Summer Update

So Summer is almost over and I have a couple of updates for everyone:

1. I finished the It’s Up To Me Manual. I am happy with my work and it is currently being edited by several Belizeans. It should be ready to print by the beginning of the school year. The manual is one of my ways of ensuring sustainability of the program.

2. Random trips to Caye Caulker are nice. It only costs $25 round trip and when you find a secluded hotel/cabana on the backside of the island, its the recipe for complete relaxation.

3. Trip to Argentina is in the works for Spring of 2010.

4. I will be in the United States in September – Cocoa Beach, Florida for the Weiss Family Vacation. Julie is coming too!! I am excited for her to meet my entire family.

5.  http://thisisdiversity.com/ – wanted me to post some of my blog entries on their website. They said they enjoy my take on life as a PCV. Money is given to the author’s of the articles who receive the most hits for the month. If my articles receive any money it will be donated to the “It’s Up To Me” program . Check out the website and search for my articles.

6. http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/its-up-to-me-program – Please donate to my project!!! We are so close to obtaining the funds. Thanks to those who have already donated: Vens, Ruza, Gill, Cook and Heiner. If you know of anyone that would be interested, please forward them the link.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Lobsterfest and Family Reunion

It’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve got two things to talk about:

1. Lobsterfest – Julie and I went to Lobsterfest in Placencia a couple weekends ago. It’s a festival celebrating the opening of lobster season. There are a bunch of booths selling all different kinds of lobster. We decided to splurge at a nice restaurant instead of buying lobster at all the booths. We went to a nice place called Rumfish y Vino. We split the “Lobster 5 Ways” special. It was 5 kinds of lobster dishes with 5 different kinds of wine:

-Lobster Seviche, Lobster Bisque, Lobster crepes, Lobster Sheppard's pie and Lobster pasta.

It was delicious. It was nice to be back in Placencia again.

2. Eiley Family Reunion – I was invited to the Eiley Family Reunion in Placencia last weekend (back to back weekends in Placencia, not bad). It was my first large Belizean Family gathering experience. I was able to sit in the front seat while driving down south for the first time; most of the time I am on a bus or in the back seat of a SUV. The country of Belize is beautiful and driving from Belize City to Placencia you go through about 5 different scenery changes: city, Caribbean dessert (its kind of like Belize’s version of Texas), Jungle, Maya Mountains and Placencia peninsula. We left early in the morning so the fog was still hanging around in the Maya mountains. It was a spectacular sight. The reunion was a good experience and  I had a good time meeting the relatives of my host family. They all treated me as if I were apart of the family.

I failed the Foreign Service Exam. Its not an easy test due to the randomness of the questions and the limited time given on the writing portion. Now that i am familiar with the layout, I am going to attempt the exam again next year. The pass rate is somewhere in the 20% range. Happy Birthday to Erich Weiss (July 6th). Hope all is well in the States.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss