Quick
facts:
- Gas stations aren't self-service here. Matching-color-shirted employees fill your tank for you.
- There are multiple bridges there that almost exactly match your vehicle's width. At times, our bus was less than 6 inches away from the edge.
- The country's main form of income is from tourism because much of the land is protected scenic forests.
And the
bus ride into the country!
Sight -
Bright green, everywhere. The entire country seems to be nothing but acres of
forest! It was amazing; I was suddenly transported from civilization to a
distant natural world.
Sound -
Roar of the wind - Without air conditioning, we had to leave our windows open.
We were speeding down the mountains of Belize, taking curves at 80 mph, and the
entire time, the wind was deafened us from hearing anything else.
Taste -
“daydreaming about all of the delicacies from around the world (especially from
the States) and wishing I had packed more snacks...airplane peanuts are not a
very satisfying lunch.” (quote by my friend, Hillz Grillz)
Smell -
thick smoke overpowering our olfactory. - everyone uses slash and burn to
replenish the jungle soil of its nutrients and every time we saw the wind
blowing smoke across the road, we collectively cringed for that painful smell
to follow.
Touch -
foam. Why you ask? We were sitting in an aged American school bus with more
holes in it than Swiss cheese and a broken glass back door. Every hole that was
missing leather revealed its muggy, uncomfy underbelly of foam. Sketchy for US
but normal for here. I always thought there was a general standard for norm
that everyone accepted but, turns out, it's been an illusion this whole time
that we've kid ourselves into believing.
And guess
what else - today, as I’m writing this, my new local friend Eran is teaching us
Mayan, Creole, Garifuna, and Spanish …. all at once. Sooooo confusing but soooo
cool!
Haha,
until the next post, ayo! (‘bye’ in Garifuna)
