Yoga- Scissors and the "Funky Chicken"

I have been doing yoga now for about 7 months. When it is possible I go twice a week. Marla- my yoga instructor at Yoga Twist& Things-is wonderful!!! I am addicted to class and have even started teaching basic lessons at the King's Children's Home. The kids and staff, I am excited to say, are becoming addicted as well.

Not that we are supposed to boast or anything, but last week I was able to do the "funky chicken" for the first time on one side. I partially got it on the other. I was so excited because I was able to actually stand up for the first time. Tonight I was able to stand stably on both sides. Check out this article to see how it is done. Oh yeah, no one else really calls it the funky chicken. They call it the bird of paradise. I think you will agree that my name is a little closer to what the pose or asana really looks like. This is as far as I got. To complete the pose you actually extend the leg up in the air. I think that will be a few more weeks or months down the road.

Tonight I was able to do the scissor pose on both sides! I have been able to do this with my legs to the right side for a while now. Tonight the right side was pretty stable. The left side was less stable, but at least I was up. Another student was able to do the pose for the first time tonight! It was so exciting to see how far we have come.

Pictures from the following websites:
http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com/upload//1000/800/10/4/1814.jpg
http://www.thesilentmind.com/GeneralInformation/Classes/tabid/72/Default.aspx

COS and June Bugs

It's a little late and my mind is wondering. Actually, it has been wondering all day. The cup of coffee that got me moving after lunch has seemed to run out.

I was going to tell you my official COS (close of service) date is 13 months after the original one. (But then I got distracted and wrote another post.) That would mean September 20thish. I can leave 30 days on either side of the official date with out having to ET or extend.

Before that I was going to tell you about the June Bug invasion we are currently under. One was flying around my room and triggered my need to write. Maybe it is the same one that was sitting on my bookshelf. Maybe it crawled in the hole above my backdoor the honey bees love to enter through. I haven't experienced this many June Bugs in the last few years. Maybe they weren't as bad. Maybe I didn't notice them while working in my house. Maybe they just didn't like the beach. I have seen a lot of brown ones but none of the pretty iridescent green ones. Right now they are everywhere though. Hanging on walls, on the floor doing the backstroke, and for some odd reason, flying into my face. At least they don't bite like the fire ants do...

If you click on the June Bugs you can reach the sites I found them on. Thanks!

June Bugs to Alphabet Soup

Somehow, but don't ask how, thoughts on June Bugs lead me to think about COS...


Because of the COS date, I got to thinking about...

alphabet soup. .

It is a language that I have learned over the (nearly) three years I have been in Belize. One language, until this very moment, I have never, not even once, thought about putting on my resume. Perhaps I should... I wonder if anyone would recognize it as a second language. My proficiency is pretty strong at this point... I can see it on my resume right now: English- Native speaker, fluent in Southern; Spanish- clear understanding and appreciation of helado; Alphabet Soup- I Can!

Just thoughts of: deciding on a COS date; final interviews with my APCD, PTO, CD, and PCMO; visiting PCVs; contacting RPCVs; and becoming a member of IFOB; the PACA/PDM session this weekend; next week's training with PASMO for our PC HIV and AIDS committee and arrival of our new TD Jamie; and Ginnie as the new PTS in July make me see Training Of Trainers in that spoon!

What do you see?

I found the lovely pieces of art above at the sites below. There are also links to the websites if you click on the soup.

top: http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v07n02/poet/leggo/images/bowl.gif
soup by Marshall Fels Elliott (I don't know if Elliott is responsible for the art or the story that went with it, but seemed appropriate since the info was under the bowl.)

bottom: http://www.kitasystems.com/images/owners/alphabet%20soup.jpg

Ice cream for breakfast

I recently went on a fabulous trip with good friends Jess and Brian from the States. We traveled from Ladyville, to Placencia, then Flores and Tikal Guatemala, through Cayo, on to Burrell Boom, and finished in Caye Caulker.

The morning we went to Tikal I knew I needed some serious caffeine to function. This was the second morning at the lovely Hotel La Casona de la Isla. I was feeling much more confident in my Spanish skills, they actually seemed to be returning. Coffee generally hurts my stomach, but an iced drink called a Frozen Choli from Moonclusters is a fabulous treat so I thought I should order iced coffee. As I groggily ordered my pancakes and iced coffee. I got a strange look from the waiter. My cafe con leche y helado y azúcar was met with a moment of silence and then an explanation that helado wasn't served at breakfast, but they did have cold milk. Mumbling something to the effect of "thanks" and "that sounds perfect" the waiter smiled and went away. The waiter returned with the coffee, milk, and pointed out the sugar on the table.

On the way back to the hotel at the end of our day I heard a song on the radio. There was something about helado. (I don't know if that is what they are actually singing, but that is what I hear...) So, I am sitting there in the van, I have been climbing over temples, exploring rooms royalty once inhabited, and flew threw the air on a zipline; not once, until that song came on, did I realize that I ordered coffee with milk and ice cream and sugar.

Hielo is ice, not helado.

By the way, helado is an ingredient in a Choli, so I bet it would have been great had the waiter brought the actual drink I ordered. I also bet that the waitstaff is still laughing about the crazy gringa wanting ice cream in her coffee.

Still here!

Hi. I know it seems as though I might have dropped off the face of the Earth. Really, I just didn't have internet at home until recently.

I am still trying to figure out what is coming next. I have figured out that I am pretty good with logistics and I enjoy them. I would like to work with an organization that focuses on helping people without just giving stuff out. While I have understood that people appreciate something that is earned far more than what is given; this has really be reinforced over the last three years.

I was recently in a conversation about a $30 USD a month being given to some of the poorest families in a Central American country, this would be the equivalent of a lot more. The parents in the family had to attend parenting classes including health information. The children in the family had to stay in school. On the surface this seems like a no-brainer. There are people who would like to determine what the families do with the money. One of the "problems" is some of the families treated themselves to a fast food dinner with their earnings. Do you think that there should be additional stipulations on how the money is spent? -Or- Should the families be able to do what they choose to with the money?