South Water Caye equals the island of my dreams

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So, it's been a while and I'm working hard to catch up on writing about all of my exploits. School got quite busy there for a second with a 3 week, 3 credit course that met everyday with Meg, who had a hand in developing this entire program. Probably one of the more valuable course I taken at UVM however, in terms of skills that will come in handy whenever I make it to the "real-world." Such a relief to have it finished though, and more time to focus on our development projects we are working on in a service-learning course. My group has dreamed up a project working with HIV/AIDS and the media in Belize. The idea is to come up with a survey to distribute, to find out about where people are getting their information in regards to HIV/AIDS and how effective it is. In courses, conversations, and lectures we've attended, we keep hearing that the information is out there, people just aren't listening. It's been difficult establishing community partners so that our project may continue after we leave, but a learning process none-the-less. I'm excited about getting it underway, and hopefully seeing tangible results. Some of the other groups are working on things like renewable energy, cultural tourism, improving nutrition in schools, and environmental education. Were obviously not expecting anything huge from work done over the course of two months, but it is a great way for everyone to get to know the community in which we live in.

Okay, enough of talking about how amazing we are (right), and back to another superb tropical island experience. Last weekend we were fortunate enough to have a program trip to International Zoological Expeditions on South Water Caye. All week long we had been hearing about the impending Nor'Easter that was supposed to rock New England. It came as predicted, and we were all disappointed that our Program Director would not be able to join us on the trip as planned. However, logistics were worked out, and he arrived only a day late. Jay and Meg, came to Belize and dreamed up this entire program last spring. So far, most things have run as planned, and we were all incredibly excited to have them spend time with us and express our gratitude for making this semester possible.

From the moment we got to SWC it was unbelieveable. Part of the Barrier Reef wraps around the caye, and we were able to swim off the island to the reef, and check out all of the aquatic life. The marine life was a lot less vivid than in San Pedro, but not nearly as deep, which allowed us to get a lot closer view of it. I even went out again the next day by myself, as I couldn't get enough of all the new things to see. For those of you that know me well, this is a huge feat for me, as I hate to swim alone, especially in vast bodies of water, such as an ocean.

There were also kayaks available at our disposal. Two lucky ladies on the trip, Melodie and Laura, went out one day, and were fortunate enough to see Dolphins during their paddle. I, on the other hand chose a mid-day paddle, with my friend Kate, during high seas. Not really, though we did come back coated in salt, as the waves had pelted us. The color of the water was that phenomonal Caribbean blue/green though.

There are only 3 resorts on the island, and they all seem to have a weird relationship with one-another. One the second day, the owners of IZE informed us that we weren't to leave the property after dark. That situation became very odd.

The boys got together and built a Maya temple sandcastle. We laughed at their macho exhibition of building something. Naturally, what is built, must be destroyed. Unfortunately for them, they chose a very passive form of destruction, so to remedy this, my roommates, Jaime and Emily did the job for them, stomping all over it. The boys pouted for the rest of the afternoon.

IZE attracts loads of tourists for fishing expeditions. We have a couple of avid fishers in the group, and were fortunate enough to have them catch our lunch on Sunday. We enjoyed some tasty fried grouper on multiple occasions. Gary, our resident professor managed to extend our stay on sunday for a few additional hours, during which we enjoyed a rather passive game of beach volleyball, and dozed on the beach until we reluctantly got on the boat.

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Comments

[marti]

Awesome!
Your blogs have been fantastic. I'm really getting a feeling for what life is like down there. Maybe someday, you and I can continue our history of traveling together and go back to Belize for a Road Trip! We can even play that "Are we there yet?" game that you loved. Or not. I can't wait to see you in May. Keep your wits about you! Love, Aunt Marti