First Outing

The family plus Kayla, B's office assistant, took our first outing to Independence where the work site is located.  To get there, one must either drive up and around the peninsula, which takes about 45 minutes or take the Hokey Pokey water taxi, which costs (I think) $6BZ (or $3USD) per person.  Since we are still without a vehicle we haven't taken any personal outings yet, so B was kind enough to ask the family along as a field trip while he got some work done and introduced Kayla to the work site too.  We opted for the water taxi.  That is an experience!  The boat is about 18-20' long (I'm terrible at estimating, but this seems right.  B may implore me to make corrections later.) and seats as many as can be crammed onto the built-in fiberglass bench seats.  I'd say there were close to 30 people on board.  The seats are well down into the boat, but visibility even for shorter kids is very good, which is a good thing.  The whole boat ride from Placencia to Mango Creek (Independence) takes only about 15 minutes, tops, but there were many new sites for us.  We slowly cruised the lagoon, and saw houses we've only seen the front sides of and some smaller side streets of houses, a new mangrove protected site and of course the lagoon itself.  Once we were in more of the open water, our captain got us up to speed.  All of a sudden we took a swift turn and saw out the left side (I have no idea what the nautical terms are.) the back of a manatee rolling.  We swerved to avoid it.  Before we knew it we pulled up to the dock in Mango Creek.  We called a taxi, our driver was Nelson.  It was lunch time so we invited Nelson along with us to Rosa's restaurant.  Good stuff there and a heck of a lot cheaper than eating here on the peninsula!  I wish I'd taken pictures.  B had taken some on his earlier visit, so some have already seen Rosa's.  She makes excellent fried chicken and I tried fried plantain for the first time and I liked it!  I think I am the only one in the family who does. 

Next Nelson took us to the customs office.  We have been here nearly a month and it is still not clear to us if B needs a work visa, but the agent there was very helpful and friendly and offered to assist us in anyway that we might need.  All of the locals we've met have been extremely helpful and friendly. 

Following our trip there, Nelson drove us over to see the drill rig and other vehicles that were shipped over to use on the drilling site.  He wanted to acquaint Kayla with what everything looked like and where everything was located for future reference.  He is so smart to make sure that all the hands know what the other hands and parts of the TBE team are doing.  Good management knows to train and acquaint all members of the team with at least some knowledge of what the other parts are doing.  I learned that in the law office first hand.  Here are the photos that I took of the day:

This is the first layer of the pad for the storage building for the equipment.  Can you see the mountains in the background?

This is a picture of KR.  Can you see her next to the drill rig?  Our taxi is in the foreground.  B & Nelson are discussing the equipment.  They were having a good time.  

(In Crocodile Dundee's Voice)  Now THAT'S a wrench!

Getting a hand up.

H climbing on board as Dad and Nelson look on.

I'm good at saying cheese.  

Miss Kayla finally found her shade. 

A tanker, a bulldozer and a backhoe.  I feel like I'm making a new version of Bob the Builder or Thomas the Tank Engine.

Flatbed truck that TBE is donating to Independence for their garbage removal.  Thank you Independence for allowing us to be here and for your hospitality!

It was a whirlwind tour, but we all had smiles on the Hokey Pokey back.  That's what it's all about!  (Sorry.  I couldn't help myself.)

Friends

L to R:  Jamar, C, Tarrell, KR, H, Isaiah, Maurice

Here is proof positive that God gives us the desires of our hearts.  My kids are making friends here.  This group of boys stick to us like bees to honey.  That is not to say that they are pests in any way, shape or form, simply they are always buzzing around and very busy.  Sweet giggles, counting to "tirty" for hide-and-go-seek (I love hearing them speak Kriol), slides down the banister, stomping feet as they run through our big house.  They have no sense of over staying their welcome--they show up beginning just before 9am and would stay until bedtime if I let them.  Good boys all of them and they are ALL BOY!  Whew!  Our kids are a bit overwhelmed with having them here everyday and for so long.  They started telling me, "But Mom, I can't get anything done that I wanna do.  They are always here and expect me to figure out something to do.  They can be loud.  I want to do something quiet and by myself sometimes."  B and I just looked at each other and laughed.  School starts next week for all of us and that will change everything and we'll all be begging for all day playmates soon again. 

