and in the beginning..

Wow, where do I begin? This is going to be a long one, just to warn you. I can’t believe it’s only been a week since leaving for Miami. The two days of staging went well, and I managed to survive the hurricane. As soon as I arrived at the hotel I was greeted by friendly faces who were all just as excited and nervous as I was to be there. We all had that look of confusion on our faces, wondering if anybody else knew what exactly we had all gotten into. My favorite seminar during staging touched on the aspirations and anxieties we are all facing, and it became clear to me very quickly that I am not alone in my thoughts of uncertainty and uncontrollable eagerness.

Once we made it into Belize City on Wednesday, we were welcomed by a group of cheering current PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) awaiting us from the lobby. It felt great to step into the country with support already awaiting us, from both the PCVs and staff.

After eating an authentic Belizean meal in Belize City, we began our bus ride to Belmopan, the capital and my home for the first week. The streets of Belize City were filled with children riding their bikes, malnourished dogs, and clothes hanging out to dry on front porches. This scenery was a world different from the beautiful images you think of the tourist friendly coasts of Belize. All of the street signs, menus, etc. are in English, so I feel a bit like I’m cheating the hardship of “language barriers” that comes with the territory of living in a new country. We were recently told that we won the “Peace Corps Lottery” when getting sent to Belize. Hey, I’ll settle for that!

In class group training has been from around 7:30-5:00 and will continue until the 26th. We are covering everything from safety and security, history of Belize, Peace Corps philosophy, to diarrhea and STDs. Fun stuff! I found out that I am required to take malaria pills once a week for my entire 2 year stay. My favorite session so far has been about Development. Development of the people, communities, country; who defines it, how is it measured, how does it remain sustainable when the PCV leaves? It provoked a lot of questions and thoughts I had never thought about before. How involved should the “developed worlds” be? How much should they give monetarily? Do these funds get used by giving to the people in the form of clothing, food, first aid; or should the money be used for development programs like the Peace Corps? How do you promote growth and transfer knowledge without unreasonable expectations or disregarding one’s culture? These are questions I struggle with and will continue to throughout my stay here.

We are all taking a crash-course in Kriol. The best way for me to describe this language would be the accent of a Jamaican or Caribbean with the writing style of a first grader. Kolcha = culture, gayl = girl. Da wahn yu nahn? = What is your name? Its amusing and fun to practice. From what they tell us, everybody generally speaks English, with a bit of Kriol thrown into the mix for phrases and sayings. Belize is divided into five main areas of cultures and dailects. Starting in the North with Spanish, moving down to Kriol, Garifuna, and two different Mayan dialects in the South.


My fellow trainees are a dynamic and diverse group of people. There are 3 married couples, ten people over the age of 40, and a mix of people who just graduated like myself and those who have been in the workforce for a couple of years. We seem to share mutual desires, goals, and ideologies. I think we feel especially comfortable with one another after only one week because we know that none of us are going to ask the dreaded questions we got from family and friends about joining the PC.

I am quite surprised that I have YET TO GET SICK or feel homesick. (That doesn’t mean I don’t love you all!) I have felt nothing but clear, focused energy since the day I arrived. I am reminded subtly, yet daily that the choice I made to join could not have been a better one for me personally. I still find myself looking for my cell phone, then quickly realize that it is no longer a part of my life. Funny how much can change in the blink of an eye. Most volunteers have made an effort to stay physically active from the start, and I have gone running once with one of the girls at 6 a.m. The sun is up, the market is buzzing with customers and people are starting their walks to work this early!

Wednesday we all move to our CBT (community based training.) This means we are splitting up and spreading throughout the country by our projects: education, youth development, healthy communities, and business development. Each project will have volunteers split again by two different languages, which are different for each group. The education trainees are being split with Spanish and Kriol, and I am 99% sure I will be learning Spanish. We will each live with a different host family in our community, and will have technical-work related classes along with language classes Monday-Thursday. I will do this for the next 10 weeks and swear in as an “official Peace Corps Volunteer” the last week of October. After training, I will live with another host family until mid December in my permanent village.

I found out that my own personal project will consist of working with preschool teachers and parents in my village. It is a project that was started two years ago by a volunteer that finished in July. I will be promoting early literacy and teaching age-appropriate education practices for preschoolers. I couldn’t be happier for two reasons. 1- I feel relieved that I am continuing a program that has already been started instead of starting from scratch. 2- I like that my job is not primarily in the school, but is interdisciplinary; transferring knowledge to both teachers and the parents of the students. I think this will give me a better opportunity to stay involved in my community.

I spent the day yesterday (Sunday) recuperating by sleeping in and then spending a few hours at a nearby river. It was an optional PC event, but most trainees went. The locals go to wash their clothes, bathe, and hangout in the shady, warm water. As soon as I arrived I was nagged by the guys to jump off of a mini cliff with them. Funny that just last week I told my grandma that jumping off of cliffs was something I was looking forward to, considering that I have never done it before. Needless to say, they finally got me up there, and it couldn’t have been more fun!

I am keeping all of you dearest to me in my thoughts each day and cannot wait to hear from everybody! Phone cards are expensive here and the internet connections are iffy, but I’d love to have some good ole fashioned pen pals. I heard that Obama announced his running mate and that the U.S. won the Olympics. Any other news or stories I should know about? Fill me in!

- E