Belize Adventures Day 1

Belize Adventures-Day 1

            Today was our first full day in Belize, and boy was it long and amazing. The controversial conversation that has been going on all day is the heat; some of us love it and some of us are still trying to get use to the 98-degree weather. I, for one, love it. The main attraction of the day is going to the Mayan Ruins and hiking up about 140 feet to the top of some of the oldest structures known, even older than “foxy pops.” There was a lot we learned, and a lot of selfies taken. One of the things we learned is that the kings and the elite were seen as kings; they didn’t have to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom, but this was obviously untrue and instead they ate a lot of the available food and their defecations were removed by servants who weren’t allowed to tell anyone. After buying too much for family and nothing for myself, we had lunch at The Orange where we all had amazing lunch, and all wanted to crash after. We finally made it back to the hotel after a 2-hour drive. It was an incredible day and I can’t wait for my first day of teaching tomorrow! 

            -Jennifer

            Today was our first full day although it felt like week.  By noon we had already hiked up the Mayan Ruins in over 90-degree heat—the most productive I have been in a WHILE.  It was well worth it because the view there was amazing—and seeing the monkeys playing in the trees was a great bonus.  We had an amazing tour guide that taught us so much about Mayan history and ways of life. By the end of our hike, we were all gathering around the van to fill up our empty water bottles.  Then we rode the ferry across the river to go shopping (R.I.P. to all my money).  There were so many hand-made bags, blankets, masks, jewelry, and other items it was so hard to choose what to buy.  This made loading into the vans to go to lunch super hard since we had to fit several hammocks (yes, hammocks) along with all of our other bags, carry-ons, luggage, coolers, snacks, and the twelve of us inside and travel for hours—yeah, picture that in your head.  But to be honest, for me, one of the best parts is the chicken tenders and fries I ate for lunch.  I’m so happy to be back at our hotel and unpacked so I can start my first day teaching tomorrow.  I can’t wait to meet my first graders in the morning!

            -Kelly