By Maria Asselin-Roy

his summer was my first semester
| studying outside of Vancouver. In
January, I saw a poster advertising
“Study in Belize Summer 2011.” Like every
summer before this one, I knew I wanted to
get out of the country and travel for at least
one month. I thought about how productive
it would be to travel in a small country
in Central America while knocking off 9
credits, all in under two months. Sounds
like a decent plan, right? Needless to say,
my first experience of studying abroad was
a success. I met some awesome people
that I normally would have passed by in
between classes, received grades that I’m
pleased with, and finally got a change
of scenery from the Lower Mainland.
Simply put, it was a great. If you’re like
me and have a longing for travel, but can’t
disappear for too long so that you can
actually complete your degree, then I would
recommend a program like this. So, without
further ado here are some things I learned to
make the best out of studying and exploring
abroad or, in this case, Belize.

 

Know your professors

Some of us rely on which courses

to take according to the rankings of
ratemyprofessors.com. This is a good
start, as it provides students with: overall
quality, helpfulness, clarity, easiness, and

10

if your prof is deemed good looking by the
student body - a red chilli pepper. Now,
while I don’t use rate my prof to choose
the “easiest” professors at Douglas, I have
found the website to be helpful in getting
some background information on your
professors’ teaching style, the exam format,
and what to expect. However, you can’t
solely rely on this as many of the student
responses may be the result of an over
achiever receiving a “B” and are looking
for a place to rant. To really figure out
what your prof is looking for, talk to them!
I guarantee if you talk to your professor
about any given assignment and go into
detail about what they are asking of the
assignment, your letter grade will improve.
Communication is key.

Pick your roommates wisely

When you’re staying in a room with two
other girls, and your bed is right beside

the bathroom (that isn’t really a bathroom
but is actually a stall) you had better like
your roommates. Not only will you be
spending 24 hours a day with them, but
you will be hearing what goes on in the
bathroom too. Thankfully, I got along

with my roommates and they were very
entertaining to be around. Before choosing
a roommate it’s best to talk with everyone
first to see who you’re compatible with.
Once you find someone, just keep in mind
that you will have to sacrifice some of your
personal space and privacy. As long as this
understanding is maintained, then all should
go well.

Get to know everyone and your
surroundings

I don’t think there could have been a better
group of people to spend seven weeks with.
There were only 17 of us, so that made
getting to know everybody pretty easy.
When you spend all day everyday with the
same people for seven weeks, they become

like your family. After hiking in the humid
jungles, we all got to know each other quite
well as we had all seen each other at our
lowest points of exhaustion. Getting out of
our rooms and exploring the small town was
something we did daily. After class, a local
favourite was a small bar called “Flayvas”
where the owner and a few of the locals
knew us quite well by the end of our stay.
Since we were staying close to the border
of Guatemala, we took advantage of the
weekends by going to the coast. Taking
public transit across the small country and
staying in backpacker’s hostels was an
excellent way to experience different parts
of Belize. Breaking apart from our school
settings allowed us to: experience multiple
areas of the country, interact with more
cultures, have a better understanding of the

 

local’s way of life, and it was an excuse to
do whatever we wanted for the weekend.

Don’t leave things to the last minute
Completing three courses in seven weeks is
obviously very condensed and intensive in
order to get a full semesters’ work load in

a shortened amount of time. Some weeks
we would have 2 or 3 assignments due on
the same day along with exams, so time
management skills are a plus. However I
must say, lounging in the pool with a beer
always seemed like a better option than
doing homework in 40 degree weather with
high humidity. Even so, getting assignments
done before the due date takes off a pile of

 

   

 

stress. One of my good friends on the trip
was literally sitting on the bed and began
twitching her eye as we told her “your
journal is due in four minutes, and you have
one page.” She just laughed hysterically as
she realized she would stay up all night and
would be forced to hand it in late. In order
to avoid that situation, get your stuff done
early and you will be rewarded with sleep
while everybody else is in a state of panic.

Expect the unexpected

You will sweat the second you step out of
the shower. You will have a tarantula living
under your laundry pile and not know it
until you lift the clothes and the creature
scurries under your bed. You will be sick
for two weeks with phlegm in your lungs.
You will be told by a Creole woman that
you will never get a man because you don’t
have the ability to properly shake your

ass. Of course / didn’t expect these events,
nor could I have really prepared for them.
Wherever you are travelling in the world,
unexpected circumstances are bound to
happen regardless of expectations. All that
you can really do in this case is to have an
open mind, be willing to try new things, and
go with the flow.