Today marks one week since we landed our sunburned flight in Fargo, North Dakota. We hauled the big duffel bags into our vehicles, and started the next chapter of our nursing career: post-Belize. One of the physicians, and mentors told us that the opportunity to serve others with no expectation of anything in return is a gift. He went on to explain that after this experience we would all be looking at the world with a new set of eyes, a new perspective.

We were dreading the transition back to frigid North Dakota temperatures, but were pleasantly surprised by the 90 degree weather that, to us, felt mild and comfortable. We have been embraced by family and friends as we return to our apartments, our jobs, and our lives here in the Midwest. We have been trying our best to answer questions and share stories, but it has proven to be difficult to convey just how impactful and powerful this trip has been. One question may produce an hour long response, and even still one feels as though so much was left unsaid.

Even though we were in Central America for two short weeks, we still managed to make connections and build friendships with the villagers, village healthcare workers, and team members. Friendships have formed, grown and solidified; a sense of family has emerged as we now share a life-changing experience. We had the opportunity to provide nursing care to patients, and we may never know how their lives turn out. We can only reflect, and hope that the lives we touched will produce a positive chain reaction. We have thought about and prayed for the families we had the privilege of meeting, and hoped that the medications and education we provided have given some relief.

We have felt quiet gratitude as we turn our faucets and drink without hesitation, or simply drive down the road to pick up a variety of groceries at our leisure. We came home to soft beds, finished floors and pharmacies on every corner. We hope to never forget how something like Tylenol can change someone’s quality of life. We look at our full closets, and cupboards, reflecting on the reality of the privilege of our birthplace.

This experience was unforgettable, and we are all different because of it. Nursing is a path that demands many things. One must be acutely intelligent, but also, acutely human. The combination of the brain and the soul is one that will inevitably produce hardship and sorrow, but also exquisite joy, indescribable gratitude and overwhelming peace. We will take this experience with us as we move forward, and place compassion at the center of our nursing practice. As we now consider taking our next step as nearly graduated Registered Nurses, we will spread the compassion as far as we can take it. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for walking this part of our path with us. We’ll see you all at graduation, God bless.

-NDSU Nursing

We are happy to report we safely landed in Fargo this morning shortly after 11 a.m.! After two weeks away from our family and friends, we can’t wait to give you all a big hug and deliver our souvenirs!

Flying home has been very bittersweet reflecting on this incredible experience, knowing it was a once in a lifetime trip. Pictures will never do the beautiful countries of Belize and Guatemala justice. It is also very difficult to sum up the past two weeks, but one word which has often been used to describe this experience is ‘serendipitous’. Everything that has occurred to make Project Belize possible and for all of us to travel to Belize together is nothing short of sweet serendipity.

As we unpack our bags, take care of our stinky laundry, and scroll through the photos, our minds are flooded with the powerful memories of the people of Belize. We traveled to Belize to provide nursing care for 16 different villages with the hope that we could leave an impact on each villager we cared for. It was evident we left an impact on each patient seen, but at the end of the day, the villagers left an even greater impact on us. They taught us what gratitude looks like, which was extremely humbling. They showed us that joy is not defined by what we have or own. They expressed a deep level of thankfulness we have rarely experienced. The people of Belize taught us some of life’s greatest lessons and we have a new level of gratitude and appreciation for the luxuries we have back at home now.

Through Project Belize, we sharpened our nursing assessment skills, became more familiar with tropical diseases, and grew in confidence working with translators. We were so blessed to work alongside some of the most incredible, caring, and wise doctors and providers. It was truly an honor to learn from them and we can’t thank them enough for all they contributed to make Project Belize possible. Because of them, we will all be better nurses someday.

