Back In Action!

Hey all,

After a long while I have decided to start up my blog again. I had taken a hiatus because of my lack of electricity and because my computer battery dies if not plugged in. However, recently my host brother has invested his hard earned money into a solar panel, battery system.  The solar panels charge the batteries during the day (although they are somewhat old so do not stay charged enough to run my laptop at night) but store enough energy to run a little bulb at night! We now have a small source of electricity! Wohoo! And when it’s sunny, the solar panel produces a large enough current to keep my laptop on. Soooooo, I’ve decided to give this blog another try!

Me and Elodio

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I have returned from my medical evacuation from Panama. I was there for 43 days to have a cyst removed from my ovary and two cysts drained from my thyroid. Who would have known they were even there. But all is well now!! And I am better than ever and back in action J 

Lots has happened since I have been back. Firstly, by oldest 

host brother, Elodio, graduated from the University of Belize.

My host sister, Secundina (Dalia for short), graduated from Julian Cho Technical High School.

Dalia and her Aunt

Me and Dalia

And my two other younger host brothers, Genario and Valentino, graduated from primary school (both passed the primary school exam and are scheduled to attend high school!) Genario, got a full scholarship to attend high school! I am so proud of him.

Genario (right) and Valentino (left)

Congratulations Everyone!!

Two Sundays ago, we celebrated these joyful accomplishments with a grandiose party. We slaughtered our 300 pound pig (right) and bought another 290 pound one. We stewed caldo (a local traditional soup) pork and chicken, made rice and beans, cold slaw, poch (boiled corn ground, wrapped in a waha leaf, and steamed), and cake. My host dad even made soon local pineapple wine called chi-cha. Its taste very much resembles that of a mead. Delicious to say the least!

There was music and dancing, merriment and delight, and full, warm bellies and slightly fuzzy heads to top of the night! My 70 year old grandmother even busted out some traditional moves to the soothing rhythms of the Q’eqchi Harp! All in all, it was a huge success and lots of fun J







In addition to all these celebration, big news for me is that my health worker, Rosita, and I started our eight week diet and exercise program called, “Be Healthy Belize”!

Thanks to the help of my dear friend and fellow volunteer, Celeste, we created “Be Healthy Belize” to be feasible and enjoyable program that woman in rural villages can participate it. We originally decided to pursue this program in attempt to reduce the amount of non-communicable disease seen in these villages. Unfortunately, many women in our communities are overweight or obese, hypertensive, or diabetic due to life style; men tend to work laborious days on the farm, while women stay home completing the life and household essentials.

Rosita hard at work!

For Indian Creek in particular, Rosita and I thought that actual exercise classes would best suit our village because of our direct location on the southern highway; walking or running groups seemed dangerous and impractical. In conjunction, we received a lot of positive feedback from women in the village stating their interest in exercise classes.

Currently, we have 13 members enrolled in the program, whoop whoop! Each week, the women receive a lesson covering topics such as non-communicable disease, portion control, healthy foods, physical activity, etc. and two exercise classes. The lesson and first exercise session are on Tuesdays and the second exercise lesson is on Thursday. So far we have completed a Zumba, yoga, and kickboxing class. All seemed to go well, however Yoga and kickboxing were a huge hit and success. I cannot wait to continue and see how the rest of the program turns out!

Me measuring arm circumference

 












Until next time!

Wonderfully Beautiful!

Hey all, 

I decided that since my last post was interestingly mournful I would post something more happy and uplifting this time!

Here is a array of wonderfully beautiful things I have seen in the last couple of months in Belize!

First drum line I have seen in Belize!
A school from Independence doing their thang at the World Food Day!

My host mom (left) and her Women's Co-op selling
 Caldo (a traditional Q'eqchi soup) at the World Food Day

The primary school in Indian Creek learned about recycling,
 and in doing so made crafts out of plastic bottles

Indian Creek girls soccer team in a game against Big Falls.
P.S. I'm the girls assistant coach now!

Boys soccer team! Check out those skillful boys in blue!

We found this snake in our roof....having lunch

Terrifyingly Beautiful

My host brother skinning a Gibnut that my host father shot.

Halloween at the primary school

And a Rainbow in my front yard :-)

Life is good here!

