Another day. Another memory.

Monday, yet another great day with the residents at octavia waight. After doing all the exercises we decided to stay a little bit longer and play some bingo and parachute ball. They residents really do love the interaction and seeing them smile lets me know that. Even if I cant make their pain go away or come visit them everyday, I know that just the small time spent with them  has made their day a little better. The pictures show their excitement while we played parachute ball.

Tuesday was a rainey day!! We started off the morning in San Ignacio going door to door telling everyone about the nutrition that we were going to hold on Wednesday. Most of them seemed interested but that might have been fake just to get us off their front porch haha. Who knows and if you don’t try you'll never be able to succeed. After that some of us headed to the Internet cafe where we did work on other projects. Today I started research on teaching a music basics class to young kids! Basically Amanda and I will be working together to teach some of the youth in San Ignacio. I'm super excited to share my love of music and help other kids understand what music has to hold for them!!

MUSIC

Wednesday was spent at octavia waight again, but today was different. We completed all the work and then chatted with Dorthee for a while. She took us around the center and told us the stories to each resident! Heartbreaking yet warming at the same time. All of the residents are now in a better place here at octavia waight. It was sad to here their stories of struggle and despair. But to know that they are well cared for makes me happy. This place is different from homes I've seen in America, it is truly a happy place with plenty of activities and good people taking care of the residents. So many of the residents are funny. They always compliment me and ask me to stay the day with them. A man named Norris sings to me. And a lady named Juanita is always having me sit next to her. Let me tell you this place makes you appreciate life so much more! In the afternoon Amanda and I headed to the church to teach our music class. Success! About thirteen kids came and it was amazing! They were excited to learn and they even took notes!

Thursday was an exceptionally great day. I say exceptionally because today was and exception. It was our country director, Calvin’s, Birthday. Everyone in the house was gone except me and three other girls, so we headed to the resort to swim and lay out. Of course we brought the lap tops to do some work but really we just played! After playing in the sun we had to do some work so we headed back to the house and then went to a computer class where we teach one kid Trinidad how to type and other comp skills! Trini is one of my favorite children that I have worked with here in Belize. Trini is 11 years old and just recently  a convert to the LDS church. He is constantly coming to the lessons or classes we put on for kids in the community. He attends our leadership seminar, music , and computer classes. He told me that when he grows up he wants to be someone important and he know that’s only possible if he starts now learning everything he can. I think he’ll be the President of Belize some day. Its awesome knowing that someone appreciates our hard work.

 

Before

Friday: Today was probably one of the most rewarding days I've had here in Belize. Today I went with a team of girls to a Arenal, a village not to far from Benque. In Arenal we have been communicating and educating many of the community members on proper stoves. You see, most of the families have a open fire stove in their homes which leaves their roofs blackened and causes lung damage in everyone living there. We have devised a way to build an adobe stove with a chimney . They are extremely reasonable sense they are built out of rocks, mud, water, and corn husks. First we mix the mud with corn husks to create a adobe like mixture. We mush and mash the mud with our feet then slam it in the barrier built for the stove. All the children love to join us to throw mud. Haha its quite the scene. Anyways once the stoves were done the family had prepared us the most amazing chicken soup and corn tortillas I have ever tasted! After the meal we cleaned up at the river and went for a walk around the village. Of course we had a local kid give us the tour and he took us to a crazy rickety bridge! It reminded me of something out of Indiana Jones movie. So we chilled on the bridge and then walked across the Guatemalan border. No big deal, the town of Arenal is half Belize and half Guatemala! So I was in two countries today!On our way back we spotted a boy riding a horse Anyways before we left the community kept thanking us and telling us that we really made their lives better! This is where it was so rewarding to know that their children will be healthy and be able to build their own stove one day! 

Finished!

Local tour guides

Indiana Jones Bridge

Guatemalan women

Guatemala

Sorry its sideways

Girls

This horse has no name apparently

Mountain Pine Ridge

The gang

No trip is complete without a jump picture!

Calv and i

glorious

This morning I woke up and went to the market with some of the girls. Again I found myself surrounded by funny smells and weird aromas. But amongst the smells and odd people, I found some beautiful yellow Belizean shoes! And I love shoes so I got them! The other purchase I made that morning was movies! 2 dollars each! Of course some of them are not the best quality but I love them! After the market the whole group saddled up in the back of a truck and made the 2 hour journey to Mountain Pine Ridge. It’s a mountainous region that is filled with waterfalls and caves. Well the truck we were driving in decided to stop working for a bit, and while the driver worked on it we decided to make the best of the time and explored the area. We swam in a river, climbed rocks, and jumped from trees in to water. Not bad but the mosquitoes loved to bite us! They were pesky little things. Once the truck was fixed we continued on to the Rio Frio Cave! We saw a baboon and other huge flying insects. After climbing through the jungle, we came upon the most amazing cave I have ever seen! Ahh it was beautiful and huge. I felt like a small village would live in it. It had a small beach with a river running through it. Trails, tunnels, and little water pools. Stalactites and stalagmites. Im telling you the pictures don’t do it justice. After exploring and crawling through every nook and cranny we could find it was time to go. Naturally you would think the day was over… wrong. Remember the little truck that was having troubles? Ya well, we were driving along when the truck suddenly ran into the bank and into the ditch. The Steering shaft broke. Perfect. Out in the middle of nowhere. A bunch of greengos and a little belizean family. Odd. Brother Arnold started to work on the truck and several cars actually stopped to help us. It was so neat! About 5 guys at one point were laying under the car working on it together. And I bet you would all like to know how they decided to fix a broken steering shaft.  ROPE. Yup that’s it. Rope. Our safety depended upon a simple piece of plastic. Let me tell you that after this trip I will never doubt the ability of rope ever again! We made it all the way back home! Of course it took about double the time and due to the bumpy roads and I now have a bruise on my back. But all in all today was not bad in the end.

