Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate

Wednesday is market day in Punta Gorda. Apparently the market starts at 3:30am and goes until noon. There were crazy thunder storms last night and it poured (at least it sounded like it on our tin roof) so I'm not sure if it actually started at 3:30, but we went to the market at 7. It was mostly fruit and veggies - a lot of the normal ones we recognize and some that were completely unfamiliar. I got a banana, but besides that it was just nice to walk around. At 9 we left for the chocolate farm!  Juan and Abelina came to our hotel to pick us up and Juan spent the rest of the time with us. He explained that we would see Abelina later, but that she was going to head straight to the farm to start making our lunch.

We started the day at a Mayan site that was a center for education. Before we got to the chocolate, Juan wanted us to learn about the Mayan people.  We learned a lot about their culture and language and he took us around the archeological site so we could take pictures and he could show is everything. It was really interesting to learn about the Mayan culture. 

After we learned about the culture, we went to the farm. Before we got to the chocolate, we had to learn about all the plants. We taste cocoa beans (chocolate before it becomes chocolate), which tasted more like mangos than chocolate, coffee beans, and jibber jabber(palms). The farm is completely organic so there aren't any chemicals. The trees aren't in rows because it's exactly how Juan's great grandparents planted them. They have 60 acres of land and Juan said he has no reason to go to the grocery store. 

After we explored the farm and saw the cocoa beans, it was time to go to the factory for lunch! Abelina, Juan's wife, made us two different kinds of rice, beans, chocolate chicken, chocolate pork, boiled plantains, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted jibber jabber (the same ones we had eaten raw at the farm), hot chocolate, and lime juice. Everything was delicious!! After we ate, Juan and Abelina's son Henry brought us chocolate covered frozen bananas (delicious) and six different flavors of chocolate to try. The flavors of chocolate were dark, milk, spicy, ginger, orange, and coconut. Once we were done picking at out food/chocolate, Juan said it was time to get to work! He brought us all cocoa beans that were still warm from being roasted and we had to crack the shell to get to the bean.

This was easier said that done. Juan could crack them by pinching them, but I could only crack them by twisting them or smashing them like a caveman on the table (Juan found this pretty funny). Once we had enough beans, we began to learn the process to turn the beans into chocolate the way that Juan's ancestors used to. The beans for put on this stone table tool thing and then we rubbed them with a stone "mano" until the beans were crushed and smooth. 

Once it was completely smooth, we got to taste it. I thought it tasted good, but most people thought the 100% cocoa was too bitter. In order to make it sweeter, you add cane sugar. Cane sugar is also what we added to our hot chocolate to sweeten because that too was 100%. We wanted to make it 80% cocoa, so we guesstimated using fractions like Juan's ancestors would've done. He split the blob of chocolate with a spatula so that 20% of it was slid to the  side and then he had us fill in that 20% with sugar. Then we used the Mano again to grind the sugar in with the chocolate. We could see the chocolate getting lighter with the added sugar. Once it was mixed, we added more sugar using the same process. Then we tasted it and he put it into molds and put it into the freezer for us to try later. 

After we learned how to make chocolate without using modern technology, we went downstairs to see how Juan and his family make chocolate today. They have machines, but we're talking pretty general kitchen appliances that are used like a crockpot. They even use a hair dryer for one step. After we saw all the modern machinery, he took the hocomate we made out of the freezer so we could try it and let us wander around the gift shop. Unfortunately I was afraid to buy candy bars because I don't think they'll make it through the hot bus ride tomorrow, but I did get some other non-meltable treats to please the chocoholics back home (that's you, mom and dad).

Tomorrow we catch the bus at 6am to Belmopan and then take a bus from there to the Belize Zoo for a few hours and then it's off to San Ignacio for the rest of our trip inland!

Garifuna Drumming!

Molly came knocking on mine and Kelsey's door at 8am this morning talking about how she was on trip advisor and that we could go drumming today. I was sold. The Garifuna culture is one that is in Belize, but is unfortunately dying because people aren't passing down the traditions to their children.  A bunch of us wanted a cultural experience because we haven't really had one yet so drumming seemed perfect. The place was about a mile down the road and the guy who runs it is Ronald Raymond McDonald (no joke). He goes by Ray and not Ronald through. Probably to avoid the Ronald McDonald jokes. We went under a ginormous thatch roof with super soft sand. He told us it feels good to take off your shoes and to run your feet in it so it didn't take is long to be barefoot. He told us a lot about the Garifuna culture and that the language is a mix between English, Spanish, Carib, Arawak, French, and African. Once he have us a brief history of the Garifuna people, we got our drums!! Ray and his dad make all the drums by hand with hollowed out tree trunks deer skin. His wife had painted pictures on some of them and they were really pretty. Here's a picture of a drum from the side:

He taught us a basic rhythm on the drum and we would play the bass and he would start playing on his smaller drum, his dad would play the maracas, and they both would sing. It was awesome!  We played the drums for about an hour before we packed up to leave. 

