It's all about food and sun...

First off when I say it's hot here, it is hot, hot, hot.  I can take a shower, walk outside and be drenched in sweat in less than 5 minutes.  It took the first few days to adjust to the heat and time change, but now it's actually not too bad. With that I said I' ll begin telling you about what I've done since the last blog posted.

Wednesday 3/27/14

On Wednesday due to the time change I went to bed pretty early and woke up before 7am, which for anyone who knows me that is early!  Once I was up I had this erge to journal so I went out by the pool and it was so peaceful.  For breakfast our group joined together and went to George's kitchen for the traditional 1st meal at a group. I had George's special: eggs, bacon, fry-jacks, potatoes and ice tea with lime.  It was DELICIOUS!   After breakfast our professors gave us a walking tour of the whole island.  It's pretty amazing how we can walk anywhere we need to go.  The water and beaches are breathtaking. When we came back from touring the island we stopped by Mariah's Fresh Fruit Stand(the best fruit my mouth has ever tasted).  The rest of the afternoon we spent lounging by the beautiful, blue ocean.

Thursday 3/28/14

We started out our day by discussing our weaknesses/things to work on.  Mine happen to be stressing over everything, even silly things and being to quiet.  I tend to sit back and take everything in, instead of taking part verbally in the conversation when in a big group. Our 1st stop of the day was San Pedro High School.  Talk about beach front, this high school truly is right on the beach.  Sadly there were no students at the school because school was canceled for a track and field competition.  While walking to San Pedro High we watched a little bit of the parade.  The music was wonderful and very "islandy".  Next we visited La Isla Bonita (the elementary school), this is where I will be teaching while in Belize.  All the students were in their classes, but I am very stoked to meet all of them and begin teaching on Monday! For lunch I finally got to try some Belizian rice and beans.  Very good I must say and I had it with BBQ chicken.  The good food doesn't stop there.  For dinner we had Lobster, coconut rice, and veggies.  I've always been thy picky eater so I am learning to be adventuress when it comes to eating and try all things I normally would never pick.  I want to have the real Belizian experience.

Friday 3/29/14

For breakfast Maria at the fruit stand made us the most delicious fruit juice I've ever had.  It was pineapple, orange juice.  The thing here that makes there food so good is there's not any disgusting preservatives in it.  For lunch we ate at Calaente's (a Mexican restaurant). I ordered chicken gorditas.  Chicken gorditas are basically huge tortillas with chicken, pico de gallo, mozzarella cheese, lettuce and salsa.  Later that night we rode golf cart around the island.  Well I guess it sounds like all we do is eat haha

Keep posted because next week I'll begin blogging about teaching in the school and more adventures!

First Few Days...

Yesterday I landed in San Pedro at 11am Belizian time, which is 1pm U.S. time.  Flying from Belize City to San Pedro, Belize was so awesome! We flew very close to the water which gave us a great view of the water itself and the island.   Once getting off Mia Air (the tennie tiny plane), we then hopped in a taxi to take us to the place we will call home sweet home for 5 weeks, Pedro's Inn. The island is unbelievable beautiful.  The ocean is very different from back home...it's a bright, clear, blue!  Houses are all sorts of magnificent colors.  The people here are very friendly and always seem to cary a smile.

Once we recieve our room assignments and got settle in, we headed out to explore the island. I love it here because we can walk or bike everywhere and the environment is very relaxed.  On our exploration we learned what supermarkets and restaurants we should go to.  We also stopped by a little fruit stand which was my favorite.  You can purchase cantaloupe, watermelons, pineapple, ect... and the guy who runs the stand will cut it up for you.  I bought banana and I must say they are pretty delicious!  After exploring we all found ourselves lounging and relaxing around the pool, surrounded by palm trees and a nice breeze.  Later that night a few of us ordered pizza (such an American thing to do haha, although it was a little different and yummy) and chilled at the hotels restaurant. 

Today we are all going to breakfast at 9am as a group tradition.  After breakfast we will tour the island together.  Let the adventures begin!!! (The image below is a picture of where we are staying.)

Up, up, and away!

March 26, 2014

I wrote this blog entry while I was on the plane but couldn't post until I landed.  My trip has been quit interesting so far and I thought some might like if I shared.  As I was writing I put the times since I couldn't post the entry write away. Enjoy reading my flight madness...

It's 7:15 and my morning has already been CRAZY!  Last night I could not sleep considering all the excitement.  Before going to bed I set 2 alarms and neither alarm went off this morning.  The original plan was to meet Sammy at the airport at 5:30.  When I thankfully woke up at 6am, I panic and scrambled around the house gathering my things and literally ran out the door.  I finally made it to the airport at 6:15 and our flights planned departure was at 6:51!  Talk about stress, that was one of the most stressful situations I've experience.  All I could think about was what would I do if the plane left me? On the positive side, things like this gives us all something to look back and laugh on.  Now that I'm actually on a plane and with part of the UNCW Belize cohort 6, I can finally take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the ride.

It is now 10:38 and I am on the plane from Atlanta, Georgia to Belize City.  My nerves have went away and I am completely excited and can't wait to land in Belize.  I am very intrigued by other countries and find other cultures to be very interesting.  I am looking forward to learning a new culture, making new friends, trying unfamiliar foods, and experiencing all the wonderful things belize has to offer.

 Check back soon, my next post will be from Belize!!!

The night before the adventures begin....

This will be my first post of many to come.  Today I spent most of the day packing, spending time with friends, talking with family, and mentally preparing for a new journey that is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am extremely excited to say that at 6:51 am I will board a plane and begin my journey.  We will first land in Atlanta, Georgia and then from their fly to Belize City.  Once in Belize City our group will then take a tennie tiny, plane over to the island of San Pedro.

At the moment I'm feeling all kinds of emotions.  I'm excited, nervous and happy all at the same time.  It is very bittersweet leaving Wilmington.  I will miss my family, friends, and of course my wonderful students and partnership teacher  at Murrayville Elementary.  I hope that this experience is life changing and continues my growth as a future teacher.  Well now that I have only 4 and 1/2 hours to sleep, I should probably try to contain my excitement long enough to get some rest.

I am all packed and ready to go.  Let the adventures Begin!!!