Lindsey's Peace Corps Belize Experience: I am back!

Surprise, it’s me again! I am sure you and I are both tired of this same song and dance- me spending the first few sentences of my blog post apologizing for not posting since January, then proceeding to convince you of how I will improve, and then not improving at all. This time is different, no promises and no pleads of forgiveness…just hopes you enjoy a small (or rather large) update of my life!

The last many (MANY) months have been in classic Peace Corps fashion- a whirlwind! A true roller coaster ride of up’s, down’s, and all arounds! Life has been…well life. I have settled into a routine here, have people in my life I truly love, and have been working hard on lots of projects. It is hard to believe I have been a Peace Corps Volunteer for over one year now and in Belize for 15 months!

Let’s start with the highlights of the past few months:

As many of you know, I went to Panama and to the US for medical reasons. Thankfully nothing too serious- dental surgery, but these long departures from Belize and from my village of San Roman have been a defining part of my service. Leaving for so long presents challenges of reintegration, inevitable stalling of projects, perceived vacation from community members, and culture shock many times over. Though these challenges are still not easy, I am glad to say that living abroad for the last four years has certainly helped prepare me for these transitions. Alright…onto the fun stuff. Aside from the not so fun medical stuff in Panama, I am so thankful for the two weeks spent with my Mama (shout out to the best Mom ever) who came to help take care of me in Panama. For my mom to drop everything, rearrange her schedule, and hop on a plane with three days’ notice, I am in awe and eternally grateful! We had so much fun- walking the beautiful Panama City- seeing the stark contrast between its two very distinct halves- old, beautiful, cultural and classic Casco Viejo and the metropolis with skyscrapers, casinos, and businesses. I’m sure you can guess which one I preferred… We enjoyed going to the fish market, hitting up the casino (we found our lucky machine), touring the Panama Canal (fascinating) and just spending time together. I was very impressed with Peace Corps level of medical care and am thankful for the support I was provided.

Returning back to Belize from Panama, I knew it was time to get back into work mode and thus we immediately went into one of the workshops Peace Corps provides to Volunteers and Counterparts. PDM (Project Design and Management), is provided to volunteers about six months after service begins, precisely the time we should start focusing on project development (first 3-6 months focus is on integrations, assessment, and relationship building). The information was incredibly useful and we had sessions on project design, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects. Everyone came to the workshop with a project idea in mind, so it was really exciting to see what volunteers and counterparts plan on doing in their communities. It is always wonderful to see each other since we rarely get together as a whole group. It was great to hear stories, share and brainstorm challenges and project ideas.

After returning to my community, we finished out the school year working with preschool, the school garden, teaching in the school, conducting childbirth education classes, and further integrating into the community. In June, we had preschool graduation, which was a LOT of organizing work, but so much fun! The children looked adorable, and it was very rewarding to see how far they have come in one year. I gave two speeches in Spanish, which was scary but really rewarding to realize how much more comfortable I've become with using another language!

Slideshow of our wonderful year of preschool!

One of my favorite project in the village is a joint initiative by a teacher and me. We started a GLOW Club (Girls Leading Our World) at the school. It is a club for girls 10-13 and focuses on self-esteem, self-expression, leadership skills, and community service. This year, the girls want to focus on cleaning up San Roman. We plan to do village cleanups and making signs encouraging community members to not through trash in the river. GLOW is a Peace Corps initiative that began in 1995 in Romania. Many volunteers have GLOW and BRO (boys reaching out) clubs in Belize and the difference we see in children that participate is so rewarding! I am so thankful for my partner in this project- Ms. Shahira Lara, the Standard 6 teacher. She has become a good friend, and we share a joint vision for to try and empower these girls to become engaged, confident, and active citizens of Belize and to take leadership and pride for their village of San Roman.

GLOW Girl's Vision/Inspiration Boards- Collages of their goals and dreams!

Our efforts to establish a community preschool have been moving forward as well. We have held several community meetings, formalized a preschool committee, and now have the Ministry of Education’s assistance in making this project come to life. The need for this project cannot be expressed enough. San Roman consistently has low educational outcomes with very few children continuing their studies past primary school. One of the greatest challenges is the language barrier. When children enter Infant I, very few have any familiarity of English and have serious difficulties in reading, writing, and general communication. By offering Preschool, we hope children will gain English writing, speaking, and letter recognition skills, while also garnering essential developmental and social skills. We are entering the fundraising stage (stay tuned for my desperate pleas for assistance! Haha!). But right now, we have many plans- from selling food, conducting raffles, and

distributing letters to local businesses requesting material donations.

