Dear All,
We are so excited to come next week. I think we are probably more excited to see you guys then you are to see us! I know- you don't believe it, but its true. T-minus 7 days. Hope everyone is ready!
Okay, now to try to keep you guys updated on our events. The month of November really has come and left. The new house is AMAZING. We feel like we have hit the jackpot. We love waking up to the sunrises and going to bed with the ocean's waves. What a blessing. Besides the new location, Nate and I have been pretty busy with our projects.
Nate has been working at his site placement. Of course, he and it is successful. He accomplished this huge task and now he is about to begin working on a new database. He is still teaching PE for a standard 4 class (grade level about 3rd grade). They really enjoy him and love playing soccer with him. He goes to Tumal'kin and that process seems to take a little longer.
I am still the librarian and providing after school programming. I am also helping the high school counselor with her class curriculum. It's great. I also just created a presentation for seniors at the high school on role modeling and healthy relationships. Finally, Nate and I both just finished the upcoming PCV DVD on Peace Corps in Belize. When we an official copy made we will try to share it with you. I believe it is a huge success.
Besides work, the month of November had two holidays. One, Garifuna Settlement day on November 19th and Thanksgiving (not a Belizean holiday but celebrated by many). Garifuna Settlement day is a day to honor the Garifuna culture to Belize. In honor of this tradition, there was a battle of the drums contest and a weekend of celebration. You got it----music, dancing, BBQ, reenactment, and of course parties.
Finally, Thanksgiving. We had 40 volunteers that came and about 15 Belizeans. Kind of funny and amazing, out of the 15, 12 of the Belizeans were our host family or friends. It was a great way to share cultures and spend time with each other. Nate and I made a turkey, mashed potatoes, cheesy vegetables, Mayan chicken tacos, and garnaches. Old traditions and new. We wish we were with our family and friends in the states but we can't complain with Thanksgiving. Yummy food. For reference, there was beer bread, rolls, turkey, stuffing, green casserole, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies and other sweets.
Cant wait to see you guys. Next time Nate and I will discuss our lovely IST training. Cliff hanger.....
Love and miss you. See you soon
Michelle (and Natey)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
New house, new blog post
Hello find family and friends,
We of course have not blogged in a while. I can honestly say its because we have been incredibly busy....so sorry all. So lets recap the last few weeks for everyone. The last time we blogged was shortly after the Independence day celebrations. That has been a month ago...sorry again.
In the last month a lot of things have happened. Nate shaved his head. My hair grew two inches. haha. Okay for the real facts. In October, Nate and I found that we were incredibly busy with activities. The first week of October, Nate and I participated in a training on behavioral change. That lasted three days. I wish I could tell you that it was eventful, but it wasn't. Something that Nate and I are excited about, however, is that we are helping Peace Corps staff with the filming of the new Peace Corps Video. It will be sent out to all of the upcoming volunteers, their families and friends. One of our friends and I are doing the video, and then Nate (the skillful man that he is) will be doing all the editing. We are excited and hope to make it professional yet fun and full of cultural facts about Belize.
Besides that Nate has finished the database for his site at TCGA. It is a huge success. Of course they are so appreciative. He is now currently taking on new projects at his site. He is continuing to work in Tumal'kin. He loves it. It is a great secondary project. His counterpart there treats him like family already. Finally, he has picked up a 3rd secondary project. He will be helping our host mom with her class. He will help her weekly with her PE class. That's right...he is a PE teacher. I love it! I want him to get a pair of those gym shorts that the PE teachers use to wear when we were kids. A girl can hope. haha.
I am busy as well. The after school programs are up and running. Mondays are sports. I am currently teaching kids how to play volleyball while some of the boys are playing soccer (futbal). Tuesdays I am teaching kids how to play chess. Wednesdays we have a girl's club. The group of course is designed to teach them self-respect, reliance, and leadership skills. I have a few other secondary projects right now too. I am helping a counselor at the high school create curriculum on mental health to the students. I am also creating a presentation for gender roles and domestic violence for seniors at high school. It is in relationship to Men's Day on November 19th. We are hoping to increase positive male role models. We will see.
Halloween came and gone. They have costume contests and there is a little trick and treating. But very little. Some of the reason this year had little celebrations were due to Hurricane Richard. Of course we were stuck in our house and actually had a curfew. We haven't seen a curfew in some time! haha. Where we live, we didn't have any problems. Belize, however, did have some damage near Belize City and Belmopan. Luckily no one was hurt and a lot of the damage was rain and wind.
As most of you already know too, Nate and I were planning on moving. This week, we officially moved! The house is amazing. Nate and I feel like we are in heaven. The house is directly on the ocean. If you walk out in our backyard, you are 10 feet from the water. We are safe of course. But the view is amazing. Stay tuned for pictures!
November will come and go. We have Thanksgiving planned in our district and a lot of volunteers are coming and staying with us. We have more trainings and more meetings. I can't wait to tell you more about it.
We hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear from all of you.
We love and miss you.
Michelle (and Nate)
We of course have not blogged in a while. I can honestly say its because we have been incredibly busy....so sorry all. So lets recap the last few weeks for everyone. The last time we blogged was shortly after the Independence day celebrations. That has been a month ago...sorry again.
In the last month a lot of things have happened. Nate shaved his head. My hair grew two inches. haha. Okay for the real facts. In October, Nate and I found that we were incredibly busy with activities. The first week of October, Nate and I participated in a training on behavioral change. That lasted three days. I wish I could tell you that it was eventful, but it wasn't. Something that Nate and I are excited about, however, is that we are helping Peace Corps staff with the filming of the new Peace Corps Video. It will be sent out to all of the upcoming volunteers, their families and friends. One of our friends and I are doing the video, and then Nate (the skillful man that he is) will be doing all the editing. We are excited and hope to make it professional yet fun and full of cultural facts about Belize.
Besides that Nate has finished the database for his site at TCGA. It is a huge success. Of course they are so appreciative. He is now currently taking on new projects at his site. He is continuing to work in Tumal'kin. He loves it. It is a great secondary project. His counterpart there treats him like family already. Finally, he has picked up a 3rd secondary project. He will be helping our host mom with her class. He will help her weekly with her PE class. That's right...he is a PE teacher. I love it! I want him to get a pair of those gym shorts that the PE teachers use to wear when we were kids. A girl can hope. haha.
I am busy as well. The after school programs are up and running. Mondays are sports. I am currently teaching kids how to play volleyball while some of the boys are playing soccer (futbal). Tuesdays I am teaching kids how to play chess. Wednesdays we have a girl's club. The group of course is designed to teach them self-respect, reliance, and leadership skills. I have a few other secondary projects right now too. I am helping a counselor at the high school create curriculum on mental health to the students. I am also creating a presentation for gender roles and domestic violence for seniors at high school. It is in relationship to Men's Day on November 19th. We are hoping to increase positive male role models. We will see.
Halloween came and gone. They have costume contests and there is a little trick and treating. But very little. Some of the reason this year had little celebrations were due to Hurricane Richard. Of course we were stuck in our house and actually had a curfew. We haven't seen a curfew in some time! haha. Where we live, we didn't have any problems. Belize, however, did have some damage near Belize City and Belmopan. Luckily no one was hurt and a lot of the damage was rain and wind.
