Non-settler going to Settle in Belize...

I initially revealed how I had a realisation about my life and decided that I would work out a 3-5 year plan to move to Belize (for those who haven't, see my first post).

I have also mentioned that I lived in Jamaica and in the U.K..

I thought that I should supply a bit more biographical information on myself.

Barmy Belle’s Formative Years

Childhood
I grew up in a small town in Alberta, Canada, population 1200. Unlike everyone else, my brother and I weren’t related to everyone in town, even though my Dad’s family had been from there for years. I guess they had the sense to marry outside of the town’s population. We were a bit more liberal and a walked to a slightly different drummer. Not so much to be noticeable, just enough not to quite fit in.

Teens
On top of that, I was slightly overweight, was a klutz, and a bit socially inept. All an amazing combination at the best of times. On top of that, I had a brother 5 years older than me who moved away as soon as his size 12 feet would take him. He moved to Ottawa, and his dress sense changed and his attitude changed. They became ‘Big City’. I idolised him so I tried to be as ‘Big City’ as possible!

Remember the 80’s? Well neon colours, leg warmers, bunsen burner cover earrings (all bought at Le Chateau), and assymmetrical hair did not help me fit in. Especially on a plus-size body!

I lived there until I was 15 and moved to a way bigger town in Alberta population 3500. I was ecstatic! I wasn’t as much of an outsider there. I made some lifelong friends, and then graduated high school 2 years later.

Jamaica
After high school I went to Jamaica for a year as an exchange student. Our family had hosted an exchange student from Belgium. And my brother was an exchange student at their house in Liege, Belgium for a year.

Why become an exchange student? Well my mother thought it was important to learn another language and experience a new culture. I went with AFS, and we had to list 10 countries that we would like to go to. I listed about nine European countries, and sort of ran out. I then asked her (my mother) if I could list Jamaica as my last choice. She said ‘sure’, probably thinking that it was my last choice and they wouldn't ever send me to my last choice.

Well, my application was refused as they had too many applications that year. I was extremely disappointed. But a month after they refused, we got a call to see if I wanted to go to Jamaica. So Jamaica it was!

It turns out that AFS Jamaica had found another host family. In retrospect, my host family should have never been a host family. The Reid family consisted of Mr Reid, a lovely man who unfortunately had a stroke a year previously and had a hard time speaking and very limited movement.

Mrs. Reid, aka Auntie, was his second wife. He was a widower who married his office assistant. I think he married her more for the company; I definitely could be mistaken, I wasn’t there before his stroke.

And the final member of the family was Marlene, Mrs. Reid’s niece from the country who at the time was trying to find a job and a husband in the city. I think we both really tried to be friends with each other; but besides sharing the same room, we had absolutely nothing in common.

It was a strange situation. I found out soon after I arrived that the only reason that I was taken in was because the nun that was the principal of Holy Childhood High School (the school I went to) had told them it was something I should do.

I don’t know about Mr. Reid, but Auntie was a very religious person. Since Mr Reid couldn’t leave the house easily, the principal (I can’t remember her name) came and gave the couple communion at their house every Sunday.

So Auntie did it. Begrudgingly. To please her church.

I was not treated like family or even like a favourite lodger, which were my previous experiences with our exchange student and the experiences of almost all the exchange students in the programme. I wasn’t even given a key to the house.

I was coping with this situation quite well. I had a rich life outside the Reid house. I had Jamaican friends and fellow AFSers. I had lots of cute Jamaican men I interested in me. I was even getting used to going to a Catholic school, since I was basically raised as a non-believing Protestant.

And inside the Reid house, I managed to have a few really nice conversations with Mr. Reid. His family came to visit twice a week and they were really lovely people.

Then Christmas came, and my host father died Christmas day. Auntie wouldn’t let me touch him, even though I knew CPR. But the only person I got along with in the house died.

Auntie ate little and stopped communicating, except to tell me that she didn’t want me to live there. I felt intuitively that it was an act to prove that she was mourning her husband. Maybe she saw that I felt that way.
Perhaps if I was more mature at that time I could have empathised with her.

My parents (in contravention of the programme rules) and my brother came over for a holiday. They were worried about me and my situation. Auntie told me daily that she didn’t want me there, but unfortunately she wouldn’t tell AFS the same thing. They visited the AFS Jamaica home office and told them to move me or I would be going home. I do have great parents. I moved out about 3 months after Mr. Reid’s death.

(Backstory to Auntie: she was a ‘Dallas’ addict. Do you remember that television show? Well in Canada, we were about 2 years ahead. My Mom and I watched it, so I knew what happened in the story. Auntie would always ask me what happened. I would never tell her because it would spoil the story.
My final revenge: My last night before I left I told her EVERYTHING that happened in the next 2 years, thereby spoiling ‘Dallas’ for her! Does that make me a bad person? At the time, that’s all I had in my passive aggressive repertoire. And it felt good!
Also, Auntie truly believed that the actors didn't really kiss. She thought it was a camera trick. No matter how much I tried to convince her over the months I lived there, she would not believe that people who weren't intimately involved in real life could or would kiss. The thought of this was amoral to her. In retrospect, it's sort of endearing!)

