Waterfalls and loss of running water...

Work starts tomorrow! Woo Hoo (who says that? I must be the only person I know psyched for work) But my reason for the excitement is to really settle in. It is kind of like the start of the school year, kids say they aren't looking forward to it, but in reality everyone enjoys seeing their friends again (ok that was a stretch but go with it)

All week the Belize city JVs have been living with us as we ran a summer camp at the school. The camp was hilariously out of control and we all had fun. The BZC kids left today to head back to their respective house and various places of work. It was hard to see them go, we have been together nearly everyday since Orientation at Carroll nearly a month ago. At the same time, it is a sign that the transition of Phase II is over and we are beginning to settle in.

The past week our second year volunteers have taken us on a variety of fun adventures. Including some ancient Maya Ruins, two separate waterfalls (one: tranquil and scenic and the other... raging flood waters, 30 feet high) Needless to say I jumped off of both of them. (I'm still alive mom don't worry) and a Garifuna Village...

I have pictures of our adventures to come.

* i have been reading a lot while here in Belize... I have been here for three weeks and I have already read four books. My house has a really great book selection. Books read so far: Siddartha, The Alchemist, Radical Compassion (amazing book!) and Beautiful Boy.

If you have a book that you fniished and think is great, send it down to me and I will think YOU are great. .... in the world of no tv, vcrs, and dvds... books are one of the main sources of entertaintment.

(my apologies for the briefness and boriness of this post)

the gringo goes to the jungle.

Look at this faithful readers 2 updates in a week. I'm on a roll.

I just got back from my three day stay in the Mayan Village of San Benito Poite. It was an incredible experience and I have many hilarious stories. But for now I thought it would be best just to give you my first impressions. This is directly out of my journal so bear with me...

"Pat (my roomate) dropped me off at the old school bus that served as the bus to San Benito Poite. Truck fulls of men were loading enormous sacs of rice as well as cartons of eggs and other recently bought goods into the back of the bus. I met my host brother. I could barely understand a word he was saying. It then occured to me that he was the one that was going to translate for the rest of the family that spoke solely Ket'chi. Oh boy! anxiety and excitement began to grip my chest.

I walked up the steps of the packed school bus and the loud banter and bartering in high spirited Ket'chi died immediatly. Total silence. 50 pairs of dark brown eyes watching me as I awkwardly made my way down the isle of the old school bus. I had heard the Mayan people were quiet people. This is going to be a long few days.

Mayan people are small people. Built like little squares made of steel. I notice they sit comfortably three to a seat on the old school bus with room for all their bags and recent buys from, the "big city" (note: PG is one of the smallest cities in Belize) .

My seat mate is a Mayan man that looks, I would say, not a day under 150 years old. His feet barely touch the floor while my knees are jammed into the seat in front of me. (The last time I was on a bus like this, I think I was in the 7th grade and we were going to the Air and Space Museum) He stares at me in amazement and silence as I write this. Something tells me he cant read.

I am tense from the anxiety of being so different and so wildy out of place I hear "Wha' es you-er nammme?" Says a little voice named Oscar over my left shoulder. He becomes my first friend. Goodwork Matt, one down four thousand to go.

Oscar is five and we have a great relationship. He points at things of mine and says "Can I have?". No oscar you cannot have my tshirt. Basically, we are the best of friends.

I just realized, as I stare through the windshield to take in the journey ahead, nothing blocks my view, even though I am half way back in the bus. The jet black heads of mothers, children, men and chickens can barely see over the seat in front of them. At least I have a good view. The 13 people 5 babies and two chickens behind me aren't so lucky.

A realization sets in. These are the people I will be working with for the next two years, I am only on the bus and I feel wildly out of place. Should be an interesting two years to say the least.

I've never seen so many people cramped on a bus before. This is the market bus, so it must only run twice a day. No seats left, an average of 3 people and a baby to a seat. The isle down the bus has just as many people standing, all laughing, yelling and talking in Ket'chi, a language I apparently will never comprehend. The heat is intense from all these bodies so close to one another, keep in mind it is 90 degrees to begin with before I got on the cattle car. I am sweating like I am at a full sprint and Im not even moving.

We keep making stops to pick up more people, I am convinced there is no way we can possibly hold another person on the bus, regardless of how tiny their Mayan frame. A man puts a 5 gallon bucket down next to me, a makeshift seat. Clearly he is a pro who has made this trek a time or two.

To my unfortunate suprise - about 5 miles out of PG the pavement stops and the entire bus is banging and rattleing around on the grey dirt road- we have 3 hours to go. I am convinced that all the riders and I (what I estimate to be equivilant of the population of North Dakota) are going to flip the bus on the next hill. In all the banging about my eye catches the glint of an old copper sign at the front of the bus (keep in mind my perfect view with this bus load of oompa loompas) that reads "Your Childrens Safety is our BUSINESS". I look around and see 5 children standing on a seat two rows up all with their heads out the window, babys swoddled to their mother's breat smooshed into the seat in front of them as their Mommas falls asleep, and in the back 10 boys have no seat at all but sit/ ride sacs of rice like they are bucking broncos. The irony is just too much and I chuckle out loud to my self. The acient Mayan ruin stirs next to me then continues to snore.

Most of the bus clears out at Tumulk'in, San Benito Poite here we come.