We’d also like to thank Osprey for providing us with all of our outstanding gear! Our durable hiking backpacks and 3 liter water bladders were our lifesavers on hot, humid hikes to clinics. We can’t forget our fanny packs with the fun shaped water bottles we came to love by calling them our ‘kidneys’. Finding all our bags at the various airport stops was quite easy, since we all had our nifty Osprey duffel bags. We put our gear through a lot of sweat, heat, jungle terrain, rain, and dirt. Osprey exceeded our expectations and allowed us to be fully and properly equipped to serve the people of Belize. Thank you, Osprey!! (Shameless plug to check out their gear) 😉

As Gustav Flaubert said, “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”. After the past two weeks visiting Belize and Guatemala, we feel blessed to have explored a little corner of our magnificent world. The need for health care in developing countries is great and our professor, Abigail, said that her vision is to see us go and reach other underprivileged countries and provide them with healthcare. Although we are presented with language barriers in other parts of the world, a smile is still a smile that carries the most genuine thanks. We’d love to spread that to other corners of our beautiful earth.

The stories and memories from our experience abroad are endless. The friendships and bonds we built are lifelong. The knowledge we acquired is powerful. We are forever grateful for this serendipitous experience.

Thank you for following along on our journeys and adventures across Belize and Guatemala!

~Heather & Britta

“You were chosen to be here”

Some of the other fabulous people we worked with and learned from during Project Belize.

The kids were fascinated with Ashley’s blonde hair and thought it was a wig 😊

Our hikes were challenging, but the view was always worth it.

We were so grateful to see so many children during our clinics ❤️

Kids are kids, no matter where you go 🥰

Our fabulous leaders and mentors, Abigail and Adam, who adopted the affectionate names “Mommagail and Dadam” as they guided us through our trip.

We sure will miss these stunning views!

We started our day saddened to leave the beautiful country of Belize, but ready to return back to our loved ones! At 10 o’clock this morning we started our journey back to the United States. We jumped from San Pedro to Belize City on Tropic Air and then from Belize City to Dallas later that evening. After a full day of traveling, we are happy to report that we are all back on US soil!

WE WILL SURE MISS THESE VIEWS

OUR PILE OF BAGS FOR ALMOST THE LAST TIME

Though we were all elated to have hot running water and flushable toilets again, we were able to reflect on the living conditions of the citizens of Belize and appreciate the contrast between the two countries. Before this trip, simple things like drinkable tap water and air conditioning were expected wherever we stayed in the US. As we have stated previously in our blog posts, we now know these are privileges in which a lot of our country do not receive. We also have never been more grateful for a good slice of pizza and some breadsticks. It did not take long for all of the pizza to be gone and once we finished we got to have our Albendazole for dessert. (This is the pill we gave almost all of our patients to treat their worms… I guess it is only fair we experience it as well)

YUMMMMMMM ALBENDAZOLE

Before we indulged in our supper we went around and shared our favorite and least favorite parts of our trip. There were a lot of themes in both of the categories. It seemed a lot of the groups favorite part was seeing all the grateful people we got to serve over our four clinical days. However, with that there were also some sad feelings regarding the instances when patients came in with conditions we were not equipped to help with. Another struggle we reflected upon was how easily instructions and questions can be lost in translation. These misunderstandings can be potentially harmful when it comes to treating medical conditions. We are feeling forever grateful for our growths as a group and as individuals throughout this trip!

Tomorrow we finally depart for our final destination of Fargo, ND at around 8:30AM!! Thanks for the continued support as we finish our journey home!

Mariah and Maddy

It’s day 14 and our final day in the beautiful country of Belize as our journey comes to a close. We started our day with breakfast at Estel’s where we enjoyed delicious fry jacks and watermelon juice. Fry jacks are a traditional Belizean food made of deep fried dough – so yummy!

We immediately followed our meal by hopping aboard a catamaran. The captain and crew aboard the boat live in San Pedro and served us some local cuisine including shrimp ceviche. We spent six hours swimming and snorkling off the boat. It was fun to extend our snorkling experience from yesterday!

We ended our night at a beautiful outdoor restaurant with one last meal that included rice. We’ve adapted well to “Belizean time” for our dinners – the slower-moving culture has encouraged us to converse more at the table. We also bought bananagrams, which a student purchased at the orphanage garage sale yesterday, to play while we are waiting – this keeps our mind fresh during summer 🤓.

As we pack up our belongings, we think back on how the last two weeks have impacted us. This next day will be a time for our group to come together and reflect on the entire journey and all of the ways we each have expanded our transcultural perspective and jumped out of our comfort zones. We also will have one last night together with our new friends ❤️

-Beth and Ashley B.

