TAMUK Students for Global Communication

Hello everyone! My name is Justine Moreno and I am apart of an organization called Students for Global Communication. For those of you who aren’t aware, our organization is made up of graduate students pursuing a degree in Speech Language Pathology from Texas A&M University – Kingsville. Today, we begin a twelve-day journey in the country of Belize where we will get the opportunity to provide speech and language services. This blog will allow us to share this entire experience with you. Join us as we embark on the adventure of a lifetime!

As we began to board the plane, I was a bit nervous yet very much excited for what was awaiting us here in Belize. Personally, I had never been outside of Texas so for me (and I am sure for the majority of the girls as well) this trip was much more than just a study abroad trip. When we arrived to the airport, we were greeted by the co-founder of Therapy Abroad and then traveled an hour to our first accommodation. We are staying at the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary which literally feels like we are in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless, the views from our dormitory are nothing short of amazing.

Once we settled into our rooms, we met in the dining hall where we were provided with our very first homecooked Belizean meal. MY ABSOULTE FAVORITE PART OF THE MEAL WAS THE CARAMEL CAKE! If I could pack some up and take it back home with me, I would!

As we began to prepare for bed, the culture shock immediately started to sink in. We were immediately told that tap water can only be used to shower and brush our teeth. However, we have to avoid consumption of the tap water. Because of this, drinking water was only available at two stations located outside the dormitories.

Even more, water is dependent on the rain. Therefore, conserving water is very much enforced. To shower, we were only capable of having the water run if we held on to a lever and when the water was running, it was ICE COLD. Overall, I feel that this first day was such an eye opener as we close the year of 2019 and begin the year of 2020. I began to think about how privileged we are to have all that we have back home and how to often, we take the littlest of things, yet important things, for granted. I am so excited to see what awaits us tomorrow!

Thank you to our sponsors for helping to making this trip a reality! Thank you.