As most of you already know too, Nate and I were planning on moving. This week, we officially moved! The house is amazing. Nate and I feel like we are in heaven. The house is directly on the ocean. If you walk out in our backyard, you are 10 feet from the water. We are safe of course. But the view is amazing. Stay tuned for pictures!
November will come and go. We have Thanksgiving planned in our district and a lot of volunteers are coming and staying with us. We have more trainings and more meetings. I can't wait to tell you more about it.
We hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear from all of you.
We love and miss you.
Michelle (and Nate)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
600+ Photos Now Available...
We now have over 600+ photos for everyone to look at. Picasa seemed to be organizing all of our photos into separate albums so I reorganized them all into one album to make them easier to get to. So there will be hundreds of photos that will be new to all of our friends and family. We'll be writing captions to the photos soon so everyone will know more info about what you are looking at. Enjoy!
The photos can be viewed by clicking here or by clicking on the top rotating photo album in the right column:
URL to Belize photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/...
Love to all,
Nate and Michelle
The photos can be viewed by clicking here or by clicking on the top rotating photo album in the right column:
URL to Belize photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/...
Love to all,
Nate and Michelle
Friday, October 1, 2010
Greetings
Hey everyone,
Hope everyone is doing well. I dont know where we left off last time but i am thinking it has to be near our Independence Day Celebration. Okay, so Independence Day (September 21) is their national holiday for....that's right....the country's Independence. Independence Day fell on Tuesday so the festivities actually started on that Friday before Independence day. On Friday, all of the kids met in the town park and paraded throughout town. It was beautiful to see so many people there to support their children, friends, and family. Of course, my school rocked and I was so proud of all the pickni (children).
That weekend was fun. We basically hung out with with some Peace Corps Volunteers on Saturday and then went to a BBQ on Sunday. We kept waiting for the greasy pole contest (pretty much as it is described) but it didnt happen. Mondaywas the big celebration. The party/celebration starts around 9pm in the town park and lasted until 4am in the morning. Their is music and dancing and at midnight, our town had the most beautiful fireworks (really nice ones too!....just like with Dad). We celebrated that evening with our host family. It was so nice. On the actual holiday, we went to a town parade where there was schools and floats and pretty much the whole town coming together to share in the experience. Nate and I ended the day with BBQ chicken. The day started around 6am for most and went until 9pm that night.
The week was also interesting because we had Tropical Storm Matthew come around. We were consolidated and were suppose to go to Belmopan but the bridge flooded so most of the volunteers ended up staying in PG in a hotel (Nate and I actually stayed in our home). Imagine about 30 PCVs staying in a little hotel. haha. Oh the memories. So we got a little rain, wind, and a little flooding....no big deal. We are ready for the next big storm! Bring it on!
Nate and I are doing great. We are learning a lot about ourselves, other PCVs, and Belizeans. Our projects are taking off and now we are beginning working on our second projects. Nate began to work at Tumalkin. It is a Mayan organization and is located in a little village about an hour and half away from town. The organization has a number of projects including a Mayan radio station. He is very excited to be working there and to learn a little Mayan Mopan Language! I am involved in several different committees through Peace Corps. I was just nominated for the WID/GAD committee! YAY! It's goal is to educate community members about healthy relationships and gender equality. I am still interested in Special Olympics and can't wait to see what the future holds.
Nate and I are embarking on a little trip today! We are heading out of town for the weekend for a little 2 day get away. We can't wait!
We hope all is well and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Hope everyone is doing well. I dont know where we left off last time but i am thinking it has to be near our Independence Day Celebration. Okay, so Independence Day (September 21) is their national holiday for....that's right....the country's Independence. Independence Day fell on Tuesday so the festivities actually started on that Friday before Independence day. On Friday, all of the kids met in the town park and paraded throughout town. It was beautiful to see so many people there to support their children, friends, and family. Of course, my school rocked and I was so proud of all the pickni (children).
That weekend was fun. We basically hung out with with some Peace Corps Volunteers on Saturday and then went to a BBQ on Sunday. We kept waiting for the greasy pole contest (pretty much as it is described) but it didnt happen. Mondaywas the big celebration. The party/celebration starts around 9pm in the town park and lasted until 4am in the morning. Their is music and dancing and at midnight, our town had the most beautiful fireworks (really nice ones too!....just like with Dad). We celebrated that evening with our host family. It was so nice. On the actual holiday, we went to a town parade where there was schools and floats and pretty much the whole town coming together to share in the experience. Nate and I ended the day with BBQ chicken. The day started around 6am for most and went until 9pm that night.
The week was also interesting because we had Tropical Storm Matthew come around. We were consolidated and were suppose to go to Belmopan but the bridge flooded so most of the volunteers ended up staying in PG in a hotel (Nate and I actually stayed in our home). Imagine about 30 PCVs staying in a little hotel. haha. Oh the memories. So we got a little rain, wind, and a little flooding....no big deal. We are ready for the next big storm! Bring it on!
Nate and I are doing great. We are learning a lot about ourselves, other PCVs, and Belizeans. Our projects are taking off and now we are beginning working on our second projects. Nate began to work at Tumalkin. It is a Mayan organization and is located in a little village about an hour and half away from town. The organization has a number of projects including a Mayan radio station. He is very excited to be working there and to learn a little Mayan Mopan Language! I am involved in several different committees through Peace Corps. I was just nominated for the WID/GAD committee! YAY! It's goal is to educate community members about healthy relationships and gender equality. I am still interested in Special Olympics and can't wait to see what the future holds.
Nate and I are embarking on a little trip today! We are heading out of town for the weekend for a little 2 day get away. We can't wait!
We hope all is well and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Greetings
Howdy (well they really don't say howdy much here....how about hola/gud aftanoon, or tardes),
I am starting to think that I start each blog with the same thing....yes we are still alive, no, we are not stranded somewhere and cant get to the internet. Nonetheless, we are here and we are loving it. I hope you will get a kick out of the last few weeks as we have. Let me start with Nate's visits to the villages.
Each day, he went to one or two villages for a sort of graduation process for the Cacao farmers. He would wake up most mornings at 5am and travel up to two hours on a road that could give you a whiplash or make you get car sickness, to visit villages, eat caldo. Caldo is a Mayan traditional dish that consist of chicken, pork, or gibnut. It is in a red caldo flavoring and is a hot soup. You eat the soup with hot tortillas. Its delicious. It is customary to eat the dish at each house you visit. Needless to say, Nate ate it three times before noon one day. What a trooper. He did this for 5 days. Most days he didn't get home time dinner time (5 or 6pm). While he had the opportunity to do that, I visited Baranco, a small Garifuna village in Toledo District. One of my friends lives there and it is beautiful. It is known for the culture, the beauty, and being one out of two villages that speak garifuna. It is also one of the fishing villages down here. I also started the school year....oh boy.
