Lucas had incredibly smelly feet in his new trainers and loved chasing everybody with his sweaty socks, shouting "Smell it! Smell it!" Soooo disgusting.

My 2 sisters Miriam & Iris (and me)

Back in Belize

How great to be back home again. There is nothing really like sleeping in your own bed at night, is there? Still, our Europe trip was absolutely brilliant. I couldn't have wished for a better holiday.

Like I said before, it was such fun seeing family & friends again. And it was good to see Lucas bond with all his family as well. That was really important to me. From now on, we'll make sure that we see all the family more often (Andy and I said at the beginning of the year that 2005 was going to be our year of travel & we've done pretty well so far)

Andy's mum & dad have come back with us & will stay here for one month. It's their first time in Belize & I do believe that they like it (obviously, they are British and with the British you never know for sure what they think. They are all so polite, you always have to read between the lines to figure out how they really feel about something). Still they seem very happy, so I assume that they are.

By the way, everyone apart from Karen and me have gone to Caves Branch for a drop-off (some of our guests are doing the black-hole drop) and Lucas has gone with them too, so the house is peaceful and quiet. It's lovely. Maybe I should use this opportunity to curl up in bed with a good book for an hour. Our bedroom is the only room in our part of the house with AC, so that is the best place for me to be anyway. Hmmm, I may just do that......

That's the great thing about being your own boss. If you want to chill out for a bit, you simply do so. Of course, you do what needs to be done work-wise. But you can always squeeze in some lazy-time too. Actually, that's the thing that kind of shocked me when I saw all my friends and family; how hard they all have to work. It's horrible. I have decided that I will never again work for a boss or a company as long as I live (I believe that if you're clever about it, that that is not an un-realistic goal). Obviously, we have our own business and it's running well, so we should be ok with regards to that. I may one day do some theatre work again (which would be for a "boss" too), but it would simply be for fun & not to pay the rent or anything.

Oh, one more thing; later today, I'll be taking Daphne (our cat) to the vet to be neutered. There is no way that we'll let her have another litter. We still have to find homes for the ones we have now. But hopefully we'll find them homes in the coming week. I'll let you know how it went.

Best get a cup of tea and get comfy, this is a long one

Oh, what fun to have the whole family together again. It’s my dad’s 60th birthday soon and all his children have come back home to celebrate with him. There is my older sister Miriam who lives in Aruba, my younger sister Iris (who’s house we’re staying in) & my brothers JP, Vincent and Floris.

I almost forgot how much we laugh when we’re together. Yesterday I skipped rope with my sister Miriam. Only we didn’t have any rope, so we used a garden hose (I accidentally whacked myself in the face with it in the end). We played giant connect 4, the tower of pizza, badminton and an old Dutch game, called “Sjoelbakken”. And my dad and his wife crack me up as usual. They are so silly and forgetful (“I thought you had the keys?”) Hilarious! As a matter a fact, the whole family is dopey. We must have inherited that from my dad. My little sister managed to de-activate her partner’s bankcard yesterday and left her own card & cash in the house by accident. She does that kind of stuff on an almost daily basis. Personally, I’m guilty of dopey-brain activities too and annoy Andy endlessly, even though I think that I have become fairly “with it” these days and only do stupid stuff occasionally.

By the way, Lucas has been amazing this whole trip. He just plots along behind us & falls asleep whenever he needs to, regardless of where we are or what we do. He has napped on several “Starbucks” sofas now, giving me a chance to catch up with loved ones over a “tall Americano”. He never really whines (he just says “Mummy, Lucas too tired” and then falls asleep whilst I carry him) and he seems to have felt at home where ever we’ve stayed (shouting “We’re home!” whenever we enter the house we stay in)

It is so tiring though, all this traveling. That’s why we’re now staying put until we go back to Belize on the 26th. It’s all been a bit too much. Even though you feel like catching up with everybody, it’s simply not possible. You end up spreading yourself too thin. That’s also why we’re planning to do another Europe trip later this year.

