Top 10 List

In reflecting upon the past six months of my being in the country of Belize, I have come to realize the various everyday occurrences that no longer faze me as being bizarre, vile or out right disturbing – they are now just a part of my passing days. Do enjoy!

1. When you go to the bathroom you are always in the company of at least three cockroaches.
2. The song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is played on the radio at least twice a day – only to be followed by a medley of songs from Grease.
3. When somebody comes to your door to ask to borrow a lighter, don’t assume that it is to light a cigarette. People enjoy their marijuana. True story.
4. You can get a bootleg copy of any movie that has yet to be released at the local shops for approximately $1.50 to $2.50 US
5. People will know your name and will shout it at you in passing simply because you are the white guy that drives through the villages in the big silver truck.
6. People urinate in public – this includes elderly women who hoist their skirts and pop a squat across the street from your house while you are trying to enjoy your breakfast.
7. The cashier at your favorite Chinese shop will change the “poopie” diaper of her child as she rings up the total of your grocery purchases. Okay, well maybe this one hasn’t settled in as completely normal as of yet – give it another six months.
8. You will find yourself wearing sweatpants, a t-shirt, a long sleeved shirt, and a light scarf while your teeth chatter and you rub the goose bumps on your arms and then find out it is indeed an arctic 66 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. You will witness the mating process of the following animals: dogs (note: not all dogs do it doggy style), pigs, geckos (perhaps on the ceiling above your kitchen table while you are eating dinner), horses (youtube it – parental discretion is advised), and roosters/hens (the most un-monogamous relationship seen yet).
10. Lastly, you may wake up at 2:30am to rats wrestling in your bedroom only to discover that your light has decided to stop working at some point during the night. Recommendation: snap your fingers and yell curse words in the direction of the rats who have now taken coverage by your sneakers – they will leave eventually.

I guess now I just look forward to whatever else I may soon perceive as normal. We shall see.

P.S. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” just came on the radio for the third time today. I now await the beautiful John Travolta and Olivia Newton John musical ensemble (fingers crossed they play Summer Loving – I think I can almost hit Travolta’s note by now!)