Belizean Cuisine

This post will be short and on a focused topic (shocking, I know!)- Food in Belize. Like many cultures, food is an integral part of its identity, holidays, and traditions. One of my absolute favorite parts about Belize its diversity. To remind you, there are only about 330,000 people in Belize, and it has about 6 different ethnic groups! Belize is home to groups of: Mestizo (Spanish speaking- mixture of Spanish and Mayan), Q’eqchi, Kriol (mix of enslaved West Africans with British colonist), Mennonites (from Germany), Mopan Mayans, and Yucatan Mayans.

With Belize’s rich ethnic makeup, their cuisine has many different influences from the variety of cultures. Since I am living in a Mestizo village, of course I can’t tell you the complexities of the other cuisines, but I can tell you that there are a LOT of similarities. Despite each distinct cultural influence, ‘Belizean food’ has become a shared commonality amongst all Belizeans. At the central point of the Belizean diet is rice, beans, and tortillas (Flour and corn) and every meal inevitably has these items (in some shape or form).

The most popular meal in many houses is rice and beans, which is yes, exactly as it sounds. I affectionately (and begrudgingly), call this meal rice and beaN because it’s typically 80% rice. Unfortunately, fruits and vegetables are not commonly seen in the diet and if so, they are cooked beyond the point of viable nutritional quality (one of our project goals is to encourage and teach healthy eating). The average meal is typically rice and beans, stewed chicken, fried plantains, potato salad, and of course- tortillas. This is typically accompanied by coke or juice. Needless to say, there are a lot of non-communicable diseases here such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Though the diet is certainly a challenge, I have semi-adequately managed to incorporate enough fruits in veggies into my diet.  Despite these many challenges, I have enjoyed tasting new foods and eating things I never expected to. One of the best pieces of advice given by an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) is to always say ‘yes.’ So that’s exactly what I have done, with only occasional regret by my stomach.

Traditional Meal of "Rice and Beans"- includes stewed chicken, potato salad, and fried plantains 

One of the best things about being a local in Belize...knowing people who can get free and delicious lobster!

The famous food of Orange Walk- Belizean Tacos

 Marcia (sp?)- Stewed Pig Intestine. I successfully to swallowed one bite

Preparing for a birthday celebration by butchering a pig- Yes, I watched (or ran away)

Preparing the 'Pib'. Way of cooking the pig underground all night. 

My CHW, Manuella with her hands in a bowl (or bowel) of intestines. 

                               
                                       The Pib is ablazing!

Once the fire drops down into the 4 foot hole, you cover with dirt for the rest of the night to cook

                                     Finished Product!

Black Relleno- Stuffed Chicken with pork and eggs

                  Pig Tail and Beans...It's exactly as it sounds

Making Tamales- Ground Masa (corn) with spicy sauce and chicken wrapped in Banana Leaves and cooked over fire

"The Hardest Job You Will Ever Love"

So it looks like that time again…Can’t believe it’s been over a month since writing my last blog post! I have now been at my new home for a bit over 6 weeks. I am proud to say that my village- San Roman Rio Hondo and I are getting along quite well at this point. Of course, like everyone’s Peace Corps experience, it is full of up’s and down’s. Luckily the up’s are far more present than the downs. 

Throughout training, our PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) gave us many sessions about healthy adjustments, warning signs of poor coping mechanisms, and the roller coaster ride of emotions we should prepare ourselves for. Needless to say, I have been preparing myself to battle (and win, duh) some rough patches.  I do not want to give the illusion that this is an easy or ‘happy-go-lucky’ experience. In fact this is without a doubt one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but as my dad likes to remind me, “If it was easy, everyone would do it!” I do love waking up every day surrounded by coconut trees, our funny looking pigs (Sorry, fella’s), children yelling my name, and a sense of purpose and commitment for the next two years. 

Since my past update, I have been busy building relationships, observing classes at school, and planning projects. I will be teaching Health, PE, and English tutoring for about 10 hours a week beginning in January. I have been enjoying observing the (extremely) different teaching styles, student conduct, and general operations of the school.  My village of San Roman has the lowest test scores and literacy rates in the district and some of the lowest in the whole country. Out of roughly ten children who graduate Standard 6 (6^th grade), roughly 1 or maybe 2 go on to high school each year. For some perspective, Valley of Peace (where I previously lived for 3 months) - nearly every kid goes onto high school. High school here in Belize is private and is extremely expensive for Belizean standards (and American standards for a lot of people). Additionally, kids must pass entrance exams and English test (remember, all school is in English), which is very difficult here since many parents do not know English. As a result of these many challenges, parents inevitably don’t see education as a possibility or of great importance for their children. Traditional gender roles are very present in this society, and many children are raised knowing their futures are predetermined. From a young age girls are trained in the tasks of ‘keeping a house’ and how to care for younger children while the boys are raised to know how to ‘chop (sugar) Cain.’ It is not unusual to see a 6 year old caring for their 2 year old sibling or to see 11 year old boys going with their fathers into the bush every day.

