the strike continues...

(click on the above link to read news about Belize)

Mexico was great, but on the bus ride home we discovered that the teachers in Belize were continuing the strike through Monday. All the utilities are working, but the teacher's unions are holding out until the Prime Minister gives in to (what will probably only be some of) their demands. It's Tuesday, the classrooms in Benque are empty and Mr. Tim told the students who showed up to school today that Mount Carmel won't open until this is resolved. This is turning into an interesting lesson in Belizean politics, I have a much deeper appreciation for all the checks and balances in the United States government-- still not an infallible system but far less vulnerable to corruption than the Constitutional Monarchy that the Belizians are struggling with. I guess this is how developing countries iron out their wrinkles. People get frustrated and protest, and then the government has to give in. What remains to be seen is who will emmerge victorious- the leaders or the people. What I find to be disheartening is in the midst of all this, the kids aren't getting any smarter sitting at home and it's education that's going to help this country in the long run. As I walked through Benque this morning and saw all the kids playing in the streets and the classrooms closed down, the town seemed so depressed. When you're tripping down pot-holed filled roads, dodging stray dogs and walking by houses without indoor plumbing, things don't seem so bad if there's a classroom full of kids learning their times-tables within earshot. Seeing little girls in their skirts and pigtails and boys carrying their rulers and books cause you to think that despite the present circumstances, things can only get better if the kids are learning. It's when the classrooms stand vacant that progress in Belize seems to have come to a grinding halt.

Well, these are my thoughts on politics. Ultimately, as our fearless leader Father Dan has said, Belize needs prayers right now!

my first teachers strike

well, I suppose in order to strike you techinically need to be a salaried employee. However, as I write this now I am sitting in Mexico while my fellow salaried teachers are striking in Belize. How did all this transpire, you ask? Well, it all started on Tuesday. We were in the teacher´s lounge and a letter was posted regarding the national tax increases in Belize. I don´t know the particulars, but apparently the Prime Minister is not keeping his promises about 1) lowering taxes and 2) raising salaries. It´s pretty ridiculous, the new budget calls for tax increases that these people will just not be able to afford and the Prime Minister had promised the opposite during the election. In light of this, all the unions in Belize were calling for the country to shut down on Thursday and Friday -- no power, water, or education among some things. All of the salaried Belizian teachers are protesting as we speak in Belmopan, the capitol of Belize. However, we were encouraged to just lay low during the protesting. That is why I find myself on an unexpected weekend in Mexico. Sweet, eh?

I sincerely hope that the strike is effective though, because it´s painful to see the cost of living rise again in a country where some people are barely scratching a living at all. Gas prices will probably rise to about 7.50 a gallon (that´s $15 Belize!) When gas goes up, transportation goes up and people can´t afford to travel to work, etc. Taxes on the border will go up as well... It´s just bad news all around. The last time gas prices went up, there were some rather violent protests, it´s really bad news for everyone. For those of you that are familiar with Catholic Social teaching, you know that it´s an offense against a person´s dignity when taxes are so high that they can´t even afford to hold property. That´s how these countries reach a developmental standstill-- they´re so far in debt and the taxes are so high that all people can do is live a day at a time. Well, let me get off my social soapbox... but let me just say that if you´re at FUS and havn´t taken Catholic Social teaching with Father Dan Pattee, you need to get to that, pronto. I wouldn´t know how to make heads or tails of these things if I hadn´t learned about the Catholic teaching on the common good and the dignity of work!

Anyways, we made it to Mexico yesterday with very few problems. We were advised not to board our first bus because the toll bridge on the way to Mexico was closed, so for about an hour we thought we´d be stranded in Belize City (not really a fun thing, especially with a bunch of very unhappy Belizeans fixing to protest!) but the bridge opened and we boarded without a glitch. The only other adverse affect from the strike was when we asked to use the restroom in the bus terminal, we were interogated (in creole) as to what I intended to do in the bathroom, since the water wasn´t running... Oh, this culture amuses me!

Pray for the people in Belize, for their safety as they protest and that a solution is found that serves the common good (the set of conditions that allows the human person to flourish, in case you didn´t know!).

back in Benque!

Aaah... After a wonderful three weeks at home I have returned to Benque for five more months of teaching! What a difference it is to be landing in the Belize airport this time around! For one thing, I had about fifty pounds more luggage than I did the first time (yeah... so much for detachment to material possessions) but instead of feeling like a strange "gringa", I really felt like I was comming home... Waltzing through customs with a teacher's visa and chuckling at the other tourists on line as they mispronounced the towns they were going to visit, I realized that Belize has become a second home.

Seeing my students again has been a treat, they really missed their teachers (well, the girls at least...) They were actually quiet and respectful the first day we were all back. When I walked into my last class of the day-- my second form girls-- they had shut all the doors and windows to the classroom. I knocked on the door, it opened and they all have their heads down on their desks, pretending to sleep. Then, they all sit up and said, "Happy new year miss!". How can you not miss students like that? Other comical student moments: I saw Andrew, a second form boy, in the office later and asked him if he was in trouble. He said, "yes miss, I'm in trouble. I beat up a little kid to steal his cookie". After complimenting me on my skirt, my second form girls said to me, "miss did you eat alot when you were home?" I said, "yes, why, do I look fat?". They said, "not fat miss, just sturdy... yes miss... just sturdy". Belizian honesty is still something to get used to!

For all you spanish speakers, I was at mass on Sunday and Father Mark was giving the children's homily in spanish. He was asking them about what they receive in Baptism, and one of the children exclaims, "agua bonita" (I dont' know if I spelled that right), "beautiful water" in English. Out of the mouths of babes, eh?

On a more cultural note, some of the teachers went out to a farm on Saturday and picked coffee beans. Even I, a devoted coffee drinker, had no idea how much work goes into its creation! Imagine, the coffee fairy doesn't just put it in the bags... I didn't pick the beans on Saturday but I did help "shuck" them last night-- it involves taking these grape-like berries and sqeezing the very slippery little beans out of them. The juice from the beans stains your hands and they fly everywhere. The next step is drying them for a few weeks and then we'll roast them. Pretty cool, eh? In the first world, you go out for a cup of coffee. In the third world, you get together and shuck coffee beans, wait three weeks, roast and then drink.

It's a cloudy day, so I should probably post this before the satellite fades out. Happy New Year, everyone!