One Week

    Disclaimer: Views presented in this blog are those of Roger German.  They do not represent the views or opinions of the U.S. Peace Corps or the Government of the United States.

    Sunday afternoon, sun is shining, temps in the low 90s I'm guessing.

    I have one week left here in Belize for my Peace Corps assignment.  Seven days.   I am so very glad I have had the opportunity to serve my country in this way, and to feed my soul.  I arrived a foreigner, a Gringo, and as I leave I'm still a Gringo, but now I'm a Gringo Benqueno, and a friend. 

    It has been such a gift to me to become part of the fabric of another community, another country.  I walked in to the office today to wrap up some loose ends, knowing all along that some of the ends will not be tied off.  And as I walked, I met the woman who cooked up a huge pot of rice for the party the Town Council threw for me on Friday night, and she wished me safe travels.  My next door neighbor and her daughter came by to picked up some dishes they used to bring over the BBQ chicken, pasta salad and beans.  I stopped by Yoli's shop and picked up a couple of things she had made for me to bring to the U.S.

    I'm the only one at Town Hall today and it's quiet. 

    Right across the road in front of the building, Coronation Park renovation is just getting under way.  It's a project the Mayor and I started working on when first I arrived, but it met roadblocks and obstacles, we mis-stepped and re-grouped, bid and re-bid, submitted and re-submitted proposals.  With help from JICA volunteer Kota Murakami and the new Peace Corps volunteer Subrata Basu, we finally nailed it.  The old busted-up concrete walks are gone as is the overly large industrial looking reviewing stand and what was left of the central fountain.

    In less than eight weeks there will be new sidewalks, a gazebo, playground equipment, trees and grass.  A family friendly park in the middle of old Benque.  One of several projects that are finally coming to fruition.  The Adult Day Care Center that received funding last August is also up out of the ground.  That project was put on hold by politics, but finally broke ground this August.  We renovated a couple of small neighborhood parks, and we have proposals in to the European Union for a Benque Market.  Messrs. Basu and Murakami will be guiding that one through the dense thickets of bureaucracy, along with designing and building a new entrance welcoming visitors to Benque, the stone and mortar part of a tourism project that Mr. Basu is doggedly pursuing.

    I was not able to mentor anyone to grab hold of El Chiclero, the local monthly newspaper that grew from four to twelve pages in the eighteen months I published it.  I would have liked to see that effort continued, as there is a lack of good journalism in Belize, as there is in the States.  But some seeds have been planted.  Last week I spoke to some 70 students at Mt. Carmel High School about journalism in general and the educated consumption of newspapers in particular.  I explained what journalism is, and what it isn't, using local papers to demonstrate good writing, to demonstrate advocacy journalism and to point out propaganda.  I think it's a class that would be good to teach in most countries, including the U.S., but it would probably not be well received. 

    So this has been a busy time.  I am happy to be turning to the next chapter in life though I will miss some of the characters in this last one.  We'll keep in touch, and I'm sure that some will visit Tracy and me in Florida. 

    But I know that I'll return to Belize, and when I do it will be to return to another place that has become home.  And that is how Peace Corps works.  I now care about a country I hardly knew, and would have been hard-pressed to find on a map.  And there are people in Belize who now have another perspective on the U.S.

     It's funny.  As I was writing that last sentence, so many things went through my mind, the history of our involvement in Central America, 9/11, the war in Iraq...as much as we Americans would like to think of ourselves as a force for good in the world, it's not how much of the world views us.  There is a lot of fear and distrust.  Peace Corps is one way to lessen the fear and to rebuild trust.  For all of our sakes.

 

Comments

[Phyllis Hatt]

Job well done, Roger! I'm sure you'll think back on this time as a very learned experience--not just about the country and people, but also about yourself.
Good luck in whatever you plan to do next. By the way, I learned a lot from your blogs!

[thodson]

In your own way, you did more to tear down walls of misunderstanding and build bridges for better relationships than anyone I know.

We all try but no one does it better.

Thanks

[GJG]

They were lucky to have you.

[Fort Fey]

I'm with the Big Bro and the T on this one.

[San]

:)

[Jim Echternacht]

next Phase - I am waiting for the book - signed Please -

[Fort Fey]

;~}

[Donna]

interesting

[PseupsQuipt]

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[Ann]

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