Mosquitoes (aka skeeters)

Finally I got something done in Belize!  The Belkin guy stopped by.  For those of you who don't know, Belikin is the beer company here, and it also is the Coco Cola Company ( they have the original recipe and make it here so Coke is relatively cheap, Pepsi on the other hand, is none existent!) and the Crystal water company.  Now, why is it so important to get the belikin guy to stop by?  Well, think of it this way, this week we had a small issue with the truck, and it's in the shop.  I can go to all the local stores and pretty much get immediate necessities, but water, which is essential, comes in big water jugs of about 5 gallons a piece....heavy carrying!  So to me, I can get by around here without the vehicle, there are buses that come and go from here to everywhere, even as far as Belize City!  And I can carry my big shopping basket and get things back ok, but I can't get one of those water jugs on the bus and carry it home.  Hence the need for the guy to know where you are.  It's simply a matter of survival.  But then I want to add that the water truck only comes once a week, and it's on Wednesdays, Beer gets delivered Tuesdays, thursdays and Saturdays....you can't say Belizians don't have their priorities right!!!

We finally found the church in Copper Bank.  Yes, there is a church and by the way, Belizians are not good on directions, they may point south but what they means is easternly.  It took us awhile but the teacher at CJ's school explained that it is hidden behind the health building and to the right of the community library.  (The community library was donated by an organization that runs it, I think it's a political one but I will get into that another time!)  The only time they have services here are on Sunday nights at 5.  Unfortunately it's over run with school kids and very few parents, mainly because the kids are required to go because the school is catholic.  The services are in Spanish.  After talking for quite a while about it we decided we would go to two masses on Sundays, the morning one in Corozol is in English and then we can hear the readings and figure out what we will be learning in Spanish that night.

Still have no word on our stuff leaving Houston,  it's hard to believe it was almost a month ago that we dropped it off!  But they still haven't shipped it yet and I am still living without furniture.  I am finding myself in this challenge of living and enjoying.  You really have to learn to overlook the bad things in life when you have this beautiful world just outside your door, no matter where you are!  Unfortunately I am having a hard time overlooking the mosquitoes since they seem to like me so much.  It's funny, Charlie, CJ, Jen and Bill laugh about it but they could be sitting right there with no skeeters and I've got six or seven eating me up alive.....I wonder if it's a chemical makeup thing?  How would you handle it if this was you?

Chickens, beer delivery and water........

Did you ever wonder what ended the days of delivery?  I think I might have that one down....I've called Belikan  which not only makes beer but water and Coke products too and asked for a delivery.  I know they come out to the village to deliver and I've been wanting to have the big jugs of water delivered as well as some soda.  Not that we go through alot but enough to make it worth their while to have it delivered to us...Imagine not having an "address"  I am the 2nd to last road next to the lagoon and the beige colored house next to the peach house and the house with the bad man who went to prison on the other side....could you find me?  Yet the person I spoke to at Belikan said their delivery person could find us...Hmmm, well, it seems not yet.

That means one more day of going into Corozol or Orange Walk for me.  I want to make life easier so I am going to call Belikan one more time, maybe if I told them the yard with all the Roosters in it they would believe me?  And yes, it's not my imagination but I am having all kinds of chickens and roosters come through the yard, simply because the woman who owns them lives two doors down....and they like my rice? 

We decided that we would make lunch our big meal of the day since CJ does come home during the lunch time for 1 and a half hours and then we could make the house cooler at night by having no stove going on during the evening.  It makes sense to us, so after  CJ leaves to go back to school I do the dishes out side, the old campfire way with two basins and a drainer on a table that has a coconut grinder attached to it (it looks like war out there, I am telling ya!) and when I am done with the wash water I just throw it on the ground like everyone else here.  The chickens come running to see what particles of food were in the wash water.  Not exactly the best feed but at least it's clean, right?  Something to wonder about the next time I have chicken!The lagoon that we live near has croc's (or so I've been told) so I keep an eye out on the chickens, if they start running I know that I should too, how's that for liking a breed?