Oh…one more thing; my camera works again! I had put in batteries that weren’t powerful enough, apparently (what do you mean, dopey?) And my Ipod works again as well. That was probably acting up because of the heat and humidity in Belize. All equipment seems to act up in Belize. Anyway, I can load up photos again. It’s just sad that I have no pictures of our time in the UK. Oh well…..

Oh, and my night out in London was rather pathetic. I begged my friends to go home at 11 o’clock, as I was knackered. The whole nightlife thing just doesn’t excite me anymore. I also missed Andy and Lucas tremendously when I was in London. After one night I nearly took the train back to Norfolk, but felt like the sad child who wanted to end the sleepover party early. So ended up staying because I didn’t want to admit how pathetic I’ve become. Still, it does proof to me that Andy and Lucas are the people I love spending time with the most and that can’t be bad. Family is just the best thing on earth.

Family reunion (left to right: My dad's wife Ina, Andy, Iris' partner Remon, Iris, Miriam, my dad, Vincent & Floris) The only ones missing in the picture were Lucas, JP & I.

On the train to Hengelo to see the rest of the family (Miriam & Lucas bonded immediately)

Quick pit-stop at my cousin Lida's house in Amsterdam

Crashed at Schiphol Airport

Meeting Miriam at the airport (Left to right: Natalie, Miriam, me, Sarah & Lida)

Meeting Miriam at the airport with my cousins

Warner Brothers get inspired by our Mayan Adventure trip

Fancy staying at our jungle resort, but don't have any money for a holiday/vacation? Than check out the Scooby Doo "Maya Mayhem" competition and win a free holiday with us! Click here to enter competion webpage. It's a collaboration between the Belize Jungle Dome, Orbitz and Warner Brothers. Good luck!

Oh bloody hell....

Can't believe it. My amazing camera (Fujifilm Finepix S700) has packed up on me just as I want to start taking some pictures of London. I'll have to stop by a photoshop/technology shop on Monday and have it looked at.I hope that I've simply got it on a wrong setting or something. So no pictures to share with you yet......

London

Oh boy, I just realized that I'm quite a bit behind on my blogging. We flew out to the UK on the 6th of May and have been staying at Andy's parents in Norfolk (did I mention at any point that we were going on a Europe trip?)

Anyway, we're having a brilliant time. It's been a bit chilly here to say the least, but I prefer it to the extreme heat that we've been having in Belize recently. We've had to buy jackets, jumpers, etc. to keep warm. Lucas looks well cute in his hooded tops and baggy pants.

Andy and Lucas are still with the grandparents in Norfolk and I made my way down to London yesterday to hang out with my mates, do some un-interrupted shopping (something a mother rarely gets to do) & to go out for a little jump-around. Still, I'm not sure if I'll manage to stay up that late tonight. We are meant to go out clubbing, but I get tired at about 10 o'clock these days, so I'm a tat worried about having to stay up past my bedtime.

Anyhow, we're planning to leave the house at 6.30 already for dinner. That way I won't sink into Tania comfy sofa & refuse to leave to go clubbing. Hopefully the plan will work and we'll have good dance at Gilly's boyfriend's clubnight.

Oh, something else....I met up with James Hyman today (my old Partyzone producer). He hasn't changed a bit. Still as quirky, weird and wonderful as ever. I love that guy. He dragged me along to Record & Tape Exchange and got me a ton of DVD's. So sweet! And he's just finished doing the soundtrack for a new Guy Ritchie movie. He's doing good. Big up to you, James!

Now, I have decided that London life is definitely not for me anymore. It's too hectic and smoggy. But catching up with old friends is just marvelous. I feel blessed to have such lovely and loyal friends.

Pleasant afternoon.

I'm sitting on the back of John's cool-looking (but rather pathetic performing) yellow Landrover. Apparently he nearly crashed it into our fence as he parked it, because the brakes are going. God knows when this Jeep will be functioning properly again. It's just one thing after another. A bit like our Jeep really. That's always at the mechanics too.

