FREEHOP

FREEHOP: talking with + getting to know people
or
FREEHOP = Informal conversation happening all the time. Just do it. You won’t know how good it gets until you really know the people in your community.

Family:
· Some families are very traditional. Family breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mom stays at home and has a hard job. Meals are eaten at home.
· Some families are more modern. Both parents work. However, the mother still has to do all the cooking and cleaning etc.
· Some families have children from different fathers.
· The oldest daughters are put in charge of mothers duties if the mother works.
· Boys have to do chores, but no cleaning or cooking. The boys work with the animals usually.
· The children have chores and responsibilities.
· Children are respectful.
· Children are not outwardly praised sometimes mocking. Public corrections.
· Some marriages are arranged marriages.
· The Mayan tradition is to have large families/ lots of children. Sometimes ten to twelve children in a family. However, my neighbors and my family only have three to four children. (I believe they are realizing how difficult it is to have so many children).
· The mom has to do all the cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing, etc.
· Both the father and mother do the disciplining.
· Children get lashings for being disobedient.
· Children are very polite to everyone including parents.
· Families speak to each other in numerous languages.
· Big families often disperse all over Belize, but stay family oriented. Sisters and brothers visit one another and stay for days or weeks. They depend on one another.
· Maya families are big and come from down south.
· Maya Mopan is a newer community. They come from all different areas.
· Relationships sometimes may be abusive.
· Men’s drinking is a problem in the community.

Religion
· There are many religions in the Maya Mopan village.
· There are tons of Christian religions. So many churches even for a small community.
· K’ekchi Catholic, Catholic Church, Protestant, Methodist, Pentecostal, Nazarene, Baptist, and Jehovah Witness etc.
· The community is very active in their church.
· Churches are loud and workshop in the night.
· There are many bible studies. (Jehovah’s preach in the community).
· There are masses or meetings throughout the week and weekends.
· The women make meals for the sisters or brothers in their church.
· They form bonds with their church members.
· The people of the community go very well dressed to church.
· Men are mainly the church leaders and preachers.
· Women usually always wear dresses or skirts.

Education
· There is one public government school in Maya Mopan. It goes up to standard II (this is its third year).
· The schools are fastly growing with the number of children in the Maya Mopan community. The Maya Mopan school increases by 100 students every year.
· Lots of kids in the community did not go to school because Belmopan would not accept them. Therefore, they started a school in Maya Mopan.
· Some families don’t encourage going to school. They keep their children home to do chores in the field.
· Not many high school aged attend school (more boys than girls go to school).
· Most parents in Maya Mopan do not have a university education.
· Some families do encourage education.
· The standard language in schools is English. However, they also speak bilingually for the children that do not speak English (sometimes in Spanish, K’ekchi, Mayan, Kriol, or Garifina)
· The mandatory school age is 5-14 years-old.
· Sometimes when the child turns 14-years-old the child stops coming to school and starts working.
· Some teachers are trained and some are not. Here in Maya Mopan all teachers are trained except for two.
· Many of the parents do not speak English. Therefore, it is difficult to have parent involvement.
· Corporal punishment is allowed and legal in schools.
· There are about 30 to 35 children in one classroom for one teacher. In Maya Mopan there are about twenty children to one teacher.
· The teacher often has to translate English in Spanish and K’ekchi.
· There is only a primary school in Maya Mopan. It stops at Standard II.
· Homework is usually too easy or too difficult.
· There used to be a bus that took children to school in Belmopan for one shilling, but that stopped with the new government.
· There is a manager for schools.
· TFAB
· NaRCIE
· CCETT

Economics
· There is little understanding of economic principles in the community.
· Don’t understand how credit cards work.
· No purchases are plan. They buy food every day, instead of weekly. They hardly buy in bulk.
· Loans are hard to get. No understanding how to get loans (assets, savings, credit, debit, payment plans, and exchange rates).
· The Chinese people get loans through private loans out of the country.
· There is a huge discrepancy between wages.
· Some people rely on outside help.
· Some children are sponsored by one or two sponsors in the States.
· We have been propositioned several times to be sponsors.
· Sometimes there is one income in home.
· Sometimes both parents work.
· There are not as many jobs for the population/community.
· Lots of families live at poverty level.
· There is a huge economic gap within Maya Mopan. There are big differences in income.
· Some children get allowances.
· Some families have thatch houses that do not have electricity or running water. However, some have nice house with internet.
· There are lots of little shops in the Maya Mopan community. Several “grass roots” businesses (small shops on corners, selling paletas or chocolate bananas)
· There are three corn mills.
· There are a couple boutiques.
· People do barter cash.
· They don’t usually accept credit in Maya Mopan.
· There are many monopolies.

Health
· There is no preventive health care.
· Rarely soap in bathroom or latrine.
· They don’t understand basics concept of basic disease transmission.
· They do cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze.
· Weather and temperature change seems to be the huge cause of sickness.
· HIV/AIDS is a huge problem in Belize.
· Health care is another problem. For example, in the community there was a little girl who had a nail in her eye. It was a life threatening problem. There was a chance she could die.
· In Maya Mopan there are both traditional and modern medicine practices.
· Some people’s source of water is just a hose outside or well water.
· The diet consists of lots of carbohydrates.
· Most doctors are from Cuba and are over here training. Belize gets cheap doctors and Cuba sends their doctors for training. As a result there are no experienced doctors. However, there are in the private sector.
· Can get any medicine without a prescription.
· Sometimes the patient is treated only by the nurse.
· The patients are often treated with injections.
· There is a strong belief in “tulank” which is the black magic/witch doctor/curses.
· My host mom burns plastic bottles, which create toxins. They burn everything.
· The kids are responsible for fanning the kitchen fire.
· Parents do many “bathroom surgeries” poking to remove pus bot flies, with little regard to infection.

Organizations
· NGO’s
· Peace Corps
· Care Belize
· NaRCIE
· YES
· 4H
· Doctors without boarders
· JOCA (Japanese volunteers)
· Missionaries
· Church Groups
· Bible studies
· Church groups from U.S. and Belize
· GLOW
· Village council
· Belmopan City Council
· The men play volley ball and foot ball regularly out in the field.
· The chairman wants to build a basketball court for the men and children in the community.

Politics
· UDP
· PUP
· Chairman is the head of the village.
· Cabinet members are men.
· Change happens really fast
· Elections every five years
· There is a huge rivalry between UDP and PUP.
· 13 in the senate. 31 in the congress.
· Many people blame the government.
· All classrooms have the cabinet posted on the wall
· Switch parties every election except one.
· There are politically sponsored newspapers.
· Caribbean court of justice which want to make the court appeals.



Disclaimer
This website expresses the views of Grace Boswell, who is entirely responsible for its content. It does not express the views of the United States government, the Belize government, the Peace Corps or any other institutions named or linked to on these pages.