Not in Kansas anymore, but comfortable with it (most of the time)

I realize I haven't written a Not in Kansas anymore post in over 2 years.  I actually had to go-over my old posts to make sure I'm putting new information here.

To be honest, it is more and more difficult to write a post like this. We are increasingly comfortable with the environment we live in. We are trying to embrace things that we would have thought "strange" 3 years ago.  I also believe that it is good to look at our world with other's eyes. To see the things we miss. It also may help prepare anyone who wants to visit. (and hey please visit!!! :) )

The fact that it's hot hasn't changed. I just thought I should inform you of that. We are right in the midst of "it's so hot.." and that won't get any better till perhaps October/November.  I suppose there is no point in kicking a dead horse, we live with the heat. We don't have AC, those are facts.

(two weeks ago we had visitors from a FL Interpreting program)

Differences?  Well here are a few ones I've thought of recently.  Individual servings of soda come in "pint" bottles. They are glass and re-usable. You either bring a bottle to the store to exchange, put your soda in a plastic bag, or pay an extra shilling (25 cents) to carry it with you. We don't drink soda but have collected a few pints for exchange when Nathanael has review games at Friday night Bible study. Last year the littles made it a game, finding pint bottles and exchanging them at the local store for 25 cents worth of candy.

(Sprite the prize for winning Nathanel's review game at Bible Study)

Mosquitoes are a year round problem for us. When we first got here two years ago, I was sure we had bed bugs, there were so many bites happening at night. Thankfully it was just mosquitoes. What do we do about mosquitoes?  We have a lot of bug spray. We also burn these incense type coils. They help keep the unwanted creatures out.

Houses are built of two things here: Block and Cement or wood panels. The wood ones are mostly assembled by conservative Mennonites.  Some people build their own houses from any materials they find or are cheap. Ours is a block house, with a cement roof. I have come to learn that cement tends to hold in the heat, long past the sun going down.



















If  you can think of things you suspect are different, but aren't sure, feel free to ask :) I'd love to think up more for a new post.

Have a lovely week

Spring

Not in Kansas anymore 4th edition

May is our last full month in Belize.  We are discussing transition, discussing our next steps, discussing the fundraising that must happen, language study, and what our year will look like.  We are processing the goodbyes and hello's that will happen soon.   What a journey we've been on so far and it really is just beginning!  

We are still really newbies and will be when we return.  I thought I would share some other differences that I haven't focused on in other blog posts: 

Living in Orange Walk is similar to what I imagine it was like living in a small town in the 50's.  Everyone knows each other.  Almost every time we go out, from grocery shopping to visiting the local shop, we see people we know.  In fact our 3 local shops (all within a block of our house) know us so well they are often generous with us.  Just today our friends added 2 bananas and gum to my bag after I paid.

We don't have zip codes here. There is one post office in each  town and all mail goes to post office boxes. Our water and electric bills are delivered by the company and stuck into our gate.  Speaking of our gate, we have frequent visitors.  There is much solicitation here.  Sometimes I will buy what they are selling, but most of the time I don't.  Jehovah's witnesses make weekly visits as well.

Our trash is taken care of by the county.  This is what our trash truck looks like:  There really seems to be no certain day that the trash is taken.  The first week we were here, it came at 5am.  It seems to come now in the afternoon. This is actually a truck that helped clean out the sewer next door.  You can see our "hole" in the wall.  We toss the trash bags into the hole and on the other side the trash guys take it out.

We buy water and don't drink it from the tap.  When we're out and hot (happens a lot in this season) we will buy "shilling water".  A shilling is 1/4 of a dollar.  Shilling water is called that because it costs a shilling. The great value in it is the packaging is so thin that the water cools quickly.  When it's not cool though, I don't really enjoy it.

The city also is responsible for the grass which grows outside of our gate.  They have used "weed eaters" twice to chop it down since we arrived in August.  They have some powerful weed eaters!

While we were in Dangriga, there was a terrible accident.  The one bridge that lead to town was at a standstill.  The doctors who had come with Kids Konnect help stabilize the one woman in the accident.  Once this happened, the car was removed.  There aren't tow trucks in Belize.  Instead a backhoe pulled it out of the road.  Finally cars could pass! 

