This was one of the most incredible summers of my life! I met great people, practiced my Spanish, and learned a bit about my personal history.
My mom and I go on vacation annually with a group of moms and daughters as part of a group called “Single Mothers by Choice” (SMC). Last summer and this summer we went to club med Cancun and it was spectacular; it was even better than last summer, which I didn’t think was possible. I spent the entire week with my best friend and honorary sister, pearl. I’ve known her since I was 2 years old and we’ve always been close, but this summer especially we grew inseparable. In Club med Cancun it is impossible to get bored because there are so many different activities to do: wake boarding, snorkeling, swimming, sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, and more! On our third day, Pearl and I met four guys our age at the trapeze. These guys became our best friends for the week and they made the whole trip unforgettable. One of my favorite memories from the trip was our last night with three of our friends. We had piggy back races on the beach, we went swimming at 11pm, we played hide and go seek in the forest, and we played chubby bunny with ice cubes. The entire week was incredible and it was so hard to say goodbye.
The same night we left Cancun my mom and I took an 8 hour bus ride to Belize. All I remember from the bus ride was the frigid air. The air conditioning was on extremely high and I didn’t have a jacket with me. The only time we stopped was at 3am to go through border control. Upon arriving we walked to the nearest dock and took a boat stuffed with people to Caye Caulker, an island in Belize. This part of the trip was slow going and relaxing. I laid in the sun most of the day and on one day we went on a snorkeling adventure! The trip was half a day long and it was so much fun! On the trip we met a couple from Yorkshire, England, which is where the brothers we met in Cancun are from! The experience was exhilarating because we had the opportunity to swim with sharks, sting rays, barracudas, and more. Belize was absolutely beautiful and their town slogan was “go slow.” On our last day we had breakfast at a nearby restaurant and took a boat back to central Belize. We then took a flight to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Our trip to Honduras was mainly based on my moms work, but that made it all the more fun. We worked with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and visited sites effected by their most recent project. We took a loooong ride in a truck to the town of La Esperanza with a local, thus my mom and I got a great opportunity to practice our Spanish. We visited various schools over two days and got to talk with some teachers, mother volunteers, and staff about the effect of the CRS project. My mom and I barely spoke Spanish over the period of those two days, which was challenging but also rewarding.
All three countries were unique and wonderful in their own way, and it was especially hard to return back home.