Belize, Central America (6/26/05 - 7/25/05)

There’s something so comical about trying to hold the latrine door close with one hand, aiming your flow with the other, all the while dancing so as not to be bitten by the countless mosquitoes buzzing around that you simply have to laugh at yourself. Such is life at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary here in Belize. But I’m not complaining. Latrine’s and cold showers are a small price to pay to enjoy the wonders of this country.

Yep, I’m leading a group of high school students with EIL again (www.usexperiemnt.org - I’ve been to Italy with them a few times). Over the past 3 weeks or so we’ve had wild howler monkeys eat mangoes out of our hands, visited the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich and Lamanai, canoed down the Sibun River, and built a pre-school playground from scratch while living with host families at Crooked Tree Village. We attended the wedding of one kid’s host sister on Saturday and had our farewell dinner party a couple of days ago. Now we’re headed to Tobacco Caye for a few days of snorkeling and relaxing.


Hungry Howler Monkey, Baboon Sanctuary, Belize 


Xunantunich Mayan Ruins, Belize 

Lamanai Mayan Ruins, Belize 


EIL Group atop Lamanai Mayan Ruins, Belize 

By the way, check out my entries on Tiwanaku, Bolivia and Tikal, Guatemala to get my take on pyramids in Central and South America.

Whenever I think of my host family I will remember the Belizean proverb “Empty sack cyaan stan up!” That’s what my 55-year-old host mom, Ms. Vange says whenever she thinks I haven’t put enough food on my plate. Never mind that the plate is overflowing and that there is no more space to add anything. She and her 80-year-old blind sister, Mrs. Day are simply expressing their love through their culinary offerings and genuine concern for my well being. They are sweet ladies. I’ve since learned that the proper response is “Too full sack cyaan bend!”


Mrs. Day and Ms. Vange, Crooked Tree, Belize 

I’ve also learned that if a horse is wet with sweat during the day it will usually storm that night, and that if the sun is red at sunrise it will be a scorching day. Folk wisdom is more accurate than you might think.

My host fam was just what the doctor ordered. There was not a working television in the house, so all was quiet and peaceful. And they’re vegetarians, so I ate healthily. Fresh mangoes, pineapples, marmy apples, and homemade hot sauce usually accompanied the ackee, boil-up, cashew casserole, and squash dishes.

After working with my students to erect the playground all day (picnic tables, swings and a tire play area done with no blueprints or experienced supervision – but done successfully!), I would play soccer with a friend’s kids until nightfall. Then I’d head home for dinner and conversation before reading myself to sleep (Ben Carson’s, Gifted Hands – recommended). They have indoor plumbing and they’re house is totally screened in, so I liked the fact that I could sleep without a mosquito net and I didn’t have to contend with bugs (including tarantulas) in a latrine.


Completed Service Project, Crooked Tree, Belize 

This will be my last experiential learning trip of the year. I should say this will be my last time LEADING a trip for a group of youth for the year. I’ve been living out of my backpack for a year and a half now, and I think I am ready to have a couch to call my own. At least for a little while. So while I expect to do another experiential learning trip to Brazil or Asia, it will most likely be a solo trip that will last for a year or 2.

I’ll be spending the months after this trip (late August and beyond) temping and figuring out where in the world I’ll be living in 2006 and 2007. I’d like to be in Brazil writing a book, but if I can’t figure out how to finance that project, Asia will be my default option. I know I can make pretty decent money teaching English there. Since the work wouldn’t be too taxing, I could also start on the book in my spare time. And it could serve as a nice base to visit several countries in Southeast Asia.

I’m thinking I should be in Asia by April or so. I’ll keep you posted on the goings on, and whether I’ll be anywhere near your neck of the woods before then. And you can let me know if you know of any short term jobs, international jobs, fellowships or grants that might be of interest to me.

I hope you are happy, healthy and enjoying life.

Peace&Blessings,
Zik

POST TRIP ADDENDUM:

Missing from the original update was a blurb on Tobacco Caye. It’s the 5-acre island from which we snorkeled during the last 4 days of the trip. I was also able to get in a dive. We saw several spotted eagle rays, a sea turtle, and some of the most brilliantly colored (iridescent-fluorescent purples and yellows) vase sponges and tube sponges I’ve ever seen.


Tobacco Caye, Belize 

I have to say that one of the reasons this was such a great trip was the group of students I lead. After my trip to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia I had doubts as to whether I had lost my touch. Despite our promising start in Fiji, that group of 4 young misfits turned out to be THE most dysfunctional group of kids I have EVER worked with; too self-absorbed to contribute to community building. At the end of the program they had me wondering if there was something wrong with me. I was worried that I might no longer be cut out for youth development work.

