During my stay and study in Belize, I will be focusing on my research on youth development in San Jose Succotz. I have been asked to conduct research on this area to see if this community could create a youth development program and to have it be sustainable for the years to come! I will be documenting my travels to show you the work I am doing and the adventures that I have had!
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With week two down, it is amazing to see how fast my stay here is going. I have had the opportunity this week to experience once in a lifetime adventures and want to do a different spin on this weeks blog. Instead of writing about EVERYTHING that I have done, I will be picking the top 4 experiences that I have had this week! They aren't in any certain order, but each adventure was a blast!
1. Great People= Great Projects
This week, I decided to take a different approach at meeting the people in the village of Succotz. I had a list of people that I had to meet so I decided to make my presence known by going to their areas of work or houses and personally getting to know them. It was there where I found out about two great organizations led by two empowering women. The first group was the local youth group with the FCD (Friends for Conservation and Development) led by Nidia Panthi, which focused on building a green house for the primary school and then the Women's Group led by Ms. Olivia Pat who focused on empowering women in the community. Both of these amazing women worked hard after their jobs and school to better the community where they lived.
2. Learn about where you are
I learned that it is imperative to get to know the area and the history where you are staying to help you better understand the culture and traditions in whichever country you are staying. You can opportunities to do awesome things! On Wednesday of this week, the House of Culture in Benque organized a day of learning and fun to the community because it was International Museum Day! When I went there, I learned about the marimba instrument, the different traditions Belize celebrates, and I even learned how to write my name in Mayan! If you are studying abroad or even passing through a different place, learn about their history and take a leap to ask questions!
3. Transportation Systems
This week, I left the host family "nest" and traveled around Belize by myself using the taxi system. As weird as this sounds, I was actually nervous to go by myself. A lot of the taxis here are not like the regular ones you would imagine in NYC. They are regular cars that are set apart because they have green license plates. You also share the taxi with other people that need rides so you can be in a car by yourself or you crammed in with 4 other people! The great thing though about the taxi system here is that it is so cheap! $3 Belizean to get me over to the next town ($1.50 U.S.) is fine by me crammed or not!
4. Iguanas are better than Parrots!
As crazy as this is, yes that is a real live iguana on my shoulder (don't try this at home kids!). I went to the Iguana Conservation Project in San Ignacio to romp around with some iguanas! These little guys were very tame and friendly which helped a lot because I was a little out of my element! Overall, with help and guidance from the handlers there at the project, I was able to learn a lot about the iguanas and the history to them!
This week was a great one and I am looking forward to the new experiences that I am going to have this week! By the end of this next week, the green house for the FCD should be completed, I will attempt to sew a placemat with the Women's group, and I will be meeting more friends along the way! 
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