Picture this: selling your furniture, packing two suitcases full of clothes and items for a two year move, saying goodbye to your friends and family, moving to a country 2,800 miles from home that you've never been to before, with people you have never met. Kind of scary, isn't it? At the same time, it could be very exciting.
Moving to Belize felt both exciting and scary to me. I was ready for the adventure. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, your first three months in country are spent in training. This took place in Belmopan, Belize. During training you live with a host family. This means that a citizen in your host country opens their home to a volunteer by welcoming them into their space, providing a room and preparing local dishes for meals The Peace Corps has this system so that volunteers can intergrate with the community in which they're living. I was matched with my host mom, M. She was the best host, and we got along great! Together we explored Belize, attended cultural events, celebrated Belize's holidays and had many meaningful conversations. M has a daughter, T, who is the same age as me. The two of us became close friends and now refer to each others as sisters. I ended up staying with my host mom M for another six months. She truly is a mother to me.
