Last Weekend before classes

This past weekend was rather exciting with many activities.

Saturday is the big market day and San Ignacio was bustling! I Made it down to the market mid-morning and was thoroughly impressed by the spread. Peppers, tomatoes, onions, pineapples, papaya and everything in between, including many things I have never seen before. While I have since found out that the market is open with produce most days, only on Saturday can you also buy puppies, and parakeets, orchids and shoes. The locals were happily unfazed by the white faces meandering among them. And deliciously fresh bananas can be purchased, 10 for a BZ$1 (US$1 = BZ$2)! I will definitely be frequenting the market when not traveling on the weekends!

On Sunday the UVM group traveled to DuPlooy's and the Belize Botanical Gardens. The trip was breathtaking! This hotel/resort and garden was created by expatriots on eroding cow pastures. In twenty years they've created an expansive jungle of native and popular species of plants grown in Belize. The climate here is amazing and since it was formerly a British colony, there are a wide array of plants from the West Indies, Asia and a number of other places that were used by the colonizers for varies economic endeavors. There are also hundreds of native orchids, palms and fruits that aren't found anywhere else. I got a chance to volunteer repotting orchids for the Botanical Garden staff, which was a lot of fun too. A swim in the river topped off the last day before classes start.

This morning was the first day of classes. I have two on Monday and they seem like they are going to be pretty interesting. Consumer Law, and Indigenous Perspectives on Development. I will update you more later in the week and will hopefully be able to upload some pictures once I get access to Galen University's computer system tomorrow.