Zinnia’s house is made of wood, has a zinc roof, and is painted green. She shares her room with her sister. Zinnia said that she has four dogs outside that come and go; though there are a lot of outside, stray dogs here that wander. Belizeans call these dogs “potlickers.”
Zinnia has to help sweep and do laundry. She has to squeeze out the water from her clothes and hang them on the laundry line. Like most families, she does not have a dryer, but because of the heat and the bright, shining sun, the clothes dry quickly outside. Traeson gladly said he has no chores. Other kids typically have to rake their sand yards and pick up trash.
Zinnia’s mom used to work on a ship, but she retired. Her dad works at a local resort in the village that is a large employer of the village. Her dad is a diving tour guide! He goes diving in the ocean with tourists from all over the world to show them the unique marine life along the coast.
Traeson explained that his mom works at a hospital as an administrator.
School starts at 8:30am and lets out at 3:30pm. Students at my school have three breaks: one from 10-10:15am, lunch from 11:30am-1pm, and lastly from 2:30-2:45pm. These are like recess! Unlike Zinnia and Traeson, most students go home for lunch.
