Following Mateo

Rating:
Summary: About "Following Mateo"
Review: An odyssey: into the jungles and wetlands of Belize, into the hearts and lives of a few native Belizians, and into the process of self knowledge and maturity, best describes, for me, Tom Molanphy's well crafted adventure/pilgrimage book: Following Mateo! Tom writes with grace and great self deprecating humor and enthusiasm about his journey to Belize as a volunteer teacher, his evolving friendship with an older tribal wise man and leader, Mateo, and their adventures.

Through an invitation to personally tutor Mateo's young daughter, Tom experiences the hospitality of Mateo's family and a growing knowledge of their way of life. Tom's desire to get Mateo to take him "into the bush," i.e., the deep jungle territory where (in his perception) ancient ritual hunting and gathering rites of the Ke'kechi take place. His subsequent hiking adventures to "prove" his capabilities to Mateo provide hilarious incidents of gradual self awareness for this young American "gringo," Tom.

As a veteran Jr. High/High School humanities teacher, I feel that this is a book that would appeal to this age range of student. It is a very "good read" for the adult reader as well.

Rating:
Summary: Jumanji - Hitting it!
Review: Following Mateo is definitely a down to earth book. My friend Tom definitely put it right about life in the southern villages of Toledo and also as a missionary. I've known Tom for the two years that he spent here in Belize. I loved the book and will definitely read it again.

Rating:
Summary: Joyful Journey
Review: I picked this up because some friends of mine are heading out on their own volunteer efforts for a year or two (Peace Corps and Jesuit Volunteer Corps). I figured it might make for a good gift for both of them.

Instead I wound up reading it myself, and I'd have to say I really enjoyed Molanphy's rich, engrossing style. He's a keen observer, and he fully pulls you into his sense of place, both gepgraphically and emotionally. (My wanderlust is piqued -- Central America, here I come!)

Okay, sure, a nice style makes for an enjoyable read about a roam through Belize, but what really struck me about the book is how Molanphy came out of all this as a transformed person; the key takeaway from this book is that rather than assuming that he had so much to give, as a volunteer, he instead had so much to take away. Which is certainly a nice little lesson, eh?

Going on a journey? Know someone who is? Read this book before you go.

Rating:
Summary: "A Hunt for the Self in the Jungles of Southern Belize"
Review: Tom Molanphy has a good story to tell about a search for self in a country of different cultures, languages, races,etc. While reading "Following Mateo" I was transported back from the hazzles of everyday life and never-ending city activity to Southern Belize where, through Tom's creative descriptions, I found myself engulfed by nature. Peppered with humor Tom lets us experience father nature in a unique fashion. He tells of how it demands respect,of how we have to adjust to accommodate it and of how rough it can be and yet how soothing her gentle embrace. The book took me through trails under the towering canopies and over mountains that lead to discoveries of people living from the land. People who have learned to coexist and respect the land.
The book was and excellent read. It thought me about the journey of life and the little journeys within. It also thought me to, every now and then, "stop and smell the flowers, but to be careful not to get stung by a bee that may have beat me to those flowers".

Rating:
Summary: "A Hunt for the Self in the Jungles of Southern Belize"
Review: Tom Molanphy has a good story to tell about a search for self in a country of different cultures, languages, races,etc. While reading "Following Mateo" I was transported back from the hazzles of everyday life and never-ending city activity to Southern Belize where, through Tom's creative descriptions, I found myself engulfed by nature. Peppered with humor Tom lets us experience father nature in a unique fashion. He tells of how it demands respect,of how we have to adjust to accommodate it and of how rough it can be and yet how soothing her gentle embrace. The book took me through trails under the towering canopies and over mountains that lead to discoveries of people living from the land. People who have learned to coexist and respect the land.
The book was and excellent read. It thought me about the journey of life and the little journeys within. It also thought me to, every now and then, "stop and smell the flowers, but to be careful not to get stung by a bee that may have beat me to those flowers".