This is already getting way too long (for those who have gotten this far…Thanks and I’m sorry!). As briefly mentioned, I went home to the US for 5 weeks this summer to finish part 2 of oral surgery. It was great to see everyone, but I quickly became homesick for Belize, San Roman, and village life. It was strange getting ‘used’ to the modern conveniences the US provides. Week one, I was humbled, amazed, and ‘freaked out’ at the ease of driving a car from point A to point B….no care about traffic…hell, loving traffic because it meant more AC and NPR. The strangeness and awesomeness of buying ANYTHING at wholefoods, Trader Joes (so exciting it’s now in Bham). It was a strange since of relief, enjoyment, and disgust at the over-consumption and excess that Americans (including myself) have become so accustomed to. The same things that propelled me to this adventure, had me yearning for back home. However, week by week, little by little, I slipped back into my American ways of discontent with traffic, standing in lines at grocery checkout, and being frustrated with myself for feeling this way! Needless to say, I had to get back. Day one back in the village, waking up way too early to the roosters, dogs, and radio blasting….I was happy. I was home.

Though I was happy to be back in the village, I am very thankful for the time I got to spend with family at home. I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my cousins and aunt who moved to Israel, my sister, and lots of family and friends. I am extremely grateful I was home to see my Great Uncle Max, who is 91 years old, get honored for a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has created his legacy by sharing his horrors of the Holocaust with schools and communities in Alabama for the last 30 years. He is one of my personal heroes, and I am glad I was able to witness this wonderful achievement.

Unle Max- receiving the William M. Miller Lifetime Achievement Award

Spending time with my little cousins (Gia and Kayla) before their big move to Israel!

While home my mom and I marched along side our human family in the Black Live's Matter protest in downtown Birmingham. Was an amazing experience and right here in Birmingham- A dark history but with a diverse, passionate, and driven community ready to help make a difference.

The past 2 months of being back in Belize have been really great. Of course there have been challenges, both back at home and here in Belize (won't bore you with details). I have am in the process of learning how to be resilient. How to stay positive and grateful, despite really unfortunate situations and circumstances has been one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned (and continue to learn). Beginning this school year has been great. We celebrated it UP, for the 21^st- Belize’s Independence Day, which in reality is a month long celebration! It was fun helping out for the school parade, celebrating in town with friends, and getting all dressed up.

School Parade

Meeting up with PCV friends to celebrate in town!

We have been busy starting up projects at school, including the school garden (which turned to complete bush over the summer), GLOW- which the girls are SO excited for, and beginning a English campaign at school this year- ‘Speak Up, Speak Out, Speak English.’ It is a competition designed to encourage children to practice speaking, reading, and developing confidence around using the English language. We are also in the process of moving locations this year for preschool! The past few years, the community preschool was held in the clinic, which has no water, electricity, and a serious infestation of Ratbats. Needless to say, that was not a suitable or healthy learning environment for children. All of the fundraising efforts will go to building a classroom inside the already constructed community center. I am thankful to have a wonderful team of strong women who are ready to make this happen! I hope we can begin class by early November!

School Garden Project!

Harvest Time!

'English Year' Campaign Kickoff poster!

My and my Community Health Worker's work with maternal health and women’s health has been really great and busy this year! We have had eight births in the village this year alone! It has provided wonderful opportunities to build relationships with women in the village and learn about the many cultural practices surrounding birth and maternal health in Belize. It is sad to see that nearly every one of these births ended up being a C-Section, and most without sufficient reasoning. The stories I hear of the women’s experiences and treatment in the hospital is really heartbreaking. However, it has encouraged me to provide as much compassion, support, and encouragement as possible.

One of my postnatal home visits! A bonus to helping women with breastfeeding and educating about postpartum/postnatal warning signs...holding adorable babies!

It is hard to believe that my first year as a Peace Corps Volunteer is already over! There have been so many first…Surviving my first and hopefully only dog attack, starting my women’s exercise group (and it failing), and trying to hone my Spanish skills, eating alligator (and ‘helping’ clean it), seeing and celebrating my Nephew’s Baptism, becoming comfortable teaching and giving presentations, and the list goes on! More than anything, I am most thankful and humbled by the wonderful friendships and connections I have made in San Roman. This community has welcomed me and I truly feel like I can call it home. Even though I will inevitably leave in one year, this place and these people will always be a part of who I am.

So Thankful for my TWO families in San Roman! One is my host family above (including Blackie- the dog who follows me everywhere). My mom and Daisy, my sister, have been a huge support system in the village.

Thankful for my next family- My CHW (Community Health Worker-top left)- From day one she took me into her family and they have all made me feel like a daughter and a sister. This picture was

celebrating my birthday in May!

My sister Flory who has been a great sister and friend the last year!

Crocodile Meat Time! Thanks to my friend for cutting me 2 delicious pounds of fresh gator meat. Was not prepared when he asked me to help him clean it! haha. Quite the experience!