A Smile on My Face

Punta Gorda, and Belize in general, is a place of such extreme contradictions and hilarity that I started a daily list of things that make me smile. Below are a few of my favorites so far:

Arrival 6/15/12: Catching a reflection of myself, loaded down with my large backpacking backpack, crossover bag, and carry-on backpack, hair wild from the boat ride, clothes clinging to me from sweat, as I walked along Front Street to my hostel. I sure do know how to make an entrance.

6/16/12 While attempting to find an apartment, I caught a glimpse of Badger red as a hustled past a stall. I stopped, backed up, and sure enough, hanging from the ceiling of the stall, the only beach towel in the place, was a Wisconsin Badger towel in little PG. 

6/17/12 Walking back from dinner, and along the central park (a pitiful, litter-strewn triangle with a slide and stage), I stopped to watch some sort of town picnic that was currently in the midst of a dance off. On the stage? Girls no older than 8 breaking it down better than I ever could.

6.18.12 After my first day of work, I joined a Spaniard, a Brit, a Mexican, a Burundian, and a German for dinner. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire dinner.

6.20.12 I awake to a Rasta man (who I now know as King) waiting for me at my hostel. He has found me a bike. I declined his offer to take me to the bike immediately, and ended up not going with this bike, as I am relatively certain it has been stolen.

6.23.12 Moving into my new apartment, my landlord tells me to wrap all my stuff in plastic if we have a big storm, and advises that if we have a category 4 or 5 storm, I should probably get out of town.

Beautiful view from my apartment porch. My apartment is kind enough to allow me to experience the rain indoors!

6.25.12 I leave a shop to see a Rasta man rolling a joint while sitting on a speaker blasting Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger”, while nodding his head to the beat.

7.5.12 I went to the water store to order my next 5 gallon jug, and watched in horror/disgust as 2 men walked by with a quartered pig, exposed, carrying it through the store. I attempt to make a break for it, and am almost hit in the face by a piece of raw pig.

7.7.12 On our way to the tourist beach town of Placencia for the weekend, we passed through a Police Check Point before we made it out of Punta Gorda. Were they asking for license and registration? No, they were extorting money for some distant relative that was supposedly missing a leg. This is a common occurrence.

7.13.12 My Rasta friend, King (who has taken to calling me ‘my queen’) told me I was a true Belizean beauty because I was tan. Later that day, he presented me with a ring he made for me. Have I, due to the complicated fist knock/handshake I do with him on my way to and from work, somehow entered into a common law marriage?