Anyway, it's a pleasant afternoon. The Banana Bank football team are practicing on the field outside our house and Lucas is playing with all the local kids.

Oh, Jaime made it into the States, by the way. That was such a drama. His smugglers were keeping him hostage or something and were demanding more money. All quite crazy. Anyway, I am now spending lots of time taking and sending pictures of Jaime's kids (Jimmy, Nicki, Emelda & Henry). Jaime also sent a picture back for them of him sitting on a Harley Davidson. I think he really misses them and I think it's starting to dawn on him that he will not see his family for many, many years. The whole thing is quite heart-breaking. His kids miss him so much and seem rather confused about the whole deal. I guess this is the kind of stuff that happens in divorces too.

Our kittens are now 4 weeks and doing great. Daphne is such a wonderful mum. We've found homes for 2 kittens already and will probably keep one ourselves.

Wow, my bum cheeks are "falling asleep". I need to get up and move around.

Adios amigos!

Our kittens

The embarrassing honesty of a child

One thing that people don't tell you about with regards to potty training a toddler is how humiliating it is for the parents. Because these days we receive standing ovations from Lucas whenever we use the toilet ourselves. We have to high-5 him once we're done & then we have to watch him run out and tell everybody what we've just done on the toilet. I mean, I do find it quite funny. But at the same time, I don't really want the world to know what I do behind closed (bathroom) doors. Oh well, this too shall pass (as they say)

Cheeky monkey

The current government stays where it is.

Well, so far for removing the Belize government from power. Yesterday's "National Shutdown" should have the climax in a build-up that's been going on for months. Instead, all the momentum seems to have been lost. Aparently 90% (or more) of all public officers reported for work yesterday and non of the essential services were lost. Why didn't the National Shutdown happen after all? I assume that too many people were scared to lose their jobs.

If I were the Prime Minister, I would have been "high 5-ing" the members of my cabinet last night, as the threat is now pretty much over for them. Things will return back to "normal" and all the hooha will fizzle back out.

Whether that's a good or a bad thing for the country? Only time will tell. But for now, we can get back to living our lifes again.

Well.....it's gone 12 o'clock....

And nothing has happened. We still have electricity (thank God, as it's boiling hot here) & everything else seems to be functioning fine too, like the telephone, etc.

The thing that really confuses me about all this is that the radio stations now mention nothing anymore about this morning's situation. All the stations now play these happy tunes, talk about trivial stuff and pretend that nothing happened. It's just too strange. What happened with the "National Shutdown"? What is going on? No one mentions anything about it anymore. How is that possible? And what about the rallies? Was the National Shutdown of public services canceled? Did not enough public officers support the cause? I want to know.

This morning it was broadcast that the government would remove broadcast licences of anyone broadcasting anything that could in any way encourage violence (with immediate effect) Again, what does that mean? Does that mean that we now longer are given the news? I'll follow what happens and will let you know.

National Shutdown in Belize

At 12 o'clock this afternoon the National Shutdown will begin. What that means exactly is unclear to me. What will be shutting down? Water? Electricity? Telephone? And how long for? I heard someone say on the radio that, if all services shut down for more than 3 days, a state of emergency has to be declared. If that happens, the House of Representatives has to dissolve???? Or something like that.

Who knows.....it's all a bit uncertain at the moment. All we can do is listen to the radio and be prepared for whatever. Lucky enough, we have batteries and can keep some electricity going for up to two days.

I tell you, this place is so strange at the moment. No one seems to know what's going on exactly. Anyway, I'll keep you informed as much as I can.

Helicopters and tortilla chips

Lucas has had quite an exciting day today. The airforce came and landed their helicopter on the football pitch outside our house (the second time that they've done that now). One of the pilots is staying with us for a few days. He'll be picked up again on Monday, so Lucas will be able to see the helicopter once again. He is obsessed with helicopters at the moment. His favorite book is "Budgy the little helicopter" by Fergie, to be read to him at least 4 times a day, and he has several toy helicopters (all of which are trashed as he throws them around a bit). So anyway, this helicopter landing in fron of our house is a big thing for him.

