Blackout!

Dave and I miss having lots of choices of cultural activities:  plays, symphony, concerts, etc.  If something comes along that we are aware of here, we go!  (Finding out about events seems one huge hurdle to me.  Publicity seems to be lacking, or I am looking in all the wrong places.)

This week three young Mexican pianists came to perform at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts.

The program was one mixing classical pieces and regional pieces. And the pieces were for two, four or six hands!  The concert began on time with a respectable audience.  The young men were excellent pianists!  About one-third into the show, there was a sudden "POP" and all of the power went out! Right in the middle of Beethoven! Ricardo Moo paused, hands raised, in pitch darkness!  (No emergency lights went on, by the way.)  Then the audience pulled out their cell phones and turned on their flashlights, shining the light toward the stage...and Beethoven continued without fault!  One of the men asked if we wanted the concert to continue, and everyone yelled "Yes!"  With a few staff people holding flashlights, they continued their program.

The air conditioning was out, the fan on stage for the performers was silent (and though the audience suggested that they take off their jackets, they did not), and not a person in the hall left the concert!  The music was wonderful, but the spirit of the people, performers and audience alike made the experience memorable!  These young men will never forget the concert that they performed in Belize!

I thought that the building's circuitry had blown, but we left the theatre to total darkness.  It was a dark trip home!  We lit candles when we arrived home, and after the one-to-two hour blackout, the power returned.

I don't know if it is the heat or what, but this morning we had another two hour blackout.  Fortunately, we also had a strong, cool sea breeze.  Lately, the breezes have not come from the sea, if we have one at all, and the air is simply hot, moving or not.  Belize has had the driest wet season in history, but a tropical wave is to arrive tonight or tomorrow.

My observations of medical care here:  Having not really had a physical in well over a year and my brother having died recently of a heart attack, I decided I should have a thorough work-up.  I began with a blood test, a mammogram, and a doppler exam of the carotid arteries.  In U.S. dollars, an absolutely thorough blood screening cost about $150 (and several vials of my blood)!  The mammogram cost $50 and the doppler about $150.  Then I went to the cardiologist.  I was expecting to have an echocardiogram, but I spent more than two hours with him, talking!  Yes, talking...as he illustrated the mechanism of the entire heart in detail.  This cost me $60.  And I learned a lot!  From the many questions that he asked me, he determined that he preferred to do a stress test, so I was scheduled for the following week for that.  My first attempt was cancelled by an emergency that he had, as was the second attempt.  On the third attempt, I sat talking again for another hour or more.  He said:  "I don't need to do anything else but monitor a man with a faulty pacemaker and examine you."  Then I had the stress test, which I passed with flying colors.  All of this cost $175.  Oh, yes.  He did a urinalysis at the first visit for $5 U.S.  As reference, my co-pays and deductible would have exceeded the amount I spent on this physical. And I can assure you that I would never be able to find a cardiologist in the U.S. who would spend approximately 5 hours with me for any price!  And I would not have known what subtle symptoms might mean or that high cholesterol, my only real issue, would have symptoms such as irritability, inability to sleep, tingling in the arms and feet, etc.  End result:  I'm on statins and will have a follow-up blood test in a couple of weeks (but just a cheap, simple one!).

My other observation is on the medical system for the populace who gets free care, such as the children at the Centre.  Children can be rough and tumble, and the staff are very good about taking the children to the doctor promptly.  For example, one child came back to the Centre with a very swollen knee from playing football (soccer).  The doctor at the Clinic examined him and X-rayed the knee, finding that there was no fracture and that he should recover shortly.  We have had a child in the hospital for two weeks with a lung infection, and the doctors sent him to the private clinic for an MRI to be sure that nothing else was going on.  And my personal experience is with the psychiatry department.  Last year I was so dismayed that no psychiatrist was practicing in Belize.  Finally, one arrived from the Philippines. Now we have a second from Cuba.  This week I went to see the psychiatric nurse, who does the majority of monitoring the medications for our children.  She spent an hour with me, listening to my description of the symptoms of a child she had seen previously, with the result that she changed the medication back to a protocol that seemed to be working last spring.  (We didn't want to take the child out of her first week of high school, which is why I went alone.)  I will take the child back in two weeks for a follow-up appointment.

In general, I think that the medical care is good.  The public hospital is still a scary place to me, but they are working to improve the facility and the procedures that they can do.  Complicated cases are still sent to Guatemala or Mexico or to the United States.

"To Be or Not to Be!"

