Leaving Belize and heading back to the USA!

Coming home was very bittersweet.
It was so hard leaving a great group of friends at Hillside who still had 1-2 weeks left there. I just wanted to stay a little bit longer! Saturday morning we all were up early saying our goodbyes, as we were invited to breakfast at a patient's house.  Everyone got up early despite just going to bed- but then they went back to bed and we were on our way.....with tears pouring down our faces (well maybe that was just me) I'm an easy crier these days.......

Arriving at our patient's home, I glance into the kitchen and see a slab of meat on a plate...... now I don't usually eat meat besides chicken, but if I do, I'd rather it not be at 8:15 in the morning.  (P.S. This trip I actually ate ground beef twice!)  Well it turns out it was not steak (thank goodness), but it was barbeque ribs, I could handle that I think.  We also had coleslaw and tortillas (for utensils).   I'm just glad I made eggs as soon as I got up before we left Hillside.

After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to our patient and his family who were so gracious to open their home to us on our final day.  We headed to the local Tropic Air airport and waited for our little plane! We said our goodbyes to Monica and Dawn and then boarded the plane......

Pilot of our flights

I love fluffy clouds

airport

walking to the terminal

After arriving in Belize City- we did some more souvenir shopping- who doesn't want a "You better Belize it " bag? Then we boarded our plane around lunch time.  So sad to be flying away from a country where we learned so much about ourselves and made so many new friends.  Tears just kept rolling throughout the day for me!

When we got to Atlanta- I was able to turn my phone on- and the birthday texts and voice mails came rolling in. I was super excited to talk to my friends and family again! One of the hardest things emotionally about being in Belize was the lack of real contact. Sure I could occasionally send iMessages and e-mails and Face Time did work for a little bit. But it was so hard not having  conversations with friends and family.  I made so many new friends and we were constantly around each other, that it was a distraction at times from missing people at home.

 I was able to catch up with a few people during our 4 hr 30 min layover, which was great. And Caroline and I did picture swapping and enjoyed using fast internet! Then Caroline and I said our goodbyes on the Marta platform- and we went in our different directions towards home...... towards Greensboro for me and Caroline towards Richmond, VA.  It was tough saying goodbye to someone that I have spent so much time with over the past 8 weeks.  It was like being a Freshman in college again, sharing a 12 x 12 room, going on trips together etc.  We both know that no one has gone through this experience quite like we have.  That is our bond for life.  These experiences over the past 8 weeks are our connections forever.

Upon arriving in Greensboro, I started bawling when I saw my parents waiting with flowers. It's been a few weeks since my mom and I were able to talk. But it was amazing getting to see them! After getting my luggage from baggage claim, I told them I wanted to drive home..... They had driven my car to the airport, of which my dad had cleaned up and waxed the day before so it was looking pretty :) My parents handed me the keys and off we went.  A little slowly at first..... the a little to fast.... then I braked too early when turning etc.... haha i shouldn't have driven immediately.... it was very rusty!   (But no worries, my driving skills are back to normal now) 
At home my mom had made my favorite country salsa and had my favorite wine waiting for me :)

Sunday morning, I slept in, catching up on the lack of sleep from the past few nights of birthday celebrations and then went walking with my parents and our dog Emma. My mom and I did some birthday shopping then we headed to Chapel Hill to visit Ethan and Hanna and have dinner with my family, Kelsey and Christine.

The biggest struggle with being at home is really wanting to be in 2 places at once.  I love being home, but it felt like I was on one of our weekend trips and I would be returning to Abby's house anytime.  I almost felt like I shouldn't be in the comfort of Air Con and TV. I wanted to know what was going on at Hillside, I wanted to stay in the know as much as possible, so that made the first few days tough.

I felt pulled in 2 directions- I still do. I want to go back- but I want to stay here- and there is no middle. I am thankful for all the new friends I have- I can now be a world traveler- friends everywhere! The friends I have made in Belize are people that I shared so much with over the past 2 months. Spending all day with people, cooking with them, seeing them right as they roll out of bed etc- you learn so much about each other and get to enjoy everything everyone has to offer so much more- I am really missing that constant interaction with people and want to be surrounded by people even more now.  Though it is nice to have alone time, but I feel  you can learn so much more about yourself and others when you spend time in a different place. We learned how to be comfortable in an uncomfortable environment. We all thrived in all the experiences that we encountered because we were doing it together.