There are many more examples but I thought you'd enjoy a few today. 

Just FYI:  I updated our prayer requests.  I also added a page which gives a direct link on how to support us.  Thanks so much for all you our supporters have done for us!! 

Expectations.. and Easter

Nathanael and I spent 10 days in Belize in 2013.  We got to meet some of the people at Jesus Deaf Church. We walked around Orange Walk and ate tacos off the street.  We prayed that God would make it clear to us, this call to missions we felt  in our hearts.  Were we called to Orange Walk?  He did make it clear.  That is an awesome story for a different time

3 years ago this week, was the first time we landed in Orange Walk.  God clearly spoke to Nathanael and I.  We took steps, applied to EMM, prayed and asked people to be a part of our MST, raised funds, rented out our house, waited a year; and finally in August 2015 we arrived as a family.

We may have thought we knew what we were getting into but life has shown me over and over again that we really didn't.  As a whole, we have grown these past 6 months.  Our children have a deeper greater understanding of the global world.  They have met friends who live in different corners of the world.  

Was it what we expected?  I am not sure. I tend to hold expectations very loosely as they often get us into trouble when they don't come to fruition.  I do know God has been here. It is him who has answered prayers and he who has caused growth.

This past Friday (Good Friday), we went as a family to go on the "Cross Walk. " They do 14 stages of the crucifixion of Jesus.  Since I'm not catholic, I really even now couldn't tell you what each stage is.  We arrived to the church early.  3 years ago Nathanael and I got to do this in Orange Walk and we were excited about our children getting to experience it.

We stood outside of the catholic church during the mass.  As we were waiting, a man approached Nathanael about being a part of the stations.

We were a bit taken aback.  Nathanael's response was "I'm not Catholic" which apparently didn't matter. It didn't matter that he's American either.

I personally imagine that this is not how things happen "in the states" when one plans for a cross walk, one makes sure to have enough people for the parts weeks in advance.  

Nathanael got painted up. Abigail and Zion got to dress up and be a part of things as well.  The people who did the costumes were quite happy that Nathanael has a good beard! They got to participate in the fifth and 11th stations. 

Zephaniah and I followed the crowd from the fifth station through to the 11th. I got some footage of the other stations.

All in all we had a great time.  It was totally unexpected and a bit exhausting! It is a few mile walk.  Zephaniah was exhausted after our week in Placencia. 

After it was over we even got to have a small "dinner" (chips, dip and tang) with the other people who participated. 

When we arrived home, I still had a load of wash in the washer.  We ate dinner and I went outside to hang wash. (my father would be proud).  I was standing hanging the wash when a vehicle pulled up.  A man got out and signed to me.  Some of the people from Spanish Lookout were in Orange walk and were driving around looking for our house.  I was standing outside and they recognized me. Had I not been hanging wash at that moment, we would have missed the opportunity to have guests. 

This week we are thankful for the unexpected in our lives. Unexpected things, unexpected growth, unexpected richness of life.  We truly are blessed. 

Here is Abigail's youtube channel version of the walk:

What we see

My blog post is a little late this week.  Between Nathanael's work (mostly him being gone), extra church activities and regular activities, it's been a full week!

I thought it would be fun to show all of you a little of what our world looks like:

This is our house. We stay on a corner of two streets.  We live in the top of the house.  The bottom is a storage area.  A few times a week guys with a big truck stop by to pick up/drop off things to the storage area.  

This is the street that runs along the "back" of our house.  I have the back in quotes because there is disagreement as to what is the front and back of the house since we have 2 doors, both of which face  the street. 

This is a little shop directly across from our house.  The people are friendly.  We can get eggs and water, also snacks from them. We also have two other shops walking distance from us.  The children say they will miss the ability to walk to a shop and get something quickly.  

 This is the view of our house from the neighbors yard.. you actually can't see much of our house except for the palm tree. We don't see much of the people who live in this house. I think most of the time the kids are watching TV.