I went to see Lynwen and Ian at Caves Branch this afternoon. They are building an amazing house for themselves above the Caves Branch restaurant. It's going to be huge! Lynwen and I sat in what will one day be their living room, with our feet dangling outside the house (the glass doors aren't in yet). It was lovely, just chatting and munching on tortilla chips. I really like Lynwen. It's always so nice hanging out with her.

We were also talking about the country's recent problems and I have to say; Ian's views on the whole matter were quite enlightening, as he has come up with a possible outcome that does not include any violence (as you know, I've been worrying a bit about that). He said that it's quite likely that the Prime Minister will be forced to step down by his own party (if the protests continue) & that they will then continue with a different Prime Minister. Also, he was guessing that some of the Ministers who were fired recently (they refused to put with the corruption) might form their own party & become the much needed 3rd party in the next elections. Anyway, it's not a perfect solution....but it's something. It's a thought that I can live with.

Restlessness in paradise

I'm feeling a bit uneasy at the moment. Although, I have to say, I seem to be the only one at the Belize Jungle Dome who feels like this, so maybe I'm over-reacting.

Basically, there is unrest in Belize. Especially in Belize City. There was a riot and looting going on on Wednesday night & there have been protests on and off for months now. The Belizean public has had enough of the current government. There has been so much corruption (it's one case after another) & so much public money has been lost, that people demand the government to step down. But the government and the Prime Minister deny any wrong-doing and claim that the opposition party is orchestrating the protests and is trying to overthrow this democratically elected government.

Anyway, this whole thing may just fizzle out again. But I can't help feeling a bit scared and helpless. It all makes me feel like a stranger in a strange land. Maybe it's also because I am a mother, I don't know. I. mean, it's not like we actually notice anything here at the Belize Jungle Dome, life is still as calm and peaceful as ever. But just the thought that people's patience may be wearing thin scares me.

Right now though, I'm just getting on with normal life, like everybody else. I went to rehearsals for our up-coming concert this morning, bust a tire on the ferry, received help from a man who's car had also broken down, spend an hour-and-a-half in the bank this morning to get some money out, etc. All just normal stuff.

Tulum (again)

We're back from our little trip to Tulum. It was wonderful. Lucas managed to sit through the 7-hour car journey without even a hint of a whine. Absolutely astounding for a 2-year-old, I think. The trick is....presents! I bought some cheap and cheerful little knick-knacks to give to him when he got bored. He got two presents on the way there and two on the way back & it worked wonders.

I've written about Tulum before, so I don't have to go in to details again. But anyway, it's beautiful there. We just lazed around on the beach and ate a ton of food. And that was it really.

A perfect little break....

Oh, things are still a bit messy in Belize politically. Now the telephone systems are all down and have been for days (strikes again). Unions are calling for the Prime Minister to step down. God knows what's going to happen.

It took us a few days to track Karen down. She was doing a yoga teacher training course in Tulum, but we kept looking for her at the wrong place. We looked at Maya Spa, whilst Karen was at the Maya Tulum Spa. Doh!

Our hotel in Tulum (Pasado Del Sol)

Lucas on the rocks!

Rock climbing with daddy

Monkeys

I really feel that I should be posting something, eventhough there is not much going on here. Whatever has happened has already been written about by Karen (see Karensbelizeblog.blogspot.com). I don't want to end up with 2 identical blogs, so I won't mentioned anything that's already on her blog.

Got woken up this morning by the howler monkeys. We have a family of 7 in the trees just off our property. You wouldn't expect it by the sound of them, but they are actually very cute.

Talking of monkeys....I'm trying desperately to get some off our neighbouring children away from our house. It is just crazy at the moment, there are just children everywhere. They are here for several reasons:

1. To exchange books from our little "library"
2. To show me their rapport cards
3. To get toys (I'm clearing out the toys that Lucas no longer plays with)

The problem is, these kids are all so adorable. So I can't get angry with them. But it is really getting too chaotic with all of them running around. I guess I'll have to put my foot down and tell them all to stick to our pre-arranged library time on Saturday morning.

