Thursday June 16th and Friday June 17th

These past two days have been somehow blended into each other. Majority of Thursday was spent studying for EOH. I am actually very frightened, I NEED AN "A" because i like A's. The weather is also very muggy and I am so worried that the internet will fail on me somehow. To top it off, the National weather service is reporting that there may be increased storm activity above Belize today and tomorrow (Friday). WHY???
 Now im wishing that I took the exam earlier today but i didn't feel prepared. Debby and Elizabeth keep telling me I will be okay but we will see, I hate to feel calm and then get shocked into reality while taking the exam. A person can never be too prepared for anything especially an exam. 
Friday morning was muggy, the girls have decided to do something fun today while I go to the UB library and take my exam. upon reaching I emailed the Dean of nursing alerting her to my location in case I was needed and we agreed that internet communication would be the best solution especially with the weather outside. It has been especially cool and I think it is because of the coming rains. i just hope the rains do not occur while im taking my exam. I have also informed Carmen the librarian that I will be taking an exam and she thinks its amazing that i could do it online. i guess they don't have online examinations here at UB.

Wednesday June 15th- the beginning of a COLD

Today felt like it was going to be bad even before I got out of bed. For one, I woke up with a scratchy feeling in my neck. To make it worse its Hot HOT HOT and being sick, always thirsty and hot is not a good combination. I need to get rid of this cold ASAP. My solution: Garlic. Garlic is the best antibacterial anti-cold fighter in the world, and its good for you too. After arriving on campus at around 9:30AM for a 10Am meeting we walked to the Dean of Nursing's office. After waiting for a few minutes we were informed that she was not on campus yet we were then directed to the nursing labs where we were told we would have a meeting and would be introduced to the UB students that would be accompanying us with the house to house survey. 15 minutes passed then 30 then 45 after 1hour and 30 minutes no one had showed up to let us know that there was not going to be a meeting.
I am starting to feel like we are getting the run around especially since it seems like this is turning into a turf war between those involved. I guess this is "research". Everything takes so long, everyone wants to be involved but we are not getting any answers. I wonder if it is because we are students without a professor? We are like lost sheep without a shepherd that can guide us along the way. 

After waiting patiently for over an Hour and a half we walked back to the Deans office and she doesn't have any news for us, especially in regards to the UB students :(. This now puts us back because we were planning on doing the pilot test of our survey that we created in Belize City and from everyone we have talked to and according to Lonely planet's book on Belize, it is very unsafe for foreigners to travel within Belize city. We have also heard of horror stories of foreigners being surrounded, robbed, beaten, or worse killed. My life is worth a lot more than putting myself in danger for research. I think it is best to push down the pilot study to the following week so that we can at least have the accompaniment of Belizean natives especially if we are going to be in Belize city. And since we are not piloting on Thursday, I cannot teach the Epi-info to the UB students because we wont have something concrete to work with and we don't know who is still on board to participate with the program. 
This is research, it is uncertain and can take many turns. I think Debby, Elizabeth and Caitlin are starting to get quite frustrated with the process but I'm glad that I prepared myself mentally for the whole situation because things never work out how you want them to in a foreign country. You just have to go with the flow and push when you can to get things done without being a pest. I guess the positive outcome of all this is that i know can choose whether I want to take my exam on Thursday or Friday. Oh yea, I'm going to be doing option 1-100 questions. Bring it on!!!

Tuesday June 14th 2011

The stresses of Internet connections and homework.

Today is Epi-Info day. I've been working on setting up our database and setting up our questionnaires in Epi Info which took almost half the day. It is very interesting because UB wants me to have an Epi-Info class instead of the latest: SAS, which would be diffcult to do here since 
1. SAS is expensive
2. SAS is not conducive in a place with limited computer capacity
3. SAS is not simple for people without some background in computers.
I am actually disappointed that SAS is not taught in the Epidemiology department. The only exposure i have received about EPI-Info was in Global Health 2 with Dr. Corvin (Thank you Dr. Corvin). I think it should be woven in, especially for students who decide to be dual program students in the Global health department and whatever other department. The program is very simple and it is good to have this background especially for those of us (like myself) who want to work in the international arena in some global capacity. Nonetheless, I am excited because I now get to reacquaint myself with the program and I also get to say that I have taught others about the program and what it can do. I guess in some way I am getting to give back to Belize since Belize is allowing me to gather information.