Today was our first full day on the island of Ambergris Caye! We started off our day with a delicious breakfast at Caroline’s. We had banana pancakes, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, and freshly squeezed pineapple, watermelon and orange juice. After breakfast we headed to a hyperbaric chamber within San Pedro! The chamber is used for scuba divers that ascend to the surface too quickly and develop a condition called decompression sickness or “the bends” when too much nitrogen is released from the blood stream too quickly. If left untreated, the patient can develop early onset arthritis, seizures, and even death. The chamber is used to treat this syndrome as well as carbon monoxide poisoning and wound healing.

We spent the afternoon at the local children’s shelter, Hope Haven. This was the first year our group has visited this shelter so it was a learning experience for everyone. We found out they provide a variety of services to the community such as domestic violence counseling, dance lessons, housing for women in transition out of difficult social circumstances (such as violence), and artisan classes to teach skills which would allow them to have better long term financial stability. At the shelter we were able to do wellness checks for all nine of the children currently residing at Hope Haven. These are required yearly for each child just like they were at L.O.L in Punta Gorda. All the children loved playing with and laughing at the Snapchat filters after we were done with their assessments. Overall, the visit to Hope Haven was very successful and the group plans on expanding on our work there in the coming years.

After our time at Hope Haven we celebrated the success of our day by snorkeling the Hol Chan Marine Reef, the second largest reef in the world. We were able to see a variety of fish, such as a rainbow fish and barracuda, sting rays, nurse sharks (very fitting), an eel, and sea turtles. We also found out while we were on our way that Belize is now eco friendly and banned plastic in an effort to conserve the beautiful reef.

As we are nearing the end of the trip we are feeling extra grateful and sad tomorrow is our last day on the island! We are ready for an awesome day on the catamaran tomorrow!

-Madi K and Holly W (ps. Miss you moms♥️)

Today we said goodbye to Guatemala for our trek back to Belize City to get to the airport to drop off our rental vans and some of our Project Belize friends to fly back to the States! We first enjoyed a last breakfast at David’s before hitting the road, and we got to stop at the Belize prison gift shop on the way to the airport to see what the inmates created and were selling! Once we arrived to the airport, our group hopped on a very tiny airplane to go out to the island of Ambergris Caye off of Belize!

The flight from Belize City to San Pedro lasted approximately 15 minutes, and our group took two planes which meant two people got to ride shotgun with the pilot! Once the plane took off, all the stress of hauling heavy bags all day, getting through the Guatemalan/Belizean border, and being hangry on a road trip melted away. The views of the water were breathtaking from above, and the quaint portion of San Pedro near our hotel has made us more excited for the adventures ahead. It’s funny because some of us are getting very homesick even though we are endlessly grateful to be on this trip. Seeing the beautiful water and island are keeping everyone grateful to see and learn more about the other side of Belize.

After landing in San Pedro around 4:15 p. m., we walked about two blocks to our hotel on the beach and enjoyed some swimming and refreshments by the sea. Dinner at the hotel was great with the area being known for having good seafood, and, after dinner, we all enjoyed going to watch and partake in Chicken Drop Bingo! The game consists of buying tickets with numbers on them, and one wins by having the chicken in the pen poop on their number. The winner wins the pot and also gets to happily clean up the chicken poop! A few “lucky” people from our group volunteered to be the chicken security. To start the game, the chicken security would pick up the chicken, move it in circles, and then blow on its butt for good luck! At the very last game of the night, we had a winner from our group!

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to visiting an orphanage on the island and then going snorkeling in the afternoon!

Thanks for following along!

Emily & Ashley R.

Tonight we are getting ready to say “Adiós” to Guatemala. On our last full day here, we had some free time to sleep in, relax, shop, and swim. We enjoyed being able to sleep in, drink some coffee on the deck, and devour our hotel’s delicious banana bread pancakes.

Many of us went to the Jade museum this morning. Jade was viewed as the most precious stone to the ancient Mayans and was considered to be more valuable than gold. We followed the museum with visiting some local shops. This region of the world is well known for it’s wood carvings – there really are some beautiful and well crafted pieces here!

This afternoon, we ventured back to Flores, the village we visited yesterday that is located on an island on Lake Petén. Some of us went to a local market we call “the nasty market,” that had pungent-smelling meat and lots of fruits and vegetables.

We finished up a little shopping and took a couple of boats to another location on the lake called Jorge’s Rope Swing. We had lots of fun swinging and jumping off of the rope swings and diving board which were really high! A good portion of our crew will be applying aloe to our sunburns tonight. Many of us are venturing outside of our comfort zones and conquering fears along the way. Tomorrow we will enter back into Belize and fly via Tropic Air to Ambergis Caye, an island right off the coast of Belize.

Thanks for keeping up with our blog!

Ashley B. and Sonja

Today was a day of adventure and even some relaxation! The day kicked off with a full breakfast (for the first time in 10 days), and horseback riding through the countryside, a brand new expedition for some of our members. Our horses had just as much personality as we do – we called them our “Hubers” (horse ubers) because they pulled up right to the front of our hotel door. The afternoon was spent relaxing at the hotel and swimming in Lago Petén (Lake Petén), which was more than refreshing as the temperature reached 104 degrees with humidity that could only be described as muggier than the middle of a full coffee cup.

Later in the afternoon, we hopped into the infamous vans to trek to Flores, a village on an island about an hour away. We took the opportunity to do some shopping, and even got to go swimming in the surrounding bay before supper at a local restaurant.

Today we sadly have to say goodbye to one of our professors/mentors, Adam (aka “Dad-am”), as he has obligations as a member of the Air Guard. We are “sad”-am to see you go!! We also must say goodbye to our dear peer and friend Heather. We will miss you both so much on the last days of our trip!

As we have fun exploring new beautiful places, it is difficult not to feel spoiled after visiting houses in villages with dirt floors. Our experiences this past week make us all the more aware and gracious for the wonderful opportunities we have and the lives we are able to lead. We will continue to reflect for the rest of the trip and hope that all we have learned will spill into our regular lives as we settle back into life in the States (in ONE WEEK!)

Much love from Beth & Sonja

Abigail, APRN; Lisa, NPS; Ashley, NPS; Adam, DNPViews from horseback riding – Petén Lake in the background Streets of Flores Pup taking a swim in Lake Petén (the lake outside of our hotel!)

Views from Flores

Hello Everyone!

Guess what? It’s the last day we have to wake up at 5am this trip! It’s also Malaria Monday so make sure to take your Cloroquine!

Today we made the trek to Tikal National Park in Guatemala. Tikal is in an expansive jungle setting featuring Mayan temples & ceremonial ruins dating to 900 BCE.

Mamagail presenting the ancient ruins from afar.

We spent our day hiking around Tikal and scrambling up the ancient Mayan ruins. All of the stairs we climbed were worth the views we had above the Guatemalan canopy!

Andrew and Madi doing their best couples abroad pose.

Group photo on steps up the Mayan ruins.

Dadam saving Andrew from the steep fall below.

After our adventures at the Mayan ruins, we had a chance to go Zip-lining through the Tikal Jungle.

Look mama! No hands!

We are finally getting settled into the resort we are staying at in David’s….. except for our friendly neighbors who we are spending our time with.

Heather’s ecstatic moment after meeting our new neighbors.

Tomorrow we are going horseback riding and then going to Flores to experience the native culture.

It’s been a great time, and we are looking forward to what is yet to come!

Xoxo

Andrew and Madi K.

This morning we got to sleep in an extra hour before beginning our journey to Guatemala at 7:00 AM. On our way out of Belize we dropped off the extra medical supplies we had with Hillside Clinic and LOL children’s home. We had a long drive from Punta Gorda to Belize City where we went to the Belize zoo.

The Belize zoo is built around the jungle in the animal’s natural habitat. All of the animals were either rescued or born within the zoo. The zoo had a multitude of native animals, including the national animal of Belize, the tapir – also known as the mountain cow!

From the zoo it took us a couple more hours to cross the Guatemalan boarder and arrive at our hotel in El Rematé. We are staying at the hotel “David’s” which is a beautiful paradise on Lake Petén.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Tikal ruins and zip lining through the Guatemalan jungle. We are all so excited to begin the historical aspect of our trip.

Thanks for checking in with us!

Ashley B and Maddy E