Wrapping Up Our Peace Corps Service - COS Conference

Cathy:  There has been a long time gap between now and our last blog post. Steve and I made the decision to leave three months earlier than the "assigned" June 10 exit date. We could not write about our plans because they needed to remain secret. We also wanted to be sensitive to people who might read the blog.

Because we both had been in country with (what can only be termed) bad assignments, we felt unhappy about our Peace Corps service. This was true for the majority of the time we were in Belize. My work with POWA had been terminated officially in early February 2012. I found things to do in Dangriga - taught Health and Family Life Education to kids in Standards III, IV, V, and VI at three schools, started the girls club, and led the Zumba exercise classes. Those were all good small projects (they averaged about 8 hours a week), and I derived a lot of satisfaction from them.

Of the two of us, Steve had the least to do. Steve was taken off his assignment at the Polyclinic in October 2011, and then reassigned to the same project about February of 2012. Unfortunately, nothing changed regarding the work partners commitment to working with a PC volunteer was practically nil. Steve spent very little time in contact with the people there, less than 3 hours a week, despite trying to "drum up" work many times with many different organizations. As he got to know the Cayetanos, he enjoyed doing the woodworking project for them. He also helped Anthony, the young boy who lived downstairs, with his homework almost every night.

Then in March of 2012, Steve was asked to participate in rewriting the Community Health Worker training manual, and he brought me on board. Writing that manual was quite a challenge, and we are both extremely proud of our work with the Ministry of Health. We completed the last of the drafts in January of 2013. Although we were challenged and happy with our work product, the work was not fulfilling in the way that working directly with Belizeans would have been. Basically, it was a sit-down job, researching, writing, and creating illustrations. Contact with the MOH was primarily through email and telephone.

Once the "book" was complete, we felt it was time to come back to the United States. Our country director was very understanding and sympathetic to our situation, and was able to obtain an exit status of "Interrupted Service" which will allow us to work with Peace Corps again if we ever wish to do so.

So . . . these last entries are a short recap of our last few weeks in Belize. We'll start with a description of our last official Peace Corps meeting - the COS Conference.

Steve:  The Close of Service Conference is a time for reflection of what our service in Belize has meant to us. It is also a get together with all the volunteers and all of the Peace Corps staff people for some “thank you” and some “good-bye” talks with each other.

It started with a cook out at the home of our country director. This was an all afternoon thing, and I think we all ate way too much delicious food. The next day we caught the bus to Cayo (San Ignacio Town) and checked in at the Cahal Pech Resort. It is right next to the Mayan archeological site with the same name. The manager of the resort smiled a special smile each time she told Cathy and me that we had the honeymoon cabana.

We had sessions to talk about our milestones as well as sessions about making the transition back to life in the US with gainful employment for some and graduate school for some. There was also a session where the top staff people went around the room and said something special about each of us in the volunteer staff.

Cathy participated in a role play as an interviewer.

We also had a surprise for the staff people. At lunch the last day we staged a flash mob. The director thought at first we had lost our minds. We used a mash-up of four songs (Hot Cheetos and Takis, Summatime, Gangnam Style, and We Are the World 25) that we could sing and dance to. We finished with “We are the World” after we went out and fetched each staff person to come and join us in a circle.

Twenty-five PCVs plus staff

Basically the entire three days were one gigantic “warm fuzzy” for everyone with lots of hugs and some tears (of happiness).

The Ambassador and his wife joined us one night for dinner.

Mrs. Thumalapally is every bit as qualified as her husband!

These are the education PCVs who worked with Mrs. T.

Our good friend, Shaz, participating in the "fun fact" exercise.

People participating in the photo scavenger hunt.

Some fun during a break

A Dance Item and a Disappointment in Orange Walk

Last week began what seems like a month-long holiday. Monday was St. George's Day and Tuesday was Carnival Day. Wednesday Dangriga had the Talent Showcase, and on Friday the primary schools held their big rah-rah rally!

Our Garifuna Glow Girls wanted to perform for the Talent Showcase on Wednesday. We didn't have much notice - about 5 days - so we had to keep things simple. The girls were already familiar with several dance routines, taken from music videos, so they made the decision to pull something together from that.