After lunch I took time off to study for my exam that I have this Thursday and Friday. I am actually very very frightened. My worst fear is the internet going out mid exam or worse yet the power going out and then me not having the ability to contact any one is the U.S to let them know my situation. I wonder if they would be sympathetic? I actually really like this EOH class and I am learning a lot. It is also confirming to me that I want to study medicine a lot more and that medicine is right for me. 
Our professor has given us the option of taking an exam that is 100 questions with 2.5 hours to take it or a 175 question exam that is 5hrs long. There is definitely a pro and con for each choice. If I take the 100 question exam and I have to do well on a lot more questions to get an "A" but if I take option 2, I have more time and can miss more questions and still get an "A" but I don't have the most reliable internet here...I need time to think and gauge what I will do, ugh! I hate having choices but also like having choices....

Monday June 13th 2011- Communication

Today is one of those days where the importance of communication comes into play and also the importance of having a tool to communicate. This morning we went to UB thinking that we had no meetings or anything due. Upon reaching the library, Carmen the librarian informed us that we were wanted in the admin building. When we arrived in the admin building 5-7 minutes later we were informed that we were being waited upon for a meeting that we were unaware that we had with the Dean of nursing. Rushing over to the Dean’s office, I was embarrassed and wondered if she would take our tardiness as a reflection of our work ethic. Upon arriving I apologized and we got down to business especially since we did not know the status of our IRB in Belize and we were excited to begin doing a lot of the work.

         First news we received: Ministry of Health will not look at our work until June 27^th. My face dropped, we had been told everything was okay and fine. The reason for the delay was because there was a misunderstanding on our research and how this was just for educational purposes. Also, the review board in Belize is fairly new so this process and understanding that students wanted to do research for educational purposes only was perplexing to them.

         The Dean then continued with previous orders of business that we had discussed in the previous week such as holding the health fair as a way to introduce ourselves to the community of San Martin. The nursing office has agreed to contact a number of the partners we wish to collaborate with such as the Diabetes Association etc. This is exciting news since we will at least have an output from all that we have done thus far. Our group from USF will prepare the flier.

Also more exciting than the health fair is that this Wednesday 15^th we will meet the other students who will be working on the study pilot. We plan to involve the community health worker (CHW) of San Martin so that we can have community buy in of the project. The dean also told us that it would be better for us to pilot the study in Belize City instead of Belmopan. The reason for the difference is that Belize City is very different from Belmopan and also a lot of the individuals may have ties to individuals from cities such as San Ignacio (I secretly was hoping to go to San Ignacio). This pilot is to take place this Thursday and then on Friday I can use the results from the pilot to teach Epi info to both the UB students and also the USF students on this project. The dean has also agreed that once our other professor comes to Belize we will have another meeting to touch bases. She also advised us to visit the PAHO offices in Belize City along with the Ministry of Health so that we can get access to health data that we cannot access here in Belmopan. This is exciting because everything is coming into place.

After an hour and half long meeting Elizabeth and I walked back to the library where we met up with the other students on the project and informed them of what had happened at the meeting. We then continued working on the protocol with each person taking a part and continuing to research and elaborate. 

In the Afternoon while working on the protocol, I heard a familiar African language. After inquiring where the person was from I was introduced to the Nigerian ambassador to Belize, Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Ifedi. We had a very interesting talk and he was very open about the process of how he became a diplomat. It very fascinating how there are so many avenues to reach your goals, I feel more determined and excited about the many possibilities in my life.

Towards the later part of the evening we sat as a group (Debby, Caitlin and Elizabeth) and discussed our project and also the possibility that it may not occur (please have your fingers crossed for us).

Saturday 11th June 2011

We are going to the Inland blue Hole. The movie below is to give you an idea of the location.

Just to remind you and to remove any confusion, the Inland blue Hole is different from the blue hole off the coast of Belize.
We woke up early in the morning to no sun and a gray cloud cover. I think every weekend so far we have been greeted by gray skies. The night before had rained so we were pretty worried that today would be a gloomy day, nevertheless we were optimistic. We arrived at the bus station unsure what bus to take but after talking to a conductor at the station we were informed that we were supposed to be on the James line heading to Dandriga/Punta gorda.