Some friends that keep appearing that we wish would die--literally die--keep showing up.  Honestly, give me the bad penny over these!  This is our "tird" (can't help myself with the Kriol) scorpion in 4 weeks.  Enough already!  I've told some, but KR even found a tarantula outside in a rubbish pile at the foot of our stairs this week.  EEEEKKK!  B & I have our attack plan down at this point.  He goes for the broom and dust pan while I fetch the saucepot and the kids now run for the bug spray.  We all get into place (kids standing on furniture or the island in the kitchen), B sprays and scoops and then I go in for the kill with a One-Two Smash! with the pot!  Here is our latest victory:

Die!  Die!  Die!

H has begun to modify his nightly prayers to this:  "Dear Jesus, thank you for this day and that it has gone well.  Thank you for soft beds.  Please keep all scorpions away and keep us safe from them.  Thank you that you came to die on the cross for us.  Thank you for bug spray.  Thank you for geckos that eat scorpions."  You get the idea.  I love to hear him pray at night because it is a recap of the day.  One day he thanked God for peanut M&Ms because it was the first satisfying treat we'd had in weeks.  The prayers can sometimes drag on and on and on and on and B & I grow impatient.  Last night I said that I was glad that he was thankful for all of these things but that perhaps sometimes he could give an edited prayer with everyone and then give God the unabridged version himself after we leave the room.  Still sweet.  Glad that Jesus is his friend and someone that listens without ever growing tired.  Find myself wanting to sing, "What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear, What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer..."

A new day is dawning.  My attitude toward life is much improved today.  Thank you to those who lifted me up in prayer.  I can tell you that God is good, all the time and that He answers prayers.  I needed a break from the kids and time with my husband. 

Saturday evening our family took a local pastor and his wife out to dinner for (real!) pizza and (so-so) milkshakes at a restaurant called The Galley.  As with most places here, it has outside seating, so the mosquitoes feasted on our feet and ankles as much as we did on pizza.  The Galley  is a little off the beaten path and seems to be more of a place for the locals than geared toward tourists, which I enjoyed.  I always thought that I'd like to travel, but I wanted to be able to see the place as the locals did and not just for a week and hitting the "must see highlights".  I wanted to really experience and live in the place--just as we are doing here in Belize. 

Yesterday was better yet.  Sundays are my favorite days of the week as I get to go to church and visit with friends.  And who can sing and feel grumpy?  Our services here are in the evening though, so we get to have another entire day free of obligations.  We started our day off by sleeping in until 10 am.  (whoo-hoo!)  We ate breakfast and then suited up for an afternoon at the beach.  All of us took our snorkel gear--we've been practicing for the real event.  B was interrupted with work a few times (employees tracked him down at the beach because he wasn't answering his phone). 

The beach was crawling with kids who were excited to see the snorkel gear and our kids shared pieces here and there with them.  Friendships were being formed.  One of the children had found a baby sea turtle and shared it with us.  (Later the turtle was, ummmm resting with the fishes.  Too much fun for the little ones.  Poor turtle.)

B & I met an instructor with the Peace Corps who lives up in Dangriga.  She teaches teachers to teach.  (I just like saying that.)  Her name was Ava.  She has one son who she homeschooled up until high school when she and her husband divorced, forcing her back into the working world.  We talked at length about the joys of homeschooling, libraries, and Belize.

Later, the children found a huge star fish and brought it over to share with us.  We had a fantastic marine biology class!  

 
After playing with and learning from the star fish for about 30 minutes, the kids set it free--thankfully there was no repeat of the turtle episode.  (I will note here that it was not our children who loved the turtle to pieces, but a younger set of children we played with.)

A group of four boys who became enamored with our kids, showed H where they lived on the way home from the beach.  They all then changed clothes and spent the afternoon at our house until it was time to go to church.  One even invited H over to his house for a bit.  They came back after about 30 minutes.  H came back sipping on a homemade cherry Coke, complete with cherries, he'd gotten from one of our favorite restaurants on the beach, Cozy Corner.  Apparently H's friend, Isaiah, has his mother who works there.  They had stopped in to tell her they were coming back to our house.  The boys had played on the Wii at Isaiah's house.  (rolling eyes)  I never thought we'd come to a third world country and STILL have to worry about our kids getting too much screen time!  Oh, well.  It was all less than an hour and they had plenty of time yesterday doing other things.