Along with the struggle of wanting to be 2 places, I also brought back with me a god awful virus.  I was fine until I went to Chapel Hill on Sunday Night. We were at my favorite restaurant- Cinco de Mayo and the sickness arrived....... I will not say more..... it was awful and I felt so bad for everyone there, since they were there for me and I was sick.

We went home Sunday night, making a few pit stops on the road and then all day Monday I laid on the couch, watching TV, writing my blog and eating saltines and drinking pedialyte (my favorite dehydration drink). I had body aches so I was in no mood to move at all... thank goodness  my mother was there to get things for me :) gotta love being sick with mom around, it makes it so much better!

I'm still adjusting to being at home, it doesn't feel the same. 

 I have everything I could have ever wanted  x 100000. 

I am blessed.

 I have amazing family and friends, and I have gained so many friends

 all over the world and the US.  

I am healthy, happy and safe.

 I am blessed.

 I have access to all the resources I could ever want.

 I am ever more grateful that I live where I do.  

I am thankful for my education and being able to continue on 

with my education in order to serve others.  

I am blessed.

Thursday: So I'm finally feeling back to my normal self, went to the gym, procrastinating on packing for my next adventure------- CHARLESTON, SC!  We leave in the morning and I start my next clinical on Monday at Roper St. Francis Hospital in In-Patient PT.  I'm excited for something different, for a schedule to be returned to my life and to learn as much as I can for the next 2 months!

My Birthday/ Last night out in Belize

Me, Caroline, Max and Julian

Celia, Caroline and I

Qiang and I in front of Seaside Heights

The whole group + 2 guys who wanted to be in our picture?

What an amazing birthday in Belize! This was my first birthday not being at home, and it was my golden birthday (turning 24 on the 24th) so I was even more excited, as you can ask everyone who helped me celebrate. When I got back from out bike ride into town, there was a chocolate cake with sprinkles and everyone sang happy birthday to me. It was great!

We went out to dinner at SeaSide Heights (to get my final orders of fry jacks!) It was packed there, as there was a pool tournament; this was the only time that there wasn't just the Hillside crew plus a few locals there.
For dinner I had calaloo, fry jacks and fry beans, and some Caribbean rum and sprites. We went back to Abby's house to pre-game more before going to Embassy. This entire 2 months, I still hadn't gone to Embassy- it's a legit club, there is a back dark room with a D.J. and dancing and flashing lights and then a front room with a bar, karaoke, stage and tables to hang out. It was great fun and I wish we'd gone there sooner!!! 

We came back to Abby's house and stayed up for a little longer.... putting off the fact that I had to leave in the morning!

I felt so blessed that all my new friends went out of their way to make me feel at home on my birthday. It really meant a lot to me and made this birthday extra special. I couldn't have asked for a better day! And I get to continually celebrate it when I got home too :)

Last Day in Belize

Thursday Night out at Beyonce's

Tequila Birthday shots- notice my super excited smile.

Breakfast Friday morning

My Birthday Crepe- also also with my favorites: Peanut butter and Jelly and coffee!

 Thursday Night: After dinner, we went out to Beyonce's to hang out and play some cards and pool. Then at mid-night the group surprised me with some tequila shots and the playing of One by One, my favorite song, for my birthday! We danced for a while, then headed back to Abby's house.

I'll leave the dancing pictures off but it was a fun night!





Friday morning began with crepes! The medical students from Germany made delicious crepes with bananas and apples and then it was off for our last morning seeing patients.

We went into Punta  Gorda- last full car load: Monica, Dawn, Jen, Florecita, Caroline and myself. Dawn and Jen went to interview patients for the program evaluations and see a pediatric patient, while Caroline, Flor, myself and Monica went to do Restorative Rehab, supervising Flor and I brought and home exercise program to a patient that I saw earlier in the week. Then we went to the snack shack for one last lime freeze= aka the best slushie ever. The lime juice in Belize is sooo yummy and fresh! Then we headed back to Hillside for Friday lunch and the PT's gave a little lunch talk about neck pain.

who needs seat belts when you have people on both sides?

