Only One More Year???

Hi Hoe, Hi Hoe It's Off to Plant We Go...
With cuxtals full of corn, and big pointy stick.
Hi Hoe, Hi Hoe Hi Hoe Hi Hoe

The night before the planting there was no drinking, and Mr. Santiago burned several things of insense for the corn god, Yum K'aax. He explained that this is a sacred time, no drinking and you must sleep away from your wife for two weeks before and two weeks after or you will not have a good harvest. He said there is a ketchi word for it that translates roughly to, "you must sacrifice yourself for your land." The ladies woke up in the middle of the night (Ms Cecilia at 1:30, Ofelia at 2:00) to start killing chickens and roosters. I woke up at 3:30 and put on a jacket to join them in the cold dark night. The killing was done so I sat around as Cecilia, Saturnina, and Vira chopped the chickens up on banana leaves. I watched as each woman did their part and passed the chicken (or sections there of) to the next women, neat piles of feet, upper halfs and heads forming little growing mounds. Nina was in charge of stomachs and she would thwack all about the purple stomach muscle wall then slice one side open reach inside and carefully pull out the lining along with their last meal (corn and bugs) setting them in their appropriate piles. The women were teasing cecilia because she can't chop the chickens in a straight line.
Greg and the men started wandering out of the houses at around 4. Andres was in such a giddy mood. He started teasing and hitting Fermin who was trying to rest in the hammock (Fermin angerly snapping at him to, 'KANAB BWAI!! STOP PLAY!" (Stop boy, stop messing with me). He had a baseball hat that he fastened too small so it sat atop his head and he flitted all around the cocine saying 'Good morning' in a funny American accent. He spit out his coffee laughing when Fermin told the story of their last time planting.

Corn seeds in the hole, and the farmers planting.
The men piled in the truck and drove off to the farm waiting in the dark for the rest of the guys to show. Around 22 men came in all to plant. They get a free good meal and in turn they get their own planting done in mere hours too! They collected sticks and sharpened the ends to use as the planting stick. Finally they began. Planing in rows going over mountains and hills until they reached the other side of the farm. The men would thrust the stick in the ground, then reach in their cuxtal and grab 5 corn seeds tossing them all directly in the hole from their hip level. Greg sometimes got them in the hole... The planting was done by 8. Meanwhile more ladies came over as it got latter in the morning, everyone getting there by 6:30. At this time the caldo was boiling and we began to pat out tortillas. There were about 10 of us ladies so we all patted tortillas around two small round tables. We were all chatting and teasing, especially the village queen, when we got a call at 7:30 saying they were nearly finished and there were 22 men in total. Startled gasps were heard and all the ladies silently began patting double time! We only had one 3 gallon bucket of tortillas finished and we had two more to go! We cranked out tortillas like it was our job...which I guess it was. We finished the last chunk of masa just as the men arrived. All the men were served the best parts of the 7 chickens we slaughtered (and multiple pieces too) with pumpkin and ocra while the women were served big bowls with the breast bone, feet, and necks. I got the breast bone with the little heart attached. I ate all the meat but the heart, I felt weird about that, mainly because it was still attatched. The women realized they gave me what they usually eat and not the good meat and quickly asked if I wanted some more meaty parts. I kind of like how they momentarily forgot I was different and declined showing my appreciation by picking the bones clean like the other women. As I was putting my dishes away Vira asked Virginia what she would do if, 'x'keveen was your real sister-in-law' Virgina loudly said, "well I would love her very much!"
Afterwards, we washed the dishes, the men went home to sleep and we went to wash clothes.

Inside the hospital...this is what I stare at when I'm sick...or have a foot infection.


Volleyball...hosted, much to our surprise, right in our village. Sadly we lost...one weeks practice was just not enough.

Farewell pool extravaganza with Christine....
Christine, a good friend and great volunteer had to leave due to an illness in the family. We came together in Greg's village for a little picnic and pool fun to say goodbye. We jumped and played and gorged on cup cakes for a half a day. We even splurged on 3 dollar and 50 cent sodas to sip as we played catch phrase. It was a great way to spend Pan American Day (formerly known as; Columbus Day)

Baptist Birthday...Double Feature:


PCV and JVI Workshop:
A few youth PCVs had come to me asking about how to pull reading groups for those children reading very much below their grade. This turned into a workshop on how to do a diagnostic test, how to organize and use resutls, and how to structure reading intervention groups.

Amy laughing as we pose for the picture...

Biggest workshop yet!

One of the Youth PCVs Kristen, upon showing her teachers the diagnostic reading test material, was asked weather or not they could have a workshop for the whole school on how to administer and use the diagnostic reading test. Word spread and when she called me on Tuesday it turned into a three school, hour and a half workshop for that same Friday! I was happy to do it and it did not require too much additional work because I was able to reuse most of the material from my PCV workshop. I was quite nervous since there were 20 teachers from 3 schools (none that I'd worked in before). However, it went off very well and the teachers enjoyed practicing recording using the symbols from the three videos of students. I got a lot of great feedback and when I sent out a follow up email 3 teachers responded saying they had already begun testing their students and want a follow up workshop on intervention strategies!! YAY! The Ministry of Education Tech officer saw the plans when I was picking up the projector and he asked if I would be willing to give this and a follow up workshop at other schools. So it looks like Fridays will be my workshop/ travel days where I can go to other schools to model or present!

