Wow! What an amazing day we had today. I fell asleep last night listening to music coming from a local band playing at a restaurant about 50 yards away. People were also popping fireworks still celebrating the beginning of the New Year. For breakfast we ate at the Cozy Corner Restaurant. The waitress brought me a traditional Belizian breakfast. It consisted of ham, scrambled eggs, fried jacks, refried beans, and some of the best homemade strawberry jam I have ever had. The fried jacks almost remind me of sopapillas and are a good substitute for toast. While we were sitting at breakfast, a group of people overheard where we were coming from and I was shocked to hear that they were a group from Kingsville, Texas as well. What are the chances that we run into a group from the same city as us? The group is down here for mission work through the Kingsville Baptist Church. I thought to myself that we must be in a fabulous place if both groups decided to visit Placencia. The group was excited to hear what our plans were while we are here in Belize.
Our group was sad to hear that any excursions that involved water were cancelled due to the roughness of the water. However, we knew we would have plenty of things to enjoy and a whole city to explore. We decided to walk down the beach and stop in every local place we passed. The first place we stopped at was such a nice local restaurant. A woman approached us with some things she had made and wanted to see if we were interested in buying. I could not get over all of the beautiful things the woman had handmade. The woman pulled out bracelets that she had made out of watermelon seeds. The bracelets were beautiful and I could not believe they were made out of the seeds that we usually do not make use of in the United States. The woman put effort into something so simple and made it beautiful. That is something I have truly come to appreciate about the culture of the people of Belize. They make use of everything and appreciate everything that they have. The woman had also made necklaces and bracelets out of coconut shells. I decided to buy a beautiful bracelet made out of coconut shells that the woman had dyed different colors. She took something so simple and made it beautiful for me to enjoy for a lifetime. I also bought some handmade headbands that are extravagant and I cannot wait to wear them and people ask me where I got them from. Some people in my group thought that I paid too much for the headbands, but I did not care. I knew this was how this woman made a living for her and her family and I was more than happy to contribute for a pretty headband. I also thought it was something that was actually handmade in Belize when I would pay a lot more in America for something made in China or Mexico.
As we continued to walk down the beach and walk into different local places, I could not help but smile at how excited the local people got for us to walk into their place. Each one wanted to know our story, where we were coming from, and what we were planning on doing while in Belize. I thought it is so nice to have people actually ask us about ourselves and truly care what we had to say. The people in Belize are genuine and take advantage of the conversations they have with others. Sometimes it is hard to find this in the United States and I have really enjoyed the experiences I have had here. We decided to eat at a restaurant that is owned by a man from Belgium that has been a resident of Belize for twenty years now. The menu was filled with Belgium and Belize entrees to choose from. Our waitresses were local woman from Belize that had a lot to share with us. When one of the waitresses would approach us, she would ensure everything was alright and give us a friendly pat on the back. It was nice to have someone actually care about the people they were serving and not just be into making money. Due to such wonderful hospitality, we decided to stay and talk to them about the country of Belize.
They were so interested to hear about what we do in America and us about what they do here in this part of Belize. One of our waitresses was telling us that the girls here in Belize are only thought of as getting pregnant and having babies so they did not recieve much support to go to secondary school. I was shocked to hear this because she was such a sweet, brilliant woman. I could not imagine someone denying me the opportunity to get an education and better myself. However, I guess this is part of the culture here and it is something that the woman have to respect. While at the restaurant, we met a lot of people who have moved here from all over the world. They were telling us how wonderful it is to live here and that Placencia is one of the safest places to live in the entire country of Belize. One of our waitresses' kids showed up at the restaurant and we really enjoyed meeting them. The waitresses' son had a deck of cards and he has been teaching himself magic tricks. I asked him to show us one of his tricks and he was so excited to show it to us. For a ten year old, he was really good and took pride in all of his tricks. The waitress also told us that her eight year old niece goes to the Stella Maris school and she is deaf and currently cannot talk. She was so thrilled to hear that we are going to Stella Maris School to work with the children there. This really made me happy and made me thankful that I was offered the opportunity to work with others.
I cannot wait to go back to the United States and tell my parents all about it. I am hoping I can convince them and we can make a trip back here. Tomorrow we are traveling to Dangrigia, Stann Creek to take a tour of the village. I am excited to see what tomorrow will bring.
No comments:
Post a Comment