At one point the doorknob on Abigail and Zephaniah's room was stuck, I was trying to go around to help her but I got scared.. this ledge runs around the outside of our windows. Below me is our side yard

This is our other gate, along with the opening for the storage area.  We have a small side yard as well with plants and grass

  

Here is further down our street, right across from the church.  This family sells shaved oranges and a few other items outside of their house. We buy the oranges at least once a week. I like to make fresh squeezed orange juice with them.  

This is the side of the church, directly across from the other picture.  The bathrooms are in the right of the picture.  Nathanael was cleaning for a movie night. He left the windows shut. 

here is the front of the church.  We usually enter the church from the other side, the door with the keyhole is in that side :) One must walk around the church to get to the bathroom as there isn't a direct way through the church. 

This is the view of church from the back. It was set up for Movie night on Friday.  There are usually more people here on Movie night so Nancy has to take two van "runs" to pick everyone up.  I sat in back with the very young children. 

This is a street being redone.  It is close to the market where we buy vegetables as well as the ice cream place. 

of course I couldn't resist adding a picture of us enjoying ice cream. Western Dairies is a Belizean company based in Spanish Lookout.  Ice cream from them is very reasonable.  These cones were 2 $ each.  The American ice cream costs us a pretty penny (and we don't eat it!!) we saw it in the store for 65 dollars for a half gallon (Our exchange rate is 2$ to 1$ American) 

And Finally Nathanael on the street conversing with a friend from church.  This man has about an hour bus ride from a village outside of Orange Walk., A few deaf people have been attending from the outside villages. It is so awesome to see them come

We're not in Kansas anymore.. but we are getting used to Belize

As with most devloping countries,  it is not advisable to drink the water from the faucet.  In Mexico, there was a guy who sold water in the street. We called him "El Chino" because of his curly hair.  Here it's different.  We have 2 bottles which we fill.  Two weeks ago I went with Nathanael to get water for the first time,  It really looks like a gas station. This was not how I pictured "getting water"  

Nathanael had been getting the water.  Then we were going together to get it.  I know it's not Nathanael's favorite thing to do.

Today I decided that while he was out meeting with guys in the church, I would get it myself. I put a kid and the water bottle in the back of the bike.  I was so proud of the fact that I was successful with the water.. even getting it into the dispenser myself.  

I thought you might enjoy the visual of what it involves to get water.  

Riding a bike here is "not my favorite" the cars aren't very respectful, our bike has no gears, and there is a basket in the front.  I can't get the tune from the Wizard of OZ out of my head every time I ride.  It was funny the first time I rode with Selah on the handlebars (a common way to carry a kid with you around here). She was more scared than I was. 

I do have to say at the time that Nathanael packed the trailer as a awkward suitcase, I wasn't happy.. especially because I was the one who had to have it as luggage.  Now that we use it almost every day I'm glad.  There are none available here, and we would have been stuck without it. Here is the picture of pre-packed mess that got to Belize.. :) Glad it doesn't look like that now. My poor parents 

We're not in Kansas anymore Toto.. and that's a good thing

We have reached the one month mark of being here in Belize.  Technically, Spring and the children will have been here a month on 9/17.

We are starting to "settle in" to our routine..

We are also getting used to the heat. Today I left the house at a fast pace and checked the temperature.  88 degrees with a real feal temp of 92, 54% humidity. I felt comfortable. 

Our children have experienced so much. They get to ride a school bus (the busses here used for transportation are old school busses) and taxi's something the never did in the states.  On our way back from Corazal, the bus was so full.  I started to get into my "oh dear the bus is full" mentality. I pulled my backpack in front of me.  I took note of who was around me and where my children were.  Abigail on the other hand looked at me with delight dancing in her eyes:  she was excited to not only be riding the bus (the very full bus) but be standing in the isle, driving down the highway!!

One thing I just love about this culture is the warmth of the people.  People greet you in the street.  The town is so small, you really have the ability to know people well.  Just today at a store, a man remembered what I had bought from him before and suggested I buy it again. I didn't even remember buying it from him.

Nathanael mentioned the other day at a Taco stand that the cultures here are much more integrated than in the US.  You can hear English, Creole and Spanish in the same sentence.  I can speak in Spanish than say an English word in the middle of a sentence. 

