From Nicole...

Hey everybody!! Sorry this is only my second blog. So where I left off, we were moving to Maya Center. I don’t remember your many questions, but I didn’t hold a tarantula. My arachnophobia got the best of me. Also, drinking constantly and applying sunscreen and bug spray constantly have become second nature to me. We’ve also seen a lot of animals. We’ve seen two scorpions, three tarantulas, and countless geckos. For Mama, I’m going to list the birds I’ve seen: a slaty-tailed trogon, and black headed trogon, two kinds of hummingbirds, two kinds of kingfishers, a roadside hawk, and a great egret. I’ve also heard a toucan. So, on our first day at Maya Center, we got up and went to the school right away. I helped dig holes for a fence in their garden, and then moved to teach the preschoolers. Their teacher had to teach four classes at once! Erin and I taught them the crocodile trick for greater than and less than signs. The teacher liked it so much, we taught it to all of the younger kids.  (Side Note from Miss Keim - the teacher of that class later told me that she was going to name the crocodile trick the “Nicole and Erin” trick)  One kid gave me a rock. It was so cute! We played soccer with them during recess. The next day, we went back to the school. I helped finish the fence and then paint a picnic table. We also went tubing. We hiked to the site with our tubes and went down the river. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures of that but we didn’t take any bags. It would get wet. After getting off, we hiked to a beautiful waterfall. Then we hiked back to the bus. Today, we organized all of our gifts into different classes. It was amazing!! We covered our whole dining table! We also popped my popcorn. Then, we packed our gifts and went to the school. We distributed cups of popcorn, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and gifts. The kids were so thankful! We also played with them, took pictures, built another picnic table, and painted. After lunch, we went to Mayan ruins. We saw a ball court, altars, temples, burial grounds, and carvings. It was really cool! We also came back and just relaxed. Right now, it’s after dinner and we are just hanging out. Tomorrow we’re going to Tobacco Caye! Talk to you later!

Love ya, Ich liebe Dich, miss ya,

Nicole :)

P.S.- I have a nice tan! No sunburn!