By contrast, the Belize group of teenagers restored my faith in myself, and my faith in the power of respectful, compassionate groups who care for one another and those around them. They bonded right from the start, had a great time working and playing hard, and gave me absolutely no problems. They were excellent role models and goodwill ambassadors. And since I see traveling groups as microcosms of the world at large, they gave me great hope for a brighter future.

From Sydney to Cairns, Australia (4/10/05 – 5/13/05)

The Australia update will include:
1. Surfing Byron Bay
2. Yoga and meditation at The Chenrezig Buddhist Retreat Center
3. Petting kangaroos and koala bears at the Crocodile Hunter’s zoo
4. Conservation work around Uluru in the Australian outback
5. Scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns


Sydney Harbor, Australia 


Sydney Opera House Detail, Australia 


Chenrezig Buddhist Retreat Center, Australia 


The Crocodile Hunter's Zoo, Australia 


Uluru, The Outback, Australia 


Sunset, Uluru, The Outback, Australia 


Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Great Barrier Reef, Australia 


"Wally" the Napoleon Wrasse, Great Barrier Reef, Australia 

From Auckland to Christchurch, New Zealand (3/16/05 – 4/9/05)

The New Zealand update will include:
1. Ascending the Auckland Skytower
2. Zorbing and luging in Rotorua
3. Head-butting rams & mounds of chicken sh_t at the Rotoiti organic farm
4. Hiking Mt. Doom, and the high ropes course at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Center
5. Learning the Ka Mate haka (war dance) at the Maori marae in Christchurch
6. Whitewater rafting down one of the Lord Of The Rings rivers


Zorbing, Rotorua, New Zealand 


"Mt. Doom", Mt. Ngauruhoe, New Zealand 


A Rainbow in the "Valley of the Orcs", New Zealand 


"Pukana!" Learning the Haka, Maori Marae, Christchurch, New Zealand 

Kalokolevu Village, Fiji (3/7/05 - 3/14/05)

Fiji was amazing! I have a video clip of myself diving from a rope swing 40 feet above a waterfall basin pool at Colo-I-Suva Falls. But the true beauty of the experience was found in the people of Kalokolevu.


Rope Swing, Colo-I-Suva Falls, Fiji 

As I am being offered the honorary "cup" of kava (served in a coconut shell) my first thoughts are, "Wow. It really DOES look like muddy water... Well, you are 'The Chief' so represent and drink up!"

Kava is the national drink of Fiji. It's made from the roots of a pepper tree and was being served to me and my group (www.leapnow.org) as part of a welcoming ceremony to Kalokolevu village (265 people strong). As the group leader, I was considered the chief of the group. So after a welcoming greeting in Fijian from the Chief's spokesman, and an acceptance of the welcome (through my interpreter) I was offered the first bowl of kava. I don't think it tastes much better than muddy water (even the Fijians grimaced as they drank it), but it felt good to be welcomed into the community.


Kava Ceremony, Kalokolevu, Fiji 

There is a large wooden bowl in the middle of the assembly hall, which holds the kava for the ceremony. Everyone drinks from 2 or 3 coconut shells that return to the main bowl to be refilled before being presented to the next community member. There are ritual cupped-hand claps that accompany the receiving and drinking of the kava. As the coconut shell made its way around the room I was reminded of the kikombe cha umoja (the unity cup) that is passed around as part of Kwanzaa celebrations back home... So, as I gazed upon a roomful of people who looked like me the welcoming ceremony felt like a homecoming of sorts.

We were supposed to be helping the village plant mahogany trees and cassava plants as part of a sustainable economics project. But in truth the village helped us much more than we helped them.


Kalokolevu Youth Group, Fiji 

We worked with about 25 members of the youth group who quickly gave us nicknames according to the famous US entertainers we reminded them of. To give you an example of just how vague these reminders were, I was either Will Smith or Michael Jordan depending on the villager addressing me. They knew our real names too, they just got a kick out of calling us our new nicknames.

"Spiderman" (because he "looks" like Toby McGuire) suffers from social anxiety to such an extent his application stated that he's traveling with a group because if he had to navigate an airport by himself he'd be more likely to crawl into a fetal position and cry rather than catch his flight. This is the same kid who would not jump from the rope swing because "Too many people are watching!" By the end of the week he was up dancing all night in front of the whole village. When I asked how he overcame his fears, he replied that these weren’t strangers, but family.

"Eminem" has learning disabilities and suffered some anxiety about not being as smart as other members of the group. This was before we reached the village. Once we arrived at the Kalokolevu he was the one that the villagers most embraced. They were constantly inviting him to have a seat and chat around the kava bowl, demonstrating that personality IQ's are just as important as intelligence IQ's, and helping him conquer his anxiety about being the low man on the totem poll.

