2 Week Mark!

The past week has certainly been interesting (I feel like I could/will start every post along these lines!) I have been with my host family for a bit over 1 week at this point, and it has certainly been an experience I’ll never forget….Where to start?

PC training has been extremely long, exciting, interesting and more exhausting than I could ever imagine. We have language training about 3 days a week, and the other days we go into Belmopan for training at PC headquarters. I typically wake up at 6am, take a bucket bath, help mom with breakfast, and leave to walk 45 minutes to the school or hop on the bus at 6:45 to head to the capital. I am glad that my house is one of the furthest from the school…it gives more time for exercise and some much needed and cherished alone time. The days at the office are long but so nice as we have the luxuries of wifi and air conditioning at the office! I know pretty soon, I won’t have either so I’m trying to enjoy it the few days a week I have it!

Me Familia: My host family is absolutely amazing. I continue to be overwhelmed by their warmth and hospitality. Me Padres (parents) along with most others in this village, are refugees from the civil war in El Salvador in the 80’s. The Valley of Peace was founded as a UN refugee camp in the 80’s for those escaping the brutality of El Salvador’s civil war. I recently learned my father's story- that during the civil war, my father’s village was raided and his father was murdered. His mother died from a heart attack the same moment. At 15 years old, my father was responsible for taking care of his 7 siblings. He managed to provide them shelter, food, and safety and snuck most of them to Belize. Their stories are all very powerful, and it’s amazing to think how far the family has come! My Padre, Antonio, is a quiet and friendly man who is around 65 years old. He works in Agriculture (really good profession here) and the family owns a little shop in the house that sells basic goods. Him and Mama have managed to raise a beautiful family of 8 children of which half went to college!

Only two girls (me hermanas) are living at home (17 and 22) and they are truly wonderful. Irma, my 22 year old sister’s English is perfect, and she has been helping me greatly with my Spanish. She has finished her degree and is currently interviewing for jobs in the accounting field! My younger hermana, Ara, is a super competitive soccer player and travels around Belize playing against other districts. It’s not super common in this very religious and conservative country for young girls to be allowed to play soccer, much less travel alone to soccer tournaments around the country. One of my favorite (and sometimes least favorite) parts about my family is that most of the siblings all have homes next to each other so there are constantly children (3-14) here and the house is very lively. I think they have gotten used to my schedule, because the kids are typically waiting for me right when I get off the bus!

Religion: Like most of the developing world, Belize has been extensively molded by the presence of missionaries (not a subject you want to get me started on). Catholicism, Baptist, Adventists, and Pentecostal are very prominent sect here in the villages. Like I mentioned, my host family is very religious (Catholic), and prayer, church, and ritual is an essential aspect of daily life, so for those who know me, that will certainly be one of my biggest adjustments. Every night of the week they go to church or to some religious function in someone’s house. I participated in one on Wednesday night that eh, let’s just say was extremely culturally eye opening.  In fact, one of the first questions I got was “are you Christian?” I prepared myself for this question and decided that in order to better integrate into my community, I would say I was Christian. Well, that didn’t happen. For some reason, I said I was Jewish and got the blankest stares of my life. To avoid the awkward conversation, I shook my head and said “Ah, yes, I am Christian!” to which they proudly smiled haha! I am going to church with the family tomorrow which will certainly be interesting.

I’ve been blown away with the PC Belize’s level of organization, thoroughness, and professionalism thus far, though the multitude of policies, rules, and regulations can often seem a bit tedious. The reminder that I am working for the government!  We are constantly being evaluated and have periodic assessments in 8 different areas! Aside from language training, our PC trainings have actually been really interesting. The past few days we have had sessions on a variety of topics- visits from the Ministry of health, Ministry of Education, Security briefings, Intro to technical training, training on data collection and reporting measures, public health, global health, project framework, and the list goes on. We even had a 2 hour session on diarrhea from our PCMO (peace corps medical officer) including the way to collect a stool sample (which we will all likely have to do at some point in our service and inevitable sickness). We have all surrendered to the fact that the next two years will without a doubt bring the greatest sickness we’ve ever experienced. This could be everything from severe diarrhea (very dangerous), malaria (even with the meds), Chickengunia, dengue, allergic reactions, and adjustments to food and water. I have already experienced a little sickness after eating fish that was sitting unrefrigerated in a bucket of salted water for two days. It’s been very difficult to balance being not being offensive and thankful of hospitality and learning to say ‘no thank you.’ In the mestizo culture, accepting, offering, and enjoying one’s food is seen as a sign of respect, and saying no is not always an appropriate cultural response (hence my eating of spam last night).

One of my hardest adjustments has been how many Belizians treat animals. Me familia has MANY animals, none of which are actually viewed as pets, rather they are purely for utility. Cats are used to keep away rats, dogs are used for security, chickens used for eggs and meat. They are NOT pets and to see any kind treatment is pretty rare (they aren’t exactly abused, just neglected and often kicked away if they come too close). This isn’t true in all cases, and I would guess to say that my family treats their animals nicer than a lot of families (they even get the occasional head scratches!). One of my favorite dog’s name is Toby. He is a little mutt and is super sweet and playful. My family says that they gave up a long time ago on Toby ever becoming a guard dog because he is too sweet and playful! The other dog’s name is Guardian and he is super bad ass. He is sweet also, but has a much more serious demeanor and definitely understands his responsibilities around de casa. Today Mama said something to Guardian in espanol and he immediately chased down the biggest chicken in the yard, wrestles to catch him in the mouth, and brings him to Mama. Observing this, I knew what was coming! I told myself before starting this process, that of all the new things I will try, I need to become comfortable with where my food comes from. Mustering up the courage, I followed Mama through the caching, killing, plucking, preparing, and eating chicken process. Needless to say, it was quite the learning experience, and the last thing I wanted to do was eat lunch after watching this process, but I did! I will say, that these chickens have a hell of a better life here than in industrial agriculture, and I will make a goal that before I leave here I will help with this process. I believe it’s my responsibility to be conscious, appreciative, and knowledgeable about how my food gets on my plate.

This week has been a week of many first! I have tried new foods I never imagined eating (spam), saw a baby chicken hatching from its shell (so cool!) and have learned more Spanish in 1 week than I ever thought possible! Necessity really is the biggest motivator! Though there are of course ups and downs, I am beyond thankful for this opportunity and am appreciative of all those who continue to support me! Heading to the nearby Mennonite community for the day. Hope all is well…Love to all!