May 2, 2007
Hello family and friends,
This was our last day in Orange Walk and it was really an extraordinary day. We began our morning by wrapping up the rural appraisal on Orange Walk. This was accomplished by many hours of brainstorming in a meeting room at Town Hall. Thankfully we finished on time and came up with great ideas to help Orange Walk's tourism industry. I think this was a really rewarding research process and I sincerely hope that Orange Walk's government implements some of our strategies for tourism success.
After a morning of hard work, a group of five of us went to Banquita's House of Culture to learn how to make Mayan clay pottery. This was such a cool experience for all of us. It was great because we learnt directly from local craftsman of Orange Walk about the intricate pottery making process. We used clay molds that replicated Mayan emperor masks to create our pottery. However, making pottery is not as easy as one may think. It does take patience and requires some skill. Once we were done shaping and molding, I was shocked with the impressive out come of our masks. They were beautiful. To top it off, the local media was notified of our participation in Orange Walk's culture and showed up with a tv crew to film us Canadians. It was even more entertaining when I was put in front of the tv camera and interviewed by the local news anchor. Everyone seemed to be laughing at my shyness in front of the camera. It was pretty funny being a tourist on Belizean television. That night we had a pretty good laugh at my television debut on the 7 o clock news.
The day then turned into a fantastic night at Cindy and Orlandos, hotel owners of Hotel de la Fuente for a farewell dinner. These people were the most hospitable people I have ever met. Orlando chauffeured us in the back of his big white truck to his beautiful home. This is beginning to be a fun mode of transportation for all of us. Everyone was pleasantly surprised with Orlando's astonishing home in Orange walk...it was like a mansion. We enjoyed appetizers such as conch dip called "Ceviche" and it was complimented with a tasty traditional dinner of chicken and rice. His family also entertained us all night with duets on the piano and the acoustic guitar and a lot of story telling. That night was great insight of what a true Belizean family is like. It was a great ending to a hardworking five days of research. I will never forget the best Belizean family who were so kind to us Canadians. Thanks Hotel de la Fuente!
A special hello to my family and best friends back on the island, I miss you all and can't wait to tell you these stories in person.
Bye for now!
Erika