From a high, to a low low:

Two babies died in one week in our village. I don't really want to go into all of it because I will be honest this was the worst week of my entire Peace Corps experience and Greg was in Belmopan for a meeting so I had to go it alone. The first baby was a few weeks old to new parents, they buried him in their yard with a small service. The second baby was born early, and paralyzed after the mother fell. She (the baby) died a few days later. The father had to come back to go to work as soon as he saw if the baby would live or die so the mother was alone when she made the 8 hour bus ride from Belize city. She had to cary her baby in a styrofoam cooler on the rack above her head. The father came over early the next day to borrow a shovel to bury his daughter. She was laid to rest at the cemetery (the alcalde said in both cases it was up to the family where they wanted to bury the babies). It forced me to realize that until very recently (the last 50 years) babies died. Both my parents had siblings that died before 1, it was a sad fact of life. Now in the states we have the extreme luxury of not having to face this. And on the rare occasion this horrible thing happens it is devastating, parents are coddled for months, even a year because the very thought is so inconceivable...but it wasn't always so. Here most people still wait 2 or 3 weeks to name their baby (in case it dies) and yes they are very very sad but it is not the end of the world because, as it was all over the world, it is still a fact of life here. So when I look at pictures of all the healthy babies my friends and family are having I am reminded of what a privilege it is to count on, to EXPECT all babies to live. Be thankful because for a large part of the world, it is not a guarantee.

http://gizmodo.com/5634258/the-most-popular-phone-in-the-world

Speaking of third world countries, check out the most popular phone in the world...Not what you expected? It makes sense to us. You need a sturdy phone here (because there isn't a Nokia story to get it fixed or replaced...warranties, what's that?), a phone that can handle some rain from the rainy season, one that can last forever (if you don't have power in your village) and also must serve as light (for the same reason). Greg found this on his favorite site...gizmodo!

Greg: Computer Teacher

Greg has started personal computer classes with one of his teachers after-school until 5:30 most days. This teacher had never touched a computer and he had to start at the VERY beginning. He doesn't talk much and is working very hard trying to learn how to search on the web. A skill you have to teach.

Day in the life of a housewife:

I did not go to the religious teacher's retreat this time, it was very awkward last time so I stayed home and had a typical housewife day. I cleaned up from breakfast, swept and then headed out to do some visiting. I stopped and chatted with three of my friends. One for an hour and a half! She asked me a lot about america and hospitals and she told me how she had all three of her babies in the village two over from ours. She doesn't trust hospitals. I asked her all about it and we had a great time laughing at the strange ways of each other's cultures. At one point she asked me, "is it true they use lone spray in their cooking? No lard?" I explained that a lot use 'Pam' and oil too. She twisted up her face..."Why??" Well to stay healthy and thin because they have less fat. Her response, "but they're still fat Miss Keveen!" I had to laugh. After visiting I went to wash at the creek catching up on Ms Choco's life and a few of the high schoolers. It was such a great day and I had soooo much fun! Best choice ever!

1 year as volunteers:

41 came, 37 remain. We swore in as official volunteers October 22, 2009 looking out at two years of service. Now we have just 12 short months of that remaining. Time has sped up to warp speed and I am scrambling trying to accomplish everything I want to before I leave. Everyone else in my group has become busy it seems too, doing all kinds of good. Three volunteers from my group have grants for their communities. The village must come up with 40 percent of the cost and then the other 60 percent can come from people like you! You can donate if you follow the link to my friend's page, Erica. She also included a short piece about what each grant will be for. All of them are great ideas and greatly needed.

http://ericahowe.blogspot.com/

Tropical Storm Richard:

The whole country was glued to Love FM (the main radio station for all things news and Belize) as we heard the quick progression of the tropical storm to hurricane. All the villagers packed up their houses, and prepared for the worst. They stayed up all night listening to the radio not knowing if the storm would turn and hit them. All forecasts had it coming south and we were scared. Scared we would have nothing to return to. Luckily the storm turned at the last minute and the south was spared for the third time. We didn't get any wind and only felt a few drops of rain. Unfortunately the north was not as lucky with many loosing homes and dealing with flooding. An american even lost his life after getting attacked by a jaguar that escaped from the zoo during the storm. That being the one life lost due to Hurricane Richard. The country had a black out for a day and a half with some parts still without power. The cell service is very spotty now, and texts are delayed hours with service going in and out throughout the day. But overall, Belize was very lucky and for this little villager, I am ready for November 30...the end of the hurricane season.