Truly unBelizable!

Well, guess what? I’m listening to our theme song—Akon, as I’m writing this. I promise I won’t digress into other random thoughts about my political views or the latest trends for spring 2007 :) So about Belize….it was quite an experience, and for me, it’s always hard to put my feelings and thoughts into words.

It would be selfish for me to only talk about how Belize changed me. The point of the trip was to provide something to the people of Belize—to give them a message about the epidemic that has hit the country pretty hard.

I remember sitting on a wooden bench in a local clinic in South Africa one afternoon during my break, when a svelte woman sat next to me. Maybe svelte is not the word to describe her. She looked like a walking skeleton—with sunken cheekbones. Too thin to be true. When I was back in the doctor’s examination room after the break, the same woman walked in and sat next to the doctor. A couple more girls were in the room shadowing the doctor as well. Just by looking at her, we all sort of knew what she had. I couldn’t understand the Xhosa words exchanged, but the doctor dismissed her after checking her tongue, which was badly sore with purple spots—one of the symptoms of the disease. She was trembling hard as she fought with gravity to lift herself up from the chair. She took small steps heading to the door, but with great effort. Every step that she took was not only excruciating for her, but also for me and the girls to watch someone suffer through the terminal stage of AIDS. The woman, who could barely walk, was alone. She didn’t have anyone to help her.

Around 20% of South Africa’s adult population is infected with HIV. With a population of 44 million, we’re talking about around 5 to 6 million people living with HIV, and 1.5 million orphans. That’s more than five times the population of Belize.

It’s a guilt-trip for me just thinking about the woman in the clinic—I could’ve helped her. But what could I—merely a student with no medical training or whatsoever—have done for her? She was in her final stage of AIDS too.

I think what we’ve done in Belize provides an answer to my question. I’m probably right in saying that I couldn’t really have helped the woman in the clinic. But I realized that I can help to prevent the spread of the disease, so that no one would have to go through such an ordeal.

I’m really proud of what we did to serve the people of Belize. We were able to use our “expertise” as youths to connect to the younger generation of Belize. In fact we’re all 19 and pretty young (right Nandita? :) ) We were able to render our message on the prevention of HIV/AIDS to one of the most vulnerable groups, and stand in the forefront of the fight against this disease. To the family that we’ve fixed the roofs for, we didn’t necessarily talk to them about HIV/AIDS but I believe we showed them that there are people from around the world who care about them and want to help them. What else did we do? We went on the Radio and TV to reach a larger audience. We passed out flyers in the market, where women frequent. For biological reasons, women are four times more likely to contract the disease from men. How unfair is that.

I truly hope that we did make an impact on the communities we’ve visited. It is up to them to absorb the information and to realize that they can be affected, and that they have neighbors who have been affected. What I would like to see in Belize is the mobilization of the community and the creation of an activist group like the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. TAC has been a powerful force in steering the South African government in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Belize needs more people like Lisa who is daring to speak up about her status and fight for the rights of the people with AIDS. The government should also recognize the immensity of the problem, prioritize the fight, make funds more accessible, and implement a comprehensive surveillance system.

On the other hand, I don’t want to discount the efforts of the members of Rotary/Rotaract and Mike. Belize is gifted with people like them who are truly passionate about social issues. I was astounded by their love for the country and their efforts to heal their communities. I cannot emphasize how much respect I have for them.

I wonder how the course of the disease will change in Belize, perhaps five or ten years later. I’d love to return to do more work like this.

I’m back to wearing contact lenses again. Although I don’t miss about having conjunctivitis, I miss other things about Belize. How can you forget about riding at the back of a truck at the end of the day and appreciating the beautiful sunset in the clear sky? The taste of scrumptious tamales at the Belmopan market, or the barbeque chicken after a quick swim in the river? Pulling over the road to cheer for the cycling team, trying to decipher the Creole that your host’s sister speaks to you, and lastly, witnessing our supreme leader fearlessly venturing the holy Mayan cave Indiana Jones’ style with everything but her pants on?

I made fry jacks yesterday. Chatting with Phylicia usually took place in her kitchen when she was preparing for dinner. I was a bit dismayed that my fry jacks didn’t puff magically like how Phylicia’s always did.

