Today was one of those: it was the best of days, it was the worst of days- actually it was only Tuesday. I woke up with the girls at 530 but refused to leave my bed until 557- the last possible moment to get outside and talk to Dr. L and co. before they left for the field. I gave her a list of plants that Cleofo still needs to find for me and decided upon a day plan. I got "all dressed up" in one of the dresses I had brought and went to order a taxi. I got across the river to the pick-up location about 12 minutes early and spent my 12 minutes playing "who can be the biggest sneak and on-up the other" with the mosquitoes. It kept me busy and I don't think I really got bit- at least none of them drew blood because I squashed pure black mosquitoes.
I have had very interesting conversations with people who really couldn't speak English lately- both of them mad at their ex. My cab driver had come to Belize from El Salvador in 1984. He had three (or four) children ages 14 to 21. His wife is "around here somewhere" and he cautioned me, once he found out I was single, to be very, very careful who I married. The bitterness in the two people toward their ex's (the cleaning lady and the taxi driver) almost makes me want to be a nun! There are enough Catholic churches in the area that I am sure I could get the job done properly and quickly ;)
The taxi rate was $25 Belize dollars (which I guess is normal for the drive). I got all of my extended copies made to turn in to the Forestry people in hopes that I am able to leave the country and went to find breakfast. Dr. Lucero had really told me where to go, but, general directions are never enough for my brain and I got lost trying to find the "Bull Frog Inn". I mean, I knew exactly where I was, but, I had absolutely no idea where the Bull Frog was. I walked down the street I was convinced it was on (since I had seen the sign with an arrow pointing toward the Inn on that street a couple of weeks ago) and then walked back up it again. I passed by a B&B and a white guy was standing outside and I asked him for directions. Luckily, the random tourist knew right where it was and I was on the right track again. I landed at the Bull Frog and sat across from a 50/60ish couple. I was also happy that the tv in the dining area was set to the World Cup game- so I saw the Portugal/Cote de Ivoire when they were at 0:0 (and apparently this status didn't change). The couple came over and talked to me- actually I was in the middle of filling out paper work when the guy leaned on my table and casually asked "may I ask you what you are doing here?" So, I responded, quite naturally, that I was having breakfast. Come to find out, they do Archaeology in the Middle East, Israel. So, that was an interesting conversation; and then they randomly left as randomly as they had spoken.
I finished everything and walked back to the Ministry of Natural Resources- where I was convinced the Forestry Office was. Well, it wasn't, and the kindly secretary told me where to go. Again, general directions never do me any good and I returned after 15 minutes of searching to have her draw me a map. I finally figured it out and started there- it happened to be a pretty long walk (at least a mile I would guesstimate). On the way, I passed a tree that served as a bus stop and experienced not the only collection of staring males, yet one of my only cat-calls of the day and my only "Good morning, Beautiful!" You would be surprised, if you were a white woman in a dress walking alone down the streets of Belmopan, how many times you get stared at, said "hi" to, and smiled at. I finally found the Forestry Office and had about a 30 minute or so conversation with the man in charge, who told me to just go back to the Ministry of Natural Resources, pay my bill to be able to leave, and then come right back with my receipt. Naturally, I wasn't exactly thrilled about the walk there and then back and it was about the hottest part of direct sun of the day. But, I found relief in changing shoes- I wore a pair of walking flip-flops and kept the "impressing" one in my backpack. I also found a Vegetarian Taiwanese restaurant (about half-way through my walk) and was able to get my favorite drink ever- milk tea. I had been missing it sooooo much! So, I was revived for my journey.
I got all of that taken care of and had lunch at the Taiwanese restaurant and also picked up some "Asian-looking" clothes there too. I had my favorite soup ever- mushroom ball soup- and an awesome glass of soy milk and I was in heaven for about an hour. Two ladies came in and, since the restaurant had 3 tables and I was occupying the third alone, they asked to sit with me. Come to find out, they were also from Taiwan and we began to talk Taiwan, where I had been, where they are from, where they are now, how long they have been here, good places to get Taiwanese food here, the phrases I could speak in broken Mandarin, and they even gave me one of the traditional dishes they had gotten from the market in Belmopan- which they are having today because it is a Taiwanese holiday. Life was wonderful- especially when one lady told me that I should continue to keep up with my Mandarin and learn more because I have a good accent! Personally, I just think she has been in Latin America for too long and the heat is getting to her!
I actually still have some lunch in a bag looking at me that I plan to eat for supper! That just makes my day. I then walked back to town, got some supplies at the store, went to the bank, used the money to buy a UTM map and etc and went to another bank for cash. Unfortunately, I didn't get my money out in time and the ATM ate my cash! I stood in line waiting to get a verdict on my situation, while getting to watch North Korea and Brazil at the half at a 0:0 face-off. The announcers were shocked that the World Cup stars were getting licked by a surprisingly tough competitor. I found out a few minutes ago that they weren't able to hold out in the second half and Brazil won 2:1. But, I watched bits of 2 World Cup games today! Which is a new record for the tv-less. I have a little over $6 to my name right now- as I sit in a cafe drinking the cheapest thing on the menu- orange juice (which is incredible) and try to recover from the heat. My day goal is to go to another bank and try to get more money (while waiting until tomorrow for the money from bank #1 to get to me) and grab a taxi home!
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