By the way, I really need to do some work on the Jaden Foundation webpages. We have several sponsors now that need to be added to the website & there are still some children that I need to track down who received sponsorship this year. As I've already shared with you, I'm not that busy at the moment, so I really have no excuse for procrastinating on this. Still....I'm dragging my heals a bit, I have to admit (sheer laziness)

Right, I'm going to procrastinate just a little bit more. Just because it's Sunday. Dr. Peter Alan is coming over later with some friends from the UK, so that should be fun (he's such a sweetheart)

Talk to you later xxxxx

The bridge is ready! Well....almost. Mark drove us across it for the first time yesterday. We were all so excited. No more getting getting stuck at the old ferry. We will be free to come and go as we please and will even be able to go out at night! Wonderful!

We were the first members of the public to be crossing the bridge (it will not be open to the public yet for another 3 weeks)

The ferry looks so old and so small from the new bridge.

On the new bridge with Mr. Morgan (our old ferry man), Karen & Mark (the engineer)

Kittens!

Yes, Daphne our cat (Karen's friends Christened her "Daphne" recently) has had her kittens. She totally confused us this morning when she walked around without her big belly & no kittens in sight. We were already worried that she had given birth to dead kittens or something, because we didn't hear anything and couldn't find her kittens anywhere. After a while it became clear why we didn't see them....she has had her litter on the inside of an old sofa. The lining had come lose on the bottom and her kittens are inside that. It looks like there might be 4 of them. Daphne is nursing them right now. So sweet.

By the way, check out what Caroline is doing these days. It's a really cool concept; a new way of distributing and promoting music. Click on "Prohibition". I'm so proud of my friends and the stuff they're up to these days. I was just talking to my friend Gilly, who has directed the show "Wife swap" for ABC recently. I remember when she used to work in a bar and doubted that she would ever be able to make a career for herself in television. I always knew that she would make it, though. You can always see if people have what it takes. It's more a personality thing than anything else.

For instance, I remember there used to be a guy who worked in the MTV post room. He was such a nice person. I knew that he had "that special something". Although, for a long time, I seemed to be the only person who noticed that in him. I remember him talking about leaving MTV as he didn't see his way out of the post room (he'd been there quite some time). I urged him to stay. I was convinced that it was only a matter of time before he'd be given a chance by someone. Well, I was right. Soon he was given a position in "artist relations" (I believe that was what it was called). Where he had to look after all the band that came in. He did a great job and moved on to become road manager for U2. After that I lost touch with him, but I'm sure he's still doing well somewhere.

In hindsight, these were some of the things I liked best about my old job. Spotting talent! I helped some really cool bands break through to the mainstream (Like the Prodigy, Moloko, Faithless, etc.) And as the jury member on Popstars in Germany, I helped put together the "No Angels" (Dumb name). Anyway, that band did end up breaking all records in Germany and I believe that to this day they are the best-selling German band ever (Shame I never got any royalties). Anyway, these are some of my most fond memories of my old life. Seeing others do well & knowing that I played a small part in their success.

I guess that's what I hope to achieve with some of the kids here too. Not that I want them to become popstars...but I just hope that some of the kids will use the chance that they have been given through the sponsorship & that they'll do well in whatever field they chose. I guess time will tell.

Caroline is here

I'm sorry everybody, I've had to take my last posting about Skippy off. I just can't stand to have to look at it every time I see my blog. Anyway, she died. And it was horrible.

In the meantime, two more dogs have died around here. It turned out to be tick fever, not bees. Now all the dogs around here are getting preventive medication, so hopefully that was the last of it.

Now, something completely different; My friend Caroline Prothero is here & I'm having a very nice time with her. We hadn't seen each other for about two years! Anyway, we've been to Five Sisters Falls for a swim, had a little horseride and tried to put face masks the other night. The face mask thing did not work out the way we planned it, but was hilarious anyway. I laughed so much my stomach hurt and the face mask cracked and fell off my face.