People here don't know how to place us.  Unlike Mexico, there are many light skinned people, mostly Mennonites.  We don't "fit in" with the cape dressing ones.  And then there is my Spanish.  A lot of people know Nancy so sometimes that helps.  They also are unsure of what to do with homeschoolers. I get asked a lot if my kids go to school.. (especially if they see us during the day) When I say they are homeschooled, they don't understand what that means.  I think I've given up trying to explain it :)

Why is it good that so much is different?  I was just realizing that it is simple to see pictures of other places, to look at poverty or disasters.  Experiencing things first hand is irreplaceable.  We as a family are all being changed by what we are doing here.  It is our hope that we are also bringing and spreading light to those around us.

No pictures today but feel free to check Nathanael's post below.  He makes up for my lack of pictures :)

"We're not in Kansas anymore" second edition better known as Hace Calor

A huge difference that I haven't mentioned in the previous blog is heat!  We stepped out of the plane two Mondays ago to a wave of hot humid air.  It really hasn't changed much since then.

Our bodies are slowly getting adjusted to the heat. This past Sunday, I was really struggling with the feeling of "I just can't get cooler".  In the first week, we asked the locals what we can do about the heat.. take a shower was the only real advice.

We don't have a water heater, and honestly it doesn't matter right now.  The water is not freezing cold.  During the heat of the day, you can step out of the shower and still feel sticky.  In Pennsylvania, we would give the kids a bath 1-2 times a week.  Now the kids take baths every day.  They don't always use soap. ;)

In other news Fleurette went home this past Friday.  For us it settled into our hearts that we're here for the "long hull" now.  We are so thankful for the time she spent with us.  She spent her last full day with us.  We miss her already!

We have started our "regular" activities. Nathanael working with men 1 on one, interpreting for others when there is a need, cleaning the church etc.  We have had several guests to our house. The children (and I) started homeschooling this week.  We are on a learning curve but overal it's going well and we're thankful for new routines to start.

This is the song I can't get out of my head recently: 

Thank you all for praying for us! 

"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto"

In an effort to tell you more about what our lives are like here, I'm going to do a short series on the things we are experiencing that are different from Pennsylvania.

As an example it rained this evening for about 30 min.  About 20 min after the rain stopped I went to the bathroom and could hear water just dripping down.  I was worried.. was there something really leaking... did someone leave the shower on? 

nope turns out our roof is flat and it was taking a while draining through the small holes in the wall.  The water did drain.. and there wasn't a leak!  Good thing too!

There are very few paved roads here.  This means that most of the time there is a lot of dust. It comes in the windows, covers our feet, and is just in every location you could think of.

While I was in Mexico, I learned and used the bus/subway system quite often. I envisioned that living without  car in the city is possible and sometimes nice.  Here there are busses but not in town. One can get a taxi for a reasonable rate.  We often choose to walk.  Our children are still getting used to it, so are we :) Nancy has also been available to help, especially when there is much to transport or several locations to go to.

Language!!!! This is a difficult one.  The official language of Belize is actually English.  Prior to becoming it's own nation, Belize was "British Honduras".

  In Belize City (Nathanael tells me) there is a strong influence towards Creole. very similar to the language in most of the Caribbean, including Jamaica.  Here in Orange Walk, there is a mix of Spanish and Creole.

  I get by with my Spanish although it makes me lazy. I can drop an English word and totally be understood.  Nathanael also does fine, if people don't understand him he switches on his Creole.  I on the other hand lack the skills in Creole if the person isn't understanding me.  Honestly the smell and some of the culture reminds me of Mexico.  Because of this, there are times that my Spanish is automatic. 

Really most people understand English, so our kids also are doing well. 

I will continue with the Differences on a different post.. now on to some pretty pictures.. :)

Other than Nathanael, our next big step is to work on our ASL.  I will be re-starting with a tutor as will the children.  Hopefully we'll add this to our school schedule in a seamless fashion :)

Sunday we took a trip with Fleurette and Nancy to Crooked Tree Here are some pictures of that fun: