so far...

Well, we are all settled in to our new house in Blue Creek. Danny joked that we never had a three bedroom house before the Peace Corps. The funny thing about living in a house though is something always seems to go wrong. Our sink is backed up, the shower exploded water everywhere, the electricity regularly goes out, as well as the water.  Not to mention the critters of every size and shape that wonder into our home. However, I did fall in love with the little frog that visits us almost every night. His name is Sir Hops-a-lot. We've also sort of adopted a puppy that comes over regularly.

I'm learning so many things about home maintenance. It will be handy when I go back to the states!

The nice thing about our house is that it is right on campus. My walk to work takes about two minutes. That is certainly an upgrade over merging freeway lanes and fighting traffic. I like being able to walk and ride the bus to get where I need to go. I do miss my car, but I hope to use it less when I go back to the states.

Differences/Similarities

Morning Routine:

Differences: We wake up about 4:30-5 am without an alarm. Probably because we go to bed so early. We have to turn on all the lights and check for scorpions/spiders before we step on the floor. We have a lot of time to sit and enjoy coffee while listening to the jungle sounds or the rain. Our mornings are not rushed and we simply walk down the little path to get to work.

Similarities: Thanks to our amazing friends and family we have coffee from home. We also eat cereal or oatmeal for breakfast like we did in the states. Our host family fed us duck, fish, eggs, or pork with tortilla for breakfast. I think cereal is a little easier to make.

Afternoon:

Differences: We don't pack our lunch or eat fast food anymore. No more Safeway deli Chinese food for lunch. We mosey back to the house and make some beans w/ tortilla or ramen noodles. Maybe we will eat some soup or pasta. It's funny how much soup we eat despite the heat. It's a Maya thing. Lunchtime is peaceful, slow, and quiet.

Similarities: Not too many similarities here. Our daily routine is so much different from the states!

Evening:

Differences: Danny and I work out together every single day. We make dinner rather than ordering out or eating at a restaurant. I'm actually learning how to cook! We don't have cable or Internet at home so we enjoy reading or watching movies on our laptops. Sometimes we meet up with our coworkers and cook dinner together. Cooking is a great way to make friends. Plus, one of my coworkers makes the best curry chicken I've ever had-and I lived in India! She's going to teach me how to make it soon. The biggest difference is that we usually go to bed around 8:30-9pm.

Similarities: We watch a lot of the same movies/tv shows on our laptops that we used to watch on TV. Evening time was always a time to reconnect and talk about our day and we continue to do that. I always worked out after work and I still do that here.

Weekends:

Differences: We take the bus to Punta Gorda town to go shopping and see friends. The bus ride is about 45 minutes long and half the trip is on a dirt road. We have to plan ahead though because the road leading out of our village regularly floods. I used to enjoy hiking on the weekends, going to bookstores, jogging, and going for drives. Now, we must stay in Blue Creek on the weekends because the only bus into town leaves at 5:15am and returns at 11:30am. I spend my weekends relaxing, reading, cooking, working out, swimming in the river, and going on walks around the village.

Similarities: We've made so many great friends here. We usually meet up with people for breakfast on Saturday mornings. Weekends at home were relaxing and the same is true here.

One simple piece of advice a friend gave us before moving to Belize is "Remember that you are moving there, not camping for two years." Before I joined the Peace Corps my mind focused on the adventure an travel side of the experience. You forget that you will be building a normal life and routine. I never thought about the little things like doing dishes in my house, fixing clogged sinks, and sweeping out the spider grave yard that builds up after killing spiders all day. I never really thought about dressing professionally and going to work Monday through Friday. The best part of the two year commitment is the ability to build a life here. I care about this community because it is my home and the people who live here are my friends.