"Here's Some Hair and an ORS"

Saturnina gave me my first lesson on child rearing in Belize:
1. Do not throw babies up and down because it will make 'their water drop' i.e. their soft spot sink.
2. Do not tickle their feet they will be rude.
3. Do not kiss their hands or neck...they will have a stutter.
4. If you frighten a child they will get sick.
5. The remedy: get a piece of hair from the offender, burned with the child breathing in the hair smoke. If no hair can be found rinse the shoes of the offender and pour the water over babies head.

All this was explained to my on my back veranda as she held a naked Seaford. Saturnina told me she was ashamed to ask for some of Greg's hair when Sheldon got sick so she rinsed his shoes with water and poured it over his head...he got better. Then she told me Ofelia took some of the hair in the yard from Greg's haircut for Hermin but was afraid to ask for mine (all the kids have been getting sick). I told her that I would gladly give a little piece of my hair. Saturnina, throughout our conversation, kept saying, "it's just what we believe." I felt it was important to validate that you should never be ashamed of what you believe in...while also saying how when babies are dehydrated their eyes and soft spot will sink in too. Saturnina said that the doctor gave them pedialite. They are using a combination of tradition and modern medicine. The fact that Saturnina could tell me these things, and both of us not judging the other it felt really good. I asked for another 'lesson' soon.

The next morning, after hearing Hermin cry all night, I went over to their cocine and handed them an ORS package and a piece of my hair. They were all laughing but, Ofelia looked me in the eye and said, "Tanks Keveen." Hermin was better later that day...go figure:)

Mr. Santiago got sick a few days later...there have been lots of cases of illness in the village. Andres said it is because they haven't cleaned the water tower in a while. The water board is supposed to clean it inside and out every 3 months. I guess I should have been brushing my teeth with the filtered water because when the family gets sick...so do I. Greg told them all that I was sick and to keep an eye on me. This prompted most of them to come stare at me from the door. On one of my trips back from the latrine Ms. Cecilia taught me how to say my stomach hurts in ketchi and 'loose stool.' She laughed so hard when I tried to say my stomach was hurting...so I just said "ra in'chool" (my spirit is not well) and she gave me a smile and went back to washing the walkway. Mr. Santiago came to the door and gave me an ORS (oral re hydration salts) package and said it really helped him when he was sick. I was so excited that he used it, so to show that indeed ORS are the best thing for dehydration I mixed it right there and started drinking it. Sheldon and Margarita quietly played on the floor, Brendon said he doesn't like sick kevina.

When I got back from my medical stay at the hospital Brendon asked if I got an injection (everyone gets an injection for everything). I told him no I got two kinds of pills. He paused, looked confused, then said, "Oh you mean the pink pink? I like that." AKA amoxicillian.

Na' (Mom)

Happy Mother's Day!

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

Happy First Mother's Day Kristen! You are raising one happy little boy, we love you!!


All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my Mother.
- Abraham Lincoln
Happy Mother's (and Grandmother's) Day Mama, we love and miss you terribly!
One quote from Greg:
"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."
-- Mark Twain


I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~Terri Guillemets

Happy Mother's Day Mummy, we love you and cannot wait to see you!

We wish we could give you a hug and kiss in person, but just know we are thinking of you and miss you all terribly. Thank you for your love, encouragement, and understanding. Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

Cloudy with a Chance of Papya

I have come to love how when kids are hungry/bored they can just go up to whatever tree or plant is in season and find something to eat or chew on. I feel like I should come out of my house with a bib and a fork and knife. What's on the menu now you ask?

Silver Creek Cafe:
~Papaya:the trees are so laden with fruit they have to prop them up with sticks, Mr. Santiago gave us one from his in laws' farm.
~Mop (Amy thinks it is called susap in English): This is a hard, green, round fruit that grows by the hundreds at the top of one kind of palm. You find them on the ground. A little girl at the river peeled it for me (Kind of picture a jaw breaker with a slightly less hard shell) with her teeth. Is it bad I didn't think twice about popping it in my mouth? The inside is a creamy yellowish/ white meat that is really hard and tastes like dough kinda. Most kids just stick it in the cheek like a chipmunk to suck on all day at school. Once your done (as another kid deftly showed me) you crack it open with another rock and eat the small hazelnut-sized nut on the inside. You just chew it until all the flavour is gone then spit out the fiber.
~Tuts (cahoon nut): Picture 11 kids aged 3- 14 all in underwear or less (Brendon was completely naked the whole time I was washing and eating at the creek)... climbing up a tree that fell into the water, running down the bank with arm fulls of egg sized nuts dumping them on the washing stone that Kendrick (a standard 6 boy) squats beside lifting a huge rock high above his head and slamming it down on the nuts. Shells litter the water and bank beside him and sever children happily munch on the nuts while others eagerly wait. Tuts tastes like a coconut but is a small almond sized nut. Again you chew it until the flavour/ milk is gone and spit out the fibrous remnants.
~Unripe Mango: Mango season is at the end of May (much to my delight since we have one in our yard) but that doesn't stop us from eating it. Villagers eat the unripe mango with pepper (see plum description of pepper).
~Calaloo: Like a spinach ...grows naturally all over the place including outside of the preschool door.
~Tambran: Looks like a brown pee pod and the soft fruit around the hard black seeds tastes like fruit leather. Also a popular drink flavour.
~'Plums' :Not at all a plum but a green grape sized fruit. It is hard and you lick it and dip it in pepper (as in dried and ground up hot peppers) and salt. There is a big seed so you only eat a couple of millimeters of meat off but it is tasty. Tart and spicy...yum.
~Coming Soon: Ripe mangoes (end of May), Pineapple, and Pear (Avocado)! All of which are in my yard

FOOTBALL:
Our girls won the zone competition called a 'Football Marathon' on Wednesday. Even though we had the smallest (size wise). We kicked Greg's school's butts...even though one of my girls wouldn't play because she said they were, "too 'fat' miss" in reference to the two tall and, well fat girls. Our boys lost to Greg's boys. It was like Slytherin vs. Griffindor. Their school had matching uniforms...and socks and even some had pegs (cleats). They had this super intimidating warm up routine...we lost before we began. We brought one pig tail bucket for water and two cups. Their team had new buckets (3) with a whole stack of new disposable cups (which were used once and tossed). There is even a boy on Greg's team who looks and acts like Malfoy. But I digress...

Our girls heading out for the first game.

A bird (alive) that Sheldon found and the bus to the football marathon

Boys team

Girls team

Dinner with Bryan and Marla...we will miss you guys!!!! Off to Honduras they go!

They treated us to PIZZA...and inspiration.

I can get people to do anything for a good photo.

Happy birthday to Erica and Kristen

Clams from the Nim li Ha' (big water) delicious.

One last funny story from Greg:
He was sitting outside our house with the family while I was bathing, Ms Cecilia in the hammock, when he saw Mr. Santiago stealthily moving towards the cocine. He snuck up behind Ms. Cecilia and attacked her with kisses... ignoring her protests. :) Village love.