Another very successful day in Belize! Tomorrow we're touring the chocolate farm!

Belizean Public Transportation

Yesterday we left San Pedro for Punta Gorda. We took the same ferry from San Pedro to Belize City that we took for the track meet. Then we took taxis to the bus station.  The first sign that it was going to be an interesting journey was the man walking around the bus station swinging a machete and yelling who knows what. We had about an hour and a half to kill before our bus so we just sat in the terminal.  You had to pay to use the bathroom, which was a poor excuse for a bathroom, so I definitely didn't venture in there more than once.

Once we only had 15 minutes until we boarded the bus, we started waiting in line behind the gate that we were told would be opened. Whoever told us that was the right gate, was wrong. Next came the mad dash. 

The gate was opened and it was like trying to get the only Tickle-Me-Elmo on Black Friday multiplied by 100. Thankfully Belizean people are generally not very tall so it wasn't too bad having to push through all of them to get on the bus. And when I say bus, I mean school bus.  By the time I got on through the front of the bus, all of the seats were full or had people's stuff on them. Luckily, half our group jumped through the back door of the bus and had saved enough seats for all of us. Once we were all on it was less stressful, but still crazy with people trying to find space and jamming their stuff any place they could. There were these two guys in the aisle next to my seat that were hand cuffed together and we found out after that they were prisoners trying to take the bus to court, but the police officer couldn't get on the bus, so the prisoners had to get off too. The bus made three or four stops and was over 6 hours long. It was packed and sweaty and gross.

We kept stopping on the side of the road and letting more people on who would just stand on the aisle. We even let on two girls who road the bus for awhile selling bread and one boy who came on with a huge bucket of coconut water for people to buy. It was definitely an experience.  I'm not sure I'm excited to ride the bus back on Thursday, but it's just another cultural experience!  Here's a picture of some guys who were traveling for the military, but there weren't any seats left for them so they just say on luggage in the back instead. 

In A While Crocodile

 To say that croc hunting was kind of cool would be the biggest understatement in the world. It was absolutely amazing. If you ever get the chance to go croc hunting, go!! Don't think twice about it.

We left the dock around 6:30pm so there was still some daylight but it was setting quickly. Chris and Miriam were our guides and were awesome!! Miriam has been staying at the same hostel so she got us super excited to go on the hunt!  I learned that the different between crocodiles and alligators is their bites. Crocodiles have an overbite so their teeth come down on the outside of their snout, while alligators' teeth are all contained inside their mouths. This makes it harder to go croc hunting than alligator hunting because you can't attack a croc from the front and just grab their snout so they can't bit you because their teeth will cut your hands.

Once it got dark, Chris took the boat into random canals and Miriam would shine a flashlight down the canals on the banks under the mangroves. If there's a croc, then the flashlight will reflect off their eyes and it will glow red like the end of a cigarette. Miriam spotted a croc pretty quickly so Chris took us down the canal that she saw it. I'm not sure what I expected to happen next, but Miriam jumping into the water in her clothes/headlamp and swimming towards the croc was not what I expected.  From the size of the orange glow they could tell that the croc was probably 3 or 4 feet so it was fine for Miriam to go in the water with it. If it's larger than that then they need to try to get it with some PVC pipe contraption onto the shore so they can wrestle it and tape its mouth shut. Miriam was in the water for awhile looking for this croc. It moved to the other side of the canal at one point which was kind of scary because it moves so silently that none of is knew until we saw the orange glow on the other side. She ended up losing it so she got back on the boat and we headed to a different canal. Crocs are able to stay underwater for 2 hours without coming up for air by shutting off chambers of their hearts that go to other parts of their bodies that aren't needed. So I guess at some point it's always easier to move on and try to find another croc. 