I think this has been the most colorful school bus we have been on. The bus line to Dandriga/Punta Gorda was already full and we were unsure if we would be able to get on the bus since the next bus would be coming in another 2 hours. The station conductor let us know that once the bus was full (which we could see that it was getting full) we would not be allowed to get on the bus. He then called a taxi operator who tried to bargain with us and offered to take us the the Blue hole for $60 BZ. NOOOO WAY!!! The Blue hole is 12 miles away from Belmopan and a bus ride is just $2BZ. We told him the Taxi driver no because the price he was offering was such an inflated price (The price hike could have been due to the fact that gas prices here for a gallon is about $6 US).
As the minutes ticked it became very apparent that we would not be able to board the bus. The taxi driver then said he would be willing to drop us off at another bus station so that the bus could pick us up elsewhere. Why would he say this? It is because buses are not allowed to have standing passengers when leaving the bus station so to circumvent this rule, individuals will go to a bus station off the main highway and pick up the same bus they cannot pick at the bus station.

We agreed and the taxi driver talked to the bus driver and we rushed into the taxi to be shuttled ahead of the bus. After paying $8Bz we boarded the bus and since there were no seats we stood for the 12 mile ride to the Blue Hole.

The drive towards Dandriga is beautiful and very very green with its rolling hills and clean air. After 10 minutes we were dropped off on the side of the road to hike for about 7 minutes to the entrance of the park. Once there a park employee told us we had gotten off the wrong part and needed to go back a mile or so and buy the park tickets. He gave us the option of hiking through the park jungle of hiking on the main highway. We choose the jungle.  The walk is beautiful and requires hiking shoes, mosquito repellant, and good company. After 45 minutes we reached the other park entrance drenched and wanting to get into the blue water. After haggling with the tour operators we were able to get to enjoy both park features which included cave tubing, and the blue hole for $25 US (This normally is around $45-50US), (My haggling has been perfected by my Kenyan background).
We then got our tubes, locked away our belongings that we didnt want wet and walked 10 minutes to the entrance of the cave.

The entrance looked like a hole in the side of the mountain but it was so amazingly different. After an introduction by our tour guide we turned on our head lamps, carried our tubes and descended into the earth. (It gets very cool down here and dark so if you are afraid of the dark i would recommend doing this with a group) (when i say dark i mean pitch black).

After trekking through the cave for 10 or so minutes we were led to some Mayan remains which included cookware. We also got to obsevre the wonders of geology and mother nature, stalagmites and stalactites.

Apparently there used to be alot of Jade in these caves since the Mayans believed that the caves were the underworld, but the Jade has disappeared as people have looted the caves.
Within minutes we could hear the sound of water and we began our cave tubing experience. Throughout the entire experience we enocountered bats, blind fish etc. Definitely an experience if you have never done it.

After 45 minutes in the cave covered by complete darkness, lifting our butts to prevent getting hit by rocks in the water, and getting stuck occasionally we finally made it out. By then I was exhausted, thirsty and hungry. We then trekked back to the park office and walked along the main highway to the blue hole. The road was mostly empty but we had to be careful since they were many speeders which had given the highway a nickname as the Audubon highway a play on Germany's Autobahns.

The blue hole is so beautiful and very different, and it is blue. The water was very cool and it took many minutes to inch our way deeper into the water.

But once in it was a great feeling and also an awesome reward after partaking in our own "Journey to the center of the Earth" expedition. This was definitely a highlight of the weekend.

Until later Keep on Beliz-ing and Gooooo Bulls!!!!

June 9th and June 10th

Thursday June 9th and Friday June 10th were pretty similar. We woke up and were on campus by 9am, On campus, we divided the remaining work between us. We have been working quite well with each other especially since this is our first time doing research outside of the country and also since there are no other options other than working together. I am just pretty surprised that many other concentrations do not have the same exposure that the Global Health practice concentration has when it comes to project protocol, objectives, objectives etc that I thought were standard knowledge. (Thank you Dr. Nisbett)
We have developed our project objectives which include 
1. Discover the health issues of community
2. formulate a culturally appropriate intervention
3. Discover gaps/discrepancies in health knowledge
4. Assess importance of demographic characteristics in health outcomes
5. Develop a survey tool that can be used in other communities in Belmopan and the country of Belize.
Since the room we have been using has no A.C. and it gets quite hot in the day we have decided to relocate to the library which allows us to have better wireless internet access and also is much much cooler. 
Everything so far is going according to plan but we are being hindered by the Belizean Ministry of Health review board, hopefully we will be okay by next week.

