7 August, 20147 August, 2014 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Lunch at Crooked Tree Lodge

Crooked Tree Lodge

Chicken from the yard and so juicy you didn’t even know chicken could taste this good? Freshly fried fish cakes on a bed of frozen cabbage? All in the company of dogs, kittens, rabbits and a baby crocodile? The Crooked Tree Lodge truly is an idyllic place, and a great spot to pass by for lunch when returning from Lamanai. We had a great time with the kids Cory and Zach, as they showed us their animals and the beautiful premises. Zach went to the pond to release the baby turtle he had found, and the owners of the place, Mick and Angie, were really nice hosts – and congratulations to the new baby, little Kai! The Crooked Tree doesn’t only offer great fresh food for very affordable prices, but also has beautiful little private cabanas to spend the night, and a nice waterfront terrace for book reading and relaxing. I’ll definitely be back!

Crooked Tree Lodge

Whoah - turtle!

Crooked Tree Lodge

5 August, 20145 August, 2014 Caroline Bach2 Comments

Lamanai – The Submerged Crocodile. Exploring Mayan pyramids in Belize and doing some proper jungle hang out.

Lamanai Pyramids, Belize

Visiting ancient temples and pyramids does something to the mind. If you let the ambience embrace you, take the time to sit down in silence and just try to imagine what the people who built these structures pointing to the sky were thinking, how they felt, how powerful it must have been to listen to howler monkeys in the distance. How big, yet very small, they must have felt when looking out into the vast jungle. Thinking about what this place meant at some point in history really adds to the experience, and it’s a powerful one if you let it be so.

We visited the ancient Maya city Lamanai, which in Yucatec Maya means submerged crocodile, on Sunday. We went there by car as the boat leaves very early, and drove through various Mennonite villages on the way. Lamanai is much smaller compared to the other similar places I’ve visited – but therefore also far calmer and more peaceful. More authentic if you wish, as tourists in matching fluorescent caps have a way of killing the vibe.. There were very few people in Lamanai apart from us, so we really got to be alone with the structures, climb them all the way up, and take in the sounds when walking through the jungle. One thing that stood out for me in Lamanai was the proximity to water, and that you could see the river once getting to the top of one of the temples. Beautiful.

Lamanai Pyramids, Belize

Lamanai Lamanai Pyramids, Belize

Lamanai Pyramids, Belize

Lamanai Lamanai Pyramids, Belize

Lamanai Pyramids, Belize

For my other pyramid experiences, see: Tikal, Palenque & Angkor Wat

4 August, 20147 August, 2014 Caroline BachLeave a comment

It all went by too fast.. 10 days in New York: Work, work and some much needed pleasure.

New York 2014

I didn’t take enough photos to properly show you what my days in New York really consisted of, so I’ll have to tell rather than show. I arrived very late on Friday night, and Luc had arranged a place for us just by the office which was extremely comfortable as I really wasn’t in the mood to fight New York traffic in the mornings. On Saturday we went all in on shopping, and I brought home bags full of clothes after realizing how extremely tired I was of wearing the same office wear for the last couple of years. In the evening we met up with Renata, Isham and Den at Louie and Chan, a really nice restaurant with weird things on the menu. Sea urchin, anyone? Yum. As it got late, the downstairs part of the restaurant transformed into a full-on Afrohouse nightclub, with African beats and love blasting out of the speakers so energetically they almost made me cry from euphoria. Can you believe they played Lengoma? I was seriously the happiest kid in New York that moment.

Then Sunday came, and we continued our shopping spree, and in the evening we went to see “Sleep No More” which for me was an amazing experience. So, I know there are a lot of superlatives here, but seriously, “Sleep no More” was different from any other performance I’ve seen in my life – and the acting, the dancing, the atmosphere, the vibe, the emotions, the entire concept.. it was all amazing! Imagine a “Eyes Wide Shut” kind of vibe where it’s always a little bit too dark and all onlookers need to wear white masks.. in a huge building where you can walk around on the different floors and enter the different rooms freely, and you have been separated from your partner, and NOBODY talks. You think you’re lost and it all gets a bit scary.. when actors suddenly appear from nowhere, and dance and act.. and you can either watch them do sometimes very absurd things, or go to a different room where something else probably/maybe is happening. It’s like a real-time bizarre story unfolding somewhere around you and you just urge to find the story. “What’s going on? Where am I? What is all this?” Amazing. I’m going to save the spoilers as I think you should definitely try to go see the play if you have the chance. All I can say is that there is no way to fully comprehend it all, and people go to see it over and over again to get the full picture.. very, very, very cool. (If you are not going to see the play, CLICK here to see a little bit what it was like.)