Caroline is off on a horse ride again this morning & I'm off picking out tiles for our new bathroom (after spending so much time doing up our rental rooms, we are now finally get round to fixing up our own space). Not sure yet what we'll do this afternoon. Would like to do some yoga and a nice meditation. Caroline brought me lots of Deepak Chopra CD's with guided meditations, so maybe we'll do that.

Five Sisters Falls, such a nice place to spend the day

The things we women do.....

She's still with us...

Still haven't been able to see a vet today, they are all out of town. But I have been in contact with two vets by telephone, which has been a real comfort. We have been giving Skippy aspirin, lime & sugar, egg & milk and lots of water (all by syringe). She still hasn't moved, but wags her tail weakly when you call her name. And about an hour ago she surprised me by eating two slices of cooked meat. So who knows....She might just make it.

Skippy

It's been 3 days now since Skippy was attacked. It looks like she may have been stung by lots of bees at once. I took her to the vet two days ago. She was given a jab then & we gave her a second jab yesterday. But she just isn't getting better. I keep thinking that she is going to die. So we just take turns in holding her and feeding her lime juice & sugar (which seems to help a little). I tried to get hold of a vet again yesterday. But no one was in. I even phoned a vet's emergency number in Belize City, but no answer there either. Hopefully there will be a vet that we can get hold of today, because we just don't know what to do anymore. It's very sad.

Okay, I better get back to her. She is yelping. I'll tell you later how everything went.

I took a mission group from Las Vegas to Kings Childrens' home yesterday. The group dressed up as clowns, made hats and swords from balloons and painted the children's faces. It was great fun! (this is the second year that this group has visited the childrens' home)

The kids loved being turned into clowns

Mucho info, madness in the jungle

You know what it feels like when the "Inbox" of your email is loaded and disorganized? Well, that's what my life has been like for the last few days. Actually, the desk that I work on is another dead give-a-way; It's messy & disorganized like my brain.

Basically, there are just so many people who want to help/join forces with the Jaden Foundation & there are so many projects that I would like to get involved in. Also, Tella works as our cook these days, so I don't have as much help with Lucas. Our resort is full & we are still training our staff, so a lot of time goes into that.

And then there are unforeseen things, of course. Yesterday we had a crazy emergency going on as Jaimy (one of Banana Bank's former wranglers and father of Lucas' best friends Nicki & Emelda) got arrested in Mexico. He is trying to get across the border to the US & was already traveling illegally through Mexico. His wife (Tella's daughter) was told that she had to send $3000 by Western Union within the next hour to have him released. She was hysterical and got everybody else fired up to. People all put money together and she was about to cross the river to send it off. The problem was, there were too many holes in the story that she was being told. Obviously, she was too hysterical to even notice this.

It turned out that she was told that if she send the money straight away, Jaimy would be released into the United States (we told her that would not be possible), none of the numbers she had been given in Mexico worked, she didn't know who this person was that she was sending the money to, etc. Lucky enough, I managed to calm her down and stopped her from sending this money. Today she got a phone call from Jaimy again and he is no longer in prison. We still don't know what happened exactly.

Anyway, it's still a mess. Today Jaimy's wife asked me to phone the people in the States who had promised him a job, just to check if they were really serious about this. I tried the number & it is no longer in use. Also, the address is a p.o.box, so God knows where Jaimy is planning to travel to? I hope he'll turn around and come back to Belize. This whole thing is just a mess.

Also, our dog Skippy nearly died today. She got stung by bees last night and lost the use of her legs. She had collapsed onto a nest of fire ants and was covered in them when we found her. Today I took her to the vet, but she was already in anna....bulubu (something or other) shock. You know, where you have such a bad allergic reaction that you can hardly breath and your heart is the next thing to give out. Anyway, I think she's ok now. She's been sedated, was given glucose on a drip and received an injection for her reaction.

