Three Language Meeting

Since joining the Peace Corps in Belize, I have experienced a wide range of new things. Just recently I was asked to sit in on a Disciplinary Committee Meeting for the high school: students who have been suspended twice come in with their parents and meet with the board to discuss their future. The cool thing about Belize is that there are many different cultures and languages; when one student and his mother came in it was made clear that the mother did not speak English or Kriol. The meeting was conducted in Spanish, English and Kriol. My first three language meeting.

Spring Break

Since I am working in a school I get two weeks of Spring Break. Julie and I decided to go to San Pedro and it was really nice, to say the least. We both saved some money for a couple months so we stayed at a nice hotel called Banana Beach. We got a free breakfast every morning and brought food from Belize City so we did not end up spending a lot of money on the trip. I took her out to a nice restaurant and the food was out of this world. She got a bleu cheese, walnut and pear salad with shrimp skewers and I got stuffed chicken breast with sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese and garlic potatoes. San Pedro is probably the nicest tourist destination in Belize. The island is filled with high class resorts, red bricked roads and golf carts. It’s touristy but not overwhelming. I enjoyed the vacation and hopefully will visit again. If my brother and his wife come down to Belize, we will probably go to San Pedro for a few days.

I saw two sporting events while on vacation: The Masters and the NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship: Miami vs. Boston University. I enjoy watching the Masters every year and this year it definitely made me feel like I was in the states. As for the hockey game: Miami was up 3 goals to 1 with 1 minute and 30 seconds to play. Boston pulled their goalie and proceeded to score 2 goals in 42 seconds sending the game into overtime. Miami ended up losing in overtime. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I thought Miami was finally going to win a national championship in something but no no. Better luck next year.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Close Proximity to Murder

One thing that takes some getting used to down here is being in close proximity to crime. Never in my life have I been able to stand at my place of residence and point to where murders have taken place. Just last month at the Bachelor Hotel (a huge hotel that does not seem to have any guests), which is a block away from my house, the owner let 4 people into the front office because he thought they were going to rent a room. Well that wasn't the case. They proceeded to corner him in the rental office, torture him, stab him repeatedly and then slit his throat. This all happened within 200 yards of my apartment. The robbers/murderers apparently wanted some money and the man (who in local newspapers is referred to as “Chinee man”) refused to give them any.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss