We were up early and at the airport by 5 am to catch the Continental flight heading to Houston. Some of the students hadn't been to be yet because they were busy packing or were too excited about the trip ahead of them. Of course most of them crashed as soon as the plane took off. A few of the girls walked off leaving their boarding passes and passports on the ground. Since this was a serious matter, I picked them up and waited until we were boarding and the girls were stressing out about their 'lost' items before walking over to the girls and giving them their tickets and passports. I mentioned to them that they needed to keep these with them at all times no matter what. Once we got to Belize, I would take over holding all passports but they needed to be smarter with their passports and tickets in the future.
Both Sue and Jon, the chaperons, were beaming with excitement. Jon had always wanted to go but was never picked by previous trip leaders. I never knew this and when I mentioned, over lunch one day, that I still needed a guy chaperon, this set him off into a tyrant about how he always wanted to go but was never picked to go. I said to him, "Want to go with me in Apirl?" "You're kidding right?" was his response. "Nope. I need a guy chaperon to go." That started the ball for him and seeing him at the airport like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning was priceless. Sue was the first to respond to my 'need chaperons' email. She was definitely looking forward to this trip.
After we arrived in Houston, we were able to spend the time before our next flight in one of the guest rooms that Continental has. Here everyone was able to pull up a chair and sleep, eat lunch, play cards, etc. Eventually we headed to our gate but had another 2 hour delay before leaving for Belize due to an issue with the plane.
When we got to Belize, everyone seemed to catch their second wind. Might have been the warmth and the sun or the fact that most slept on the way. Whatever it was everyone was ready to go. Doc and I had to go get the vans. Following behind Doc, while he is driving, is always an adventure. Traveling behind him while the sun is setting, on roads without lights, and while extremely tired, even more interesting.
We arrived at the Tropical Education Centre at the Belize Zoo. After dinner and a night tour of the zoo, I gave out the sleeping arrangements and everyone started to settle in for the night. Once the weariness of a day of travel wore off, students were starting to realize that they were in Belize surrounded by wild animals right out side their cabins. A few of the students were nervous to sleep so I had to reassure them that I was available at any time and to come and get me if they had an issue. I started the call chain to let parents know we arrived safely. Since we were behind, due to the delay, parents were a little worried but after I explained it, they seemed to calm down some.
While making the rounds, making sure everyone was all set, a few of the girls called for me from the bathroom. Since they know I absoultely love frogs, they wanted to let me know of a frog in the bathroom. I was excited because in all the times I've been to Belize, I have't been able to spot too many frogs. As I headed to the bathrooms, the guys in one cabin yelled out to me that there was a scorpion under their bed. Since this was a more serious matter, I had to go take care of the scorpion before heading to the frog. Another first for me, a scorpion. I know they are present in Belize but never had the pleasure of seeing one up close and personal. After some cool shots of the frog, headed back for another night check before heading in for the night.
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