                                   San Roman Primary School

Next week we begin what will be one of my main projects during the next two years- establishing a pre-school here in the community. The previous Peace Corps Volunteer, Krystal, did an excellent job of initiating this project and gaining community support and dedication in providing the community with a ‘kinder.’ This is greatly important as it will be children’s first (and in many cases- only), familiarization with the English language before getting to school. We will have about 15 three and four year olds. This will certainly be a big challenge for me, as I am fairly clueless about teaching this age group….not to mention my notable lack of patience with 3 year olds (I think I can…I think I can).  These are the types of projects where I wish I could teleport my sister, Allie here to help me!  Any tips/suggestions about working with this age group while having little to no resources, and attempting to teach English as a second language, would be greatly appreciated! My long-term goal is to help establish a government funded pre-k, which would provide a full-time kinder (as opposed to my 2 hours, three times a week).  

Just kids playing with Machetes....

October brought great rains to the north of Belize. These rains quickly transformed from a welcomed and needed relief for farmers to terrible flooding. Farmers have already been struggling due to a very dry rainy season (remember BZ has only rainy and dry season) and the flooding certainly didn’t help. Because of this, Fruits and vegetables have been hard to come by and are unusually expensive, so most people are simply not eating any (aside from the occasional carrot or potato). My village is also known to flood every few years to flooding and our close proximity to the Rio Hondo (Rio-river, Hondo- Deep). When the river floods, roads become completely inaccessible, and the only way to exit the village is through boat! It sounds slightly fun, but is in fact a big problem- people can’t get to work, school is canceled, no access for medical emergencies, etc.

For those who read my last blog post, I was very excited to introduce my new friend, Brownie aka ‘Paz’. Well, I am sad to say that after 6 awesome weeks with my buddy, he died last week. For those wondering what happened, he got into some garbage and he became very lethargic and had a very swollen belly. After taking him to the vet, I found out he ate tin foil, which ended up just tearing up his insides. Unfortunately, there is no waste collection system here, which is one of many health problems here in the community. As a result, there are piles of garbage waiting to be burned and litter on the ground throughout the village. Unfortunately Brownie dying is a reality of life here. Way more dogs (especially puppies) die than survive, and those who do survive often die before they are 7 or 8 yrs old (no wonder people don’t get attached to dogs here). This experience has certainly been quite the learning process. In many ways, adopting Brownie was my attempt to bridge two worlds together. I like to think that some good came out of it. My family and neighbors observed the love I showed him and stopped filling my behavior under the ‘crazy Gringa’ thing to do and I successfully taught my 3 years old nephew that grabbing, pinching, or throwing rocks at Brownie was not a nice form of treatment to an animal. That’s what Peace Corps is all about….small victories! ‘I miss him a lot, and I am beyond thankful for the time we had together. He was my buddy, would wait for me to get home, come running with me at the field, and played until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore! We had some great times. Rest in Peace, little buddy!

                                                Brownie Y Mi Mama

One of the most exciting days thus far was hosting and assisting 12 doctors who came to the village to provide free consultations, blood test, and medications to residents. It was a jam-packed day but wonderfully exciting to see all the services provided to people here. Every year, Belize plays host to wonderfully caring and giving doctors who come to offer their services from abroad. San Roman is fortunate enough to have these doctors come about once a year (though more would be much better!). For many people (both sick and healthy) this is their only access to health care. Though health care in this country is heavily subsidized by the government, costly rates are often unaffordable for the majority of the population which lives below the poverty level. Needless to say, we have MANY people living with unmanaged chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. 

Mi hermana, Florey y Sabrino Adam

Additionally, Dental hygiene is a big concern here in the village, with many children who have rotting teeth. It is not unusual to see people with fake teeth or no teeth at all. Flossing is unheard of here. The teachers and I are planning to start a dental health campaign, which would include dental health education and facilitation of twice a day brushing and flossing while children are at school.  But of course, in Peace Corps fashion, I want to make this project sustainable, so my goal is to figure out a way to consistently supply the school with toothbrushes/toothpaste and educational materials. We are constantly in need of additional medical supplies and services, so if anyone is interested (or knows of anyone interested) in volunteering their services in Belize….we are ready to host!

                              Our wonderful team of doctors, nurses, lab techs, and CHW's
                                              
Like in America, it is election season! Unlike in the US, the election ‘hoopla’ only began about 6 weeks prior to the election (thank god). It has been super interesting to observe the excitement, political rallies, and tv/radio propaganda for this election. There are two main parties here (UDP- United Democratic Party) and PUP (People’s United Party) and villages typically vote according to whichever party gives/bribes them with money, services, and infrastructure. Peace Corps headquarters mandates an extremely strict protocol for all volunteers during election season. As such, we can’t engage in any political discussions, must remain completely neutral, and aren’t allowed to travel out of site this week. This is both for our personal safety and security and for maintaining positive relations with all villagers- regardless of their party affiliation. My village has rallies until 2 or 3 in the morning, which has mostly involved drunk men driving around in packed pick-up trucks while waving party flags, blasting music, and screaming chants (think game day in Tuscaloosa….Belizean style).

Until Next Time~ Hasta Luego~ Buenas!

                                    My beautiful Niece, Haricely!