Patience....and homework

So, I screwed up.  I asked the laundry lady (Maria) for the village how much she charged and asked her to be more specific about what a "unit" is.  It cost us $35 Bz to get the laundry done about two weeks ago, and then we handed her another load this past week.  She had used up ALL the laundry detergent and fabric softener I had given her and I was suspecting foul play.  She told me when I asked her these questions that she was getting sick (I had heard the rumors, it was either cancer or low vitamins...) and she would be unable to do our laundry.  I am now washing our clothes by hand.  I have to say that with a scrub board (YES they have them here!) between my legs and scrubbing and wringing and taking a moment for the sweat to pour down you back, that I am definitely getting my exercise. I've learned to not question the laundry lady, just walk away when you feel like your being taken (the way most Belizians are) and that there is a sense of satisfaction at looking at the clean clothes on the line and knowing you really did work at it.....LOL
Patience has never been my virtue and it's really harder when you sit on hard chairs.  We have been waiting for our shipment to come in, waiting for the furniture I ordered from Hummingbird Furnishings, and waiting for the cabinets and the bed we  "special" ordered from Lydia (I wanted white not mahogany black) and I wanted CJ's bed to be full on the bottom and twin on the top.  I was told 3 weeks ago that it was 2 weeks and Charlie checked with her today and some of them will be done maybe this Friday (true to Belizian time).  We have been sitting on the hard chairs for the table that I want to make cushions for (it's a beautifully made table and 4, ladder back chairs made by Mennonite's that only cost us $215 Bz and you couldn't beat that deal) I have one small pot and one small frypan and 4 cups, 3 plates, one big bowl and a colander to get us buy.  Cooking meals is a work of art and I am learning to be satisfied with "edible".
I am learning the words "when" only spell lack of patience on my part and that I need to not worry because things will happen when they do, it's the Belizian way...hmm
So far CJ has had it pretty easy in school until tonight.  He was loving school until today when he got homework for the first time.  The last two weeks of school has been Holiday's here and Belizian's love their holidays.  They took time off for the St. George's Caye and for Independence day and today CJ was given homework...he wasn't happy but I was.  I've been watching his work carefully to see if it meets the standards of NY as far as educationally and I think it may be a little behind but homework is a habit I didn't want him to loose.....I had a discussion with his teacher and she told me that homework would be starting this week and it was an unexpected fail for CJ.....me, I am happy!
We went to Corozol last week to try and get mail on Thursday before the post office closed.  An example of the peoples ability to party, we had to wait in line for the 5th time the ferry came back, there were 28 coches  (cars) in line to get to Corozol, a normally 1/2 hr trip took us 2 hours....by the time I got to the post office it was closed, 1/2 hour before I got there....yes, I am learning patience!
I painted a Jaguar in 2 days.....I was inpatient!  LOL I love how it came out and I love the fact that every time I paint something I am feeling more confident in my work...and I really need that confidence!
I am afraid though that I may run out of things and I've been thinking of ways to get them, like canvases.  I asked my neighbor if he could build me some frames so I could get some canvas and stretch it across to make more and that took me back that I had to show him how a painter paints on canvas and explain why the material is stretched, he thought all this time that painters only painted on wooden boards, which I think if I didn't know better I probably would have too.....
THINGS I worry about, burnt sienna, getting turpentine and brush cleaner like I got at home, running out of rags and where do I get linseed oil here?   Silly me!  This is mahogany land..I think I can find those things!

Doctor flies

So here's the thing, where we live is near the lagoon and the bay and when it rains all kinds of insects come out, red ants, spiders, mosquitos, and doctor flies.  Now Belizian's have this great way of naming things.  There is a village that most of the other villages take their garbage to, it's called Dump.  There is a village called Crooked Tree, cause there is this big old tree in the center of town and it's crooked.  And there is a fly called a Doctor fly cause you get bit by it enough you gotta go to the doctor.  Now the Doctor fly just loves me. There is something about me that it just seems to come running too.  Bill, Jen and Charlie all noticed it last week when we were sitting on the porch and they were swarming me, I was used as bait and they had fun trying their general techniques on killing Doctor flies on me.  Woohooo, it was so much fun!
Anyways the really kewl thing about Doctor flies is that when they die all the ants come rushing in to take the doctor fly away.  I was amazed and amused for about 20 minutes watching this group of ants take this doctor fly off of our porch this morning, they even carried the fly vertical and got it down the steps.  How unique is that to have this group of insects working together to do this incredible feat.....
Is the heat getting to me?  No, I just think there is so much fascinating going on around me.  Like how the yellow bird comes out and sits by the front porch waiting for me to talk to it.....There's a set of Toucans across the bend and they hang out on the electric wire.  I saw a huge geico crawling up a post in the house next door and then there are the humans....good for watching!
Tomorrow is Belizian Independence Celebration and the whole village is all acting up.  The school is decorated and CJ decorated his bike for the parade in the morning around the village, then there is a parade and carnival in Corozol and something called a beach party.  The village doesn't ask you to go, they assume you know about it and expect you to be there so I am going to attempt to keep up...wish me luck!
Have you had time to watch the ants lately?

