Life With Our Host Family

Right before heading out to meet our host families...we were very excited about our medical kits!

Our first 20 minutes at our host family's house were pretty awkward. The parents were out and we were only told Alyssa, my host sister, spoke some English. I tried to speak to her in K'echi, the words I learned from the girl at the Children's house, but she kind of just starred at me. There is a TV in their house and she watched TV as her brothers and neighbor kids all played outside. We sat for a while then decided to go outside and play the ukulele a bit. We didn't speak any English and gestured that they could try. We got a few laughs when Greg snuck up on one of the smallest boys and started playing his ukulele right behind him. But, it was still awkward so we went back in and I just started writing in my journal. The page I was writing on stopped mid sentence because that was when we realized that they all speak English, Kriol and Spanish. We played non stop until the parents got home.

My host brothers and sister and some of the neighbors in their tree.

My host brother Frances (far left) and some of his friends.

Playing tangos!

Kaylyssa gave us tangos, a portable tan gram game and the kids loved this (so much so that we were frantically making paper versions so all the kids could play) and my host brother Frances really picked it up fast and got most of them! When the mom got home we showed them pictures of our family (I was in the hammock in the living room and my littlest host brother Bryan who is 6 laid right on me and was very interested in Mr. Greg's 'big mustache.' My host mom also walked me through how to make flower tortillas. I tried to make them the next night with my host sister but we had to get lots of help from Miss Alberta. Then the next night I made them myself (Alyssa helped kneed them) and they turned out great and I got lots of compliments. My host dad said he couldn't believe that they weren't Alberta's!

'Hanging around' with my host brother Bryan

The rainbows the first morning...and the sunrise from the bathroom window!

Training is very intensive and very very good. We go from 8 to 5 Monday through Saturday. Our first day our host brother Frances and host sister Alyssa were walking us to class when we heard 'pat, pat, pat,pat' getting louder and louder. We turned around to see our littlest brother Bryan running to catch up to us! The day is broken up from 8-12 either language and culture class or technical training, then we walk back to our host families for lunch until 1 when we have the other (language or technical depending which we had in the morning). K'echi is very fun and Greg and I are doing pretty good. Our first night there I started playing 'go fish' in K'echi with my host brothers and sister and I knew 1-10, do you have, and go fish by the second day without having to look at my cheat sheet! Greg conducted an interview with the village chairman...in Ket'chi (there are a million ways to spell this language)!!!! The chairman was able to understand all his questions and we attempted to record his answers. Our language instructor said the chairman was very impressed with all of our ket'chi, especially since it was only our third day of language training!

School kids walking back to class after lunch...holding hands!

Greg taking a nap...training can be exhausting!

Our first night it stormed really bad all night, it was kind of nice with the thunder. I really like waking up and looking around at our little mosquito net and hearing the crickets at night. We had to get creative in hanging the mosquito net. We borrowed some fishing line and used hangers and string to suspend it over our bed. It works really well and I haven't been bitten at all during the night. I love the schedule in Belize, we go to bed early (8:30 or 9) and wake up early 5:30 or so...you have to because we have a lot of roosters and turkeys. Greg can't stand the roosters and turkeys. There are about 15 or so that roam our yard and it seems like in the morning our window is their favorite place. They usually start to 'scream at us'(in Greg's words) at around 4:30.

The main turkey that really likes our window!

One night I taught my host sister the 9 times table tricks and she was super excited and made me giver her quizzes. She had to do one quiz in front of her dad because he didn't believe she learned them all in one night! After our first day in class Alyssa (my host sister) gave us bracelets she made. They say 'fruit' and we are both proudly wearing them. So on my left wrist I now have a bracelet from Greg's family in Sicily, one I made in Barcelona and one that my host sister made in Belize.

Greg and the boys looking at a leach that climbed up the outside of our mosquito net.

Each day after we get out of class we change clothes and then it is play time! We play with about 12 kids. I taught them down by the banks of the hanky panky, that hand game and they were addicted! Greg attempted teaching them hacky sack but it didn't quite workout. My host siblings put on a show for us (in traditional dress) of a k'echi dance. Their uncle who stayed a night (along with their grandpa) brought some traditional 'harp' music and it was great! I told Alyssa I would like to learn and Miss Alberta knows a place where there are some elderly women who might teach me after I sit with them for a few days...that is my next goal (goal one being to make tortillas...check!).

