Have you ever had one of those moments where you say, “I need to re-think my blog?”
A mixture of writers’ block and panic set in over the weekend and I reached out to my friends, including the always helpful and caring, LadyFi and asked for advice. She said something that made sense. “Gutsy Writer, I’m sure we’d love to hear more about you and your life in Belize. Little snippets of memories would appeal to many of us.”
So here goes, a snippet from our life in northern Belize two weeks after we moved from our comfortable 5 bedroom house in California, to our hut on stilts in Consejo Shores.
We saw very few gyms in Belize and I figured out why. Who needed a gym when you were whacking sugar cane with a machete all day long? At thirteen, sometimes younger, Belizean boys started a career in the sugar cane fields cutting and loading the stalks into smoke coughing, diesel trucks, and by the time they hit eighteen, their bodies were more buff and cut than most guys at our local 24 Hour Fitness.
Fishing, growing crops and raising chickens to sell at the local outdoor markets, kept Belizeans in good physical shape too. Most women did their laundry manually, some the good old-fashioned way, pounding clothes on large rocks next to a river and drying them on lines tied between tree trunks. So daily chores and just existing required more physical exertion than in the U.S. I guess this is how we lived before modern conveniences forced us to exercise at a gym.
In Belize, uniform was mandatory in all public schools, even in the poorest areas. The more remote and destitute the village, the whiter the uniforms. I wondered if the white uniforms dated back to British colonial days. Belizean kids were experts at not getting one drop of terra cotta mud onto their clothes whenever it rained. They pedaled in the rust colored slush without the bicycle tires flinging a single ounce of mud onto their starched white clothes. Our white T-shirts and underwear turned yellow within ten days, mostly due to sweat. I should have tried pounding our clothes on a rock, perhaps that was the secret to crisp white linens.
Whether you wanted to or not, you automatically started walking more and bike riding, once you lived in Belize. Despite this lifestyle change, Duke and I still believed we should weight train six days a week. Why? Maybe because we weren’t into sugar cane whacking. It certainly wasn’t fun exercising in a clammy room with no air-conditioning. With salty sweat beads rolling all the way down my face and into my socks, I longed for a laundromat. I never realized how much I had taken fresh scented clothes and clean bed sheets for granted.
I love it! I never exercised in China either as each day was a huge long moment of exercise and effort!
Amazing to hear how while their clothes remained. If you ever find out their secret, please let me know! 😉
How did you wash your clothes in that house on stilts?
Oh – and thanks for the very kind comment…
Fascinating.
More!
I agree with LadyFi, good decision. Always interesting to hear about other cultures/countries, in particular if they are very different to where you are yourself. Thanks for this “starter post”. 🙂
Thanks for sharing that memory with us 🙂 It sounds so different from what I know, that I can;t even imagine it except through your words.
Wonderful post. Your journey is extremely interesting. I am sure your book must be very exciting too.
LadyFi,
You know, I did get stronger in Belize, mainly through carrying 5 gallon water containers in each hand. Thanks for jump starting my writing. more later.
Swenglishexpat,
Have you ever lived in a 3rd world country?
Captain Hook,
It was very different, but the long-term rewards were tremendous.
Very enjoyable reading! I agree we take every thing for granted in the states. I don’t wash anything by hand, everything goes in the washer and dryer, I am so spoiled.
I am looking forward to reading the next little adventurous snippet.
Loved hearing about your life before blogging. why did you leave…that comes later!
I can’t wait!
Lori Tiron-Pandit,
Thanks for your positive feedback.
Gramma Ann,
I shall give more snippets.
Peggy,
Yes, the leaving part is obviously a climactic point in my book.
Its so true, what you say about not having to exercise as much when you are in other countries. Also true about the scented sheets and clean houses. I have been back in the US only a week and I am still happily surprised at how good peoples houses smell, now good people smell and how soft everything is.
I missed all that.
At the same time, I miss being in contact with nature and more in contact with people like you are in other countries.
Good post. Keep telling us things about Belize as you remember them.
Oh, and I like that you put your post on twitter.
If you want feedback, I am always ready to provide that 😉
Brenda,
I completely agree with you. I also miss the quiet and beauty of our surroundings in Belize. Especially the sound of tropical birds. How long are you back for?
That is how we exercise here too. At 100°F, there is not much you have to do, to have sweat pouring down on you.
So I can totally relate to that.
I agree with LadyFi, you should write more of this!
i really loved this post…everything i read i was nodding my head in agreement – this is my first visit to the blog i’ll be back asap 🙂
wonderful post! tell us more, please…
Betty,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Yes, it’s no fun to sweat all day and all night. Don’t forget we didn’t have AC.
Here, There, Elsewhere…
Glad you came by. I shall pop over to you. Sounds like an intriguing name you have.
Christina,
Glad you enjoyed my first snippet.
Hi Gutsy, loved your blog and now I know what I need to do. I have so many funny and unusual things that happened while in Thailand and Iran for those years. I agree that expats love to read those stories and I shall post them post-haste.
Gutsy,
I could almost see it! Wow, that’s sounds fantastic, and frustrating at the same time (especially with the laundry stuff). I do understand the need to weight train often though. 🙂
I really enjoyed this post. School uniforms for High School here are mostly mandatory we only have a few schools that don’t have a regulation uniform in New Zealand. Belize is one place I really would like to visit (apart from Paris,London, New York and everywhere else!) We have high humidity here at times. I have to soak all our whites in nappy (diaper) wash otherwise the same thing happens. On the writers block – yes I get that often.
A Broad Abroad,
Love your name. Sounds like you have some fascinating stories to tell. Shall come over to visit.
Crimogenic,
Sounds like you weight train too. Do you?
Mad Bush Farm Crew,
I’m surprised to hear Belize is a country you want to visit after Paris, London, New York. It’s very different to say the least. Perhaps it’s my vivid description that makes you long to visit. Thanks.
Oh, your ideas are novel. Should be able to try. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Health information
Humor & Fun World
What fun to read and boy, can I relate!
When I lived in Germany, I saw a lot fewer gyms as well. Don’t get me wrong, the Germans don’t whack sugar cane.Far from it since it’s way to cold to even think of growing anything that tropical. Still, they ride their bikes and walk to the grocery store, school, work, dinner, you name it. They also take long walks for fun on the weekend. America is so spread out, I could never ride my bike to school to pick up the kids. Weird how we’ve opted for distance over easy access.
I think this is a great idea, Gutsy Writer. I think you have lots of memories from your year in Belize that did not fit into the book and that you can share on your blog. You might want to categorize the types of posts you write so that the reader will know what to expect. I have done that with my own blog and have about a dozen categories of things I write about related to memoir, including bits of my own memoir.
I think the number of positive responses you got from this post tells you that people are eager to read about Belize, your memories, and your life!
They will also ask you questions that keep your posts going. And they may eventually help you revise your manuscript. Blogging in this way is like conducting a focus group. What about my experience is interesting to YOU?
Jungle Mom,
I’m sure you can relate.
Stacy Nyikos,
I agree. In Europe they do seem to get more exercise on bikes and walking than where we live.
Shirley,
Thanks for your helpful input. I need to check on your categories in your memoir blog.
Thank you for sharing these tid bits! And do share more!
We have a friend who has worked there the past few years building on the Embassy, and regrettably, the only stories I get to hear about are through the glazed eyes of an alcoholic :{
( I have done laundry that old fashioned way…I actually think I scrubbed harder than my washing machine does…)
great post!