School started Wednesday. I went in after lunch and tend to leave around 4 or 5. I also helped to paint a world map (geography lessons are limited here). I am the school's librarian, so I have started to reorganize the library so it is easier for the kids to pick books. This week, Nate and I headed to Belmopan (Peace Corps headquarters location) and attended a meeting. I get to participate on the VAC committee. It stands for Volunteer Advocacy Committee. Basically, i get to make sure the volunteer's concerns in PG are addressed. That was on Wednesday. On Thursday Nate and I took a trip up north to visit some of our friends for the holiday.
Wait...the holiday. Okay, so on September 10, all Belizeans celebrate (national holiday) St. Georges Day. It is a celebration of the Belizean Army who conquered a Spanish troop who tried to take over Belize. This fight occurred on St. Georges Cayes. Therefore... a celebration. Celebrations include a lot of alcohol consumption, cook outs, parades, and carnivals.
Okay, so Nate went to Yo Creek village, a village located outside of Orange Walk, and located 3 1/2 hours from Belmopan to hang out with Kevin (another PCV )until Saturday. I went to the top of Belize (near Mexico) to hang out with a couple of really good friends. I stayed with Kaitlyn at Copper Bank, and visited Chunux to see our friend Roma. Both are small Latino villages. We had to take ferrys to get a round...fun. The whole trip was a blast. We ended the trip by staying in Orange Walk with another Peace Corps Volunteer. Now, we have returned to Belmopan for a few days.
This upcoming week includes a meeting with the ambassador, HIV/AIDs training, and Nate has a meeting as the new Warden. He is going to be responsible of contacting people if there were an emergency. A huge responsibility. We are proud of him!
That is it. I cant tell you how much we miss everyone. We have hit the mark almost 6 months and boy, we miss you all. We are planning on coming come for the holidays, so we hope to see/squeeze everyone in during our two week visit home.
Keep us updated on whats going on with you. Emails are always the best. We respond quicker to them.
We love you,
Michelle (and Nate)
I am starting to think that I start each blog with the same thing....yes we are still alive, no, we are not stranded somewhere and cant get to the internet. Nonetheless, we are here and we are loving it. I hope you will get a kick out of the last few weeks as we have. Let me start with Nate's visits to the villages.
Each day, he went to one or two villages for a sort of graduation process for the Cacao farmers. He would wake up most mornings at 5am and travel up to two hours on a road that could give you a whiplash or make you get car sickness, to visit villages, eat caldo. Caldo is a Mayan traditional dish that consist of chicken, pork, or gibnut. It is in a red caldo flavoring and is a hot soup. You eat the soup with hot tortillas. Its delicious. It is customary to eat the dish at each house you visit. Needless to say, Nate ate it three times before noon one day. What a trooper. He did this for 5 days. Most days he didn't get home time dinner time (5 or 6pm). While he had the opportunity to do that, I visited Baranco, a small Garifuna village in Toledo District. One of my friends lives there and it is beautiful. It is known for the culture, the beauty, and being one out of two villages that speak garifuna. It is also one of the fishing villages down here. I also started the school year....oh boy.
School started Wednesday. I went in after lunch and tend to leave around 4 or 5. I also helped to paint a world map (geography lessons are limited here). I am the school's librarian, so I have started to reorganize the library so it is easier for the kids to pick books. This week, Nate and I headed to Belmopan (Peace Corps headquarters location) and attended a meeting. I get to participate on the VAC committee. It stands for Volunteer Advocacy Committee. Basically, i get to make sure the volunteer's concerns in PG are addressed. That was on Wednesday. On Thursday Nate and I took a trip up north to visit some of our friends for the holiday.
Wait...the holiday. Okay, so on September 10, all Belizeans celebrate (national holiday) St. Georges Day. It is a celebration of the Belizean Army who conquered a Spanish troop who tried to take over Belize. This fight occurred on St. Georges Cayes. Therefore... a celebration. Celebrations include a lot of alcohol consumption, cook outs, parades, and carnivals.
Okay, so Nate went to Yo Creek village, a village located outside of Orange Walk, and located 3 1/2 hours from Belmopan to hang out with Kevin (another PCV )until Saturday. I went to the top of Belize (near Mexico) to hang out with a couple of really good friends. I stayed with Kaitlyn at Copper Bank, and visited Chunux to see our friend Roma. Both are small Latino villages. We had to take ferrys to get a round...fun. The whole trip was a blast. We ended the trip by staying in Orange Walk with another Peace Corps Volunteer. Now, we have returned to Belmopan for a few days.
This upcoming week includes a meeting with the ambassador, HIV/AIDs training, and Nate has a meeting as the new Warden. He is going to be responsible of contacting people if there were an emergency. A huge responsibility. We are proud of him!
That is it. I cant tell you how much we miss everyone. We have hit the mark almost 6 months and boy, we miss you all. We are planning on coming come for the holidays, so we hope to see/squeeze everyone in during our two week visit home.
Keep us updated on whats going on with you. Emails are always the best. We respond quicker to them.
We love you,
Michelle (and Nate)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
And now its time for the Maga Season
Hey friends and family!
Yep we are still alive. I know people are starting to wonder where we are and what we are doing...well we are here!!!! Lets see, where to begin. First a little Belize culture/language lesson. Maga means "thin". In two weeks during August, they call it the "Maga Season" meaning "thin season". They call it the thin season because for two weeks in August, it gets real hot and dry....no rain, thus a two week/thin season---a change of seasons for a short period of time.
Okay, now where to begin. The last two weeks have been great. We had a 30th birthday bashment that seems to have last for days. We had about 40 Peace Corps volunteers come on friday. We played corn hole and had a blast. On Saturday we had about half and half. About 20 volunteers came and about 20 Belizeans came. We felt honored and blessed to have so many friends to come our house and celebrate with us. We also had a Belizean meal. We served BBQ chicken, tortillas and salad (not vegetable, but potato). It was awesome. Nate and our friend Laura did a wonderful job planning and carrying out the party. I partied and played and enjoyed the beginning of the big 30. On the actual b-day, Nate made a wonderful meal and it was great.
In the mean time, Nate and I have been working at our site placement. Nate has been creating a database for his organization. I have working on creating a curriculum for chess club and girls group. We have been also working with other volunteers on their projects. That sums it up.
We hope everyone is doing well. We miss everyone and hope to see everyone someday soon.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Yep we are still alive. I know people are starting to wonder where we are and what we are doing...well we are here!!!! Lets see, where to begin. First a little Belize culture/language lesson. Maga means "thin". In two weeks during August, they call it the "Maga Season" meaning "thin season". They call it the thin season because for two weeks in August, it gets real hot and dry....no rain, thus a two week/thin season---a change of seasons for a short period of time.
Okay, now where to begin. The last two weeks have been great. We had a 30th birthday bashment that seems to have last for days. We had about 40 Peace Corps volunteers come on friday. We played corn hole and had a blast. On Saturday we had about half and half. About 20 volunteers came and about 20 Belizeans came. We felt honored and blessed to have so many friends to come our house and celebrate with us. We also had a Belizean meal. We served BBQ chicken, tortillas and salad (not vegetable, but potato). It was awesome. Nate and our friend Laura did a wonderful job planning and carrying out the party. I partied and played and enjoyed the beginning of the big 30. On the actual b-day, Nate made a wonderful meal and it was great.
