The first day we arrived at the Belize Zoo to see some wonderful creatures. After the students got settled in had dinner, we went over our fears and goals for the trip. The students did a great job about sharing their fears and goals. After this we went to the Belize Zoo for a night hike. We visited all the nocturnal animals the zoo had to offer. Some of them were Howler monkeys, which could be heard from anywhere in the zoo!, a Jaguar named Junior, an Ocelot, a Puma, an American crocodile, and owls to name a few.
We made it to Maya Center after a wonderful trip to the Maya ruins at Xunantunich. The children learned about the history of the Maya culture and the significance of the village. The village was designated only for special ceremonies. Mayans from all over the region would come to Xunantunich for these ceremonies. Students also learned about how the Mayas reused the previous rulers building to create their new building. The reason for this was because the Maya believed that every building had a spirit with it, and to tear it down and ruin the building, would weaken the spirit of the village and the ruler. Students also learned about the burial rituals of the Maya and how similar they are to the Egyptians. Then we walked around Xunantunich and climbed up the main temple building. We also saw other various ruins, a ball court where the Maya played a game where they tried to get a ball through a vertical hoop using only their knees, elbows, or head. We also saw ancient stelas, which are large limestone monuments that told stories of royal births, accession to power, warfare, the capture of nobles, , and the celebration of annual ceremonies and rituals.
Nate - Well where do we begin??? The day we got here we got off the plain, and I was hit by a freight train of heat and miserable hot weather!! Although that all got better when we got on the air conditioned Bus:) boo ya!! Well then we went to the zoo place and got our beds/cabins... Then we had dinner and had an orientation in the building thingy....... later that night we went to the zoo and saw the big Kitties:) Today was just a big traveling day and honestly BORING!!!! OH!! wait we visited the Mayan Ruins and that was AWESOME!! Then we traveled and that was the boring part!! Now we are at the Maya Center and I'm really tired so i'm going to go now SOOO YA!!!! Bye!
Blaine - Today we got up at 6:30 and I took a shower and Wills shower had a lizard in it. We ate breakfast and packed up for the bus. We then went to the Maya ruins. I got a lot of pictures. We went back onto the bus and went on a very long bus ride to Maya Center. I am in a room with Andrew. The rooms are very nice. They have showers and a bathroom in them. We started playing football and got some of the kids involved. It was a lot of fun to play with them and was the best part of the day.
Andrew- When we arrived in Belize City it was hot. We traveled in a nice bus with ac to the Belize zoo. The beds and the food was great. Today we woke up early and saw ancient Mayan ruins. We climbed to the top and saw everything for miles.
Baerett - We got off the plane to Belize City and a huge wave of heat hit us. We started to walk to customs, and we waited in line before turning our passports in and getting them stamped. Then, we got our baggage and walked to the bus. We rode the bus about an hour and a half until we arrived at the zoo. We settled down in our cabanas before looking around a bit, and then we ate dinner and talked about our goals and fears for the trip. After that, we went to the Belize zoo. We saw animals like the Ocelot, Howler Monkeys, and the national animal of Belize, the Tapir. It was a cute little guy with a little snout. The next morning, we got up after a nice night's sleep and Played Euchre. After that, we went to Mayan Ruins, and they were pretty cool. We ate a great lunch and there was this recorder player outside who was really good. We then took a 2 and a half hour ride to Maya Center, and we relaxed, played football with Maroquin, and went to bed with our mosquito nets.
Will- Hi Will here! Having a great time the trip has been amazing so far! It is really an awesome experience to meet the community of Belize and adapt to their culture. As I type though we are having a very humid and HOT night, with many bugs. So as you can imagine I am quite ready to go to bed after this long and exciting day! Good night and god bless...
0 comments:
Post a Comment