FALL FUN

*Note: This post was written a few weeks ago, but I’m just getting a chance to post it now because a lot has been going on the past few weeks… which will be featured in another post very soon!

Happy Fall everyone!  I always associate October with autumn, and even though there are no turning leaves or cooling temperatures here in Belize, that has held true here as well. 

First of all, there was my birthday.  This year, I was serenaded with “Happy Birthday” live on-air while promoting some embassy programs on a national TV show.  The show is more “Wayne’s World” than “Today Show” since it’s filmed in a house-turned-studio in a residential neighborhood here in Belmopan.  But it was definitely memorable.  After work, Andrew arranged for a happy hour with several colleagues at a local watering hole following by birthday cake back at our place.  A very happy birthday celebration indeed.

My Belize TV debut.

The weekend after my birthday, several of us went on a tour of the local brewery – Belikin Beer.  The facility was modern and had a very nice bar to sample some of the varieties after the tour.  We learned that they brew and bottle about 3 million bottles a year… and export none of it.  That’s just under 10 bottles/year for every man, woman, and child in this country with a population of about 380,000.  Well done, Belize.  Drink up!

Touring the Belikin Beer factory...

...and tasting some of the final products.

Our tour and tasting companions.

And of course, fall also means Halloween.  Costumes and candy are not a huge tradition here, although there will be a party for embassy families on the housing compound.  However, as seems to also be our tradition, we will be out of town for the Halloween celebrations.  We’ll be on a cruise through the Panama Canal with my parents and several other friends and family members (but are planning to don some costumes while on board). 

A shrub turned Jack-O-Lantern, courtesy of the landscaping crew on the housing compound.

The other big upcoming news is that we will soon find out where we are headed on our next assignment.  Even though we’ll be in Belize through at least February 2019, our next post will be determined in the next several weeks.  Enter your guess as to our next country – or continent – in the comments and stay tuned for the result!