When I was getting ready to look for colleges in 2012 one caught my eye in particular. Mount Vernon Nazarene University. It had small class sizes and an incredible environmental program. That's not what sold me entirely. It was the chance to travel abroad. A chance to go to Belize for a month to study tropical ecology. I was in love with the idea. I had always wanted to travel outside of the states. I finally had the option. Until it almost wasn't.
They were going to be doing away with the month long trips after my sophomore year. Being so far down the totem pole when it came to class rank, I was worried I wasn't going to have the opportunity I had so wanted to pursue. I almost didn't until my professor came up to me sophomore year in fall semester and said someone dropped out and you are next up. I had a million things go through my mind (one of which how am I going to pay for this at such short notice?), but my mom assured me we would find a way. We did.
Now if you haven't been to an airport (or if you have) for whatever reason the first time feels the scariest. The commotion of check in, the worry to not miss your flight, and the gobs of people that are there. Now let me tell you something I have almost seen every size of an airport just from traveling to Belize. We went from Columbus to Atlanta to Belize. Atlanta was huge! They have a tram system just to be able to cross the airport it's that huge. Then you get to Belize. Belize has only one airport located in Belize City. It's sooooooo small compared to where we had been.
For those that don't know Belize is this tiny third world country nestled between Guatemala and Mexico. You could fit four Belizes in the state of Ohio. They only have one major highway traveling the whole length of the country. The country is made up of an array of people including Mayan descents, Asians, and Amish. Oh yeah, there are Amish/Mennonites in a place called Spanish Lookout. English is spoken widely, and so is Spanish.
We managed to stay in pretty much every part of Belize. We stayed in Belmopan, Succotz, San Pedro, and Caye Caulker. It's very easy to be grateful for what you have in the states when you come to a country like this. These people looked at Americans like we were all rich (and that's even when they saw us broke college kids). The people, though, were always super nice to us, and was willing to answer questions from us curious kids. We luckily mainly stayed at Christian camps while we were down there, and hit up all the stops while there.
In Belmopan area we managed to stop at a restaurant called Cheers. Now the reason I mention this is because Cheers was unique. Besides the Hummingbirds buzzing around people who have come there in the past have left t shirts that the restaurant owners hung from the ceiling. It was amazing to see all the different shirts from all over. Oh, and did I mention this was an outdoor restaurant. Most of the restaurants we ate at were open air with nothing blocking you from nature. Cheers wasn't the only thing that was unique.
I could go on and on about seeing ruins like Lamanai or Xunantunich, but that wasn't the highlights. The highlights was going to a zoo that only had native animals occupying. The unusual would be visiting a place called Blue Hole. Not the famous Blue Hole you would think. No, there is a place close to southern Belize called Blue Hole National park and St Herman's cave where you could swim in the milky blue pool. St Herman's cave was nothing like Chechem Ha. Chechem Ha cave was full of Mayan pottery from the ancient Mayans. This, however, wasn't the star of the trip for me.
I had a few moments on this trip that I wowed. That I was at "peace" is what you could say. The one moment would have to be in the Mayan Mountains. We went to a place called Rio On Pools. It was pool upon pool spilling into one another on the side of a mountain. When you actually go over to the top of the pools to swim there is just this vast mountain view, and it looks like the pools just drop off. That moment felt so serine. That made me realize wow. I'm here. I'm in Belize. I made it.
I also had that moment snorkeling. That was one of the best experiences on my trip. I had never been snorkeling before, and didn't think it would be such a big deal. Oh, I get to see fish and a reef. Whoopty doo. Let me tell you something. Snorkeling the second largest reef in the world was amazing. To see coral reefs in person. There is no words to describe that moment. To be face to face with a loggerhead sea turtle. That moment will be forever remembered. It's one thing to watch videos about these things. To see it though was just incredible.
My last ooooh ahhhh moment was the last day on Caye Caulker. I had been waking up with my professor and another classmate early to catch the sunrise. It almost didn't seem like we would have any luck until that last day. Let me tell you what that was incredible. I believe after all these that sunrises can come in many different colors depending on where you are in the world. To see the beautiful yellows and oranges with the palms in the background was breath taking.
At the end of this I honestly didn't get culture shock there it was coming back that I experienced it. After being on Belizean time for a month (where you get there when you get there) I realized how fast paced life was in the states. Even in a little town like the one I live in seemed super fast compared to where I just was. The experience taught me to take things easy sometimes. To enjoy the things I love in life. It helped spark a deeper passion in photography for me. Honestly after that trip is when my little digital camera died. 2015 was a big year for me. I got to live abroad for a month, and I got into DSLR cameras. I will never forget my Unbelizeable experience.
コメント