Dave and I have been enjoying Belize City activities since the first of the year! Yesterday, we went to a newly opened ice cream shop! What a welcome addition to the City! Dave has been grousing about the lack of good ice cream, though we have two nearby ice cream shops. Now one has opened with home-made ice cream and over-21 flavors...that means you have to be over 21-years-old to buy a scoop! Rum & Raisin, Guinness & Peanuts, and my favorite, Black Cherry Amaretto Chip! They have vanilla and chocolate, too, for those who are not as adventurous! The interesting problem is getting there. I call it the corner of "Wrong Way-Wrong Way-Wrong Way-Wrong Way!" Seriously, you drive down one street, but can't go the next block to the shop as it has a "Wrong Way" sign, but you go one block to the left and the street is torn up. So you retrace your steps, going now on the first street "Wrong Way." Then you get to the Wrong Way end of the street that was torn up. So you go on to the next One-Way street, only to find that the street is torn up at the corner of the street to the ice cream shop, which says "Wrong Way." We chose to drive down that Wrong Way street anyway, as there was absolutely (literally) no way out! But the ice cream was worth it! Cute shop, too! And open on Sundays!
Last Sunday we attended an encore performance of the play produced by the Rotary Club called "Every Rose has Thorns." We were going to attend on Saturday night, but it was sold out--and we'd missed Thursday and Friday night performances. Fortunately, they added a performance.
The play was written by a minister who had lived in Belize and now resides in New York. Because I work with a crew of Belizeans daily, I not only understood the Kriol, but I also understood the jokes! Poking fun at themselves! I laughed and laughed! And it was such fun to have a cultural event to attend! We went to dinner at the Hour Bar after the play, sitting on the deck with the most beautiful breeze!
The volunteers who come from Florida are returning in a couple of weeks, and they are trying to arrange housing for a couple of months during the summer when they can bring their families. They found a lead on a house, which I thought was closer to Ladyville than it is. Dave and I visited it to assess the property for their summer stay. What a spectacular house, now being divided into apartments, which overlooks the Sea and is alongside a canal! Fun to see the home! Dave and I then drove on to Ladyville to look for Big Mama's Kitchen, which I had seen advertised on FaceBook. After a little searching and asking directions, we located it! A beautiful place with wonderful burgers and fries!
Friday, Valentine's Day, was the official opening of the new BTL Park. The festivities began at 5:00 PM with shows on stage for the smaller children. Dave and I walked to the park, which is not 10 minutes from our house, and found security tight. Police had the street blocked off and were checking people for weapons and contraband. The street also was blocked with carnival rides. The park has cute little buildings that vendors rent, and I had been wanting to try the smoothie shop. Excellent! We then walked around to see what all was happening. Ozzy the Clown was soon on stage! He is known by Dave as Javier, one of the medics, but he is a very popular and sought after clown! It was fun to watch his performance, then talk to him afterwards!
As we ate food from the Filipino Fast Food shop,
the Puseria shop, and the Jamaican shop, we watched the children play on the climbing structure.
We walked by the fountain, then stood and watched the mayor open the park. A reggae band performed as more people arrived until the party really began to rock after 9:00 PM! My personal favorite moment was when 3 of "my" high school girls shrieked and ran up to nearly topple me in a big hug! I was so happy that they were able to attend!
A great fireworks show happened over the water!
We walked home under the full moon (see first picture at top of blog), and could hear the rest of the concert from our bedroom! Fun evening!
Dave has not been flying as often as he would like. He thinks it could be because of the end of the fiscal year approaching and clinics out of money in their budget, or it could be just normal fluctuations in need. I, on the other hand, have been busy full-time and then some! In addition to working with the children, I have developed a series of trainings for the staff as we try to improve the consistency and quality of discipline. The reward system is being revised, and I have divided the residents and staff into teams to try to develop more cooperation and team-building. I also have three social work interns from the University of Belize, and I have been asked to present at one of the counseling classes on the subject of Play Therapy. Whew! I am pretty sure that this is not retirement!
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