it's a tiny little country

all during training people kept trying to drum into our heads that Belize is a small country, where everyone knows everyone else, and nobody's business is private. i'm sure we all understood that in theory, but i've only recently begun to really grasp the concept as it applies to my life for the next two years. here's an example...

one night in Belmopan a couple weeks ago... i was at a bar with my cousin and a couple other volunteers. we met a man named Michael, who lives way up north in Corozal. when Maya explained that she was living in Hopkins, he mentioned that he had family there. she said that indeed, she was sure she'd met him during her volunteer days in Hopkins 6 or so years ago. interesting enough on it's own.

fast forward three days... i went to Hopkins to visit Maya. we were walking down the village's main drag when what should pull up next to us but a suspiciously familiar Lincoln Town Car. it was Michael, who had decided to stop in Hopkins on his way to Belize's southern most district town, Punta Gorda. we exclaimed our surprise at seeing him. we chatted. we took our leave. later that day we were standing in the doorway of another volunteer's host family's house when Michael drove by again. seems that Bertie's host mom is his cousin. also interesting.

fast forward another two days... back in San Ignacio, i received a text message from Mitchell, a volunteer serving in a tiny village waaaaay down south. he said he'd heard i'd been in Hopkins over the weekend. how the heck did he know that? guess he must have run into Michael too...

i suppose that i shouldn't really be surprised by any of this. Belize is, after all, only the size of Massachusetts, with a total population of under 300,000. but i'm still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept that news of my activities can travel in a couple days time to a volunteer serving in a remote village half a country away from me. this is definitely going to take some getting used to.