Heather's Adventures in HIStory: The First Few Weeks in a Whirlwhind

Yesterday marks our fifth week here in Belize! I am blown away by how quickly the time has gone and how much I have to share about it all. So, here is a summary of some memories from my first three weeks:

During orientation week, we went to a place called the Blue Hole, a beautiful water hole nestled in a mountain jungle next to a cave. After swimming, we ate a picnic lunch, which, was followed by a small snack of termites. Yup. Termites. Apparently, if you are ever in the jungle, these little bugs make a very nutritious snack. CCSP staff members have been encouraging us to “squeeze the sponge” whenever an opportunity arises. Thus, when they conveniently found a termite nest next to the picnic tables, we of course were inclined to try them. They tasted like a cross between a mint and a carrot. Only after the fact did I find out that termites are related to cockroaches. Comforting. J

Another day, we went to a Mayan ruin called Xunantunich or “stone maiden”, which is situated on a mountain across from the cow pasture on our campus. Climbing around on structures built by the Mayans hundreds of years ago was incredible. While standing on the top of the Castile (royal building), it was interesting to look down on our campus and the mountains of Guatemala in the distance and wonder about what the view looked like when the Mayans stood in our shoes.

On a trip to the Belize zoo, I held a boa constrictor around my shoulders, fed some Scarlet macaws peanuts, and gave a high five to a jaguar. Let me put it this way…It was unlike any zoo experience you could ever expect to have in the States! All the animals there are native to Belize and most are rescued from situations in which they would have died in the wild.

After the zoo, the staff left us at the gate of the zoo and let us loose for our first experience traveling on our own in Belize. On this weekend of free travel, we took a bus to Belize City, where we got on a water taxi to take us to an island called Caye Caulker. The water on the Caye was like a kaleidoscope of every possible blue you can imagine, and the sun struck the water like light shining through a stained glass window. Though looking at the water from the shore was breathtaking, my favorite memory from our weekend was a snorkeling excursion we took observing the creatures that lived beneath the water. We took a tour with witty native Belizean nicknamed “Caveman.” We snorkeled not only with colorful fish, but also with more intimidating creatures like stingrays, nurse sharks, and a moray eel. After our snorkeling, Caveman took us to some mangroves at the end of the island where we saw several seahorses. We even found a pregnant male (Fun Fact: male seahorses carry the eggs!), whom we named “Big Daddy.”

After returning from the Cayes with fond memories of fish, sunburned shoulders, and Caribbean/Garifuna music ringing in our ears, we finally jumped into the academics of our program with our first week of Sustainable Community Development.

This week involved discussions about development theory, ecotourism (sustainable tourism), and ways in which we can partner with needy communities and empower them in such a way that they are able to deal with whatever current and future challenges they might face. There is a distinct danger of causing more harm than good if you go into a community with the arrogant mentality of knowing exactly what they need and how to get it for them. Equipping a community to help themselves is far more beneficial in the long-term. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime.” A highlight of this week was a field trip we took to the Community Baboon Sanctuary near Belize City. This community is composed of several villages that are committed to protecting the land and the black howler monkeys that live on it. The villages’ agricultural and everyday practices focus on sustainable living that will support both the people and the wildlife in the community. While taking a tour around the land, we were hoping to see some of the howler monkeys in distant trees. We were pleasantly surprised when our tour guide, Geraldine, started to hoot and howl like the monkeys so that they not only showed their cheeky little faces in the tree tops above us but proceeded to climb down the trees to fill those little faces with leaves that we held up to them.

There certainly have been challenges to living in this new place, with new people, a different culture, and a very intense academic schedule, but with each day, I am reminded through my experiences how blessed I am to be learning about God’s creation while living in a place where I can see his fingerprints so clearly in everything around me.