Happy Holidays! - 11/25/06

We received several e-mails and MySpace comments wishing us a Happy Thanks-giving and a Happy Holiday Season! Thank you to everyone who remembered us, we love getting comments and e-mails—they are our connection to home Thanks mom for the cards, we laughed, our neighbors laughed, everyone who reads them laughs Thanks also to Auntie Reda and Uncle Marv who also sent a funny card and a wonderful and unexpected package to help get us into the Holiday Season. Auntie Reda, the candles are soo cute and I used them to decorate for our Thanksgiving meal

Yes, Nathan and I did celebrate Thanksgiving with all of our brothers and sisters living in the States. Turkey isn’t popular here, so I roasted a chicken. It’s not that there aren’t turkeys around here, there are plenty of wild turkey. But, they look more like peacocks than those big, ugly, loud, brown American turkeys. And who wants to shoot a peacock? I think that’s probably why turkey isn’t a popular dinner food. Anyway, I roasted a chicken, made mashed potatoes, Beans ala Warner, stuffing, gravy, biscuits, and even a pumpkin pie Yes I MADE A PUMPKIN PIE I have never even watched someone make a pie before, and I made one That means I made the crust people, does anyone understand how amazing that is? What’s even more amazing is that it was good The pie was perfect, the crust was moist and flaky- I can bake, without fancy baking tools like a “pastry cutter ” Hey, I know what a pastry cutter is Wow, who new?

As most of you would probably guess, Belize did not celebrate Thanksgiving this past Thursday. What you probably wouldn’t guess, is that Belize actually does celebrate Thanksgiving on the first Sunday in November; although I do not know what they are observing on their Thanksgiving Day. I have asked a few people what they celebrate on Thanksgiving and they mostly say, “It’s a day to give thanks ” Oh okay, now I get it, sorry, the name completely threw me off there…Thanksgiving was observed in Blue Creek on November 5th and it was celebrated in the Fellowship Hall directly following the normal church service. Apparently, no one eats Thanksgiving dinner in their own homes with their family, the entire community celebrates together. I think this is a wonderful idea, but there are very few communities where you could actually pull this off. I have not lived in too many places where the entire community can fit into one church. Besides, the Blue Creek Family Tree only comes from 3 or 4 different roots and the branches are slowly but surely marrying into one tree, so it makes sense for the entire community to celebrate this historically family holiday together.

Halloween also passed without anyone in Blue Creek taking much notice. Apparently Mennonites do not celebrate Halloween, since they believe it to be “Satan’s Holiday.” Mom sent a great package around Halloween with a nice card with carved pumpkins on the front. Our company would see the card and ask if we celebrate Halloween at home. I enjoyed their reactions when I replied, “Of course ” Most of them do not believe “good Christians” should celebrate Halloween. That’s when I would proudly pull up the picture Lindsay (our sis-in-law) sent of our niece, Jocelyn, in her baby blue gorilla costume Look how cute Halloween can be? How could there be anything wrong with a day when a child can look this adorable? It didn’t really seem to soften any hearts over here, but I sure enjoyed this little picture of home

Although Blue Creek does not observe Halloween, that didn’t prevent us from having our dinner interrupted by one lone group of “trick-or-treaters.” I put that in quotes because these were the laziest trick-or-treaters I have ever seen. They didn’t even take the time to dress in costumes but they still expected a treat Someone needs to sit these kids down and have a serious talk about taking pride in your work. Anyway, Nathan answered the door and there were 4 giggling high school and junior high boys singing, “Trick or treat, smell my feet give me something good to eat Make it big, not too small, about the size of Montreal ” Oh yes, that’s right, we are surrounded by Canadian Belizeans, just when I had almost forgotten We didn’t have any candy on-hand but we were enjoying a wonderful tropical fruit salad with papaya, apples, apple bananas, and mandarins. Each of the boys got a big spoonful of “God’s candy”—shockingly, they ate it, shouted their “thank yous” and moved on.

So here we go, the Holiday Season is in full swing and we are finally experiencing what locals calls a “cold front.” The other day it was 14 degrees Celsius in the morning, which means it was about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone is wearing pants and long sleeves and a few of them have even put on gloves and scarves While some of you laugh at this, I should probably admit that Nathan and I are pretty chilly too. We borrowed an extra heavy blanket from a friend because we were shivering in our sleep and we have been wearing long sleeves all week. In our defense, I think the humidity here makes the temperature feel cooler just as it makes it feel hotter on warm days. I also think it makes my vision a little funny, because on our way home from the restaurant the other night, I saw a home, surrounded by palm trees, decorated in icicle lights…could someone please send me contacts, cuz that just can’t be right…

Chan Chich - 11/19/06

Chan Chich is a lodge between our town and the Guatemalan border. It is set in the jungle, directly on the site of a Mayan Ruin. This is a world-class resort catering to anyone who wants to explore the jungle of Central America in luxurious accommodations. We are fortunate enough that our friend Abe is friends with the American couple who own the place. It is set about an hour back into the bush along a private road. There are two checkpoints you have to drive through – you cannot pass without permission. It seems there are many hoity-toity guests who don’t want their birdwatching or jaguar sightseeing to be disturbed by those darned locals.

