Plenty with a little

The Plenty office opened up again on jan 3rd after a nice long holiday break. Upon arriving at the office Gary and Mark had a project for me, an EU grant proposal. It was exactly what I had asked to do, but still sounded a bit daunting. Initially just talking about Mark's idea for the project I was suppose to ask for half a million USD! My current net worth that's a lot of money, and then I starting to think a lot about money... First let me give you the 2 second version of the proposal. We are asking to set up a nationwide women's business network and as an initial pilot for the network set up a food processing supply chain, of canning salsa here in the Toledo district. All aspects of the project would be run by women from the farming of the produce, the canning and processing right to the sales and marketing. This project would also then put in place the infrastructure for other women's enterprises to get started or further developed.
It seems like if this project were to get started it would do a lot for economic develop in Toledo (the poorest district in the country with a poverty rate of 46.4%) and Belize as a whole.
The impact 500Gs would have here hurts my head a little when I think about it too much. Thats the cost of sending 2 kids to BU and here you could lift hundreds of women out of poverty! If only it were that simple: send money->get rid of poverty but it's clear that's not how the world works. This is the reason that humanitarian aid has come into such scrutiny lately. Of course I could write much more on that subject but that's not the point right now. It's been humbling to witness so many people working so hard to improve the lives of others. It shows what money in the right hands can do. It takes planning, patience and foresight, from both the funders and the recipients. Plenty has an amazing staff that are skillful navigating through all the red tape, getting at the money and using it skillfully to create innovative development projects. Lots can be learned from these small scale, efficient NGOs as to how to improve the aid system. They are getting stuff done here and people should start looking.

More to come on my recent travels and heading home
Love
Mariel

Merry Christmas from Belize

How could you not miss this?

The most common question I was ask before leaving for Belize was, how do you feel about being away for Christmas? My response was always "fine". I love Christmas at home, probably because my mom loves Christmas so much. Our house always looks amazing (my mom should be a florist), and Ottawa is normally a snow covered winter wonderland. Christmas for the past four years has meant the end of exams and a time to be home and relax, normally something not experienced since September. This year has not been the same kind of stressful and especially here in Belize life is much more relaxed so I don't think I needed the same dosage of coziness normally required: being home among the beauty of the decorations and curling up with Rosie watching Love Actually. Not to say I didn't miss all of those things, they were just not required, this year.

We all  must go through  that "first year away for Christmas" and for me it was this year. It seems an appropriate year in my life story to have that first and I have to say it was a great Christmas despite most of the people I love the most being so far away. Today I think might be harder, as I write this with all the business of preparations over, it's a bit sad that I missed it all home, but post Christmas depression is normal; normally put at bay by the venture out to the mall to get $3.00 off a TNA V-Neck at the Aritzia sale, followed by the annual awkward high school reunion where you tell the same story of what you are up to 1.5 million times, there are no Boxing Day sales here; today I will write, read, maybe go for a run. Lots of time to relax and lots of time to reflect.

        The living room from the Loft (look at the floors!)

We had been invited to a Christmas Eve party a few weeks ago by an American couple who live just outside of town , right on the water. I had heard their house was fantastic, and it did not disappoint. Both Anne Michelle and Eric are artists and it is evident in their home. Anne Michelle said she had design this house when she was in College and now 30 years later its become a reality. There was Belizean hardwood everywhere used in creative ways (wood tiles!), I was in awe of it all. It was a lovely group, most of whom I had met at one event or another, I am going to start calling it the PG ex-pats. Cocktail, hors d'oeuvres and great people, it was a great time.

