Well, there's definitely something to talk about...

Here we go again. I told you in my last edition that I would do my best to give you something worth reading, and while there is plenty to write about, I'm not sure you really wanted to wait two weeks to hear it.

Let's start at the beginning. Two weeks ago around Tuesday afternoon, we began to hear the rumblings about a hurricane. Not a real hurricane, mind you, a pretend hurricane. Hurricane Zeus was headed across the Atlantic and looked set to hit Belize square in the face. As you can imagine, this caused widespread panic and confusion. In the following days, we were put on alert, then standfast (where we are restricted to our assigned village/town), and finally asked to consolidate to Belmopan. Over 100 volunteers piled into the luxurious, black-mold-infested Garden City hotel for one night in order to ensure that the warning systems in place for such events are adequate. For Kathryn and I, that meant packing up all the necessities for being consolidated, lugging them across town to the Peace Corps office, and finally being told that in a consolidation, we would be sleeping in our place anyway, so take everything back home with you. As nice as it was to see everyone, it was quite the headache. We had to arrive bright and early the next morning to process the drill and point out successes/areas for improvement (causing me to miss the thrilling game in which Slovakia beat Italy and tossed the reigning champs out of the World Cup).

Two days later, the actual Tropical Storm Alex made his way across Belize, sending everyone into a panic and raining (literally) all over our weekend plans to attend Lobsterfest in the seaside town of Placencia. We made it all the way down to Dangriga, where we spent the night, before receiving a call the following morning that we were to return to beautiful Belmopan. So instead of relaxing on the beach, we spent the afternoon watching football (the thrilling game between the US and Ghana), playing games, and hanging out with John, Sylvia, and fellow PCVs Andy and Elsa. Not a bad way to spend the day when the sky poured more water than a shower-head.

The week that followed was the last before our respective summer camps began. I mostly ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, putting the finishing touches on my lesson plans and watching all the World Cup games I possibly could. Squeeze in hosting three different PCVs in the space of four nights, a lively discussion during our weekly Bible study group, and helping dog-sit for a staff member who is in the states, the week flew by.

Which brings me to this week. Kathryn's camp has come and gone, with her having the privilege of teaching and listening to fifty 4- to 12-year-olds the recorder. They had their awards ceremony yesterday, and by all accounts, things went swimmingly. In spite of locked classrooms she was promised she could use, lacking liquids for the campers on the first day, and absent teachers on at least one occasion, the queen of organizing and improvising has once again shown us exactly why she deserves her title.

My camp has been going fairly well also. There are twenty-four students who attend PEACE Camp (Preventing, Engaging, and Addressing Conflict Effectively), and I'm constantly impressed by how well they receive what I have to teach them. I mean, they're kids and have to be reeled in on occasion, but by and large they have been great. It also helps that I have two other PCVs and four volunteers from an organization called HELP! International sharing the workload. They've made my job easy. I have another week of camp left, so things could easily turn, but I'm pretty confident we'll coast through for a really successful experience for everyone.

I must tell you, though, that a few days ago I received an e-mail that we have packages to pick up. So, yesterday, after camp, I biked out to the Peace Corps office to pick up the slips for the mail. I have to go 2 miles out of my way to the office to get a couple papers to get my mail. But then they need to be signed by the country director. Except, when I arrived, they had not been signed. So I waited for an hour and a half, piddling on the internet and reading, for the papers to get signed. I eventually decided I couldn't wait anymore and got ready to leave. On the way out the receptionist said, "Oh wait! Sometimes you can take the papers without the signature and they'll give you your mail anyway." So I took the papers, biked the mile back to the post office, and received our packages. And I mean they are real packages. Amanda, Dad, and Kim, thank you so much. The things you sent were promptly put to use. I did have to take the boxes to John's office so he could drive them home, though. Boxes and bikes don't always mix. But it's definitely worth it. Now if only it were easier for me to get the mail slips from Peace Corps we'd be in business.

And finally, because I'm me, have you seen the Spanish in the World Cup? After the heartbreak of watching them lose their first match to the Swiss of all people, they have turned their performances around and shown just why they were co-favorites with Brazil at the beginning of the tournament. If you haven't been watching, tune in this Sunday. The game will certainly be a historical event, with both teams competing for their first ever World Cup victory and the title of first European team to win a World Cup outside of their home continent.

After all of that, I feel like there have been a hundred other things I want to write about but have simply slipped my mind. I'm tempted to save this post and come back to it after taking some time to mull it over, but since you've all been so patient (or impatient, in the case of my mother and father who have made it a point to mention how long it has been since our last published post) I'll go ahead and wrap things up.

Peace,

Cisco

What a Month!

