Coding and Cartography

Probably won't be a very long post this evening because although my day was incredibly productive, it was really quite boring once you try explaining it to others. Most of my day was spent inside on my computer doing work that is vitally important to the projects I'm working on, but not very exciting.

The first part of the day, I created a home page for the resort I'm doing business counseling for, "Rainforest Haven." So, maybe I say this every time I create a new website, but I feel like this is my greatest work yet. While I'm not ready to show you the entire front page, as excited as I am about it, I will give you a slight preview of the top introduction bar to the home page:

I actually took and Photoshopped the picture of the large frond-leaf myself from a large potted plant in our living room! The background pic is actually from the resort. I am excited to show you all the rest of the home page, which turned out just beautiful! Hopefully the entire site will be ready in 2-3 weeks. So, while I was excited about the results today, the means to get there largely consisted of typing HTML code into Notepad (because REAL nerds never use editing programs! We code in the raw!!!) :-P

Later I did a little bit of shopping with about the half team, came home, and made lunch but not before first getting a Choco-banana from the vendor near our house (as mentioned in last Saturday's post)! Delicious! 

Eating a choco-banana while wearing my lucky shirt! 

Disneyland price: $4.00

Belizean Vendor: One Shilling (about 12.5 cents American)

We also ran into a man named Francisco on our way home who Lindsay is leading a social media project to get a wheelchair for. He has several severe physical disabilities and it takes him an hour to walk 3 blocks with a cane! We also filmed a segment for the YouTube fundraising video Lindsay is making for him. Here he is with Jake and Lindsay:

By the way, some of you may remember him from the fundraising video I made a few months ago. Watch it again and see if you can find him!

While out and about town we also distributed some flyers for our computer class, which we will begin again with a set curriculum on Monday. After that, we headed back home, as I mentioned before, and I was back at the computer again, this time doing more research for the Succotz revenue project I've been telling you all about. We made some VERY exciting progress and brainstormed some great ideas to help solve the revenue stream problem of that poor impoverished village. I also used satellite imagery from Bing Maps (see Monday's post) to start creating a map that will be very important in our plan. We are going to compile information on all restaurants and attractions in the village and put them on this map as a guide for tourists to draw them into the village more when they come through to visit the Xunantunich ruins. The reverse of the map will feature advertising space for some of those locations, the revenue of which will go to the village council to help make further improvements that will infuse additional capital into the village. This is just one part of plan to increase revenue in Succotz. Of course, for the map to be useful, we're going to need to coordinate with the village council to name all of the streets since most of them are currently nameless! We also will probably be installing street signs with the selected names in a few weeks. Take a look at my preliminary map (don't worry... it will be a lot prettier when it's done!):

I am, admittedly, not trained in professional cartography, but I must admit that making maps is really fun! It's also much easier when enabled by modern satellite technology. :)

Later in the evening we had our dinner from Sister Kay: heart-shaped waffles, sausage, Belize-style scrambled eggs (don't know what she did to them, but they were incredible!), and tossed fruit. Having "family dinner" together as a team is always one of the highlights of the day. We all get along so well and have such good times:

From left to right: Sarah, Emily, MacKenzie, Pete, Jake, Megan, Rin, and the hands of Ashley

Well, I told you from the start today that it would probably be a shorter, more boring post, and I seem to have delivered on that promise. But, of course, I have one last picture before I sign off for the night:

Can you find the iguana?

(Special thanks to Megan Swan for today's iguana pic since I was holed up on my computer all day!)

Minivan in a Jungle

I want to begin with a picture that tells more of the story of poverty in Belize:

What you are seeing is a power line held up by flimsy sticks in the ground, surrounding a large field where lots of children regularly play football (soccer)--essentially a tragedy waiting to happen. This is the best that can be afforded by the village of Succotz which suffers from serious revenue deficiencies despite being the home to the second-largest tourist attraction in Belize, the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich (see yesterday's post). This is only one of many examples of rather important improvements the village could make with more money. Increased revenue would also allow the village council to subsidize the education of the children in the village, increase funding to programs promoting public health, and improving various facilities.

My day started with a brief meeting about our computer classes at the Cornerstone foundation. We began distributing flyers today to advertise for the classes and hopefully will have lots more students there tomorrow than we did yesterday. I then headed to Succotz with Lindsay and Kyle to do some research on our revenue stream project there. That's where we saw these pitiful sticks holding up power lines. We talked with the village chairman again, as well as another councilman and some other residents and gathered some important information that will greatly help us prepare for our meeting this Saturday with the NICH, an important government agency that could drastically help or hinder this project. I snapped a few other pictures while in Succotz. Here they are:

Succotz has been a major recipient site for the Adobe stoves the team has made in the last few months. This is the quarry for White Maul that the team dug up to use for that project. It's a really amazing project you should learn more about by following the link to the "Sundance Romance" blog or Belize country blog for HELP-International from my favorite blogs list at right.