Monday! Remember Emine from Mozambique? She was in the UNICEF office when I was there and we became good friends even though she only arrived a month before I was leaving.. now she’s working in New York so we had to meet for lunch and give each other a quick update. It was great seeing her. Then the regional office figured we might as well take the opportunity to have a meeting while the entire communication team is in New York – and what a great idea it was! We met, got introduced, and exchanged ideas as well as the challenges we are facing in our respective countries, and we planned jointly on how to take on the new Global Communication Strategy in the region. It was great meeting all the colleagues I’ve only met online so far. Turned out we have a fantastic team to represent the Latin America and the Caribbean. And then, as if my Monday wasn’t already too packed with new impressions, I suddenly got a call from Etevaldo from Mozambique, who literally was in transit in New York after competing in the World Tang Soo Do Championships in North Carolina along with his friends (and winning a bunch of gold medals for Mozambique – yay!) and basically, they were in a cab on their way back to the airport after passing by the apple store to get some much needed gear, so we got exactly five minutes and a hug and high-fives with the Mozambique gang before they needed to drive off again. So random, and so very nice! So much Mozambique in New York.

The Global Communication Team Meeting finally kicked off on Tuesday morning, and it was an intense week of great speakers, very interesting presentations, and of course Mia Farrow making a bunch of people cry by showing the three watches on her wrist, with times set to the times of the refugee camps she’s been visiting the most in Darfur and the Central African Republic, and New York. “I never really leave” she said, and concluded with “you guys are my heroes” and by making a heart with her hands. In the midst of it all I found out a C4D colleague was moving to work in Nairobi and got invited for her farewell party together with people from the Communication for Development community that I have been interacting with online for years..! It was truly a week of meetings, and I met colleagues from all over the world as we were over 170 participants representing more than 90 countries.

After the meeting on Wednesday we all went for a Circle Line cruise around Manhattan and I really realized how beautiful this part of UNICEF is when the rain started pouring down. People started laughing and ran in to hide and dance inside the boat at first, but then they started coming out into the rain, one by one, until almost all of us ended up dancing in the rain and embracing the good vibes – such a beautiful evening of bonding! Forget the Belizean saying “No working during drinking hours” when you’re around this gang by the way – people seem to love their jobs so much they couldn’t stop talking about it, and it was very inspiring to see so many people who actually enjoy what they do for a living and continue working after hours not because they have to but because they want to.

The next morning people were energized and ready to tackle the two last days of the meeting – the cruise was a strategically brilliant move by the organizers as the third day usually is when people start feeling like their brains are melting from too much information. But the sessions were interactive and people stayed engaged, we took a group photo and everybody got their business cards ready to make sure to stay in touch and exchange information, experiences and documents over borders and time zones. “Let’s support each other and not reinvent the wheel!” was heard all over.

As work officially was over, we met with friends, went dancing, did the last part of shopping and went for dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in New York, and probably one of the most bizarre ones in the world: King Noodle, I was happy to get at least quick one-on-one catching up sessions with both Renata and Den, and that I got to see Leonie who just moved to New York as well. I was officially off on Monday, but went back to the office for a couple of meetings and a proper hug from Emine. Last errands, last dinners, last everything. And very early on Tuesday morning I flew off.

It was all a bit too short, New York. But thanks again!

New York 2014

Global communication Team Meeting NYHQ

New York 2014

Global communication Team Meeting NYHQ

New York 2014

2 August, 20147 August, 2014 Caroline Bach2 Comments

Belize from the ground. A proper update.

Dolores Village, Toledo District

Access to clean water, health and nutrition issues, quality of education, access to bathrooms, child abuse, trained midwifes, electricity, fears, dreams and wishes.. How do you find out how people in remote communities feel about their situation and what their daily challenges are? You go there, and you ask.

