This Place…

Reminds me

so much

Of that

Tropical Island

I lived on

6 years ago.

I hate the pangs of Nostalgia.

Colorless

A Few of My Favorite Things

As I was leaving for Belize a too familiar thing happened. The airport staff thought I was an 11 year old unaccompanied. minor and I almost couldn’t board my plane. Uggghh. My birth year on my passport is a little hard to read since it is right over a watermark, so it took some convincing. I finally found the best argument, you know…would an 11 year old really have boobs this big?? Thank you.

There are a three things I love about Belize:

• They have a bootleg channel!
• There drinking age is 18 and it’s not enforced so I’ve never been carded. (Do you know how much this boosts my ego?)
• The culture

Yesterday we went to a small town called Dangriga.  The ancestors of this town were escaped African slaves from a nearby Caribbean island.

The culture is vibrant there

And you know what? I’m kind of jealous. You see my family doesn’t really have a distinct “culture”. Neither of my parents know the history of their ancestors or where they originated from. They can only backtrack two generations. And that is sad. It is amazing to see people here in Belize embrace their culture. They don’t want it to be forgotten or fade away. And they are proud.

I guess that’s what amazes me about other countries I’ve lived in or visited -Japan, Korea, China, Scotland – the desire for culture to remain an intricate part of one’s upbringing. In America that is not quite the case, especially within the African American community. Everyone in Belize is so close; brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, all together. And even though the country is so poor, so underdeveloped, they are so much more closely knit.

Belize so Far…

is treating me well! I’m loving the sunny 27 degrees (80 F) weather!

And the food!

Remember I said I am here to work not play, so I haven’t been to any touristy places yet. Being in a developing country is truly eye opening and I believe that every citizen in a developed country should experience what it’s like to be in a developing country. When countries like the US go into a recession it is not necessarily ideal. But it really is nothing compared to what developing countries go through. I see all these signs about human trafficking…and it just stops me dead in my tracks and makes me think.

I take so many things for granted back in the US. Still it looks like everyone is enjoying themselves.

What do you think?