It's gonna be a great day!

At the Snack Shack- home of milkshakes and slushies

Last Lime Freeze!

And we're done!
 Friday afternoon  Caroline, Joe and I made our last bike trek into PG to go swim in the sea! We took pictures to document the last ride into town.

In front of Abby's house to the left and the clinic to the right

The Gulf of Honduras!

Bus Stop by the sea

the only billboard I saw in PG, there are others along the western highway

riding back to the clinic

Hillside!

Last week in Belize!

Monday: Home Health Visits in town with Monica

Got to see some of my patients that I've been seeing in home health for the last time today.
One of the patients that has had the biggest impact on my frustration with the Belizean Healthcare who is still in bilateral below the knee casts after getting hit by a rosewood log while working on the side of the road in January. He is on his last month of receiving social security benefits and he is unable to stand still and his fractures are not healing. It's awful that he is still not healing properly and I just want to bring him to the US and fix his legs. 

This afternoon we did the machette training and carrying bleach babies again with Jen, the new PT student and some of the medical students came along :)  We walked about 1 mile, carrying the babies, and then chopped with a machette for 30  mins total, rotating between the 6 of us. Still a huge workout- thank god there were more people who came besides the PTs or it would have been torture!

Joe carrying his bleach baby

machete chopping!

Qiang chopping some grass?

It has been exceptionally hot here for the past few days. I went for a run Sunday night and have not stopped sweating since! It was 92 degrees in our bedroom at night. Being in the heat all the time is doable for sure, but when it's unbearable and you're in a constant sweat everywhere you are...... there comes a point when it's just miserable! A few more days until air con!!!

 We went on a group run tonight - about 9 of us began the run to a local military base- about a 15 minute run from Hillside.... that was all I was going to do.  My knee does not like running anymore. So I made my goal of running there, then did a little walk/run back. Then I led a group in an ab circuit :)  man I miss the gym! We did abs on the patio with yoga mats and my interval app on my phone- we do what we can!

Tuesday: We got to go on another cultural day! Yayyy! Caroline and I were super excited.... I opted out on the Mayan Ruin experience round two, I'm not the biggest history buff, so I didn't want to go again. So Caroline and I hung out with Leslie and Rudy- the two drivers and community liaisons for Hillside and did some school work until lunch time. 

We went to the Woman's group in Indianville for a discussion about local culture and agriculture and had the same lunch as last time, Jibby-jappa cabbage, stewed chicken and tortillas that we helped make. The first round of tortilla making for me, I got a little to excited and smacked my palm flat in the middle of the dough that I had just made into a nice round circle, and thus I had it all stuck to my hand.... as I would say.... FAIL.  I had to start over and then the lady to my right still had to "fix" it.  So Qiang and I decided we needed to try again. It was better..... but I'm pretty sure she fixed it when I walked away. They still taste the same anyways!

A Gibnut aka the royal rat (apparently it was fed to the queen when she came to Belize)

Qiang and I making tortillas round 2

Wednesday:  We did restorative care in Punta Gorda. I supervised Florecita seeing 4 patients. She did great! It has been such a rewarding experience watching her grow in her instruction of patients and in her knowledge of PT. Then we had the afternoon off to work on planning our community class and finish up with school work.

Our last community class was tonight. We had 3 returning participants again:) and we had prizes for their attendance.  It was a great ending to the class. One of the patients did all her exercises from last week's back class and this week her pain had decreased and she was able to perform all the exercises without help! It really means a lot to me to see patients make gains and to notice that they can do exercise and gain control of their pain.

Thursday: Out-patient clinic-
I saw 2 patients this morning... it ended up being slightly slow despite having a full schedule of patients... but it's Belize! We had the afternoon to review the CPI with Monica then I finished all my school stuff and submitted everything. I was not going to do any school work on my birthday so that was half the motivation to get it done and also my reward was to paint my nails :)   Then I went on a run with one of the pharm students, while the rest of the group ran to the military base again.... that was not for me..... so  I was glad someone else wanted to do a low- key run.

