belize
Earlier this month I trekked to Belize with a few guys from my section. There were a few girlfriends with us as well as a few people in and out from other sections. We stayed in a condo on the beach on Ambergris Caye, which was about a 20 minute flight (in a 10 seat plane) from Belize City. Ambergris Caye is home to San Pedro Town which may better be known as “Last night I dreamt of San Pedro…” from the Madonna song “La Isla Bonita.”
The town is cool, very “island” and what seemed to me to be mix between Miami and New Orleans, only tiny. There are few cars and fewer paved roads on the island. Most people get around in golf carts. For better or worse, I was made “driver” for most of the trip. Most of my pictures are posted on Flickr (link) and I think they tell most of the story, but I’ll fill in with a few highlights. (I was also traveling with a new HD Flip camera, and am waiting for the new iLife to arrive so I can cut down a video of the trip…)
First of all, the food on the island was fantastic – mostly, I suspect, because it was all prepared fresh (not a lot of frozen/processed food on a remote island, it turns out).
Belize is a place for activity. The beaches are not actually the greatest in the world, so the motivation to sit around and do nothing (while still great) is not as I’d imagined. Of the things we did:
Snorkeling – The waters off Belize are home to the second largest barrier reef in the world. I am not a certified diver, but it turns out you can have almost as good an experience just by sticking your face in the water. We did two drops for snorkeling, the first at Hol Chan, where we swam for about an hour observing a ton of different fish and two huge rays (a leopard and an eagle). Awesome.
Then we went to Shark Ray Alley where our guide summoned several nurse sharks over (in the range of 4-5 feet each) and we were able to touch and hold them. Not sure this was the best idea, but in the moment it was pretty exciting.
Zip lining- We took a day trip to the mainland and did some zip lining through the rainforest. This is where you climb up into the tree tops and, sitting in a harness, go gliding across lines from platform to platform. Truly exciting and at times a little nervewracking.
Cave tubing – I’d never even heard of this before Belize. There are miles of cave systems in Belize with rivers running through them. We got into one such river on innertubes and took it through about a mile of cave. It was pretty cool. The darkest natural dark I’ve ever experienced. Also bats. It’s sort of like the lazy river at the waterpark, except the opposite. Exciting, natural, and spooky.
The nights were filled with entertainment at bars, clubs, or at the condo. Stories that will likely persist for quite some time.
A great trip for me, and a highly recommended destination for you…
readjusting
The readjustment to life at school post winter break has been a little rougher than I’d expected. My calendar has been filled wall to wall for the past week, and while I can’t say it’s bad, it’s definitely exhausting.
Going from spending four weeks being lazy to running life at 100 mph while applying for jobs, reconnecting with friends, adjusting to new professors and course content, and otherwise trying to stay on top of things is a bit of a stretch. Already the summer seems to be fast approaching which means the job pressure has been ratcheted up high, and with the economy the way it is, lots of people seem to be on edge. (Although, on the flip side of that, many of my friends have decided to forgo the typical recruiting circus and are doing more relaxed network job searches).
I’m planning to write more here about my new classes and other things going on this semester in the coming days. Apologies for the relative silence of late.
(PS – if you’re an R1 admit from this year, congrats… have talked to a few of you on twitter already. If you’re weighing whether or not to attend your admit weekend, I’d strongly encourage you to do so. I made many good friends that weekend)
the palatability of hard news
Watching all the coverage of the inauguration of Barack Obama today, I couldn’t help but wonder about something.
When I left television, the ability to lure advertisers into buying time in hard news was rapidly diminishing. Now that we seem to have a rock star type personality (as in, people can’t stop watching him) in the White House, I wonder if hard news and politics will see any sort of bump in attractiveness to advertisers.
Just a curiosity.
Apologies for not posting for several days. Am finally back into a groove at school (though I expect to be back to the usual overwhelmed holding state by this weekend).
Wishing best to the R1 applicants who are getting decisions tomorrow. I have to call a few admitted students to congratulate them once decisions are released – looking forward to that – and strange to think there’s a new class waiting in the wings already.
bon voyage
In a little over four hours, I’ll be departing my house for a trip out of the country. I’m headed to Belize with friends for 8 days. I intend to do mostly nothing while there. Tropical drinks. Sand. Swimming. Did I mention it will be 80 degrees and sunny?
This, a far cry from the frozen/burst pipe over my front porch today. That was fun. Really.
My official job applications are all in, so I’m done working for a little while.
To those of you who have round 2 application deadlines next week, I wish you the best of luck. I remember what I was like this time last year…
I hope that the new year is treating you well, wherever this may find you.
