Grateful for time exploring outside of class

We took some time to visit a women’s co-op where we handmade corn tortillas, grinding the kernels and mixing the powder into a dough ourselves.

Back to News

Published: Tuesday, 28 Mar 2023 Author: Katherine Franklin

Katherine sitting on steps of Mayan ruin in BelizeDoing an education abroad program in Belize during spring break was an incredibly valuable experience. While the official language of Belize is English, a vast majority of the community spoke Spanish. This gave me a chance to practice my own language skills. Outside of that, my experience in Belize allowed me to see my own culture from a different perspective. Living in the U.S., I’m used to so many different things. Being away from all of that, and experiencing life without these things, made me appreciate my home all that much more. I knew being away from home would be scary, so much so that I debated not going, but knew that I needed to try something new—meet new people. And I’m so glad that I did. I made incredible friends on this program. I decided that maybe being a teacher was what I wanted to do in life. I even felt that maybe moving away from home wouldn’t be all that bad. If I hadn’t gone to Belize and gotten out of my comfort zone, I don’t think I would’ve had any of these realizations, and if I did, they wouldn’t have come to me for at least a few more years.

While my study abroad was a service-learning program where I volunteered most of my time in schools, I got to go out and explore with my class quite a bit. We took some time to visit a women’s co-op where we handmade corn tortillas, grinding the kernels and mixing the powder into a dough ourselves. MSU student snorkeling in BelizeWe had the chance to use a spinning wheel to make pottery. We even visited some ancient Mayan ruins—which was a hike, but the view made it incredibly worthwhile. On another free day, we visited Caye Caulker and got the chance to go snorkeling; and afterwards, we walked to the beach where we picked up lunch from some of the street vendors. On one of our last nights, we had a presentation from a member of the Garifuna tribe, where he taught us their beliefs, traditional songs, and traditional dances. I had so much fun in all of these activities, and I’m incredibly grateful to have experienced them. I’m going to miss the warmth and most definitely the food (the pupusas were by far my favorite)!

Name: Katherine Franklin
Status: Senior
Major: English
Hometown: Wayland, Michigan
Program: Contemporary Issues in Developing Societies in Belize