The Summer of Hope

So I have come to terms with quitting my job. I think this may be the best thing that has EVER happened to me. Where will I work you ask? Well that's a good question. BUT do you realize that this is my first blog in a year because of that horrible place! SO, I'm back baby! AND...

ENGAGED!!!!!!!

This is quite possibly the happiest I've EVER been! Of course, there was Disney World..
But I tell you Love conquers ALL. I'm getting married!!
We're getting married.
Ryan & Hope, July 10, 2010.

Stay tuned...it can only get better!

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This is very interesting to me, as I love Chicago. I love gum and I love love Wrigley field! If you read this, all of that kind of makes sense. Plus, I just learned something I did not know, isn't that what this is all about?
The Hawksworth Bridge is the only operating suspension bridge in Central America. It was finally completed and opened in 1949 by British engineers. In the late colonial era, chicle ( raw gum for making chewing gum extracted from the sapodilla tree) became an important industry. All of it was transported to Belize City by boats traveling the river, before being shipped off to Chicago for the Wrigleys Company, a primary buyer of such raw materials. I never would have thought that this is where my Juicey Fruit came from!?
The valley was long used for minor agricultural purposes. However it wasn't until the arrival of the Mennonite religious group, who settled on the river banks at Spanish Lookout, that the valley became intensively farmed with heavy industrial machines. This area today supplies the country with most of its poultry, eggs, milk, beef, beans, corn, animal feed, sorghum, soya, and locally produced vegetables. Cool, huh?

Belize was the center of the Mayan Civilization, which stretched north to Yucatan, west to Guatemala and El Salvador and south to Honduras.

Chris and Lyndsey, just back from Belize, a soon to be married couple! This picture above holds lots and lots of LOVE!

Love

Two very close friends of mine recently visited Belize. They went snorkling, skydiving, and had the time of their lives!

One night they went to meet up with the skydivers at a little bar on the water after a romantic dinner - Palapa Bar. As they were walking down the pier to the bar, Lyndsey was leading the way going on and on about what a fantastic day it had been and that it just couldn't possibly get any better. Chris begged to differ. He told her it could and when she turned around...Best day EVER. Chris proposed!!!
This picture is of the actual bar they got engaged at. They were just about 1/4 of the way down the dock.

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One of the worlds amazing diving spot is the famous Great Blue Hole in Belize. This beautiful phenomena is a large underwater sinkhole 45-60 miles off the coast of Belize City. The hole has a circular shape of over 1,000 feet in diameters and 400 feet deep.

Social and Cultural Environment

The Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts in Belize City, Belize

Culture can be defined as "ways of living, built up by a group of human beings, that are transmitted from one generation to another". Culture includes both conscious and unconscious values, ideas, attitudes, and symbols that shape human behavior.

Belize, formerly British Honduras, is a country in Central America. Once part of the Maya Empire, it was part of the Spanish Empire, and Belize was affiliated with the British Empire, prior to gaining its independence in in 1981. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. It is the only country in Central America where English is the official language!

Culturally, Belize considers itself to be both Caribbean and Central American.

Courtesy is important to most Belizeans. It is not uncommon for Belizeans to greet each other on the street even if they have never seen each other before, or for acquaintances to spend a long time chatting, oblivious to what is happening around them.

Punta is by the far most popular genre of Garifuna music and has become the most popular genre in all of Belize.

Reggae and Soca imported from Jamaica and the rest of the West Indies, and Rap, heavy metal , and rock music from the United States, are also popular among the youth of Belize. Belize's recording industry turns out a few CDs each year; the majority of musical exposure occurs at monthly concerts featuring Belizean and international artists mixing at local nightclubs.

Religious freedom is guaranteed in Belize. It is a predominantly Christian society with 49.6% of Belizeans being Roman Catholics who include mestizos, Spanish, and descendants of Central American settlers, and 29% Protestants.