Yesterday was Fathers Day which in Belize it might be better named as Male Day. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that I have no kids, they give me well wishes all the same.
To celebrate the fathers of Caye Caulker, the elementary school once again put on its Fathers Day Program at the school which consists of giving the grateful dads all the free beer and rum they want and after getting them all toasted, making them play silly parlor games as if they were 7 year old girls (musical chairs, balloon popping contest, etc.) Throw in some bathroom humor and some oldies music and a good night is to be had by all.
It was here that I also came to a realization. I think the men here, like some in the US, crave these moments of drunkenness when they can let down their male guard and be sincere. Not that they become effeminate, but simply that they are able to show feelings and not act like some sort of walking testosterone with baggy clothes. I have to say its nice. The one thing that I will never get used to nor miss when I leave is the machismo of the guys here.
But last night I had several fathers come up to me and tell me what a good job I was doing and how well I work with the kids. That was nice to here. I'm not trying to gloat, but I'm just so proud to say this because compliments are hard to find down here. Do something nice for someone and the most I usually get is an "OK" if anything at all. Which is just the culture, I realize. I think people are appreciative, they just feel the need to show it. I'm, however, a person who needs to be affirmed. A lot.
I also got a kick last night out of telling the dads that I don't expect to have any kids. I may or may not adopt in the future, who knows? Really the reason I did this was to get a rise out of them. Its so shocking that I don't have kids already but to say I never want them is like, I don't know, deciding to throw my life away. The facial expressions just make me happy. Then they usually say something like, "but you'll be a great father". Again, I'm just fishing for compliments where I can get them.
So last night I was validated. Thats it. Just a few nice words is all I need to keep trucking. Once again I love this country. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I relate my experience down here as being extremely bi-polar. The lows are the lowest of lows but the highs, they make it all worth it.
1 comment:
Hi! This is Anne and Ashley. We are peace corps volunteers in Quetzaltenango Guatemala! We are planning a christmas trip to Belize and knew that the best way to find out where the hot spots are is to ask peace corps people! So we looked up belize on the peace corps journal thing. We were wondering if you have any suggestions?? we want to go to an amazing beach and just have a great time. a hammock is a must! haha Thank you. If you ever want to come visit Guatemala let me know. my email is magellanoel@gmail.com, Anne
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