Crunch Time!

This picture of flowers is a happy way to start my blog. This is necessary because the paragraph you are about to read is full of a fair deal of vented frustration (albeit with a happy, resolved ending).

Sorry if my blog gets more and more sporadic. Things are really picking up here in Belize as we try to tie up all lose ends and finish our projects before we leave NEXT WEEK!!! I have been running around like crazy talking to businesses and council members trying to get all the pieces in place for my project in Succotz. I didn't mention this before, but now that things have been resolved I will tell you a "fun" story that happened with the Succotz project. On Friday night, hours after we'd put in the order for street signs, we got a call from Gilly, the council chair telling us that there was a sudden voice of political dissent on the council regarding the project. Now, I don't want to publish details or names all over the internet, but suffice it to say that while most of the council was on our side, there were some who had... other ideas and they called for a re-vote on clearing the street names to stall the project. So, we called the sign printer to put the order on hold until further notice while the council met that evening. Needless to say, despite the fun I had on the weekend I was rather distracted by the thought hanging constantly over my head that nearly everything I've worked for the last 5 weeks was hanging in the balance dependent upon a few political conflicts. I was mad. I really wanted to be at the meeting on Friday night, but looking back I'm really glad I wasn't because I probably would not have been pleasant. Instead, having had time to mull things over and put myself in a diplomatic mood, I met with the council, and specifically the dissenting voices thereon (I wish to make it clear again that the majority was in our favor all along). We had a great discussion and I was able to plead my case. It worked for the most part. They became very excited about the prospects of the project, in fact. Once again, I won't go into some of the original political motives that spurred this set-back, but ultimately where they found it easy to bash the project to their fellow council members, it was not so easy for them to look the project's architect in the eyes and bring up very many legitimate objections. Ultimately, their dissent was boiled merely down to a matter of the street names--which they've had opportunity to bring up for the past 4 weeks, but were silent! Nonetheless, as one of them in particular was a very important person to have on our side, I chose the diplomatic route and explained that we needed to get the signs printed ASAP but would give him 24 hours to make any suggested changes to the street names. When I came back tonight to get his suggestions, he was just beginning to make his list for the first time. (Have you ever wanted to hit your head repeatedly against a brick wall?) So, to insure that the job got done, Kyle and I sat down and watched him until he was done. He carefully weighed the name of EVERY street on the map for about five minutes and changed 40% of them (it would have been more, but I said NO to some of his proposed changes and I think he realized that he'd already looked the gift horse in the mouth long enough). Luckily, most of his name changes weren't too bad and some were actually very good suggestions (that would have been nice 3 weeks ago when we ASKED for suggestions!). Furthermore, in a further effort to appease me, he actually proposed switching 2 names around to give the name "Steve Kenworthy St" (named after my father) to a bigger and more important road! :D An hour and a half into the process Kyle had to leave, so he left me with his phone and I spent the rest of the night in Succotz on my own to finish my tasks. The name-changing game lasted another half hour after Kyle left. Anyway, patience paid off ultimately and all is a go once again, and all of the village council member are now on our side, which is very reassuring. Political loyalties can run deep in Belize, and it is very good news to see opposite ends of the spectrum unite over ANYTHING around here; I am glad to know that my project finally has such a unanimous approval!

I am only (barely) 23 years old, and sometimes I feel very young, like I still have lots of "growing up" to do. However, there are times when I feel so very adult-like. Facing off against a council member twice my age in a foreign country to defend a project I've poured hours and hours of time, energy, and concentration into definitely ranks up there in those "adult" experiences. Once all was settled I definitely had to pause for a moment and look around to see that this is the real life--is that ME doing these things? It's a weird feeling. I wonder if one ever grows accustom to feeling like an adult or if life's adventures continue to push one to more and more new experiences that  keep one wondering if it's for real. It is a weird feeling--this "adult" feeling, that is--that blends a happy sense of accomplishment with a wary sense of ever-pressing responsibility. When we were young, nothing we did truly mattered from a long-term perspective and even though it seemed like the entire world depended on Prom, we secretly always knew that our lives were completely care-free. It was a very free feeling, and I feel it less and less frequently now, but I think I like the greater depth of adulthood anyway.

