Journal Entry 5

August 18, 1976 / Belize City, Belize:

There have been some recent developments here which have kept me quite busy and somewhat unsure of the future. As things stand now, however, it looks like I will be working as a biologist at the Fisheries Unit Laboratory in Belize City, instead of teaching. I am quite excited about this. I will be working under another PCV, Howard, who has a master's degree in marine biology. I am going over to Howard's tonight to find out more about the job. I will be going out to sea 1-2 times a week to collect data and specimens. It will also involve some laboratory work. I came down here partly to get some teaching experience, but I believe a chance to apply my background in biology may prove to be just as valuable.

It is now 5:15 p.m. and I'm sitting on the veranda, sweating like mad. Dinner will be served in about 15 minutes. Miss "Pep" is not an exceptionally good cook. She cooks quite American, possibly to accommodate me, and quite plain. However, the meals are well-balanced, if not tasty.

I just came from seeing Dr. Lizama who treated my ear infection. Ear infections, I am told, are quite common to new PCVs down here. Dr. Lizama seems to be quite competent. He received his training at the University of the West Indies and really knows tropical medicine. The ear had been bothering me the past 3 days-pain and dizziness.

Tomorrow, I report for the first time to Fisheries. I must be there by 8:00 a.m. Russ, the Peace Corps training assistant, drives around town in the mornings giving rides to us trainees, so I expect he will give me a ride the three miles out there.

I had last Sunday off, so I went to the boxing matches. They were held on Bird's Isle, a small man-made island connected to Belize City by a hundred-yard, wooden walkway over the water. The venue is open-air and serves as a sports arena, convention center, discotheque, etc. The fights started at 11:00 a.m. and the preliminary bouts were all amateur. One fighter was to have gone to Montreal for the Olympics, but the Belize Government decided at the last minute not to send any boxers. The main event was a professional bout featuring a local fighter, Fitzroy Giuseppe, against a Salvadoran. Giuseppe is rated as the Number 3 Lightweight in the British Commonwealth and is very good. Giuseppe knocked out the Salvadoran in the fourth round. It was quite a colorful event.

I had taken my laundry to be done (BZ$1.50 for 8 lbs.) and stopped by today to pick it up on my way home, only to learn that on Wednesdays shops and businesses close for the day at noon.

Tomorrow, we trainees are invited to American Consular officer Tom Furey's home for lunch. His wife, Dorothy, is a PCV he met here last year.

The following are the trainees I came down with: (1) Keith, cooperative officer, from Long Beach, CA; (2) Roger, math teacher, will be teaching here in Belize City; (3) Tom, chemistry teacher, from Claremont, CA, will be going to Dangriga; (4) Lon, entomologist, from Lubbock, Texas, will be in Central Farm near San Ignacio; (5&6) Debbie and Einar, young couple from Michigan, she is to be a science lecturer at the Teachers Training College, he will be supervising student teachers there; (7) Nancy, biology teacher; (Beverly, from Minnesota, will be in Orange Walk District; (9) Judy, nurse, from Montana, will be in Belize City; (10) Jackie, from Kansas City, Missouri, biology teacher assigned to Junior Secondary School Number One in Belize City; (11&12) Leonard and Frances, an older couple from 70 miles north of Dallas, Texas, he is an electrician, she is still unplaced; (13&14) William and Isabella, middle aged couple formerly of Great Britain, they previously served two years as PCVs in Kenya and are amazed at how undeveloped Belize is.

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Journal Entry 6

August 20, 1976 / Belize City, Belize:

The first week of training consisted of lectures on various aspects of the country. The second and third weeks are to be spent on prospective job sites. So, this week and next I'll be at the Fisheries Unit Laboratory. I'm at Fisheries from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., so will have to discontinue Spanish lessons until this fall. The fourth week of training will be much like the first, with all of us meeting together at Belize Junior Secondary School Number One for lectures, etc.

The work at the Fisheries Unit sounds interesting. Most of the research currently is on conch. Conch export is big business here in Belize; however, conch catches have been in decline the past 3 to 4 years. Not much is known about conch, so Fisheries is engaged in studies to try to determine why the conch catch has slowed down. I was to have gone out to the reef with Howard today, but my infected ear had not yet healed completely.

There appears to be a housing shortage in Belize City, so it may be hard to find a flat to rent. There are eleven of us new PCVs who are going to stay in Belize City. Probably Roger and I will try to find a place together. We can afford about BZ$70 apiece per month for rent. My Peace Corps pay [allowance] will be BZ$300 a month. Prices here for certain goods (imports) are about the same, or higher, than in the U.S. The cheapest bar of soap I could find was BZ$0.50. A hamburger is a dollar-fifty. Although prices are about the same as in the U.S., the average Belizean earns about BZ$950 annually. So, you can see his purchasing power is limited. Relatively speaking then, the purchase of a bar of soap is like making a $5 purchase in the U.S. Whenever two or more PCVs get together, especially if one of them has been in the country for some time, the conversation eventually gets around to money and how far can you stretch BZ$300. Today is payday. Once again, I managed to save BZ$10. That means for the last week I spent $28 on lunches, laundry, sodas and a bar of soap and the boxing matches.

Einar, Debbie and Roger just stopped by to let me know I was welcome to go along with them after dinner to a movie. I hope I can get up to one of the smaller towns this weekend. The Peace Corps will reimburse me for traveling expenses during training. I had a leisurely lunch (no such thing as quick service here) today at Mom's Restaurant, and I had the time to people watch. I have never seen such a diverse mixture of people in one place at one time. Mom's attracts tourists, mostly European young people with backpacks, PCVs, as well as locals.

I think I'm starting to adjust to this country. Yesterday, Tom Furey, American Consular officer, and his wife, Dorothy, a PCV, had us trainees over for lunch. It was nice-and air conditioned. We had ham sandwiches, deviled eggs, fruit salad-a nice break from Mom's Restaurant. Not much American News down here. Did hear that Gerald Ford won the Republican nomination. Rumor has it that a Senator Dole from Kansas is his running mate. I'll have to get a Time Magazine next week. It seems like everyone in Belize City has a radio and plays it loud 24 hours a day. I understand that to receive Armed Forces Radio, Voice of America, etc., it requires quite a good multi-band radio. I just had dinner and was served breadfruit and plantains for the first time. Neither one was terrific. I had quite a spell of diarrhea this morning. I think it was the panadas-shark and beans wrapped in fried masa-sold out of a bucket by someone pedaling around on a bicycle.

September 10th is the big national holiday. Both political parties try to outdo each other. Last year the opposition party put on the better festivities, so this year the PUP has vowed to have a celebration to end all celebrations. The bands are already practicing marching in the streets.

It is now 6:00 p.m. and just starting to cool off. In fact, it's rather pleasant here in the evenings. I'll just sit here awhile watching the lizards scurrying on the veranda.

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