a "hurricane meeting" and made a list of all our supplies and headed off to the local Three Flags Chinese Shop (this is where we buy groceries, etc). Batteries - check. Water - check. Mac and cheese - check. Cookies - check. We loaded up on food and essentials, and felt a bit like scavengers...the isles were packed, the energy was frenetic, and people were out en masse, all preparing for doomsday.

Walking down the giant hill into town, I noticed people boarding up windows and tying things down. In the internet cafe - it's packed, everyone sending off messages before the town's electricity will be just a wish. There's already an air of restlessness moving itself through the community - or maybe it's just in our volunteer house. Plans all had to be canceled for the weekend and the five of us are faced with, well...just the five of us. We're all hoping the television stays current until at least Sunday, because last night we already made it through Pictionary and Battle of the Sexes - not sure how many more games we can can take!

In any case - whether Matthew decides to show up in all his glory, or he passes by with just a whisper of a hello - this has been fun. It's been a new experience I've never been a part of before - something essentially tropical and completely unfathomable - until it happens. It's been nine years since the last important threat of a hurricane hit Belize. Seems like the Universe was listening when I said I wanted new adventures! New adventures for sure - and safety for all.

"I Am Belize"

Well - at least we’re the same age. Tuesday was Belize’s 29th birthday - Independence Day - and the culmination of September’s festivities. Monday night at midnight, fireworks lit up the black sky again, music jammed in the streets, Flayva’s and Faya Wada’s (the clubs) were hoppin’, and the locals were groovin’. Belizeans know how to party! Tuesday afternoon, what felt like the entire country, gathered along the narrow streets of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, to watch the procession of gaudy-wonderful floats, each blaring their own hip-hop dance club mix, creep through the city. The parade took three and a half hours and dressed in Cornerstone Foundation t-shirts, waving Belizean flags, we danced our way through the crowded streets. We sang, we danced, we threw candy, we handed out brochures, and we did the “Waka Waka” - gotta love Shakira!

It was an endless parade of floats - a sea of blue, red, and white crepe paper, balloons, and flags. I glimpsed signs that read, “Happy Birthday Belize!”, “Stand Proud, and Shout Loud - I Am Belize!” Children ran in the streets waving, their little cheeks sporting rub-on tattoos of the Belizean flag. There wasn’t a square to spare - not a single open place to stand along each street. Some people hung out of their windows and balconies, others stood on top of cars and trucks parked in front lawns, and some danced their way through the streets with us - moving from one float to the next. It was a cacophony of Belizean festivities.

Our float might not have won any prizes, but we were proud nonetheless. Streamers blew in the breeze, balloons hung from the railings, and a huge sign about our feeding program glittered in the sun. We had a lively group of women and children (with even a couple men) who brought up the rear - dance party style! I think our music was the loudest and our candy the best!

It was such a cool experience to bear witness to such an intense celebration - to a community so alive and committed to their patriotism. The energy was electric and I think that all of us volunteers felt a part of the event. We sank deeply into plastic chairs at Mr. Greedy's to share a pizza as the sun went down....so tired but happy to have pulled it all off. Cheers to Belize - happy birthday!

Pictures...

Some pictures from San Pedro, Guatemala - and then leaving to head to Belize!






Some pictures from Caye Caulker - the island off the coast of Belize...

The Storm after The Calm

The last two weeks have been what we were told to expect - full of a whole lot of nothing. That’s not entirely true - but the last couple of days, I’ve read three full novels and although I’m loving how my library keeps expanding, I’m getting restless to do something profound. Today was the day - it exploded!

In true Belizean fashion - there was no warning. This morning I met with the director of the foundation to talk about perhaps doing something internal while I waited to see what external volunteering would come my way. I walked away from the meeting with the distinct impression that I’d been ‘handled.’ Like when you pay a cab driver $50 for a trip that was meant to be $10 and they drive away with a loud “Woohoo!!!” Looks like I’m going to be re-vamping their Volunteer Program here at the foundation. I’m to create a comprehensive Volunteer Manual, stream-line the current program, paperwork and information, organize the program areas and work with the woman who does the website to change the information. It all sounded really exciting to the part of my brain that’s a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive-personality-disordered, controlling, organizing freakshow. And then...

I received a call from the local women’s shelter, Mary Open Doors, for a meeting in the afternoon. I met with the head of the board who was thrilled to have “western professionals” and it looks like they would like me to work for them in a consulting capacity. I gathered that this means I will be helping them organize and streamline their current efforts, implement new programs and build relationships with the schools for the children who are experiencing violence in the home, and provide consultation regarding specific domestic violence cases. They need assistance with everything - from establishing intake paperwork to training for their crisis counselors to providing ideas for funding and community resources. And then...

The foundation received phone calls from the Chairmen of four outlying villages around San Ignacio - to do presentations in their communities. They want parenting workshops - and as the resident psychologist, I was voted in. But thankfully, Helen got dragged into this venture too and will be headlining with me, talking about healthy relationships and domestic violence while I focus on parenting education and skills. The excitement of reaching the outer villages was buzzing in the office and before I could escape, I found myself signed up to do two more workshops here in San Ignacio for the Women’s Group on parenting as well. I got to fumble my way through Microsoft Publisher and made some rockin’ flyers - ready to send out to the villages tomorrow morning!! (I was clearly working on Western time here).

