Day 59 - You better Belize it!

You know you've done your students right when one of them writes, "Thanks, Jenny!", at the bottom of their last lab practical. Thanks for what? Making you study your little bootie off so that you could make an A on this lab practical? You're welcome! And, thank you for studying! I'm so proud of my students for rocking this last practical. :) I must email them and tell them so! I'm in the middle of doing the very last grading and getting it posted in preparation for my adventures in Mexico/Belize. I expect to be without internets most of the time. Not taking my computer and perhaps even avoiding the internet like the plague. I think instead, I'll opt for all the amazing books I've been dying to finish or start.

I've been thinking about this post for a long time, trying to decide what details I wanted to give you about my history in Belize and what challenges I'm expecting that are giving me anxiety. I think I'm ready. :)

Let's start with my old webpage. I almost forgot that I'd even created this place. I think it's been 2 years since I visited. It's got a couple things that are useful for my history in Belize. My thesis. You can download and read the entire work if you're so inclined. To this day, I still can't believe I wrote it. :) It's not amazing or breathtaking, but a lot of time and effort went into the research and the writing. I'm proud of it. Also, there's some great photos of Belize on the webpage. Browse through them. They're pretty amazing. I ended up in Belize in 2004 to do some research for my M.S. I spent 3 months in Crooked Tree, Belize and fell in love, with the culture, with the people, with the environment, with everything. I love it in Belize. Despite it's many drawbacks (and there are many), there's just something about the place that speaks to me. It's spirit just took me (as they'd say in Belize). In 2005, I bought a truck and drove it down...my first road trip to Belize. I actually just sold that junker a few months ago. I got $1000 out of it. Not bad considering the abuse it took on the horrendous 2nd/3rd world roads. Since then, I've done the same road trip 2 more times with the same dude, driving trucks down for him. We're good at this drive now. We know the road; we know the best places to sleep; and we travel well together. It'll be fun. :)

Now, let's talk about the challenges I expect to face. Well, really, there's only one. The diet. First, let me just say, I'm well prepared. I have my grocery list for tomorrow. I'll buy enough food to last me most of my trip and I bought this bad boy:

Plug it into the car's power source, bam!, little miniature fridge in your car! I should be able to fit enough eggs, protein and perhaps some pre-cooked veggie items to last most of my trip. We'll also have a traditional ice cooler in which I can store my milk and yogurt. Honestly, milk and yogurt are my biggest concerns. It's hard to find good, fresh dairy in Belize, especially in Crooked Tree. I've bought 2% Parmalat (boxed milk) in case I run out or my milk/yogurt goes bad. Not ideal but I have to work with my options. I also bought these:

I'll store all kinds of raw veggies and fruits in these. Not a lot of veggie variety in Belize, but the country does have mounds of fabulous fruit. And, avocado! Yum! For my carbs, I'll bring bread to make sandwiches and some oatmeal, cause a little goes a long way. Once I get there, rice will abound. I think I'm ready for the road trip.

The real challenge will be mental, when I arrive in Belize. I'm not worried about cravings. What I'm worried about is my own rationalizations. I'm skinny, people. The last time I was this small might have been early high school. I know, y'all are like, shut up! What are you complaining about? I just know that it will be difficult for me to say no to those delicious Belizean plantains fried up in coconut oil or my favorite fried fish with johnny cakes. Oh god, you have no idea! And, the cashews, y'all, the fresh, hand processed cashews. Nothing in the world tastes as sweet. How do I say no when I look at myself and see that I'm the smallest, skinniest 31-year old woman in a 1000-mile radius? I'm serious. No Belize woman of my age is anywhere near as small as me. Men in Belize are down with the thick ladies. I'm not even sure how my dude will react to my new extra miniature size. These are the things that are stressing me out. I made a commitment to this project, and I want to keep it. But, some days I look in the mirror and I feel too skinny. Is that weird? Am I crazy? But, then I feel my abs and I'm like WOW! Those abs are AMAZING, but will I lose them if I eat some cashews and johnny cakes? I kinda doubt it. ~sigh~ I'm just trying to be honest here. It's a weird contradiction to love my strong body but still want my soft curves. Isn't there a way to have both? I guess I'll find out after the project is over.

Ok, enough! I promise to take pictures while I'm on the road. Maybe I can capture some of the weird looks the Mexicans will make when they see me doing the creep. Their looks will say, "what in the hell is wrong with that crazy white lady???" Well, I guess this is me signing out for awhile. I leave Friday morning and will focus on finishing everything up tomorrow. I may check in while I'm gone, but I doubt it. I want to engulf myself in Belize and just 'be' for awhile. No stress, no worries. I will be sending you positive vibes from afar. xoxo!