Wrapping Up Our Peace Corps Service - Saying Goodbye

We certainly did have the joy of getting to know and love some very special people while we were in Belize. As our time approached to go home to the States, I became a regular "leaky tear faucet," anticipating the new homesickness I would feel leaving my home of two years in Dangriga.

We let select people know about our early exit for several reasons:

1. I wanted a smooth transition for Aidra and the Garifuna GLOW Girls.
2. I hoped that someone would take over teaching the Zumba classes.
3. We wanted to make sure that there was no financial problems with our apartment rent, and that Rafi would be able to find a new tenant.
4. We wanted to find good homes for all the STUFF we were leaving behind.

And so it began. Our last weeks, and especially the last weekend in Dangriga, were spent tying up details with utilities and moving furniture and other items out of the house. Some of the things were sold at a very reasonable price, and a lot were given. Our last night in the apartment, we treated it like a hotel room, because there were no items in the kitchen in which to cook, or on which to eat! Slept in a bed that Rafi bought but left for us, and took a shower with borrowed towels.

We also tried to get around to all our friends for one last goodbye. In no particular order . . .

Pen and Ingrid Cayetano gave us some of their beautiful art as a way to remember them. We've been lucky enough to keep up with them since we returned through Facebook and Skype :-)

Rafaelita and Anthony - they were our housemates. Rafi taught me a lot about being Belizean and being generous! Anthony grew several inches in the 21 months that we lived with them. Look out young ladies! Missing from this picture is her beautiful son, Michael, born just a few days after our grandson, Burke. By the next time I see him, he'll probably be walking!!

We saw a lot (but not enough) of Norielee, Aidra, and Daytha Rodriguez during our last few days in Dangriga. Those gals, especially Aidra, were just the light of my time in Belize. I learned so much about honesty, caring, community service and thinking of "we before me." I feel so lucky to call them my friends. Norie (on the left) and Daytha made the drum. It has a picture of Steve and me (well, the Belizean version of Steve and me). They got EVERYBODY - all the Rodriguez family and all the GLOW girls - to sign it. SO special. Aidra (on the right) made the beautiful doll that I'm holding. It's sitting in a special place here in our apartment so I can enjoy it all the time. The drum is, too, and "one of these days," I will take some lessons so I can play it.

On our last night in Dangriga, Kim (in the center with black scarf), and Ava (on the right), both PCVs, made us a scrumptious dinner. Ava was our companion for many things we did in Dangriga, and was always ready to lend a hand, share a joke or a gripe, and suggest great ideas for GLOW activities. We have left her all alone in Dangriga for her last couple months there. Kim is winding up her extended duty in nearby Hopkins. She'll be coming back soon to her home in Detroit with her hunky Belizean fiance!

Many GLOW girls came by the house to say goodbye. I was so touched, because I didn't think they would be comfortable showing their feelings about me. They were very sweet and open about saying they would miss me.

The Zumba ladies threw a surprise goodbye party for me on the last night of class. I am so pleased that TWO of the women who took the class, Carla (2nd row, 4th from right next to me) and Jolene (2nd row, at the right end in white and blue), agreed to keep the class going! They are sharing duties to cover the class, sometimes teaching together. They took the big speaker and paid for my old iPod. I've heard from Jolene via email several times, and she's even added some new (!) songs. I'm thrilled to think that there might be a little "sustainability" with the class.

Well, the desktop is getting wet because my eyes are leaking again. Did I say this in the last blog entry?  My life will be forever changed by these wonderful people.

Winter is Over!

Some interesting and unusual things have happened in the last week or so. Last Monday a former Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter was in country with his wife Nancy and two close friends. Our country staff people put on a luncheon and program about what we are doing in Belize.

Cathy and I were invited to meet with him for a half hour before the luncheon and tell about the  training manual for the community health workers that we are writing. Country Director Nina Hernandez followed up by explaining how it will fit into the direction of Peace Corps in Belize. As we have mentioned in earlier blog entries, the emphasis for next year’s volunteers will be on health education, partnering with the community health workers in the rural villages.