Jan and Gary with their Sunglasses

To wake up to blaring sunshine on Christmas day was a first for me, as we sat down to eat our breakfast outside we immediately had to all go back in to get our sunglasses; imagine, sunglasses on Christmas, it's hard to think about even after it happened for a little Canuck like me. After opening presents, we planned out our day of cooking so that we could make everything in our tiny little kitchen and oven with one rack. I Jan made pecan pie, tourtiere, the ham, scallop potatoes and I made buns, cabbage, ceasar salad, and balsamic glazed onions. The neighbour had gotten an XBox Kinect, as we were over to check it out the boys got picked up by their Dad, leaving me to play Dance Central for an hour as Rachel went back out side to read. I had to stop only to get the bread in the oven on time. Jacob got an Xbox at home and I need the Kinect! Its awesome and there are fitness options on the Dance Central, I don't care if I look like an idiot in the play back. Everyone came over for pre-dinner drinks, Mark brought over homemade rum popo, and then we stuff ourselves on delicious food. It was a lovely meal, and we all slept soundly after the festivities.

Any holiday is what you make of it. My Canadian Thanksgivings in college are some of my favourite (Ask me sometime for the turkey story of 2009). Holidays require only two ingredients: Love and Good Food, (Booze helps too). As long as there is plenty of both it will be a good time.

Our Non-traditional Christmas Tree

Love to you and yours over the Holidays,

Mariel

I have Good News and Bad News...

This isn't the bad news

Let's start with the bad news,

On Sunday we had the Plenty Christmas party out at Mark's house in Jacintoville. It was a great time, tonnes of delicious food, great people, cutest kids, and even some dancing. I was feeling fine when we went out there, had a few Belikin Christmas Stouts, Some Rum Popo (rum and eggnog), but nothing to warrant what happen next...

It was a chilly ride home, and I was tired so I though I would just get into while Jan and Gary went out to see some of the peace corps guys play at a local bar. I got into bed to watch a movie and get under the covers because I was freezing, and then I could stop shaking, ok this will go away, put on a sweater, oh man I am cold, but I really don't want to get up, why can't I stop shaking, oh man I have a fever, I am cold, ok this will go away, go to sleep...

Tthis went on for a few hous, after being a little sick and actually falling a sleep for a few minutes Jan and Gary came home, and decided I should go to the hospital, it's just around the corner from our place. They admitted me, took my temp (99.6F), took some blood for testing and after me resisting like a small child put an IV in me, after the first bag I began to feel much better, and after two more bags I felt semi normal. They gave me malaria pills and sent me home to take a shower, eat something and go to bed. I already felt loads better. The next day I was just a little under the weather but almost normal but not up to do more than lay in bed all day watching movies. Now I am on two types of antibiotics but feel pretty much back to normal. Despite the hospital not looking like anything we would have back home they were efficient and everything, including the drugs, was free. Pretty amazing. Now the only downside is, because of the antibiotics I can't drink on Christmas.

And now the good news,

For the first time in ages I went on row2k yesterday (and if you don't count just checking race results last spring season even longer). I don't know what inspired my nostalgia, but I was missing rowing. It's not as though I was on Fluid design figuring out if they could ship a single down to Punta Gorda, I was just feeling a little nostalgic for it all, even someone who was as burnt out and worn out as me can feel that.
It seems as though fate played a part in this; Gary had to head up the Rio Grande to the TIDE ranger station to fix their solar electrical system, and he suggested that Jan and I see if we could hop in the boat for a ride. Nelson, the ranger, had no problem letting us hitch a long for the ride, and so off we went.

Glass

We had to ride up the coast for a few minutes before turning in to head up the river. The water was like glass, it would have been perfect for a paddle in the skiff. After heading up the river for about 15 minutes we landed at what seemed to be a Belizean Garden of Eden. Mango Trees, Mahogany, Mally Apple Trees, Travellers Palms, a perfect thatch overlooking the river, and cut grass all in between.

I think the Mahogony looks like something from a Dr. Suess

 There wasn't much for  us to do while Gary and one of the interns were on the roof, so we explored the grounds; sat on the dock with our feet in the water listening to the rock fish (fish that make noise...is this real life?) as the minoes gathered around, watched the leaf cutting ants make trails that look like they were made from human foot traffic (they call them machinahmy, like marching army...get it?), and sat there sketching a picture of a Mayan woman that Nelson thought was awesome despite my lacklustre drawing skills.