The crocs mostly hang out in regions near where people live and dump their trash. The next canal that we went to had a ton of trash in it-it was disgusting!  Chris spotted a croc and he couldn't tell how big it was so he docked the boat and jumped off of it onto the land to explore instead of going on the water. Unfortunately, the mangrove was too thick so he couldn't find it. Miriam spotted another croc pretty quickly that was lurking behind someone's house. It was dark so I couldn't see the house but we could see the family eating dinner outside and the kids started talking to us once they heard us talking about crocs. Miriam jumped into the water and spotted it but was facing it and she needed to get behind it in order to tackle it to the bottom of the canal to catch it. When she moved to get to the other side of it, she hit a branch, which spooked a dog. The dog barked and it spooked the croc which tried to swim away but ended up swimming into Miriam's legs. They said that the best thing to do when that happens is to be really still so the croc assumes you're a tree otherwise they may try to bite. After it hit her and swam away we lost it so we moved on to a different section of water. 

At this point I think Chris and Miriam were pretty convinced that we weren't going to catch a croc that night so they took out when that they had on board that we didn't know about. Miriam had caught it wednesday night and they were releasing it when we were there. The croc was about 3 feet and we all got to take turns holding it and poking it and generallyjust annoying it. It was pretty easy to see that the croc got angrier and angrier because he was becoming harder and harder to hold on to.

 As we were holding that croc, Chris spotted another croc in the water!  They couldn't tell how big it was so Chris jumped into the water to investigate. He swam closer and we had our light shining in the area too so we could actually see it swim away from Chris. Chris kept following it until he had it corner and was approaching it from behind. Unfortunately it happened to be behind some bushes so I couldn't video it, but we saw Chris wrestle it to the ground and then start walking over to the boat holding a very angry 4 foot croc!!!!! Miriam taped its mouth closed so we could hold/poke/analyze this one too. This was a croc that had already been tagged but it had been a a few months ago so they said it was good to get more information on the crocs to see how fast they're growing and to make sure they're staying healthy in the area they're living. The croc looked healthy and even had some sort of skin parasites (that's a good thing I guess)!  After they measured the crocs and we had played with them enough, they were released back into the water. Miriam released the 4 foot one and I released the 3 foot one. I held it while she took the tape off and then I put it into the water, quickly lifted my hands, and watched it swim away. All in all it was a really cool night and I learned a lot about crocs!  I have lots of pictures but I haven't uploaded they yet so this one will have to suffice for now! 

Belize National High School Track & Field Meet

Yesterday was the track and field meet in Belize City!  Kelsey and I were at the ferry dock at 5:30am because we were told to not be late for the 6am ferry. Apparently not every one got the same message. We ended up taking the 6:30 ferry because when the 6am one left we were missing half the team. The ferry took us about an hour and a half to get to Belize City and then we took a short taxi ride to the track. This was the first time the majority of students had seen an actual track and is the only track in Belize.  Usually the students run on dirt and lanes are spray painted on it. A lot of the kids ran barefoot (or in socks). Some because they can't afford shoes and some because they've never run in shoes in their life so it feels weird/heavy to them. San Pedro High School got a good amount of medals, but unfortunately Aliyah didn't get any first place medals. The kids from Belize City have a big advantage because they get to practice on the track. The kids still seemed proud of themselves and overall it was a very successful day! 

Two Weeks In!

We've officially been here for two weeks!  I will never take a washing machine/dryer for granted again.  Scrubbing my clothes in a tiny sink is a less than thrilling experience and is by far my only annoyance thus far on the trip, which I guess is a good thing!
Tuesday was the hottest day we've had here by far.  The kids complained of the heat and most people were drenched in their own sweat by the end of the day.  Tuesday was also the last day of weddings.  Because there was no breeze and the sun was strong, the wedding was moved inside instead of on the beach.  The wedding wasn't as intense as the one I went to last week, but here's a picture of one of the brides (there were two weddings during that class).