After a wonderful lunch (I got excited about the fresh salad), some of our fellow volunteers gave presentations about their work in all the programs (health, education, and business development).

He posed for a picture with us. Cathy is right behind his wife in the middle, and I am behind Cathy. 

I have had fun working with my good friend Charlie Holliday (a transplant from northern California) on a project for Pen and Ingrid Cayetano. They have a door with great sentimental significance and wanted it used on a display cabinet in their house. It turns out that Charlie is a master wood finisher - mostly for marine applications, and he shares my reverence for beautiful wood. We have sanded the door and cleaned it up, but Charlie is still struggling to find a can of finish that will do justice to this wood.

Pen introduced us to a cabinet builder, Maurice Martinez, who has a woodworking shop with production level tools. I designed a corner cabinet for the door and delivered the precise dimensions to Maurice for the front door frame with mortise and tenon joinery. I think the wood for the frame is from a mango tree. We picked up the frame on Friday, and I was very pleased with his level of perfection. He is truly a craftsman.

Next week I will mount the door on the hinges and get some photographs. I have also selected wood for the back panels, and it has all harvested from Pen and Ingrid’s farm and is well seasoned.  We delivered the boards to get them planed and edged. I can hardly wait to see the grain. 

Taken from the upstairs at Pen's house.

You can see me through the palm frond working on the door. That's Charlie in the background in the blue shirt.

The highlight of the week is the visit by my sisters Nancy and Carol. They brought us lots of toys and goodies. They stayed one night here and left the next day for Tobacco Caye. Carol has been keeping us entertained with her photos and emails.

Yesterday I was able to spend the day with them and had a blast. In spite of many reapplications of sunscreen, I still got a little reddened. It was certainly worth the minor discomfort. 

We spent almost the entire day in Cap'n Doggy's boat, and I learned how to catch baracuda. We went snorkeling on the reef for a while and marveled at the beauty of the sea life. I also met many new friends yesterday and enjoyed good food with them. It was a wonderful time. 

Carol, me and Nancy - with Doggy in the boat

Not Quite So Integrated as I Thought - and Merry Christmas!

Ah, Christmas time. 'Tis the time for good company and good food, Christmas songs and . . . firecrackers?!? The folks around here, mainly children and young men have been setting off LOTS of those poppers. I don't remember it happening last year at Christmas time. Yesterday, however, we heard not pops, not cracks, but B-O-O-M-S! Right in the street in front of our house.

I hollered at the kids to stop or to take it down to the riverside, that if they didn't stop I would call the police. Normally, I would just groan and put up with it, but these were beyond loud and were very scary-sounding, like a big gun. And there was nothing pretty to see, no big spread of color and light; the sole purpose of the "toy" was noise. Now in all my time here, I have only called the police twice, and it was when the music was blasting at 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock. They have a law that the "racket has to stop by midnight."  This time, in the afternoon, when the blasts continued, I called Dangriga's finest. Nobody came. As time went on, night fell, and more people started drinking, the whole situation escalated.

So I called a policeman I know, who came by to where most of the drunk group was hanging out (across the street) and rousted them. After he left, one of the guys came over a "cussed me out" big time, and so did his mother! How stupid am I? I was scared with how aggressive they were, and it occurred to me that this incident is the kind of thing that would cause Peace Corps to jerk somebody out of site.

Anyway, within a half hour, it was back up to the craziness level again, and I could hear it going on all over town. It was at that point that I realized that it really is the way that Belizeans celebrate Christmas. All our neighbors just put up with it, assume that nobody will get their arm blown off or lose an eye. The "celebration" continued until after midnight, and then was quiet until about 8:30 this morning, Christmas morning. It's been going steady ever since, not always on our street, but always close enough for good volume.

The dogs didn't like it. They are flat-out terrified of the explosions.
Stayed in the house for most of the last 24 hours. The dog at the
top of the picture, Princess, is FuWe Dog's mom. They both
stayed stuck up against Steve or me so they could feel safe.

We made Christmas cookies, a BIG batch to share with friends.

Steve did the rolling and sugar coating

Aidra and her husband came over for dinner on Sunday the 23rd.
Stew chicken, roasted potatoes and carrots, and some stir-fried
broccoli, string beans, and onions for dinner, and cookies for
dessert!

