Living on Ambergris Caye for 12 years has made me realize that losing your OCD in Belize is a part of natural evolution.
Let me qualify the above statement by saying I have long said everyone has a little bit of “Sheldon” in them. For those who are not familiar, he is the oddly amusing high-level Obsessive Compulsive Disorder character in the TV show “The Big Bang Theory”.
Scheduling is a great example. Most people have some degree of OCD on scheduling their lives. Life is definitely not as regimented here in that respect. If you just keep your flow and think outside the box you can easily make things happen instead of being frustrated when “traditional” methods are not working.
Yesterday I was on a grocery run with a friend and he spotted someone on the back seat, two carts ahead that he had been trying to reach that morning by phone. So instantly our mission took a fun detour southward. Since it did not look like they were planning on stopping anytime, my friend caught the guy’s attention and hand signaled the (universal) hand signal “call me”. The guy nodded and smiled. We then turned around and got back to our original task – fruits and vegetables. When it was my friend’s turn to watch the items that were already on the golf cart while I went into the store, he was able to connect with the guy by phone and get the information he needed.
It was not one-stop shopping. We started at Greenhouse and met most of my friend’s list. Next was Omega to but their cauliflower had seen better days. Based on that review I did not bother to look inside. Last stop, Louis’s store – he hooked my friend up with nice cauliflower. I got a couple of plantains, kiwis, 15 apple bananas and some juicy green grapes – cost $25.
taco Tip #15
If you find yourself getting frustrated by life and the system, take a moment to check yourself, and remember where you are. This country is still so wonderfully young and is still going through growing pains. The sooner you adapt the better for your own piece of mind. It also will help you to work smarter not harder getting things done.
Increasing OCD in Belize
Make no mistake if you have even a hint of OCD tendencies, you may also gain a few here too. I know I was not the only one that turned into a Sheldon level germophobe and did not want to touch anything during last years countrywide pink eye epidemic. My fingers are crossed that the country stays whooping cough free after the recent incident of a contagious Belize traveler. Such events make you realize just how small this country really is and how quickly it would be for a contagion to travel throughout the districts.
Picture Taking Can be Very OCD
There are all too many views where it is hard to make everything look straight. Here are a few shots of around town from the past week.
Taking random pics while guarding the groceries.
Lime shortage -looking very small in San Pedro. Belize is working on importing limes from Mexico.
Back Street traffic.
Clothing tree bloomed after freak rain and wind storm.