Oh...And our cat is about to give birth to kittens. I've already checked her in with the vet for 7 weeks after the birth, so she can get neutered (don't want any more kittens after this)

Right, that's enough info for today. Jay & Jasper, if you're reading this; please send me a digital picture of the two of you. Adios everybody. I'm going to clean my desk now, as I have to start somewhere ; )

Our wonderful host Mathew Miller (on the right) with his dear friend Christopher Nesbitt. Christopher is an organic farmer and talks about it with such passion that you end up wanting to grow organic vegetables yourself (still...I don't actually think I'll do that....I will leave that up to Andy)

A Mayan woman carrying her baby as she prepares to display her crafts

After visiting the school we went for a swim in this incredible cave. It was so beautiful (very cold water though)

Nice cool down after a hot day

I begged for some Green & Black's Chocolate at their offices in Punta Gorda (these chocolate bars are not available in Belize). They said "yes" and gave me a ton of little samplers & one big bar. Bless them!

We had a little tea party in Punta Gorda at Gomier's vegetarian restaurant with our two new friends Ludwig and John (actually, we didn't know them, but they invited us to join them for tea...and they were lovely)

More on our Punta Gorda trip....

I have to say, I have fallen in love with this Southern part of Belize. The Toledo district is just so unspoiled and beautiful. The mountains, the jungle, the Maya villages, the coastline, it's all stunning. It does feel like stepping back in time about 10 years though, compared with Belize City and the Cayo district. Many villages are still without electricity and running water and the infrastructure is just not what it is in these more Northern parts (and we complain about things here...)

On our drive down to Punta Gorda I noticed that we had not come across any other cars on the highway for over an hour. This stuff just doesn't happen anymore in places like Cayo. Belize is developing so fast, but Toledo is still pretty much untouched.

The inspiring thing is that there are many farmers getting into organic farming in the Toledo district and there is a lot of attention being paid to people preserving their cultures. The organic cocoa industry is growing rapidly in Toledo. There is a brand of organic chocolate in the UK, called Green & Black. Their best-selling chocolate is the Maya Gold, which is grown in Belize. Because it is part of the "Fair trade" deal, the farmers have the security that they will continue to receive an agreed price & they get assistance from "Fair trade" in the form of equipment and expertise. "Regular" farmers don't usually receive these kind of things, whenever the market price of their crop goes down, they are in deep trouble.This Fair trade deal is also encouraging Belizeans to look into growing organic coffee. There is even talk of growing industrial hemp (although this issue is still controversial).

Anyway...got to go. I'm back off to the children's homes with a mission group who dress up as clowns and do face painting for the kids. They did their "clown show" last year & it was a huge success.

Belize is made up of many cultures; the Mennonites, the Creoles, the Garifuna, the Maya, etc. It was great to see a parade in Punta Gorda to celebrate this diversity

The kids at Tumul k'in set up their own medicine trail. One of the students gave us a guided tour. He was just the sweetest! He was so shy, but knew about all the plants and their uses. He did a great job.

The kitchen of the Tumul k'in school, which was build by the students

A perfect metaphor for mixing the old with the new: the energies of the Mayan calendar described on the computer lab's walls

Each day caries its own energy on the Mayan calendar.

Tumul K'in school

We went to visit an amazing school in the Toledo district of Belize on our road trip a few days ago. It is a boarding school for "disadvantaged" youths from the rural villages (especially the Maya villages). The school teaches these children about ancient Maya practices, not just in a class room, but by actually "living it". They harvest according to the Maya calendar, they do rituals and pay close attention to the moon and the energy of the seasons. Next to this, they teach the kids about modern life; computers, the eco-tourism industry, how to run Quickbooks, use of the Internet, etc. They try and blend the old with the new. And they teach these young people skills that can assist in the survival of their villages, whether it be through sustainable development, (organic) agricultural practices, building techniques, research methods, traditional medicine or eco-tourism. It is an incredibly inspiring place & I really want to try and help them reach their goals.

