It's been just over a week since I left Belize, and I miss it so much. The first couple of days back in Iowa weren't too bad because it was pretty warm here, but now, it's freezing again! Although I miss the warm weather in Belize, and the adorable kids that we got to meet, I am still happy to be home. Before we left, they kept telling us that going to Belize and seeing how they live down there would change our lives. I never actually thought that it would happen, but it did. Seeing how little the majority of the people in Belize have made me so much more thankful for everything that I have the privilege of having.

I learned so much while I was in Belize. I learned about the history and culture of Belize as well as how the people live. But that's isn't all that I learned. I also learned a lot about myself. Throughout the week that I spent in Belize, I was forced to push myself to do things that I normally would never even think about doing. Whether it was snorkeling, climbing up to the top of a Mayan ruin, or even just talking to people that I didn't know, I constantly tried new things, and I am so happy that I did. This trip reminded me once again just how important my family is to me. We are all really close and spend a lot of time together, so not being able to talk to anyone for a week, when I normally talk to them daily, was very hard. Even though every part of the trip wasn't exactly fun (the whole not having a real shower for 3 days kinda sucked, as did the bugs and lizards!), I couldn't have chosen a better way to spend my spring break.

Over the next week or so, I will be posting blogs that explain the details of each day during our trip (I kept a journal while we were there so I wouldn't forget anything!). This means that I will be posting more than I have in the past, so make sure that you check in more!

Tonight, I will leave you with the first group picture that we took on our trip.

Taken at the Belize Zoo

Picture in the photo are: Front Row L-R: Jackie Greco, Cara Mauldin, Paige DeVine, Allison Franck. Back Row L-R: Nicole Lenius, Steve Kluck, Daryl Grove, Justin Marchant, Melissa Kipp, Jason Olsgard, Tiffany Whitcher, Kristen Jorgensen, Kris Whitsell, Kit Klepinger, Allison Rodenberg.

More pictures and videos will be added with each post! Here's a picture of Daryl Grove feeding a parrot at the zoo:

I will try to post more tomorrow, but if I don't get anything up, look for the next post on Wednesday!