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)
Hey you 2! I actually CAN relate to trying to sleep in 100 degree weather and I have a suggestion. Gotta get scientific....you can use the process of convection to help remove body heat, but it works best if you sleep in a hammock where air can circulate around your entire body as opposed to a bed where air is moving over the top of you only. There are also hammocks w/bug netting so you could sleep w/that window open and not worry about bugs. However, you've gotta have a pretty strong wall w/studs (that you screw a round eyelet hook into) or 2 good trees to hang it on. Keeping water on your skin (I can send 2 spray bottles down) also allows the heat to transfer from your body to the air more quickly. Not sure where you'll end up permanently, but if hammock sleeping is an option, let me know and I can recommend some cheaper brands. They are also incredibly comfortable and great for back problems contrary to popular belief. You'll never look at AC the same way again after this!! Hang in there you 2!! I know you're doing GREAT!!
ReplyDelete~Michele Z.
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteJust got a chance to catch up on your blog, sounds like you're having a great time! Hope you stay cool, I like your haircut :)
Denise