On my kitchen counter lies an interesting Mayan pot that has a Jaguar head sticking out of it. At the same time, it has human arms and legs. It even has a tail. Next to the pot is my pebble that I salvaged from the river that we swam in. I find myself trying to re-create Belize all around me. And I am glad that when I become really sentimental just thinking about our times there, my punta CD is waiting for me in the boom box.

if you were to pick one day that sums up our trip:

Tuesday was pretty much the CRAZY day (see below):

6:45am wake up to go to radio talk show
7:30am "My Refuge" Christian Radio Show
9:00am talk to a classroom of kids... unexpectedly as the other car goes to the marketplace (ehem..)
10:00am Painting a health clinic, Rae gets massive ant bites
12:00pm Lunch and Presentation with Rotarians at George Price Center
1:00pm Lady of Guadalupe School, 2 class of Std. V
3:30pm Meet the Mayor of Belmopan at City Hall
4:00pm Debrief at colorful park (best one)
4:30pm Talk with TV show editing place --> riding the Clown Car
5:00pm Chill at Caesar's
5:30pm Go film for the TV Show
7:00pm Pick up Chinese food dinner
8:00pm University of Belmopan Basketball Game
10:00pm Shelly's House - debrief and planning for teacher's workshop

ok, so isn't that crazy?!?

I went into Belize hoping for an open mind, so that I can absorb whatever alllll of anything the moment I stepped off that plane. The humid sunny weather immediately hit me making my skin moist and slightly sticky. I had to take off my NorthFace IMMEDIATELY. What else? I love the tamales off the streets: 2 belizeans please. and Marlon was so cute, I think he's gonna get all the girls with that eyebrow raising trick of his.

It may sound selfish and a little bit like an unequal trade of things but I definitely got more out of this trip than I contributed. I'm taking away the hint of Belizian culture, food - mostly Habanero hot sauce, friendliness and hospitality, earth - with mud on my shoes, the beautiful weather - look at my peeling back, and can't forget my body being covered with mosquito bites.

But not only that, I got more than I expected, considering I was going in there inspired by the passion for social justice and the realization that we as Americans are so fortunate and should use the spoiled resources we have. I as a Christian, am called to care about the issues of this world like social injustice - whether it be local like homelessness right in the middle of Evanston, or it be international with the stigmas people face through an HIV positive test. Going to Belize was like a slap in the face... look around you EunJoo! In one neighborhood you saw a broken down shack, with their neighbor having a 3 story mansion. What a disparity... and what is an AIDS victim to do to battle those stigmas that they face each and every day? Restoring the roof and painting the AIDS victims' house was a crucial point for me. It put a face to injustice. I had so many questions.. where was the mother?, was the father out of work?, are the children going to school?, what was that nasty scar on the boy's leg?,how long have they been living in the condition they were in? - minimal furniture, leaky roof, and dirty floor? Maybe we are always afraid to face certain problems and issues of this world because they seem so big and overwhelming or seems like an impossible problem to fix. But we need to overcome that fear and face it. Help it! We may not see the immediate impacts of our week's worth of HIV/AIDS awareness but in time it will come to fruition. Whether our contribution was that it encouraged one student to talk to their parents about the issue or whether a passer-by sees our hand-print painting on the soccer field wall, it's not really a concern. What we can do as this issue is still hard on our hearts is to bring it back to THIS community here. eh~ .. more of my reflections later. it's still all a jumble of many many things. :)

...that's what she said.

Dear friends, family, and constituents,

It's early Saturday morning ("early" being used in the college context, not that of Belize, where we got up on average at 7 AM!) and I've been doing some thinking about our trip to Belize. What strikes me is it's already been almost a week since we left, and I just can't help but think what our dear friends Daren, Claudia, Dr. Mike, Shelly, Hedge, Ross, Leon, Trish, Phylicia, Karteek, Dave, Kahlil, Alger, Caesar, and co are doing. Sure we have email, blogs, and Facebook to keep in touch, but it's just not the same as being together in Belize impacting the community and getting to know one another better.