See the sunken sailboat?

Jan and I by the river

Do you like my art?

After Gary was done working hard we headed back up the river, as we turned the corner there was the most beautiful sunset over PG.

Aren't they the cutest?

It felt awesome to be out on the water again; seems a boat ride was all I needed to cure my nostalgia. There really is nothing like the calm waters of a glassy river.

Much Love,
Mariel

Childhood Memories and Adult Realities

Some of the best travel advice I have ever read was written on an Anderson Cooper blog, and I am just paraphrasing here: “Everyone is proud of where they come from; everyone is nostalgic about their homes”. Here I am finding that true in many cases, many people say they prefer village life to life in town. When I first hear this, my internal reaction is “Are you crazy?”, but I feel the same way about anyone wanting to live in the suburbs. But then I got to thinking, how much of what we want in life is shaped by our childhoods?

When people ask me where I am from I feel torn. I lived in downtown Toronto till I was ten and then in Ottawa, so where am I from? I like to think both Ottawa and Toronto. So much of me was shaped by my childhood in Cabbagetown, and exploring the city so young. The neighbourhood was filled with interesting people from all walks of life. I was exposed to so much so young, in the nest possible way, when we are young we are oblivious to the cultural prejudices and we are friends with whoever we like as a person. When you’re young you don’t know how much money someone has, or that it isn’t cool that your friend shares a room with her mom and two sisters in the projects. None of that matters, and I think that being exposed to that at a young age (along with having amazing parents not placing prejudice in my small little brain) has really made me more open as an adult to different types of people and the challenges that face everyone.

As I get older I realise more and more of what was really going on in my childhood, and how I didn’t care about any of it, all I wanted to do was to play with my friends. There are limits to this way of upbringing and my parents began to realize that despite their efforts the challenges faced on an inner city school can sometimes be too great. Most of our core little group moved on to other schools, private or in a different neighbourhood and I moved to Ottawa.

winter coats and city streets, the definitions of my childhood 

As Jacob likes to describe it, “Ottawa is the definition of middle class”, it’s like living in a nice suburb without actually living in a suburb. It was a great place to spend my teenage years allowed me the opportunity to row at an amazing club (which I will always consider one of my homes), make great friends and live in a very beautiful city. 

How much of that has shaped how I want to live my adult life. If anyone ever asks me where I want to live, I always say in the city. I don’t drive (although I will learn) and I never want to be dependent on my car for groceries, booze, pharmacy, or a coffee shop. I love to walk places; it’s my preferred way to get around. There was no therapy better than taking a sunny fall stroll down Beacon Street to Coolidge Corner, or walking down Newbury with a big coffee (ok Venti Americano, or Large Iced Dunks for the warmer days) in my hand just to people watch.

Do I need the city life because of my life spent on the subway and throwing pennies into the fountain at the Eaton Center? Or is it just me, who I am that makes me want that? Of course it’s a bit of both.  That brings me back to the Belizeans, who want a simple life in the village, living under a thatch roof, their children playing in a safe place. There may be electricity there may not, there may be running water there may not, there may be a toilet there may not, but it doesn’t matter. It’s how they spent their childhood and they must have had a fantastic childhood, and that’s what matters.  Although it may be to foreign to me to really comprehend the appeal I am sure they would think my way of life was too crazy and loud.

What are your favourite childhood memories and how do those shape your adult decisions? Do you want to live in a place like where you grew up, or the total opposite?

Happy Children in Graham Creek

As long as we are safe, healthy and surrounded by loving people the rest is just gravy.

Happy Memories and Bright Futures

Mariel

PG Life

Life is definitely different here in Punta Gorda; it's a small town (less than 6000 people in the greater area) in a small country (less 300 000 people), everybody knows everybody. English is the official language but when people from PG speak to each other they mostly speak in Creole, which almost sounds like English until you realize you haven't understood anything.
Life is slower here. The sun comes up at 6 and sets at 6, which sets the tone for how the day. At 6 the rooster start crowing, the birds squawking and people moving. The sun falls in and out of the sky; it's dark and then its light; its light and then its dark.

