Arriving And Thriving

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are here! The flight over was a pretty good one. I've only flown once before, and that was a long flight from Detroit to London, England. It was a class trip during my Junior year of high school, so everything was basically taken care of for me, and I was just shuffled through the airport by adults. Actually planning my own trip, buying my own tickets, and making my way through the airport was quite the liberating experience.

So the trip down did go well. We entered San Pedro on a tiny (and I mean really tiny) airplane. Seriously, I feel like I've been in cars larger than that thing. Still, as scared as I was, it was also a thrilling experience. The water was so crystal clear that you could easily see the coral reefs beneath the surface, and it was also amazing to see the opulence of the tourist destinations right next to the poverty of the locals' homes and shops. While you're in the air, you see it all, and any barriers that would normally be up are useless.

There really haven't been any major problems so far. My camera doesn't really work. I haven't figured out if it's the camera or the battery that's causing the trouble. In either case, it will only turn on for about five minutes at a time before shutting down. I've been able to take about 20 pictures so far, so I'm not complaining, although I haven't uploaded them onto my computer yet. In either case, it's a cheap digital camera that I bought specifically for the trip, and hopefully it will last for the five weeks that I'm here.

I really am excited about starting to work in the schools. The island is very small and reminds me of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, where I spent a lot of my childhood. You can see lots of kids in their school uniforms hanging out on the beach after school, playing soccer and whatnot. A few even work the various souvenir stands that line the streets. I can't wait till I've met them and they know that I'm not a tourist, but a part of this community, at least for a few weeks.

Like I said, things have been awesome so far. I wish the Internet worked better here, and I also wished I had a reliable camera, but I'm still having the time of my life, so keep checking up, and feel free to comment and follow along on Facebook. The links to the other students' blogs are on the right, as is the link to our group's Facebook page. I'm still getting to know everyone but they all seem awesome so far, and I think we're going to have a great five weeks here. Happy travels!