A Not-Good Blog

This week did culminate in a new cultural experience for me and one that I would have preferred not to have experienced...a Belizean funeral.

Ms. Augustine, officially the Foster Mother of Dorothy Menzies Child Care Centre, but who could be better described as the director, has been on holiday since the 8th of September.  Spending one's life employed with the Ministry allows for a good long vacation!  She was due to return on the 23rd of August.

About 2:00 AM Friday morning, Ms. Augustine's son died in a house fire.  His house, a wood house on stilts, was on the street behind Ms. Augustine's house.  From what I read in the news, several houses shared electricity, and the fire may have been caused by an electrical malfunction.  Anyway, Michael, aged 33 and the father of two young children, was found in the wreckage in the hallway, having died of smoke inhalation.  The fire started in the hall between the bedroom and the door out the front.

Yesterday was the funeral and burial.  I attended with many of the Centre's staff and a number of the children.  As Michael also worked for the Department of Human Development (and I had met him a number of times at the office), the church was filled not only with family and friends, but also with many co-workers.  The service was held at St. Mary's Anglican Church and was not different from what one would expect in the U.S.  Interesting was that a bus had been chartered to take people out to the cemetery, 13 miles out of town.  I went in "our" van (our Centre has a van and driver), and I did have some momentary thoughts about how many were in this van...probably nearly 20!  I was lucky to have a very light-weight girl on my lap!  It seemed like nearly everyone from the funeral also attended the burial.

Burials are different here than what I am used to, but may be similar to what one would find in coastal areas of the southeast.  The casket is lowered into a cement vault and then covered with cement as part of the graveside ceremony.  Sealing the vault was certainly the most emotionally wrenching part of the ceremony, especially as Michael's little daughter helped smooth the wet cement in place.

I cannot imagine Ms. Augustine's pain, especially having lost her youngest son one year ago to illness. There is a supportive community around her, including at the Centre, but I don't know when she can return to work after this.  The children were so wonderful.  On the way to the cemetery, the 10-year-old girl on my lap seemed to know where we were going.  She told me that she had been there last year for Ms. Augustine's other son's burial, and that it was "a very peaceful place."  It was dusk by the time that we arrived at the cemetery and after dark when we left.  The beautiful full moon had not risen yet, so it was very dark, and I cannot see in the dark very well.  A 14-year-old boy held my hand and directed me:  "a little to the left because there is mud here; ok, now there are rocks; now we'll just walk toward the light in the van over there!"  So sweet!  How lucky I am to have them in my life, and they will be the support for Ms. Augustine when she returns.

Another interesting event this week was the late call that Dave received on Friday to go to Punta Gorda to pick up a child with a head trauma.  He knew that he could not get back before sunset, so he had to arrange with International Airport for them to remain open (they close at 6:00 PM) so that he could land there where they have lights on the runway.  Then he rode to the hospital in the ambulance, which later dropped him off at home.  On Saturday morning, I drove him back to International so that he could pick up the plane and fly it back to Municipal Airport.  He's had some challenging weather to fly through this week, as well.

I am having difficulty getting one of my medications.  I'm glad that I started a week before running out. At my third pharmacy, I left the prescription.  They said that they could get the medication for me.  (The previous two pharmacies did not have it and had no idea when they would have it, though I've purchased it previously.)  But the pharmacy downtown did not call me back, so hopefully I'll get an answer tomorrow.  I'm not sure what I'll do if I can't get it.  Talk to my doctor about alternatives, I guess.  This is an example of how things are not always readily available in Belize.

We have been here 6 months now.  I can't decide if I feel like I've lived here forever or if I feel like a newcomer still.  Given my circle of friends and the routine of my life, going to work, etc., I definitely don't feel like an outsider.  I tell Dave that I have to stay here until the children graduate from high school, and now we have a couple of one-year-olds in the Centre!