Patience.........

I've been thinking alot lately about some things and I don't have my Bridget to sound things off of.   It seems my blog has been skimming the surface waiting for me to have some time to formulate some of my thoughts.  The biggest issue I had had recently is my brother in law's vicious attack on me when I left and how it really bothered me.  He said I was running away and I am still trying to figure out what he meant by that.  Running away from what?   In New York we had a pretty good life.  I got up every day and went to work and I did have a small sense of satisfaction that I was helping people. 

And while the majority of our clients were very nice some of those people felt "entitled" which is a sense of you owe me and it was hard at times to ignore the sometimes snotty attitude of people and just realize that with a basic sense of self that we did the best we could for everyone around us.  The last few years had been very hard on me since I had to come to terms with holding both my parents as they died in my arms within 6 months of each other.  The kids had grown up somewhat and I had felt I had done the best I could for them and I was proud (still am) of having raised some pretty good kids in a society I felt uncomfortable with.

I was a typical American.  I was upset with the way the country was run and confused on how to change the direction of our country.  Little by little I see basic freedoms being taken away in the "protection" of our nation.   I see government thinking that we don't know how to make good choices and little by little being told what I could or could not do as a course of law..

I had my own disillusion with the law.  I saw things in the field that I was working in that just didn't make sense.  I saw people struggling with trying to do the right thing when the law made it hard and I saw people slowly being so unhappy.  I felt out of touch with basic living.  I was too busy doing the "right" things, taekwondo, providing computers, games, electronic gadgets, going to meetings for community service and spending less time doing basics with the kids. Time seemed to be my enemy and now looking at it, it felt like a moving train that had no stop to it.

And then Rob said I was running away.   I have to thank him, because he made me stop and think about things that had happened before we left.  I did feel a big sense of fear coming here.  Yes, it was an adventure but heck, wasn't I secure already?  Did I have to rock the boat?  Was I crazy to leave the security I had knowing that the life I wanted was so much harder?  And then there was Charlie pulling at me.  Most people don't realize how much he pulled me to get us here, he knew my thoughts and he pushed me to come. But Belize called to me and Charlie like no other.   It's not an easy life....not at all.  Why did I want to come here?

My typical day here, spent working harder than I've ever worked before and trying to develop a sense of patience that would be like no other.   I wake up usually around 5:30 here.  The sun greets us and it's another day, busy beyond belief yet quiet, so very quiet compared to our old life.  We make beds, we get breakfast (usually whatever fruit we can cut up, watermelon, pineapple, banana or melon) get CJ off to school (it starts at 8 here but he rides his bike and needs to get there before so he usually leaves around 7:45.  Then I work until around 11 on painting.  It's best to do as much work as you can in the morning here since the afternoon is stifling hot and you don't want to move around that much.  We have been having our big meal of the day at the noon hour here.   It's usually something like rice and beans.  There are other meats available here (quite lean cuts) but you really see alot of chicken here.  After dinner we clean up, and a thorough cleaning.  Every day I wash the dishes outside just like the villagers (an old camping way of doing things) sweep and mop the floors ( you want it all gone otherwise the ants and mosquitos want to come in so cleaning really well makes it less likely to have alot of insects around.  I usually wash some clothes (by hand as well though we do hire out, there is a woman who does the laundry for $8 Bz a unit and I've brought things to her but I try to keep up on my own) and then work some more until CJ comes home.

Evenings are family time.  We spend the time over our lunch trying to learn Spanish, watching a movie on the computer or playing a game together.   Our internet works off hand, meaning when you have a hand it's not working....so we have to be self entertaining.  