Toledo district in the southernmost part of Belize is one of UNICEF Belize’s target areas and where you find some of the poorest and most remote villages in the country. These are places where one needs to drive for hours through dirt roads and jungles, cross bridges that often are flooded or broken, and climb muddy hills and lush mountains by the border with Guatemala in order to reach the people who live there. Unlike us, the people who live in these communities don’t have access to a 4×4 jeep and are often forced to tackle the same road by foot, for many hours, in order to reach the nearest village where they can at least find a bus to take them to a town to buy necessities, go to school, find a doctor, or give birth and register their newborn baby.

From what we learned when visiting the communities, one of the biggest challenges is the access to clean water, many of the villages have water pumps but during the dry season they dry out, and during the rainy season they get clogged with mud. Another general challenge is mobility, and the fact that the roads are so bad that buses often won’t go all the way to the village. Most villages have a local health post, but a medical doctor only comes to visit once a month or with even less frequency, so the communities have elected a local health worker who can take care of simple things such as administrating headache pills and giving basic care for cuts and bruises. In case of anything more serious people need to do the walk or pay a two month’s worth (or more for some people) of salary for a car to take them. Some villages have schools, and other don’t – imagine the child having to leave at 4am every morning to go to school, when it is still dark, try to focus in the classroom the entire day while maybe not even eating anything, and then only come back home by 9pm, have dinner and then having to do homework for the next day. I’m really overwhelmed by the willpower of some of these children to learn – it’s certainly not an easy task.

I took the opportunity to ask about corporal punishment and violence against children, as it’s what I’m working on at the moment with the Communication for Development strategy. I spoke to parents, health workers and teachers, and I understood much more than I could grasp before. There is no doubt that corporal punishment is culturally and socially accepted here – but there is also a great oppenness to learning about alternative parenting techniques. In other words, the doors are not closed. We just need to be very careful with how we move forward and especially with how we use the word violence – violence equals guns, blood and death here in Belize and we obviously want to target issues beyond that.

Belize being a “high middle income country” is a challenge in itself. The population is very small and so is the country, but the disparities are still huge, something that isn’t necessarily reflected in the general status of the country. We have of 49.3% of children living under the poverty line here, that is almost every second child! Take all that, and spread a couple of hurricanes and floods on top of it. Belize is indeed a very vulnerable country. Still, as often misunderstood by many both locally and in the international community, the role of UNICEF isn’t to build schools and give children food on a day to day basis – especially not in countries that supposedly can afford to do so themselves. Our responsibility is to work together with the government to ensure that children’s rights are being considered and in focus on the agenda at all times. We target those who are vulnerable and try to find out what their difficulties are, and then we push for improving their situation.

On this trip, we visited both Mayan and Garifuna villages, and as usual, I learnt many things – much more than I can learn here in the city by talking to professionals and representatives. Going to the field is always a very enriching experience, and every single time I have went I feel like I get a crash course in the actual situation of the place, far beyond numbers, statistics and situation analysis reports.

I know it sounds cheesy, but you really need to get out of the office and meet people to understand.

There are of course stories to be told for each of these photos. I’ll share when I can.

Driving

20140715_113620

Jalacte village, Toledo

Jalate village, Toledo

Pueblo Viejo Village

Punta Gorda rain

Dolores Village, Toledo District

OTOXHA

San Benito Pojite, Toledo

Barranco Garifuna Village

6 July, 201410 July, 2014 Caroline Bach2 Comments

The Lopascinski Adventure

Lopascinski famlily visit

The Lopascinskis were looking for places to stay during their one year trip around the world when they appeared on my page on Couchsurfing. They are a family of four, with two children aged 10 and 12, and two awesome Polish parents who decided to quit their jobs and embark on this adventure. I invited them to stay at my place, and they brought their curiosity and excitement along. We had a very nice time together on a walk around town, and I made the kids banana and blueberry ice cream and orange popsicles, while the dad cooked lobster tails from the market for us. It was very nice to get to speak Polish again for a while and getting a bit of a family environment in my empty apartment. Also, we realized that the parents actually know my father and live in the same city – so I’m sure we will meet again!