In the mean time, Nate and I have been working at our site placement. Nate has been creating a database for his organization. I have working on creating a curriculum for chess club and girls group. We have been also working with other volunteers on their projects. That sums it up.
We hope everyone is doing well. We miss everyone and hope to see everyone someday soon.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Oh how we miss napkins
Howdy family and friends,
Nate and I wanted to fill you in on our last two weeks. We also thought we will increase some of this interesting facts about our experience thus far. To begin with, we will do a list of fun medical stuff that we have encountered thus far. Please enjoy.
whiplash...check sore throats...check
flea bites...check cold....check
bike accident...check spider bites...check
chiggers....check sun burn...check
red bugs...check muscle spasm...check
mosquito bites...check cuts, burns, scrapes...check
explosive diarrhea...check close call with scabies...check
food poisoning...check
So...hehe... we are having a blast. These things make our experience rememberable. On a different note, I thought I would also list some of our favorite things thus far. First, Nate and I love the thunderstorms down south in PG. They are some of the loudest thunderstorms we have ever heard. Imagine having your house shake for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. Also, Nate and I love our nicknames here. Most of the Belizians call Nate "Nathan" and me "Mich". It's cool. We also love how all the kids are getting familiar with us and call us Miss Michelle or Mr. Nate. We love how we can walk down to the market to get fresh produce. We love how we are becoming friends with people who live in PG too and that they just stop by to "hail" us (drop by to say hi).
Okay, now on the last two weeks. Nate has been working incredibly hard on creating a database for his site. He went to a local village called San Jose and took some incredible pictures of the mountains, the cocoa trees and plant. He loved walking in the mud and throughout the farms. I on the other hand have been working at home mostly. I have been creating new food dishes and learning how to make more Belizian food. I have been also working on secondary projects like Special Olympics and a boys groups on healthy relationships. Over the weekend, we hung out and said good bye to one of good friends here. He is done with his two years and will be heading out today.
I am pretty excited too. Nate and one of our friends Laura are planning a 30th birthday bashment at our house this weekend. They invited all the PCV down for the weekend. There are 100 volunteers and about 50 of them are coming! WOW. Nate and I are also inviting our host family and friends from our placement sites. I hope to take tons of pictures.
Well, thats it....for right now. We miss and love you all. Don't be a stranger!
Michelle (and Nate)
Nate and I wanted to fill you in on our last two weeks. We also thought we will increase some of this interesting facts about our experience thus far. To begin with, we will do a list of fun medical stuff that we have encountered thus far. Please enjoy.
whiplash...check sore throats...check
flea bites...check cold....check
bike accident...check spider bites...check
chiggers....check sun burn...check
red bugs...check muscle spasm...check
mosquito bites...check cuts, burns, scrapes...check
explosive diarrhea...check close call with scabies...check
food poisoning...check
So...hehe... we are having a blast. These things make our experience rememberable. On a different note, I thought I would also list some of our favorite things thus far. First, Nate and I love the thunderstorms down south in PG. They are some of the loudest thunderstorms we have ever heard. Imagine having your house shake for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. Also, Nate and I love our nicknames here. Most of the Belizians call Nate "Nathan" and me "Mich". It's cool. We also love how all the kids are getting familiar with us and call us Miss Michelle or Mr. Nate. We love how we can walk down to the market to get fresh produce. We love how we are becoming friends with people who live in PG too and that they just stop by to "hail" us (drop by to say hi).
Okay, now on the last two weeks. Nate has been working incredibly hard on creating a database for his site. He went to a local village called San Jose and took some incredible pictures of the mountains, the cocoa trees and plant. He loved walking in the mud and throughout the farms. I on the other hand have been working at home mostly. I have been creating new food dishes and learning how to make more Belizian food. I have been also working on secondary projects like Special Olympics and a boys groups on healthy relationships. Over the weekend, we hung out and said good bye to one of good friends here. He is done with his two years and will be heading out today.
I am pretty excited too. Nate and one of our friends Laura are planning a 30th birthday bashment at our house this weekend. They invited all the PCV down for the weekend. There are 100 volunteers and about 50 of them are coming! WOW. Nate and I are also inviting our host family and friends from our placement sites. I hope to take tons of pictures.
Well, thats it....for right now. We miss and love you all. Don't be a stranger!
Michelle (and Nate)
Monday, July 5, 2010
4th in style
Hey Fam and friends,
Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th. I wanted to tell you guys that we had an amazing weekend. Wow. So Nate and I both went on the fishing trip this weekend. It was awesome. We left on Saturday morning at 6am and returned Sunday at 4pm. We fished all day in the Caribbean Ocean. We swam and snorkeled. We slept overnight on one of the Cays, Lime Cay. It was amazing. Nate and I went with his placement/work. They were great and it was a great way to to get to know them better too. Nate and I both caught a barracuda each. ROCK ON.
Sunday we returned to PG and went to BBQ for the 4th at one of the PC volunteers house. There was like 30 people there. It was just great being surrounded by family (PCV) and friends. We miss you all and hope everyone is doing well.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th. I wanted to tell you guys that we had an amazing weekend. Wow. So Nate and I both went on the fishing trip this weekend. It was awesome. We left on Saturday morning at 6am and returned Sunday at 4pm. We fished all day in the Caribbean Ocean. We swam and snorkeled. We slept overnight on one of the Cays, Lime Cay. It was amazing. Nate and I went with his placement/work. They were great and it was a great way to to get to know them better too. Nate and I both caught a barracuda each. ROCK ON.
Sunday we returned to PG and went to BBQ for the 4th at one of the PC volunteers house. There was like 30 people there. It was just great being surrounded by family (PCV) and friends. We miss you all and hope everyone is doing well.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
AND HOW
Hi fam and friends.
Nate and I have been busy beavers. Let me try to recap the last week or so for you guys. Well everyone probably saw that we had that tropical storm come up last week. Peace Corps has incredible procedures for weather situations.The week the storm actually came, we actually had a hurricane drill (kind of like a fire drill but instead a hurricane drill). We all (110 volunteers throughout Belize) had to go the office to make sure we could all get there safely and follow the protocol. We all did it in less than 8 hours (which is pretty cool considering most bus trips are like 6-8 hours to get to the office....including where we live in the south). GO PEACE CORPS! Any who, after that fun drill we went to Placencia for Lobster Fest. Placencia is a local hang out for Belizians. The ocean is beautiful. We had a blast for the first two days but then Peace Corps had us evacuate from Placencia because of the fear of the tropical storm. FYI...we got nothing. A few rain showers, but everyone and every where in Belize was safe. Also let me reassure everyone....Peace Corps keeps us incredibly safe. You never have to worry about us in a storm/hurricane. Etc.
