"Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well."
- Voltaire
4.19.2012
4.16.2012
breaks
Well, today was my first day back to work after a two week spring/Easter break. I know, it seems really unfair that kids here have two weeks for spring break to me too. So I figured I'd catch you up on my little break, and let you know I spent my vacation.
My break kicked off with a fundraiser for Marla's Home, which was an impressive success and raised a crazy amount of support for the home. The event itself was a beautiful dinner and presentation at Marla's, which ended with an auction of donated items. My role for the evening was essentially the same as my daily job description: keep the kids away from the grownups. We had our own shindig instead, which in my opinion completely trumped the party outside.
Then, the Wednesday before Easter my little travel buddy Angela and her friend Molly (who was visiting from Washington) arrived in Belmopan for the night, and Thursday morning we embarked on another Belizean adventure. For the record, the reason it's entitled to be called an adventure is because we rarely have any kind of game plan or even general idea of what we're doing or where we're going, so the entire trip is one constant surprise. Anyways, we hopped in Angela's truck and drove down to southern Belize along the coast to a small town called Independence, where some friends of hers offered their home to us for several days. We had breakfast with them, and then they left for northern Belize to visit family, while we kicked it in Independence for the day, and then drove into Placencia (a small, touristy town right on the coast) for dinner and drinks and a sincerely lovely evening in the town.
Friday morning Angela and Molly took off for a snorkeling trip, and I opted to spend the day in Placencia, taking in the local life and relaxing on the beach. It was actually a really enjoyable way to spend the afternoon because the town was so quiet and peaceful during the day, and I even found a coffee shop (imagine that) to complete my happiness. It was a good day.
Speaking of good days, the next one was pretty fantastic as well. We traveled inland to a small Mayan community called San Felipe and took a tour of Cyrila's Chocolate, a Mayan chocolate factory. I agree, I thought it sounded kind of strange and a little anticlimactic when we first headed out, but it turned out to be downright awesome. We started out on the farm and picked our own cocoa fruits (which is pronounced "ca-cow" and is where the cocoa bean comes from), learned all about the harvesting aspect of the process, and then made it back to the actual factory. It was a small, family owned farm and factory, and they ran the business out of their home. Once at the factory we made our own chocolate, beginning with the cocoa fruit (which actually tastes very fruity, almost like a mango), then roasted and shelled the beans, ground them up on a stone in true old school Maya fashion, added sugar, and finally popped the product into the fridge until it hardened enough to eat. Voila, we made chocolate! I think that a good part of the reason that I was so entertained by the tour was because we learned so much about Mayan culture and history; so if you aren't very intrigued by indigenous cultures then you might not have enjoyed it as much as I did. But just take my word for it that we all had a really good time, and I would go again in a second.
On our last day, aka Easter Sunday, we had a fairly non-conventional Easter and decided to do some more jungle exploring. We traveled to an area called Blue Creek and hiked up to a popular river that happens to run through a cave. So we took a couple of hours to swim through the cave, which included several small waterfalls inside (and yes, it was incredible). Then on our way back to Belmopan we stopped at Coxcomb Jaguar Reserve (the same reserve we visited in March) and hiked up to another waterfall. Not your typical Easter celebration, but a wonderful one all the same.
Once I got back home I spent the next few days relaxing and enjoying my time off, attended a couple of barbecues in the neighborhood, and just hung out. Now I'm back to normal and spent my day with the kids at Marla's, which was such a great feeling. I really missed those kids, even after only a couple of weeks (imagine my dread of leaving in July), and it was so wonderful to see them. You know the cliche saying "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"? Well I think there is some real merit to that phrase, but it doesn't have to always be associated with such a tragic connotation. Sometimes I think it's a good idea to take a step back from the things and the people in your life, remove yourself from the routines of your everyday for awhile, and take some time to miss them. It may sound strange, but just stay with me for a second. I'm simply suggesting that if your life ever starts to feel somewhat commonplace or indifferent, do something about it to remind yourself of the blessings you have. Shake things up a bit, and then decide what it is and who it is that really matters to you, and make a commitment to them. I'm not sure how to give an example or explain the idea more thoroughly because I think it's a general idea whose specifics are distinct to every person, but I do know that being here has truly opened my eyes to the aspects of my life and the people in it that I miss the most and honestly need to be happy. I realize my case is extreme (you don't have to move to another country in order to accomplish this goal), but I believe the idea to be universal and one that could make a real difference in your life. So just think about it.
