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 |  You are what you write. Illusion and Reality...I reside in between. Where are you? |
| LIVING IN BELIZE Here's the world I live in Belize, Central America: This is partly a 3rd world country. We come into a clash of culture when the big guys like Amex say you cannot have a post office box or forwarding address for your Home Address. Now in this beautiful, tropical piece of the Caribbean, we can have wonderful, expensive houses, but there is NO MAIL DELIVERY. We have post office boxes to receive mail. Or go to the local FEDEX or similar service for very expensive packages and deal with customs declarations and inspection fees, etc. To correct a situation you call the big guy and get a talking computer, "Please enter your ###number and your dog's name and the 3-digit number...you get the idea. "I'm sorry, I did not understand that statement. Please say again or press # to..." It takes a long time to reach a real living person who has you repeat all that information again before they can hear your simple problem that is not on the 'Press a # List.' After hearing the simple problem you are told to "Please hold." The same elevator music lulls your mind while your phone minutes evaporate. When the nice lady comes back, everything is repeated again to confirm. The boiler-plate thank you is a relief because the call is finally ending. I know many people have this same experience, yes? Fact: I have never found a real bookstore in Belize. I don't think anyone reads novels. I noticed that school books usually come in big containers from a generous church group in Canada or the US. There are some libraries, but the fiction sections are sparse. The most books are used book racks in a restaurant frequented by Gringos with English, French and German paperbacks. Or like our Marina office has a shelf of traded books. The English speakers are always trading books. I have a full set of Game of Thrones---very popular! Another oddness is television. We have a Canadian service. So it's like living in Toronto or from the US it's Buffalo or Detroit. The most I hear of local news is people talking about what they've seen on Face Book. The newspapers are filled with stories from the police reports and the Courts. Murder, rape, robberies, car crashes. Each political party has a pro-newspaper. The government is like all governments...enough said. The banks seem to write almost everything by hand. The lines are long and slow. There is a 23+ day hold on an out-of-country check. Gasoline is about $11+ dollars a gallon. I'm not complaining, that's just how it is here. Some expatriates get crazy with all the different rules...so they leave. Going across to Mexico is as close to the big civilization/culture that I want to be. Walmart is scary. The temperature averages around 80+ degrees. The wind off the ocean is heaven, because it means no bugs. The yard is filled with orchids and all kinds of blooming trees. Outside the fences it's sort of jungle. The lagoon is about 50 yards from the house. There is a two-day a week housekeeper who cleans all the floors and windows & kitchen and baths, etc. The gardener works four days a week. It's not my house, I just take care of it with my partner and the owner, an international midwife is off catching babies and teaching classes in other countries or other parts of Belize. Oh, there is a swimming pool that we take care of as well. We have a 45' sailboat (the yacht), which is in dry dock having hull refinished. That's in a commercial marina in Belize City. It's a bit of a money-drain but lovey to sail. Our friends are from all around the world and that part is a great experience. I'd say, not bad for a poorish old person! I'm finishing my third novel with the help of WYRM Group. And being able to do that while living in Central America is the wonder of the Internet. Best to all...,  >>>iggy  |
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