Happenings in my Belizean life

I've been so busy complaining and feeling sorry for myself that I lost track of other things happening here. I visited my San Antonio family a couple of times in November: one weekend to see Heidy perform in a church service and the next weekend for the wedding. Lorraine, the 24 year old, married in the Pentecostal church. I helped with decorating the thatch hut where they had the reception. The service was simple with a handful of people in attendance. On the other hand, the reception had about 200 people. The couple walked through a decorated arch with a bell above them - the bell was a pinata, they pulled the string and confetti poured on them. Joshua, Aracella's husband, played the accordion with a drummer and a guitarist. They sang and played religious songs, no dancing or alcohol. The wedding cake was not served but served the next day when they opened gifts. The couple sat on a sofa in the thatch hut while guests came one by one to congratulate and give them wedding gifts - in return the couple gave the guests a token gift. In this culture, the groom's family pays and arranges everything from decorating the place, baking the wedding cake to cooking all the food - quite a feat! I was touched by the family and the whole town to include me in this special event. I stayed in my little old house - I again remembered that rural village life was not for me. The village was out of water for weeks, and I had to make do with my bucket bath again.

I wanted to recommend a book - Sastun by Rosita Arvigo. She was an American who moved to Belize to learn about non-traditional medicine from Don Elijio Panti, a medicine man who lived in San Antonio. This book gave a wonderful, descriptive flavor of San Antonio - Don Elijio was a legend lost in Mayan tradition. My family knew him well - he would make a wonderful biographical documentary.

Last weekend, Belmopan actually had a tree lighting ceremony and program - various school groups and locals performed dances and sang. The steel band, true Belizean/Carribean music, gave a wonderful flavor to the holiday season. The large circular drums made of steel reverberated beautiful bell-like tones. The park location was only a couple blocks from my place, I enjoyed the cool night air and the walk with the crowd. Watching the U.S. TV stations with the winter weather conditions you all had, I was happy to be here in the balmy winter temperatures of 80s!