My break kicked off with a fundraiser for Marla's Home, which was an impressive success and raised a crazy amount of support for the home. The event itself was a beautiful dinner and presentation at Marla's, which ended with an auction of donated items. My role for the evening was essentially the same as my daily job description: keep the kids away from the grownups. We had our own shindig instead, which in my opinion completely trumped the party outside.
Then, the Wednesday before Easter my little travel buddy Angela and her friend Molly (who was visiting from Washington) arrived in Belmopan for the night, and Thursday morning we embarked on another Belizean adventure. For the record, the reason it's entitled to be called an adventure is because we rarely have any kind of game plan or even general idea of what we're doing or where we're going, so the entire trip is one constant surprise. Anyways, we hopped in Angela's truck and drove down to southern Belize along the coast to a small town called Independence, where some friends of hers offered their home to us for several days. We had breakfast with them, and then they left for northern Belize to visit family, while we kicked it in Independence for the day, and then drove into Placencia (a small, touristy town right on the coast) for dinner and drinks and a sincerely lovely evening in the town.
Friday morning Angela and Molly took off for a snorkeling trip, and I opted to spend the day in Placencia, taking in the local life and relaxing on the beach. It was actually a really enjoyable way to spend the afternoon because the town was so quiet and peaceful during the day, and I even found a coffee shop (imagine that) to complete my happiness. It was a good day.
Speaking of good days, the next one was pretty fantastic as well. We traveled inland to a small Mayan community called San Felipe and took a tour of Cyrila's Chocolate, a Mayan chocolate factory. I agree, I thought it sounded kind of strange and a little anticlimactic when we first headed out, but it turned out to be downright awesome. We started out on the farm and picked our own cocoa fruits (which is pronounced "ca-cow" and is where the cocoa bean comes from), learned all about the harvesting aspect of the process, and then made it back to the actual factory. It was a small, family owned farm and factory, and they ran the business out of their home. Once at the factory we made our own chocolate, beginning with the cocoa fruit (which actually tastes very fruity, almost like a mango), then roasted and shelled the beans, ground them up on a stone in true old school Maya fashion, added sugar, and finally popped the product into the fridge until it hardened enough to eat. Voila, we made chocolate! I think that a good part of the reason that I was so entertained by the tour was because we learned so much about Mayan culture and history; so if you aren't very intrigued by indigenous cultures then you might not have enjoyed it as much as I did. But just take my word for it that we all had a really good time, and I would go again in a second.
roasted and shelled cocoa beans in front of the cocoa fruit
On our last day, aka Easter Sunday, we had a fairly non-conventional Easter and decided to do some more jungle exploring. We traveled to an area called Blue Creek and hiked up to a popular river that happens to run through a cave. So we took a couple of hours to swim through the cave, which included several small waterfalls inside (and yes, it was incredible). Then on our way back to Belmopan we stopped at Coxcomb Jaguar Reserve (the same reserve we visited in March) and hiked up to another waterfall. Not your typical Easter celebration, but a wonderful one all the same.
Molly, Angela, and I at the mouth of Blue Creek Cave
4.05.2012
the sugar
#11. Belizeans love their sugar, and lots of it. Sugarcane is one of the major crops grown in Belize, so there is rarely a shortage (except at the holidays, and then it's almost impossible to find sugar), and they take full advantage of its abundance. Candy, coffee, juice, cokes, cookies, you name it, the people love it. The entire country runs on a constant sugar rush, and you often find venders waiting outside the schools, manning a cart that is brimming with enough sweets and junk food to be worthy of a county fair. It's either a sweet tooth's heaven or a dentist's hell, depending on your perspective, but the country definitely has a passion for sugar.
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