On Monday, Nate and I moved out of our host families house and into our own house. YAY. It was bitter sweet for Nate and I. We will miss our host family considerably, but they live two houses down from our new house, so i am pretty sure we will still hang out with them. We are super excited to be living alone again. The house is beautiful and its coming along. We have our kitchen set up, but we have no living room yet, so right now we have white lawn chairs for a living room set. Awesome. We kind of like it. We keep thinking....this is what it is all about.
Last night Nate and I made our first dinner for a few of the other Peace Corps volunteers. I made the tortillas....i could give pointers if anyone needs them :), and we made Kalalu and eggs and served it with happy cow cheese. We made a pretty traditional Belizian meal. Kalalu is like spinach. Yum. We find that we have to relearn how to make meals here and cook them.
Today I am heading to Hopkins, another beautiful beach. I am just planning on hanging out with a friend for the night. I am on school break til September. I am utilizing the time by traveling and working on secondary projects. Taking care of Nate too. Nate still has to work daily. He loves his placement very much. They actually invited Nate on a weekend fishing trip on the ocean. Cool huh. I think he is in heaven.
Okay, so besides that, we took some pictures of the town and of our house. We hope to upload them soon. Happy 4th!
We love and miss you all very much.
Michelle (and Nate)
Nate and I have been busy beavers. Let me try to recap the last week or so for you guys. Well everyone probably saw that we had that tropical storm come up last week. Peace Corps has incredible procedures for weather situations.The week the storm actually came, we actually had a hurricane drill (kind of like a fire drill but instead a hurricane drill). We all (110 volunteers throughout Belize) had to go the office to make sure we could all get there safely and follow the protocol. We all did it in less than 8 hours (which is pretty cool considering most bus trips are like 6-8 hours to get to the office....including where we live in the south). GO PEACE CORPS! Any who, after that fun drill we went to Placencia for Lobster Fest. Placencia is a local hang out for Belizians. The ocean is beautiful. We had a blast for the first two days but then Peace Corps had us evacuate from Placencia because of the fear of the tropical storm. FYI...we got nothing. A few rain showers, but everyone and every where in Belize was safe. Also let me reassure everyone....Peace Corps keeps us incredibly safe. You never have to worry about us in a storm/hurricane. Etc.
On Monday, Nate and I moved out of our host families house and into our own house. YAY. It was bitter sweet for Nate and I. We will miss our host family considerably, but they live two houses down from our new house, so i am pretty sure we will still hang out with them. We are super excited to be living alone again. The house is beautiful and its coming along. We have our kitchen set up, but we have no living room yet, so right now we have white lawn chairs for a living room set. Awesome. We kind of like it. We keep thinking....this is what it is all about.
Last night Nate and I made our first dinner for a few of the other Peace Corps volunteers. I made the tortillas....i could give pointers if anyone needs them :), and we made Kalalu and eggs and served it with happy cow cheese. We made a pretty traditional Belizian meal. Kalalu is like spinach. Yum. We find that we have to relearn how to make meals here and cook them.
Today I am heading to Hopkins, another beautiful beach. I am just planning on hanging out with a friend for the night. I am on school break til September. I am utilizing the time by traveling and working on secondary projects. Taking care of Nate too. Nate still has to work daily. He loves his placement very much. They actually invited Nate on a weekend fishing trip on the ocean. Cool huh. I think he is in heaven.
Okay, so besides that, we took some pictures of the town and of our house. We hope to upload them soon. Happy 4th!
We love and miss you all very much.
Michelle (and Nate)
Monday, June 14, 2010
What have we been up to....
Hi family and friends!
You are all probably wondering why we haven't blogged in forever. Well, its for a good reason......we don't have Internet access...well, not until July. In July, Nate and I will move into our house. We will live in this little two bedroom house that is cute and quaint and all things that are a combination of America and Belize. Well the house being in Belize and the owners were Americans who moved down here a couple of years ago. It comes with a lot of different amenities, like in-door plumbing. YAY!
Once we move in our house, we will be able to get Internet so that we can talk to people more often and respond better to emails. More importantly, we will be able to describe this amazing journey and highlight some of the funny events in our lives. Until July, you will all have to wonder what is happening to us over here and if we are okay because there seems to be less and less blogs. Let me assure you, Nate and I are fine. Happy and loving Belize. We are now comfortable with the heat (if that is even possible). We have bought bikes (yes...that's right...beach cruisers, a reminder of my childhood). We have begun shopping for our house hold supplies. Can i tell you how difficult it is to buy a lot with very little money. Man...its fun to bargain. We cannot complain, nor will we.
Nate and I have met some amazing people. Some of them are related to our host family. In fact, we all celebrated Nate's birthday last weekend by throwing a Belizian Bash. I (and my host sister) made Nate homemade pizza, made a cake, and had drinks and music. I can't explain to you how amazing that night was. Nate loved his party and hanging out with our Belizian family. I loved it too. It was great. 25 people there to share in his birthday and celebrate each other.
This week everyone is super excited about the World Cup. Everyone hangs out drinking and watching the games. Nate and I have found a couple of people to hang out with so we can watch the game too.
Nate uploaded some pictures onto our blog (click here to view the album), so if you haven't seen them, please check them out. They were of the last two months, and more excitingly, our swearing-in ceremony with Peace Corps. We are officially PEACE CORPS Volunteers!!!! YAY.
We hope all is well and we love and miss you,
Michelle (and Nate)
Once we move in our house, we will be able to get Internet so that we can talk to people more often and respond better to emails. More importantly, we will be able to describe this amazing journey and highlight some of the funny events in our lives. Until July, you will all have to wonder what is happening to us over here and if we are okay because there seems to be less and less blogs. Let me assure you, Nate and I are fine. Happy and loving Belize. We are now comfortable with the heat (if that is even possible). We have bought bikes (yes...that's right...beach cruisers, a reminder of my childhood). We have begun shopping for our house hold supplies. Can i tell you how difficult it is to buy a lot with very little money. Man...its fun to bargain. We cannot complain, nor will we.
This week everyone is super excited about the World Cup. Everyone hangs out drinking and watching the games. Nate and I have found a couple of people to hang out with so we can watch the game too.
We hope all is well and we love and miss you,
Michelle (and Nate)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Happy and home in Punta Gorda
Good morning (doesn't it seem like i tend to write in the mornings?),
So Nate and I love Punta Gorda. Let me try to describe our town. I know that I will not give it enough justice. The town over looks a vast ocean. The ocean is a little murky near the land, but if you look out 50 feet, you can see the beautiful greens and teals of the Caribbean sea. We are three blocks from the ocean. We are staying with the most loving host family. We talk and laugh with them when we are not at our site. We even have two host sisters. One is 15 and the other is 24. The cooking is amazing. My host sisters are amazing cooks, just like their mom. We have tried so many different foods that i can not describe them all.
The town is full of life. We have a main street that has tons of little shops and restaurants. There is even a town park that is wonderful. Nate and I have a friend who is in training near by so we hang out with her a lot. Her name is Mallory. We have met tons of PC volunteers. One, Erica, use to stay with our host family too, so comes by often and we hang out with her a lot too. She took us out on Saturday to show us around. We believe we found a house to rent for the next two years. It is beautiful. We have to get PC to come and look at it (policy) but if the safety guy says it is okay, we can rent it, starting at the end of June. Honestly, we are ready to have our own space. The cool thing about the location of the house is that it is two houses down from our host family, so we will be close enough to them and Erica if we need something. It is also three blocks from the ocean and main street. YAY.