To read about the adventures of the Lopascinski family in Polish, visit their blog. And I wish them all the best on their journey!

Lopascinski famlily visit

5 July, 201410 July, 2014 Caroline Bach2 Comments

Cross Regional meeting on Violence Against Children, cool art, and a glimpse of Kingston

Kingston, Jamaica

We arrived in Kingston on Monday morning and headed straight to the first day of the cross regional conference on violence against children, chaired by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children along with Lisa Hanna, the Jamaican Minster of Youth and Culture and also Miss World in 1993 – still beautiful.

After the conference we went to the Red Bones restaurant in New Kingston, where we came across amazing Richard Nadoo and his exhibition “Reverbation of the Silent Echo”.. I was enchanted by the details and colours in his art, and the very complex story connecting the pieces. My favourite piece was already sold which made me really sad but I might get the opportunity to buy something from him at some other point. The food was nice and the atmosphere very cozy in Red Bones, despite the lack of promised live music.

On the second day of the conference participants from different organisations and regions continued sharing their experiences and challenges related to child protection, and the sessions ended with a presentation by Jamaican youth on the issues that they feel affect them the most.

After the conference we went to Bob Marley’s house, which has been transformed into a museum. Photography was unfortunately not allowed, but looking into Bob Marley’s recording studio, kitchen and bedroom, with all of their cool details and cool carpets and beautiful instruments was very interesting, and I actually never knew Bob Marley’s father was an Englishman who died when Bob Marley was 10 years old.

On our last evening I stayed in, relaxing for a bit before the 3am wake up call and airport pick up, and then we did the long trip through Miami airport – back to Belize, back to the breeze, back home. :)

Kingston, Jamaica

Richard Nattoo art

Kingston, Jamaica

4 July, 20144 July, 2014 Caroline BachLeave a comment

Shoot the DJ, mon – you’re in Jamaica.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

A car swooshes by. “Y’all wanna buy sum Bob Marley?!” the driver shouts at us, while uniformed police hang out just a block away. Welcome to Jamaica.

Knowing that we had a conference to attend in Kingston on Monday, we decided to fly to Jamaica already on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend there and get a feel of the country. We flew over to Montego Bay on the northern coast of the island early Saturday morning – and got two days in the beach town. The water was clear as glass and people were generally utterly friendly. We had heard so many bad stories about how rude people are in Jamaica, how racist and insulting they can be and how dangerous it is to walk around as a tourist – but we got none of that. People were curious to chat, kids were confident and eager to play, strangers were smiling, and everybody wanted to share their Mary Jane. We kindly declined the offers and only stayed within the safe areas after dark – at most times we were the only foreigners around – and it was completely fine.

We spent our days playing on the beach and in the water, and the evenings having nice dinners. On Saturday night we danced, which was an experience in itself. Little did I know that many of the Dancehall songs have specific steps to them that the entire club does together, and at first I didn’t understand why the people would get all ecstatic, jump in the air and then pretend to “shoot the DJ” when a new song came on. I later got the explanation that “pra pra prra!” with a pistol-formed hand in the air is an expression of joy rather than aggression. “We show the DJ that we like the song, that we appreciate his work!” That’s how normalized the relationship to fire arms is in Jamaica. It’s sad and it’s scary – but nobody seems to mind.

I bought Red-Yellow-Green rasta juggling balls in Montego Bay. Six years ago a beautiful clown taught me how to juggle but I lost the skill as I fell out of love. I decided to learn again, thanks to Jamaica. A bit cheesy, a bit symbolic, it will be a practice in juggling and combining pleasure with responsibilities. Celebrating life and professionalism at the same time. Finding time to disconnect, but continue loving my job and giving it the time it requires.

It will remind me of all the emails sent and the one-hour work related Skype call I had just a moment before taking the photo above. And how I enjoyed it all.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay

Montego Bay, Jamaica

23 June, 201423 June, 2014 Caroline BachLeave a comment

A beautiful day on Caye Caulker

Finally – I took my camera out and took some photos on a lovely one-day trip we did to Caye Caulker on Saturday. A day with good friends, snorkeling, sun hang out, and delicious lobster.

Caye Caulker