Entertainment options

This post probably falls under the category of “lifestyle”. Visitors come to Belize for the many recreational opportunities it offers. Where I am, that includes hanging out on the beach, snorkeling or diving at the barrier reef just off-shore, or sport fishing. In the evening there are many fine restaurants (although most are closed as I write this during the rainy season), and multiple watering holes. You can also take day trips to Mayan ruins or jungle preserves. For someone coming for a week or two, there is plenty to do.
For longer trips, Guatemala and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula border Belize.

For those of us who live here, and who have limited budgets, and especially for those who work, entertainment options are more limited. There are no movie theaters, no lectures, no bookstores. The only nightlife is the bars, which I do not frequent. That leaves internet, TV, or early to bed.

Internet here is high speed DSL, which means not nearly as fast as broadband cable. It can also be somewhat problematic – my connection here at the house has been erratic for several days – so erratic I am composing this post in Word, and will copy and paste it into the blog when I can get on line.

TV is via the local cable company (which has been promising internet for a long time). I think their cable signal is from a Direct TV satellite(s), and the channel lineup can be pretty “interesting”. My biggest disappointment is that it does not include a U.S. PBS link, since most of my limited viewing in the US was of PBS news and documentaries. What do we get? Well we have about 10 kids channels, and then standard ones like Discovery, History, Food, Travel, HGTV, TV Land, ESPN and ESPN2. There are channels for each of the broadcast networks: ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. There are the cable news channels: CNN, HLN, C-SPAN, MSNBC and CNBC. Lots of movie channels, you know what they all are, so I won’t list them. The oddities to me are channels like GSN – the Game Show Network, which is nothing but game shows. And SOAP, nothing but soap operas. The 4 local channels all have their slots, but aren’t necessarily on the air at any given time. As I’ve mentioned before, the English version of Al Jezeera is a good source of international news, much less sensational in its approach than the US networks.
There is a channel called RFD, which has shows like “Cattleman to Cattleman” dealing with livestock issues. There is an International Soccer channel, followed by GOLTV, which is also soccer 24/7. MTV, VH1 and CMT are all there, as well as several channels that actually show music videos. There is a fitness channel. Then we climb into the regional channels and beyond. There are Mexican, Guatemalan, and Honduran channels (all in Spanish, of course), including music video channels, and CNN Espanol, which has different stories from the US CNN. There is also Fox Sports Latino, and movie channels with Spanish language films. Then there is CCTV4, a channel from China that is programmed for Chinese living in other parts of the world. There is also a channel from Taiwan, as well as two from India. The Indian channels have movies with lavish sets and weeping women.

One of these 115 channels is the local cable’s channel, which lists local coming events, death notices, and what the channels are. There is no channel telling the viewer what programs are being broadcast. No way to know what movie is coming up. No way to know who the soccer teams are that are playing or will be. The Spanish channels seem to have more attractive women wearing sexy clothes than the US channels.

I am glad I brought a variety of DVDs, my music collection, and a lot of books. I did not catch on to The Office or 30 Rock until the last weeks I was in Maine, so I brought with me one season of each on DVDs, and have since gotten more. I’ve really been enjoying them, and haven’t yet resorted to seeing what DVDs local vendors are offering.

They do offer the kids programs from PBS during the day, and when I first got here they had the PBS News Hour. However, they lost the signal so frequently that I gave up watching it, and now it is no longer offered. As I write this, the cable system has dropped the signals from about 15 stations across the spectrum.

A last option I should mention is Sirius satellite radio. I have it hooked into my stereo system, and it has a couple of NPR talk stations, so I can listen to Prairie Home Companion and other programming I enjoy.

I’ve linked into the community through my membership in the local Rotary Club, and the Volunteer Fire Dept. I’ve also started a “dinner group” to go to the local restaurants every month, although we have yet to do so.

So that’s the entertainment side of “lifestyle” here in Placencia – questions?