I'll write more about the school and the rest of our trip soon. For now, I've included part of the school's brochure to explain some more about the Tumul k'in school:

'Tumul K'in Centre of Learning is an innovative educational institution located in the heartland of Toledo on 500 acres of land neighboring Blue Creek Village. It was established in response to the high poverty rate among the Maya people of Toledo; high levels of unemployment among young people; lack of educational opportunities for rural youth and communities especially Maya; the lack of culturally relevant education and; the need for innovative education that will reach students who have been failed by the education system. Most importantly, it was established to harness the hope and potential offered by the wisdom and knowledge of the Maya and the synergy produced through the integration of this wisdom and knowledge with modern science and technology.

GOALS:
1. To provide alternative, empowering education that prepares caring, critical and reflective persons capable of making optimal and wise use of their cultural, natural and personal resources for a sustainable development
2. To research and develop practices in the areas of land and natural resource management, agriculture, sustainable technology and education based on the integration of Maya and modern knowledge and wisdom.
3. To become an autonomous, self-sustainable institution through the sale of services and products and other income generating activities.
4. To strengthen Maya cultural values"

To be continued....

My precious little nudist

Lucas has finally allowed me to put waterwings on him today (You won't believe the hysterical episodes we've been through over this). Anyway, you should have seen his delighted little face when he realized that he doesn't go under water with them. So he swam around the pool today, deep end and all.

It's funny....parents (and grandparents) have this certain "look" sometimes when they are gazing at their offspring. We've all seen that "look"; it's the one where they smile heavenly and look as if their child is either the messiah or simply the most divine being ever to have walked this earth. Well, I had that goofy smile on my face today. Several times even; first when he swam around the pool by himself, then when he said " I love you & I miss you" on the phone to my mum and then again when he went for a naked horse ride (he's becoming quite the nudist)

Ok, I'm going to hang out with Lucas some more. I'm off for a day-and-a-half tomorrow without him, so I want to spend some extra time with that little monkey today.

Slacker!

Well, well.....I've been quite the lazy blogger lately. So much has happened but, apart from the few pictures of our San Pedro trip, I have not had the discipline to report any of it.

Anyway, things are good here. The business is going fantastic. Our website now gets 500+ hits a day. Andy and I also added some pages especially for cruise ship passengers. It seems that there are many cruise ship passengers who do not want to go around in large groups & are happy to pay a little extra for something a bit more exclusive when they get to Belize. Check out our Belize Cruise Ship Excursions page to see what we offer.

Been to another great piano lesson with Miss Bunny today & discovered that the ring finger of my left hand has a hard time operating independently. Whenever it moves, my little pinky moves with it. They are like these "out of control" kids. They simply go where ever they want, but never where I tell them to. So my task for the coming weeks is to get control of these two fingers (funny assignment, don't you think?)

Oh, and far as the non-profit status for the Jaden Foundation goes....
Looks like I may not go for it after all, as it turns out that it will cost me about 2 to 3 thousand dollars to set it up. I went to the Ministry of Human Development today to find out about it. Having a non-profit status in Belize will not result in tax deductions for foreign donators & only helps to import goods into Belize duty-free. But I don't need help with that, as I am already working with government departments & they can just sign waivers for me anyway. So...I think I will leave it for now.

Something I'm quite excited about; on Thursday I'm going on a little road trip with Matt Miller (head of the Peace Corps), Karen and maybe a few other people. We're going to Punta Gorda, which is in the South of Belize. And we are visiting several Maya villages down there. The Southern part of Belize is by far the poorest region of the country & I've been wanting to go and find out what is needed there with regards to education. Matt will be introducing us to the principal of a special "Maya school" there. This school is dedicated to preserving the Mayan way of life (next to the standard curriculum) by teaching classes in the Mayan language and teaching the kids about the old religion, etc. It should be very interesting.

On the boat with Jeff & Brenda Deval and their kids Marshal and Shelby.

We made some wonderful new friends on San Pedro and had a blast! By the way, look at these 2 kids (Marshal & Shelby)...don't they look like they could be the brother & sister of Lucas?

On the glass-bottom boat in San Pedro to see the nurse sharks. Lucas loved this trip!

Lucas with his new stickers!

Route De Maya