Our projects are going well. We are just figuring everything out. We will post more when we have a better understanding of it. Tomorrow marks our third anniversary, so Nate and I are going to Placinica (SP?) on Saturday for a night away. Placinica is a town in Belize that is a little north of us. It is known for its sandy beaches and teal water. We will describe it more after our stay.
Next week we will be in Belmopan again. That means we will have internet access. PG has Internet access (obviously...i am using it now) but its hard to find time to get to use it. Thus, fewer emails initially. Next week Nate and I get to attend our Swearing In Ceremony!!! YAY. That is when we become officially a PC volunteer.
Hope all is well. Love and miss you all,
Michelle (and Nate)
Our projects are going well. We are just figuring everything out. We will post more when we have a better understanding of it. Tomorrow marks our third anniversary, so Nate and I are going to Placinica (SP?) on Saturday for a night away. Placinica is a town in Belize that is a little north of us. It is known for its sandy beaches and teal water. We will describe it more after our stay.
Next week we will be in Belmopan again. That means we will have internet access. PG has Internet access (obviously...i am using it now) but its hard to find time to get to use it. Thus, fewer emails initially. Next week Nate and I get to attend our Swearing In Ceremony!!! YAY. That is when we become officially a PC volunteer.
Hope all is well. Love and miss you all,
Michelle (and Nate)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Leaving Belmopan and heading to Punta Gorda
Gud Maarnin Everyone!
Nate and I are very excited to announce that we received our final placement on Tuesday. We are heading down south to Punta Gorda! Punta Gorda is a small town of the coast. Literally, our village (a village within a town) called Indianville is across the street from the Caribbean Ocean! We are ecstatic! Nate will be working for a cacao organization. He will be doing tons of fun things, like helping the organization with their database and marketing. I will be working with a primary school. A primary school is essentially an elementary school. I will be helping them to establish sports programs and after-school programs. We will be heading out this afternoon to get to our site. It will take 4 hours to get there without stopping (or in a car). On a bus, it could take us 8 hours. From what we understand, there will be Internet cafes and phone service. Oh and we are going down with 8 of the funniest and most fun volunteers too. We feel extremely blessed. We will keep you posted on our new adventure and with our new host family. We love you and miss you all.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Nate and I are very excited to announce that we received our final placement on Tuesday. We are heading down south to Punta Gorda! Punta Gorda is a small town of the coast. Literally, our village (a village within a town) called Indianville is across the street from the Caribbean Ocean! We are ecstatic! Nate will be working for a cacao organization. He will be doing tons of fun things, like helping the organization with their database and marketing. I will be working with a primary school. A primary school is essentially an elementary school. I will be helping them to establish sports programs and after-school programs. We will be heading out this afternoon to get to our site. It will take 4 hours to get there without stopping (or in a car). On a bus, it could take us 8 hours. From what we understand, there will be Internet cafes and phone service. Oh and we are going down with 8 of the funniest and most fun volunteers too. We feel extremely blessed. We will keep you posted on our new adventure and with our new host family. We love you and miss you all.
Love,
Michelle (and Nate)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Did I mention how hot it is?
Okay gang,
Nate and I are really having a great time. Its great. We knew what to expect when we got here. We enjoy being "one" with nature. We enjoy the carbs that are given to us daily. We even can handle the bugs (well not really the roaches) and we are handling the heat, but boy 100 degrees is hot. Does anyone know a good technique that can keep you cool at night when its 100 degrees and no air ventilation? So here is what we have been doing. Feel free to make suggestions.
Imagine if you will, Nate and I sleeping on opposite sides of the queen size bed (we really don't touch because of the heat). I take a shower minutes before going to bed. Then Nate takes his. We have a fan (that has a short in it and turns off every 5 minutes and circulates the warm air.) We now have ice packs to lay on top of us. Then we decided to apply cool rags on us too. It was not enough. As a last resort, we now leave the bedroom door open so our host family could see us sleep and the window open. The window has no screen so big spiders, mosquito's, and snakes could crawl in. Nate and I don't care. We need it to be cooler. We are now a little cooler. Hope you enjoy this example of our assimilation process in Belize!
Okay, on a different note. Nate and I are doing well. We finished our presentations this week so now we can enjoy this weekend. Today and Friday (tomorrow) we will hang out with our group of new volunteers. On Saturday we are going to a Agriculture Fair. It is apparently the place to be in Belize. There will be a fair, food, and booths for organizations. We will keep you posted. Next week is our last week of training. We find out next Friday where are permanent site is. Whoa. We will keep you posted.
Finally, a daily description of our week. Wake up every morning at 6am. Take the 7am bus to work. (Nate wakes up at 6:30am and walks to his training class by 8am). We are in training from 8-4 or 5pm. Trainings insist of language (Kreol), techniques, cultural classes, education of medical and mental health. We love Fridays, that is when we get to see our group and we are in the office with a/c. Some days Nate has training until 8pm when he meets with his community group. On Wednesdays, I meet with a youth group until 6pm. Then I catch a bus at 6:30pm and get back by 8pm. From 5 or 6pm (when we are not staying late) until dinner time (around 7pm) we catch up each other on our day. We eat dinner (that will be another blog conversation) and then we hang out (usually listen to music, do homework, or read) until 9pm. I take a shower and then Nate takes his, and lastly we go to bed. On Saturdays we have training from 8-12 or 2pm. Same as above. Saturdays is when we relax, try to catch up on emails if possible and hang out with our host family. On Sundays, we chill.
We miss and love you guys. Nate has pictures to upload but we need to get good wireless Internet to post them.
Love ya,
Michelle (and Nate)
Imagine if you will, Nate and I sleeping on opposite sides of the queen size bed (we really don't touch because of the heat). I take a shower minutes before going to bed. Then Nate takes his. We have a fan (that has a short in it and turns off every 5 minutes and circulates the warm air.) We now have ice packs to lay on top of us. Then we decided to apply cool rags on us too. It was not enough. As a last resort, we now leave the bedroom door open so our host family could see us sleep and the window open. The window has no screen so big spiders, mosquito's, and snakes could crawl in. Nate and I don't care. We need it to be cooler. We are now a little cooler. Hope you enjoy this example of our assimilation process in Belize!
Okay, on a different note. Nate and I are doing well. We finished our presentations this week so now we can enjoy this weekend. Today and Friday (tomorrow) we will hang out with our group of new volunteers. On Saturday we are going to a Agriculture Fair. It is apparently the place to be in Belize. There will be a fair, food, and booths for organizations. We will keep you posted. Next week is our last week of training. We find out next Friday where are permanent site is. Whoa. We will keep you posted.
