My flight left at 6:15 am (meaning I had to be at the airport for 3:30 am to get through US customs..NOT FUN) from Toronto. I boarded the plane cranky and tired. I lucked out though, I ended up having two seats to myself to Atlanta; allowing me to catch up on some beauty sleep and be somewhat more pleasant for my arrival. The Atlanta airport was not at all what I expected. It was massive. The hike from one end to the other takes a good 10-15 minutes-especially if you don't know where you're going. I got off the plane and 10 minutes later, I was at gate A17 with an hour to kill. As I reached the gate, I realized there's a subway system in the Atlanta airport...so a word to the wise...USE THE INTERNAL SUBWAY SYSTEM... the walk isn't worth it after a sleepless night and an uncomfortable (attempted) sleep on the airplane. This is where I met Brandon. Brandon will be the first of my many encounters along the way I'm sure. Brandon is a 25 year old realtor who sells homes in Pickering, Ontario. This chatty young man sat down beside me in the waiting room and struck conversation with the opening line "you going to San Pedro too?" For the next hour and half, we talked a ton about travelling and the cool things I should go see in Belize. Turns out he has a home over in San Pedro (well, his dad does) and he visits quite frequently. This is where MaryAnn pops in. MaryAnn is my roommate here in Belize. But, I won't talk about her much here because you'll probably hear tons about her over the next few months. Brandon and I parted ways and MaryAnn and I boarded the plane. Here I met Jessica Rice from Pittsburg; my new seat partner. I had a lovely 2 hour plane ride filled with American politics. For those of you who don't know me...politics is really not my thing.
We touchdowned at the Philip S.W. Goldson airport about a mile outside of Belize City. This is where I got to meet the exchange students who would be staying at the Log Cabins with me and I had the pleasure of meeting Ms Deborah and Mr Owen. Ms Deborah is our coordinator and Mr Owen is our driver. He's pretty awesome though. He has a hook up for everything.
Meredith is from North Carolina. Ryan and MaryAnn are both from Ontario like myself. Jackson and Alexandria are from South New Jersey. Amanda is from New York (Long Island) and Natasha is from British Columbia.
Ms Iris owns the Log Cabin Inn.
Ms Edna and Mr Daniel are our cooks.
Mr Isaac is our security guard.
I think that's all the important names for now.
Anyways, that sums up the first day in Belize.
On a different note, I can say that San Ignacio is great so far. We've been here a total of 3 days now. The food has been nothing but delicious and the people are extremely friendly. At first glance, you see a run down village with stray dogs roaming the streets and poverty everywhere. It's not like that at all. People don't worry. Everything is laid back and everyone knows everyone. Someone is always willing to lend a helping hand and they are happy with what they have. At a second glance, you see an array of colourful buildings built all over the village. You see church communities gathering together for prayer. You see children playing football in the fields. Men and women walking along side the road and flagging down colourful transportation buses. Music is heard on the streets as you walk by different restaurants and stores. Cars honk constantly to let their friends know they're passing through. So yea, according to us, living in a one bedroom, run-down, no hot water home for a family of 4, is not adequate. But thats the way of life in this small village, and they're just fine with that. I have no doubt that I'll soon be falling in love with San Ignacio.
*****side note**** best Onion Rings in town...Go to Capellos: The Grill at the top of the Hill. PHENOMENAL.
Peace & Love,
Adriana
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| The view flying into Belize City <3 Nothing but beautiful. |
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