Wished I would have seen this sunrise

PG looks like people just started showing up beside the ocean and building houses, throwing together shacks, laying foundations, and in not finishing half of it.
There doesn't seem to be a rush of things to do here, maybe because I have only been here for 5 days and don't have a lot of work to do yet, but the working day goes like this: Show up at 8 take an hour or an hour and a half at lunch then go back until 5.

Some of the partially built houses left to get moldy

 There doesn't seem to be a rush of things to do here, maybe because I have only been here for 5 days and don't have a lot of work to do yet, but the working day goes like this: Show up at 8 take an hour or an hour and a half at lunch then go back until 5.

Down by the water, the shore is just covered in beach glass, rocks and garbage

Most the fresh fruit and veg come from the market, where villagers take the bus or drive in to sell their product. The big market days are Wednesday and Saturday. Front Street (the one right along the water) get crowed with people, fruit stands, buses dropping off and picking up, and the dogs that seems to roam around the whole country.
Like any small town it is filled with a large cast of characters. I've been getting to know all the ex-pats living down here. Rick and Darla are from Idaho and own the beautiful Coral House Inn, Gomier is from St. Lucia and has a fantastic vegetarian and seafood restaurant and the edge of town and a rasta hat that is so full of dreadlocks (he told me about the time he went cross country skiing in Banff, I would have loved to see that), Mark is the President of Plenty Belize and real local force, he moved here 10 years ago and decided to stay. People coming here and deciding to stay seems like a pretty common theme among many. Jill who run the library moved here two years ago to retire to something different after living in NYCs east village for 25 years, Jack was a modern dancer who travelled all over the world with the best companies decided to stay 30 years ago and is very involved with much of the community work.
I was out shopping with Genalee (i have no idea how to spell), one of the local girls who works for Plenty,  to get a few things I needed to go to Graham Creek, and she summed up what shopping in PG is like "Most you have to go into every store because you never know if what you want will be there". There doesn't seem to be much theme to what the stores sell and you cannot tell at all from the outside.
Genalee and I were talking and she asked me what it was like to go on a train, there are no trains in Belize, only school buses and little hopper planes take you around the country. As Genalee describes it "Everybody knows your business here, if I was walking around with a boy right now by the time I got home my father be asking me which boy I was with".
I am enjoying it all right now, but I can say life here is nothing like life back home.


Mariel

Day One, Done.

"If you feel the need to escape the law, elude creditors, hide assets, or shed the skin of your humdrum life, you could do worse than to run away to Belize. Belize is a tiny nation tucked between Guatemala, Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. It's firmly attached to Central America but considers itself a Caribbean Island, like a chicken that thinks its a duck. ... Imagine a country the size of Massachusetts with the population of Corpus Christi, Texas. Give it an army of 700 soldiers and a seat in the UN and you start to get an idea of Belize. ...The country teems with adventurous refugees who've set up shop in the middle of the Central America jungle. British innkeepers, Mennonite farmers, Chinese shopkeepers, Lebanese entrepreneurs, American missionaries, Canadian aid workers and Dutch scientists live peacefully along side the nation's longer established residents, the Garifuna artists, Maya cacao growers, Mestizo plantation managers, and the Creole politicians who make up the majority of the country's population. Belize draws the eccentric, the madcap and the downright mad."

-Bruce Barcott,

The Last Flight of the Scarlett Macaw

Let's start at the top...

I made it here without a hitch. Ottawa->Newark->Houston->Belize City, all easy connections the only thing that went wrong was a spilled a diet pepsi when cashing out at panda express for a quick lunch in Houston, but the Cashier gave me a new one. I cut a few lines at customs to catch a 4:40 Tropic Air flight to Punta Gorda after landing at 3:40. The airport looked more like a Bus Station than an international airport, which was apparent in the lax security to go through to catch my local flight, although I still have to take off my shoes and have an empty water bottle.