The lodge has nine miles of trails surrounding it – cleared paths through rainforest canopy with jungle growth covering large mounds that once served as the downtown buildings in a Mayan city. You drive between two small, grass-covered pyramids when you enter the lodge grounds. The parking lot is alongside a steep, grassy temple complex extending the length of the parking area and main lodge building. There is a trail alongside the back of that particular structure allowing you to climb to the top, sit on the little park bench, and enjoy the view of the resort grounds and surrounding wildlife.

Abundant wildlife. I don’t even know how many deer and turkeys we saw on the way in. The turkeys were all over the resort, too. They have no fear of people, so we could have easily thrown one into the back of the car for our Thanksgiving meal. They’re crazy looking, too. They look like a cross between an ugly, brown North American turkey and a peacock. I didn’t realize holiday birds could come in such vibrant colors. Perhaps we need to make use of these animals by creating another holiday between Thanksgiving and Christmas that calls for a turkey dinner and festive holiday colors…

There were a lot of spider monkeys, too. They’re not too concerned with being discreet and avoiding predators. Let’s just say they would make really bad ninjas. We were just walking around the trail and they start crashing though the treetops, leaves showering down as the branches snap and crack above our heads. Our friend Hilda warned us not to get too close, as the angry-monkey-throwing-poo image is not just a myth. I wasn’t about to test that.

Most of the tombs had been raided long before the place was mapped, excavated, and a resort built on the plaza. There was a single king’s tomb in the ground however that was uncovered recently, with a mummy, jade, and various Mayan artifacts still intact. The actual temples and pyramids had been opened up and emptied, though. It was strange to walk into the hollowed-out sections of the pyramids. They were colder than I imagined possible in such a humid environment. Melissa reminded me of the famous Tomb Raider character Lara Croft – just waltzing into an open pyramid like it was her business, ready to take any treasure she could find. A fascinating place, though.

The owners of the resort told our friend Abe that we could bring our swimsuits and take advantage of the pool house. It actually wasn’t warm enough for that, though. During the dry season here, we will occasionally have cold fronts from Mexico called Northers that will bring cold air for several days in a row before becoming hot and humid again. The pool house was gorgeous, though. It ran along the side of a long, grassy mound that could have been either the ballcourt or oratory of the Mayan community. The pool house was a giant screened-in garden with lush, tropical plants all along the wall and surrounding the raised hot tub. Beautiful!

Afterward, we had faspa – a daily Mennonite tradition comparable to the English “Tea Time,” with coffee and muffins. The coffee at the resort was free, strong, and thick. I can’t believe we live so close to this place! My aunt and uncle are coming down for Christmas. She has a background in horticulture and wants to see the flora and fauna of Belize – can’t wait to take them there. My uncle is also a farmer, so I think he’ll appreciate the Gallon Jug estate we drive through – where all the coffee in Belize is grown. It was glorious…

Love and miss you all – hope to hear from you soon and that you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm a cowboy, baby! - 10/10/06

So, what happened with the indentured labor, you may be asking yourself? Yes, I was auctioned off and forced to work for my student's father - who also happened to be one of the members of the school board. So much for a restful Saturday! It was supposed to be tomorrow, but he moved it up one week.

It was a hard day on the ranch in Belize, but now I know what a farmer's life is actually like here in Blue Creek. It was an incredibly educational experience - the teacher has now become the student. We went to his ranch where the horses were kept to mount up.

I would like to take this opportunity to quickly describe my last experience on a horse. I was ten. The horse wasn't trained. I was at a ranch in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The horse was a jerk and hated kids. As we rode off, the horse thought it would be a funny little joke to take off at full gallop toward the freeway with a kid screaming like a little girl on its back. I didn't think it was quite as funny. I tried to pull back on the reins with all of the strength and authority of a ten-year-old, but you can imagine how effective that was. I'm sure the horse felt only a little tickle against its neck. It wasn't until two ranch hands rode up on either side of me and grabbed the reins that the horse even thought about slowing down.

So, we got to go horseback riding on Saturday! They asked me, "Do you want to ride Lightning, Clown, Pochorro, or Male Horse?"
"What's the difference?"
"Lightning was a race horse and likes to take off sometimes, but can go really fast, Clown isn't broken in completely (how exciting!), Pochorro is about 3 feet tall, slow, lazy, and old, and Male Horse is short but obedient."
"I'll take Male Horse."

I got on the horse and learned an important lesson you can't get from an after-school special and that they didn't clearly explain to me before I got on. When you squeeze the horse with your legs, he goes forward, when you pull on the reins, he stops, and if you keep pulling, he backs up. I got on, and was worried about falling off, so I squeezed him tightly with my legs. That told him to move fast, but I didn't know that. So I'm yanking on the reins, trying to get him to stop lunging forward, and the horse is getting mixed signals from me so it's getting stressed, then I'm getting stressed, and their ranch hand is getting stressed because he's still holdng the lead at this point. Finally, Ernest, my student, told me to relax my legs. DUH!