When getting furniture in Belize there are several levels of furnishings.  The things you buy in the shops (over run rooms with jumbles of items and no sense to them at all!) are usually done by Menonite, and therefore, uncushioned, hard and a pain in the backside (literally!).   We have our table and chairs.  We bought a set of bunkbeds ( they are being made at Lydias) and it takes 2 weeks Bz time ( I will explain that in a moment) we ordered our kitchen cabinets from Lydia's too, same time frame (here the kitchens are empty rooms that you make up as you go) I am still waiting for our basics from NY, mattresses, sewing machines, TV's and kitchen goods so we are "making do" and I went to Belmopan to order our furniture from Hummingbird Highway, 2 weeks Bz time.

Now, what do I mean by Bz time?  Well, the American dollar is worth 2 times the amount that the Belizian dollar....so American time, 2 weeks is two weeks, BZ time, two weeks equals "right now" meaning maybe in six weeks..... we are camping out in our house.  It would try the patience of a saint!  I am still looking for the beds for the girls and Brian for christmas when they come and I am looking to try and get through each day patiently..so why did I "run away"?  hmmm....nothing can beat how I feel at night.   I am accomplished and connected and in love with this life.   Thanks to Charlie who pulled me here (almost kicking and screaming Andy!) I am in a good place.  Thank you Rob for you have taught me that my virtues here mean so much more!

I look out at the lagoon and I am at peace.  Thank you Lord for the day you made!

School, setting up house, and drinking too much!

Well, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to write and there is so much I want to say.  First things first, I've had to realize that although I want things done as quickly as possible, it isn't feasible.  When your in the states you could have that mentality but when your here, it's not polite and not the way of the country.  Yesterday we had developed a list of items we needed to accomplish.  We headed out with our list yesterday and stopped at the school initially to try and get CJ registered  and for nothing more than the luck of us, we were there for the meeting about the school.  Two and a half hours later we got up finally from the meeting which was about 90 Percent spoken in Spanish and Charlie couldn't keep up.  He was surprised when I told him this long conversation that had happened was when someone was complaining about the term fee.  They don't collect property taxes here to cover schools.  The majority of the schools are religious based and the schools are the center of the village.  The schools charge a "maintenance" fee of $30 per child per year, or $10 per term.  Most schools charge approximately $60 dollars but Copper Bank charges less.
The people are poor but yet they are intense when it comes to the children.  Most parents put their children's needs before their own and are always trying to give their children the best of what they can.  They treat their children like their fortunes, they are honored and loved, respected and they smile at them in gentle ways.
But, they were upset that the term was costing so much.  I was surprised though when I asked the principal what the list of supplies were and he said to have CJ come with a composition book and a pencil.  Usually in the states we are paying school taxes and the list of supplies is like a mile long.  You wonder about the quality of the education but yet when asked about what he had been taught that day he said he was doing some math that he had done last year, which would be reviewing for the new school year, a typical process.  Hmmmm.......and we pay our teachers so much...wow.
Since the school meeting had taken up so much of our time we didn't get nearly the amount we wanted to do from the list.  But then today we started out with dropping CJ off at school.  Since Monday is a holiday they only had a 1/2 day of school today.  It was neat to see him in his uniform and walking up through all the kids into the school and seeing them crowd around him.  He was being stared at and they were peeking through the windows to see him in the classroom.  I knew he would be unique to them but wondered at weather or not that would hurt him.  I was so worried, it was like the kids first day in kindergarten.
We spent the day rushing around trying to get things done.  First to the money changer, a really unique experience, then to the bank to see the status of our application for a bank account (you can be refused, do you believe it?) and then shopping for some of our much needed supplies and furniture.  Here when your renting the house there is no formal kitchen, there are cabinets that you would buy and take with you from one house to another...No appliances come with the house and you have to watch the amperage here, nothing over 110...we bought a stove, refrigerator, 2 mattress' and then we ordered our cabinets to be built special and a bunk bed to be made.  We brought CJ his dresser but we are still looking for a wardrobe, dining table and chairs and I am waiting for a day to go to Hummingbird ratan furniture to get our living room stuff.
Gotta go now....will write more later!

Setting up house, Belmopan, and the process......