Can you find the iguana?

The Succotz Branch of the LDS Church (of which I'm a member) just got a brand new chapel 2 months ago! This gorgeous little building--definitely one of the most beautiful in Succotz--is a standing testimony to the blessings of tithing! I love seeing the chapels of the LDS Church: so simple and yet so beautiful and full of the Spirit in their welcoming design.

Gorgeous pic of a little thatch-roof hut in the distance.

So, before I got to Belize the forecast for every day was torrential rain and thunder storms. I have been here for a week now and not until today did I see such weather! As we headed back to San Ignacio from Succotz, we had a rather torrential rain storm that reminded me of the daily downpours of Florida. 

After lunch, I got back in the van with Kyle and Lindsey, joined by our amazing team member Katie who is our best engineer. We headed of to various far-off locations to do research for the chicken coop project, the Rainforest Haven consulting job, and another engineering project Katie is heading up called a Soilet (more info in a future post). We returned to the first chicken coop we built last week and had a wonderful meeting with one of the wealthiest men in Belize who is incredibly interested in philanthropy and wants to perhaps invest in making similar chicken coops to our small portable one in lots of other orphanages/foster homes like the one we built at (he also contributes lots of money to that boy's home).

Showing our chicken coop off to Abdallah (back, middle), one of the richest men in Belize and a leader in Belizean philanthropy and development work. He likes the design a lot. Katie (foreground, right) designed the schematic for the chicken coop merely from watching a YouTube video about chicken coops!

As much as Abdallah likes our chicken coop, we told him we have plans for a slightly bigger model made to incorporate rabbits and vermiculture (worms) into a self-sustaining system and cooperative system. So, our next stop was to visit some other chicken coops to give Katie some design ideas so she can design us just such a system. Some pictures of other coops:

This is a much larger scale coop than the one we built, but still only accommodates chickens. However, just next to this coop is another pen...

...with sheep!

However, the next coop we saw...

...had rabbits and is preparing to add worms! Yay! 

This was a very educational stop as it was at a resort similar to the one Jorge and Shamira are starting that I'm doing business consulting for, so I got some valuable information interviewing people there and looking around that will help me with that business project. We were glad that this stop was so helpful because it was not easily accessed: we had to travel about 8 miles through a very dusty, rocky jungle road. We usually traveled at about 7-9 MPH, so it took us an hour each way on the bumpiest ride of my life in a little mini-van exactly like the one my family in Longmont drives, except blue instead of white! It even breaks down about as often as that van and the driver's seat door doesn't open (sound familiar?) Needless to say, it was quite an experience! The jungles here are so thick! It felt like such an odd combination to be traveling through a Central American jungle in an Astro Van. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any tapirs or jaguars (this is the only country in the world where jaguars live in which they are NOT endangered, by the way). However, I did see this:

Can you find the dead snake?

So can the ants.

And with that cheery image, I must call it a night! :)

Back to work!

Well, the weekend is over and we dove right back into work again with another amazing, busy day in Belize. My time was basically divided among 3 projects:

First, a pretty large portion of our team went about 5 miles out of town to help with a continuing project of building an orphanage. We actually are working on some smaller buildings that will be for 16+ year-old girls who are kicked out of orphanages for being too old and need somewhere else to go. When I first saw the type of buildings we are making, two pop-culture references immediately came to mind: The Flintstones and Planet Tatooine from Star Wars. Take a look:

Admittedly not the best picture, but I'll get a better one when I'm there next time.

The process for making these unique buildings is very interesting and I've photo-documented nearly every step (at least those that we did today). So, here's how it works...

First, we get 40 buckets of dirt. This dirt had lots of fire ants in it. Fun times. (Luckily I didn't get bit--I'm slightly allergic!)

Then we add some cement...

...and water...

...and mix it all into a moist dirt lump. 

Next, the moist cement-dirt goes BACK into the buckets...

...and is transferred to these bags...

...which will dry into these bagged bricks. They get their squared, brick-like shape by...

...FIRST: pounding them on top with one pounding implement and then...

...SECOND: beating them on the sides with another.

So, that was my morning project for the day. Once we finish all the bags they will be covered in some sort of plaster to make buildings like those shown above, but I haven't witnessed that step yet. This is an interesting form of construction work that I'm sure I'll get to know a lot better in the coming weeks! :)

After 3 hours of working on the orphanage, I went back home to grab a quick lunch and had to slightly alter my lunch plans after discovering that my bread had gone bad after only one and a half days. :-/ Luckily I still had to tortillas, peanut butter, and one more banana (a genius combination!)