The flight to PG was more like a van with wings (as the American woman sitting next to me described it), but was very smooth. we made stops in Dangriga and Placencia before arriving in PG. Gary, Jan and Mark, who is the head of Plenty, pick me up at the "airport" in Mark's car. We got back to Jan and Gary's which is right on the ocean in a guest house called Blue Belize. Had a few Belikins and Jan made a delicious supper (which of course included rice and beans, not to be confused with beans and rice). We chatted about lots of things and I tried to get a sense of what the culture is like what I would be doing, etc.

(PG at night)

I unpakced, showered and crashed in bed to the sounds of the calm ocean, bugs and the occasional gecko squeek (they climbed the walls in the house and eat bugs, so we like them. They are also so cute)

I woke up at 6:30 to the sound of the pouring rain, which seemed like the hardest rain we would ever get in Ottawa or Boston, but Jan and Gary said it can rain a lot harder on some day. The rain only lasted a short while and then we headed to the Plenty office for 8; it's only a two minute bike ride from Blue Belize (although I get the sense nothing is more than a 15 minute bike ride). Every one was doing there own this to start, I was introduced to everyone but only remembered half of their names. There were probably 8-10 people in and out of the office today (not counting the cute children who filled up their water bottle from the water cooler in their little green school uniforms). I did some of my own research while everyone was busy on the WHO recommendations on sanitation practices, which they want me to teach in one of the rural villages.

Then Mark took me to the hospital (also just around the corner from the Plenty office) to see if the Public health minister was in to meet and see what work I could do with him. The hospital didn't look like a hospital at all it was a two story turquoise building that looked rickety and was very open to the outdoors. We tried to meet with Lyle the minister of Public Health for the Toledo District he was busy and I was to go back and meet him at one.

The Polyclinic at the Hospital, the nicest part of the building

(the colour is pretty fantastic though)

After a quick lunch back at home I went back to the Hospital to meet with Lyle. He was very excited to work with me and had lots of places he wanted to have me work. It was very exciting to have the Public Health official for the whole district excited to have me work with him. They wanted me to help out a lot in the sanitation, food and water safety. Which will include water testing, food safety raining in the food establishment and in the school kitchens as well as food safety training for the kitchens in conjunction with the work Plenty does with school feed programs. I went back to the plenty office but since it was still lunch timeish the office was almost empty and there wasn't anything specific for me to do, I biked into town to get Belizian money out from the Scotiabank that is right in town (nice not to have to change banks).

I went back home since Jan would be there (she works with one of the school feed programs here in the mornings) ran into Isabelle who is from Montreal and works at the BLue Belize office but is also a marine biologist here. She said she would take me out and introduce me to all the foreigners who are here. I ended up taking a nice long nap for the afternoon which was much needed after a long day of travel, adjusting to the heat and humidity and trying to take in all of my new surrounding.

After I woke up, Jan and I sat out on the veranda in the ocean breeze and drank a coffee before heading back into town to go to the market and get some more beers delivered to the house.

The streets (only the main ones are paved) were scattered with dogs and kittens, kids on bikes, pedestrians, motor cycles and cars. All the shops look like those over packed shops you would see in Chinatown; everything has a little dust on it and you wonder who would buy half of it.

We picked up some bread from just this little shack of a house with the cutest puppy sitting out side, of course I couldn't resist petting and then it tried to follow me home.

It gets dark pretty much right at six here, and the sunsets are short, but we sat outside on the veranda as the sun disappeared drank so Belikins and had some cassava chips while dinner was cooking and talk more about the local culture and the day.

I won't need to write down every detail of everyday like this as time goes on but its just so much I am taking in right now. I am very excited about the work I will be doing here and I am sure I will be learning a lot. I am meeting with Hannah one of the Peace Corps girls here to talk about teaching sanitation practices to a small rural village called Graham Creek that Plenty helped install a village well recently. I will be going to the village, which is a six mile trek through the jungle from the nearest road, on Sunday for two nights. More details to come.

Good night all.

Boom!