It's been really interesting and I've been dying to get on here and let some people know that we are alive and well.  I actually picked up a pen and started writing things out by hand in a letter to my girls (you too Bridget~)..I am going to send one page to some of them and hope they spend some time talking to each other to figure out the whole letter that Mom's sent...
It's been a burden to try and get a household together here.  We are living with the bare necessities right now, a stove, a refrigerator, a bin for food, one bed (CJ is waiting for his to come in so he is sleeping on piled mattress') a dresser for CJ, a cheap table and 4 chairs and One light.  Roughing it truly.  The internet had not worked until tonight which is interesting.  Living a bit of a hard life really makes you depend on one and another.   The other thing it does is that you have less "distractions" to family life.  Charlie and CJ and I are spending more time talking to each other and I am feeling more bonded with the two of them than I ever felt before, even though I am hurting a bit...(Too much heat this week, temps aren't below 90, even at night) I still feel more accomplished than I ever did at the office.   I was working on a painting that I had been struggling with for more than a year and had a  break through yesterday.  I am feeling really proud of it!
When shopping for goods, like furnishings and /or furniture, it's best to take it the Belizian way, slow down, network with the natives, and then go in for the kill.  Seriously....there is a store called Cinty's , actually there are three stores called Cinty's, the Mom's, the sons, and his sister's.  You walk into these stores and it's a jumble of product, everything from CD's to washboards, curtains, ect...You just have to keep your eye open, guess which one might be carrying the right product and then when all else fails, beg.......
The furniture is kept above the stores in the warehouse above and is brought down by hanging a hook from the upstairs with the product and lowering it down to street level.  You are amazed by what they have, the prices and the lack of certain items.  A big example is curtains, ALL curtains in Corozol are frilly lacy and pastel colored things...Pillows can't be found unless you are willing to settle for less in the chineese store, and amazingly you can get a dish drainer, a set of 6 cups, 2 storage containers in a "package" for only $23 bz, that is $11.50 US.  Ragu on the other hand costs $7.50 bz for a jar ($3.75 US) wow!
We've "ordered" our kitchen they dont have kitchens here, they use the side boards and high boys as their kitchens with two buckets to do dishes in) and our living room furniture, was ordered.
When asking how long it's going to take I am starting to ask Belizian time or US time to clarify how long really and I've learned right now means probably never.
Never stop at a stop sign on the lower side of a hill where the sugar cane trucks can over come you and always do 65 at least on the highways, no matter what the signs say.  and ALWAYS slow down for "topes" (speed bumps) which are near turn abouts and schools generally and the sign could say there is one where there isn't!
There is so much more I want to tell people, but it's late here and I am tired.....Manana!

Day 1 and one quarter!

I will start my “blog” about our trip to Belize in Atlanta when we boarded the plane to Belize.   The  plane to Belize wasn’t  a really tiny plane, it was a four across seats, with really nice stewardess’ that seemed so much more relaxed than others.  The people on the plane weren’t ordinary either, they seemed to be more friendly towards each other, assisting  each other with stuff and making sure everyone was comfortable.   We sat behind a couple from Tallahassy and next to another couple from Chicago I think.   The couple from Tallahassy were older and the woman was very informative about Belize, I believe they lived here part of the year.

                When exiting the plane it was the old fashioned way of going down the pulled up stairway and the first thing you notice is the blinding sun as you go down the stair, the next thing you notice is the blast of heat that comes with it.  Automatically your sweat pores open up and then the body does it’s internally cooling.  You do not stop with the body cooling you down so it’s important to drink a LOT of water.  Some people don’t enjoy the heat, and usually I am one of those, but to me this heat was a  rather nice heat.  Instantly I didn’t feel the pain I normally feel when walking on my ankle with the gout, I also didn’t feel the nagging pain in my side from the kidney stones.   I smiled and didn’t stop until the next morning!

                After going through customs, a fairly nice group that was pleasant but not personable, we then were on the outside of the airport.  We had arrived earlier and of course had to wait for our car rental to pick us up but while waiting taxi cab drivers would ask us nicely if we had a ride and then  continue to discuss with us Belize while we were waiting.   I didn’t feel the normal push of cab drivers trying to do a pick up but just a friendly group of individuals.   When Rocky arrived with the vehicle and escorted us to his  “office”  (very nicely maintained shack)  he was very curious about who we were, where we were going and in many ways much like other Belizians in that they are very friendly and helpful.  Every where we went we were given information about different areas.  Advise flows freely from these people in the most helpful of manners.