Wednesday June 8th 2011

Every morning I take Doxycycline religiously but within 10 minutes I’m sick :( . After forcing myself to eat the oatmeal and some PBJ crackers I felt slightly better but not at my prime. It took me a considerably longer time to prepare myself for the day.  We walked to UB, which is less than 5 minutes from our house and continued to work on the survey tool. Today we decided to divide the work and determine who will be responsible for the different parts of the survey process. We agreed that we would have 1UB and 1USF student pair up and go into the community while administering the survey at different households. This facilitates the partnership aspect between both universities so that we could both learn from each other about Belize and how to conduct epidemiologic studies. 

We went through all the surveys we brought and choose questions that we were interested in. This process was very hard because we found alot of really great questions that would answer what we wanted but many questions could not be asked because they were culturally insensitive to Belizean culture so there was alot of tweaking. Also we did not want questions that did not help in answering our questions and we also did not want to have too many questions because our aim was to keep the time in each household to a minimum (they are doing us a service by allowing us to come into their households and answering questions) . Dr. Westhoff also pointed out the importance of uniformity in the entire process. 

After spending 4-5 hours combing through each question and its importance we were able to had a grand total of 68 questions. We also discussed the importance of uniformity and the essential role a pilot test would play in helping us understand how our survey tool worked or did not work and whether some questions were confusing or unnecessary. We also have to be very careful that we do not appear like we are going to be the “savior” of the community, we are not here to uncover issues, we want to see what needs we can address through education etc. 

In the afternoon before lunch, we walked into San Martin with our “cultural broker” Alicia and a Nursing student (Ruth) from UB to discover the location of an upcoming health fair that will be held in Parka san Americas and will be sponsored by Pro-Belize. We hope that we can partner with this organization and others such as Red Cross of Belize, Ministry of Health, Dandriga cancer center, diabetes association, NEMO, Lomaloss dialysis etc.

One issue I think we will encounter is mapping the community because there are no house numbers and some lots have more than one house within them. We still have this issue to work through but hopefully it does not pose a huge issue in achieving our end goal.  The neighborhood is made of many homes and majority of the houses have corrugated roofs.  A few of the homes have a Mayan traditional house in the surrounding compound, which has grass/hay as the roof. There are no paved roads and most are dirt roads. I have also not seen any community centers but we have passed a few churches. I hope to be able to walk through the community later this week and explore it further and also get an idea of the community set up which will help us tremendously.  

Tuesday June 7th 2011

Belize is hot hot hot! 10am feels like 12pm and the breeze is not as cool as I would want. 

We arrived at UB and jumped right into work at 8:30am and were met with the cool breeze of air conditioning. The smells of coffee and green tea were familiar smells and I was eager to meet the UB and San Martin individuals and “cultural brokers” who would help in the process. The individuals at the meeting included the Dean of Nursing, Social work and public health; The chair of nursing and Alicia Medina our “cultural broker”/ community health worker in San Martin. To start of the meeting we discussed what we were looking to get more information about. Out topics of interest included Demographic information of San martin, chronic diseases, family violence, hurricane preparedness and reproductive health. Within each section we discussed specific areas we wanted to delve into such as the physical, mental and cultural impact of family violence. We also discussed different ways we would ask questions and I was able to present the surveys I had discovered while I was here in Florida prior to starting my International Field Experience (IFE).

An issue that we came upon was advertising to the community to inform them of what we were doing in San Martin and it was mentioned that we could possibly hold a health fair and collaborate with other health organizations in Belmopan to educate the community of San Martin. Possible organization we could partner with included the Red Cross, NEMO, Cancer society, Council of aging, diabetes and Kidney, the local dialysis center and Dandriga Cancer society.  This event is supposed to occur in the next two to three weeks and hopefully it will be able to occur especially since many organizations may need notification months in advance. It would be awesome if we can pull this off with the help of UB, but if we aren’t able to I hope we are still able to give something back to Belize at the end of the trip.

In the afternoon we had a presentation by the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) presented by Roberto Ramerez. In it we learned the organizational structure and the daily functioning’s of NEMO during emergencies. A challenge that NEMO faces is infrastructural development especially since many areas lack the resources for people to be safe during hurricanes or other disasters.