I volunteered to have the girls practice at my house. About 9 girls showed up on Sunday afternoon. More than an hour was spent selecting music and trying to download it. The songs they wanted were NOT available from anywhere online, and they wouldn't believe that it couldn't be found.

"No, Miss. Right there on YouTube."

"Yes, girls, it's on YouTube, but that's a video, not music. I can't find only the song to download." And I tried some of those so-called YouTube downloaders, but none worked. I guess Google has found a way to disable them.

Steve helped me record it from YouTube played through the computer speakers, so the quality was AWFUL. Girls didn't care.

As the girls left on that first day, they all agreed to come back the next day at 1:00, and I followed with my usual, "And don't be late."

When 1:00 o'clock rolled around Monday morning (St. George's Day, remember? So there was no school.), and no one arrived I wasn't surprised. One girl showed up at 1:15 and she had a good reason for being late. Aliyah is one of the "good ones," usually punctual, quick to volunteer, very polite. By 1:30 we had 4 girls here, but we waited some more before practicing. The de facto leader still wasn't there, and we felt like she knew the routine the best. (I certainly didn't know it.) They finally started rehearsing and we broke up about 3:00.

As I walked out with the girls, we saw four other club members strolling up the street toward the house. I kindly but firmly told them that practice was over and that I was very disappointed in their lateness, that it showed disrespect for their club mates and for me.

I don't know any other way to put this. Few girls here have been taught social skills. The four girls just stood there gawking, speechless. So I gave them the words to use. "The nice thing to say would be, 'I'm sorry, Miss Cathy. I messed up and I won't do it again.'" Those poor girls could still not get a single syllable out of their mouth, just stood there. Some looked down at their feet, another gave a half smile, and got a little tear (of embarrassment?). Another turned on her heel and just walked away. I waited a few moments, never got anything from the latecomers, and walked away with the other girls. As we walked away, I told them that last rehearsal was the next day after school.

This is dragging on too long, but I guess I'm trying to get across the basic frustration I live with on a daily basis. I did call the girls' mothers to tell them that their daughters had let us down and that I was disappointed in them. I also emphasized how each girl was special and that I thought they were special (which is true!). Each mother said she would talk with her daughter.

The next day - 4 girls showed up and practiced. Here's a sample:

The little girl in pink in the front row is the only one who came to all 3 rehearsals.

There's more, but I'm tired of writing about it. Short version, to get this whole show on the road, I  -

• Called Town Council
• Called Police Department
• Called 4 principals
• Called Central Education Center
• Helped the girls settle on what to wear and where to meet and when

I had to leave for Orange Walk the next day (see next section), so Aidra was taking over to make sure they did what they needed to do for the Wednesday performance. In the end, two girls showed up and one refused to dance. No dance item for the Garifuna Glow Girls. Sigh.

But they do look cute, don't you think?

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Several weeks ago, Peace Corps Volunteer Natalie Macias invited me to come to Orange Walk Town to teach a Zumba class to a small women's group. I agreed and looked forward to seeing a part of Belize that was new to me. 

It's a L-O-O-O-N-G bus ride, close to 6 hours I decided to take my big speaker - my Block Rocker - so we'd have good sounds for the class. It weighs a little over 20 pounds, but it's got wheels and good handles. It's manageable. I just have to be careful to make sure nobody "thief" it.

So I rode up on Wednesday morning. Natalie met me and we had lunch at a cool restaurant (air conditioned), and did some power shopping at A&R (sort of like Target). Natalie has a great house, a sweet fun dog, and a nice music collection. On Wednesday night, we met another PCV, Barbara Levy, and had shrimp ceviche and Belikin Beer at a fun spot. The only thing they sell at the restaurant is shrimp ceviche (except when conch is in season; then they also have conch ceviche). And I saw something that I never would have believed. Mennonite men sitting around drinking beer. They weren't even eating, just drinking. Natalie said there's a group of "very progressive" Mennonites in the OW area.

Thursday morning, we went early to the library, where the Zumba class was to be held. Natalie said the women's group was small, usually about seven, but a very enthusiastic and outspoken group. They meet once a week and have a different speaker or program each week. They had been looking forward to this fun class and even joked about what they would wear. The librarian texted everybody at 9:00 to remind them about the session. Class was to start at 10:00.

