A Full Year In Belize

Last week was the 12-month mark since my arrival in Belize - it was a struggle to think I could live here for another fourteen months. Even though I'm busy with NAVCO and my secondary projects, I felt isolated and terribly alone. I caught a cold which made me miserable and probably didn't help my psyche. Then hearing about the passing of several members of family and friends jolted me to think about my aging and frailty.

I can't get motivated to work on the women's website, frustrated with the editing software I bought and can't get it to work. I want to work on my script too but, again, all I want to do when I get home and on weekends is do mindless stuff and watch tv. Heat is no longer a good excuse since it's been rather pleasant -granted, I don't go outside unless I have to - if I don't get picked up by Mr. Lopez, I take a taxis - $5 a shot is not bad considering walking takes so long and in the heat. Larry rides his bike everywhere but I still feel it's not for me. He rides with caution competing with vehicles, trucks and buses on narrow paved roads.

The big thing at work is the national annual general meeting set for October 2 - it's an important event bringing together all the village council representatives and the six district boards - about 150 to 200 will attend along with the Governor General, Deputy Prime Minister, Belmopan Mayor and ambassadors from five or six embassies. This year, we'll have an exhibitors' showroom with tables for a variety of organizations that fund rural projects for Belize. Hopefully this venue is successful - teaching Jacklin the steps to event planning.

My library project is becoming a passion for me - to help this little library grow into an important venue for kids and adults. The proposal submitted for renovation and expansion was rejected. Ms. Mary, the librarian, plans to talk to the funding organization to get an idea why the proposal didn't pass. She wants to submit another application again. Peace Corps volunteers can apply for small U.S. grants, I hope to start that this month. In the meantime, Ms. Mary, Ms. Dawn, and I created a fall schedule for tutoring sessions, story telling, a book sale and a holiday party in December for the kids. The library desperately needs books of all kinds - adult fiction and non-fiction, young adult, adult learning books, children books, etc. Ms. Mary does outreach at pre-schools, primary schools and the orphanage located close to the library.

Today, I'll have three of the kids from my San Antonio family - Jeri, Wayne, and Heidy - stay overnight - the first time for them to stay outside of their family and the village. Coming to the big city, yeah, right - Belmopan City is hardly a city with lots of things to do. We'll watch DVDs and eat American style food - hamburgers and fries, strawberry shortcake with Cool Whip, and pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

I complain a lot but in reality I have it so much better than the volunteers who live in rural villages - had dinner with another older volunteer who lives in Toledo District with her husband - she describes the hoards of mosquitos and flies; the outside latrines and no hot showers; the distance from grocery shopping they need to travel by bus or bike; and the slow pace and lack of motivation of the villagers to work on any projects. My placement at NAVCO along with Larry is productive, adds value, and will help Peace Corps become a key player in sustainability and capacity building (buzz words for PC goals). Both Larry and I are strong advocates of the Peace Corps programs and are appreciative to be part it.