I fell asleep at some point and wake to a banter of high pitched excited Ket'chi. I have no idea whats going on and everyone is clearing out off the bus. I look out the window and we are what seems to be, in the middle of the jungle. I find my host brother Martiquo, and he says with a smile. The bridge is out, the river flooded! (Why is he so excited? haha) Sure enough the raging waters flow over what I assume at one point was the bridge. We ford across these fast past waters the water up to my knees, these poor little men its up to their thighs. WE have to cross not one, but two former bridges, now raging flood waters. Finally we make it to the other side and my little friend (who reminds me of Indiana Jones' little asain sidekick) says now we walk to his house. What he ment by walk was hike a mile up a semi mountain.

It was a really great weekend and I learned so much but I thought it would be more interesting jsut to have my initial thoughts.

Peace and Love- back from the jungle.

my life as a vagabond

"When I arrived in my old set of clothes
I was half a world away from my home
and I was hunted by the wolves
and I was heckled by the crows
Darlin’ do not fear what you don’t really know "

-Brett Dennen

Sorry to everyone with my lack of updates. My life has been one set of transitions after another. Last week or so we said our goodbyes in Cleveland and got on the bus for the airport. Orientation, the first part, had come to a close and it was terribly sad to leave my fellow JVs. Though we had only known each other for a short time our lives are forever intertwined. These people that were strangers two weeks prior had quickly become the closest people to me. To struggle with idea of moving to a developing nation for two years with all the uncertainties that come with that, in the end only the fellow JVs could truly understand what we were going through. I was sad to leave but it was a beautiful thought to know that we would be scattered across the globe all working for justice and peace in developing nations.

All 7 of us, Punta Gorda Volunteers and the Belize City Volunteers, lived in Belize City together with the second year Volunteers for a week. 11 of us in one house. It was really nice to all be together for the transition. We got exposed to the Belizean culture and spent the week doing touristy type stuff including a 650 ft zip line! We also went to the Zoo... which was more like a rainforest than an American zoo.... oh funny I should mention the zoo, while exploring the flora and fauna that Belize has to offer I got an unexpected surprise. We were inspecting the Tipir cage, the national animal of Belize, when he decided to give me a little gift. Let me correct that, and enormous wet gift. I bent down to get my camera to take a picture of the ugly creature and got peed on by the damn thing. I do not mean to be graphic but I did not merely get peed on as if it were a dog. It was like someone opened a urine firehose on me! I was covered and in shock from the recent explosive shower of pee that landed on me! haha I hope that’s a good sign to be 'christened' by the national animal regardless, i smelled like a Porta-Potty the rest of the day. A tipir in case you are wondering is the ugly step child of the animal kingdom. It looks the cross between an ant eater, a manatee, and a pig.

After living on the floor for a week Allison, Pat, Em and I got up well before the sun (4:30am) to catch the Express bus to PG. I loaded all the things I own (3 bags and a pillow) onto the bus. The trip took about 5 hours but I was captivated, in between naps, because we got to see the diversity of the Belizean countryside. We left the urban jungle of BZC (belize city) and headed down south to the paradise of PG. As my roomate Pat noted "the trip to PG looks like you are driving into Jurassic Park" The rainforest and tropical scenery is really breathtaking. I moved into my home for the next two years and finally unpacked after living out of my bag for multiple weeks.

About our home, let me just tell you... it is amazing. The Caribbean is 20 yards from my front door. It looks like it has weathered some serious storms, and knowing the location probably a handful of hurricanes. It has the charm of an old wooden battered beach house. (It would be condemed and called "unfit to stand" in the US) We have a veranda on the second floor that gives us an amazing view of palm trees and the Caribbean. On clear days on the horizon we can see both Guatemala and Honduras. It’s absolutely amazing and I feel so at home here.

There is something to be said for simple beauty, simple entertainment and a simple lifestyle. I run most days a few miles by the water (when the sun isn’t scorching), do yoga on the pier looking out over the water in front of my house and finish by jumping in the sea like a little kid on summer break. I have read 2 books since being here and sure that number will grow exponentially. In the states, I enjoyed reading but it is different here, to delve into a book while swinging in a hammock, being perfectly content with the silence is something I never had at home. I don’t wear a watch, don’t have a computer, don’t have a cell phone and haven’t thought about TV and I don’t miss any of it. I eagerly await the growth and great change this lifestyle with bestow on me.

I have to run to get ready for my home stay... every first year JV has to do a home stay with the population you will be working with, mine involves a two hour bus ride out to a Mayan Village where I will be living with a family, on my own for a few days. I am excited for such a cool experience and to get a peek into the Mayan lifestyle since a large part of my job will be working with the Mayan people out in the villages.... knowing myself this will also present some hilarious cross cultural mistakes. This will be one of those times where I will be not only the white guy in the village, but also, the white guy who is 3 feet taller than everyone else in the village haha. I hope I don't get eaten by a jaguar....

Be well. Stay in touch and email me about YOUR lives. And find the simple beauty in your own routine….

The adventure begins...

This is it... the time has come for the next chapter of my life to begin. I am back up at ol' JCU for training with my fellow Jesuit Volunteers (living in my nasty sophomore housing ha). Our days are intense in a lot of regards... getting spiritually where we need to be, studying the root of Catholic social teaching and analyzing the root of poverty and oppression, and fully comprehending what we have committed to (living and working in solidarity with the poor, living in an intentional community grounded in faith and living simple while working for justice) for two years. Our days are long but I have loved getting to know and bonding with my fellow volunteers. It is an exceptional group of young people who are bringing a real change to the world. I am revived by the energy of everyone here.

I want to thank all of my donors and support system from home. Thank you for investing into what I am doing. I can't thank you enough! Love you all...

May your journey always be an adventure.
-Matty