New US Ambassador Becomes Belize’s Biggest Cheerleader

Less than a month after arriving in Belize, U.S. Ambassador Andre Bauer is becoming one of the country’s most visible diplomats. From dancing with schoolchildren and attending national ceremonies to joining the festivities at the Orange Walk Carnival, Bauer is immersing himself in Belizean culture and documenting it all online. But his energetic introduction to the Jewel is doing more than attracting attention. The ambassador says he is giving Americans a front-row seat to Belize, with hopes of convincing thousands to visit. Here is what he shared about his first few weeks in the country.

 

Andre Bauer, US Ambassador to Belize

“I’ve got a lot of friends now y’all because the exposure you’re giving me, I’m getting a lot of increase on my social media and a lot of it’s Americans wanting to see what’s going on here, wanting to know more about Belize, wanting to engage, and wanting to visit. I’ve got them asking me about hotels and asking me about places to visit and so I’m trying to quickly put a list together of the places that I’ve gotten to experience so far because I’m being told there’s over 190 different municipalities, and I want to see how many I can get to in the first six months. So I’m gonna let y’all – I’m gonna start keeping a log of it so you can say, “Okay, he’s been to ten percent, he’s been to fifteen percent.” And so we’ve been very aggressively getting to see what is so special about this country, um, hands-on, not just from afar. This is clearly a jewel. When you talk about the jewel, this is a jewel, and I am so excited to get to be here today. I can’t believe the US government pays me to get to do this, but it, I pinch myself every day in this job. I prayed for this job, and I’m getting to live out an absolute dream and getting to spend time with some of the most culturally diverse populations I’ve ever met and some of the most warm people I’ve ever met. I don’t know that I’ve been anywhere in the world that the people were more warm and inviting. And so it’s, it’s a, an experience of a lifetime, and I look forward to sharing it with thousands and thousands of people. So you may get a little bump here, but I’m just so thankful to be a part of this and with people much more wisdom than I that can talk about the history of this culture, and this is just a way to showcase that.”

 

Ambassador Andre Bauer arrived in Belize on September fourth. His six-month report card is due in March.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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