Enjoy! 

A Q'eqchi Funeral

Sorry for the delayed post! Without electricity it is hard for me to keep my computer charged, friends! But regardless, the last month has been jam packed with action in Indian Creek to say the least! I have attended village council meetings, went on bird walks as a new member of the Indian Creek birding club, helped weigh and measure baby's at a mobile health clinic, gotten to better know the village overall, became the assistant girl's soccer coach (I know very little about soccer), and even attended a funeral for my host father's sister.

But an item I do want to share a bit about was the funeral. A couple of Tuesdays ago, while battling a raging fever (unknowing of just how bad it would became as the day progressed into night) I stood four feet for my host father's sister, overlooking her and her surrounding loved ones. Earlier in the day I had agreed to go along with my host parents to see Ms. Pop in the Dangriga hospital, having found out only that morning that she was a Diabetic patient whose disease unfortunately had gotten the best of her.

I rode for two hours, partly in the rain, in the back on a pick up truck with 7 others to see this woman I had never met before. Upon arriving, I was filled with tears as this complete stranger was helped sit upright on her hospital bed, her legs swollen, black and blue. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head as if she was possessed and she looked like she only had three days maximum. I realized at that moment that I had never truly seen in person the grave outcome of Diabetes. It was also then that I realized the value of my work here in Belize; that a little bit of education on non-communicable disease can be in fact, a matter of life and death.

We heard the solemn news on Thursday: she had passed at 3:00 that morning. The wake and funeral would take place Friday into Saturday. In Belize, many cultures participate in an overnight wake for the deceased, celebrating, rejoicing, and remembering the life of their beloved one. I unfortunately did not attend the wake, but did engage in the funeral the next day. It was a far different experience than what I know in the United States. When we reached the deceased house we entered the room where her coffin lay, and were instantly overcome by a crowd of people singing songs and praying over her body. This lasted about thirty minutes. Though I could not understand much of the prayers or song, I was still moved to tears by the amount of people who attended the funeral and by the pure sadness captured in their wet eyes and shaky voices. Thankfully, my host brother managed to explain some of the Q'eqchi customs to me; for example, if a younger child is close to the deceased, his or her parents will pass the child over the body multiple times to ward off the spirit from coming back to haunt the child. And another common custom is to take photos of the deceased at the funeral, which starts at the deceased's house then is moved to the church for service, and finished with the burial. On the way to the church my brother had asked me if I brought my camera with me. I replied to him stating, “no” and asked why I would have it. He laughed as if it was a silly question and said, “well to take pictures.” To my great surprise, people take pictures at funerals as a memory of the day.

We finished the morning around noon, with the burial in the community cemetery. You would not even know the cemetery here excites, as it is set back in a plot of trees and often is overgrown with tall grass. On a regular day if you look closely through the trees you might see the large gray, cement boxes, which serve as tombstones, blending in with their surroundings. However during a funeral service, men work vigorously all morning priming the place with their machetes. Graves here are dug out similar to those of the States, except instead of just a tombstone, the casket is covered with concrete, forming each individual burial site into a large cement box. Everyone, again crowded around as family and friends said their final goodbyes, and the body was lowered down into the grave. Once final words were spoken, the men slide a wooden slate over the grave and just like that, people started departing the cemetery and made their way back to the deceased's home for one last meal of the day.

I went to bed that night still emotional over the lose of my new family's loved one, but also really intrigued at the events of the day. Seeing this funeral service was no doubt unfortunate, but also really helped make me more aware/ put into perspective some of the cultures differences between me and my new community. I hope in the future I will come to learn more of these traditions, just hopefully on a more cheerful note!

Until next time! (and I promise I'll try to make it sooner than last!)

My First Two Weeks in Indian Creek (and a little of Pre-Service Training)

Hey everybody! I've finally got around to making my first Blog Post. I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say for the next two years!

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Summer and I am a Peace Corps Belize volunteer in beautiful Belize. Be One Belize, the title of my blog, refers to the“Belize Health One” class. The 2013-2015 cohort is the first to re-enter Belize after Peace Corps held a one year hiatus to revamp their programs; meaning no new Volunteers entered Belize last year. However, Peace Corps has officially been in Belize sine 1962 and celebrated their 50^th anniversary last year! The Belize Health One project is an exciting new initiative who’s goals are to promote women and children's health and non-communicable disease mitigation through the use of health education in accordance with the Belize Ministry of Health. I am very enthusiastic of what it has to offer!

