The World is Getting Smaller
“You know, Florida Orange Juice comes from Belize,” says our tour guide as we bump down the rocky Belizean road.
I believe in seeing things for myself, therefore making my own discoveries and drawing my own conclusions. I believe in traveling to witness first hand, the interconnectedness of our world and better understand our own place on earth.
Every day I take my orange juice for granted. I know that if I run out, I can always run down to the store and pick up another bottle. Before my trip to Belize, I might have actually believed that Florida could supply all these stores with fresh orange juice daily. If the United States were to rely completely on our own crops from California and Florida, we would only have orange juice for a select few months out of the year. As the housing developments pop up and the orange groves dwindle, I would have to wait even longer for my orange juice.
For years, people were taught that the world was flat. And, for some odd reason, everybody believed it. Somebody had to go out and prove them wrong. What’s a better way to learn than through traveling?
Every time I buy orange juice now, I think back to Belize. I think back to the people I met and the things I saw. I think of the poverty of the average citizen. I think of the filth and rot. And yet, every time that orange juice is in my hand I know that I am proud to be buying real Belizean orange juice.