The Tour Guide Goes On A Tour

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Today in Belize, Brooks & I went on the Belize City Tour. Just stepping on the bus felt like home! Honestly, I’ve guided on buses with the EXACT upholstery pattern. I just wanted to grab that mic and start spieling. I couldn’t stop telling Brooks guiding stories that would pop into my head. But I did sit back and pay attention to our tour. Our guide was great - though not quite Keating, of course 😊

There is not a lot to see in Belize City in terms of big fancy buildings or historical sites. In terms of what we saw, it was more of a glimpse into where the people of the country live and work and study and play. That and our guide covered a lot of general history about the country itself, which I’d known nothing about beforehand. Some key things or interesting facts I learned today:

Belize used to be known as British Honduras. It was a British Colony until only about 30-some-odd years ago and now it is a Commonwealth country. Their official language is English, though the majority of the citizens speak Creole, which is different from the Creole of the Southern US. It’s like a combination of English and Afrikans - similar to how they speak in Jamaica, but different.

My favourite Creole word I learned today was “shush”, meaning gossip. So if you heard someone say “My sistah likes shush”, it would mean that my sister likes gossip. I think it’s interesting how it’s used completely differently that when we say “shush” yet you can still see a connection in the language.

Canada has had a significant influence on Belize. We passed over the Bel-Can Bridge over the main river in the city, which was built with funding from Canada. We also passed by a huge water treatment facility which Canada’s had a major part in funding. The Canadian government has been working with the government in Belize to ensure that everyone in the country has clean drinking water. It felt really wonderful to see so many concrete things that our country is doing to better living conditions for people outside of our own borders. We’re all living on this planet. We need to do more of this. Still, I’m proud.

After our tour we wandered shops in the tourist village and had lunch/drinks at one of the bars right on the water. Belize is the port I’ll end up seeing the most often during my contract and I’m really excited about that. There’s so much more to do there - cave tubing, kayaking in the rainforest, snorkelling on the Barrier Reef . . . I really want to do these things and I will. But for now, I’m just really happy to have learned about another country and to have had a glimpse into life there.

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Photos

The Prime Minister's Home
It's like 24 Sussex Drive! Except in Belize. And without fun stories like the Attempted Assassination of Jean Chretien.

The Canadian Embassy in Belize
Makes me want to play "Rockcliffeopoly" in Ottawa!

Belize City's Anglican Cathedral
The church is made with red bricks. These bricks were brought over on British ships. They were used to weigh down the ships on the way over from Europe. In Belize (British Honduras), the ships would be filled with Mahogany and other woods. Then the bricks were left behind and used in this Cathedral. It's just like the lower town streets in Quebec - field stones from the fur trade years!

A Statue We Drove Past
I dedicate this photo to Chris White, Kim Russell and any Keating Guides who know about "the floating hand" in Quebec City. I don't know what either is about, but I saw this and burst out laughing!

Comments

[andreaaa]

jeanette!
your travels sound amazing - but i cannot wait til your back in canada and we are at camp together once again! thinking of you and wishing you the best, andrea.

[swills82]

I had no idea of these things either. I also had no idea that it's official language was english. I think I just assumed it was spanish like here. hmmmm... crazy. You gonna try scuba diving??? ;) I still have to decide where to go for my 2 weeks of travel at the end of the year. I'm doing guatemala at Easter for a week. Do I do Belize and go for the diving or Costa Rica and go for the crazy zip lines through the forest and surfing??? Or do I do the nothern coast of Honduras and hike a volcano and visit a jungle??? EEEEK!