You guessed it - nobody came. By 10:50, I was disgusted and ready to pack up. One of the women walked in with her two kids. "Where's everybody?" The librarian "railed up" on her, but of course it fell on deaf ears. She said, "Well, I couldn't come because I had family court." She kept talking about family court. I asked her how it went in family court and she said, "Well, I didn't have it because I never called them back." Not quite sure what that was all about.

So I showered and got back on the bus. On the Belize to Belmopan leg of the ride, I had an interesting conversation with some guys who were ranting about how Peace Corps was trying to teach children in Belize to be homosexuals and that the anus is a sexual organ. They were getting pretty excited about it. I decided to speak up, identify myself, and set the record straight. They were referring to the HFLE curriculum, of course, which has been in the news a lot lately (see this link: HFLE PAGE LISTINGS and brief descriptions of issues). By the end of the conversation, I think five people believed me, and the last guy wasn't going to change his mind no matter what. It was fun and cordial, and I think the people appreciated hearing a reasonable dissenting view.

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So that's about it for me. Here's a picture of the journals that the Garifuna Glow Girls made. They are writing in them a little each week - about their name, their strengths and weaknesses, goals - topics like that. Some of the girls are enthusiastic, and some do bare minimum - just like school!

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Steve here. This week I traveled to the satellite clinics in Pomona and Hopkins with Mr. Tillett who is the nutrition social worker for the district. We went through all the charts of babies and children up to 5 years old to check on their growth charts. We picked out those that may be in trouble and compiled a list for home visits if they do not come in sometime soon for their routine immunizations. We have great data on how many kids are served by each clinic and how many of them are underweight and what their ages are and their genders are. 

Hopkins clinic

Nurse Martinez at Hopkins Clinic

Pomona Clinic

It was a good week for keeping in touch. I was able to video chat with my son and was able to talk to both sisters on the phone. We all look forward to getting together next month in the US.

Anniversary!

Fu We Dog says HELLO

March 24 marked the one-year anniversary of our arrival in Belize. Bright-eyed with hope and wet behind the ears (even at our ages of 61 and 63), we stepped onto the tarmac at Goldston International Airport near Belize City.We had already spent a year and a half going through the application process, pushing, pushing, waiting, waiting for faster processing and admittance into the ranks of the elite few who are chosen for Peace Corps duty. I think that all of us in the group had high expectations and plans to save the world. Even though we had been told during orientation and through various emails, "You should not have expectations of what you can do in Belize," it is human nature for someone in our position to want to feel useful and needed.

One year later, here we are with a VERY different outlook. We have been through the "honeymoon" phase of service early on, and we've had some pretty deep low points, too. At the risk of jinxing our situation, I do believe that we are on a long-term upswing now, one that will last us our last 441 days of service (but who's counting?). We have integrated well into our community, with more than just a nodding acquaintance with many people, and a close relationship with a few special friends. Our neighbors treat us like . . . neighbors! We still get some folks who think we're tourists, but that's rare. As for our outlook on work in the Peace Corps, we have met with reality and survived.

Steve is such a disciplined and positive person that he just forced himself to carry on, even while we drifted in the doldrums of the PC seas. (Oh, I worry about my imagery here. Are you gagging yet?) I have always used the "One Day at a Time" philosophy when confronted by a bad situation. However, I did set myself a deadline for improvement in the work situation (as in - OK, I'm outta here), and would have acted upon it if there were no change. We are pleased to say that all the waiting has paid off!

Our project assignment is to update and revise the training manual for Community Health Workers, and to insure that they have an effective training methodology and workable delivery system. The Community Health Workers are essentially volunteers in the community, mostly women, who educate and serve as a local resource for residents in small villages. They are given a very small stipend, $100BZ per  month, which is typically used for transportation. Training for these CHWs is provided by HECOPAB - The Health Education and Community Participation Bureau (of Belize) - and other NGOs, such as UNDP, World Bank, and MedicForce.

On the local level, they have been using a training manual that was created in the early 70s. Peace Corps management was approached by Ms. Arlette Sheppard, the director with the Ministry of Health in charge of the Community Health Workers. She asked if PC could help to revise and update their training manual. With Steve as the team leader, and I as the primary writer/production person, we will have meaningful, important work that will carry on past our stay here in Belize. And we believe it will have such a positive impact on the health of the people of Belize!

