Hello Friends and Family!!!
My time in Belize has been an interesting journey. I’m going to break it down to y’all in few week increments, since I did not keep up with it in real time (sorry folks). Let’s start from the beginning shall we…
Here is a breakdown:
We are a group of nine students from the University of Arkansas, all with different majors. Decidedly we all came to Belize to work with members of the community in various projects to complete our thesis as well as an internship. When we first arrived we didn’t know each other very well, but right off the bat there wasn’t any awkwardness. In fact, we all seemed to mesh extremely well.
The first two weeks we lived in a hotel called The Chaleanor, because we couldn’t move into the PeaceWork house yet. It was honestly a small blessing due to the fact that it had just rained for a few days before our arrival. Sooo it was VERY VERY humid and our rooms had A/C :’) However, the mosquitoes were absolutely HORRIBLE. I completely doused myself in bug spray every time I went outside but somehow still managed to get at least 5 bug bites no matter what.
The first week was spent going to everyone’s project site and learning a little about them before we had to start working. Aja, our PeaceWork coordinator, gave us a small orientation of the area and made sure we knew where the bank, police station, and all the other good stuff was at. I met my project leader, Rosella. We discussed her vision for Dangriga and what she believes needs to be improved. We made a list of things to try to accomplish before I departed, but the business culture here is very slow regarding communication.
A typical day during these two weeks included going to the Bonefish Hotel and working on the VisitDangriga website, going to lunch at the Blue Shop or some other stand where we could get a burrito for under 3 BZ. (As of right now, I don’t think I can ever eat another burrito because I ate that many in those two weeks). After lunch, we would go back to our hotel and continue to work on our projects or curriculum. Then the Poultry team would come back from work and eventually we would go to dinner. At this point in time the 3-week study abroad program was still here so we would meet up with them. That was a typical day during those first few weeks.
There were some minor set backs with all of our projects due to the culture, which we learned to just deal with. It was and still is very hard to focus at times because it is very hot, and time runs very differently here. We all wake up before 7:30 am and by 10pm we are all ready for bed on most nights. Except the night we all attempted to learn how to Punta. Punta is a Garifuna dance that is native to Southern Belize. On the last night for the 3-week group, we decided to go to their BBQ and dance, and boy did we try to learn how to Punta. The whole night we were all determined to nail it. I am sad to report that I still do not have it down, but I have 2 more weeks to get it down.
Our first weekend in Belize, we all decided to go to Hopkins which is about 40 minutes away by bus. It is a little vibrant town. The main street area is very local and cute with lots of bright colored buildings. We stayed in a hostel known as the Funky Dodo. It was a quaint place filled with backpackers from all over the world. Our day was mostly spent visiting little shops. The nine of us had bonded before this trip but this was the first time we had relaxed and let loose as a group. For Dinner, we invited anyone staying at the Funky Dodo to join us. A few did, Becky from Jersey England, a man from Canada, another man from Switzerland, and Thomas from Iceland. It was a fun night full of Punta-ing, laughs and good memories. Overall it was a good first trip by ourselves in Belize.
My time in Belize has been an interesting journey. I’m going to break it down to y’all in few week increments, since I did not keep up with it in real time (sorry folks). Let’s start from the beginning shall we…
Here is a breakdown:
We are a group of nine students from the University of Arkansas, all with different majors. Decidedly we all came to Belize to work with members of the community in various projects to complete our thesis as well as an internship. When we first arrived we didn’t know each other very well, but right off the bat there wasn’t any awkwardness. In fact, we all seemed to mesh extremely well.
The first two weeks we lived in a hotel called The Chaleanor, because we couldn’t move into the PeaceWork house yet. It was honestly a small blessing due to the fact that it had just rained for a few days before our arrival. Sooo it was VERY VERY humid and our rooms had A/C :’) However, the mosquitoes were absolutely HORRIBLE. I completely doused myself in bug spray every time I went outside but somehow still managed to get at least 5 bug bites no matter what.
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| The Chaleanor Hotel |
A typical day during these two weeks included going to the Bonefish Hotel and working on the VisitDangriga website, going to lunch at the Blue Shop or some other stand where we could get a burrito for under 3 BZ. (As of right now, I don’t think I can ever eat another burrito because I ate that many in those two weeks). After lunch, we would go back to our hotel and continue to work on our projects or curriculum. Then the Poultry team would come back from work and eventually we would go to dinner. At this point in time the 3-week study abroad program was still here so we would meet up with them. That was a typical day during those first few weeks.
Our first weekend in Belize, we all decided to go to Hopkins which is about 40 minutes away by bus. It is a little vibrant town. The main street area is very local and cute with lots of bright colored buildings. We stayed in a hostel known as the Funky Dodo. It was a quaint place filled with backpackers from all over the world. Our day was mostly spent visiting little shops. The nine of us had bonded before this trip but this was the first time we had relaxed and let loose as a group. For Dinner, we invited anyone staying at the Funky Dodo to join us. A few did, Becky from Jersey England, a man from Canada, another man from Switzerland, and Thomas from Iceland. It was a fun night full of Punta-ing, laughs and good memories. Overall it was a good first trip by ourselves in Belize.
When we got back, I started to notice a few things. First, there are a lot of stray dogs in bad conditions here. It is very heartbreaking to see on a day-to-day basis. Second, Dangriga has the best mangos I have ever eaten in my life and that I already miss eating them and I’m not even back in America yet. Finally, I don’t think I have ever sweated this much in my life. EVER. And I am from Texas.
The next few days, me and a few others (not on the Poultry team) went to town council to discuss upcoming events, took pictures of the area, and interviewed local artisans. Later in the week, the same people and I helped the poultry team tear down a chicken coop and move another one to replace the old one. If you can’t tell their project is completely different than the rest of ours. All in all, we all have different struggles regarding our project, that we each try to deal with. Anyway after the moving of the glorified chicken coop, we finally got word that we were able to move into the PeaceWork house which is a post of its own… which will come very soon.
Until next post of things that already happened check out my photos of the trip on Instagram (@keepingup_withkelsi) or my personal VSCO & Instagram account (@kelsireyes)
cheers xX, and thanks for Keeping up with Kelsi!!
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Business Economics major Kelsi Reyes spent the Summer 2018 term in Belize.
Read more from Kelsi at https://keepingupwithkelsi.wordpress.com/
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
