Later On, Belize

If you ever decide to come to San Ignacio, I can tell you this:
Be succinct with your words: know what you want to say and mean it, because here, most things are taken lightly and no one wants to be overloaded with anything, especially too much information. This one has taken me some time, and I am still working on it.
Don't be too shy to look at anyone directly. People think "no way" about it and you can get comfortable with the townspeople. They notice. Most are aware and observant about their surroundings, and that is one thing I most respect of what I've found here: people whose eyes are open and unafraid. Where I live in the U.S., and where I've been to in Europe, people generally don't acknowledge passing strangers with interest, and that makes me feel alienated, or like an "alien" in the true sense of the word.
Let go of your worries. If it shows on your face that something is on your mind, you are thinking too hard. Life is simple: relax and enjoy when you're not working (or even when you're working) . . . at least that is the mind state that I have most encountered: Don't dwell on anything.
This land is sacred. Subtle, but powerful enough that with a keen sense of perception, you can feel a resonance of a high, yet grounded vibration that both awakens the "higher" mind and gives one a sense of connection to the Earth. The Mayans built their structures and monuments in accordance with
their knowledge of the stars. So, as you stand on their ground, you are uplifted and attuned with what they would call the "heavens." Of something universal. And of course, tapping into anything universal will give you a sense of connection to everything around you. This is only the beginning. The next time I come to Belize, I intend to take more of journey into the mind. The greater mind.
I've done a lot of things: went to the Mayan monuments of Cahal Pech, Xunantunich, and Tikal, visited the villages of Bullet Tree, Esperanza, Santa Familia, Benque, three different places called Santa Elena where I was fed bollos, corncob wine (only a sip), rice and beans, fry jacks, went into the Maya Mountains where I stood among a herd of calm white cows with draping sags of skin under their necks, floppy ears, horns and cowbells, took trips to the island of Flores and Guatemala, San Pedro and Caye Caulker where I got my hair "plat" (braided in cornrows) for the first time and was cleansed in the salt water of the ocean for hours, learned to use a machete to "chop" the ground, learned how to mix cement with a shovel and water, observed the thatching of a roof and lived under one, played soccer with the Belizean boys and blocked enough goals to let my side win, chased children around Smith's farm and got out of breathe, and then let them come into my room and brush my hair, play my uke, watch the television and sit all over me, became a "godsister" to Steven, had a local boyfriend (Teddy –local villagers are asking if we’re getting married . . . yeah, right) -- was offered at least seven places to stay for when I return. . . granted, I did see many sad puppies and stray dogs on every block and around every corner, observed a lot of "tough love" among the families here, and a good deal of unfaithfulness between husbands and wives/boyfriends and girlfriends, heard a lot of bad dancehall music, beard witness to the destruction of the environment -- the burning of trash, the pollution of the rivers, the clearing of forest -- saw that the vast majority of children and teenagers are NOT being enriched with arts education to express themselves . . .the list goes on.
But, one of my intentions in coming here was to find the heart of Belize and share in its beat. I didn't know exactly what I meant by that at the time, just that it sounded good -- and it was fulfilled. Here, I have encountered "one love" -- one heart. It's not just some Rasta term spearheaded by Bob Marley . . . it is the love generated by family, by being surrounded by nature (the most BEAUTIFUL I have EVER seen), by being proud of one's inheritance, by feeling safe . . . I don't know what it is EXACTLY that makes people heart's open so wide here, but love was offered to me freely. I did not just visit Belize, or tour it, I lived here, was a part of it, and built my love for it.