Anyway, while I was on the trip I kept a journal of sorts, and added entries every few days. None of it is too personal to share, I feel, so I thought it'd be interesting to post them here. Below is my first entry, which includes first impressions of Belize.

3/19/07

Belizia. I am writing this entry a little later than I would've liked, as we've now been in Belize two days. It's very important to me to capture first impressions of the country in their freshest form, especially to compare these with pre-trip conceptions and expectations of Belize.

But oh what a country! We have been here all of two days and I can already tell eight days just won't be enough. The sheer amount of culture and diversity within Belize is astounding. Coming into the trip I had read about the different groups making up Belize's ethnic mix, but my goodness, what an array of people. There are the Mayan, the Mennonites ("White guys in overalls" according to the Lonely Planet), the Farifuna, mestikzos, East Indians, Lebanses, North Americans, and even Chinese! The latter came as a shock to me, but evidently there is a healthy population (around 10,000) of Chinese and Taiwanese in Belize. I never would've guessed it and just assumed I would stick out like a sore thumb being white and Chinese. Apparently the people from Taiwan are very good about integrating themselves within the community, while the mainlanders are more reluctant and keep to their own respective neighborhoods. I wonder why that is? I'm tempted to try the Chinese food here, but as Kay pointed out, we ARE in Central America and should therefore enjoy the food of this region first.

And now we've touched upon my favorite topic... the food! Wawaweewa! Ok, so maybe it's not that good, but it's tasty. Since arrivfing Sunday we've had some Belizian dishes - both in restaurants and homemade - and they are certainly remniscent of Mexican dishes and Latin American food in general. At the very first restaurant we went to in Belize called Cheers we got a taste of the flavors of the country. Tom Cruise, ahem excuse me Tom Hughes (I hear Hughes gets that all the time) pointed out the "Gringo Tomale" and of course I immediately felt compelled to try it. He went with the vegetarian burrito... idiot. I can't remember some of the others. WE ordered this ridiculous spread of nachos supreme, loaded with meat, cheese, and my favorite, jalapneos! Daren, our chief host and Belizian superstar, challenged me to test out the hot sauce, which turned out to be manageable (I did cry later). Since then I've gained his respect for spicy foods and flavors with my willingness to try, well, anything and it was later observed by Hedge that I have "a littel bit of Mexican in me". Go figure :)

I should pause for a moment and shift back to when we first arrived in Belize. It's significant because never before have I received as warm of a welcome to a foreign land or anywhere else than what we experienced upon coming to Belize. The Belmopan Rotaract Cluhb was out in full force, and just after stepping off the plane we could see them all excitedly waving and proudly holding a welcome banner. At first glance of the banner and crowd gathered atop the airport gallery I thought to myself, "Jeez, somebody must be loved", and then realized it was all for us. Complete strangers and we get this kind of welcome? I didn't realize it then, but the warmth and care the Belizians extend in general to visitors is remarkable. It might be blasphemous, but they just may even have Apple's customer service beat. There, I said it!

The airport in Belize City was small and a far cry from the monstrosity that is George Bush International Airport., It reminded me a lot of the airport in Ixtapa, Mexico. Funny, not but a few seconds upon entry had I taken my camera out for a picture and was approached by secuirty. They informed me of the no camera rule, which made sense. Apparently the gentlemen behind me video recording the baggage claim and customs area was of no concern to them.

So we've already met a lot of incredible and fascinating people while here. One that immediately comes to mind is Ross. Ross is a 77-year old Texan witha killer mustache. He's a wooden cross-wearing, big gulp-toting, free spirit who is friendly to everyone he meets. You take one look at this guy, have one exchange of words with him and just think, "oh the stories he must have. The sights and sounds he must be able to share." Indeed, this isn't far from the truth. Ross was born in Texas and is a true traveler of the wrold. He fought in the Korean conflict and has been to a majority of the continents.

