A Tar Heel in Belize

Stung by a jellyfish

2007-09-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Went to the little village, Hopkins, again for some R and R (see Harry Potter pic below). Put on my "racing" suit, and was swimming in the ocean...a jellyfish went IN the suit and stung me!
I hopped out of the water yelling "ouch! OW! ouch! SHIT!" ripping my suit off...
The woman who owns the resort has been there ten years, and has only heard of 5 jellyfish stings, no one has ever had one go in their suit. of course.
I have huge red splotches all over stomach. Hard core!

Oregon Trip

2007-09-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

Me and Helen!
Tree on Charley's favorite beach

At the top of Black Crater trail

For Auntie Mary

2007-09-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Where did you read the final story?!

This is in Hopkins, a tiny village on the Carribean Sea. It takes just about 2 hours to get there in the truck--I took a little holiday this summer to do some reading...I won't tell you how it ends!

Pictures of "The Lion Man Triathlon"

2007-09-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Look at our medals!--They have a drawing of Bob Marley and a lion and say "Jah Make Us Strong Like a Lion"

Go me--eew--look at di wata.
The BEST cheering squad EVER--it was so so hot out there!
Gettin pumped up before the race!

Yay Team!

Triathlon

2007-09-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

We finished! We think we placed, but we left before the awards ceremony because we're always so used to losing...I did better in this swim race than I have ever done in any running race before. Just a few minutes behind the winners, and at least 30 minutes in front of the loser--1 mile in 40 minutes. The water was disgusting--I've been resting and ingesting as much vitamin C as possible--the bottom was this mucky sludge--yuck! No ma, we did NOT wear life jackets.

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At the hospital

2007-08-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

At 3am--in this little bedpan is the moth that flew in my ear while we were camping in the bush--we had to go to the hospital to get it out!

Some Pictures

2007-08-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the deserted island we camped on for 2 nights back in June. We had a crazy storm! It's one of the "Snake Cayes" and was the site of a National Geographic film on rare snake species. We didn't see any snakes, but there were hundreds of hermit crabs.

Safe from Dean

2007-08-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

A lot of hoopla for nothin...the party was fun though.

Thea and Sandy's visit

2007-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Pine Ridge

2007-07-16T15:27:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite places...ever! That's me jumping in.

More Race Pics (in reverse order..)

2007-03-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

The Galen Geckos at the end of the race!

Boo ya! --see ma, we wore life jackets!

Just before gettin in on day one.

Truck picture--that's my truck!

my bad--Second Longest Canoe Race in the World

2007-03-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

It takes a long time to go 170 miles when you don't put your paddles in the water!

Check this link for the article on our website...

http://www.galen.edu.bz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=207&Itemid=84

Visiting Calendar

2007-03-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Thea and Sandy: mid June - late June
Britney: 2 weeks in July
Gigi: Aug 4-11

You betta BELIZE it!

Longest Canoe Race in the World!

2007-03-13T10:52:00.001-07:00

"Does it smell like updogg in this boat?"

We finished...in last place (who needs the $40,000 first prize anyway?). Way to go Galen Geckos!

170 miles in 4 days, with camping and parties along the way. We saw all kinds of birds and little black howler monkeys. We were in that boat for more than 30 hours--that adds up to more than 75,000 paddle strokes (plenty of time to calculate that number). Tim and Shannon were lucky enough to hear me sing some Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. I was lucky enough to have very patient boatmates. The ol' elbow help up alright. Think I'm ready for mountain biking now.

Here's the article on Galen's website:

http://www.galen.edu.bz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=203&Itemid=84

No pics of the truck until Drewski sends me my camera...

2007-03-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

I PASSED MY EXAM!!!!

2007-01-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

i'm going to celebrate with the monkeys

Mi casita

2007-01-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

View from afar

Guest room--look at the view of the palm tree!
Guest room
My room

Spiral staircase
bathroom
bathroom
My bedroom
My bedroom window

View from outside
The kitchen/dining room
Kitchen
Living room

My bad

2007-01-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

Busted on my bike. Better to fall then get hit by a school bus--backing out of someone's driveway(?)