For those who may not be inhabiting planet earth, June 11th began a little competition called the World Cup. If you haven't watched any of it, I highly recommend that you break the seal and enjoy what is truly the beautiful game. Thus far, there has been heartbreak, controversy, and plenty of excitement. With the group stage entering its last round of fixtures, there should be no shortage of teams playing like their lives depend on it.

In any event, after watching at least a part of some 20 games in the past 10 days, my life has been quasi-consumed by futbol. But believe it or not, there are plenty of hours in the day between and after games for me to do work and enjoy the beauty of Belize. It's a good thing, too, as the countdown to my first summer camp begins. I have two weeks left to put the finishing touches on lesson plans and gather all the necessary materials. Thankfully I've been fairly productive lately, and I also have help from some other PCVs, so this shouldn't prove a daunting task. My biggest concern now is what to do about my "o" and "u" keys on my computer. As I type, I've noticed that about every other time I use either letter, it is immediately followed by at least one "i". If this keeps up, this blog entry may be quite quickly ended.

Actually, as I write, I'm finding that Kathryn's last entry was pretty much spot-on. There just are not a lot of "interesting" things happening recently. With our jobs taking a decent amount of time, my preoccupation with the World Cup, and our developing a routine, things have been coasting at a pretty even-keel. In fact, since my first picture post was so well-received, I'll show you what has caused the most excitement in the past few days.

Before:


and after:



So far, the most common comment is that I look 10 years younger. Hold old do I look, then? Fifteen? Or did I look older than I am? Or have I still not passed looking like I'm twelve? Let me know what you think.

Alright, I'll try to make sure I do something exciting before I write in the blog next, I promise. Til then!

Peace,

Cisco

A Quickie

So Cisco and I are finally getting into some sort of routine so there haven't been a lot of new things to post. Cisco was unable to do a update today because he was so gutted by the Spain and Swiss futbol game. I am not as diehard a fan as Cisco but that one left me feeling a little sick as well. We have been watching a lot of futbol and are thoroughly enjoying the World Cup. Cisco even gets up at 5:30 to watch the first game, I am not that devoted, and I prefer my workout time in the morning before it reaches 100,000 degrees. Yes it is still hot here, and yes we are in the rainy season, except it rains like 2 times a week hard and fast in the middle of the night, makes everything humid, then it is just hot again.

Quick story about something I had to do today it is not overly interesting but it gives you a little perspective on some of the challenges we face every day that you probably wouldn't realize. I got an email from the peace corps office saying we had packages last week. So I road my bike on Friday after work the 2 hot and somewhat hilly miles to the office, only to get there and find out our mail is being forwarded to the post office now and that they only had the papers I needed to claim the packages. Well, the post office is a few miles away and it would have probably been closed had I decided to attempt another long ride, which would not have been out of the way of going home, nor would it have been on the way either. So then I had to wait out the weekend and finally stopped putting off the long ride, another few mile bike ride to the post office, and went today. I road to the office and realize one of my blessed packages weighed 30 pounds, I am not sure if that is true but it was really heavy. The other was smaller and lighter but still a substantial package. So I brought my backpack and had to open the big package and attempt to shove all of it into my backpack. I did get it to fit but my misshapen backpack was then very very heavy, uncomfortable, and I couldn't fit the smaller package in it too so I had to balance it on my handlebars. For those of you who have seen me ride a bike and have heard about my childhood accidents on a bike please try to visualize how ridiculous this ride looked. Also, I am required by the PC to wear a helmet even when it is 2 pm and 100 degrees out, so I am riding home, sweating so much I feel like I am standing under a hot salt water waterfall, if I move my hand even an inch to wipe the sweat or anything else, I swerve violently and risk losing my package. I lost my second pair of sun glasses and am also squinting to the point where I am not sure my eyes are actually open, and my shoulders are burning under the weight. All I could do the whole ride is try my best to keep my balance, and laugh hysterically at myself because I knew how ridiculous I looked and how funny the simple task of getting my packages had turned into. Sorry if that wasn't an interesting story but don't forget to appreciate the simple things in life because not everybody have those things available to them. And if you are ever down and having a bad day, please picture me on this bike ride. Also don't stop sending packages I am not complaining just explaining. Especially because the packages we got, from Tess and Kim, kicked ass and I will email you more about them tomorrow, Cisco hasn't gotten to see them yet.

Thank you for all of the great comments about our new home, we love it and appreciate your responses. Uploading pics takes forever but we will try to get some more on there. So far we only saw one small cockroach weeks ago and no real ant problems which is a miracle in Belize. Our one problem has been... rats. Yuck. We set a live trap and have captured two, Cisco called one a mouse but I think they were both pretty freaking big. Then we disposed of them, I know it is sad and I appreciate all of God's creatures but these damn things have been keeping me up all night for weeks with their nightly circus tricks in the ceiling so good riddance.

I will have Cisco update you on our job stuff soon but things are going fine so far.