A little background info: Belize is a small but beautifully rich, diverse country with a variety of cultures and traditions. Throughout the land you will find a mix of Creole, Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, East Indians, Chinese and Mennonite. The country is divided into six districts: Corozal to the north, Orange Walk to the north west, Belize City to the east, Cayo to the west, Stan Creek to the south east, and last but not least Toledo in the south. My last two months had consisted of Pre-Service Training in Valley of Peace in the Cayo district. I lived with a Q'eqchi Maya family in a cohune leaf thatched house. My host family was big; my host mother (46 years old) and host father (51 years old) only spoke Q'eqchi and Spanish, and nine (out of twelve total) siblings spoke Q'eqchi, Spanish and English. Interestingly as a former British Colony, English is in fact the official language of Belize, although Spanish and Creole are also largely spoken; schools therefore, are taught in English. Unfortunately because of is, the Q'eqchi people are struggling with the preservation of their language as it is only spoken and not formerly written; older Q'eqchi folks have expressed their concern of younger generations shying away from Q'eqchi in pursuit of Creole or Spanish. Although I was surprised at first to be placed in a Q'eqchi village since I have 6 prior years of Spanish, I have now found beauty in this localized language and feel lucky to be learning (trying to learn...maybe struggling a bit haha) it.

My Valley of Peace Host Family

In Valley of Peace, 16 other Peace Corps Volunteers and I had been undergoing 10 ½ weeks of health technical and intensive language training. Just a little over two weeks ago now on September 6^th,we took our oath at swear in, magically transforming us from Peace Corps Trainees to Peace Corps Volunteers! That same day five of us made a 5 to 8 hour, dumpy bus journey down paved and dirt roads to the remote Mayan villages of the south, while others made a similar trip to Mestizo communities in Orange Walk, and few traveled to the sandy beaches and blue Caribbean Sea of the San Pedro and Caye Caulker islands.

Indian Creek in the Toledo District will be my new home for the next two years :-) It is a small Q'eqchi Maya village with a population of 700-800 people. Farming and tourism are the main source of income, as the village spans 3 miles alongside the Southern highway, while cutting across the mountainous jungles of the south. The village is also home to a Mayan Ruin, Nim Li Punit (meaning “big hat” in Q'eqchi), one of many tourist attractions. Farmers mainly produce corn, cacao (cocoa bean), fruit and vegetables. Milpas, the Q'eqchi term for farms, occupy the land behind each residence. Farmers either own or lease land.

Currently, the village has no electricity, although the primary school and some homes have solar panels. Most homes though, use small solar lamps at night and to charge little amenities such as phones, flashlights, etc. There are two water systems; one derived from the creeks and one government funded well-system. The village, as you may have guessed, received its name from the vast amount of creeks that beautify the land behind each property. Luckily for each home, there is a small piece of heaven only a 2 minute walk down a little, dirt path where people go to bathe and do laundry. I have grown very found of the creek already. The sound of the cool, running water and the lush, green forest circling you is quite tranquil and refreshing. It almost makes me question why anyone would want a washing machine or indoor shower, especially on hot, humid days when you're submerged in the cold water of the creek.

The Creek behind my house (this photo does not do it justice!)

Luckily for me, I've been in Indian Creek about 2 weeks and it already feels like home! My family here is almost as big as my family in Valley of Peace; there are my host parents, John and Isabella Rash, and my 10 brothers and sisters! Since many villagers are farmers, families tend to be bigger; the more hands there are, the more work getting done. There are three girls and seven boys in my family ranging from 1 to 24 years old. Nine of them live in the same, thatched roof house as me, while two live with our grandparents only a stones throw away. All except the baby, and one brother who graduated high school (and is now working) are in school. My host father is a farmer and my host mother mans the home, as well as serves as the chair-lady of a woman's group. Overall, they are a very loving group of people with a great sense of humor and I am excited to spend the next two years with them (I will post a picture soon)! I think, no doubt, they are going to be good ones :-) 

Until next time!