The students officially arrived on August 25th and were greeted by the CCSP staff and a bag of bananas! After all the students made it through customs, we loaded up the vans and headed west across the country to our campus, Nabitunich. The two hour trip gave the students a good chance to see Belize for the first time, noticing the new sights and smells, and also a chance to get to know each other as we trekked home.
The best way to celebrate coming to a new home is to have, of course, a good meal waiting! That meal was a traditional Belizean meal of stewed chicken, rice and beans, coleslaw and of course, fried plantains, followed by a special worship service celebrated around a bonfire. What could be a better way to spend our first night at Nabitunich but with a bonfire and a night sky filled with stars!
The last few days have been filled with activities to orientate us to this new place. We have walked to the local village of Succotz, tried our skills in Central America’s favorite sport, futbol, learned how to take the bus in and out of San Ignacio, journaled in a nice heavy rain (welcome to the rainy season!!), had a nice, cold swim at Blue Hole National Park, and a wonderful Belizean BBQ, compliments of one of our favorite Belizean women, Ms. Flora Chan and family. We also had a chance to get our hands dirty and started our organic garden! The students collected manure, dug in the dirt, weeded, and were refreshed by a nice afternoon rain!
So far all the students, Stacey, Becky, Jenna, Scott, Jenney, Rebekah, Kalli, Daniel, Michelle, and Marissa have settled in nicely and are looking forward to a challenging and exciting semester here at CCSP Belize.