Love you all and cuidate (take care)
Kathryn

For Your Viewing Pleasure

This is our new place!

And our wonderful kitchen!

And our beautiful pergola!

And here's some contrast with photos of the 1st vs. 2nd year futbol Clasico!

A Long Time Coming

To preface this blog entry, I would like to make a little note for my parents (all four of them): You are awesome. You have loved and supported us in this incredible journey that we have embarked upon in every way that one could ask. For this I thank you and, therefore, apologize vehemently for not contacting you all individually on a more frequent basis. The past week-and-a-half has been a whirlwind, as you're about to see; but do not worry, we have not forgotten you and, in fact, feel terribly that we haven't communicated more.

Those of you not parents, thanks for bearing with me through that. Public apologies can make everyone feel a little awkward.

So last week was our final as Peace Corps Trainees. We stayed at the luxurious Garden City Hotel (please note that italics signify sarcasm) after being informed that our most recent host family in Belmopan could no longer host us due to personal reasons. There is a story behind this, which I am more than willing to recount for you in a personal e-mail or over the phone; however, for the sake of propriety I feel compelled to omit this anecdote from our blog. Suffice it to say, we have now had three host families when most trainees only have two, and we were supposed to move in with a fourth after swearing-in to continue our assimilation. Thankfully, since we had already found the place we're going to be renting for the remainder of our time here, the Peace Corps staff here in Belize were willing to make an exception for us and allowed us to forgo the fourth host family and move directly to our new place. More on that to follow.

So last week. We spent the better part of the week doing the final training bits. Lots of summarizing and the obligatory "See how far you've come," talk. I must admit that our training group is fantastic, and our group dynamic is equal parts loving, accepting, competitive, and challenging. Even still, I'm glad to see the training itself come to an end. On Friday morning, all the volunteers, trainees, and staff assembled with host families, Belizean counterparts, and others for our official swearing-in ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Governor General's home here in Belmopan, where "His Excellency" himself stood next to the US Ambassador to Belize and the Peace Corps Belize Country Director and shook hands with each of the 36 new PCVs. Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Following the ceremony, there was the annual trainees/volunteer futbol game. Now as you can imagine, I was incredibly excited about this. In fact, I organized two "practices" in the week leading up to the game in hopes of helping us win. But mostly, I just wanted to play. Our trainee group had a good bit of talent, and a lot of heart, but the current volunteers had plenty of resources as well, especially since there are two "classes" of volunteers in Belize already--meaning about twice the number of trainees. The game was hard-fought. The trainee team had a large share of possession, but the resilient volunteer defense kept goal-scoring opportunities to a minimum. After two 25-minute halves, the game finally ended at a 2-2 draw. Both teams had given their all, and neither team had reason to gloat or pout. I'm not sure I can imagine a more fair outcome.

Immediately after the game and a quick shower, we all boarded a bus to go to the other side of town to attend the ambassador's reception of the new volunteers. Here's where the fun happens. We went to the personal home of US Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally where his wife catered dinner for us and opened their home to entertain us. This, I am assured, is not a common occurrence in Peace Corps, but apparently Mr. Thummalapally has a heart for us and the work we do, so he shows his appreciation in this way. All I can say is thanks. It was a truly unforgettable experience. Even down to the end when his wife asked our bus to wait because she didn't want to break-up the fun.

Of course, back at the hotel, a party did continue into the wee hours of the morning. An enjoyable time was had by all--or at least all I have spoken to since. The next morning we awoke relatively early and began moving into our new home. We're living in the guest-house, you could say, of John and his finacee Sylvia. Their place was recommended to us by some of the Peace Corps staff, and apparently they have had pretty close relationships with previous volunteers. It only took one look for us to fall in love with the place. It may not be particularly spacious, but it's incredibly comfortable and functional. I was going to post pictures, but due to super-slow internet and the amount of time you've already waited to see this blog, I'll try to describe it instead.

Our place is a small three-room guest-house. Three rooms as in bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. It is, however, incredibly well layed-out with lots of built-in shelving and a vibrant color-scheme. The house is situated behind John and Sylvia's place so it's just barely viewable from the road. Out our kitchen window is the small garden with some herbs and vegetables, and between our place and theirs is a beautiful pergola with ivy growing up the sides and overhead and a table and chairs underneath. I'll try to take the time to show pictures later, because it's a truly idyllic place and my words hardly describe it.

Finally, this week is our first "on the job." It's been interesting the past few days trying to figure out how scheduling will work, and where we need to be for which activities. That pretty much brings us to the present. Oh, one additional thing for my darling sister. Thanks so much for posting the picture of Luna for us. I can't tell you how happy it made us. I mean, Kathryn immediately broke into tears because she misses her so badly, but just seeing her was wonderful. Okay, that should be enough food for thought. Until next time!

Peace,

Cisco