lookin in

shayna and myself

peeking out

Sunday was started off by going to church. Except today I chose to go to the spanish branch. I thought it would be a good idea to work on my spanish. It was the most amazing experience, although I didn’t necessarily catch what they would say, I could feel the spirit strongly. Its cool to know that no matter where in the world you go, the gospel is the same. During the Sunday school lesson I followed quite well actually and even participated. The people here are so gracious and welcoming. They women greet us with hugs and kisses on the cheeks! Its nice to have that affection so far from home.

Work Week

Hospital Groupies

Monday: Ballers for life… my new project. I know it sounds cool already right? Well this is a basket ball camp for the youth of San Ignacio. Kids come in waves to learn the basics of bball and learn the meaning of teamwork, determination, and leadership. The camp is for two weeks and it runs everyday. Bryant and I went to day to get the camp started off! I helped the four girls who showed up and Bryant helped with the boys. This was a lot of fun to help the kids with something that im interested in as well. The girls always ask for tips or how to do a certain skill. At the end of the camp, ten kids from each wave of age groups are selected to go and play in a tournament in Belize City. It will be very rewarding to see the kids improve and who knows maybe win a tournament! After Bball camp, we went to the hospital where we continue to help build the dialysis center. Today I helped build the celing. We insulated and placed tiles. A lot of work was accomplished.

Tractor

Me being creative

Everyday sight... no big deal

Tuesday: San Antoniooooo… the work still continues to flourish in san Antonio. The rural health campaign is now done with the village of georgeville and had moved on to san Antonio to check blood pressure and blood glucose. This village is much different from georgeville. It is bigger and more hilly. This means more walking! It’s a good thing seeing as our dinner portion sizes could feed not just one but five people! This village is also quiet and clean. Not to cluttered. Everyone has land, gardens, and livestock. And for a added note these people are direct descendants of the Myan people. Bishabell is how are you in myan. Malopp is good. So now being here in belize I have learned some Spanish, kriole, myan, and garifuna.

My favorite. Bernard

Norris sings to me

To continue on with the work week, Wednesday I got to start a new project. As most of you know, my emphasis in school has mainly been focused on the medical field. Well through the old folks home that we would visit, Octavia Waight, we discovered a lady by the name of Dorthee who works as a nurse. She comes to the center three times a week to do physical therapy and to take care of other small medical problems with the residents. Basically myself and another volunteer arrive at 7AM on Monday and Wednesday and work until about 12. In this time we do simple but useful exercises with each resident based on their level of mobility. We help diabetics with prosthetic walk, those who have had strokes regain strength by lifting weights and other activities. My favorite thing about this experience besides the medical part it getting to know each residents story. Most of these guys were mistreated or neglected before arriving at Octavia Waight, so now just to see them smile warms my heart.

Chicks

Beautiful little girl

On Thursday it was back to the rural health care project in San Antonio. I know I have mentioned this project before but just to reiterate, we go door to door to check blood pressure and blood sugar levels. These are just two ways that the main hospital in Belize City has told us will help them in determining which districts need more medical attention. The first village we completed was Georgeville, and lets just say they were pleasantly plump. Haha, But seriously, most of the residents either suffered from diabetes or high blood pressure. So upon arriving in San Antonio, I thought it would be very similar. I was Wrong! Here it is very hilly and farm landish. Everyone has chickens and horses and gardens. They must truly live from the fat of the land. Everyone there except for a few exceptions was Healthy!! It was nice not having to scare people into going to visit the doctor. The day was ideal and successful. Speaking of ideal… I don’t know if I have mentioned this magnificent treat yet, but here in belize they sell these oversized otterpop things. Basically flavored ice for you older generations. They are soo sooo sooooo GOOD! They make them in water and milk so when you have a strawberry one it is like this frozen strawberry dreamsicle. IT IS TO DIE FOR! It just makes me laugh that they are called Ideals because I guess they are the “ideal” way to cool off in the hot belizean sun. Creative huh… no worries I will be bring some home and refreezing them for everyone to try one.

Our house. We live on the bottom!

Well as I have mentioned before, our group has a lady from our church cook for us everysingle night! Bless her heart. She makes amazing meals and today we got to do something special for her in return. We headed over to her house to build her a square foot garden that she will be able to plant all of her vegetables and not have to buy them at the market. Getting people to eat vegetables here in this country is not hard but getting them to cook the veggies to where all the nutrients aren't drained or so they aren't fried is a little harder. Believe me, they think hot sauce is a veggie…hmmm. She is very educated in horticulture and agriculture and she was soo pleased to see us build her very own garden. The work was fun but yet tedious. First we have to build a frame then we have to till the ground where it is going to be. Then we dig it out and mix the dirt with some special dirt and put it all back in. Then we mark off the sq. feet. and begin to plant stuff. We filled her garden with peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, and some other veggies. Great Day! That night the group headed to the bball courts for some basketball. Since we have enough we just played on 5 on 5. Most the time its just for fun since some of the guys don’t know how to play, but I just wanted to tell you my team won… and I might have been the mvp. Just saying. No big deal. After the games we headed into town to follow our rigorous workout with a nice piece of chocolate cake. I know, not what you expected. But there is this shop that sells cakes and other sweet things. The shops name is “Sweet Tings” haha which makes me laugh. Basically their prices for a overrated slice of cake are ridiculous, but it’s the closest thing to american sweets we've seen.

Neighborhood kids

Piece of Paradise

Hola! So just as a  quick side note before i begin my blog about my amazing weekend get away, I want to say how my Spanish is improving each and everyday!  Now on to more important  updating. My weekend was spent in  paradise, literally.  This weekend we took off Friday   afternoon to the city of Dangriga. This is a coastal town and the plan was to catch some waves and rays and just relax. So we got to Dangriga and got 2 hotel rooms to sleep 9 of us and it was total 90 BZE  so  45 American dollars. Basically 5 bucks a person! Bangin' deal i'd say. After settling into the hotel, we all put on our bathing suits to enjoy a swim down in the Caribbean sea! Yes by this time it was 10 o clock at night, and according to shark week on the discovery channel, night time is when sharks like to hunt. Did we care? Not a bit. So we walked down to the beach with some local church boys the missionaries introduced us to. Lets just say swimming at night in the ocean is no longer a fear of mine! I loved it, the beach was soft and not rocky. The water was warm and salty. We did handstands, chicken fights and jump competitions. Once we were all puckered out we headed back to the hotel where a whole lot of fun still awaited. First of all im not a hotel fan, ill admit it im picky when it comes to what I sleep on. And this hotel was a stretch for me. No ac, ants on the floor, sketchy sheets that were damp from lets hope the humidity… I mean what more could a girl ask for? I think you would all be proud to know I made it through the night. I slept on about a 10 inch wide 4ft long piece of the “bed”… you see I was sharing this bed with two other people. No worries it was a blast to fall asleep to funny stories and uncomfortable body positions! So the next day came and you better believe I was up the moment the sun came up. We packed our things and made a deal with a water taxi to take us to our final destination, Tobacco Caye (pronounced key). The boat ride was about thirthy minutes long and then it appeared our little piece of paradise! It was lined with palm trees, sand beaches and cabanas. Upon arriving, a lady greeted us to find us a place to stay for the night. It was a cabana on stilts above the ocean! She provided us a cabana with two beds and a hammock and 4 meals all for 25 dollars! Talk about a deal! So after that we explored our little “gilligan’s island” and rented some snorkeling gear. This island is literally 5 acres big. I could stand on one side and see the beach on the other side. There are only 18 permanent residents and they all work in the tourism industry if you can imagine that. After our little tour of the island, we jumped right in the water to go snorkeling! It was AMAZING! My favorite was the crystal clear blue water, no more like turquoise blue water that makes you love life. Fishes were swimming all around us! There was beautiful coral deep below us. The view was unforgettable. I mastered the mermaid swim and hated that I had to come up to the top for air every minute. We saw red snappers, needle fish, stingrays, and manatees!!! After snorkeling for a while I hopped out to catch some rays and take a nap. That afternoon we ate dinner and then went to the dock to hang out with some locals from another caye nearby. They were playing music and making food. The sun set was gorgeous. Perfect ending to a bright beautiful day. But the night was still young and the locals were yet to play the drums. Supposedly the drums are a part of the garifuna culture. The ritual consists of drums, maracas, and turtle shell drums. The music is very reggae. It was fun to dance to and pretend like we belong haha. The ceremony ended and I hit the bed early! I think I was exhausted from the sun! The next morning I woke up at 5 am to watch the sunrise and write in my journal. The sunrise was yet again amazing and the peaceful sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks made me feel like I was the only one on the island and that time had stopped. Here on tobacco caye they don’t keep time. They just simply live by the sunrise and sunset. What a way to live, no cares in the world, just living day to day. In america we are just in a constant rush everywhere! I was nice to be here where there is literally no rush. In a way it kinda drove me crazy not having any plan. Weird I know. As I told my friends, I think this is a nice place to play but not to live. I am too much of a busy body. So after the sunrise the group hopped on a boat to go fishing! Well Bryant was the only one to actually fish but the girls came to cheer him on and get a boat ride. While we were out there we swam and dove off the boat! Bryant caught two barracudas!! Totally an awesome morning! After that we swam at the dock with some local kids and then caught our water taxi back to dangriga. Even after the sunburns, this weekend was by far my favorite.