How to....

make refried bean stuffed tortillas!!

1) Combine refried beans with grilled onions and pepper. Fry it all together and let it cool completely.

2) Make the tortilla dough (flour, shortening, baking soda, salt, and water). Knead the dough and roll it into balls.

 

3) Use the flour balls to make a cup shape.

4) Put a spoonful of your refried bean mix into the cup.

 

5) Close the cup over the refried bean and let it sit out for five minutes.

 

6) Heat your comal on the stove.

7) Use your hands to flatten out the refried bean filled tortilla ball. Be careful not to let the beans out!

8) Cook your tortilla on the comal. Flip it like a pancake and it is ready to eat!

Tastes best with a little habanero sauce!

7 fun facts about Belize

1. The people of Belize have been very creative with the unique naming of their local species these include names like the Owl eye butterfly, the False Vampire Bat, and the Red Footed Booby Bird.

2. The people of Belize have folklore about a 3 foot dwarf with no thumbs by the name of El duende. El Duende who hangs out in the forest and eats children who try to destroy the wildlife.

3. Belize was a British Colony until 1981 when it gained its independence. They are now a part of the common wealth.

  

 

 4. Belize’s first capital was Belize City but a hurricane destroyed the City in 1961. The capital of Belize is now Belmopan.

5. Belize’s has 185 miles of barrier reef which is the largest in the Western hemisphere.

6. Did you know that the national dish of Belize is Stewed Chicken with Rice and Beans and Potato Salad also called 1, 2, 3?

7. Belize has one of the richest Mayan cultural history locations with more than 900 historic locations.

Nice little overview...

History & Culture of Belize
Belize is a small, friendly English speaking country south of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Unlike most of Central America, Belize has not suffered violent civil conflict or repression.
Indigenous people
The Maya were the first to inhabit the land referred to as La Ruta Maya, whose territory also included Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. From as early as 9000 B.C.E. they flourished as a master civilization, constructing impressive ceremonial centers and villages, until their mysterious disappearance in 1000 C.E.
Today, about 12% of the population of Belize are Maya. At the peak of the vast Mayan empire, archeologists estimate that 1 to 2 million Mayans lived within the borders of Belize.
Colonial history
The Spanish were the first to lay claim to the area now known as Belize, having colonized the area now know as Belize in the 16th and 17th centuries. The British, however, were the first to actually settle in the territory. Pirates sheltered inside the reef, using the small cayes as a base for attack against Spanish ships. By the late 1600’s many British settled along the coast, making their living cutting logwood. These British settlers came to depend on slave labor for the harsh logging work in Belize.

Many skirmishes between the British Baymen and the Spanish arose, for the Spanish still claimed control of the area. The showdown came on September 10, 1798, at St. George’s Caye when Baymen chased Spanish ships away from what had come to be known as British Honduras. The date is still celebrated as a national holiday in Belize.
Ethnically diverse culture
In the days of the Baymen, work crews of slaves accompanied their owners to the logging camps in the interior of Belize. According to a 1790 census, 75 percent of the territory’s residents were slaves, 10 percent were whites, and the rest were free blacks. Ignored by the census were the Mayan Indian communities.

Belize society today is ethnically diverse and culturally rich. Historically it is a country of immigrants, with even most of the Mayan tracing their roots to Mexico or Guatemala. The ancestors of the mestizo population lived at one time in the Yucatan. Both groups of Belizeans – the Creoles and the Garifunas – trace their origins to Africa by way of the Caribbean.