 NEMO

After an hour lunch we then received a lecture on Belizean culture from Mr. Sampson a professor of History and Anthropology here at UB. The history of Belize is rich and varied and involves the Mestizos, Creoles, Spanish and Maya, British and also U.S Confederates. We also learned about the San Martin community and their possible origins. History of Belize 

Stay tuned and enjoy this fun Belizean proverb that sums of preliminary research:

IF YO NO CHEK DI WATA, NO TECK OFF YO SHOE. WITHOUT INVESTIGATING THE WATERS, DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR SHOE (TO WALK THROUGH IT) Meaning: Look before you leap. 

 

Monday June 6th 2011

Woke up today at 10am, my body is sore but a good sore. Yesterday definitely made me realize why I want to be healthier.  After eating a light breakfast, the girls and I headed to the University of Belize for the first day of our field experience. After meeting with the Provost, we discussed the aims of our needs assessment. We are going to be working within the community of San Martin instead of the two communities of Mayopan and Salvapan. The switch from two communities to one community is because we would like this to be a pilot site and it would be a lot easier to focus on one community than on two communities at once. We also discussed the possible directions we would look to explore and discussed the use of the survey tools we had brought and those that had been utilized by the Belizean ministry of Health. I’m very excited because this is the beginning of an exciting summer and an awesome project. Stay tuned!!!

Sunday 5th 2011

One thing I have come to realize is that power goes out intermittently here in Belize. Along with power, internet. Either way here is the update on my trip in Belize.

On Sunday we woke up at 5am for a fun filled day in the Vaca Plateau. We arrived at the bus station at 5:30am for a bus that was supposed to arrive at the bus station at 6am. The station was not as full as the previous day nonetheless we were excited. As 6 am approached and passed we began to worry about whether we would make it in time to go on our scheduled tour at 7am. So much for waking up early. At 6:45am the bus arrived and we boarded on our way south on the Western Highway, by then we were certain we would be very late because the bus we had boarded was not an express bus, which meant that we would have frequent stops along the way. As the bus rolled southward the mix of Spanish, Creole and the humming of the engine rocked me into a dazed light sleep but the air around was somewhat humid but cool. There was also a cloudy overcast that seemed to foreshadow or hint at possibly a ruined day. As we pulled into the bus stop in San Ignacio we could see the tour conductor waiting for us. I rushed off the bus and approached him apologizing for our tardiness but it seemed like he understood and “this is Belize”. We walked less than 5 minutes to the hotel and paid the remaining balances and headed to the back where we boarded a Mitsubishi 4WD. We pulled out of the still sleeping town of San Ignacio at about 8:30am heading south through the Mountain Pine Ridge. Our tour guide? One word-AWESOME. He gave us a history of the areas we were driving through; give us information of the small villages that we were driving through. One such village is named after Blackman Eddy who was a herbalist with a wide knowledge base of medicinal plants and herbs. 

Our guide also had such amazing eyes and would stop occasionally to point out birds or monkeys and give us their specie names and their common Belizean names. As we headed further south it was evident that the landscape was changing instead of the humid, stuffy air that we experienced in San Ignacio or Belmopan the air was thinner and more moist and cool as we increased our altitude. 

The environment was also very different and looking around it was noticeable that the flora and fauna were changing as the jungle was enveloping us. There were also intermittent light showers, which helped keep the dust clouds down as we sped down the brown earthy roads. About 30 minutes away from Caracol we passed a platoon of the British military performing military “war” training.

As we neared the entrance we could hear the distant noises of the jungle including Howler monkeys. 

If you want to see Mayan architecture at its best and you are in Belize? Visit Caracol. Sponsored in part by the University of central Florida (pretty weird/interesting). The site is amazing and definitely supports the many theories circulating indicating that Africans may have traveled to North and South American before the Europeans (Pyramids). 

Walking around the site is pretty cool and many of the pyramids are still covered under the jungle, which has reclaimed many of the sites but its still a really cool site to explore and also admire the jungle canopy. It is here that I also got to eat termites for the first time and also see a goliath like ant that can pick up objects triple its weight.

 The next location on our trip was the Rio Frio cave, which looks like a big carving out of the side of the mountain. It’s truly amazing, dark, and awe-inspiring. You can walk within it; explore it while looking at ancient Mayan drawings. After visiting the cave we headed to the falls, which offer a great backdrop to the Mountain Pine Ridge. 

