story by Meredith Mulhern, photos by Mary Hilliard

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Freshman Sal Scott has had anything but a typical childhood.

“[My family] first moved onto a boat when I was two months old,” Scott said. “We motor-sailed down rivers until we got to Florida.”

The Scott family then came back to Kansas City, their hometown. They bought a larger boat and sailed back to Florida for a second time, but this time, they didn’t stop. They went all the way to the Central American country of Belize.

The family settled in a small village called Placencia, which was only a mile long. According to Scott, their house was twenty feet above the ground on stilts. It was made completely out of wood, excluding the zinc roof. There was no air conditioning.

Placencia is a small tourism hub located in southern Belize. It is a prime destination for snorkeling, scuba diving, culinary experiences and fantastic views. The whole peninsula of Placencia has a population of 3,458, while the actual town of Placencia has a population of 1,512. Maximum temperatures reach 85 degrees. Summers are approximately the same temperature as the winters, and the sea breeze helps with the temperatures, according to the Placencia tourism website.

“[Placencia] was small and simple, only a mile long,” Scott said. “[There were] lots of kids running around and riding bikes. The entire village looked on all the kids as their own.”

For the reasons above and many more, Scott loved Belize.

“I miss it a lot,” Scott said. “I miss my friends. I love it there and I love the weather and sea.”

However, there were negative aspects to living there.

“When we first moved to Belize, it was kind of hard to make friends,” Scott said. “They also don’t have good Halloween candy, so that was kind of disappointing.”

Scott also had an incident involving a pencil cactus and its irritable sap, which got in Scott’s eye.

“It hurt so bad,” Scott said. “I couldn’t open my eye for a day. The next day, my dad cut down the cactus so it would never happen again.”

Despite the lack of Halloween candy and the abundance of poisonous cacti, another factor that appealed to Scott was that “life moves slower [in Belize]. It’s like being on vacation all the time.”

From scuba diving and encountering whale sharks to living directly on the water, it really was like vacation. However, every vacation must come to an end.

The Scott family moved back to Kansas City this summer in order for Scott to attend STA.

“It’s a big adjustment,” Scott said. “I’m really excited to be going to a big school and making new friends.”

Coming to STA for most freshmen is simply switching schools; for Scott, who was home-schooled, it’s a first-time experience.

Even though Scott has never had a “normal” schooling experience, she doesn’t think she has a disadvantage.

“I think I’m at an advantage,” Scott said. “Even though I’m not used to this much homework or long hours in school, I’ve been able to experience so many different cultures and see so much. I’ve had life-changing experiences and wouldn’t change my childhood even if I could.”

Even though Scott doesn’t live in Belize anymore, it will always be a part of her.

Besides, she’s already bought her tickets for spring break.