I’ve been in Belize for two days now and I already love it. We’re staying at a resort in San Ignacio, Cayo District Belize.
Its crazy though how much of an eye opener being here has been. I feel like I’ve always been aware of the differences between countries and how people lived and how privileged we are, but seeing it with my own eyes really had an impact on me. We take so much for granted and are still unhappy, yet the people live here have half of that and seem so happy.
We had class yesterday at Sacred Heart College. Comparing that school to a college in America is like two different worlds- yet so many of us take what we have for granted and don’t appreciate it. We don’t even consider something as simple as comfy seats or air conditioning as we complain about how our professor is boring or how this class is dumb while these kids don’t have any of that. That’s insane. Seeing it with my own eyes, sitting in that classroom, really finally made me understand.
Today we visited the BAHA’s animal health department lab, the only lab in Belize that processes animal samples. The lab was biosafety level 2, and contained the basic lab equipment such as a microscope, PCR machine, airflow hood, etc. They process mainly avian and livestock samples, and certain samples that they cannot process due to the biosafety level or lack of equipment must be sent out of the country.
It was crazy to see how a lab here was set up. At home, we have so many labs and opportunities for students like us to work in them. Most vet clinics in the US have automated Snap tests and equipment to run blood and urine in house. Here, tests like checking for Ehrlichea must be sent out to this lab and are done by hand, preparing the blood and looking at the lymphocytes under the microscope for signs of the infection.
Later we went to a horse farm and did physicals exams on the horses and dewormed them. We’re heading out to dinner now and later we have plans of relaxing by the pool and bar. Can’t wait for the field work we have planned for tomorrow.
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