                We took off first to get the gas for the vehicle, at a shell station.  While Charlie was filing the vehicle up I went inside to get some water.  The “Crystal” water sells all over the place, it is the drinking water of Belize and tasted much like regular drinking water.  The bottles cost a belizian dollar a piece and when I handed the cashier a 5 dollar beliezian he gave me a one belizian dollar and one American dollar for change.  It was confusing trying to establish weather I had gotten the correct change and I talked to Charlie and he said of course it was ok, that the American dollar equaled two belizian so in actualllity I had gotten 3 dollars back.  Be aware of the way the belizians do things, and how they can quickly convert your change.  When I came out and asked Charlie how much did the gas cost he told me it was $138 dollars, which in American money is $69.00, a bit more that we pay  but the vehicle  we rented doesn’t seem to burn it up that quickly.

                Be mindful of where you are in Belize,  we wanted to go one way and ended up on the wrong highway that eventually got us where we wanted to be but took  a significantly more amount of time.  The road less traveled isn’t always a good road to go on but what the hell, we were on an adventure.  If you want to practice how to drive in Belize, think of taking a truck or SUV down a country road, I mean a real country road with LOTS of pot holes, no signs on the streets, no highway lights and being ready for any animal to run out at you.   We were  (I should say Charlie) was driving on the road going at  a slow pace and taking his time when this animal that reminded me of a raccoon/large dog ran out in front of us.  I was happy that he failed to hit it but when speaking to an ex pat later on I found out Belizian’s call the animal squash because there are so many squashed on the side of the road.  Very simply life style with a very simple explanation.  

                We stopped at a Road side “stand” , one of many lining the highway in order to get some lunch. We ordered taco’s (3 for a belizian dollar) and got 3 taquito’s instead.  The man there knew enough English to say he didn’t speak it very well and I told him I knew enough Spanish to tell him I didn’t speak Spanish too well.  I have to say they were very good taquitos and very satisfying but was warned later on by an ex pat that I shouldn’t stop at road side stands because they are there one day and gone the next and that it was better to hit up someone more reliable who actually has a restaurant because they have to have good food all the time, since they can’t run away from their business, that the road side stands you don’t really know what your getting!

                We finally arrived at Corozal Beach Sands Resort, the road again is little more than a winding dirt road with LOTS of ruts ( let me drive instead of Charlie, he hasn’t learned how to see the shadows and know there’s a bump major in the road) and met our hotel runners, Jen and Bill.   Bill is a chef of the highest order with an amazing capacity to give really great advice.  Listen closely though because he might say the same thing twice in a different way.   Jen readied our “room” while Bill showed us the swimming area and let us know which area’s required swim apparel while others there was no requirement.  Our room was a Hut with a queen size bed, small table and two chairs, side table, lamp and a net hanging over the bed.  There is a wardrobe, a side room with a walk in shower and the toilet and the sink.  It was simple, not fancy or decorative but well maintained.  You can see through the floor boards though, little cracks of lights come up.   The walls are only waist high and the remaining height is simple wooden shutters with netting on the outside. 

                Jen and Bill not only run the hotel but the bar and restraint here.  Bill is enterprising and always trying new things, he has a tilapia hatchery he is trying that seems to do well.  He also has a garden, and is in to thinking of ways to achieve the most he can.   The restraunt/bar seems to be a mix up of New York meets Tiki Island,  simple wood tables and chairs and a deer head over the bar.  Jen is quiet but once she warms up to you is so sweet.  They were helping us look at property up here since a lot of the ex pats tend  to look in southern belize but the more self sustaining ones tend to live up north.  We made plans over dinner (delicious!   But we were so tired we were ready to drop!) to go to Corozol the next day and see the town hall (really gorgeous painting) the town, the church and the market.  We followed her (this time I drove, we went fast and Charlie held on to the “oh shit” handle.  It was very reminiscent of perhaps a small Mexican town with many friendly people around and many hawkers.  I learned the best place to buy meats (Frank’s Processed Meat) and that Patty’s Place had potatoes almost exactly like the ones I make at home.   I bought some hairclips because I could not take the heat on the back of my neck and I bought real made on the spot pork rinds!  They were delicious.  We decided after the market to return to the hotels to check and see if Dan, the local selling property wanted to meet us today or tomorrow and it was decided that we would return and go to Cerres temple.