A new monkey picture

2007-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

This pic is my favorite. My friend Shannon also has a video of the monkey holding my hand.

PS. Thanks Aunt Mary! The "sleeveless" part is only to prevent already ridiculous tan lines. "Hey teacher, you forgot to take your white socks off!"

Crazy white girl on a bike

2007-01-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Current WISH LIST:

**A Book:"Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance"http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1884737706 (the 2005 edition, if possible!). I will not give my bike to anyone for maintenance because I will not get it back. I am now a female economist/bike mechanic. uh-oh.
** Some real cycling jerseys with the pockets on the back (I realized today that it's probably kind of gross to put your sunglasses in the back of your spandex bike shorts). Any color will do, but my helmet is pink. Sleeveless, size M (36). Used is fine. Help me out here Lewises!
** As many short, size 6 biking/running socks as you want to send. Either the bugs that are eating my legs are also mauling my socks, or my Guatemalan laundry lady has taken a liking to teeny tiny black smartwools.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Me and Mr. Young feeding the monkeys bananas.

I spent the last day of 2006 holding hands with a monkey. PERFECT!

We went to the Community Baboon Sanctuary where there are about 4,000 black howler monkeys living on land voluntarily preserved by community members. The man with me is my new co-worker's dad. Colin, the ecologist I co-teach sustainable development with, grew up by the Baboon Sanctuary. His dad leads tours, and knows everything about the jungle--even what plants to rub on the huge red bites on my legs to make them stop itching!

Chillin' in Caye Caulker

2006-12-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

Mindy and I spent Christmas on Caye (pronounced "key") Caulker, the tranqulio key. We were welcomed to the island by a rastaman on a bike shouting at me "Hey baby, your big legs are my Christmas present!" Glad I could make someone's day...We spent the first afternoon swimming, and Christmas Day on a sailing and snorkeling trip. The island lived up to its laid back reputation--we had a blast. The only bad thing about that trip was it was too short--there's plenty to do on that little island. No worries, mon, I'll be back.
View from the water taxi station.
HI MOM!--That's me in the water.

The sign says "Stealing coconuts is a crime"

On the water taxi--we were the happiest ones, for sure.

Sign says "N0 shirt, no shoes, no shit, no problem" We ate here 3 times.

Caving near San Ignacio

2006-12-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

Mindy, PJ, Kristen, and I went to the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave to see ancient Maya artifacts. It involved a Goonies-like climb and swim alongside an underground river. At the end of the hike were tons of artifacts and the "Crystal Princess," a full skeleton of a young female who was sacrificed to the gods a thousand years ago. There were also skulls, bones, and pottery scattered throughout the cave alongside dripping stalactities and stalagmites. Awesome!

A quick digression...

2006-12-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

TAR....HEEELS! Got to catch a quick game before I left--it was a slaughter, allowing for stress-free audience participation.

2006-12-27T13:17:00.000-08:00

I made it here safely. Mindy, PJ and Kristen helped me get settled in and joined me for my first meals in my new house (lots of fresh fruit and veggies from the market). The house is not the one I was originally assigned to, but it is adorable, and close to town. Pictures coming soon, on Belize time (which just means slow). For anyone who has tried to contact me, my US phone doesn't work, and I won't be able to get a Belize phone until next week...no worries, I'm doing great. The adventure continues!

2006-12-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

2006-12-05T19:53:00.000-08:00

This is at Cahal Pech, ancient Maya ruins that are walking distance from San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize, my new hometown starting December 21. I walked there when I was on my visit to Galen University, where I will begin working in January.

The river runs through San Ignacio. I took the picture of the river while standing on a suspension bridge that connects San Ignacio to its sister town, Santa Elena.