Unique Cuisine in Belize

One of the exciting experiences of being in Belize is tasting the FOOD. Anywhere you go you will find rice and beans or beans and rice, BBQ chicken, stewed chicken, panades, garnaches, tamales, salbutes, caldo, hudut, fried jacks and beans, escabeche….YUM! I am getting hungry already. I wonder why I gained all this weight!!!!

Actually I love all of the above, but I want to talk about unique FOODS that I thought I would never want to taste , let alone eat…..I am talking about stewed iguana (bamboo chicken) with its eggs.. or a BBQ gibnut (the Royal rat which was served to the Queen when she came and visited Belize) or stewed armadillo….. Mr. Len, Dr. Sue’s husband went hunting with Mr Rudy and caught an armadillo and we feasted on this with the students. It was a palate savoring experience for me eating a stewed armadillo. Probably more exciting for Mr. Len as that it was the first time he ever went armadillo hunting (or even hunting period).

So, don’t judge a game meat by what you see…it does taste good.

Soooo, when you are offered to eat a cow foot soup, or stewed beans with pigtail or chicken foot tamales….remember what I told you….Taste it first and ENJOY!!!! Maria making mashed cassava. Len and Rudy after pulling the armadillo out of its burrow.

Armadillo fruit salad creation by Mr. Len.Examples of Gibnuts. Examples of green iguanas.

Garifuna Settlement Day / Culture Day

November 19 was Garifuna Settlement Day. This is a special day for the school because the entire student body parades out to the dock for the renachment of the first boat that brought the Garifuna who came from St. Vincent island. At the base of the dock some of the Garifuna students await for the arrival of the boat accompanied with Garifuna drummers. On the boat are students and adults also accompanied by Garifuna drummers. The 19th of November is also T.C.C's culture day. Students are encourage to wear their cultural atire which makes up a very diverse student body. There are Mopan Mayans, Ketchi Mayans, Garifuna, Mestizo, Mennonite, Creole, and East Indian that were all represented that day. The school also had some open booths of some of the different cultures that were open to students to explore and learn. The third picture is of my homeroom teacher she is wearing her Garifuna atire, and her daughter also Garifuna but representing Mopan Maya.

Damn the Dam!

Damn the Dam! from Ya'axché Conservation Trust on Vimeo.

Check out these Punta Gorda High School students who wanted to use the power of music and dance to represent the opposition of both themselves and their communities to unsustainable hydroelectric development. This whole movie is shot on the very same river that the proposed dam was to be built upon. These young Belizeans are showing just how much the river means to the people of Toledo district and how they want to see it remain just the way it is.

Thanks to Ajax films for making this movie and to the talented TCC students who worked so hard to make it happen!

Garifuna Drumming

In early September I began to take Garifuna Drumming lessons here in Punta Gorda. In Belize one of the ethnic groups is called the Garifuna. The Garifuna people came from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and migrated to Central America after the British invaded their island. They carried along with them their language, food, and music. Some of their music was lost. Only a couple songs remain today that have been passed down from generation to generation. Some of the songs are Chumba, Paranda, and my favorite the Punta. There are two drums the primero ,which is small and has a high sound, and the Segundo, which is large with a deep sound. A Garifuna drum is usually made of mahogany and deer skin. My teacher Mr. Ronald Mc Donald is a experienced drummer who expresses his culture through Garifuna drumming. It’s been a wonderful experience to me to be immersed in the music of the Garifuna culture.

HOPE (Helping Older People Equally)

Last week of September is celebrated as Elderly week in Belize. Hillside Clinic, in partnership with HOPE, joined in the celebration by assisting in a whole week program of health assessment, medication maintenance, health education, and pampering with manicure and pedicure (foot care). We enjoyed the socialization. I actually found my true calling….podiatry!!! I ended up doing foot care since we did not have enough volunteers for that service. You should have seen the smiley faces of our elderly patients. Some of them I hardly recognized because they were so well dressed for the event. HOPE WEEK was a great success!

HOPE patient getting special attention.

Maria doing foot care for home bound.

Student Loan Fund

Just as there is a brain drain from Belize to the U.S. and the U.K., there is the same from the Toledo District (Punta Gorda area). For that reason it is difficult to find local leadership and professionals to work at Hillside Clinic. Those that are available are in such demand that we cannot afford them. We are hoping that we can “grow our own” by offering selected young locals a loan program for studies. By selecting and mentoring gifted and dedicated young people, we hope to ensure the leadership of Hillside for the future. Jennie Ical is our first student. She is Mayan, speaks both Ketchi and Mopan, has recently received her associate degree in business at the University of Belize, and wants to pursue a nursing degree. This summer she has been our pharmacy assistant. If you know of anyone interested in investing in this program let us know. Donations go to: M & I Marshall and Ilsely Bank, 2225 North Calhoun Road, Brookfield, WI 53045.

Jennie Ical - Pharmacy Trainee

Jennie Ical and Maria at graduation at UB.

Hillside Health Care International Campus

Hillside clinic is situated about 5 miles north of Punta Gorda on the main highway. The site was donated and appears to be about an acre in size. It started out as one main building and now the area is pretty well filled with other facilities. The clinic building itself has an area where 3 patients can be seen at one time, a small storage area, a small pharmacy, and the beginnings of a small basic lab, all on the first floor. On the second floor is an administrative office, a small apartment for visiting doctors and volunteers, and another storage room. To the west of that is the “tree house” which presently houses our RN, Betty Conley on the second floor and a work area for Evert Mangar, our facilities manager, and Amelia Ramclam, our housekeeper, on the first floor. South of the tree house is the Ed Center where meetings are held, but where we hope to convert into a dental unit eventually. Our newest building is Abbey House dorm, named after Abbey Brinkman, who died in a tragic scuba diving accident a few years ago while on rotation at Hillside. The Abbey House can accommodate as many as 16 students and volunteers, with full facilities enclosed. We would like to eventually build a roof over the Abbey House to decrease the heat inside the dorm and also establish a larger meeting and gathering area.

Tree house to the right, Education Center straight ahead and Abbey House dorm to the left.
Hillside Clinic from the east with mural.
Abbey House straight ahead, Clinic to the right.