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The two Mennonite teenagers giggle behind the counter of an empty ice cream parlor in the village of Spanish Lookout, east of San Ignacio in the Cayo District. Rhonda Wolfe, 15, and Marie Woelk, 23, work at Western Dairies in addition to their daily chores at home, where they help their mothers sweep, cook and do laundry. All across Belize, the Mennonite community is known for constantly working.
The Mennonites, many of whom speak German, colonized Spanish Lookout in the late 1950s. Their innovations in agriculture and furniture-making have advanced the country.
"When we started Spanish Lookout it was a lot harder because there was nothing," Woelk said. "They had to work at the wood to get the bush away. It was all bush, with roads full of mud. It was very ugly."
Now Spanish Lookout is a sharp contrast from the villages before and after it. The rolling fields of freshly mowed grass, citrus trees and vegetables dotted with country-like, two-story homes align the main highway that stretches the length of the village.
The Mennonites are known across Belize for their dedicated work ethic and religion. They are members of one of the earliest Protestant sects. And while the two girls share a religion, they respect their differences in beliefs - modern vs. traditional. Wolfe, who dons a white cap, is allowed to wear jewelry and jeans, while Woelk, who wears a traditional black cap, cannot. And a Mennonite in Belize is considered an independent adult at the age of 21.
"Twenty-one. It's a big step," explains Wolfe, who is six years away. "Until then, the parents have a say in what you can and cannot do."
-- Amy Zerba