Hello From Belmopan!

Our flight was uneventful – after the bus driver, who was taking us to the airport in a 40 passenger bus, engaged in a high speed chase through the airport arrival and departure ramps because an airport shuttle hit the front of our bus. I thought I was in "Speed II", but couldn't find Keena Reeves anywhere on the bus! The excitement began to build as the pilot commended the group of 40 Peace Corps volunteers on board for their dedication and we all cheered as the wheels touched down in our new country. Our excitement built even more as we disembarked from the plane to the cheers of our fellow volunteers who had come from all over the country to welcome us. After clearing customs and immigration, we were bused to a very nice hotel to have dinner of rice and beans and chicken with the current volunteers – then we were taken to the hotel where we are staying - not so nice! There are two beds in the room, one has the mattress and the other the box springs. There is no closet, drawers or even a chair in the room. All of the rooms have a TV, some even work and some have air conditioning that works, but none of us has hot water.
I have a wonderful roommate here in Belmopan, Linda Crawford, from a small town just south of Canada in Minnesota, and she is really HOT! She is the same age as I am and her birthday is the day before mine. She was an executive director for several group homes for the developmentally delayed, so you can imagine how much we have in common and it's wonderful to hang out and explore Belmopan with her.
On Saturday, we were taken to a Kriol Cultural Day at a monkey preserve. Our guild showed us many varieties of trees and vegetation, and some that are used for medicinal purposes. We saw a family of Howler monkeys and the mother came down from the tree and rested on my shoulder as she examined all of us other primates! We then saw demonstrations of all sorts of things – how they make oil from palm seeds, how cashews are roasted, native dancing and the “Legendary Mr. Peters Band” a great Kriol band. We had, what else, rice and beans and chicken!

On Sunday, we went to a beautiful river in the jungle and joined locals as they played, bathed and washed clothes. We played! And the “kids” were amazed when I climbed the rock ledge and jumped off with them. It was cool, refreshing and a great day in a beautiful place. Today we are back in classes and had our first Creole language lesson. We will leave on Thursday for our villages for 6 weeks of Community Based Training, though classes won’t start until next Tuesday because Easter is a very big holiday here. All offices are closed and work stops on Thursday afternoon and doesn’t resume until after Easter Monday.

Well, layta. Tumaaro dehn!