Finally, a daily description of our week. Wake up every morning at 6am. Take the 7am bus to work. (Nate wakes up at 6:30am and walks to his training class by 8am). We are in training from 8-4 or 5pm. Trainings insist of language (Kreol), techniques, cultural classes, education of medical and mental health. We love Fridays, that is when we get to see our group and we are in the office with a/c. Some days Nate has training until 8pm when he meets with his community group. On Wednesdays, I meet with a youth group until 6pm. Then I catch a bus at 6:30pm and get back by 8pm. From 5 or 6pm (when we are not staying late) until dinner time (around 7pm) we catch up each other on our day. We eat dinner (that will be another blog conversation) and then we hang out (usually listen to music, do homework, or read) until 9pm. I take a shower and then Nate takes his, and lastly we go to bed. On Saturdays we have training from 8-12 or 2pm. Same as above. Saturdays is when we relax, try to catch up on emails if possible and hang out with our host family. On Sundays, we chill.
We miss and love you guys. Nate has pictures to upload but we need to get good wireless Internet to post them.
Love ya,
Michelle (and Nate)
Thursday, April 22, 2010
HOT HOT HOT
Hey Everyone,
So let us begin by saying how extremely hot it is (not that we didn't expect this....but boy is it hot). We are in the hottest months of the year in Belize. Nate and I are staying hydrated and trying to stay as cool as possible. Most days the temperature stays around 94 degrees. It does cool down sometimes when it briefly rains. From what we understands, Belize never has thunderstorms or lightning but just a lot of rain. Well, except for this past weekend where Nate and I got stuck in a pretty big thunderstorm....where should I begin.
Nate and I went on a PCV visit (Is where we go and stay with current volunteers for the weekend). PCV stands for Peace Corps Volunteer. Nate and I stayed in Belize city. It is the largest city in Belize and it felt like the states and less like Belize. We stayed with a married couple named Pat and Keri. They were Kool (that's in Kreol...wink wink). We left on Friday and returned to Belmopan on Monday. Friday we went to a really cool restaurant. It was yummy...my favorite meal thus far. The four of us got caught in this really amazing thunderstorm that night. The electricity went out and it was beautiful. Saturday we walked to the market and throughout Belize City for most of the day. We made dinner that night for all of the PCV visiting Belize City for the weekend. I was so proud. I learned how to make a true Belizian Meal. I also made tortillas. I am now officially a pro. Sunday, Nate and I went with a group of PCVs to an island called Caye Caulker. It was beautiful. Nate and I had a blast. We will post pictures soon to show everyone. Sunday night we ate at one of the most well known restaurants in Belize City call Le Che's $5 fried chicken. Yum. And finally, Monday we headed back home. During the weekend though, we met with some people that Keri works with. They were great.
Since Monday, Nate and I have been working hard on presentations that we have to do for community members. Nate is presenting next week on Computer websites and I am presenting on safety planning for children from 5-7yo. This weekend we are planning on sleeping and possibly going to pick up trash and tree planting in a town called Dangriga.
So....next time, I will be writing on our daily schedule thus far, so you guys might have an idea of how we spend our crazy and action packed days. We miss everyone tons. We wish we could talk to everyone. If you can make internation calls and would like to call us, email us and we can give you our number. Feel free to email us too and we will definitely respond back when we can. We hope everyone is doing well.
Love ya,
Michelle (and Nate)
So let us begin by saying how extremely hot it is (not that we didn't expect this....but boy is it hot). We are in the hottest months of the year in Belize. Nate and I are staying hydrated and trying to stay as cool as possible. Most days the temperature stays around 94 degrees. It does cool down sometimes when it briefly rains. From what we understands, Belize never has thunderstorms or lightning but just a lot of rain. Well, except for this past weekend where Nate and I got stuck in a pretty big thunderstorm....where should I begin.Nate and I went on a PCV visit (Is where we go and stay with current volunteers for the weekend). PCV stands for Peace Corps Volunteer. Nate and I stayed in Belize city. It is the largest city in Belize and it felt like the states and less like Belize. We stayed with a married couple named Pat and Keri. They were Kool (that's in Kreol...wink wink). We left on Friday and returned to Belmopan on Monday. Friday we went to a really cool restaurant. It was yummy...my favorite meal thus far. The four of us got caught in this really amazing thunderstorm that night. The electricity went out and it was beautiful. Saturday we walked to the market and throughout Belize City for most of the day. We made dinner that night for all of the PCV visiting Belize City for the weekend. I was so proud. I learned how to make a true Belizian Meal. I also made tortillas. I am now officially a pro. Sunday, Nate and I went with a group of PCVs to an island called Caye Caulker. It was beautiful. Nate and I had a blast. We will post pictures soon to show everyone. Sunday night we ate at one of the most well known restaurants in Belize City call Le Che's $5 fried chicken. Yum. And finally, Monday we headed back home. During the weekend though, we met with some people that Keri works with. They were great.Since Monday, Nate and I have been working hard on presentations that we have to do for community members. Nate is presenting next week on Computer websites and I am presenting on safety planning for children from 5-7yo. This weekend we are planning on sleeping and possibly going to pick up trash and tree planting in a town called Dangriga.
So....next time, I will be writing on our daily schedule thus far, so you guys might have an idea of how we spend our crazy and action packed days. We miss everyone tons. We wish we could talk to everyone. If you can make internation calls and would like to call us, email us and we can give you our number. Feel free to email us too and we will definitely respond back when we can. We hope everyone is doing well.
Love ya,
Michelle (and Nate)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
on a beautiful saturday afternoon
Gud Eevnin,
So I thought I would start off with a little Kreol today. In Belize, time is distinguished between morning, afternoon, evening and night. Morning (Maanin) is from 6am-11:30am. Afternoon (Aftaanoon) is from 12-3pm, Evening (Eevnin) is from 3-6 or until dark and night (nait) is from dark or 6pm-6am. You can even say Gud dae (good day) for all day long. A little different from US.
So Nate and I are loving Belize. Its been HOT HOT HOT. Like 94 degrees. We have a fan so we stay not as hot. :). We got placed in Belmopan with our host family, so technically, we are still in the city for another 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks are up, we will get a final placement, hopefully in a village or town (which is a lot smaller). Nate works/trains in Belmopan and because we wanted to live together, I commute to a village every day to work/train. The village is 30 miles away but with the bus, it takes about an hour to get there. I love the village. Its called Georgeville. We will be posting pictures soon of the village, Belmopan, and other fun things.
I also wanted to give everyone an update on the things we brought with us to Belize. It was interesting. We were told up to 80lbs total for the two bags each. Nate and I stayed up until about 10:30pm the night before the flight to get it to the weight requirements. We had to wake up at 3am for our flight! With much frustration of having to unpack half our stuff, we ended up with:
shower towel, beach towel, yellow wet towels, wash clothes, soaps, shampoo, shavers (one of the most expensive things here), female stuff (another expensive things here) hygiene stuff and medicine stuff. I took a little bit of makeup and of course a thousand hair ties.
