Current Events, The Low Down, April's Activities...

I realized that I have not blogged in a while, so I figured it would be good to do a summary post. Put a few events into one. Give the current events, the low down, the most important facts, you get the idea...This past month has a random assortment of events.

First off my little kitten, Piglet passed away. This was very hard to endure. Not only was this my first real pet, but great company to me for living alone in a foreign country. He woke up one morning and was not acting like himself and two days later he died. Strange how those things happen. I definitely see the need for good vets in this country. I am so fortunate to have some great friends to support me while going through this. They even held a memorial service for Piglet. Here is what Greg Casaletto a fellow PCV had to say,

"We light this candle to honor the memory of Piglet who has recently passed, Piglet was a much loved member of the Peace Corps Belize family and he will be missed greatly. We honor Piglet's beautiful loving spirit, kind eyes, playful demeanor, and unconditional love. Piglet's presence calmed Erica, soothed her at the end of a long day, and made her feel loved when she needed it most. As we kindle this flame, we are reminded how this beautiful animal brought light into the lives of those who loved him. Thank you for honoring Piglet today."

This just shows what great friends I have made here, the fact that they rally behind me. Christine Breland was there through it all, and I really do not know what I would have done without her. She is a great friend.

Piglet

Next update is that I had a trainee come and stay with me for a weekend. I mentioned meeting the new trainees arriving in March. I was blessed to get Gayla for the weekend visit. She is a spunky lady from California. She was super excited to see the sea. She has been living in San Antonio Village in Cayo, which is in the mountains. I was happy to take her in Rio Blanco Falls and also swimming in the sea. We had a great weekend. It was great to make a new friend and share PG with her. 

In PG the PCVs decided to do something special for Earth Day. We were able to go into the 3 primary schools in town and give presentations about Earth Day, volunteering and how to better our planet. It was a great experience and we worked well together. On that Saturday we organized a town clean up with the children at the schools. Some had a better turn out than others, but overall I think we accomplished what we set out to do "enlighten the children about the earth and volunteering."

Earth Day Presentations

PG Town clean up

I had a great 23rd birthday. Yes, I am now 23. YIKES! I got to share my birthday with Kristen Devoucoux, another PCV here in PG. Christine hosted a mega bash for the two of us. Many PCVs gathered for the festivities. We had some great grub and a bonfire. Lilly discovered MEGA MALLOWS (huge marshmallows) which were enjoyed by all. It was a great party and I enjoyed celebrating my 23rd year of birth with some amazing people in Belize. 

Lilly and I celebrating

Our cakes! Mine is the one on the right, funfetti even in Belize!

Christine and I. Thank you for all the hard work!

FEET/LEGS!

Everyone and their feet!

This past week I have encountered 3 scorpions in my house. The first was in my bathtub under my mat, I of course smashed it to pieces. The second was on my screen door, I was able to use my swiffer to eliminate and then stepped on it for good measure. The last one I discovered was in my loofah while I was in the shower...yes this was one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Luckily I was not lathering up and was able to kill the scorpion. Oh the adventures of living in Belize.

Where I found the scorpion on my screen.

Dead scorpion.

Big news as of this last weekend I am officially certified to SCUBA DIVE. I began scuba classes back in March with 4 other PCVs and we just finished up Sunday. I have to say, having swam my whole life, breathing underwater was AMAZING to me. I loved the freedom it allowed me. It is definitely a hobby I will continue to do. Especially while I am here in Belize. 

The lovely Snake Cayes which we practiced diving off of.

Me, Grace, Christine, Emily and Lilly.

Emily and I all geared up!

Joking around with Lilly. Gotta love the wet suit. 

That about wraps up the past few weeks. Things I have to look forward to are Devon Buckley's trip to visit me. My trip to Hawaii for Amanda Heien's wedding and also a Howe family vacation. May looks like it will be a great month!

Fajina

Every first Saturday of the month, Fajina Craft Center has their monthly meeting. There are a few things in the previous sentence that might need to be explained:


1. What is Fajina Craft Center?
-It is the mayan women's group I work with on a daily basis here in PG. A "Fajina" occurs in a village when everyone comes together to clear/clean certain areas (cut the grass, clear debris etc). It fits well for the group because the 13 women gather together from different villages to sell crafts. The Fajina Craft Center is referred to as my 'counterpart.' This means that they requested a Peace Corps Volunteer and along I came. I am technically in the Business and Organizational Development sector. This is really more a title than anything else, I am not sure I have really implemented many Business or Organizational Development aspects, but maybe eventually.


2. What is a monthly meeting?
-Funny you should ask, a monthly meeting is held for all the women to gather and discuss business, and distribute sales for the month. Each woman that makes a sale collects 80%, while 20% goes to Fajina Craft Center. These women are from different villages outside of PG, some have a 3 hours bus ride to get into town. When I say a bus, I mean an old school bus that was auctioned off in the states and then driven down here to Belize for use. When I say bus ride, I mean dirt roads, it is not an easy route. The meetings are conducted usually in Mayan Mopan or K'kechi, needless to say I do not understand much. 


I had a breakthrough yesterday though. An old member returned and once each discussion was completed she would repeat the majority of it in English for me. I was very grateful for a few reasons. The first is that it is not very fun to be in a meeting for 3 hours and not know what is going on. The second is that mistakes happen where I think one thing is the outcome when it is not. Hopefully we have resolved both. 


Many of you may be asking yourself, how do you communicate? I have become creative. The women speak English, it is just not their first language. I have learned what words are better to use. I also use humor. This may sound silly, but when I am able to get them to laugh or smile a few times a day I feel like I have accomplished something. 


This was just to give you a little more insight on my 'counterpart' and the things I am encountering down here in Belize. 

As my Dad said about this picture "this is like the scene in ET with the teddy bears..." Can you find me? ;)