Post Trip Blog: The Full Experience (Kurtis)

First off, this post definitely won't actually cover the full experience. There were too many highs and lows, early mornings and late nights, and good food and non-vegetarian options (oops) to explain the whole trip in detail.

This was my first international trip in which I felt immersed in the country's culture. In high school, I traveled to Haiti for a missions trip, but we were very sheltered from the rest of the country, and did not leave the orphanage we stayed at very often. That being said, I understand that a week-long experience only allows for so much cultural education. From staying in San Ignacio and walking around downtown, to staying in the Toledo district surrounded by Mayan culture, the experience was both amazing and challenging.

A huge challenge I had was when we stayed in the Toledo district. We stayed at a lodging of the Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA) in a Mayan community. The lodging was basic, but safe and comfortable. It was refreshing to hear nature so clearly at night, and be able to look up and see the stars so beautifully. After all of these positive aspects, you may be wondering what was challenging. To be honest, the interpersonal reactions we had with the families who hosted us were collectively the most challenging experience. The language barrier and cultural differences made conversation difficult at times.

Two specific interactions which I learned so much from happened our last night and last morning staying at the TEA lodging. The last night, myself and other classmates were sitting on hammocks and playing cards, having some fun before we went to bed. A mother and her daughter, who live in the house behind our lodging, came up and started talking to us and watching us play. After a while, I was confused why they were still with us. It made me think to our cultural education, and how Mayan communities live as a community, rather than as people living together. So, while I viewed our lodging somewhat like a hotel that I was staying in, she saw it as a communal house in which her and the rest of the community invited me to stay in. The second happened the last morning. We were told "breakfast at 7". OK, no big deal. Well, luckily, I was awake at 5:45 and ready by 6, because our hosts came at 6:15 ready to feed us. I was stressed because I had to wake up some of my classmates. Not tell them to get ready faster, I had to actually wake them up. After that, while I was waiting for them to come down so we could leave for breakfast, I realized how I stress unnecessarily about time. (This meal was also where the three vegetarians accidentally ate meat, yikes.)

One final thought, which is very minor compared to all of the things I learned in cultural comparisons, is between the different types of farming in Belize. The first farm we visited, a traditional diversified farm, had bananas. The leaves had brown spots growing from the edges of the leaves. I thought it had something to do with the sun when I first noticed it, but after touring an industrial banana farm on the last day of our trip, I found the real reason. The real problem was revealed by our tour guide; it was a fungus, which the plants on her farm did not suffer from regularly because of fungicide sprays. A very minor observation, but something I thought was interesting.

Being that I want to work internationally after graduation, the cultural and travel experiences I was afforded for this class were invaluable.

Thanks for reading! Come to our final presentation on Monday, March 26th at 4pm in 214 Ferguson Building.

Kurtis Miller is a senior studying Animal Science.