Well, none of you came here to read rambling philosophical tangents, so I'll move on to more details from yesterday and today! But first, since I've addressed political matters in such a negative light thus far, I will balance with one happy political note: Sis. Medina won her election on Sunday to the San Ignacio/Santa Elena Town Council! She is now the first female Mormon in Belize to hold public office at so high a level! She will be an incredible member of the council.

Moving on now to other activities from yesterday and today, most of the first half yesterday was spent on the computer working on Succotz and Rainforest Haven (same today). Yesterday also had computer class and we taught them about email. Tomorrow will be our extra-long class on online business that all the students are extra-excited for. Computer class is definitely one of my favorite parts of being here. Our students are all very fun and intelligent and we've really been able to focus on useful skill in the class that will have lots of opportunity for use.

After computer classes, I headed to Succotz where I had my discussion with the dissenting council members, as mentioned earlier. We also did some final maintenance work on the adobe stoves and checked up on another stove that the village members have built all on their own at another location without any of our help! Isn't that great? They are building them for each other using the skills and design we taught them and now a healthier kitchen solution that vents harmful smoke out of the home is being employed at more and more locations in Succotz and the surrounding area without our having to supervise. I should have taken a picture of the new stove they built, because it also is very innovative and modifies the design brilliantly to accommodate specific circumstances. I'll get a pic next time I'm there.

Besides adobe stoves and my meeting with the council, I later met at the home of Jose Luis--one of the council members most supportive of our work and a good friend. (He's the one who's house is where we did Mackenzie's birthday after our tubing venture a few weeks back, and he often helps us out with anything we need when we're in Succotz). He had some additional business information for me to help the project. When I first got to his house, their adorable puppy, who was tied up, ran towards me but accidentally slipped and fell into the brand new 6-foot hole where Jose is going to install a septic tank and was essentially being hung by his own rope and collar. I jumped in the hole and saved poor little Negro (that's the puppy's name--it's Spanish, not racist). Their son Calvin wisely moved the stake where Negro was tied up to be a safer distance from the septic hole! By the way, Jose Luis has the two cutest kids in the world (at least for this paragraph). You've actually seen them before on the blog, but here's a new cute pic I got of them yesterday:

Calvin and Amy

Today, other than more computer stuff and the 2-hour street naming jamboree, Kyle and I visited some of the resorts near Succotz to solicit advertising for the brochure and had some positive responses. We also went to Benque Viejo Town to visit the print shop that is going to make the brochures for us. We go some samples printed, even though it definitely isn't done yet (after all, now I have to go back change half the street names!). The purpose of the samples was to see if the layout was correct for the folds and to see how the colors printed. Though they were only drafts, I must say I am very pleased with the quality of the print job! Take a look:

Now, the front pane on the folded pamphlet doesn't quite line up for the fold, so I need to adjust it. I also fully recognize that the front panel is as ugly as sin. Don't worry--it was a good concept gone terribly wrong and I intend to redesign it from square one (for the third time) tomorrow. However, the map looks gorgeous and We were very pleased. We are going to adjust a few colors on the map, but overall the design is just right!

After the naming meeting I attended (by myself--as you'll recall Kyle went back to San Ignacio during that meeting) I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Benny's kitchen (the best place to eat in Succotz, hands down) and then attended a meeting of the Environmental Youth Group of Succotz--a team of teenagers running an incredibly efficient and organized non-profit that is going to partner to build the up-coming Iguana Nursery for Succotz (similar to the one I toured a few weeks back). I was very impressed with how efficient they are and the initiative they show to get worthwhile projects done. If this group of young people (I was older than all 20 of them by at least 5 years--another one of those "old feeling" moments) is the future of Belize, then this nation is in good hands! After that meeting it was almost 8 (12 hour work days are exhausting!) and I took a Collective (long-distance taxi) back to San Ignacio.

The parrots who live at Benny's Kitchen in Succotz. Parrots can be either fun or annoying. These ones are domesticated, so they aren't so bad. The wild ones, you may remember from an earlier post, are the most annoying creatures known to man.