by Anna Kate Davis
To be honest, I have been ruminating on reflecting on this trip for several months now, and I still feel like there is so much left to digest. The task of writing this blog discussing this trip is daunting, and I can only hope that I can do the experience justice.
I had always known that I wanted to study abroad in college. It is one of the main reasons I joined the University of Arkansas Honors College in order to gain access to their generous funding. I think it is such an efficient and safe way to travel when you are young, and definitely one of the best ways to get the most out of your college experience.
I did not have a particular destination in mind when deciding where I wanted to go. For the most part, I was just looking for something that was led by the University of Arkansas and maybe somewhere where I could practice my Spanish a little bit. One of the programs I applied for ended up being the service learning trip to Belize, and the more I started to learn about the program, the more I knew that it was the one I needed to participate in. I was very interested in the idea of receiving class credit for doing hands-on work, and I also felt like a trip like this one would much more effectively immerse me in the culture than one where I would just be a tourist for a month.
I can honestly, certainly say that I was not disappointed. The lessons I learned on this trip will be carried with me throughout my entire life, and I am forever grateful for the experience. One thing that particularly impacted me personally were the people that also happened to be on the trip with me. I have other friends who were also planning on studying abroad, all together on the same trip. I chose, instead, to go on a trip that I knew I would not know anybody on. I will forever thank freshman year Anna Kate for making that decision. I did not know a single person going into the month, but by the end of it, I could honestly say that I was friends with every individual. I probably would have never even met most of these people if not for Belize, let alone been friends with them, and I would have been missing out. I learned so much from each of them. We were an unlikely group made up of many different kinds of people, but we were united in the unique experiences we shared in Belize.
Beside these people, I got to experience tons of unique things. One of my favorite things that we did was the ATM Caves. When we went to visit San Ignacio one weekend, we took one of the days to tour a site where the ancient Mayans would conduct ancient rituals that included human sacrifices. I have always been interested in ancient mythology, so this excursion was absolutely fascinating to me. We swam into the mouth of the cave, and walked/crawled/swam half a mile into it before ascending into the ritual chamber. With your headlamps as your only light, the guides transport you to thousands of years ago and teach you about the Mayans and their ways. It was absolutely incredible, and definitely the coolest thing I have ever done.
Along with the ATM Caves, we also toured several other Mayan ruin sites, an iguana conservatory, snorkeled, and many other fun things. I will always be grateful for my experiences while abroad and would recommend that everyone should go abroad while in college. I cannot wait to return to beautiful Belize.