Getting across the boarder.

Well, we arrived at the boarder at 3:20 yesterday and it's been a very long 24 or so hours.  When we arrived there were things we did wrong and several things we did right.  One is that we got a very good broker to argue the price of our goods and bringing them over.  The other was that the timing was completely wrong to arrive, the Belizian government has switched to a new system at the boarder that is computerized and hooked up with the Mexican and the American boarder system..  They had just implemented the system and were learning how to operate it, needless to say, it went down for more than several hours and more than several days in the last twenty four hours.  It took us about 23 hours to get the truck across the boarder, but they let Tip and us cross last night to  spend some time with Bill and Jen.  It was a good day though to spend in a Belizian Immigration Boarder....the weather was great and there was the best breeze ever.  I really was glad to not spend one more day in the truck and I got to meet other expats that were coming in as well as other people trying to get through the system.
The broker was really great, he got the porter to assist us in getting a taxi, making sure  C.J was occupied today as well as making sure that we got lunch and were pushed through.  finally about 3:30 we were allowed to go, we hopped over to get our automobile insured and stopped to look at some appliances on the way out of Corozol.
Finally we got to stop in Copper Bank and Charlie got to see the house.  It was better than I remembered but I had  hoped he would see that I did make an effort.  I am so glad to have Rogel and Lolita as our landlords and I think it will be a good thing.  They will make the transition easier for us.
After talking with them and coming back to the resort we got some dinner and sat up with Jen and Bill watching that new show on Discovery called preppers.  It was interesting because the whole show was completely subtitled in spanish.
We came back to the room and I opened up my facebook to find some very nasty posting from Charlie's brother on my Facebook.  It's difficult to face his anger over us choosing to move away like we did.  He is under the impression that anything he says we need to conform to and he also seems to think that I am the sole reason for the move and the sole responsibility for the move is on me.  He doesn't give Charlie any credit for wanting to move and yet,  I know that I wasn't the sole reason.  He hasn't figured out yet that I want my child to grow up with better morals and a better code to live by and be more respectful of what he has...This is truly what Belize can offer.  The people do not see the color of your skin nor do they have that sense of entitlement that just because a child is born you need to spend the rest of your life providing them with the "best" of everything.  Belizian's believe that you need a roof over your head to rest, a good meal to share, a christian belief that God is there and that you have only what you need, and God will provide.  I know this  isn't all Belizians but the majority of the ones I have encountered are this way.  I wish more Americans thought this way.  I also wish more Americans saw that their own freedoms are being taken away bit by bit in a government that seems to think they need to dip into so many areas of our lives, much like Charlie's brother who broke into our house without our permission thinking he had a sense of entitlement to do so.............hmmmm
Maybe I did leave the States for a good reason.....the only thing is that I do miss our good friends, they are hard  to come by!

Well, today is the day...we are expected to cross the boarder into Belize and our friends have all been warned that we should arrive today.   This will be a quick note because we want to get on the road.  We spent the night at a quality inn in Villahermosa.  The Inn is nice and has excellent views and good rooms. There is a really nice pool and the people seem genuine.  Tip ended up in a kennel last night which kind of upset CJ, again, Mexicans don't seem to understand how much Americans love their pets...We had stopped yesterday at a road side diner.  CJ and I ordered the "Hamburgeusa" or hamburgers.  I didn't like the texture of the meat and didn't eat all of mine because I am kind of picky about things like meat, they should taste like meat.  CJ ate his completely because he was hungry and then last night it happened, a full night of throwing up and me trying to not join him and Charlie cleaning up. (It's always been this way when the kids got sick Charlie learned to take care of it himself since I am so soft and start joining them on the toilet)....so today, while being a happy day, we are exhausted.  I can't wait to be in a familiar place tonight.  And we do so love spending time with Jen and Bill, truly nice and interesting people!  Onward to our new home!

Mexico, learning the fact, tolls, and hotels.....