Compared to my AmeriCorps-NCCC days we didn't work much (only 4 or 5 hours a day), but we worked hard. The heat and humidity gave us a good sweat as we wielded machetes, shovels and pickaxes to remove invasive species and plant some 1500 mahogany seedlings and scores of cassava plants. We worked with the youth group and divided ourselves into teams of 4: 3 villagers and one LEAPNow member per team. "J-Lo" described the situation best exclaiming, "I feel like it's a game show, and working with us is the challenge. It's like, (in your best game show host voice) '...And the white girl!!! How many trees can YOUR team plant on a slippery mountain slope carrying a white girl who doesn't know what she's doing???!!!" It was a fun time. Our counterparts were pretty impressive people. Here we were slipping all over the place in our high-tech hiking boots carrying Nalgene water bottles, etc. while they trudged sure-footed through the bush barefoot and worry free. When they got thirsty they simply scaled a tree and drank the water from the green-husked coconuts.


The Sistahs, Kalokolevu Village, Fiji 

Historians don’t agree on the origin of the first people to populate these islands, but it’s obvious to me that there are plenty of African roots here. Observing their beautiful afros, dark skin and physical features they could easily be my family members. And even though I couldn't understand the Fijian they spoke amongst themselves, the joking and laughter definitely reminds me of Black folks interactions in the states. Even the food we ate while sitting on the floor reminded me of some good southern soul food. No, there
ware no sweet potato pies or collard greens. But there was something vaguely familiar about the way the tarot leaves (Fijian greens?) and stewed chicken over rice were prepared.


Fijian Cuisine, Kalokolevu Village, Fiji 

The 3rd night we were there I got home late from taking care of some business at the internet spot in town. I was surprised to find the rest of my group and some 20 villagers gathered in the living room of my host family's house. It was a party! Everyone was scattered about the room sitting on the floor enjoying kava (which has a slightly narcotic effect when consumed in large amounts), music and games until about midnight. This too reminded me of holiday time at home. And the parties continued every night (sometimes in different houses) until we left.


Game Night, Kalokolevu Village, Fiji 


Kava Bowl, Kalokolevu Village, Fiji 

The day before we left turned out to be a pretty special day. The young men of Kalokolevu village are known for their accurate performances of traditional Fijian dances. They are often invited to perform at official government ceremonies. Such was the case this day. They asked us to get dressed up so we could attend a ceremony at which the Fijian president was naming a newly acquired government ship after one of his cabinet members. So we all donned our sulus (skirts for men and women) and attended the ceremony as guests of the village.


My Fijian Brothers, Kalokolevu, Fiji 

That night we were officially thanked and bid farewell at a church service, but that was just the formal farewell. As soon as church was over the real festivities began. The entire village was invited to a feast in the community hall.


Farewell Feast, Kalokolevu, Fiji 


The Reverend, Sevidi, and Me (w/honorary lei and powder) 

Once the dishes were cleared from the floor the music started, and we danced until daylight. Actually, a full dance card and the kava had me knocked out by 3AM. I might be ashamed of the fact that I couldn't hang were it not for the fact that I got NO rest! I could not stay seated. The ladies (ages 12 to 65) commented that I was a "smart dancer," and I had a new partner every time a new song was played. Wait a minute, that's not true either. In the beginning they were waiting until the song was over, but by midnight formalities were out the window. I would have as many as 5 partners on one song, as they would cut in on one another throughout each song. It was a fun night, but having not sat down the whole time, I was basically exercising for 6 hours straight! My body finally said "ENOUGH!! I'm shutting down now. You’re going to sleep whether you want to or not!" A couple of students made it until 6AM and there were several community members who actually spent the night in the hall. There was still kava flowing when we came in for the farewell ceremony at 9AM.


A Few Dance Partners 

I've stayed with well over 30 host families in the last several years, but this was THE most tearful farewell I have ever experienced. I was doing well when it was just a few women crying. But as the chief's spokesman drew his official speech to a close and the kava was being served, the men decided that they wanted to sing us a farewell song. One song turned into 2, then 3. We couldn't understand the Fijian words to the songs, but they sang so beautifully with such conviction and emotion... Then these big grown men had tears flowing from their eyes. And my eyes started welling up too... as did those of everyone in the place. I still can't truly explain why this homestay experience was so much more moving than any of my others (it had only been a week) but there wasn't a dry face in the hall. Perhaps it was because this time we belonged to an entire close-knit community instead of just one family...

As a token of our appreciation for their hospitality we presented the village with sports balls and a photo of us with the youth group. Before we kissed and hugged everyone on the way to the van, they honored us once more by hanging it in the community hall next to the only other piece of framed art on the walls, that of a portrait of Jesus. I guess the sentiment that we had become family was mutual.


Leaving Kalokolevu, Fiji