Greetings from Omaha, Nebraska

How do you start a blog? Do I write "Hello all..." or "Dear friend...."? I'm sitting with a computer in my lap with a dazed look on my face and am drumming my fingers across the keys because I'm not sure what to say just yet. My dad writes a Christmas letter to our relatives and friends each year and somehow he always manages to keep it witty and interesting. Well, here's my similar attempt. But instead of writing a letter that says "Seasons Greetings from the snow capped peaks of Colorado" (my home) or "Happy Holidays from the snow covered plains of Nebraska," I'm going to write about my wonderful experiences in beautiful Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Feel free to be jealous as you read my blog.

Now, I'm just not some rich college student who can travel on a whim and who decided to spend the month of January in warm, sunny Central America (which isn't a bad idea considering how cold Nebraska is going to get). While I get to enjoy all of the perks of the warm weather, soft sand, sunny beaches, and crystal clear waters of Belize, I'm traveling with about 20 other students as part of an education trip at Hastings College. Besides spending our time site seeing and traveling as tourists, we will be teaching in public schools around Corazal, Belize.

I'm surrounded by future teachers and educators and find myself as the solo journalist. Print journalism, advertising, or public relations lies in my future rather than teaching. I've always found education to be interesting, but know it is not for me. I do however want to put my Spanish minor to use and do something more impactful than laying around on a beach, getting a tan...though a tan might impact some of the guys I'll see around the city. Once again, feel free to be jealous.

Ill use this next month in Central America to learn about the culture and take in as many experiences as I can. I'll try to share as many as I can with you. I know I will fill my camera memory card within a matter of days.

I've checked through my suitcases at least five times and my roommates back home were probably sick of my requests to go through my stuff one last time to find something I must have forgotten.

Of course, I didn't start trying to force and shove all of the things that I just had to take with me into my suitcase until about 2 a.m. yesterday. At about 2:30 a.m. I realized I overestimated my suitcase and knew I would need something bigger. At 3 a.m., my roommate drove me to Wal-Mart where we stood in the suitcase aisle and compared suitcases. Needless to say, I bought a new suitcase and was successfully packed by 4:30 a.m. Great way to start the trip, right?

Now, I could not be more excited and am ready to get this trip underway. We'll be leaving for the airport at 3:30 a.m., so once again, I'll be getting no sleep. Oh well. I'm too excited to sleep anyways. Wish me luck!

~Casey