I am having an amazing time here in Belize! I’ve been here for 10 days and have encountered so many great people. First off, people here frequently stop you to say good-morning or ask how you are doing. It does not matter if you know them or not. It has quickly become one of my most favorite things. Everyone is so welcoming and wants to hear about where you are from and how much you’re enjoying their city. I was nervous at first that I would easily be recognized as a tourist and that people would treat me differently. However, the people here love the tourists and tell me that I need to invite all my friends down here. It is wonderful to see how much they embrace all people.

In my first week I have met such amazing people throughout San Ignacio and the surrounding cities. I have gotten to work with community health workers to do home visits. This is where we go house to house and offer free blood pressure and blood sugar checks We have helped so many amazing people by giving them free checks and educating them on conditions they may have.

We also got the privilege of running multiple stop the bleed clinics. In these clinics, we got to teach all types of people how to stop bleeds in an emergency. We even taught the police officers in the country’s capital! It was so cool to see and hear about the differences between their health care and law systems.

My biggest advice to anyone studying abroad is to embrace the country’s culture because you will learn so much and make so many friends along the way!

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Nursing in Communities Clinical in Belize