"Hamlet!"  Yes, we were able to attend the performance of Shakespeare's play performed as part of the "Globe to Globe" project from London!  The project takes "Hamlet" to all of the countries of the world over a two year period.  Belize was the 32nd country!  This production was beautifully performed and was very creative!  The set (above) can be packed in the trunks and suitcases of the cast--four per person.  The set was simple and effective.  The man who portrayed Hamlet was very disturbed! Perfect!  I saw interviews of him and he was so professional, and not a bit disturbed!  The play began with music which I described as bluegrass and Dave said was more of an Irish jig!  Not sure how that relates to Denmark, but it added such spirit to the performance!  When considering how many countries would have little understanding of the English spoken, having the music helped maintain the interest.  I am so thankful that I was able to see this performance.  I also loved our seats--behind the Governor General of Belize and the High Commissioner of Great Britain!  We drove to the theater pulled onto Newtown Barracks Drive behind the Ambassador from the United States in his black SUV with an escort car in front of him.  I figured if we were stopped at a police checkpoint, I could believably say that I was with the car in front of me!  We drove to the theater, but the Ambassador and his wife were dropped off in front of the theater and Dave and I had to park and walk.  Guess we weren't quite in the motorcade!

The Globe to Globe cast performed the play for high schoolers in Belize for free.  I insisted that our children would attend, so went to the theater and picked up their tickets.  I did not get a lot of feedback from the kids due to my fear of violence!  LOL!  Some of the kids said that they enjoyed it, some fell asleep!  I am just so pleased that they had this once-in-a-lifetime experience, whether they enjoyed it or not!

On Friday night, I had "girls' night out" with Laura Connelly and Natalie Lanni as their two months in Belize draws to a close.  I cannot believe that the time has flown by!  And I hardly even saw them! They will return, but I'll miss having them here.

And I have had another stressful week with the children.  I am excited to be putting together a social skills training program for the kids with whom I work.  And I will have two University of Belize interns in another week.  High school begins next week.  I will be very glad to spend a week in Houston for the Association for Play Therapy conference!

Highs & Lows

The above picture is from the Woods' home in the mountains

A very high point of our recent adventures was the trip that we took to the Woods' orange grove in the mountains near Dangriga.  John and Marta, Yvette and her two "kids," Clayton and Jess, a nephew of Yvette, and Woods' daughter-in-law, Elda, and two children made for a spirited group on a beautiful day!  The home is spectacular, built entirely of stone and wood with a deck overlooking the orchard and grounds.  

Clayton brought coconuts, which he opened.

I drank coconut water fresh from the coconut!  What a difference from the coconut water that I've tasted from a bottle or can!  Very good!

(To the left, Elda pouring coconut water beside Liam.)

And I loved having fresh coconut from the shell, too!  Marta brought turkey tettrazini, and Yvette brought a salad, Jess made brownies, and we had lots of chips and dip!  We were well fed!

All of us then went to the waterfall on the property!  Some of us walked, some of us drove.  All of the young people hopped into the pool of water, and Liam bravely rode the waterfall down into the pool! What a beautiful place!  And what a wonderful time of conversation and laughs with good friends! 

Here, Marta, John, Dave and I are crossing the foot bridge on the way to the waterfall:  

Here Dave and I stand in front of the waterfall:

The "kids" are in the pool and behind the waterfall!

Here are Yvette, Elda, Marta, John (taking a nap), and I lounging by the pool!

One day in the last couple of weeks, Yvette, Laura Connelly (from Florida), one of my former kids, and I went to Belmopan so that the child could interview for a transitional program.  We had a good time, talking, and our child was accepted into the program.  Yay!

But this high point was followed by a tragedy.  One of the friends of our child was murdered by another classmate.  This news was devastating, and put in to some jeopardy the program that our girl was to attend.  She bravely carried on and made the decision to continue with the program that should guide her to a bright, successful future.  The emotional toll on all of us was significant.

On a positive note, Dave and I attended the Rotary Handing-Over dinner.  

Yvette was given an award for her contribution to the Gift of Life program, which provides life-saving medical intervention for very ill children.  And to my surprise, I accepted an award given to the Dunedin, Florida Rotary Club for its contributions to the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Centre!  I will be sending it along with Laura to take to the Rotary Club there!

In the meantime, Dave has been flying a lot.  There is a big festival in San Pedro this weekend, so he has been called twice for stabbing victims.  One person was still drunk when transported!  With Laura and Natalie here from Florida for the summer, most of our children at the Centre have been able to visit at their home for some field trips to places in the country and for some cooking lessons from Natalie's husband, Kris, the chef!