So, we've all made new friends and learned new things, enjoyed a few familiar things and had the desires of our hearts filled.

By the way, all of the boys are back this morning and they are all playing hide-and-seek.  What fun!                           

Friends Needed for Low Places

Where do I go?

My mind, body and spirit dart, scramble, and split often enough that at any given moment I fall short of any sureness that at any other given moment I thought I possessed.  I feel alone in this mess, although I know this feeling is shared with others from yesterday, today and will be again tomorrow.  I ask myself why I can't have someone to commiserate with and answer directly that God knows that I need someone who is level-headed at the moment so that I have direction instead of the being swept away by the whirlwind of my circumstances.  Thank goodness that He is my anchor and that He provides earthly signs and people for comfort and to take over when I need a break.  B helps the best he knows how, but he has his own tornadoes.  We have spent three weeks here being each others' sole support and now we are in need of fresh strength.  We miss our family and friends--our support network at home.

In lieu of personal support, one thing I turn to to stabilize my thinking is crocheting.  I completed my market bag a couple of days ago.  The handle has been worked over more than an informant of the mafia, but I figured something out.  I used it yesterday and it holds even more than it looks like it could. 

Finished Market Bag

I seek quiet time alone, which is even harder to find in Belize.  I cannot leave the house (except to go downstairs or across the street to go to the market for 5 minutes) without the kids.  I cannot get them to leave me alone for any length of time so I can regroup.  I even broke down in tears at the lunch table yesterday begging just to have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time every morning.  As I write this, I have already been stopped 3 times by hubby giving me information for the day regarding his work schedule, 2 times to watch a video H is working on (it is pretty good for a beginner I must say), a shopping trip for milk (a half gallon costs $4!!!!), and a phone call from a company wanting to hire B based upon a resume he'd turned in months and months ago.  I have not seen any Calgon in the markets, but I guarantee that if I do, I'm going back with my handy market bag and buying the entire stock because I am in dire need of some soak time.  I don't think I could fit a sitter in my bag.  Hmmm...

I met a woman last night who said that she does catering.  She has a place down at the end of the walk.  She makes all sorts of things, but what tickled my ears (and stomach) was that she makes Key Lime Pies.  I ordered a tray last night.  I have no idea how much a tray is, but it only cost me $20BZ.  If I can't crochet or blog or bathe or sit in silence, I'll stuff my face and see if that helps. 

Please, Lord, send a friend.  By the time You get this, You may need to send Jenny Craig.

Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Gloom of Night

Post office is the yellow building.

...shall have any bearing on whether or not one receives mail, nor will sunshine or cloudless skies if you are in Placencia.  The original saying was actually "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" and was said about 2500 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus. He said this adage during the war between the Greeks and Persians about 500 B.C. in reference to the Persian mounted postal couriers whom he observed and held in high esteem. [taken from here] The phrase is commonly accepted in the US as belonging to the postal service, but apparently the postal service has no slogan at all.  One thing is for sure however; mail of all sorts is delivered in the US.  Here in Placencia, we find a different story. 

Preparing to leave we gave out our address to friends and family as a means to stay in contact while we are abroad.  Thinking it almost charming at the time, we didn't think through the serious ramifications of not receiving some mail.  At the most we thought care packages at home would be rerouted or hand written notes might not find their way to our door. 

THE mail carrier's trusty mode of transportation.

Long story edited from this blog and the very short list of the awful circumstances surrounding the lack of mail delivery to houses, and no one really having addresses anyway is this:  we've gone without power twice in one week.  No air conditioning.  No water.  No fans.  No lights.  Food spoils.  The power company delivers their own bills--not through the postal service.  An employee rides around on a bicycle.  He just follows orders.  The office to make payments is in Independence at a table set up in the grocery store.  That employee only has access to seeing the amount owed.  The main office is in Belize City.  None of these knows the other people they work with or how anything gets done.  No one works past 5.  If the power goes off--even if they are the ones who cause it and in error--you wait.  You don't even get service first thing in the morning, so essentially it is two days without power for each event.  That makes a total of 4 days for us without power. 