During most of this century Creoles were the largest ethnic group, followed by mestizos, Garifunas, and Mayas. As of the 1991 census mestizos outnumbered the Creoles. This multi ethnic country is also home to communities of German Mennonites, Chinese, East Indians, and immigrants from the Middle East.
Creoles
Belizean Creoles are the descendants of slaves brought from Africa and the West Indies. Generally to be Creole means to have some African ancestry, but is now used primarily to identify non-Indian, non-mestizo ways of life, with a set of social values derived from the Anglo-Saxon countries.
Garifuna
In the early 19th century the Garifuna created a niche in Belizean society. Scattered along the Caribbean coast, the Garifuna people initially came to Belize from Honduras. The Garifunas are a cultural and racial fusion of African slaves, Carib Indians, and a sprinkling of Europeans. It is traditionally claimed that they arrived on the shores of British Honduras on November 19, 1802.
Maya
Mayan communities are found in many parts of Belize. The Mopan Maya, of the southern districts, were historically a lowland group that inhabited Guatemala. Culturally, these Maya have much in common with the traditional Maya of northern Belize. Their economy is a mixture of subsistence crops and cash crops.

The Kekchi Maya also migrated to Belize from Guatemala to escape enslavement by German coffee growers. Clustered in the south, they are Belize’s poorest and most neglected ethnic group. Their language has few similarities with that of other Mayans. The Kekchi maintain contact with their ancestral communities in Guatemala.

Loving Maya Mopan

Today is my two week anniversary of living in Maya Mopan. My Q'eqchi is getting a lot better and I'm not making oval tortillas anymore! I love the slow pace of our community. I like coming home and napping at lunch. I like visiting in the evenings.

Sometimes Americans have a hard time adjusting to the slower pace of life here. We are used to getting things done and seeing the fruits of our labor. In the Peace Corps you must accept the fact that you probably won't see the results of your hard work. It's a humbling reality.

Yesterday I visited my host sister's sister Hilda. She has the most adorable thatch house. I want to live in a house like that some day. We also had an incredible sunset last night. This is a beautiful place.

Danny's First Entry!

Wow, the past two weeks have been busy.  Within that timeframe, we have fused tight friendships with 36 former strangers as we embark upon our training sites across Belize.  We have been exceptionally grateful for our wonderful host mother Delia, who has been teaching us Q’eqchi as frequently as she teaches us how to make our own tortillas (“wa”, pronounced “cwah” in Q’eqchi).  She has been a wonderful host and we are grateful to live with her.

I have been awed by the humanity with which we have been received by the Belizeans.  I have been reading excellent theses on humanity by Dr. Cornell West and James Martin, S.J., detailing working with the poor in conditions of duress.  It is impressive to be working with so many committed individuals from the states and even more impressive still the treatment we have gotten from our host country.  If we are to be promoters of compassion as citizens of the world (a group we are quickly discovering everyone truly belongs to), it is crucial that we practice compassion in our daily lives, including the work that we do.  We are truly honored to be charged with this work and will continue to do so with love and diligence for the people of Belize as we represent our home community.

Even while living in a nation where the poverty is as oppressive as the equatorial heat and humidity, Belizeans find ways both large and small to show love and goodness to one another.  It is truly remarkable that such a population exists in a place that can be, at times, so difficult to live a daily life. We consider it a great honor to serve the Q’eqchi people (an indigenous Mayan group) during our service in Belize.

I have promised my betrothed that I will be better about adding to our blog.  More from me later.

Solidarity

CBT

4/3 Exploring Maya Mopan

First thing first-I am terrible at Q’eqchi. I’m also terrible at making tortillas and washing my clothes by hand the proper way. Luckily, I have the best host sister in the world who is patiently teaching me the fundamentals of Q'eqchi life. She is so wonderful. I am thankful to live in her beautiful home. All weekend she introduced us to her family and showed us around Maya Mopan. She is related to almost everyone here. It was so hard to keep everyone straight! I am planning on helping her make a family tree so we can see how large her family is here.

It is so important to learn how people are related in a place like Belize. Human relationships are the most important resource in sustainable development.

Normally I have a terrible sense of direction. Danny jokes that we go ‘as the Breezie flies”. However, I am happy to say that I am getting much better at orienting myself to my surroundings quickly. I think two things have helped greatly- walking around all the streets (wandering) and making a community map.