In Belize there are these black birds, they look like crows (maybe they are crows?) that sit on the wires or roof tops and look up and make these terrible bird noises.  Apparently in Belizean culture, they are squawking up towards the sky and calling for rain.  Those birds were all over the place on Tuesday and for the first time since we've been here, it actually rained.  The rain stopped, but then Tuesday night it got super windy.  We couldn't sit outside because the wind was so strong that you couldn't keep your eyes open because all of the sand/dust/dirt was blowing everywhere.  Unfortunately, the crazy winds meant that we had to reschedule crocodile hunting until this Sunday.  They said the water would have been really choppy so it wasn't worth it.  When I woke up Wednesday morning, it was actually chilly (we're talking in the high 60s).  Some of the teachers at school said they didn't remember it ever going into the 60s.  It warmed up into the 80s, but the kids were all bundled up in sweatshirts and most of the classrooms kept the windows closed so they didn't get the breeze.  It's been chillier than it had been, but I certainly wouldn't call it cold.  I'm writing this in the shade wearing shorts and a tank top and I'm definitely not shivering.
I taught classes for the first time this week.  I taught the students about commission which was interesting because it's not something that we typically cover as a topic in high school math classes.  The students seemed to be generally surprised at how loud I was since I haven't said much to them and have really only been helping students one-on-one.  I've impressed myself at how well I'm beginning to understand their accents.  It's hard since I'm never sure which language they're speaking and if I know the language they're speaking, but it's definitely getting easier to decipher them.
Tomorrow is our last day of school before our two week Easter break!  Kelsey and I are meeting teachers and students on Saturday morning to take the water taxi to the mainland to chaperone the students at the Track and Field Nationals.  We interviewed Aliyah yesterday for our documentary and she's pretty incredible. She's #1 in every single one of her classes (they rank the kids in order for each subject).  Not only is she really smart, but there isn't actually formal track practices for her to be training for nationals.  She said that when she was 3 years old her parents used to take her to the park to run laps because she had so much energy that she couldn't sleep and she's been running ever since.  We talked to her mom and she said that when Aliyah was in elementary school the kids didn't like playing with her because she was too fast that they could never catch her so she always used to have to run slower than she actually could so she wouldn't be left out of their games.  I asked her what she does to practice and she said that she typically runs 3-5 laps around the school and then does laps up and down the stairs at school.  I'm excited to watch her run at nationals and hopefully she comes back to San Pedro with gold medals!
On Sunday we are going crocodile hunting at night and then Monday morning we are leaving the island for a week to explore inland.  We're starting our trip with a tour of a chocolate farm and then exploring all sorts of places inland before we return back here to start service projects.  It's hard to believe how quickly the time is flying!  I will be sure to post lots of pictures (sorry I've been slacking) from all my upcoming adventures!

Weddings: San Pedro High School Style

The first full week of school is officially finished!  I spent most of the week observing Ms. Andrea's form 2 classes and Ms. Jennifer's form 1 classes.  I haven't taught any lessons yet, but the students are beginning to become familiar with me and are starting to feel comfortable enough to ask me questions.  Although they usually just laugh at me for reasons that are still unclear.
The form 2 students are all in a class called "Life Choices".  I'm not exactly sure what they study in this class, but I know earlier in the year they carried around sacks of flour as their children and then "killed" their babies by smashing them on the floor.  This week their focus was on weddings.  They researched weddings from different cultures and spent at least one day watching videos of the different types of wedding ceremonies in class.  After they student weddings from different cultures, then have a wedding of their own.  The teacher picks two students to get "married" and they have a wedding on the beach.  I'm talking full bridal gown, suits, bridesmaids in 5 in. heels, ring bearers, and a priest.  The "bride" walked out and The Wedding March began playing.  The flower girls sprinkled petals in front of the bride, although the wind took them pretty quickly, and then they made their way to the altar.  The student who was the priest went through the typical spiel beginning with "dearly beloved", and ending with "you may now kiss the bride" (which he did).  After the wedding, the wedding party took pictures on the beach and then moved inside for the reception where they obviously began with their first dance and toasts.  Fake champagne was poured into fake champagne glasses and the kids danced until the wedding cake (complete with a bride and groom on top) was cut and then the students danced until the bell rang.  All in all it was a pretty hilarious thing to watch and rumor has it there will be another one on Tuesday, which I'm hoping to attend with a camera!
On Friday afternoon there was a big assembly to give out medals to the students who attended and placed at the regional track meet last week.  It was really cool to see the kids so excited, particularly about one student.  Her name is Alia and she's in form 1 and the daughter of one of the English teachers.  Her mom said that people told her she was sort of fast, but she had no idea that she's actually a track star.  She won 7 (I think) gold medals and is favored to win 7 gold medals at the national meet this weekend.  I'm traveling inland on Saturday to go to the meet so I'll be there to cheer her on!  Apparently, she's so fast that during this meet she may be qualifying to be a member of the Belizean Olympic Team.  Pretty cool for a freshman in high school!
Outside of school, I spent the majority of this weekend at the beach.  Needless to say, it was a successful weekend!  On Tuesday I'm going crocodile hunting, so I'm VERY excited for that!  You go croc hunting at night because their eyes glow when it's dark so it should be a pretty cool experience.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and try not to lose any limbs in the process! :)