Change is in the Air

One night there were hundreds of twinkling stars out and you could see the stars reflecting off of the waves of the ocean – it was absolutely breathtaking. The post Change is in the Air appeared first on Toucan Education Programs Belize Blog.

It is election season here in Belize, and with that comes a lot of political disagreements. Belize has two major political parties (there are more than two, but like the US, only two of them really have a chance). The two biggest parties are called Peoples United Party (PUP) and United Democratic Party (UDP). Now I am someone who tends to avoid talking about politics in general, but during this season it’s hard to avoid.

Apparently many of the votes are actually bought by the politician, so many people tend to think of elections as a time to get some monetary gains from the two parties. I was talking to someone who is also from the US who has a bright red raincoat. She told me she had UDP people cheering next to her as she walked by and PUP people yelling at her to change her jacket color to blue! One of my Belizean friends told me he’s neutral, but his friends of opposing parties get irritated when he hangs out with other friends of different parties. In the US people can get really into politics, especially on social media, but I feel as if people don’t incessantly talk about it as much there as they do here, or at least maybe the people I am around.

One weekend I did a cultural trip down to Hopkins, which is a small village located on the beach! It was so beautiful!! One night there were hundreds of twinkling stars out and you could see the stars reflecting off of the waves of the ocean – it was absolutely breathtaking.While I was there I had an opportunity to meet a Garifuna family and make a dish called Hudut. It is my personal favorite Belizean dish that I have had here. It is fish cooked in coconut milk with plantain. The plantain is smashed together, almost like mashed potatoes, in a huge wooden mortar and pestle. It is extremely heavy and hard work! The dish though is really good, and we ate freshly caught fish from that day which made it all the better.

Making Hudut, a Garifuna dish.

Steaming green and ripe plantains

Eating freshly caught Red Snapper in Hopkins.

Beach scene in Hopkins Village, Belize. The following Monday we went further down south to a little Mayan village called Big Falls and met with a Maya family. The family showed us their home and how historically the Maya lived. It was really awesome to see their home! The Maya make their homes completely from the nature that surrounds them. All of their tools and housing comes from the surrounding trees, and with each type of tree there is a different purpose. Some are used for building the house, others for musical instruments, and even another type’s bark for sleeping on. They used the lining of a pig’s intestine to tune their instruments because the material is super pliable! They also made us lunch, which we helped cook again. I got to make homemade corn tortillas (which are hard to make) and this cacao water drink that was delicious (100% chocolate!). All in all it was a really good weekend learning about different cultures and their foods.

Corn Tortilla Making with Ketchi Family.

a Marimba in Maya home.

Maya wooden house with thatched roof.

I went on an excursion to Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM). ATM was absolutely incredible! After about a mile of hiking through the jungle (and crossing three rivers), you get to the entrance of the cave. You have to swim into the cave and then hike/swim a bit inside of the cave before you reach the inner chamber. The inner chamber of the cave was used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial ceremonies, usually consisting of human sacrifice. It was a really neat experience, and I would highly recommend anyone who comes to Belize to go through this. Many skeletal remains had holes in them and pottery was broken from cameras in the past, therefore people are no longer allowed to bring cameras into the cave. It is sad that people can be so neglectful of historical artifacts in this way; this is why most museums in the US have big glass cases surrounding any artifacts to protect them from human touch! All ATM had was some tape, but even that wasn’t very protecting. Some people are arguing that the cave should be blocked off and no tourists should be allowed to come at all!

I had the honor of meeting with a bio-archaeology professor at Galen University who was actually one of the first people to study ATM. It was really neat hearing about the first couple excavations of the cave and other caves in the Belize area. She also told me about how ancient Maya used to bury their dead in their homes because they always wanted their ancestors close to them. The Mayan people respected their ancestors and believed that their spirits would help them from the afterlife.

I have officially moved into a new internship location. I will admit, at first this was pretty difficult for me. I had to change cities from Belmopan to San Ignacio, which was hard in itself since most of my friends live in Belmopan now. San Ignacio has more to do I would say, but I am living a couple miles out of the city so I have yet to really check it out.

View of San Ignacio and Santa Elena from a hill.



My new supervisor is also really great! It’s hard because I miss the old office that I was placed at, but I also like the new people I have been put with as well. The office in Belmopan gave me a going away party that I will never forget, and I’m very grateful for everything that they had taught me my first 9 weeks in Belize. They were a great team to work with. One of the biggest obstacles with this internship in my new placement seems to be the same as the last one – the lack of a vehicle. Gas prices here are about twice as much as in the US which can make traveling really hard, especially since the government isn’t paying for it most of the time! I am doing a lot of the same things in this location as my previous one, but it’s been good for me to work with new people and to go to different schools.

Rope Bride at Calla Creek Village_Cayo

There is a school in a small village called Calla Creek right outside of San Ignacio that has one teacher teaching two different classes, and in each class there is a child with a disability. Now many teachers struggle working with kids who have disabilities with one class, but having to teach two and on top work with two students individually is an incredibly difficult task. And on top of this, most people in the village are illiterate which means the kids aren’t getting help at home. This is one of the eye-opening experiences that I had coming to another country and seeing the needs of a developing country and its education and care for, particularly, kids with special needs. It also is difficult because there is only so much that we can do to help; but every little bit makes a difference!