Funnily enough, I have great memories of Jamaica! I met some wonderful people, and Jamaica has such an amazing culture. Plus I was popular with men for the first time in my life!

I was put in a temporary home with a wonderful lady, Enid Donaldson (now Enid Donaldson-Mignotte). She is a celebrity chef in Jamaica.

Then I lived for my remaining month or two with another family, the Paris family. If given more time, I think we might have established a relationship. Mrs Paris ran the National Children’s Home in Kingston and we lived on the grounds which were inside a massive park. It was beautiful.

I returned home with wanderlust but having to conform to my parent’s expectations. Do you think that I may have unconsciously rebelled?

Frugality, Belly Belly, Don't Book on the Book

Okay, I've discussed my desire to move to Belize. But I haven't yet started on the Belly or the Book. That's next week as I have been coping with a snotty nose and a husky (non-sexy), phlegmy throat.
By the way, check out the Toucan Trail for inexpensive holiday accomodation and Blogs about Belize to read individual's experiences firsthand (I will recommend some useful and engaging ones soon).
The saving has started though!
I have taken 10% of my wages (of my full time job), and vowed to take the rest of my wages (part-time bar work, part-time massage therapy clinic) and save every penny on both of those jobs. Total saved so far? $106 and change. I get paid $40+ from my second job bartending (one shift, plus $40 extra tax taken off to buffer against getting dinged for working 3 jobs). No massages this week. It's been really slow lately, but I do have one next week which will go into the bank. So by the end of next week, I'll have $200 in the bank.
And future paycheques from the bar will be better as I am doing 2 shifts/week at the moment, which will clear about $300 every 2 weeks.
I'm also trying to cut back at home. I'm going to cancel my landline, which is one of the few fixed expenses that I can give up. I'm thinking about cutting back the cable, but if I don't have any money, taking away television probably isn't a good idea. But I am going to become a Frugalista!
More on belly and book soon.

Belize: There is a Plan Being Formulated

Okay, I may be a dreamer, but I'm not a total idiot. I am, at the moment researching moving and living in Belize. I found a wonderful resource. His name is Lan Sluder and he is a journalist living in Belize. He operates a website called BelizeFirst and he has published many books on Belize. One of his books, "Easy Belize", is a comprehensive overview of moving and living in Belize.
I have read most of the book and it is not an ode to Belize. It is a 'warts and all' look at Belize, which I appreciate. I read it and was not scared off. But my eyes were opened.
I have also looked at some other websites, and some of them would scare some people off. Belize North recounts Rick's story of why he left Belize. It is frightening.
I think a lot of North Americans think that a developing nation is a warmer, cheaper version of their home. It's not. There are very poor people. There are other rules of morality. And no matter how long you live in that other country, you will not be a national of that country.
I have a slight advantage in this area. I was an exchange student living in the New Kingston area of Kingston, Jamaica when I was a teenager. Then I lived in inner city Manchester, England (actually Salford) for 10 years.
So, I've had limited experience of living with violence. In Jamaica I got money stolen out of my pocket on the bus, and I was at an intersection with friends when someone pulled a gun out and threatened the driver. These are just a couple of examples. All houses had metal bars on them.
In Salford, our house got broken into twice and there were burning cars in our street quite a few times during the years I lived here. Once it was just vandalised for the hell of it. We had boys knock on our door daily selling things that 'fell off the back of a lorry'. Again, just a few examples.
So probably not the same a Belize but I do have some experience living in other countries and I do not have the same view of fairness and entitlement that some people do.

The Ephiphany

I was on holiday, visiting my parent's winter home in Palm Springs. I was down there visiting for about 10 days. Three days in, I was utterly depressed at the thought of going home.
I didn't realise that I hated my current life as much as I did.
Here's the back story; I am 40 years old, divorced, overweight and I work 3 jobs and never seem to get ahead. I am also a dreamer. I tend to dream and not achieve.
While I was in Palm Springs, I realised I longed to live in a warm place. But I don't have the financial resources to move to the States.
I started to consider where I could afford to live where it is warm. I trawled the web and discovered that Belize only requires that you earn $2000 USD per month to maintain residency.
So I decided to formulate a 3-5 year plan. I have to be frugal, save as much money as possible (at least 20,000).
I have to get published finally so I can earn a monthly income (I'm thinking erotic fiction). And I have to lose weight (I'm a big girl).
So no problem, right?
So if anyone else reads this, you can come with me for this crazy ride.
Belize by 2013? Maybe 13 is my lucky number! :)