Tour d'Belize

The third goal of the Peace Corps is to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. So, I was very excited when Dad came to visit on March 11th. Having been here for a year, I thought I was finally prepared to give him a proper "Tour d'Belize!" The day after he arrived, I had a party for all the people I worked with at WIN Belize and other Belizean friends, so they could meet Dad. I strung white lights across my drive and put chairs outside, so everyone could enjoy the cool sea breeze and beautiful night. The next day we jumped on the water taxi and went to Caye Caulker, a cute little vacation spot about an hour off-shore. When we got back, we went to the Belize Museum, located in the old prison. The restoration is beautiful and we saw the new Mayan Jade exhibit that was in the process of being set up. The next day we went on a tour around the city in an open carriage, so Dad could see the different areas of town - from the very poor sections on the Southside to Buttonwood Bay, where the Prime Minister lives. We also saw many of the beautiful old Colonial homes that have withstood 100 years of termites, and 2 major hurricanes! We walked across the famous "Swing Bridge" that is turned on one central post with a hand crank before hurricanes, so the fishing boats can move up river. We visited the old Governors House that is now the House of Culture; St. John's Cathedral, the oldest church in the Caribbean; the Bliss Lighthouse, walked around the downtown area, saw the Old Colonial Court House, and of course, the Women in Art exhibit at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts, where I now work. We took the bus to the Belize Zoo, but we only saw a panther and a few snakes. I guess the other animals were on holiday too! Another morning, we had brunch with US Ambassador Thummalapally and his family. It was so nice of them to take the time to meet Dad and he really enjoyed it. Then on the weekend, we headed across the country to San Ignacio on a 3 hour bus ride. Dad was a real trooper, but it's a must if you really want to get the full Belizean experience! We went to Cahal Pesh, a beautiful resort at the top of a Mayan Ruin and stayed in an amazing "air conditioned" thatched hut overlooking the town of San Ignacio. The next day we went to the beautiful open market in San Ignacio, then a friend of mine who has a car, picked us up and we went on a great adventure on a very rough dirt road through the Mountain Pine Ridge to see the Green Ridge Butterfly Ranch and Francis Ford Coppola's resort, Blancaneaux Lodge. We had a wonderful lunch at the top of a mountain, overlooking a beautiful river and waterfall at the Three Sisters Resort, and ended up at another great resort called Caves Branch, where I had reserved a treehouse in the top of the jungle overlooking another beautiful river. The next day we took the bus back to Belmopan and spent the afternoon with the people I lived with during training when I first arrived in Belize. Then we were back on the bus heading home to Belize City. One of our last trips was with a guide who took us to the Altun Ha Ruins, one of the largest ceremonial centers with three restored temples. But before I knew it, Dad's vacation was over and we had to say good bye. We had a wonderful time and I hope I showed him a good sampling of this amazing country!

But I think one of the highlights of the trip for both of us was visitng the power plant in the Menonite town of Spanish Lookout. We spent about an hour with hard hats on getting a first hand tour of their 5 brand new Caterpiller Diesel generators. They were awesome!

Women in Art

I know it was over a month ago, but this is the event that has turned around my work, and life here in Belize, so I want to tell you a little about this art exhibit.
I had heard that there was an exhibit of women's art during March, which is celebrated as Women's Month in Belize. I met with Karen Vernon, the Director of the Bliss Theater, in early February and offered to help with the exhibit. She welcomed my assistance and asked me to contact the artists on her list, and find new female artists, to invite them to submit their work for the exhibit. She also asked me to obtain biographical information and pictures from the artists who were participating, and compile the information into a book that would be distributed on Opening Night. We ended up with thirty eight artists, who's ages ranged from 18 to "over 65", three of whom had never exhibited before. About a week before the show opened, Rachael Heusner, a long time resident of Belize who recently moved to Tobago, arrived to curate the exhibit. She and Karen had developed a great theme and design layout for the exhibit, and I had a great time helping Rachael set it up. As guests climbed the stairs to the gallery, they looked up to see clothes lines of women's clothing hanging above them - in pink, of course!
The Opening, or Launch, as it is called here, was a tremendous success, with about 200 people attending. The Opening Ceremony featured a wide range of female talent, including poetry, Garifuna drumming, dance and of course, the art. Rachael and her mother even made hundreds of cupcakes with icing in red, blue, green and yellow which we placed on a stand that held art palates painted the same colors as the cupcakes. A female DJ outside on the Palm Terrace, played female musician's music, while guests enjoyed light hors d'ouvres and rum punch. The picture at right is Rachael on the left and one of the new artists, Alessandra Berry, on the right. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it so much, that I wanted more! I decided to discuss it with my Counterpart at WIN and I'm delighted to say that last week, I started working for ICA, The Institute of Creative Arts, here at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts.
I am still in the Peace Corps Business and Organizational Development group, so my job at The Institute of Creative Arts will be business related. I will be working on audience development for the theater, as well as at events, festivals and activities sponsored by ICA. I will also be working on the promotion of Belizean artists, trying to increase the sale of their work, both in the country and through exportation. I have only been here two weeks, but everyone has made me feel so welcome, and I am so excited about the work to be done here. I have already presented several ideas to Karen that she has encouraged me to proceed with and I am anxious to make them become reality!