NDSU Global Health: Belize 2026

A huge thanks to everyone who supported us through this adventure and the memories it gave us for this life changing experience. We are all grateful for everything you have done for us. Much love from NDSU Nursing.

FAREWELL!!!

Belize and Guatemala, what an incredible and unforgettable experience this has been for all of us. As our journey comes to an end and we prepare to return home, we leave with hearts full of gratitude and memories that will stay with us for years to come.

Many of us are heading back to internships, weddings, jobs, and the family, friends, and pets we have missed while away. While we are excited to return home, a part of us will remain here.
We will remember the breathtaking scenery, the warmth and kindness of your people, and the amazing food. You have taught us so much from the communities we visited and from one another throughout this journey.

One thing we might try to forget is the roads. They caught us off guard by the deceivingly deep potholes or the speed bump that materialized out of nowhere that sounded like it we left the bottom half of the van on the road.

From NDSU Nursing we thank you, Belize and Guatemala, for your hospitality, your generosity, and the memories. We arrived as visitors, now we leave feeling connected to the friends we made and places we visited making this experience so special.

Until we meet again thank you for everything. ❤️🇧🇿🇬🇹✈️

Aaaand… we are back! Our travel day started at 4:30am this morning, and we will arrive back in Fargo around midnight tonight. Call that a full day!

First meals back in the US were Chick-Fil-A, Subway, and Panda Express of course! Delicious.

Despite a couple of delays, we are grateful for safe travels and smooth sailing. And most excited for a good night’s rest.

Signing off,
Remi and Erin

Hello everyone it’s Andrew and Greta, we are wrapping up our trip in Guatemala and reflecting on all of our experiences throughout the trip.

For the last few days we have gotten to explore Mayan temples, watch wild animals in their natural habitats and learn more about each others personal lives and goals for nursing. More specifically, today we went to a Mayan museum and some of us got tattoos!

For our post today we decided to ask everyone their opinions of their trip!

Overall, we have all grown to appreciate the commitment it takes to operate an organization like Project Belize year after year for over 30 years. We are so grateful to have been able to go on the global health trip.

Tomorrow is traveling home, see you then!

Recap of the day by Ella and Kearah!
1: breakfast at the hotel
2: exploring the city of Flores
3-4: boat trip around lake Petén Itzá
5-6: swimming at Jorge’s rope swing
7: dinner all together
8-9: tarantula hunting

We got one more day to go, and no one has yet to get sunburnt in UV of 9-11. 🤯🤯

While we were in Flores we did some shopping around and we noticed how detailed and unique each item was. This was a common observation throughout our trip. It was so cool to see how materialistic items were handmade with the personality of the creator in each piece. This was a treat because each purchase felt meaningful. Tomorrow is our last full day, so don’t forget to tune in!

Our day (slide summary):
1-3: Tikal National Park (Mayan ruins!)
4: Oops! We got lost.
5: Saw monkeys and tucans from the top of the temple!
6. Went zip lining with spider monkeys!
7. Ella was not feeling well😔😵‍💫
8. Erin to the rescue! (or she just wanted to do the IV….)
9. Success! We are back in business.

Not only did we have howler moneys singing to us in the trees, but spider monkeys swung right over our heads! We had a great time zip lining after exploring Tikal and the Mayan ruins.

Today we learned the importance of hydration and speaking up when we feel unwell. Ella felt faint throughout our hike today, and luckily she was surrounded by a crew of IV pros🤩 Now she is feeling much better and excited for the rest of the week’s adventures!

-Hasta luego, Ella y Erin😊

Day 2 on repeat part 6 or 7
Reporting several hours late. I (Andrew) and Jordyn were sent on a extremely dangerous mission of exploring Lago Peten Itza, we experienced several dangerous encounters of birds from several hundred of feet away. After an not so close encounter with capsize of the boat we were washed ashore on Playa El Caracolito. We were forced to use or survival skills of eating mangos, pineapple, and watermelon. After we scrapped together some pieces of wood and freed ourselves from the dock we managed to make it back to our hotel.
But in all seriousness, it was a great day of relaxation. After our several days of clinical work, we took a boat tour of Lake peten itza bird watching and spotting a few howler monkeys. We then went to a beautiful beach where the water was warm, clear, and so blue.

Hello! It’s Ella and Remi! Today was our traveling day to Guatemala. We ate a full Belizean breakfast before leaving the hotel and the fry jacks were delicious! Then we started our drive so we could cross the border to Guatemala. On the way there we stopped at the Belize zoo. We saw the native animals of Belize and a lot of Iguanas. We got checked into our hotel in Guatemala and this place looks gorgeous!

It was fun to learn about the native animals in Belize at the zoo. And we are super excited to learn more about the Mayan culture and explore Guatemala.

One of our vans got a flat tire today, but once that was fixed we had a safe drive to the border. After a long day on the road we are ready to sleep in tomorrow morning.

We sadly had to say goodbye to Ted this morning when we left Punta Gorda.

Hey everybody, it’s Greta and Emmalynn!! Today we went to our last clinic in Belize and focused on education with contraception, dental hygiene, and menstrual cycle management! After the clinical day we hopped into the river for a swim. Then, a family hosted our group for dinner and we ate a traditional Belizean dinner. We were so proud of our team!
The clinic today was at a slower pace and we saw around 50 patients. Although we were not used to the slower paced environment, it allowed us to spend more time on family education, go to more home visits, and visit the school!
We were also able to hand out lots of toys for the school kids, including mustaches!! The kids loved it :)
We are so honored to be part of this experience and so far enjoyed every second of it!! Stayed tuned for tomorrow as we make the long drive to Guatemala!

Hello!!!! Day 4 recap by Greta and Kearah!

Today our group went to Midway! We saw around 100 patients. We were able to give lots of menstrual, medication, and sexual education. We used our critical thinking skills by assessing multiple patients at a time and identifying key symptoms/diagnoses. We were able to see a lot of babies!!

Our time at Midway helped us recognize the importance of education and ensuring patients fully understand what is being taught. Even if patients are shy or embarrassed, education is still needed for health promotion. We will use this information in future practice to help promote patient advocacy and better care for everyone.