jeneric journeys

Yes, adventures that we could never experience at home abound on our sojourn to Belize, and many of them are quite unBELIZEable, but many of you may wonder, “Is this what they do all day, every day?”  Unquestionably no – if that were true, 22 days into this “residency” our clothes would no longer fit (although some are getting a bit snug), we would be on our way to becoming alcoholics, and quite frankly, boredom would be a legitimate challenge!  So readers, here’s a look at the reality of what a typical weekday might look like for us (weekends are a whole different story)…….

We actually get up on the early side (7am or before), partly because this slower pace of life has us in bed earlier than usual, sometimes by 9:30pm or sooner. We haven’t found any interest in even trying to connect or turn on a television, so we don’t find ourselves binge-watching the latest and greatest shows. We are reading lots of great books (Jen just finished and loved James, and Eric read The Frozen River for the Arboretum book club, which was tough subject matter but beautifully written and intriguing). Of course, at our age, sleep isn’t always generous, and we find ourselves wide awake in the middle of the night wondering why, given we have very little stress in our lives right now. This is a new and unwelcome reality of our constant maturation (we still can’t forecast the weather by the aches in our joints, but that’s probably around the corner)!

The cadence of the day often takes root as such: as has been the case for most of the last 30+ years, Jen is up first and makes the coffee. She begins with her morning “power hour” which includes her gratitude practice, reading some of the news of the day (probably shouldn’t be doing that but she can’t totally look away either), completing all the NYT games, and diligently keeping her 460 day (and counting) Duolingo streak alive with a Spanish lesson (South America, here we come!). Eric gets a jumpstart on his work by checking e-mail (electronic life goes on unabated) and making his to-do list for the day.

Sometimes we take a morning stroll down the side streets of San Pedro, Eric looking for a breakfast taco (a breakfast staple in Belize) and Jen seeking a fresh, green smoothie, before heading back to take care of our work responsibilities. For those not aware, Eric is still “making the numbers dance” at Arboretum Ventures, and Jen is happy to be able to support a number of amazing clients through her coaching practice as well as putting a fair bit of time into her volunteer commitments. With very good connectivity, work is seamless. Intentional scheduling is often necessary so that Jen can maintain confidentiality with her clients, therefore Eric sometimes gets kicked out. But much of the time, we work directly across from one another and Jen has to deal with Eric’s elephant typing practices and incessant self-talk.  

Since we chose Belize largely due to its wonderful and easily accessible scuba diving (more about this in a future post), we will often plan our weekly routine so that one or two days of the week start with an 8:30am two-tank scuba dive (with our wonderful friends at Amigos Del Mar), followed by some delicious street food for lunch, and then a return to our work in the afternoon. While it was always in Jen’s grand plan, Eric never thought he would feel that working would add such tremendous value to this adventure. It’s probably the most unanticipated factor that has turned this from a long vacation into a much richer experience that provides structure for our minds, maintains a commitment to bring value to the wider community, and heightens the fun of everything else we are doing when not working. It may even have altered Eric’s long-time goal of retiring 100% of the time – maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks!

On a non-scuba diving morning, besides knocking out our work responsibilities, Jen often navigates our trusty steed of a golf cart, Cami #2 (named such since she is our second camouflage-painted golf cart, and for those keeping score, yes, she is our third cart –  none resulting from driver error), through the relatively chaotic streets of San Pedro (no traffic lights, 1 stop sign, and the “whack-a-mole” nature of people and animals darting out without warning) to navigate to the local yoga studio. To be sure, it is no Tiny Buddha Yoga, and she desperately misses her community and exceptional teachers there, yet it is a great experience to learn from new teachers in an open-air studio by the sea. To help stay emotionally and physically fit, and to provide for when he gets kicked out due to Jen’s client meetings, Eric hits the local gym. He only needs to walk about 50 yards down the street to enter this “Rocky-esque” gym minus the boxing ring. It’s dingy, hot, and consists of old refurbished exercise machines and even older free weights. As an added bonus, almost all the clientele are Belizean (generally with much smaller physiques than Americans) so Eric feels like a badass even though he’s just lifting weights like an average old white dude.

After picking up a quick lunch on the street or rummaging through leftovers at home (some habits die hard), if Jen is not volunteering at the school (more about this in another post soon), the remainder of a typical afternoon can be spent on work, writing blog posts, playing some Rummikub (no – this is not a drinking game, and thanks to Marla for the travel set), researching new adventures, Jen trying to learn to draw, and engaging in typical life with kids, parents, and friends. The added advantage is that afternoons are often spent knocking out the above tasks not only at home but often in a setting quite conducive to joy and self-reflection. Many restaurants/bars within blocks of our apartment are built on the end of a pier and are outfitted with comfy chairs, hammocks lazily rocking in the Caribbean breeze, or some type of body-supporting contraption partially submerged in the water. Just purchase some ceviche or fresh fruit juice (yeah ok – maybe some cervezas as well) over a few hours and the rent on your “shared office space” is paid in full.

As the afternoon wanes into the evening and the sun begins its earnest descent, we head up to our “penthouse” (i.e., the rooftop of our 4-story apartment building littered with a few chairs that have seen better days) to catch the sunset. 

Deep thought of the day: Even with a sublime sunset, as one looks out over the city, it is impossible to disentangle the range of socio-economic status of those in the neighborhood. The ubiquitous concrete homes, clothes hanging on the line, and laughter are present in the homes of those who appear to be in the lowest SES to the highest. Side by side. Neighbor by neighbor. Tourist by local. Of course, this range of SES also exists in America but has been systematically segregated so as to not obstruct the landscape of the fortunate.

For the record, we have a perfect view for a sunset, but 3 weeks in, clouds always appear on the horizon just as the sun is dipping below it. So, although the sky is often painted with a majestic tapestry of cotton candy clouds, we have yet to see the sun dip poetically into the sea, though we are undaunted in our hope to catch some “perfect” sunsets from our rooftop. The one on this recent catamaran trip was pretty spectacular, though.

Dinner and evenings are typical but in very different surroundings. We often go out – sometimes to a sit-down restaurant (still in shorts and T-shirts), but often to a local “window” on the street for take-out and then transform our 3 foot counter from workspace to dining room. We have not cooked at home as much as we thought (primarily because local takeout is often better and less expensive), but we did stumble onto a great local tip to become acquainted with a local fisherman. We placed an order for whatever the fresh catch of the day might be and found ourselves flush with lobster and stone crab. Ever the master chef, Eric cooked it up brilliantly and we had a feast!

With tons of free live music, we often end our days walking hand-in-hand to some bar/restaurant for an hour or so to soak up some tunes, meet some friendly tourists or ex-pats, maybe grab an ice cream or slice of key lime pie, and then call it a day with our hearts full of gratitude. We are so well aware of our incredible blessings and privilege, and we strive to make the most of them by helping where we can and living our best lives.

Sending love and gratitude to all of you. Until next time…