And just in case I don’t feel busy enough - I have a meeting scheduled with the president of the local hospital to work in their mental health department. She’s been waiting for me to get a copy of my degree faxed here and assumes I will be a full-time addition to their over-worked counselors. And there’s a social worker in the schools who thinks I’m going to be providing some aid in her direction to ease the burden of her 30+ caseload. Oh, and I almost forgot - there’s the lovely 18 year old who I promised to teach how to read and write.

BOOM!! That’s the sound of the storm after the calm. What a riot!! I love it....I love the energy of it - how it swirls around in bursts of exciting movement towards change and progress for both agencies and individuals in this wonderful community. I have no doubt my hands will be full - actually, I think they might even be invisible. But I’m also certain that I will be involved in projects that are sustainable and life-changing. Ready or not, here I come!

Learning to Wait...

“So the presentation will start at 1:30pm then? But really around 2:00 Belizean time right?”

That was the program manager for Cornerstone Foundation on the phone today, talking to the Chairman of one of the outlying villages (Bullet Hill Falls) about the presentation I will be doing on the 23rd of the month. Hilarious.

Belizean time is its own phenomenon here. Being here so far has been an experience in learning to wait, learning to be patient, and then waiting some more. Belizeans have this unspoken AND spoken tradition of never being on time, of meetings starting late, and of getting things done...later. And ‘later’ can mean in a few hours, a few days, or maybe never. It was something the foundation warned us about, even told us to prepare for - but how does one prepare for something so ambiguous?

It’s really hard to grasp until you’re in it - the lightbulb clicks when you’re sitting in the women’s group at 3pm thinking maybe you got the time wrong - and then the ‘early bird’ shows up at 3:25pm, saying, “Oops, I think I’m early!” (No dear, actually you’re 25 minutes late and you’re the first one here - but this is Belize!!) Making appointments with agencies in the community feels like I’m playing a game of frogger - the conversation proceeds with jerky movements, back and forth, never quite sure what the other person is proposing. - I’m really looking forward to meeting with you to discuss how I can be helpful to your agency. What time works for you? Sure, I can do 2pm. Now, do you want me to show up at 2 or at 2:30? Oh, whenever? Okay......so should we just say 2 then? Yeah sounds good, I guess I’ll just see you when I see you. Looking forward to it -

The truly hilarious thing about this cultural shift is that even if I tried my best to give up my western ways and showed up to appointments ‘late’ or on Belizean time - I’d still find myself waiting. Or if it’s raining out - maybe they’d just never show up. Or maybe I find myself meeting with someone different (that’s been fun!). It’s a bit of a circus, a no-win-perplexing-confusing-mind-boggling-hysterical adventure into the culture of Belize.

The other volunteers who’ve been here awhile look at me with a mix of sympathy and condescension - “You’ll get the hang of it eventually”....... Brilliant. I know. Now, when you say eventually....do you mean later or never?!

Paradise - Belizean Style

It’s 2:30 in the afternoon and I’m sitting in the hammock on our balcony up on the big hill - overlooking most of San Ignacio. From my vantage point, the only thing I can see in front of me is a makeshift flagpole with two white rags tied to the end, flapping in the breeze. The fact that they are moving at all is a great sign...any kind of breeze to cut through the heat is something to rejoice at. But I was sitting here wondering what this “flag” was for, who put it up, what it represents?....Is it a surrender, a political statement, or merely a tool to see where the wind is coming from? Interesting. Everywhere else in Belize, the country flags are waving and posted around in great abundance. Small and large towns alike are preparing for the big celebration this coming weekend and into next week. It’s St. George’s Day this weekend, and this kicks off a huge 10-day festival to commemorate the founding of Belize and all sorts of important national pride moments. There’s activities, parades, fireworks, music in the streets, and even more lively entertainment than usual. San Ignacio is meant to come alive in a way we haven’t seen yet...how exciting!

So far, I’ve thought that San Ignacio and it’s sister city, across the flooded river, Santa Elena, have been vivid representations of Belizean culture - fully alive with street venders offering hot barbecue, tamales, and burritos, children playing, dogs barking, roosters crowing, pick-up trucks chugging up hills, locals selling avocados and plantains, and most everyone trying to find a shady spot to escape the ever-present heat.

This weekend we found a fantastic way to embrace the tropical heat - we went to the coast! A three-hour bus ride to Belize City and an hour-long water taxi ride found us on the pier of Caye Caulker, an island off the coast of Belize. The Caribbean water was five different shades of turquoise and the reggae music floated on the breeze. It was, quite simply - paradise. Our little shack of a hotel sat on the water’s edge and the first night the four of us girls laid on the dock watching the lightening show against the midnight backdrop while trillions of stars twinkled in a view that I haven’t seen in a really long time. Saturday brought an adventure of a life-time! We spent the whole day out on a sailboat, stopping at three different locations to snorkel. The first stop at The Reef was a bit like being in the movie, “Finding Nemo.” I actually saw Dory. And about a thousand other fish of every shape, color, and size, moving in and out of their coral neighborhoods, purple sea leaves floating, green grasses moving, and orange coral shining. It was spectacular! The reef is apparently the second largest one in the world after The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Pretty cool.