I walked to the post office this morning to ask if we had a package that I am expecting (C's math curriculum).  It was not there, but I made the most of my trip and asked how utility bills are handled.  The lady at the counter told me the only utility bills they receive are from the phone and power companies, but that it has to be requested to have it delivered to you, otherwise, the utility companies deliver the bills.  I gave her our names and our address and the name of the business, just in case we did receive any mail at the post office.  She also asked me, by pointing, which direction I lived in Placencia.  This may not seem like a big deal to you, but here, if you are white/American, you are assumed to live at Maya Beach, "up" the road and be a snooty rich person who treats the locals as stupid and "less than".  I breathed a sigh of relief that we live on the "down" side of the road. 

The long awaited delivery.

I made a few more stops on the way home from the post office.  I bought a papaya at one of the stands along the road from a boy who may be from Honduras, I can't tell yet.  I stopped at my favorite Chinese market across the street for a 1/2 gallon of milk.  I walked up our stairs and saw poking out of the mailbox, 3 BEL bills.  Two are ours.  The other belongs across the street.  (sigh)  We all get to be the delivery service in Placencia.  You know the saying about too many cooks?  I think this may apply to mail delivery. 

Needs Met with Plarn

Necessity is the Mother of Invention, right?  Well, here is a humdinger for ya.  My mother and my crafting aunts will appreciate today's entry. 

Packing my family up to come to Belize was no easy task.  Everyone needed the necessities--clothes, shoes, toothbrushes.  We homeschool, so I needed to bring 2 suitcases of books and supplies.  We all got to have some pleasure items too.  The kids brought some stuffies to sleep with, board games, Gameboys, etc.  My pleasure items were my knitting needles, crochet hooks and some yarn.  I brought along a shrug to finish, and cotton yarn for a market bag and the ever dreaded WIP (work in progress) granny square afghan I started about 12 years ago.  I thought if I brought the dreaded squares it would force me to work on the afghan and that I might be bored enough to finally finish it without a Hobby Lobby or corner yarn store to buy new yarn for a new project.  I finished a crocheted hat on the flight down, the market bag is waiting for me to finish the handle. (I am short of yarn and may have to let out a couple of rows to be sure that I don't have a roomy bag with a stump of a handle.)  The afghan project is creeping up. 

Two of my three children, KR & C, have come down with some sort of respiratory virus.  I'd call it a common cold but KR had a fever associated with it for about 3 days.  I've been pumping liquids into them throughout the day, but washing the cups over and over again is more than a chore.  At home we have coasters that we each made out of fusion beads to put our empty cups on to use later and not confuse with each other's cups.  I wanted to do something like that here, especially wanting to keep the cups separate so as not to spread the cold any further.  Alas, there is no Hobby Lobby  (Someone really should look into this oversight.) to purchase fusion beads. 

My creative juices started flowing though.  I had a need.  I had two needs.  I needed to segregate drinking cups and I needed a new craft project!  So, I did what I normally do when trouble strikes.  I hit one of my favorite crochet pattern sites and looked up patterns for coasters.  I had brought some cotton thread and have been thinking it would be fun to try to figure out the doily-thingys that I spotted in women's clothing this summer.  Instead I'd sacrifice it to make doily coasters for the cups.  But, what I ran into on the site was coasters made of plarn.  What is plarn?  It is yarn made from plastic shopping bags!  I have lots of those!  I have to go shopping nearly everyday (since I have to walk to shop, I can only buy what I can carry back by hand--great exercise!) and the markets all have something in common--they all insist on using the plastic bags.  The underside of the sink in the kitchen is nearly overflowing with the black bags.  My next problem--I didn't know how to make plarn.  I love the internet.  I skipped over a few sites and found some simple instructions.

The bar in the kitchen is a great workspace.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon crocheting coasters.  B brought Pastor Gene home and he must've thought that I was looney sitting in the kitchen cutting plastic bags into strips, making chains and then crocheting them into coasters.  Hippies!  B thought it was fantastic.  That is one of the many reasons that I love him. 

