Belize, Sustainability, and Auburn Abroad

It is eight months later, and there is rarely a day I do not think about this trip. It was just a week long, but it left an unforgettable impression on me. I have always known I have a passion for traveling, but this study abroad made me realize the importance of being more than a tourist. Instead of going places just to go, I learned to be more observant in terms of the local culture and how I, as a visitor in a foreign place, am impacting the lives and environment around me. Now when I travel, I try to immerse myself deep into the native culture by eating local cuisine and using domestic companies because then I know I am directly benefiting the people who live there. This trip did not just have an effect on my international travels, but also on my views of Americans and the United States as a whole. We could be doing a lot more to protect our environment and put more effort into fields like conservation biology to ensure we are not degrading or destroying one of the very things that is essential to humans’ livelihoods. In Belize, they took every opportunity they could to promote preservation of the natural environment while in the United States, it is barely mentioned in the general public. As Americans, we take many things for granted and make big deals over small things often, so going to Belize was a very humbling experience because they live so different from us. Americans are in a constant state of stress about things that do not even matter and get upset when they do not get something they want. The people in Belize made do with what they had which was not much, but they did not care at all; they were just happy to be alive. I believe if we lived more of a carefree life like the Belizeans did, we would all be happier individuals and enjoy life more without fretting on the little things.

I consistently see the people that were on the trip with me and a couple of them actually live in the same building as I do. My closest friend on the trip, Emma, and I still hang out often to keep each other caught up in one another’s lives and I know she will always be there for me. It is crazy how just spending a week together made us such close friends. Also, Dr. Wayde and Emmitt played a large role in making this trip amazing and I know they will always be resources I can reach out to if needed.

Studying abroad involved so much more than I expected it to; I not only got to experience everything another country had to offer, but I learned more about myself, and made meaningful friends along the way.