Cuahi li Hix: A tale of hilarious and sometimes harrowing adventures in the jungle of Belize

The Mayans have a common farewell salutation that was to bring luck to a traveler rather than provide real protection. "Cuahi li hix" (Qua hee lee heesh). Literally translated, "Beware of the tiger." A strange translation because there are no tigers in Central America, but they called all big cats tigers, regardless of the feline classification. Cuahi li hix became a common phrase used among the volunteers. We soon learned that "tiger" could come in the form of snakes, bats, scorpions, rabid dogs, monkeys, illnesses, voracious insects, turkeys, and yes, sometimes even jaguars. Cuahi li Hix describes much of what it is like in the villages and how the Mayans lived for centuries. The book is a humorous, light-hearted retelling of a journey as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a whole other world where time seemed to have stopped.