attention. update.
I've been meaning to make an update about Belize all week long. It's been a pretty rough week and I just haven't gotten around to it until now though. I'm going to skip complaining about my lousy week and jump right to the good stuff.
Belize was amazing. I literally can’t put it into words how awesome it was. I’ll start from the beginning…
There were 16 of us going-fourteen students and two faculty leaders. We flew out of Raleigh on Friday morning. There was a short layover in Georgia before we flew down to Belize. We ran into Chuck Amato in the Georgia airport and got him to pose for a quick picture with us. We knew then that it was going to be a good trip.
The drive from the airport to the Community Baboon Sanctuary was emotionally moving. The small shacks and half finished houses made me feel like I was in one of those commercials asking you to sponsor a child in another country… except it felt real. Once we got to the Sanctuary they gave us a brief tour and we got to go into the rainforest for the first time and meet the monkeys. This guy was quite the charmer:
Afterward they described to us our task:
In order to get land from the government in Belize all you have to do is develop it in some way that makes it profitable for the country. There were 25 acres of rainforest just adjacent to the sanctuary that was under threat of being developed. Our task was to cut two trails into this land and build two campsites. The sanctuary could then rent out the campsites and in doing so make it “profitable.” The hope was that the government would then deem it worthy of being given to the sanctuary. Our “To Do” list seemed daunting on that first day:
We had four working days, bad materials suppliers, mediocre tools, and really crappy nails. While there we stayed at homestays with locals. That was really interesting and a quite diversifying experience. Most of the homes didn’t have running water and electricity was in short supply. There’s something really humbling about bathing with a bucket of water in the home of a woman who has never known anything different. It made me feel spoiled and selfish. When we didn’t bucket bathe we bathed in the river that ran nearby the sanctuary. A lot of the locals bathed there too. It was strange to see women shaving their legs in a swimming hole full of people.
The work days were long and hard. We met for breakfast at 8am and got right to work. It was probably the most physically strenuous work that I’ve ever done. We had a short break for lunch at noon and then would work until dinner. My muscles ached at the end of each day but it felt good… like we earned it. The food was, well, interesting. Pretty much every meal was some variation of chicken, beans, and rice. A lot of it was eaten out of 5-gallon buckets. The health department gave us a bunch of “Do’s & Don’t’s” before we left. I’m pretty sure that we successfully “did” all of the “don’t’s”! It didn’t seem to matter at first but toward the end digestive problems had us dropping like flies.
On the last work day we put the last nail in the shelter at about 6:00pm. We had successfully completed all of the work assigned to us and that last beat of the hammer was met with ample cheering and applause. It was quite satisfying.
We had two “fun” days while we were there. The first one was the second day of our trip and we went to see the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. They were really impressive and I took a lot of pictures.
The second “fun” day was sailing and snorkeling at Caye Caulker in the Caribbean. That was spectacular! I had never been snorkeling. I think I’d like to go again! I have a whole new appreciation for reggae music now. We lounged around in the sun swaying with the tilt of the boat and listening to Bob Marley while passing a bowl of fresh fruit around. It was the most relaxing thing I’ve ever done! We even fed the seagulls. Afterward we went back to Belize City and spent the night in a Bed Breakfast. We hit up the Belize Zoo the next day before going to catch our flight at the airport. At this point they kind of lost my luggage. It’s cool though because I just got an email the other day that they found it and will be shipping it to me soon. When I get my camera back I’ll have more pictures. These are all bummed from other people that came.
It was a life-changing experience. It put life in a completely different perspective. I had a fantastic time and would love to go again next year. It also made me realize that if I don’t get into vet school, the peace corps is definitely an option.
So that's that. There's so many more stories that go with it... catch me for lunch one day and I'll talk your ear off if you'll listen.
Belize was amazing. I literally can’t put it into words how awesome it was. I’ll start from the beginning…
There were 16 of us going-fourteen students and two faculty leaders. We flew out of Raleigh on Friday morning. There was a short layover in Georgia before we flew down to Belize. We ran into Chuck Amato in the Georgia airport and got him to pose for a quick picture with us. We knew then that it was going to be a good trip.
The drive from the airport to the Community Baboon Sanctuary was emotionally moving. The small shacks and half finished houses made me feel like I was in one of those commercials asking you to sponsor a child in another country… except it felt real. Once we got to the Sanctuary they gave us a brief tour and we got to go into the rainforest for the first time and meet the monkeys. This guy was quite the charmer:
Afterward they described to us our task:
In order to get land from the government in Belize all you have to do is develop it in some way that makes it profitable for the country. There were 25 acres of rainforest just adjacent to the sanctuary that was under threat of being developed. Our task was to cut two trails into this land and build two campsites. The sanctuary could then rent out the campsites and in doing so make it “profitable.” The hope was that the government would then deem it worthy of being given to the sanctuary. Our “To Do” list seemed daunting on that first day:
- Cut Trails (approximately 0.25 miles)
- Clear campsites (approximately 100ft X 100ft)
- Build Tent Platforms for both sites
- Build picnic tables for both sites
- Build shelter for one site
- Make signs to mark the paths
- Build bookcases for Peace Corps Library.
We had four working days, bad materials suppliers, mediocre tools, and really crappy nails. While there we stayed at homestays with locals. That was really interesting and a quite diversifying experience. Most of the homes didn’t have running water and electricity was in short supply. There’s something really humbling about bathing with a bucket of water in the home of a woman who has never known anything different. It made me feel spoiled and selfish. When we didn’t bucket bathe we bathed in the river that ran nearby the sanctuary. A lot of the locals bathed there too. It was strange to see women shaving their legs in a swimming hole full of people.
The work days were long and hard. We met for breakfast at 8am and got right to work. It was probably the most physically strenuous work that I’ve ever done. We had a short break for lunch at noon and then would work until dinner. My muscles ached at the end of each day but it felt good… like we earned it. The food was, well, interesting. Pretty much every meal was some variation of chicken, beans, and rice. A lot of it was eaten out of 5-gallon buckets. The health department gave us a bunch of “Do’s & Don’t’s” before we left. I’m pretty sure that we successfully “did” all of the “don’t’s”! It didn’t seem to matter at first but toward the end digestive problems had us dropping like flies.
On the last work day we put the last nail in the shelter at about 6:00pm. We had successfully completed all of the work assigned to us and that last beat of the hammer was met with ample cheering and applause. It was quite satisfying.
We had two “fun” days while we were there. The first one was the second day of our trip and we went to see the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. They were really impressive and I took a lot of pictures.
The second “fun” day was sailing and snorkeling at Caye Caulker in the Caribbean. That was spectacular! I had never been snorkeling. I think I’d like to go again! I have a whole new appreciation for reggae music now. We lounged around in the sun swaying with the tilt of the boat and listening to Bob Marley while passing a bowl of fresh fruit around. It was the most relaxing thing I’ve ever done! We even fed the seagulls. Afterward we went back to Belize City and spent the night in a Bed Breakfast. We hit up the Belize Zoo the next day before going to catch our flight at the airport. At this point they kind of lost my luggage. It’s cool though because I just got an email the other day that they found it and will be shipping it to me soon. When I get my camera back I’ll have more pictures. These are all bummed from other people that came.
It was a life-changing experience. It put life in a completely different perspective. I had a fantastic time and would love to go again next year. It also made me realize that if I don’t get into vet school, the peace corps is definitely an option.
So that's that. There's so many more stories that go with it... catch me for lunch one day and I'll talk your ear off if you'll listen.