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I am an Animal Sciences-Preveterinary Medicine major. While I had heard a lot about study abroad, I had never imagined myself traveling to another country to take classes. I didn’t think that my course of study lent itself to such an experience. My way of thinking changed when I received an e-mail about an Animal Sciences program at Galen University in Belize. Soon, I was packing my bags!

I was in Belize for a month. During the first two weeks, I took a Large Animal Health and Disease class. We had a few classroom sessions, but the vast majority of our time was spent working with local farmers and their livestock. I gained invaluable experience performing veterinary work on sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, and horses. At the same time, I was able to see a beautiful country, get to know my classmates, and learn about the Belizean way of life.

For the second half of the month, I took an Exotic Animals class. Once again, most of our time was spent outside the classroom – this time mainly at the Belize Zoo. I had the chance to work with many native Belizean animals. I felt so privileged; there aren’t many people who have the chance to play with a baby jaguar or feed Howler Monkeys right out of their hand!

On the weekends and evenings, the other students and I were free to do whatever we wanted. We all spent time in our host city, San Ignacio, and we also spent a lot of time around the pool at the resort where we were staying – we were willing to do anything to get some relief from the 100+ degree temperatures!

A group of us spent a weekend on beautiful Tobacco Caye, a 12-acre island off the coast of Dangriga, Belize. We snorkeled, played beach volleyball, and had a great time hanging out with the locals there. Another weekend, we traveled to the town of Placencia to celebrate Lobster Fest, the annual festival marking the beginning of lobster season. Getting to these places was an adventure – many hours were spent on the public bus system, hurtling along the highway at breakneck speed in a packed bus, all the while without air-conditioning.

Aside from all the great veterinary experience I gained and the beautiful country that I was able to spend time in, one of the best things about my experience was the people I met. As you can imagine, I grew very close to the other people I studied with at Galen. Although we were from different backgrounds, universities, and parts of the country, we all bonded quickly and were inseparable by the end of the trip. Meeting such a wide range of people from the US, as well as from Belize, further expanded my horizons.

Studying abroad was probably the single best thing I have ever done for myself. I encourage every college student to spend time abroad; it will open your eyes to the rest of the world and impact you positively for the rest of your life!