Où est-ce que je suis? - 8/6/06

Where am I again? Last night I found myself returning from Mexico in a van speaking broken French to a man from Quebec and Spanish to his wife from Colombia, arriving in our village in Belize. He drove here with his family to Belize from Montréal. I can't imagine driving all the way through the United States and then driving all the way through Mexico, but he's an eccentric fellow. Just spent $7.5 million on shrimp to sell to Europe for his business. He had us over for lunch after church, which was an exciting prospect because he was a professional chef in France for 25 years. He killed two young goats for lunch and served them with rice and cabbage salad. I guess the French like young goats. If I were still as picky of an eater as I was as a child, I would starve to death here. It's good though to start making connections in the community, we're learning what to do and what not to do; where to buy the cheapest things and how to get around the country.

There is a former Mayan city near the border here in what is now Mexico - Chetumal. It is now a large modern city with a giant mall, Wal Mart, and shopping center with American movies (with Spanish subtitiles) and American stores and restaurants. It's where most people go for big shopping trips - clothes, gifts, art, souvenirs, etc. and it sounds like we can go there whenever we get homesick and need an American culture fix. There is a law though in Belize - if you are not a citizen, you must pay an exit tax when flying out of the country or crossing an international border. It's about $37 per person. This applies to going to Chetumal. But, we learned last night that if we cross the river here in Blue Creek to Mexico (where they don't enforce the exit tax), we can spend a few dollars to take a bus to Chetumal. Cheap, easy, and saves gas! It will be an adventure, and we'll probably do it soon.

It's all just part of exploring our new home. A couple nights ago, Melissa and I went for a walk after dinner. I found out that she is cool with everything - the vultures, fire ants, geckos, wasps, bugs, alligators, everything except scorpions and bats. I found that out when a bat flew toward us, flapped around above our heads, and went back into the trees. That never happened in Pullman. We never really had a scorpion problem in Pullman, either.

We were outside listening to a speaker Thursday night, and while he was talking he sat on the stone ledge of a garden spot. On the edge of the pillar behind him, I saw a beetle crawling down toward his head. At least, I thought it was a beetle until it crawled around the pillar. The "beetle" was just the curved-tail part of a large scorpion. They're big, dark brown, with long skinny pincers. Here, the people just step on them like they were only house spiders, though the crunch tells you it's something much larger...

Tomorrow we're going to Orange Walk Town to get our visas and work permits from the immigration office. It's my understanding this will be an all-day process. Can't wait! So excited! I mean...uh....woo hoo!

Also tomorrow, the rest of the teachers are supposed to arrive to Blue Creek. Our neighbor is an elementary school teacher from Canada with a big personality and good sense of humor. We have enjoyed her company and having her over in the morning for coffee. She loves our fancy coffee machine. We are SO glad we brought the espresso maker - it makes mornings much easier during this transition.

Overall, we're still getting settled in. Melissa bought some tropical fabric for a tablecloth and for some color in the windows. We still need stuff to hang on the walls, but we'll probably get that in Orange Walk or Chetumal. More like home every day!

Keep the comments and emails coming, it's great to hear from home. Love and miss you all!