Having a job disappear while on vacation was the best thing that ever happened to me. It forced me to go it alone. I ended up with a one man business that filled a nitch and had me travelling throughout the US, down into Mexico and Guatamala, to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. I found that I would rather be with the working people on a shop floor than the shirt and tie people in the office.
My travels have reinforced my love for the Caribbean and it's people. This all started in 1966 when I graduated from college. I treated myself to a 10 day vacation in the US Virgin Islands and ended up staying on for 10 weeks as a substitute teacher.
How or why I ended up in southmost Texas near Brownsville I never know. But living in the least expensive area in the US to live, I have learned that most of what I had believed to be the 'American Dream'was a bunch of bull. It is not a matter of how big a house you have or what kind of car you drive or how much money you make. It is the people that become your friends and the friends that become your 'family'.
When younger, I worried, like most people, about having enough money to live in retirement. Somehow,I ended up with more money than I really need. I have a $35,000/year income in an area where the average yearly income is $17,500. Now comes the dream.
I am basically lazy and laid back. After three years of following everything I find about Belize on the internet, I have concluded that living on Caye Caulker is what I really want. And, I am particularly impressed with Ocean Academy and would like to support it with my 'extra money'. Right now, I am saving my pennies to go to Caye Caulker for a month to see if it meets my expectations. If it does, I will try living there for 6 month. If that is successful, I will move there permanently.
I figure that if I can help a few students, who could afford it, to go to Ocean Academy and finish high school, I would be giving back all the good fortune with which I was blessed.