That was the only excitement, the horse was great from then on. We rode around his land, toward the edge of rainforest canopy, around small, lush rolling hills with streams running throughout, and through the pastures where the jungle growth was already trying to reclaim the grassland. The scenery was stunning.

Afterward, we went to Circle R, the local rice mill/feed shop for coke with all the other cowboys. We drank soda, then toured around a bit, then went home for a heavy lunch. We were going to go fishing, but were rained out, so we drove around some more - out toward Three Corners, where the borders of Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize all come together. We were about three miles from there before we turned around, went to the store for some ice cream, and then sat around and talked with some other farmers again. Man, was I pooped! Being a cowboy is hard work.

That evening, Melissa and I were invited back to their house for a big barbecue. It was such a relaxing day! And now I finally know how hard the cowboys and farmers work around here. Whew! I'm tired again just thinking about it.

Monday brought about the daily grind again, but I am still loving my job and I think my kids are just great. We're having a good quarter so far. And, Melissa and I have Sirius again! I couldn't be any more excited about that (thank you Lynda!). Now we can listen to news about home, and stay updated on music and the shallow, meaningless entertainment news that defines our culture and that we all love and enjoy. Yay America! *waving flag*

Anyway, I miss so many of you. I would love to hear a comment from you or an email or something like that. Before Christmas we should have the internet at home and can communicate regularly with everyone again. Until then, let me know how your lives are! Love you tons and I'll talk at ya soon!

Pictures! - 11/17/06

We hope you all enjoy these!

Money Matters- 11/16/06

Alright this is something we are just going to put out there for everyone’s information. We aren’t soliciting for money in any way, but Christmas is coming, and in the past we have received checks as gifts from family, so we wanted everyone to be familiar with how best to send us money during this Holiday Season.

So far we have received several checks from friends and family and we have appreciated them very much. However, dealing with checks is a bit frustrating here, as the good ol’ Blue Creek Credit Union isn’t an actual legitimate Credit Union at all, but more of a “Mennonite Money Storage and Supplier,” so it took them two months to verify funds on our last check and deposit the money into our “account.” If you have already sent us checks for Christmas, thank you so much for thinking of us, don’t think it will go unappreciated. It will just mean we can have a little extra money when Valentine’s Day rolls around!

I asked the manager of the “Credit Union” if we could deposit Cashier’s Checks for guaranteed cash, but they did not know what a Cashier’s Check or Money Order was. After explaining to her what it was, she calmly explained it would still have to go through the regular verification process. For those of you who just have to know, this means the check goes from Blue Creek to Orange Walk, Belize. From there it is shipped up to Canada-yes, Canada- and then, to whichever state in the US the check is originally from, before clearing your account and being verified by the Canadian bank and deposited to the bank in Orange Walk. Then, someone from Blue Creek has to travel to Orange Walk and look at the deposit receipts to see if our deposit is on it, then we get our money. Oh yeah, that’s not a frustrating process at all. In the end, your check has traveled more than the Israelites, who wandered in the desert for 40 years.

The best ways we know to receive money are three ways that seem risky, but really are the most convenient for us. One, is to send a check, but leave the “to” line blank. That way we can just write it over to one of the 30 businessmen in Blue Creek who go to the States every month—they will give us cash for it and they will deposit it in their own account on their own time. But knowing everything that is involved, I wouldn’t want my checks traveling all over the world. So, the other way is to send a Traveler’s Check-- also not written out to anyone. This way we can just cash it at the “Credit Union.” But, if it’s written out to us, for some reason, it would have to go through that silly verification process. Don’t ask me why, I know that doesn’t make sense, but remember, it’s not a real bank. Finally, the last way to bless us this Holiday season with a gift of money is to just send cash. I know, I know, this is sooo risky as cards are often opened in Belize, just for the sole purpose of checking for money. However, if you were to send it disguised somehow- Auntie Reda and Mom have proven they are very good at this- it may work. Plus, we have gotten many cards and none of them seem to have been opened at all.

It feels a little odd to be writing so forwardly about money, it seems so presumptuous, but I just thought it was an important base to cover. Everyone has continued to be so supportive of us through e-mails, packages, cards, comments on our blog, and letters. We appreciate each word from home. Even though we are having an amazing time here, we miss each of you!

Rantings of a Former JPO - 11/5/06

Hey! This blog is for all you guys I worked with back in Idaho. Brian, Skye, Kathy, Denise, Gabe, Chad, Kathi Jo, Lois, Jennifer, Amanda—and whoever else is reading my blog but hasn’t sent me any email or comments yet. I MISS YOU GUYS!! I am loving life here, and I like going into work every day at 10:45; but lately I have been missing my old life as a JPO in good old Idaho! I don’t know who all out there is reading our blog, but I would really like to hear from you if you are. Let me know how things are going and let me know what you think of my new life out here. Send me pictures, comments, whatever, so I won’t miss you all so much! Also, don’t be shy, forward my blog address to anyone you think may like to read it, I would love to hear from any one of my old co-workers, colleagues, boss (hint, hint) - anyone! Even though I am enjoying my time here, I miss familiar and friendly faces and would love a word now and then.

I hope you all haven't forgotten me so easily!