And here's a Christmas card that my friend, Ingrid, sent to me. So pretty! Of course, if you've been following the blog, you recognize this as the mural painted by Pen Cayetano for the wall of the Town Council meeting room.

The original painting is about 25 ft X 12 ft

Merry Christmas everybody. We miss you and would love to hug you in person!

Settlement Day 2012 - Chumba Dance Rehearsal

Did I mention in yesterday's blog that we are pretty busy during this November? As soon as we finished cleaning up from the NGC Health Fair, I had to jump right in to the next fun activity - the GLOW girls' dance rehearsal.

First a little background: Pen Cayetano, international artist AND musician, has painted an historic mural on the wall in the Town Hall. It depicts the history and people of Garifuna culture. I've seen it (while he was working on it) and it is fantastic. It WILL become a Belizean treasure. The unveiling of the picture is slated for the afternoon of Sunday, November 18, and Pen asked our GLOW Girls to perform at the grand opening!!! What an honor.

More background: Pen has a boy's group that meets with him once or twice a week. He teaches drumming, life skills (mainly by setting a good example) and Garifuna culture and values. You might notice some similarities in what he's doing with the boys and what we do with the GLOW girls. He and I talked about each other's groups a couple times, and Ingrid taught her thread painting for one of our activities.

While we were in the US, Ingrid and I corresponded and she told me that Pen wanted the girls to dance. Yay! So Aidra took the girls' measurements, bought fabric for dresses, and will make 12 very authentic, very traditional Garifuna dresses. We will also use them when we walk/ride the float in the Settlement Day Parade. So the girls came by yesterday afternoon, and we walked to Pen's house/gallery/studio so they could learn the dance.  The drumming was great and the boys and girls were so cute. The rest of this blog is a picture story. Enjoy!

Pen and the boys demonstrated first.

And then the girls gave it a shot.

The Chumba is a traditional Garifuna dance depicting women's
work. In this dance, the girls make cassava bread, wash laundry,
hang the clothes, and sweep.

And jump!

You can see the studio walls from this shot. The art matches
the characters in the children's book written by Ingrid and two of
her children.

It took a little practice till they got it all together :-)

Then the boys showed us some moves.

Jankanu dancing. The boys dance (individually) and the drummer
follows the lead of the dancer.

Well, all I can say is, "You had to be there."

Lots more going on this week, folks, so maybe another entry sometime Saturday. Sunday is the unveiling, and Monday is Settlement Day. Stay tuned :-)

A New Family Member!

Steve and I are thrilled to welcome our new grandbaby into the world - from Belize! He joined us on Wednesday, October 3. He's a big boy - 8 pounds 5 ounces, and 21 inches. His mom, Stephanie, is doing fine and will make the BEST MOM! Dad, Jeff, is bouncing with pride and love - and performing his diaper-changing duties well.

Here are a few pictures of Burke Francis Nieman.

Soon after his birth

Dad and son

Isn't he pretty?

Grandfather and Burke. I love his little face.

We think he has red hair!

Tar Heel born

OK, I'll stop with the pictures. I cannot WAIT to get to the States next Saturday. Burke is calling!

NOTHING else happened this week.

Well, in the background of our lives there were a couple of things. 

• Steve went to Trio to do a cooking demonstration with Incaparina. He and his work partner made tortillas and porridge for the moms and kids in the village. They wanted to promote and educate people about the benefits of using Incaparina to give the kids enough good nutrition. The tortillas didn't go over too well (Hmmm, the place was filled with women who make tortillas every day. They KNOW how to make a good tortilla.), but the porridge was a big hit. Everybody came back for seconds.

Meeting place in Trio

Steve's work partner, Tylon Tillett

• International artist Ingrid Cayetano (Her website) taught our group of GLOW girls. Most of her art is done with needlework on different fabrics, called thread painting (I think?). What a trooper! She walked in on about 13 squirmy girls. We had planned for 8 or 9.

Learn patience!

Work together and share

Take pride, have strong self-esteem

Have FUN!!