The river has carved away at the granite surrounding the pine trees, which is an awesome indication of the power of nature.

After about a 20-minute picture session we headed to the Rio Frio pools and Rio Frio waterfall. The hike down is scary. Please wear shoes with great grips because one can easily slip and get injured. After inching our way down we finally arrived at the waterfall and the pools. The sight is breathtaking. The thundering waterfalls offer a great backdrop to the cool pools of clear water. 

After multiple attempts I finally made it to the waterfall and climbed the moss covered rocks and enjoyed the cool water while attempting to mentally capture everything around me (I definitely have realized that I need a water resistant camera). After fooling around in the water for over an hour we hiked back up the steep mountainside, exhausted but thoroughly satisfied.

The ride back to Georgeville was quiet as I sat satisfied in the tour 4WD jeep and absorbed the sights and smells of rural Belize.

DAY 2 in Belize: San Ignacio

Today was a good day. I woke up with the girls at 7am to go to San Ignacio. San Ignacio is one of Belize's urban centers and 9 miles from the border of Guatemala. We were supposed to be at the bus station by 8am but ended up arriving at 8:20am and missed the first bus. We were also a little lost, and didnt know which bus to get on but luckily since people are very friendly we were directed and informed that the green and white bus was the bus we needed to take to get to San Ignacio. After 15 minutes the bus that was pretty much a US school bus just painted green and white pulled into the compound and we boarded on our way for a fee of 3bz of $1.50 US. The scenery and landscape reminds me very much of parts of Kenya so its definitely something you should see or experience. Cows, sheep and the occasional horse munching on grass are what you see. The landscape was not as mountainous or as hilly as I expected.
Although the bus was the express bus (meaning it does not stop as often as the non-express bus) the bus did stop quite a few times. I really wonder how the non-express bus would be if we had chosen to ride that one instead. After lulling in and out of sleep from the vibration of the bus we arrived in San Ignacio sweating but in a good mood. The hot sun was a constant reminder of the tropical location of Belize but with Sunscreen it was enjoyable.
After walking around the market and buying some cheese quesedillas with chicken and beans, we began our trek through San Ignacio while listening to the far-off music of a band playing music, a soccer game in the distance and a group of evangelists preaching the word of God. The smells of the market were definitely tantalizing. My main interest was the fruit (guinep, papaya, pears, mangoes, pineapple, starfruit, watermelon etc). My mouth is watering at the thought of all the fruits now. After eating and re-energizing we began our walk to Cahal Pech, a Mayan archeological site that is worth the 2 mile walk up the two very steep hills. This site was not filled with tourists, I only saw about 7 other people besides my group of 5, so we had the ruin to ourselves and were able to explore all the nooks, take pictures, sit, appreciate and enjoy. After over an hour of exploring the site we walked back to San Ignacio exhausted but fulfilled.
The ride back to Belmopan was quiet as we all slept on the bus or took in the scenery around us. Belize definately teaches me more about myself. Below is a Belizean proverb.
"HAG ME ASK EH MUMMA WHEY MEK EH MOUT SO LONG, EH MUMMA SAY NOH WORRY BABY WHEN YOU GROW UP YOU WAH FINE OUT.
Hog asked his momma why is his mouth so long, His mother replied, don't worry baby when you grow up you will find out.
Meaning: You will learn more about yourself as you grow."

http://www.belizeans.com/grauma.htm

Arriving into Belize

I arrived into Belize, exhausted after being awake for over 24hrs straight I was not surprised at the way my body was feeling. First stop was El Salvador where i waited for 7 hours. Flying in, El Salvador is the lush green jungle that i always imagined was in South America. After waiting the 7 hours for my connecting flight I couldn't wait to finally be in Belize. The flight into Belize was not long, maybe about an hour. The landscape of Belize was very different from that of El Salvador. DRY!, below I could see smoke rising from fires and the brown of dried trees and grass. the international airport in Belize was also not what I expected. It was small and even though i expected it so be bustling it made sense since I am arriving during the rainy season and this is also the time when tourism is low. On the ground i discovered that Belize is currently very dry because of the ongoing drought. But it is still very different from what I expected. As I discover I will post. Enjoy the blog.