Anyway, after lunch I went with Kyle and Lindsey to a nearby village where the team has done a lot of work known as San Jose Succotz (Just plain Succotz for short). This town is where the Xunantunich Mayan ruins I saw on Saturday were. Unfortunately, despite being attached to the second-most popular tourist site in Belize, Succotz suffers from massive poverty problems and is far worse off than San Ignacio/Santa Elena. This is a very complex problem and thus far the team's projects in Succotz have focused largely on fighting small portions of poverty and its effects. These projects have been quite successful, but the three of us went to Succotz today to begin research and work on an idea much larger in scale. So, today I officially became a team lead on our newly inaugurated "Succotz Revenue Generation Project." We met with the village chairman (basically the mayor of Succotz) to talk about the lack of financial capital available to the village council to fully provide the services that will stave off poverty. It is a very complex issue, but the three of us who went feel we have some great ideas to renovate the financial system of the village council/public funds in order to set off a domino effect chain of events that will ultimately lead to a wide-scale improvement in the standard of living in this charming little village. The explanation is a little lengthy to include in this blog post, but don't worry... you'll hear lots more in the coming days as I think this will be my main project personally. If successful, the model we implement with stimulating the revenue stream in this village could be implemented in lots of other villages and have a massive impact on fighting poverty. It is very exciting work and I'll be sure to keep you updated. You'll hear lots more about Succotz in future posts.

 Google Maps' image of Succotz was just a blurry mess. This is the much better Bing Maps version. We're going to use this to create the very first ever MAP of Succotz!

At 3:00 fellow team member Maren and I went to the Cornerstone Foundation, a local community outreach center, to teach computer classes. We inherited this project from two other team members who just finished their time in Belize and went home. We didn't really know what to expect except that usually 5 or so people come and they are all on completely different levels. (By the way, it's really fun to place "expect" and "except" side by side in a sentence.) We decided we'd get a feel for the class and just wing it, but soon discovered that there wasn't much to worry about; for the first 20 minutes nobody showed up! Finally, two girls showed up but they weren't actually very interested in the computer classes, and just ran themselves through some typing lessons on the classic old school "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing." Maren and I decided we would take the opportunity to at least take some pictures with the girls at the computers being "taught" by us so that we could make some flyers and generate some more interest in our classes. The class was never previously publicized or advertised in any way, so hopefully this will generate some more students before our next class on Wednesday afternoon and we can turn these classes into the most hoppin' joint in San Ignacio! :-P

Publicity shot of Maren teaching

Publicity shot of me teaching

Both of us outside the Cornerstone Foundation (by the way, San Ignacio is built on an enormous hill, as you can see!)

After computer class, I spent most of the rest of the day doing research for the Succotz revenue project, with a wonderful dinner from Mama Kay (did I mention yesterday that she taught the Sunday School lesson and did a fantastic job?). Tonight she cooked us a very American meal of macaroni & cheese, fried chicken, rolls, and vegetables. Overall, it was a very busy, wonderful day. One last evening picture:

At the end of the day, Maren, Katie, and I relax in the kitchen, update our blogs, etc. 

(By the way, can you find the iguana?)

The Sabbath--Belize Style!

So, yesterday's post was mostly pictures and little text. Today's will be largely the opposite: I didn't take any pictures today! Mostly, it was a pretty standard Sabbath since the Church is true everywhere, so taking pictures just didn't enter my mind! Despite lack of visual interest in this post (I don't even have an iguana for you to find!), hopefully the contents of my post aren't boring as it was still a great day.

To begin, let me explain the status of the LDS Church (of which I am a member) in Belize. The country has 2 districts (no stakes yet): one in Belize City and one in Cayo (that's the one I'm in). San Ignacio is part of what's called the "twin towns" with its sister town across the river known as Santa Elena. Both towns have branches of the Church. The branch in San Ignacio has a nice little chapel and is bilingual with services in both Spanish and English. That chapel is about a 5 minute walk from our place. The Santa Elena branch meets in a nice little house that's been converted into a chapel, meets only in English, and is about a 15 minute walk from our place.

I originally planned to go to one of the units this week and one next week, but those plans have changed now that I've attended the Santa Elena branch and fallen in love with it. It may be a farther walk, but five members of our group (myself included) decided to make the extra long walk to attend those services. It was absolutely phenomenal! I would estimate about 70 people were there. They've been told that if they can start having 80 consistently, they'll get a real chapel. The people are wonderful and they loved us (so much in fact that 3 of us are speaking in sacrament meeting next week!). They are also very missionary minded and I attended a baptism this evening for the branch, held in the San Ignacio chapel where the font is.

Well, I'm probably going to head to bed a little early tonight. However, I just remembered that I lied to you. I DID take a picture today. We were moving the male members of the team from one room to another and while moving my laundry bag I found the cutest little gecko inside! We named it Gertrude and I took a picture.

Can you find the Gecko? ;)

Adventure is out there!

Thatched roofs: Outside

Thatched roofs: Inside

Saturday and Sunday are our “days off” to sight-see, explore, and rest, and today I did a little bit of all of the above. As you’ll see in the pictures below, I suited up in my classic orange adventure pants (which I always wear before embarking on orange adventures) and saw some fantastic things! I have LOTS of pictures today and probably fewer words, but since each picture is in fact worth 1000 words, this just may be my wordiest post yet! :) Besides pictures of my experiences today, I also have a few additional pictures of events from the last few days that I got from some cameras other than my own (I am thus actually SEEN in some of the pictures today, rather than merely the photographer!). So… here goes!

This first group of pictures is from Xunantunich—one of the largest Mayan ruin sites in Belize. This is the number one tourist attraction I hoped to see here, so I was pretty stoked!

10 of our group (the 8 pictured here plus Kyle and Lindsey) decided to come on the trip, accompanied by our trusty tour guide Edgar. (far left)

Edgar explains the significance of some of the artistic motifs to us.

Here we are sitting at the base of the largest temple in Xunantunich, the temple of the High Priest, probably constructed around 200 AD.

In its original splendor, there were originally 3 additional higher stories made of wood, but they were damaged during the Spanish conquest and eventually decayed away. Some of the wood support scaffolding could still be seen in the entrance ways around the back where the wood had been more protected from the elements.

Here we are at the place where the High Priest would make his announcements to the people. The acoustics are amazing--you can hear at the bottom all the from the top and vice versa because of the way the arrangement of buildings in the complex reinforce each other.

Megan and I know what color proper adventure pants should be. :)

Can you find the iguana?
(I KNOW that it isn't a Wish Willy this time because our tour guide pointed this one out and specifically labeled him as a specific kind of iguana. Don't remember what that kind was, but to you it is probably just the really sneaky kind, like most iguanas featured in this continuing series) Good Luck! :)

View from the top of the main temple. Do you see that white line in the distance? That's the border between Belize and Guatemala.

Some areas of the temple have Olmec motifs. Some theories are that the Mayas borrowed these earlier stones and incorporated them into their architecture. Others believe very late Olmecs enslaved very early Mayas and forced them to integrate their symbols. He still looks funny whichever story is true.

One of the interior chambers.

At the gift shops near the temple we met these two adorable children named Danny David and Diane Josephine (they both offered their first and middle names when asked). Some of our dialogue with them:
Ashley: How old are you, Diane?
Diane: Seven
Me: How old are you, Danny?
Danny: Six
Diane: No, he's three. He just says he's six because three plus three equals six.
Ashley: Wow, you're so smart! Where'd you learn that?
Diane: I guess I'm just one of those smart girls.

:)

Okay, so these next couple pictures feature some of the exciting fresh produce I'm experiencing:

Eating coconut straight from the coconut! Absolute pain to scrape out of that blasted shell! But very rewarding and tasty in the end.

This is called a starfruit and I've sliced a piece off the end to show you why. Absolutely delicious! I intend to have many more of these while I'm here! You also see a banana in the picture; I've eaten many of these since I've been here--they are 10 cents pretty much everywhere and always locally grown. I've also been told that around the corner from where we live there is a man who sells frozen chocolate dipped bananas, like the ones you can buy at Disneyland for $5. The difference: apparently this man (who I have yet to meet but eagerly await the opportunity) sells them for only a shilling (that's about 12 cents in American money)!!! [At a future date I'll give a more full description and commentary on the money system here. It's rather interesting and I'm getting quite used to speaking in "shillings," etc.]

Finally, these last pictures are actually NOT from today (except the very last one) but show a few pictures of things I talked about the last few days.

The Team! Most of these people have been here for 6 weeks to 3 months already and sadly, half of them are going home next week! :( They are all fantastic and I love every one of them. This is one of the most caring, compassionate, and intelligent groups of people you'll ever meet and they all came here to help eliminate poverty in Belize!

A few more chicken coop pictures.

This picture is from the business consultation I did the other evening. Lindsey (far right) and I pitch the marketing strategy we developed to Jorge and Shamira. They loved it! (See my Thursday night post, "Jumping In" for more details on this one, as well as future posts as we subsequently meet with them)

This 6-inch wingspan moth came swooping through our hallway this evening. At first it looked like a bat, but it is actually just a bat-sized moth! The girls thought it was gross; I named it Frank.