Blog 1

My expectations for the class is to learn more about the culture of Belize and micro-lending. I don’t know much or understand a lot about the economics side of things when it comes to helping others, but i am very interested in learning how micro-lending is battling poverty. I also except to get to know everyone well that is in the class. This will make the trip more effective and fun. My expectations of the trip are to have fun experiencing the culture Belize and getting to know its people. I want to see the micro-lending working firsthand so that i may understand it much better. Usually my first concerns when traveling to a foreign country are about the language they speak and safety. Since english is widely spoken and belize is a fairly safe country, my concerns are pretty much gone. After traveling abroad several times, i have learned to adapt to what is around me. There are little questions i don’t know the answer too but expect to learn in class, like is the water safe to drink, what is the currency and its conversation rate to US dollars. What i will bring to team Belize this year is my experience of many service trips from the past. I have been going on service trips since i was in the seventh grade and absolutely love doing them. I have been on many different types of trips from construction to medical to teaching and community service. I can help the team by adding input into the most effective ways of getting projects done to benefit the most amount of people. I also am laid back person when it comes to traveling and like to have fun while doing these types of trips, so hopefully this will contribute to everyone having a great time together. I want others in the group to bring their past experiences in the country and knowledge of economics and business to the table to help me better understand the culture and micro-lending. As well as their amazing personalities so that we can all have a great time getting to know each other and experiencing Belize. I am really looking forward to working with everyone and having a great time in Belize.