Alyssa in her traditional dance outfit.

My host mom teaching me how to make tortillas the first night!



Look how round...Miss Alberta was impressed.

Miss Alberta asked me today if it is really like on tv where we have the grills in our yards. She was shocked when we said yes most our friends and family keep a grill in their backyard. She thought it was something only on TV! We are learning a lot about k'echi traditions and foods. We learned that they can make a 'coffee' with corn that they roast and then grind. They do the same with old corn tortillas (roast/burn) them and then make a drink. We usually drink a tea at dinner. My favorite so far was the ginger tea I learned how to make. You just take about a handful of ginger for a pot of tea, smash up the ginger, boil it, then add powdered milk and a little sugar. It's called Xanxil Uk (pronounced shanshil, ook).

We are also down one trainee already. There are officially 40 of us now.

Sunday we went with the kids to pick up another volunteer Grace and her kids to go to the park to fly our kite and play. Amy and her family met us there. Several other kids joined us throughout our time. It was pretty hot, so we walked to one of the many stands and got bags of water and 'ideals.' Ideals are these homemade slushies or shakes sort of that are made with fruit milk and ice then they are frozen. They put them in sandwich baggies and the kids just tear off a corner and enjoy they are sooo good! On the topic of cool, refreshing snacks... two boys came by with a bucket after we finished our laundry. Turns out they had a bucket of FROZEN CHOCOLATE DIPPED BANANAS that they were selling! We all quickly bought and ate them. This was the second taste of chocolate I've had since leaving America...the first being two pieces from a chocolate bar a trainee shared with me when I was cutting Emily's hair.

Some boys watching Greg do magic.

The field on the way to the resource center...people let their horses graze here a lot.

All of us at the park with our host brothers and sisters and about 6 other little kids!

Which brings me to laundry:

We are pretty lucky and our host family has a washing machine. These are nothing like ours back at home. They are wider and have a part that you put your clothes in and it agitates them for 12-15 minutes ...15 if they're really dirty, and a spinner part to help wring out the clothes. You use the same water for all your loads, and you get that water by filling it up with a hose. After the wash finishes you wring out each item and put it in a big bucket of clean water to rinse them. Then you re-wring them out and put them in the second big bucket with clean water and fabric softener. Next, you once again wring them out to put them into the spinner. Afterwards you hang them on the line to dry. We did 3 loads like this and it took about 2 hours and was pretty hard work. After we were finished with the laundry we drained the wash water into the yard (the soap here is biodegradable) and moved the washing machine back to it's spot...you have to move it to the door for easy dumping and for the hose. Then you dump out the big buckets and you're finally done (after you fold your clothes of course)!

Everyone here is very friendly. They speak Ket'chi, kriol, english, or spanish. Once when Greg and I were walking across one of the fields a little boy ran up to us out of breath and said. "You're coming to my school Thursday!" We asked him where he went to school (he went to the one in the village) so we said yes we are! He then said "my sister told me, okay bye." and took off running back to his sister and mom on the other side of the field. When Greg, Grace and I were walking to the resource center one morning there were three little kids by one of the stores next to the road. The oldest one, a girl...probably 4 years old, just points at us with a huge smile and yells over and over "Gringos! Gringos!" It was all the more funny/awkward since she was about 2 feet away from us and didn't stop until we'd gone about 10 feet past her! Also, everyone can say my name fine but Greg is having a hard time. Bryan, our littlest host brother, calls him Dreg, and Alyssa calls him Kraig!

So...we are doing good, we are loving our time with our host family (I am already dreading leaving in October). We are well fed, well slept, and having lots and lots of fun. Also I think that air conditioning is not a necessity. It has been almost a week without it and I haven't felt too hot yet. I actually had to put on a sweatshirt one night when I went with the kids to the store!

Lastly, here is another video of our first few days in our Community Based Training!

Some found pictures from the ruins.



Here is the ferry I wrote about last week.