Planning has already begun, we are recruiting team members, and Ms. Sheppard will conduct a needs assessment. We have a rough outline that has been approved, so there's nothing to stop us from moving forward. Needless to say, we are both thrilled.

I will be thinking of this as my day job, with secondary projects teaching HFLE, and helping Dangriga Youth Alive with their fund-raiser event over the Easter holiday. There is also a possibility that I will help establish a girl's GLOW (Girls Lead Our World) club here in Dangriga. More about that in the next exciting installment!

Fu We Dog is getting BIG. Age 14 Weeks. I've expanded the collar twice.

Mostly Ups

If you've been keeping up with this blog, you know that Steve and I have been struggling with our time here - psychologically and emotionally, much more than any physical or financial hardship. Our original work assignments were not well-vetted, so we have been engaged in very little meaningful work. So many current and retired PCVs have told us that we would need to be here at least a year before things really shape up. Unfortunately, that's assuming that the work assignment is a good one. Nevertheless, Steve and I trudge ahead, routinely encouraging each other and looking for any glimmer of positive developments.

This past week was about the same for Steve. We make jokes about how early Steve gets back from work. He leaves in time to get to the clinic by 8:00, about a 20-minute bike ride,and seeks out his work partners to see what's going on. He's usually back before 10:00. Friday was a record; he made it back by 8:30. 
Next week promises to be a big step up. Steve will head up a big new project - updating and restructuring the training manual for Community Health Workers. It's a great opportunity and so perfect for him. I will be involved, too, since I have lots of experience writing educational materials and training manuals, as well as a background in adult education. Our "get organized" meeting is Tuesday. A Peace Corps Program Manager from Honduras will kick start the project. You may recall that all PCVs were sent home from Honduras, so this guy is on loan to PC-Belize for a month or so.


For me, last week was pretty good. I taught my regular HFLE classes and they all went very well. The kids in my classes have told other kids in their schools and neighborhoods about me. It's pretty fun to be walking or riding around town and hear, "Miss Cat!" I don't necessarily know the name of who's hailing me, but it warms me up to hear the hello and exchange a smile. I also taught Zumba twice, both times with large attendance. Yay! 
Kids across the street play most afternoons.

The Dangriga Youth Alive group met again. The Dangriga Town Council will join forces with DYA to create an even bigger and more diverse Easter celebration - a day longer (add Saturday), and a longer day (Sunday night concert/dance from 10-3). Yes, folks, I am helping to create my own worst complaint, the loudest, awfullest, all-night-keep-me-up musicfest :-(  OK, it's for a good cause. The Town Council will pay for all the advertising (DYA had NO budget for that), build a shed for vendor booths, pay for the big tent, and provide some other games. 

Aidra and I are planning how to cut and use this board
for some carnival games

Everybody benefits! The Town Council benefits by promoting Dangriga as a fun place for Belizeans (most people from Dangriga would go somewhere else for the holiday weekend) and tourists, and DYA also promotes its name and goals while raising money for high school scholarships. 

Dare I hope that something more permanent will work out for me with DYA? Fingers crossed. They are a newly-formed group that is just developing their organization and mission. Peace Corps and I disagree on a fundamental element of project assignment. PC management believes that work in Belize needs to be through the various ministries of government, and I think working through grass-roots efforts is best. I certainly understand the need for approval at high levels. Peace Corps can't just traipse in to a country and haphazardly try to help with development. But for the volunteers, it sure is easier to actually GET WORK DONE and feel useful working with very small groups. Just my two cents.

Finally, I thought I'd include an excerpt from a letter written by my friend, Alex. I knew her from when I volunteered at Family Violence and Rape Crisis Services in Pittsboro, NC. She was a paid staff counselor there. She and her husband came back last fall after their Peace Corps service in Vanuatu. She shared these words of wisdom with me. (P.S. If I have already included this in an earlier entry, I apologize. It's good advice two times.)

Thanks for the email--We are in the throes of readjusting to American life and I am so far behind on writing friends and even seeing friends in America.

