November was one of my best month’s in country:
-Merida, Mexico: read previous blog
-Garifuna Settlement Day: I skipped out on Settlement Day last year promising myself I would go down to Dangriga this year. What an experience. It was awesome to say the least. A lot of ceremonial drumming. I’ll put some pictures up on facebook. Garifuna Settlement Day represents the day that the Garifuna culture came to Belize after being exiled from St. Vincent. Let the record state that I was in the Settlement Day Parade in Dangriga. Julie’s work: The Education Department, had a float and I decided to help them decorate it. I wasn't going to hop on at first, but i was convinced otherwise and i participated in my first parade.
-Thanksgiving – All of the Peace Corps volunteers in the country were invited to the George Price Center to have In Service Training as well as Thanksgiving celebrations. It’s always nice to be around a lot of friends during the holidays. We also got to play some tennis at the Embassy, so that was good.
-Tobacco Caye – Beach Camping on a private Caye in Belize, not bad huh? Julie and I had an awesome time setting up a campsite right on the beach shore. We also did some snorkeling right off of the barrier reef. Tobacco Caye is roughly the size of 2 football fields and its about a 45 minutes boat ride from Dangriga.
-Caye Caulker – I love this place. A backpacker’s paradise. I snorkeled Caye Caulker for the first time. I was really cold and cloudy but it was still cool.
I saw Obama’s speech last night about Afghanistan, did you catch the Peace Corps shout out? Nice.
"In the end, our security and leadership does not come solely from the strength of our arms. It derives from our people…from the diplomats and Peace Corps volunteers who spread hope abroad; and from the men and women in uniform who are part of an unbroken line of sacrifice that has made government of the people, by the... people and for the people a reality on this Earth."
My beard is still going strong. It’s been about a month and a half. I am shaving on January 1. Some new comments at school: Santa, Bin Laden, Osama, Mennonite, Hobo, Amish. Check the pictures out on facebook.
Far From Home,
Christopher Wilkins Weiss
