I couldn’t have asked for a better therapy abroad experience. The amount of culture and therapy observations I learned was so interesting and exciting. Ellen and Chad were fabulous team leaders that constantly kept us on top of things and made sure everything turned out amazing. My group always felt comfortable and safe with our team leaders. Therapy abroad helped me open my eyes to a bigger picture as continuing my college career. Many countries across the world have very slim therapy resources. What challenges these countries the most is not being aware of the resources available to help people who have speech and language difficulties. To be specific, Belize was very unaware of many interventions to help others. There is only ONE speech pathologist available in Belize and in a country with almost a 400,000 population is bizarre. The culture and upbringing of Belize is unique and because of that receiving therapy or seeming “different” is frowned upon. Thankfully, that is what my program taught me is whenever you are able to help others take the chance no matter how much time or money it requires. Tyke’s camp turned out super cool and fun. I was stationed in the play planning and pretend play which was my number one choice. The amount of items available to us was amazing we didn’t have to buy a single thing everything we needed for the camp was provided for us. Obviously, the choices were small but we worked with what we had and made it happen. I can honestly say my Therapy Abroad experience has led me to fall even more in love with what I plan on doing for the rest of my life. Speech therapy has always been my passion but my involvement with this program has absolutely changed my perspective on life. The services at Monkey Bay were wonderful. I really enjoyed the home cooked meals and I applaud the women whom prepared the meals. They will surely not be forgotten. Monkey Bay was clean and surely made it feel like a second home for my group. What I loved most about my experience is being able to be mentored by graduate students. The graduate students made learning easier for the undergraduate students to grasp. The variety of dialects in Belize was tricky to work with. What amazed me was having the first hand experience of the different phonemes pronounced in one language and not the other. Many of us found this the most challenging to deal with over the course of Tyke’s camp. We really tried our best to put our minds together to help the kids figure out what they needed to focus on the most. After all the observations and evaluations of the children took place we were able to talk about it as a group and everyone could agree that we made sure the kids were having fun and learning at the same time. The kids were so cooperative and sweet. Although, it is too funny the last day we were two campers short and somehow we ended up with five boys. They were a mess but they continued to participate. We provided SOAP notes of each individual kid to the schools and health records because they will not get help until they are referred. I am very grateful for the friendships I have formed because of Therapy Abroad. I feel like each girl got close with one another and no one ever felt left out. The girls will forever be my friends and I say that in the most genuine way possible. My therapy abroad experience will never be forgotten and I hope I will be able to go again next year. I love Belize and the stories behind the culture of the Belizeans. What I do know, is that Belize is a hard working country with the most beautiful people. Every encounter I made with any Belizean was positive. Caye caulker was much different compared to the islands I have been to before. The transportation on the island was golf carts and bikes I had never seen anything like it. We went snorkeling the last day of our trip and I had never been that close to a shark before. Yikes. But it was so cool and I wish I could have my experience all over again. Luckily, I look forward to seeing Chad and Ellen again they didn’t disappoint and I hope everyone loves and appreciates Therapy Abroad. Life changing and unforgettable.
What would you improve about this program?
I wouldn’t improve much, everything went great. The Therapy Abroad staff was fantastic and you could realize how above and beyond they will go to make sure everything goes well. Therapy Abroad is determined to help students really blossom into who they are supposed to be. Going to Belize made me realize everything I have to offer to the world when it is my time. I cant thank Therapy Abroad enough for helping expand my knowledge on how to becoming the best SLP. The camp went great and it will truly be an unforgettable therapy experience.