Yesterday we passed over the boarder.  It took us 4 hours after entering to get everything straightened out.  It was something I am sure that in the future I will laugh about but right now.....hmmm.   We had gone, after crossing the boarder, several kilometers away and found out that we needed to go back to the bridge and get our permit for the car....what a mess!  We spent hours trying to get through the lines to finally have everything worked out and then drove as far as we could without a break for lunch or anything until we stopped in this little pueblo that had several "worn" motels and restaurants. It had been raining and trying follow directions in Spanish was tiring...At one point we had to make a really quick turn and almost slide off the side of the mountain!  (Bumper is slightly dented in but God is watching over us).
When we finally stopped at this small hotel. The funny thing is that CJ kept going on and on about how this wasn't a good hotel.  They took us in no questions in regards to the dog and then there was no internet and the motel was well worn.  You could see that at one time the place was beautiful, it had a court yard with cobblestones and the native floral that you expect to see in Mexico.  It even had a small swing set area.  The woman was nice when we checked in but you knew they believed in values because she asked me if we were married and wanted to see my wedding ring!  The room was so worn and needed work that initially we felt uncomfortable.  We went out to eat to a small Cocineria down the street called Mona Lisa..  We had the best meal by far for under $20 dollars and the room cost us only $300 pesos.
I have to say the most impressive thing about Mexico so far has been the view and the mountains!  I was so surprised after all I heard about Mexico to see such greenery and the mountains are gorgeous!  I am so glad we came here, I don't think I could ever walk away from Life without having seen such beautiful scenery!

Today we got up and started early, eating cereal in the car and trying to make up time for yesterday's fiasco. It was hard work trying to get further along and Charlie had decided that if we could we would attempt to make it to Pueblo and go on from there.  We were on the outskirts of Mexico city when we were pulled over by the police on motorcycles.  Needless to say, $600 American dollars flew out of our pockets and into the pocket of the policeman.....I truly was shaken (up) but it's all a learning adventure!  After they stopped us they were "nice" enough to tell us they would help us get out of Mexico city, they told us to follow them and they got us thoroughly lost and we spent hours trying to figure out how to get back on the road we wanted.  We were exhausted and then finally got to Pueblo after a long drive.  In Pueblo we stopped at a Holiday Inn and were registered and in our rooms when they came in and told us they needed us to leave.  They didn't want to let our dog stay after all.  What a contradiction these people are, they tell us they didn't want us there because the dog might make noise but then as we are leaving there is a big family partying on the steps of the motel making all kinds of noise.  We decided we were just going to keep on going until we couldn't go any further.  It was hard driving on the mountains at night but I did it with really thick fog and just keeping myself together.  I think I want to call Mexico Gods roller coaster, with  scary times on the side of a mountain feeling as though one wrong move and you could go flying off the side.
Finally we stopped and got the hotel to agree to give us a room if we left Tip in the car tonight.  I introduced Tip to the security guard who cautiously petted him.  Everyone here asks if Tip is a killer......it seems many Americans have brought guard dogs over and they are very frightened of dogs.  They automatically think we have him for protection and don't understand our love for the dog. Dinner tonight wasn't as good as last night , but we are tired and worn out......I think I am settling down enough to hit the sack but I am so glad we decided not to live in Mexico....I don't like the country as much as I thought I would!

Funny thing to think about on our way to the boarder

So, today we cross the boarder into Mexico.  Charlie came in a few minutes ago and  I looked at him as I was gathering our stuff together and he looked a little sick so I asked him what was wrong, he said "Our stuff, we have too much stuff!".  It hit me then that he was worried about carrying too much over into Mexico  in the back of the truck.  It's funny how much "stuff" we left behind us.  We had taken our "stuff" down to two mattresses , two sewing machines, two tv's, pots and pans (bare minimum), two desks and our personal belongings.  Even then it was amazing to us that we had 13 boxes of books...(we are avid readers) the majority was shipped from Houston and just the clothes, my paints, meds, and dog goods are in the back of the truck.  He was saying that although I had pared down the majority of my "stuff" it was still too much.  The really bad thing is that I think he was right......we do have too much stuff.  So little compared to some and so much compared to others.....how much "stuff" do you live with?  How much is really necessary?  I wonder about what I really need in that truck and what I am taking just because I have it.........That makes me think about other "stuff" that we are trying to leave behind us.  The emotional "junk" of having worked in a law practice for over 16 years and knowing that, I've carried other peoples "junk" around for years, voluntarily, yes, but I still need to let go.   Hmmm......funny thing about boarders, they make us think about our "junk"