Belizean Homecoming: A Belizean American’s First Time in Belize

Visiting Belize for the 1st time as a 2nd generation Belizean-American was a very exciting and emotional moment for me. For years I’d wanted to visit Belize and learn more about my heritage, as well as meet my family still living there. The universe finally aligned in August 2021 for my birthday (although I had to push the trip back 2 weeks because I caught Covid right before I was supposed to fly out) and I flew out to Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City from LAX. I was staying with my Great-Aunt Carmelita who has a house in a village called Burrell Boom, that she stays in when she’s not back in the States, so her and my uncle and cousins picked me up from the airport.

The first thing I noticed when we drove around was how beautiful the nature was and how hot and humid it was there. My August birthday falls around the hottest time of year for Belize and many other countries so I’m always cooking like a chicken when I go anywhere. But other than the extreme heat and humidity and the mosquitos eating me alone, I had an unforgettable 2 weeks in Belize. I visited Caye Caulker for a few days with one of my cousins, saw the Belize Zoo, and some Mayan ruins with some more cousins that I met for the first time and even went to see the village where my great grandma started our whole lineage. I wish I had gotten more photos of the village, but this definitely won’t be my last time in Belize.

Now let’s get into these millions of photos I have from the trip!