Horseback Riding Stories

Yesterday we walked down a new street and met a guy outside walking his ponies.  He offered to give the girls a ride and they were so excited!  We heard lots more local stories and made a new friend.  Its funny to me that when I meet people here they begin to tell me all these great stories about their lives and their homes and families.  For a second I think- 'We've just met.  I wonder why they are telling me all this stuff.'  Then I realize they know everyone in town and are related to everyone on  their street, so there is nobody to hear all their old stories! 

Just think about that- can you imagine if everyone around you has known you since you were born?  They know your thoughts, your stories, most everything about you.  Wouldn't it be strange to be in a place where nobody is a stranger?  Sounds kinda nice, but think about how much you get from meeting new people, hearing new ideas, sharing your stories.  Think about walking down the street or being at the store- most people are strangers to you, right?  I've never been in an environment where everyone knew eachother so well.  It's interesting.

Here are pics of B's dream house, the river, and a grey necked wood rail bird with pink feet.

We made chilaquiles (in Rubi and Jorge's memory) for our friends.  TL ran all aroubd town until she foubd a can of chipotle.  You'd be proud.

Then Oscar made plantain chips.

A great day.  I am sad to go home to cold weather and snow.  Sad to leave my new friends and did I mention there's snow??  Blech. 

Rain and Snow

TL has made friends with Edvin, the neighbors son.  Here she helps give him a bath.  He is so sweet!

Belizean Dog-In-A-Box.

Today it rained with sunny blue skies!  Just one little black cloud sprinkled down, a welcome refreshment to a hot and sticky day.

Later we made what we call 'Belizean Snowballs'- frozen coconut with milk and sugar.  Now that's my kind of snowball!

The girls had fun putting on a show for us in the window seat of the bedroom.  Give them a bench and some curtains and they are happy as pie!

Breadfruit and Butter

We found this freaky fruit at the Belize City Market.  The guy at the stand told us it is called Breadfruit and explained how to best prepare it.

First, peel the outer green layer.  Then slice 1/4inch thick and fry gently in butter.   Tastes like bread, he said.

Well we tried it, and you know what?  It does taste remarkably like bread with a slight fruity flavor.  It is delicious!

If we can find another one we will eat it up.

Belize City Mercado

Friday we went back to Belize city for our final dental check-ups.  In the waiting room we met a woman and her 12year old daughter from Texas who had moved to Belize 2 years ago to live on one of the Cayes (islands) and run a resort.  Awesome!  I asked the daughter how she liked it and she was apathetic at best.  But she is twelve, so I imagine its hard to impress a twelve year old with much. :)

At the bus stop there was this little shop called "Kazi Shop" which was totally cool.

The market is full of amazing fruits and veggies, beans and rice in big bags,  whole stalks of plantains, banana leaves, clothes, shoes, meat, everything!

We met this medicine man and his niece selling piles of medicinal bark harvested from the jungle. He told us all about natural tropical medicine and how saddened he is that everyone just gets an injection for everything now.  We are saddened too. He gave us his info so we can visit him sometime.

B loves Belize City because there is a large population of black creoles.  Its fun to hear reggae blaring on the radio and dudes talking in creole or a thick jamaican-sounding accent.  Feels like home to B I think. :)

Then we took a fried chicken break outside the terminal before hopping on our bus home.  Ru passed out with daddy right away.  K is just a tad longer than a school bus seat now, if anyone wonders.

Grandma Marla is keeping an eye on us.  I hope you're proud mama. 

Lecciones de Espanol

A local brother and sister have offered to teach the girls some Spanish.  The brother wrote down this list of "Important Spanish Words" which includes items such as 'unicorn' and 'quadrilateral'. 

So now we can say 'This green marshmallow is nineteen years old.'  Este malvivosa verde tiene dies y seis anos.

So we are well on our way! :)

Fun Facts about Belize

Did you know...

Belize has a population of about 250,000 people TOTAL making it about the size of a typical US city and much smaller than any large metropolis.  Find out how big your city is comparatively.

Belize is about the size of Vermont.

Belize has no area codes for phone numbers.  You can call anywhere in Belize with just seven digits!

Belize has no zip codes, and in some places (like San Antonio) no street names either.  Here is the address to Rod's Boathouse:
Rod
San Antonio Rio Hondo
Orange Walk District
Belize C.A.

Belize has no Wal-Mart, no Home Depot, no big-box stores.  It does sell a ton of Coca-Cola though.

Speaking of Coca-Cola, did you know that in Belize they make it with real SuGaR and sell it in a glass bottle.

The official language of Belize is English.

There are FOUR languages spoken in Belize.  English, Spanish, Garifuna, and several different types of Creole!

Creole is a language in its own right, not just a dialect of English.  Even some signs in Belize are written in Creole.

Belize was originally part of the British Commonwealth.  It gained its independence in 1981!

Belize considers itself part of the Carribean, not Central America.  Can you guess why?  It does consider itself the Carribean gateway to Central America though.

Mennonite farmers produce 70% of the food in Belize.  They say the Mennonites feed the nation and have been instrumental in helping Belize become self-sustaining in many areas (meaning they no longer need to pay to import some products because they are grown right here in Belize!)

The Amish were actually a group of Mennonites which branched off.

There are two basic groups of Mennonites in Belize.  The very conservative group which still use horses and buggies and metal tires on their tractors and the more progressive group which uses many modern conveniences but still dresses plain with headcovering.

The radio plays American Pop hits.  Its pretty funny. Oh, and Christmas songs like 'White Christmas' are pretty funny when it's 85°!

There are open fruit markets everywhere!  Can you imagine year round market? Yum!

Cumpleanos Continuar!

Birthday sunset, fried chicken with friends, and homemade chocolate chip cookies! What a great day!  The best part was we had the doors and windows open and a fan on because it was so hot! 

Later on someone brought spiced rice pudding for me.

Then I finished with my very first cold shower ever.  Suprisingly refreshing!