Most of the bags are black.  I had to really scrounge for colors!

A special thank you to my mother who allowed me to be bored when I was younger.  I sure didn't appreciate it enough then, but I do now.  Without the boredom I wouldn't have been creative.  Without creativity I would be stuck in many frustrating situations now.  Needs have been met. 

(The kids are much better.  No fevers.  Getting sleep.  Drinking liquids.  Many trips to the store for Kleenex.  More bags!)

Houses

In response to a special request about our house and the church we are attending here, the kids and I be-bopped around a bit this morning snapping pictures.  We can play Mrs. Jen's neighborhood another day for some of the other sites around town.

Our house is located on the third and fourth floors of a 4-story building on Placencia Road above the Placencia Super Market.  The second floor consists of an apartment for the grocer, who owns the market across the street, and the Treaty Belize office, B's office.  Now, before you think that is totally bland, uncreative, and unoriginal, let me tell you that this town is totally the opposite and the diversity begins with just what I can observe from my windows and porch.

Yesterday I posted a picture from my porch of the sea.  Today, I'll post pictures of the house from 3 different angles, that include shots of the wrap around porch.

Front of house coming from North. 

This first photo is looking up from close to the building as you would see it driving into town.  The concrete part with the windows with panes on the far right is the grocer's apartment.  The solid paned glass windows belong to B's office.  His commute takes all of 5 seconds each day as it shares the stairwell with the house.  The grocer's apartment has stairs on the opposite side of the house.  The yellow, wood-sided house with blue trim is our house.  Only the third floor is visible in this shot.  The fourth floor is more of a loft area, containing 2 bedrooms and a half-bath.

South side of house taken from across the street.

This photo reveals the entry way to the Placencia Super Market on the front center with the awning and the grocer's apartment.  The grocer and his family do not own the Placencia Super Market, but the (I think) LU market across the street.  Either way, both owners are Chinese--as are most of the markets in town.  (I've found 6 so far and 5 are Chinese).  Bo owns the LU.  His wife seems to be Mestizo,which is the name for people of Mayan descent.  Their market has many comings and goings.  Going shopping in Placencia is a social event.  At any given time we can hear Chinese, Spanish, English and Kril (the Garifuna version of Creole) from our front windows.  (Garifuna is the name of the people who originate from the Carib and West Africa)  From this photo, you can also see part of our wrap around porch on the far right side.

Backside of the house

Here you can see how the porch covers the entire backside of the house.  You can also tell that the roof is tin, which makes for enjoying the almost nightly rainstorms all the more exciting.  From this shot you can also tell that some of the houses around us are more what we would consider lean-tos or shacks.  There are actually three houses other than ours in this shot.  Play, Where's Waldo and see if you can tell them apart.  Good luck. 

As I sit here, I can hear a heated discussion in Kril between the builders across the street.  I have no idea what they're saying except for the swear words that are clearly American English.  Thankfully the kids are in the back on the porch reading and cooling off after our morning excursion. 

Lighthouse Worship Center

We cannot seem to escape the Worship Center!  For those of you who don't know, our home church is The Worship Center of Hamilton County, or TWC for short.  Lighthouse is about a 1/2 mile walk North from our house.  They have Wednesday and Sunday evening services in English at 7pm.  There are Spanish services at other times of the week.  It is already dark on our walk to church, but it feels good since it is breezy and the cooler part of the day.  There is air-conditioning there too!  Can I hear an Amen?!?!  The church has about 80 members.  No kids matching the ages of ours from what I can tell.  Our first service they served communion.  That made us feel very welcomed indeed.  (Another reference for TWCers)  We brought down C's old electric drum set to donate.  B brought his guitar.  The pastor plays chords on his guitar and his wife leads a mixture of hymns and praise songs.  Hopefully I'll get to know them more soon. 

There are two other houses of worship in Placencia.  I took a couple of photos of one.  We will not be going there, but I snapped these shots to show you the diversity.

Now you know more about our houses.  Our family home and our new house of worship.  Did I mention that we have a spare room for guests?