The Best is Yet to Come

My name is Jessica Crawford, a 5th year senior at UofL and I am here in Belize with the Justice Administration Department but most importantly with an awesome group of students and faculty alike. I came into this trip not knowing what to expect other than what Dr. Foster told me and what I learned from our weekly orientation on Tuesday nights. Going into the trip I wasn't friends with anyone who was attending, but through the weekly meetings I slowly started recognizing faces and became more excited for the people who I would spend a whole week with in Belize. It was a bit awkward at first because I was simply feeling out what I would be experiencing in Belize, but I learned fairly quickly that it would be just fine. As we traveled to South Water Caye today, I met a lot of new people who were in our group and loved every moment of it. It truly was paradise on the island and I experienced things I never knew I would get the chance to: snorkeling around the reef, feeding fish insides to pelicans, and sitting in crystal clear water as I got the worst sunburn I've ever obtained. The most exciting part of today was realizing that it's only Monday. We have the next three days to do what we really came here to do, hopefully impact the lives of the communities in Maya Mopan and Georgetown as we also get to hang out with the children in the villages. The best truly is yet to come... I'm excited to grow closer to the people around me as I soak in the Belizian culture and appreciate the world around me even more.