Susanne in Belmopan: To Pack or Not to Pack?

The Curse of Belize

Belize is a stunningly beautiful country, but it has one curse. Can you guess?

◘ Mosquitos

◘ Humidity

◘ Traffic Jams

◘ Greenhouse gasses

◘ Botlas

The answer is 5) botlas, which is Creol for bottle-ass (don't ask me why). They are mega tiny little flies, you can't see, hear or feel them at the time. Only a day later you will notice the spots. They itch like the devil and only very slowly recede (between 7 and 10 days). They're everywhere in Belize; in sand, grass, near water and even the most hard-core repellents (Deep Woods) and long pants and sleeves will not fully protect. I use Benadryl gel to relieve the itch but mostly just wait and sit it out.

Skype is not working in Belize. The national telecom company, BTL, has a monopoly on both the regular and mobile telephone network. Belize is therefor in the same category as China, Cuba, Kuwait and other unfree countries. Such a shame for a country as nice as Belize. They don't want us to use skype because they'll lose money if we do. They also charge ridiculous rates for internet in return for a pretty slow connection and poor service. After months of investigating and trying, I found there are ways to circumvent the blockage of Skype. You have to download some sort of software and then connect to a so-called VPN server. There is Witopia, UltraSurf, and there is Hotspot Shield. After many frustrating days I finally managed through HotspotShield.com. It is not perfect (dropped calls, other party can not hear me) but at least I can chat on Skype. Good luck to all who are trying to use Skype in Belize...

Pinky House

As any 4-year old, Soleine gets pretty bored when we travel long hours in the car. But now we have a game. The first one to spot a specific object gets points. As follows:
- a pink house = 10 points
- a horse = 5 points
- a tractor = 10 points
- a pair of shoes hanging from power line = 20 points

A regular trip from Belmopan to Belize can score about 100 points, to San Ignacio 150 points because more horses and tractors. Soleine usually wins. When we'll be in Belgium or Holland this summer we'll have to change the rules, There aren't many pinky houses (as Soleine calls them) there, right?

Thursday, May 20, 2010

To Pack or Not to Pack?

We have come to my least favorite part of our stay in Belize: packing up. I have done this already many times in my life so it's no big deal but still.
Packing means taking some really tough decisions and therefore I have one rule: if I have not used it during two years, I am not taking it. But this is so hard. Am I going to be able to wear that business suit which I have never worn in Belmopan, or not? Is our daughter ever going to make that puzzle again. I am going to use my onion chopper which has remained in its box for our whole stay here? I don't think so. I believe that there are two kinds of people in this world: the keepers and the throwers. The keepers keep everything...because they think 'you never know', and probably end up dead one day with their children having to take out 60 years of kept stuff. I am not a keeper. I am thrower, which mostly means giving away. There is always someone who can use it...

2 comments:

UnknownMay 24, 2010
I am with you!!! both mentally and practically since we are going through the same...I am by nature a keeper but try to force myself to be a thrower! When I feel that is a throwing day, I run up and clean up the mess of years and years of accumulation...easier now with winter staff and the prospect of two years in Belize! Thanks for your rec for the Jungle Dome! Booked it! How long will it take us to find a house you think?
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andresMay 28, 2010
Hi susanne , my name's andres from mexico and i've read your blog 3 months ago, it's interesting, don't let to write.

Best wishes for this new change in your life.

andresenrique190@hotmail.com
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