The Peace Corps teaches us several methods of gathering data as part of a process called “Participatory Analysis for Community Action” (PACA). One of the methods is to create a community map. You do that with the help of several people who live here. It is important to ask all different kinds of people and be sure to ask both men and women. When creating a map people will put emphasis on the places that mean the most to them. You can compare the different group’s maps and use that information to see where the town’s resources are. You can also see what places are most important to the various groups who participate. In the course of making the map some interesting conversations can take place in a non-threatening way.

The Peace Corps gives us a little book outlining PACA tools. It is so incredibly helpful to get some idea of where to start gathering data in a culturally appropriate way. We even practiced how to introduce ourselves to all kinds of people in the community. For example, if we need to work with the village council we have to know how to appropriately approach them. I learned that in Belize you should ALWAYS use Mr. or Ms. when meeting someone for the first time. Also, it is important to be clear about who you are, what you are doing, and why you are asking them questions. Keep the conversation light and brief for the first time. It sounded easy but when I actually had to stand up in front of the group and introduce myself to one of the Belizean training staff who was pretending to be a village leader I got so nervous! I really don’t want to make a bad first impression!!

Tomorrow is the first day of Community-Based Training (CBT) with the Technical Trainers and the Language and Cultural Facilitators. We go from 7:30a-5pa. That is a LOT of training. Some people say that the first three months of PC is the hardest because there is so much to learn in such a short time. The good thing is everything we are learning can be instantly applied where we live. We practice using all the PACA tools and work on our language skills with our host family. That real-time practice is so important. I keep thinking about how lucky I am to be here. I don’t think there is any experience comparable to the PC experience. I read an interview today from a PC regional director. She was asked to sum up her PC experience into one word. Her word was ‘significant’. I couldn’t agree more.

Host Family

4/1 First Day with Host Family

We moved in with our host family today. Our host ‘mother’ is 25 years old. Her name is Dahlia. She lives in a cute house in Maya Mopan. The inside of her entire house is a beautiful bright blue/turquoise. The front of some Belizean houses are decorated with swans. I kept trying to ask Dahlia why people here like swans so much, but she didn’t understand what I was asking. After a few tries she realized what I was talking about and said “OH! The ducks! I don’t know, we just like ducks.” That made me laugh. She doesn’t have any kids, but she does have one dog named Shaggy. Her husband is in the Belizean Defense Force (BDF) and isn’t here right now.

Dahlia has a HUGE family. She has 9 brothers and sisters and a whole bunch of cousins, aunts and uncles. Almost her entire family lives in Maya Mopan. I already met several of her sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces, and nephews. I even met her neighbor, their kids, and their three dogs Tiger, Cindy, and Blacky. Our host mother’s dad is one of the local pastors. Her grandfather owns a horse that they use on the farm. I think I might get to ride it!

Today we learned how to make corn tortillas by hand. It took some practice but after a few tries my tortillas were ‘whistling’ and ‘puffing’ with the rest of them. I couldn’t work up the nerve to turn them by hand though because I was so afraid of burning myself.

At Dahlia’s house we have our own room, electricity, running water, a hammock, cable, and a modern kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator. She doesn’t have hot water, but I don’t think we will need it. Belize is HOT! I think we are very lucky to live in such a beautiful home. I couldn’t be happier with it.

This weekend we will relax and get to know Maya Mopan. I can’t wait to meet the rest of Dahlia’s family. On Sunday I think we will be able to go to her father’s church. The entire service is in Q’eqchi! On Monday we start our community-based training. It definitely feels like I’m back in school. We have a lot of homework and assigned reading. I think the hardest part will be learning Q’eqchi. There isn’t even a dictionary for it! However, it is a very important language to know in Belize. It’s also a beautiful language and I can’t wait to start learning it.

Community-Based Training

Danny and I will be living with a Mayan family in the area of Maya Mopan for the next 8 weeks. We will be learning how to speak Q'eqchi (pronounced "catchy"). I can't wait to meet the family this afternoon. For the next 8 weeks we will be living, training, and exploring a new community. Our training will include all the skills we will need to live and work successfully in Belize for the next two years.