Clothes: tank tops, shorts, a few pairs of shoes-really. Nate: running shoes, dress shoes, 2 flips and me: running shoes, 2 sandals, 1 flip. We also brought 4 pairs or dress pants each, 5-10 dress shirts, Nate brought 5 casual shirts, I brought 2 casual shirts, 6 skirts, 1 dress, and 4 running shirts. We both brought our bathing suits. We brought some technology things like a computer of course, and ipods. A few books too. Oh and underwear (tons of them), bras, boxers, that kind thing.
We find that the stores have almost everything here. More than I actually thought but the money ratio is 2:1 Belize to US dollars. So things that cost 4 dollars in the US cost us 8 dollars here (and if you only get a little bit each week/month-soon) then it adds up.
We have Janice (my older sister) sending us things that we couldnt find room to pack like more clothes or hygiene stuff. Feel free to send love this way too. It is strange, in US we always get mail (even if you dont want it like bills) but in Belize you actually miss getting something.
Anyways, Nate and I have everything we need right now. If we need medicine, the Peace Corps Nurse (Nurse Jackie who rocks) will hook us up. They take care of us here. We can buy most things here. We wash our clothes weekly and the clothes that we packed are a perfect amount.
In the end, we had 86lbs each but didnt have to pay. Whew.
We love you and miss you tons.
Michelle
So I thought I would start off with a little Kreol today. In Belize, time is distinguished between morning, afternoon, evening and night. Morning (Maanin) is from 6am-11:30am. Afternoon (Aftaanoon) is from 12-3pm, Evening (Eevnin) is from 3-6 or until dark and night (nait) is from dark or 6pm-6am. You can even say Gud dae (good day) for all day long. A little different from US.
I also wanted to give everyone an update on the things we brought with us to Belize. It was interesting. We were told up to 80lbs total for the two bags each. Nate and I stayed up until about 10:30pm the night before the flight to get it to the weight requirements. We had to wake up at 3am for our flight! With much frustration of having to unpack half our stuff, we ended up with:
shower towel, beach towel, yellow wet towels, wash clothes, soaps, shampoo, shavers (one of the most expensive things here), female stuff (another expensive things here) hygiene stuff and medicine stuff. I took a little bit of makeup and of course a thousand hair ties.
We find that the stores have almost everything here. More than I actually thought but the money ratio is 2:1 Belize to US dollars. So things that cost 4 dollars in the US cost us 8 dollars here (and if you only get a little bit each week/month-soon) then it adds up.
We have Janice (my older sister) sending us things that we couldnt find room to pack like more clothes or hygiene stuff. Feel free to send love this way too. It is strange, in US we always get mail (even if you dont want it like bills) but in Belize you actually miss getting something.
Anyways, Nate and I have everything we need right now. If we need medicine, the Peace Corps Nurse (Nurse Jackie who rocks) will hook us up. They take care of us here. We can buy most things here. We wash our clothes weekly and the clothes that we packed are a perfect amount.
In the end, we had 86lbs each but didnt have to pay. Whew.
We love you and miss you tons.
Michelle
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Moving to our village
Hey Guys,
Nate and I will be moving into our village tomorow with our host family for 5 weeks. We are excited about the adventure that lies ahead. We dont expect running water but we hope for some electricity. We have been also learning Kreol for the last two days. I cant wait to try some out with everyone. The food here is good. Tons of carbs. mumm. We got a phone yesterday and will hand out the number as soon as possible. You guys can text us and call us. Just rememeber 2 hour difference eastern time. Also, as of tomorrow, we will not have internet access except on fridays. Yay. So email us and let us know how you are doing. It is easier to reply back to emails. We love everyone and miss everyone so much.
Nate and I will be moving into our village tomorow with our host family for 5 weeks. We are excited about the adventure that lies ahead. We dont expect running water but we hope for some electricity. We have been also learning Kreol for the last two days. I cant wait to try some out with everyone. The food here is good. Tons of carbs. mumm. We got a phone yesterday and will hand out the number as soon as possible. You guys can text us and call us. Just rememeber 2 hour difference eastern time. Also, as of tomorrow, we will not have internet access except on fridays. Yay. So email us and let us know how you are doing. It is easier to reply back to emails. We love everyone and miss everyone so much.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Greetings Everyone! Photos Uploaded...
Greetings everyone! I uploaded pictures of our first couple of days in Belize. Most of the photos you'll see are from our Saturday, 28-03-2010 trip to the Baboon Sanctuary. We're loving it here and are learning so much in our first 4 days. More to come along our journey. Love to all family and friends!
http://picasaweb.google.com/natect/Belize2010PublicPhotoAlbum#
http://picasaweb.google.com/natect/Belize2010PublicPhotoAlbum#
Saturday, March 27, 2010
We are safe in Belize
Hey all,
We got in Belize on Thursday and we just got internet access tonight. Sorry for the long delay. So, the weather is 90 degrees. The PC staff rock. We have been in day long trainings that remind me strangely of RA/HD training at JMU. Nate and I are currently in a hotel that has electricity and ac. We will however, will not have those things on Thursday. We will be moving in to our village on Thursday. We havent gotten sick yet, but we have lost a few pounds because we have been hot, sticky, and havent been that hungry. We cant wait to show pictures (they are to come). Also, I know I promised to tell everyone what we packed. That will be in one of our next two blogs...promise. We love and miss everyone so much. Nate will be posting pictures in the next two days or so (hopefully if we get access).
Love, Nate and Michelle
PS...Nurse Jackie's (our PC nurse) thoughts to us is : Dont get bit. Dont get hit. Dont get lit. and Dont eat shit......
Love, Nate and Michelle
PS...Nurse Jackie's (our PC nurse) thoughts to us is : Dont get bit. Dont get hit. Dont get lit. and Dont eat shit......
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Cats in Va. Beach
So we are now in Va. Beach. We are hanging with Mel, the twin, and we brought the cats to their new home for two years. What a strange feeling. I personally think Lilly is going to LOVE being a beach girl, just as soon as she comes out from under the bed. Baxter has adjusted well to the new move. I swear he thinks he is in heaven with all of the windows and warmer weather. Nate and I are going to miss them like crazy but we know they are in good hands.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Leavin NJ
Today we say good-bye to all of our loving family in New Jersey. We had a blast shpn...wink wink:) We also had a blast seeing everyone. We will miss everyone very much but cant wait for you guys to come visit. Oh and we also found out that Susan's b-day is the same day that we are leaving. March 24th is awesome!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
3 pigs, 30 people on a bus
So....finished work and spending some QT time with some special people. We watched the Belize video today from some PC volunteers. This is what we picked up....volleyball is HUGE there. So is rice and beans, and corn. Finally.....one thing to remember is their saying: Belize. You better belize it!
Monday, March 1, 2010
How are we leaving in March already?
So, we are currently getting ready for our big trip. Filling out paper work, saying good bye to friends and family. Eating a lot! We are looking forward to what lies a head, but boy, we are going to miss everyone and our cats!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Getting Ready to Leave on March 24th!
Michelle and I are getting prepared to leave for the Peace Corps on March 24, 2010 to begin our training in Belmopan, Belize. All flights are booked and we're just about ready to head out. We'll start making regular posts with pictures, living details, etc. once we arrive in Belize and get settled. Love to all family and friends for your support and well wishes!
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