Papayas Grow in Corozal

Driving to Corozal from Belize City took two hours including a stop for soft chicken tacos at a roadside stand in Orange Walk. The land here is low and plain with vast fields of sugar cane and the road is paved and narrow. We have been advised against driving in the dark due to the unlit ubiquitous speed bumps on The Northern Highway and the lack of street lights.
Corozal is a quiet seaside town only eight miles from the border of Chetumal Mexico and has 9,000 inhabitants. Spanish is spoken prevalently.
Upon arriving eight days ago, we were greeted by Marco and Graham who have been working on our house non stop. The interior of the house has been freshly painted with a robin egg blue and a sage green trim. I keep pinching myself to think that we have such a dazzling turquoise blue water view to look at from our house! Andy and TJ swim in the water which is only a mere walk across the road. We found out yesterday that there are crocodiles in that very area when the water gets murky. Yikes! There is a steady stream of traffic passing by our house at all hours of the day and night. Yesterday an 18 wheeler semi lost it's front wheel next to our house. How lucky that no one was hurt. Passengers who sit in the back of an open truck are a common sight.
School started for TJ on Monday at Corozal Community College which is 1.5 miles away from our house.. The only way to purchase a uniform is to buy the required fabric and have a tailor sew it. The tailored white shirt includes epaulettes and khaki pants. I think he looks pretty sophisticated now! TJ seems to like school and has been making friends. Getting to school at 7:30 is a new challenge as everything starts early here.
Our first night was torture with the canine residents and unfortunate for us, we live next door to some very large guard dogs who insist on serenading us through the entire night. After 2 PM, I successfully found earplugs that gave me some much needed relief.
We were greeted at St. Paul's by the Sea on the first Sunday with a packed service including the children from the connecting Anglican school. It was so very heartwarming to have so many people attending. Bishop Philip Wright conducted the service which included prayers for Andy, James, TJ and myself.
My daily routine also includes an afternoon visit to the school where I am helping with literacy on a one to one basis. To familiarize myself with the children, I visited two classrooms and read to each class. I wanted to engage them in conversation and suggested we could have a show of hands indicating how many children had dogs. Much of the class raised their hands and to my amusement just as many hands were lifted when I asked how many children did not have a dog. Smiles are given more than generously and whenever I am outside in the shade with a student, there are always curious onlookers nearby. These children have the most wonderful and loving hearts. I truly love them and feel quite popular in their company. It is so sad to think that some children are HIV positive. Frequently to my delight while walking in Corozal, I hear "Hello Miss Sandy".
We have just got WiFi in the house. We were surprised how expensive the service is and how SLOW the connection is. Getting this blog posted will definitely take some patience.
Our morning quest usually consists of going to the market and searching for fruit and veggies. Local papayas and pineapples are our favourites. There is not a huge selection of veggies and basically all the vendors sell the same varieties. We became friends with Dora who sold us a humungous papaya and Antonio who sells us his tiny apple bananas that are sold for $1.The Mennonites raise fresh poultry so we have been eating chicken frequently. Today on our walk, we were greeted by a very young boy who was selling conch (pronounced conk and also known locally as lobster). When I asked him what school he attended, his response was that he instead worked with his dad fishing. We decided to buy some to celebrate James arriving yesterday from Mexico. Although it is the meat from a shell, it reminds me of octopus and not overcooking it can be quite a challenge. We all agreed today at lunch that conch needs lots of chewing. Hmmmm......I hope that is not a reflection of my culinary skills which have been put to the test recently! The first day I arrived home after paying an over inflated tourist's price for red snapper, Marco was quite shocked to think that I was throwing the head away........yup.......eyeballs and all in the trash. He insisted I cook the most nourishing part of the fish to make soup. Without any recipe and a quick run to the market, I concocted up a curry fish soup and to my amazement it was delicious. Marco is now my cooking guru. It is him whom I ask when I cannot figure out what to do with an oddly shaped vegetable that has an unrecognizable name.
Our SUV has broken down more than once but luckily Marco has a broad range of skills besides sharpening my knife! The vehicle is now once again back on the road for us to share. Andy also purchased a new bike to give us options and especially for when he will be away more than a couple of days on the road leaving us carless.
Our next door neighbour Mr. Chavez invited us to a party last night at his house. The food was mostly Mexican/Belizean and the music lively. At one point Andy and I decided to join in the dancing. Fancy footwork is not our strength but at one point everyone oohed and ahhed and clapped. Initially I was curious at to whether I missed something but alas they definitely were applauding either our lack of skill or bravery but I highly doubt it was our talent! My next challenge was to try and be gracious and stifle my laughter. I wanted to laugh until I cried. Mr. Chavez lives in quite an opulent house. The wealthy in Belize is definitely a minority.
Going and leaving our house requires a locking a series of doors, gates and chains. Even our washing machine must be chained and padlocked. Whenever we are out and about, the jingle of keys can be heard in our pockets.
I was sworn at very loud this morning at the market with some pretty vulgar words when I refused to give a Creole man any money. He was shouting profanities to me which definitely caught everyone's attention. Luckily this is the exception. The people of Corozal have been very welcoming. Every time I hear Miss Sandy on the street, my heart leaps with joy.