Alright, before wrapping up, as it is getting quite late here in Belmopan and we are going on a radio show tomorrow morning, I wanted to reflect some on how the trip si going thsu far with respect to our main objective, which is raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. Today we had our first experience with discussing AIDS and with Belizians. Actually, the first conversations began the night before when we met with the Rotary and Rotaract members from the Belmopan community and Gayland University. That was an eye-opening experience. We got into a fairly intense discussion/deabet about preventative measures and the crux of the issue was whether to emphasize abstinence only or incorporate it among several other methods of avoiding STDS/pregnancy. It's the classic debate held frequently and as vociferously in the U.S. There was definitely a divide among those in the room about where the emphasis should lie when raising awareness about AIDS in the classrooms. Some advocated abstinence only or at least a strong emphasis placed on abstinence. THis of course left othres among more progressive sentiments not necessarily opposed to the inclusion of abstinence teachings but insistant on it not being the only advocated solution. One interesting thing I saw was why the abstinence supporters felt as they did. There was the obvious influence of religion that I was use dto hearing back in the U.S. While people spoke passionately and eloquently on all sides, the general understanding was to teach a vareity of preventative measrues, including a portion covering the merits of abstinence.

Must get some sleep now. More later.


Ok so that's my first reflection. If anyone has any reactions - whatever they may be - please don't hesitate to post. I leave you with this:

Belize was: amazing!

It's so hard putting into words my feelings from the week spent in Belize. I had the time of my life, and learned so much! My favorite part of our work done in Belize was the gender based discussions we had after each school presentation. It was interesting hearing what issues they were facing and what they wanted advice on. It was also evident that there was still stigma attached to hiv/aids although they apparently have many presentations on this topic. Hopefully they will take the advice and knowledge we gave them and apply it to their lives, and also positively influence others.

I loved trying new things: riding in the back of the car so many times, fixing a roof, eating traditional belizean food, mayan ruins, and caving!!! I also loved meeting so many new people, and it was amaizng how friendly and welcoming everyone was. When I left Belize, I felt like I was leaving home. I've never been so attached to a place after only a week there, but I guess after staying with host families and hanging out with locals all the time, it just felt so natural there.

I'm still trying to sift through all my thoughts, but this is what i've got down for now :)


love.

I miss my family

i miss belize :(

I love Belize. Let's start with the things I didn't enjoy because it'll take me all of two seconds to write them down. I did not enjoy my sunburn. I also hope that someday I wake up and I don't have Akon stuck in my head but that may not happen for a long time. Now onto good memories because they're so much more fun to talk about. Caving was probably my favorite thing. It was so different from anything I've ever done; the whole day was incredible. By the way, I love using semicolons properly in sentences because it makes me feel smart. Anyway, I also really enjoyed the scooter (sorry to everyone who isn't Eunjoo), actually seeing the stars in the sky (so pretty), painting (always fun), speaking Spanish in the market about HIV/AIDS (although I don't think the Spanish-speaking Belizeans enjoyed that half as much as I did), karaoke (especially the ice incident). The best part of the trip though was the group. I thought our group was amazing and the Belmopan Rotaract and our host families were so nice and welcoming. It was really fun for me to get to know everyone, especially because there were so many unique personalities in our group and the Belizeans we met.
I would say my low point was a short time the first day when I couldn't hear anything because my ears weren't ready to pop. That was the worst part of my trip. That's how you know it was an amazing trip. The high point would have to be the unveiling of the skeleton lady. It was a combination of creepy, exciting, and fascinating in that history way.
How I changed Belize is really difficult to know. I hope that something I said to someone in the market changed how they approach important decisions or how they think about HIV/AIDS. I hope that one of the girls we talked to in our groups started talking about HIV/AIDS or other issues with someone if she needed to. I hope that the family whose house we painted feels more accepted and happier in general knowing someone cares. I hope someone watched us on TV or listened to us on the radio or read our awesome sign and then responded to it by changing their actions or talking to someone they thought could use help. I hope all these great things happen, but how can I really know how I changed Belize.
How Belize changed me is also difficult. I feel like I have more confidence in almost all aspects of my life. I think I'm also better at expressing my thoughts more clearly. I guess in general I think I know myself better now and am more aware of what I'm doing or thinking. In a not-so-positive-change, Belize also caused my skin to physically change red and peel which first hurt and now itches so that's a party. But seriously, this experience has changed me in ways I see everyday and in ways other people point out to me that I hadn't realized.
In conclusion, I love Belize.

waaaah

TAKE ME BACK TO BELIZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!