Three Little Birds

Another note from San Ignacio - yes, I'm still here, but am leaving soon. I have a few things to share since I last wrote, although not as many as I'd hoped, due to some unfortunate circumstances...

Last week was the meat and potatoes of my HIV/AIDS outreach project. We did several talks to kids attending the July Police Cadet Camps in Belize. Our talk basically consisted of general HIV and AIDS info, some myth-busting, condom demonstrations (always a good time doing condom demonstrations for teenagers...I have a new respect for sex-ed teachers), and a few games to keep the kids entertained. We did one talk in San Ignacio and the rest in rural villages in the surrounding area. The talks went over alright in San Ignacio (hopefully we got through to a few of the kids at least), and they went over Really well in the rural villages. Although some of the kids in the rural area spoke more Spanish than English...but this wasn't a huge problem as we had Omar there to translate for us! I really think this was an important and meaningful part of our project, as getting the information to the children now is the only way to start changing the perception, risk behaviours and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in years to come. Children are the future!! Also, I really enjoyed out trips out to the rural areas, the Belizean countryside is so varied and interesting, and it's really beautiful :)

So here's the unfortunate bit...I fell rather ill on Thursday with some horrible intestinal bug. I think I've been neglecting my hand-sanitizer... Anyway, this nasty bug kept me in bed for several days, and on the fourth day I managed to get up and go see a doctor who gave me some bug-killing tablets and instructions to drink as much (water/gatorade) as I can, to rehydrate. So long story short, I am finally on the mend after a harrowing experience with the Belizean Bug from Hell. Horray! Sadly, this will make my blog dramatically less interesting than the others, apology to my avid readers. But don't worry about a thing...cuz every little thing is gonna be alright :)

We screened an educational HIV/AIDS movie on Saturday night (which I somehow attended!). Only a couple of people showed up, but that is better than none. HIV is a serious problem here in Belize and I really hope that this outreach project continues, and eventually things start to turn around. It's such a horrible disease, and it's largely preventable - I just really hope our little contribution and the contributions of all the other volunteers can make an impact. Anyway, as I said I did manage to get out of bed and on my feet properly on Sunday, and was able to go see some Mayan ruins in the area, as well as attend Benque-Feista, which is a festival I've been hearing about all over the country ever since I arrived in Belize (and was therefore rather anxious to go see!).

The Mayan Ruins we visited are called Cahal Pech, or "Place of Ticks". Lovely eh? It was a half-excavated, old and cute little site. The jungle is still literally ON most of the structures, but I imagine as they continue excavating they will clear a lot (or some) of this away. In the meantime, the jungle gives the site a very old feel, as if you can actually see how time slowly covers secrets of the past. I always love exploring ancient ruins, it's honestly one of my favorite things about traveling. It's so cool to imagine what was going on in a place, in an ancient and mysterious civilization, thousands of years ago. We were supposed to also visit Xunantunich, another Mayan site in the area, but the river is currently flooded and the ferry crossing to this site was not working as a result. It's to bad, but I'll be seeing other (and larger) ruins later in my journey so I wasn't overly upset. And I really enjoyed exploring Cahal Pech, so it's all good!

In the afternoon we took the local bus to Benque Viejo del Carmen. The bus ride was interesting (as always) and the bus was fully jam-packed by our standards (Although in the Philippines they might have been able to squeeze double the people in...). We arrived in Benque and followed the crowd to the Fiesta - which turned out to be basically a carnival. It was neat, kind of a Belizean version of Capital X or Klondike Days, and on a much smaller scale. But with reggae and punta rock playing from palm-fringed food stands, and tropical juices being handed out all over, it was very Belize and very cool! I didn't stay too long tho, being sick as I was the food smells were a bit much for me, and I came home early to see the doctor (see parents, I'm being responsible!).

Anyway that pretty much catches us up! Due to the illness I've postponed my venture into Guatemala, significantly cutting back on my time there unfortunately. But that's life, right? Either way, I'm heading out soon and I'm looking forward to moving on. Not that I am unhappy here, I'm just ready to start experiencing new things and see what else is out there, you know? There's a lot to see and do and I'm anxious to get started. So until next time, here's hoping for an exciting (and healthier) next leg of my journey!

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