The two most shocking things of being back in the states are how cold it is here and how stressed out everyone is. I am used to being the most high strung member of my community (along with Lucas), but compared to the average American, I am SO LAID BACK! Unbelievable! I really miss how chill the islands are (although at the time, I wish people had a little more fire under their asses to do ANYTHING at a faster rate).

Oh, Peace Corps. Towards the end of our service, Lucas laid down on our bamboo bench for a week and fell apart over how unsatisfying the job aspect of Peace Corps was for him. he was originally a business vol and really went into health because there was nothing for him to do that he would consider ethical as a business vol (he did lots of small business individual advising and was there long enough to see anyone who was doing something remotely innovative fail because of their family relationships). capitalism and a tribal community don't mix and the good things about the tribalism where we were outweigh the good things about capitalism...even if there was strong tribalism, people couldn't and wouldn't work together on community projects for various reasons: All of this caused my poor husband to have a breakdown for a really sad and ugly week...Lucas' hope of a meaningful project died and it was really hard to watch.

But, what we did take away from it all is that we caused no harm. We know volunteers that have done big projects that will surely fall apart when they leave (or soon after) and that did nothing to empower communities (in fact, having the opposite effect). They feel better about themselves, but I wonder about the unintended consequences they left behind.

we did do a whole lot of intentional nothing (we could have made ourselves very busy, but it didn't go with our value system of doing work with the community not for the community) and the only thing that I wish I would have done differently is offered more things like computer classes, adult literacy and English classes, reading classes with children, Spanish classes, anything like that. Lucas wishes he would have done PACA (I think it's a waste of time). Anyways, we did have periods of extreme busy and then absolutely mind-numbing nothing. I think most folks in the developing world are okay just taking care of the daily acts of living (which can be so time consuming), and all the other stuff isn't that important. Who knows. 

Anyways, I'm sorry for you guys--it's a tricky spot to be in, I know.

When we were leaving Vanuatu, there were about seven of us leaving at around the same time--we all ended up going out to dinner one night and all of us had different periods of really hard times in our service. 

This is what we could all agree upon: 
1. Peace Corps kicked our asses in ways we had no idea was possible--a lot of us at the table were very used to being competent professionals that were used to some degree of mastery; we were all humbled as all of our expectations for what we could actually do were higher than what happened.


2. We had all grown: there were people at our table in their 70s and a 24 year old and we all felt stretched and challenged.

3. At some point in our service, we all HATED Vanuatu.

4. And we would all do it again (not take it back) and would recommend it to anyone who was interested. 

So that's been our view from the end. All those stupid cliches are true about it being the hardest job you'll ever love.

I miss Vanuatu now being on the other side of it all and I even miss the laid-backness that would drive me so NUTS!! 

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The requisite puppy pictures. FuWe Dog can SLEEP!

Quickie Update on Peace Corps Stuff

Vacations are great, but we ARE here for a purpose, right?

Steve continues to go to the Polyclinic every day. Sometimes he goes with the social worker or the community health care workers to teach about hygiene or other topics. Yesterday he went to Hopkins door-to-door to warn about their water source. Fecal matter had been found in the water, and everyone needed to be taught about boiling water or using "purified" (bottled) water for drinking, cooking, washing hands and brushing teeth.

Steve is a great teacher. He's helping the neighbor boy downstairs with his homework several days a week. He also helped one of the POWA women with her high school homework recently. It was a marathon session to prepare her for a big-time math exam. She said he really helped her to understand all the different types of math. Kudos to Steve!

I am still teaching HFLE (sex ed) and life skills to elementary schools. Just got "fired" from one school yesterday. I guess I stepped over the line when I showed them how to put on a condom. The kids are 12 and 13 years old, and already know A LOT about puberty and other sexual health and reproduction topics. They have a very healthy sexual curiosity, too. But the parents felt that I was teaching them too much, that impregnation and safe sex were too much in depth. Here are some of the quotes: "They know more than I do." "They shouldn't be learning these topics until 6th Form (Junior college)." "They don't need to know about safe sex because they will wait until they are married to have sex." One parent threatened that if I kept teaching there, that she would keep her child out of school on those days. The book the teacher had been using before I started teaching was a Bible-based text called Love, Romance, and Marriage.

OK, so I learned my lesson, and will tread lightly at my other schools. I HAVE been teaching these same topics in the same way to other youth groups, but they were a little older. Anyway, I am a little worried that this could cause trouble for Peace Corps and reinforce some Belizeans' opinion that the US is trying to corrupt the people.

My Belizean friends sided with me and said the kids NEED to have the information, maybe even younger.  The other classes are going along fine, but I'm scared now, so I may not continue teaching the young ones after I meet my commitment through May.

I was officially put on a Pause status with POWA, meaning that I would not work them until things could be ironed out regarding my role and my relationship with my work partner. In the meantime, I certainly do not want to lose my friendships with the POWA members, so I have been visiting with them socially. In one case, I learned about an additional work project.

A little logo I made for their event

A small group of citizens (two of whom are POWA members) has formed Dangriga Youth Alive. Their focus is on raising funds for high school scholarships. They will hold a beach bash over the Easter weekend toward that end. Members of the organizing committee include the Community Relations Officer of the Police Department. He runs a group of kids called Police Cadets. There is another guy who runs the BDF (Belize Defense Force) Cadets. There is a woman who is a Girl Guides leader, and three parents. I will help them, and have done a few things already.

For one thing, they did a great job of keeping expenses down by getting contributions of supplies and prizes, but they needed more ideas for raising cash. Other than a fee from the food/snack vendors, and a percentage of the beer sales, they were basically providing free music and games for everybody for the gate admission of $1BZ.
I suggested some additional games that will appeal to kids and adults. They will pay to play them and have a chance to win prizes. The ever-popular CornHole, Fishing for Treasure, and others. We may have face painting for a shilling - $.25 BZ. That event is scheduled for April 8 and 9, Easter and Easter Monday.



Steve and I both will work at a health fair in Maya Center Village on March 9. It's an all-day fair focussed on senior citizens.

We need some pictures, right? How about puppies?! By this Friday I should have all them adopted out. Thank goodness. They are a LOT of work, and feeding them is expensive!

Sex is Just a Math Lesson

I can promise no redeeming social value NOR cohesiveness to this blog entry, Folks. Just some pictures and a hodge-podge of items :-)

• I have had two weeks of teaching HFLE (Health and Family Life Education) since our last entry. I am enjoying my time in the classroom, even the trying times. For 3 of the 5 different groups I am teaching basic Sex Ed - that is, puberty, anatomy, safe sex, HIV, and relationship skills. When we start into this track, we have one lesson where we ask the class to work in three groups to create a list of what they have learned about sexuality - one from their families, one from their friends, and one from the media. The highlight of my first class, from a 13-year-old girl:
  
  Sex is just a math lesson. Add the bed, subtract the clothes, divide the legs, and multiply the cells."
  Love it!

• Steve has been busy lately, working with a young woman from HECOPAB (Health Education and Community Participation Bureau). He and other PolyClinic people and PCVs have gone out to villages (house to house) and schools, primarily to talk about hepatitis and hygiene. He also presented at a workshop for Community Health Workers. This is work that he loves! Because he's always the one taking pictures, he's not in these snapshots.

KC Mcauliffe, PCV from Independence Village, teaching about
hepatitis.

This is Mariza Allamilla, the HECOPAB director for Stann Creek
District. She's teaching about washing hands. Wash your hands for
as long as it takes to sing the Birthday Song TWO times.

• Last weekend, our host mom, Sala Longsworth, and her best friend Beka Jones and two daughters came to visit us in Dangriga. Good times!

Beka standing, Jadyn, Haley and Sala

Glitter eyes - Jadyn

Face Painting - Haley

• This week Steve and I attended a meeting at HelpAge, an NGO supporting seniors in Belize. After the meeting, I gave them a sample of Zumba! We may decide to have a regular class for the members starting next month.

Waka Waka

• The puppies are getting SO big -  some of them over 6 pounds. They were all about 1/2 pound when born six weeks ago. I've given names to them just so I can keep track when I'm giving them special attention, like holding, deworming medicine, walks. Our dog, Fu We Dog, is the cutest (I felt compelled to include that observation) and smallest.
  
  One of the puppies has been given away - the big male, Africa. Not my choice to do it so early, but it happened. Good luck, Africa!
  
  We have begun the weaning process, and it's a LOT of work! The mother, Princess, wants to eat the puppies' food, so I have to tie her while they eat. She yelps and yodels the whole time. IF there is any left over, she gets it, but that's pretty rare these days.
  
• Beginning Friday, the puppies became bold enough to climb the long tall staircase to our back door (where Princess hides from them when she needs a rest). I was NOT happy about it, because the side of the staircase is open and they could easily fall off. At the beginning, we just pulled across a wooden gate that was already there to block off the stairs near the bottom. That worked until today when most of them made it to the top and the others were on their way up. They were outside the door crying.
  
  SO - Steve went to work trying to block them. The first attempt held them back for about 20 minutes. Readjust our thinking - just improve the existing gate, right? No luck. They were back up within a half-hour. This time, Steve went down with all his tools, and extra boards, and I don't know what-all. He came back with a self-satisfied smile. I felt confident that I could take my shower and not worry about getting dirty hauling puppies around again.
  
  By the time I got out of the shower, the puppies were yelping. Steve and I went out on the side porch and looked out on the back steps. There were two puppies trying to get through the gate. There was one puppy inside the gate, and looking back at the other two. We looked all the way to the left, and saw another one all the way at the top, looking back at us and wagging. Steve said with a sigh, "Puppies 3, Steve 0."

Anthony and Princess

Steve and a pile of puppies

Change of Plans, Saying Goodbye to Kirstin, and Puppies (of course)

There's been a change of plans - my plans, Peace Corps' plans for me. My original assignment was to work with POWA, a women's advocacy and empowerment group. I thought it was a dream come true, made to order for me.

I was the only one dreaming. To put it in the most positive light, they do not need a PCV. Their organization is well-developed and runs smoothly. I had very little to do and the connection seems to have dried up.

So I have spent the last two or three months trying to decide what to do. I'm not sure if PC management will try to find another official assignment for me. Some might think that it's a pretty nice situation to have expenses paid just to laze around in this tropical land. Many people say, "Well, part of your assignment is cultural. You get to know the people and they get to know you." That's true; the Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the Americans.

So the project stuff is only one-third of the work. I feel like I have done a halfway decent job of getting to know the POWA women, our neighbors, and others here in Dangriga. According to my friend, Kirstin, who just finished her service, I can make a difference in people's health just by being a friend and setting examples. WOW - that sounds easy! She told me that in her first two years of service Burkina Faso (she was here in Belize for her 3rd year extension), that she had very little "work," per se. So she spent lots of time "hanging out" with the women in the village. As they talked, inevitably health topics arose in the conversation, and she used that opportunity to provide little tidbits of information. She said that over the two-year time she saw behavior change, an occurrence which makes every health sector volunteer's heart go pitter-patter.

But my type-A personality won't let me settle for living life as a retired person and setting a good example. I want to be "working."

So I've been job hunting. Kirstin is the one who suggested that I find schools that would like help teaching HFLE, Health and Family Life Education. Now this part of the school curriculum is intended to be taught by the regular classroom teachers, typically in Standards IV, V, and VI (that's middle school,  6th, 7th and 8th grades in the States). However, the topics within the curriculum make some teachers uncomfortable - sexual and reproductive health and puberty, sexuality, intercourse, HIV/AIDS and STIs.

I have easily located three schools that welcome my help. I might venture that I could offer my teaching services at any school, and the teachers would love to have an hour off once in awhile.

• Kids First is a small private school. I will be teaching Stds. IV-VI all in one class, about 18 kids.
• Gulisi is a relatively new school, managed by the Garifuna National Council (Read about them at http://www.ngcbelize.org/index.php). I will teach three separate classes, Stds. III-V, on three separate days. Each class has 18-21 students. They will not have a Standard VI class until next year as the kids age up.
• Solid Rock is a church-based school. I will teach Standard VI only, 21 kids, two days a week.

I start this coming Monday, January 16. Now some people would argue that teaching this way is not "sustainable," another term you will hear over and over if you hang around Peace Corps purists. We should be teaching the teachers how to do it, so they can carry on after we leave. Two ways to look at this. First, the Ministry of Education and Peace Corps have held multiple-day workshops over the past several years to train teachers in HFLE curriculum. That's the ideal way to handle this need, but so far it doesn't seem to be taking hold very well, at least not in any schools I have visited. Second, in the meantime, I can teach the kids directly and most likely WILL effect behavior change because they are hungry for any knowledge especially about SEX. These kids will go on to lead healthier lives, and serve as examples to their peers and teach their children, too. Maybe. So that sounds pretty sustainable to me.

