Belize Human Development Report

Here's a link to some info on Belize's overall situation according to the UNDP:

http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_BLZ.html

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

COS Conference

A couple things:

1. Tulum, Mexico - Julie and I took our last vacation this month. We took a trip to Tulum, Mexico and it was glorious. Anyone who doesn't believe in heaven, hasn't been to the beaches of the Yucatan: white sand, crystal blue water, warm weather. We went snorkeling with sea turtles, snorkeling in fresh water centotes: Dos Ojos, to the Tulum Ruins (whoa!) and Playa Del Carmen for the day. It was refreshing to be in Mexico again, it is such a nice break from Belize and everything is a lot cheaper. I did pretty well on using my vacation days while being in the peace corps. Each volunteer receives a total of 42 days of vacation for the 2 years, i have 7 left. Not bad. I made some phone calls a few weeks ago to buddies back in the states, and one of them stated: "It looks like one big vacation down there." There are a lot of nice places in and around Central America and Peace Corps allows for regional travel, but let the record state peace corps work is no vacation.

2. COS Conference - we had our Close of Service conference this month at Hopkins Bay Resort in Hopkins, Belize. It's the last of the Peace Corps in service training seminars, but this one fills volunteers in on exiting Belize and transitioning back into life in the USA: saying good bye to host families, host country agencies, friends and filling out your DOS (Description of Service) and completing your resume etc. It was an awesome conference and it was nice to be with my training group one last time. Our group started with 42 volunteers and we are down to 22 as of yesterday. A lot of people decided to ET (Early Termination) due to a variety of reasons. I am really proud of myself for sticking it out down here. 3 years ago when i started talking about doing Peace Corps, my friends thought i was crazy and it was "un-weiss like."

3. 64 Days left in the Peace Corps - its crazy to think I have been in Belize for 2 years now, this whole experience flies by. I am COSing on September 22 and should be back in the States on September 23.

4. I am working on starting a non-profit: VolunteerPlacement.org. More to come at a later date.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Video

I thought I would post videos so people could get some sense of what goes on down here in Belize. To read about some of this is one thing, but to actually see it is another. So I hope you all enjoy these videos.




Man on his way to work crossing a flooded bridge, while carrying his boots, a gun AND his bike. No big deal. What route do you take to work?

Video

Garifuna Settlement Day 2009 - Dangriga, Belize

Video

100 Days

So I only have about 100 days left in the Peace Corps. Pretty crazy. School let out for the summer vacation. I am working on creating a Leader Manual for the It's Up To Me program. One of my main concerns is long-term sustainability, but with a Student Workbook, a Leader's Manual and the support of the Principal, the program should stick around for a long time. The school received a replacement Peace Corps volunteer to continue some of the work with the program and for our first project together we are building a trellis over the garden. I thought it would be cool if we could turn the gardening area into a permanent gardening area.

Julie and I are going to Tulum, Mexico for our last vacation next month.

COS conference is coming up in July.

My official COS date is September 22, 2010.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

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