It's weird that this is my second to last night here...... 8 weeks ago I had no idea what was coming and what amazing things I would be doing here or the amazing people I would get the chance to meet, work with and have experiences with!  Now it's going to be bittersweet to leave.  This is the ultimate definition of bitter sweet.  I don't want to leave this last group of students. Usually it's been the groups leaving us.  But I cannot wait to see my friends and family and hear people's voices that are not delayed on Face Time!

Last weekend in Belize!

Fun last weekend on our own private caye- Tom Owens.  We left early Saturday morning to head into town and then left about 9:30 from the pier below- I attempted some artsy pictures.....
On the way there we saw LOTS and LOTS of dolphins- (NEW goal on my to-do list- swim with the dolphins-) they are so pretty and I just wanted to jump in the water and touch them, but I had to resist many times. I was the kid at the front of the boat reaching out to touch them, wanted to "fall in," but no worries I had someone hold onto my feet, just in case I got too excited. I was just so happy and excited to see the beautiful creatures gliding through the ocean waters so peacefully and jumping whenever they pleased.

Pier looking into the Sea of Honduras

on the island- look at the clear water....

The little island that we tried to snorkel too... but the coral was too high.

Hammocks were all over the island

Dinner! Barracuda

Lion Fish that are over populating the reef, so they must be killed... they are pretty tasty too

PTs catching fish!

sunset in the sea!

We arrived at the island a little before lunch, so we went swimming and snorkeling for a long time then had lunch.  The snorkeling here was awesome! The guide was great with making sure we knew where to go and were not stepping on the coral! He ended up catching the lion fish, shown above, and we got to sample that for lunch. Then we laid around in the hammocks, reading and sleeping.  We went fishing for about 3 hours after lunch. I caught 6 fish total, 2 fell off when I pulled them out of the water, so I learned I needed to hook them harder when I caught them.  Therefore, the next fish all swallowed the lines- whoopsies. But good thing there was a nice guy on the boat with us, Kenley who took care of that for me :) The other 4 I caught, we ate at some point during the weekend I think, lots of Yellow Tail Snappers.  What we used to fish were just lines with a rock and a hook on the ends that we threw into the ocean, and was wrapped around a piece of foam.  It was fun, only when I was catching fish. I don't have much patience to sit and wait.  When we caught enough little fish, we went trolling for Barracuda. We ended up catching plenty of fish for dinner!

Sunset from the rooftop

The Speak Easy returns

We took the eating tables outside to eat in the middle of the island, in the dark almost.  After dinner we played drinking games and did some dancing! Caroline and I brought the wobble to Belize, aka the best while girl wobble ever coming from me haha

My new friend in my room

Sunrise- probably at 5:15 am

We all decided it would be a brillant idea to get up early and go fishing at 6am, and watch the sunrise before. So I set my alarm for 4:50 and went up to the roof to watch the sunrise. Then we all piled into the boat, more awake than I was expecting from everyone! The boat ride was going great, until over half of us started feeling sea sick.... that's what it was for sure. So we asked the boat driver oh so nicely if some of us could get dropped off back on the island, while the others who were not sick continued to fish. That left 3 on the boat, of which they came back later with 6 fish! And we ate some for lunch, and then were able to take the rest back with us to Hillside!
The rest of us got breakfast :) I was so happy- there were fry jacks- this has definitely been my favorite not-so good for you food down here- fluffy tortillas that are fried. They are amazing, especially when you dip them in beans. Yummmy breakfast!

After that we all felt much better, and broke out the volleyball to play around on the janky court. But it's the people you play with that make the game :) Funny times, I still suck at not slugging the ball in the opposite direction when returning a serve.  Then we went snorkeling again, looking for lobster specifically this time. We all gave up after about an hour, but the boat driver and Kenley did not.  Therefore, 6 lobster were caught and we were able to have fresh lobster for lunch- amazing! But the snorkeling was neat, and then we just floated around with life jackets and then did jumps, flips and dives off the boat for a while until returning to the island for lunch.

After lunch, we relaxed a bit more, trying  to make up for the few hours of sleep some of us got (because it stormed that night... duh) , but only managed to take some power naps in between reading. Then we were off back to Punta Gorda.... nooooo- but we did see more dolphins :) and I was able to curl into a ball and take a little power nap again!

What a great ending for a perfect last weekend in Belize!

Qiang and I getting ready to snorkel

pretty clouds over the ocean

lobsters for lunch!