I'm pretty passionate about the non-sex topics as well. All those life skills  that I've been talking about in earlier blog entries are important in a healthy and productive life (communication, relationship, and decision-making skills, knowing how to cope with stress and grief, dealing with peer pressure). I've got one heck of a good lesson I wrote on Respect. Can't wait to try it out.

So I'll keep everyone posted on how things go. Wish me luck!

As a related issue, I will include this letter to the editor of The Amandala, from an irate parent, someone who thinks that we are not teaching correctly.

Dear Editor,

 

I am extremely furious that the school curriculum in Belize is teaching our children to be homosexuals. As a parent, I blame myself for not being vigilant enough to know the content of my child’s classes.

  

But I direct the weight of my anger at the Ministry of Education, which portrays innocence when this immorality is brought to light. Who gave the Peace Corps the authority to dictate our school content?

  

It is clear today that the Peace Corps are indeed spies that are here to carry out an American agenda of God knows what all. These things are being brought to light bit by bit, and those of us who were happy that America voted in its first Black President are now seeing what the white Americans knew. He is indeed the Antichrist!

  

But coming back to the reason for my rage: I, like many other parents, demand answers. We must call the Ministry of Education, even the church-state schools, to task. Didn’t the teachers know the content of this course? Can’t they read and comprehend?

  

If the answer to these questions is “no”, I will believe the report that several of our teachers failed the PSE a few years aback. This, too, explains why many young adults cannot read and can barely think after leaving school.

  

The Ministry of Education is doing us an injustice! Our education should conform with the societal needs, business demands, and capacity-building technologies. Indeed, we are far from developing our Third World country constructively.

  

Instead, we are more progressive in teaching children how to admire the physical attributes of their same-sex classmates, and how to prepare for sexual intercourse. How pitiful, distasteful and criminal.

  

May I remind parents and the Ministry of Education that this curriculum content is illegal because homosexuality is, at this time, still illegal in Belize. An urgent commission of inquiry is in order!

  

If Faber sees no need for this, we can file a lawsuit.

 

(Signed) Jasmine Orosco

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Kirstin in the center

We said farewell to a special woman last weekend, Kirstin Krudwig. She helped Steve and me so much as we tried to find our way through Peace Corps Land. AND she and I both love to exercise, so we spent a fair amount of time doing Zumba, strength workouts, jogging and walking. She helped me with different crafts projects, including those bracelets I made for the POWA women. She's now back in the States (Wisconsin - heard that on her first full day back it snowed!) and will be moving to Washington, DC, soon. Her special man is there, too, so she is starting out her new life in a very happy place!  Here are a few pictures from our farewell party.

Steve and me, Kirstin, Meghan V, and Ava

View from the Pelican Resort where we had dinner

I drew this picture as a going-away picture for Kirstin.
This is where we had our Zumba classes, right by the sea.

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And . . . as promised - MORE PUPPY PICTURES!

Their first day out of the doghouse as a group.
Their eyes had been open about 5 days.
They still stayed in a group for everything.

Same day. With Fu We Dog

Anthony with Fu We's sister

Princess being assaulted by the litter of 7.
Usually once the mother starts nursing them while standing up,
that means it's time to start weaning the pups. We don't have a
picture of her walking away while they try to hang on, but it's a
pretty hilarious sight!

All 7 puppies having their "solid" food. It's actually a mix of softened
puppy chow blended with water and dog milk replacement powder.
Who knew there was such a thing AND that you could get it in
Belize?

There are no words . . .

Of the seven puppies, 5 are female and 2 are male. OR, as Anthony likes to say, "Five are females, and two are a MAN."


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Here are some random pictures we forgot to post before. And my apologies to my dear Aunt Jean who has a dial-up connection for the Internet. I know these pictures really slow her down :-( but I always get so many comments on the pictures, so I like to include them.

Christmas Eve - Rafi and me

Christmas Eve - Steve and Anthony

Stann Creek leading to the Caribbean Sea. In the center in the
distance is Why Not Island. I'm treated to this view every morning
during my walk.