Going Incommunicado

We got our host family assignments yesterday. Steve and I will be going to Camalote, a small town outside of Belmopan. We'll be learning Kriol as our primary in country language. The other languages being taught in six other locations are Spanish and Q'eqchi, a Mayan dialect. Some of you know that Steve and I spent a fair amount of time boning up on Spanish before we left Chapel Hill, but it was with the knowledge that we might not be sent to a site where the people spoke Spanish.

So, here we are, learning Kriol, the lingua franca of Belize. The official language is English, because of the British influence. In addition to Spanish and Q'eqchi, there are two other Mayan dialects and Garifuna spoken here. The language that pulls them all together is Kriol. EVERYBODY speaks it. So when we travel on the bus or go the market or eat at a restaurant anywhere in the country, we can use our Kriol to communicate.

And you're asking, "Why is she writing Kriol that way? It's supposed to be Creole." Well, yeah, unless you're writing in the Kriol language. More about that later.

Main reason for this entry is to let everybody know that there's LOTS to write about, but we won't be able to post for a week. Our host family does have electricity, but we are told there will be no access to the internet. If we find an internet cafe, we'll be excited to email and Facebook and Skype (if we ever get that VPN set up).

Layta den (Later then) - Cathy and Steve

http://www.belmopancityonline.com/kriol-language.aspx