The second stop was to Shark Ray Alley - and for the first time in my life, I swam with sharks! And stingrays, and barracudas, and ginormous (ugly) fish...beyond incredible. Our guide fed the sharks and rays some tiny fish so they would have something more appetizing than human flesh to get excited about. And I even got to touch the rough skin of a nurse shark and the slimy exterior of a stingray. I was constantly inhaling salt water because I couldn’t stop laughing in total amazement of what I was seeing! Our guide swam to the bottom and picked up a big conch shell and stuffed it with fish, setting it loose while the sharks and rays fought over the prize at the bottom of the ocean floor...quite a scene!

Our final stop was at Hoi Chan - the small channel where we swam with sea turtles and around more coral reefs. We found a sea cave and watched a few brave members of our group fill their lungs with extra oxygen before venturing through the tunnel, a school of huge fish trailing behind. On the ride back to the island, we soaked up the sun, drank rum punch, and needless to say, sat in awe of our day. Saturday night we joined new friends from England for dinner and then headed to a traditional reggae bar for music and rum punch! Bob Marley played on the loud speakers and we swung on wooden swings that the bar had substituted for chairs, our feet in the sand covered floor...having a blast.

Sunday we spent the day lounging in the sun and in the ocean. We spent most of our time at The Lazy Lizard at The Split. The split is exactly what it sounds like - the part of the island that was split when Hurricane Hattie came in 2006. It’s created a section of the island that is now separated by a small channel and is mostly a nature preserve. It’s also created a beach-type area with varying levels of water to play in. This is the northernmost part of the tiny island and a very chill place to be. By the time the water taxi pulled away from the pier at 4pm on Sunday afternoon, we all felt completely filled up from our island adventure...ready to head back to San Ignacio, but certain that we will return soon to the Cayes.

It’s Tuesday as I write this, and the last two days have been filled with meeting the Cayo District social worker, drafting relevant resumes, and helping out with the feeding program. I’m also involved with teaching an 18 year-old girl how to read and write - finding that getting to play school is pretty fun. I like giving star stickers! Tonight after a volunteer meeting, the kitchen will be our playground - a Belizean feast of bean and cheese quesadillas, homemade guacamole and salsa on the menu.

San Ignacio, Belize

It’s hard to put into words how incredibly light one’s spirit feels when helping others. I think it may have to do with the fact that whatever we give, we receive...so giving love and patience and kindness brings all of that right back in a swirly haze of lightness, hitting us right in the core of our spiritual foundation, throwing us a bit off balance in a wonderful kind of way.

My first day at Cornerstone was this kind of day. Last night, after a round of games and laughter with my four other housemates, I slept hard and deep while my inner thermometer tried to regulate my internal body temperature with the external blistering heat. I awoke to roosters crowing, trucks zooming by, and the sound of life on the streets. These first two weeks, we’re meant to sit back, take it all in, watch, listen, and decide how we want to make a difference. But in the meantime, there are things to jump on board with - such as the feeding program.

This foundation cooks for and delivers hot lunches to approximately 91 school children in the town and about 10 elders in the community. Today, we got to be a part of that small miracle. We helped load the rice and beans, potato salad, and chicken into containers, loaded the back of the pick-up truck, and set off. At Santa Elena school, we handed out the lunches to the flock of children in green and yellow jumpers, feeling a bit like caged animals, backed against the wall in the face of hungry kids. They were the loveliest kids - shy and belligerent, grateful and demanding, satisfied and still hungry, and playful and thrilled to see new faces. I get the sense that being a gringo baring food in front of 30+ kids is a lot like being rockstars at a concert. We went on to deliver the food to the elders, had a nice tour of the town, and then came back to the Foundation to sit in front of fans and in the hammock. Later this afternoon we’ll join the Women’s Group to participate in a presentation about AIDS and offer support and answer questions. There really is no limit to how one can make a connection here.

I feel incredibly lucky to be here - the people are brilliant, the opportunities are endless, and there’s nothing like seeing a new part of the world for the first time. There are five of us in the house - two girls in their young 20’s from San Francisco who know each other, Beth and Sarah, and Mario, also from the Bay area, by Berkeley, in addition to Helen and I. Mario’s gig is at the local hospital, Beth is in a special needs classroom at the local school (where we dropped off lunch), and Sarah is working with AIDS outreach. I’ve heard that there’s a women’s shelter in town, Mary Open Doors, that deals with domestic violence and that the children at this shelter are in need of counseling. My resume seems destined for this possibility, but I will keep my options open this week and see where I fit best. The Universe puts all kinds of marvelous things in our path if we’re willing to take a leap...so I trust that no matter where I end up offering my services, I will indeed be making a difference in this world.