The day before I leave for Belize, I get a call from an unknown phone number. The man on the other end of the line introduces himself to me as Barry, a friend of my grandparents. As it turns out, Barry was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 60's--IN BELIZE. Well, then, it was called British Honduras, but can you believe it? That evening, Barry spoke to me about what his Peace Corps experience was like and the current state of Belize, as he had recently returned for a visit. It was so comforting to hear words of encouragement from a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) in those last moments of preparing everything to leave the country for more than two years.
Barry's training class was labeled BH2, just like mine. (His stood for British Honduras 2, and mine stands for Belize Health 2.) While the name is the same, a lot has changed about the Peace Corps and Belize over the years. For example, the training process that Barry described sounded like a challenge from a reality television show, or something. It seemed like training encompassed more "survivor" skills. He was surprised to learn that our training in now in-country, and it is focused on skill development and cultural integration.
Barry and I ended up exchanging emails. As soon as I got this blog up and running, I sent him the link. He, in turn, shared the link with some fellow RPCV's. I have to say that I have really enjoyed receiving feedback from him on some of my posts. He says that somethings haven't changed since he served here 50 years ago. Just last month, I got an email from him letting me know that Barry would be traveling to Belize for a 50th anniversary celebration with his training group.
I love that there was such a great turn out for the event. It makes me look forward to the day when I can return to Belize with my training group--for vacation! I shared that sentiment with Barry, and he said he checked with the hotel manager. Sure enough they have availability in 2064!
 |
| September 1964 |
 |
| February 2015 |
Love always,
Jess
No comments:
Post a Comment