Day 2

Hey everyone, 

This is Vanessa Zepeda and today we traveled from Monkey Bay to San Ignacio. When we arrived to San Ignacio we made our first stop to meet a local Belizean who provided us with information about Belize culture. Fun fact, the Belize flag is the only flag with people on it. It was a great experience learning about the history of the culture before working with this population. Our next stop was at a local hospital where we had the opportunity to get a tour from one of the doctors on site. This experience taught me how health care is very different than health care in the United States. For example, if there was someone who needed immediate care they would only be able to get to the hospital on their own means, call the local police to transport them, or pay for their own ambulance. My group and I were also surprised to learn that there are only 2 speech-language pathologists in all of Belize. Our main goal here in Belize is educating those who don’t know about our profession. We will be collaborating with those who see the clients on a day-to-day basis. These individuals range from parents, caregivers, nurses, teachers, and social workers. We plan on providing them with the necessary tools and techniques to help improve the communication and/or swallowing issues of the clients they see. After leaving the hospital we arrived at Cahal Pech Resort, which was a very different experience than the night before. This resort has hot water, air conditioning, and a restaurant. We are thankful that in only 2 days here in Belize, we have already had a variety of experiences. For dinner we had shrimp curry, beans and rice, chicken, salad, and freshly squeezed fruit juice. So far the food has been amazing and I am ready to taste all of the foods of Belize before the end of my travel. Tomorrow will be our first day working hands on with local Belizeans doing screening, evaluations, treatment, and learning more about this beautiful culture!