Just a Day in Shipyard
"They made a mistake," he stated as he solemnly shook his head.
I leaned against his faded buggy and politely asked him about the Old Colony Mennonites who had left Shipyard for Peru. This elderly gentleman knew English more than Spanish which was a surprise to me. In fact he was fluent until he explained that he was born in Canada and migrated to Belize in his childhood. Now his accent made sense to me.
"They could have simply bought more land and expanded here, but no, they wanted to escape the worldliness around here." He insisted that no matter where you went, ungodliness was all around. Just look at Shipyard. More cars than buggies on the roads it seemed like. Smartphones everywhere. Due to the decaying world, it wouldn't be long until the new settlements in Peru would be just as "worldly" as Shipyard.
I asked him if they ever returned. He said now and then a few would arrive for a short visit but so far it appeared they were settled in Peru for good. Fortunately the few dozen families that left Shipyard hardly make a dent due to the size of the community. I pointed out the huge potholes on the caliche road and to make it even worse, speed bumps at random spots. He shrugged and said at least truck drivers would slow down and pay more attention to buggies on the road.
We discussed logging. I passed a place where several acres of cut logs were stacked two stories high. He said he didn't know where all those thousands of logs came from. He gave me a hard look when he said that.
An interesting thing happened later. We entered a Mennonite supermarket where the security cameras at the end of each aisle are dressed in dark flowered dresses with white kerchiefs tied around their heads, white socks and black shoes. Without stopping to think I approached one of these blue-eyed and alert young girls with questions about a specific product. After the conversation was over I froze with my hand on my mouth. I just realized I had held my first ever conversation entirely in Plautdietsch! I guess eating Mennonite werenaki (perogies) with schmauntfat and formavorscht a few days ago did help.
As we headed east towards the highway I saw a boy in straw hat, plaid shirt and suspenders beside the road. Just a typical Old Colony Mennonite boy in traditional clothing... except for one thing. Around his neck in plain sight of everyone hung a thick gold chain with a pendant. Huh?
I gulped some Coke and thought about that intriguing scene.
So ended my time in Shipyard, Orange Walk.
A. Mendoza
