New Experience

Well I don't know how to put it any other way: one of my co-workers at E.P. Yorke was murdered last week. Apparently he was driving around the downtown area at 11 p.m. and a group of "gang bangers" stopped his car and shot him in the head and then took his car. After shooting him, they then tossed him into the street and drove off with the car. Cops later chased down the vehicle and captured 3/5 criminals.

I can say that this is a new experience for me. Never have I personally known someone who has been murdered; to have one of the people you work and interact with on a daily basis taken away is painful. He worked at the high school for the last 10 years and he was a really good basketball player in Belize. I can't recall a day on campus that we didn't joke around or speak to each other. Just recently he started calling me "rich white bwai" because he asked what my parents did for a living. I stated that sure my parents are doing well but as for me, well let's just say that the $79 in my US Bank account would not take me very far.

So yesterday I attended my first Belizean funeral and it was very large even for US standards. They had to use the University of Belize gymnasium for all the people that showed up. The Prime Minister, Minster of Education, The Ambassador of the United States along with other dignitaries were in attendance. My co-worker was the son of the mayor of Belmopan. They are hoping that this senseless murder will be the turning point for the violence in Belize. In my opinion, the corruption will prevent any real progress from taking place.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

It's Hot

What's the temperature down here right now? Thought you'd never ask:

99 Degrees
Feels like 117 Degrees

Can't wait for June.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Mention in the Miamian

Check out the article: Snapshots of Service in the Spring 2010 Miamian: Miami University Alumni Magazine:

http://www.miamialum.org/s/916/internal.aspx?sid=916&gid=1&pgid=2249

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala

So i just got back from a whirlwind of a trip: 8 days in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. So here goes:

Day 1 - Dangriga, Belize to Puerto Cortes, Honduras: 3 1/2 hour boat ride
Private Taxi from Puerto Cortes to San Pedro Sula
Nice bus from San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas

Day 2 - Copan Ruinas, Honduras: We all went to a natural hot spring resort/spa that was 45 minutes out of Copan so we got to see some of the Honduran countryside. One of the highlights of the trip.

Day 3 - Bus from Copan to El Poy, Honduras/El Salvador border. It was Sunday so one of the buses were were going to catch wasnt running, so we get on one of the worst buses i have ever been on. 3 1/2 hour ride to El Poy, the bus stops a town short of where we are supposed to be so we get a taxi to the border. After walking across the Honduras/El Salvador border we take an authentic chicken bus ride to San Salvador: sharp fast turns, loud music, half the bus is standing, making stops every 2 minutes, conductor yelling out the window, people selling random food and drinks at every major stop. craziness. We finally get to San Salvador and we are staying at the Hilton (one of Julie's friends gets employee rates) We barely left the hotel; there was no need: gym, comfortable bed, tv, steam room, pool, sauna and a subway right across the street.

Day 4 - San Salvador, El Salvador

Day 5 - Private taxi to Playa El Tunco, El Slavador, the best beach I have ever been to (move over bootleg Wind n Sea in La Jolla, CA there's a new beach in town) Cool little surf town with black sand beaches, fish tacos, awesome waves and pure fruit popsicles: Heaven is that you?

Day 6 - Private shuttle from Playa El Tunco to Antigua, Guatemala. Julie and I have already seen Antigua so it was nice to be back but i've seen enough Antigua.

Day 7 - Ran out of money and had to borrow some from Julie's friend just to get back home. Shuttle from Antigua to Guatemala City, overnight bus from Guate to Flores

Day 8 - 7 am bus from Flores to Belize City and we are home by noon.

Crazy trip. We are almost done with seeing all of Central America:

Belize - check
Mexico - check
Guatemala - check
Honduras - check
El Salvador - check
Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua

Ask me again in August and they will all be checked.

Let the record state that Matthew James Gill owes me $20.00 US Dollars. Why you ask? I'll tell you: Before the tournament began I bet him that the Duke Blue Devils would make it farther that the Kentucky Wildcats. So if you see him on the streets of Chicago, please remind him to pay up.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Your Real Age

This has nothing to do with my Peace Corps service but i thought it was cool: Check this out and take the real age test:

http://www.realage.com/

My Results:

Calender Age: 26.4

Real Age: 21.0

5.4 years younger than I actually am!

March

A few updates:

The garden is coming along nicely. We have installed a roof to shade the plants from the intense direct sunlight. The roof consists of "bush sticks" and coconut tree palms. We planted cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, basil and yellow peppers. We tried to plant green peppers but i think the seeds were old. I have three goals for the garden:
1. Have/produce at least one piece of vegetable
2. Incorporate gardening into the It's Up To Me Program
3. Create a permanent garden for the school

Thanks again to The Tennis Company in San Diego, California for donating 12 basketballs to the E.P. Yorke High School Physical Education Department. The owner/my former boss donated 12 soccer balls last year and the school greatly appreciates the donations. If anyone is interested in donating sports equipment (softball mits, volleyballs, soccer balls, basketballs, jump ropes etc.) or school supplies (pencils, pens, notebooks, rulers) please feel free to contact me:
weisscw@gmail.com

The Social Investment Fund Application for the E.P. Yorke Sports/Multipurpose Complex is eligible for funding, which is good news; the bad news is they don't have any more money for the year. We will need to wait until September to see if it receives funding. That would be awesome for the school and it would be kind of the icing on the cake for my Peace Corps service.

Well I guess Belize has reached a new low: cops are shooting cops in San Pedro (a major tourist destination). I stand corrected: "A cop intentionally shot another cop and killed him" As many outsiders know, Belize is considered a violent place, but if you live here it's different. Everyone knows that the violence is primarily gang-on-gang violence with the occasional outbreak of random brutal crimes. A cop shooting another cop is pretty crazy though. If the violence in Belize continues, regardless if it's gang-on-gang, this country will have a tougher time climbing out of the developing world.

The new class of volunteers comes to Belize next week. It's crazy to think that I am almost done with this experience. My COS (Close of Service) date will probably be the first week of October.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

February Garden

I started a garden at my school. The school gave me a large plot of land to do whatever I want. So far we've created a seed bed, compost pile and we are just about done turning the soil over. It's a lot of work and I am using forced/slave labor to help me complete the project: Suspension students. If you get suspended from school in Belize you don't go home, you work. The soil is very rich because about 10 years ago a teacher started a garden and chicken coop but it was abandoned about 5 years ago. We should be planting some seeds within the next week or so and doing some transplanting in about 3-4 weeks.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss