Day 10 - Winegarden and Bastedo

We are leaving Tobacco Key this morning and heading on a 3 hour bus ride to the airport. We will see everyone at 7:00 tonight assuming our flight is ontime.
See you soon!

Day 9 - Tyler, Nick, and Vivi

Today is the last full day that we will spend on this majestic trip. We woke up relatively early because the wonderful and incredibly beautiful (including Peter) leaders asked us to evaluate the trip. We searched diving regulation deep within our soul to find the answers to not only life but the questions presented. After an hour of reflection, we ate a wonderful breakfast that included eggs, fried jacks, and pineapple. After breakfast, we found ourselves on the porch listening to the wonderful voice of Jen, our guide and instructor on the island for snorkeling.  After the group was given a speech on the regulations for snorkeling, we were given 5 minutes to get water and equipment. Finally, we partook on an adventure to the unknown. On the boat ride there, we proceeded to tan beautifully. We got to the snorkeling area and saw a lot of fish and Coral Reefs. We also saw a manatee and a southern stingray. We hopped back on our boat and returned to the beautiful island of Tobacco Caye.  The instructors finally gave us some time to relax before dinner and it was beautiful. The group coagulated around the central hammock area where we strengthened the bonds in our group. We had tamales for dinner. After dinner we proceeded to play a trivia game and the winning team with a score of 43 was “T-M$ney (Young Papa Bear)” This team consisted of Adela, Dilan, Nick, Julian, and Tyler. After receiving the golden Conch with “T-M$ney” inscribed in gold lettering aka Black sharpie, we then took a trip to the inner reaches of our soul. By passing around THE candle, we were able to express our true feeling of the trip. A few tears were shed that night and Tyler was sobbing on the ground rocking in fetal position. This is a slight hyperbole but the emotions were real. Just for clarification, all 15 students remain. The Leaders of the day would like to make a shout out:

Viviana: Shout out to the parents

Nick: Shout out to my parents and Madison Aguilera

Tyler: Shout out to my parents, MY SISTER, and Liz Hirs

Day 8 - Julian and Matthew

Day 8

Aight lets get this started! So, we woke up in our homestays, all depressed knowing we were bound to leave and continue our adventure to the EPIC TABACCO CAYE!!! :D First, the tears came rushing down our faces as we said our final goodbye to our families. Then the hardships we faced climbing all the way up to Aurora’s cottages to embark on the new challenges that faced us. We mounted our A/C cooled bus (what is this madness!?) and headed for Dangriga (I think that’s how you spell it). The bus ride was pretty baws just saying…. Alex is stupid cause he kept beating me at Yu-Gi-Oh BUT! That’s beside the point…. As we landed in Dangriga and exited our transportation, we saw the ocean open up in front of us and immediately, our carriages awaited us: WATER CARRIAGES! We boarded our luxurious transportation and zoomed past the half hour boat ride to Tabacco Caye. During our boat ride, we started singing Bohemian Rhapsody….. It was beauteous… The instructor, Jen, started singing with us O_O Upon arriving at Tabacco Caye, we decided to go bare foot on the nice sand because come on, who likes shoes?? We unloaded the boat and settled into our cabins, Chez Julian :3. We then found hammocks and I immediately called dibs on the blue one outside our porch! Matthew took the green one. WE were then called to report to the Marine Center and prepare our diving equipement to dive 400 ft down…. Not really, we only snorkeling…. But still pretty aweshum!! We went through standard training procedures and proceeded to the amazing, spectacular, Belize barrier reef :O. After about a half hour snorkel, we came back into our cabins and chilled on the hamocs. It is official that when I get back home (MOM LISTEN TO DISSSS!!!) I am getting a hammock as a bed and not my old bed :3….. Just saying. Then when the night rolled around, we went night snorkeling with torches (flashlights). We saw a STING RAY :O DAYUM!! We also say the usual squids, octopi, Kraken, sharks… underwaear….  Yep… and Davy Jones locker along with Spongebob…. Trippy…. We then washed up (DAYUM DEM SHOWERS ARE FANCCCCCCCCYYY) and then went back on our hommocks…. And then went to bed… Yeah. Now we have filled your heads with lies it is time to say goodbye. SHOUTOUT TO MY LIL BRO AND MEH MUM AND DAD!!! LUV YEAH!!

With some love,

Julian Awesome person and Matthew

Day 7 - Dorian and Hank

As we woke up Monday morning, it struck us that it was our last day of work meaning we must work extra hard in order to finish our project on time. After downing breakfast, each group made their way to the worksite at approximately 8:00 AM, where we had the opportunity to play with the children before they rushed back to line-up in order to start what would be their last week of school. Us adventurers worked hard throughout the morning despite the intense humidity and paint which does not come off your clothes. Everyone was assigned a specific task which included painting the inside of the library with primer paint while fighting off bloodthirsty flies, making and playing with cement, tiling and installing the windows and doors while dodging copious amounts of vicious paint. The group was further split into pairs which were assigned a class to teach or entertain. Julian and Hank were greeted with cute waving and smiles as they entered the standard 4 class, immediately engaging into a wild drawing competition. The amused kids then proceeded to assault the poor adventurers with chalk, turning them both into human chalkboards as resistance was futile. Tyler tought the kids how to make origami ninja stars and his signature paper airplanes while the other children cheered and greeted Alex by his nickname: Horsey. The group worked extra hard while consuming large amounts of iodine-filtered H2O and mini nacho chip snack bags. Despite working late, the proud adventurers headed to lunch while scheduling a second round of work later that afternoon. After lunch, we engaged in team building activities which consisted of ranking the world's millennium goal notecards based on how important we felt they were. The group then left on an epic trek to the library at 2:30, arriving 5 minutes later and ready to finish the job. Everyone returned to their positions while enjoying Alex's singing. The painters then engaged in loudly singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Call Me Maybe" while relentlessly battling the swarms of flies who decided to feast on them. The group worked for a good 45 minutes and cleaned up the worksite, lighting any remaining trash on fire thanks to some of the children's pyromaniac skills before they returned home after a hardcore day of studying. The fire was very entertaining but the students were called in for a group picture behind the library. After thanking the worksite's overseers, Mack & Jen and Carlos, Danna coordinated a dance to the tune of America's pop culture as we had to share an American tradition with the community that night. Everyone then proceeded back to their home stay family where they ate a wonderful dinner. Adrian and Hank debated on whether or not to eat two habanero peppers, which Hank eventually downed along with 6 cups of orange juice. Carlos and Dorian then proceeded in dancing to the tune of the marimba and singing the National Anthem of Holland, Venezuela, America and Belize during their dinner with their home stay family. At 7:00, the adventurers regrouped at Ernesto's place to share their culture and witness Belizean dances and music. The entertaining night was wrapped up by Tyler, Alex, Carlos, Nick, Julian and Alex's epic singalong of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" which included insane guitar solos and a fantastic range of singing. We all thanked our families and grabbed any gifts left in the room where our bags were stored in and headed out into the darkness to our home stay for the night...
Oh and a shout-out to Dorian and Hank's families.

Day 7 - Dorian and Hank

As we woke up Monday morning, it struck us that it was our last day of work meaning we must work extra hard in order to finish our project on time. After downing breakfast, each group made their way to the worksite at approximately 8:00 AM, where we had the opportunity to play with the children before they rushed back to line-up in order to start what would be their last week of school. Us adventurers worked hard throughout the morning despite the intense humidity and paint which does not come off your clothes. Everyone was assigned a specific task which included painting the inside of the library with primer paint while fighting off bloodthirsty flies, making and playing with cement, tiling and installing the windows and doors while dodging copious amounts of vicious paint. The group was further split into pairs which were assigned a class to teach or entertain. Julian and Hank were greeted with cute waving and smiles as they entered the standard 4 class, immediately engaging into a wild drawing competition. The amused kids then proceeded to assault the poor adventurers with chalk, turning them both into human chalkboards as resistance was futile. Tyler tought the kids how to make origami ninja stars and his signature paper airplanes while the other children cheered and greeted Alex by his nickname: Horsey. The group worked extra hard while consuming large amounts of iodine-filtered H2O and mini nacho chip snack bags. Despite working late, the proud adventurers headed to lunch while scheduling a second round of work later that afternoon. After lunch, we engaged in team building activities which consisted of ranking the world's millennium goal notecards based on how important we felt they were. The group then left on an epic trek to the library at 2:30, arriving 5 minutes later and ready to finish the job. Everyone returned to their positions while enjoying Alex's singing. The painters then engaged in loudly singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Call Me Maybe" while relentlessly battling the swarms of flies who decided to feast on them. The group worked for a good 45 minutes and cleaned up the worksite, lighting any remaining trash on fire thanks to some of the children's pyromaniac skills before they returned home after a hardcore day of studying. The fire was very entertaining but the students were called in for a group picture behind the library. After thanking the worksite's overseers, Mack & Jen and Carlos, Danna coordinated a dance to the tune of America's pop culture as we had to share an American tradition with the community that night. Everyone then proceeded back to their home stay family where they ate a wonderful dinner. Adrian and Hank debated on whether or not to eat two habanero peppers, which Hank eventually downed along with 6 cups of orange juice. Carlos and Dorian then proceeded in dancing to the tune of the marimba and singing the National Anthem of Holland, Venezuela, America and Belize during their dinner with their home stay family. At 7:00, the adventurers regrouped at Ernesto's place to share their culture and witness Belizean dances and music. The entertaining night was wrapped up by Tyler, Alex, Carlos, Nick, Julian and Alex's epic singalong of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" which included insane guitar solos and a fantastic range of singing. We all thanked our families and grabbed any gifts left in the room where our bags were stored in and headed out into the darkness to our home stay for the night...
Oh and a shout-out to Dorian and Hank's families.

Day 6 - Adela and Alex

Yesterday morning was an exercise in professional tardiness. The deadline of 8AM was met by none, with many arriving at 8:10 or later. After everyone had arrived, jacking up Ms. Bastedo’s blood pressure to well over 120, we began to work. Even with our questionable punctuality, we managed to finish the painting of the outside of the building, as well as the inside. We also added a concrete step to one of the doors as well as finishing the doorframes, nailing in all the widows and managed to even help with the repair of some tiles in the old school library, which is either going to become a computer room or preschool (which has been virtually inaccessible to the children of Maya Center). After work, we returned to the Nuuk Cheil lodge and had a wonderful lunch before cramming ourselves into a van like sardines. Having 19 people in a 9 person van was an adventure, to say the least. We were driven to the Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve where we learned some interesting facts about jaguars, and about the importance of applying sunscreen. We then each selected an inflatable tube and a straightjacket masquerading as a lifejacket. Ever mindful of the presence of botflies, we made our way down to the river head. There we had an extensive discussion of safety when river tubing, a topic dear to my heart (and my mother’s. . .). Tubing was perfectly safe, do not be concerned; no nonsense like Hank pushing everyone into assorted debris or everyone tackling Adrian into the ground took place, nor did Ms. Winegarden get flipped off her tube by Kelly and Adela. As we said, no nonsense. Completely safe. After having some trouble getting out of the river, we took a head count and were relieved that none of the students were destined to be the topic of an Animal Planet River Monsters: Students in Peril episode. Hiking back to the Visitors’ Center, we were privileged enough to see a jaguar print in the mud. After cramming all students (minus a couple limbs) back into the van, we had an equally exciting return journey back. Once back at Nuuk Cheil lodge, grabbed our things and returned to our homestays. Many of us then went to the local church to celebrate our homestays’ children’s First Communion. There we learned that “Jesus doesn’t give you gas, he gives eternal life”. We then returned home and some of us went to sleep (others were busy songwriting).

Sleepily exhilarated,

Alex White a.k.a Horsey

Adela “Ma’ash” DePavia

Day 5 Carlos and Dilan

Day 5

As we woke up in our individual homes, separated for the first time, our bond could still be felt throughout the village. After being fed to our content, and in many cases, a little bit more, we headed over to the library. As we walked down, we heard kids yelling our names. Everyone trickled in, feeling overly full and refreshed and some came with offerings for the group like mangos, cotton candy fruit thing, cocoa, and more (Tyler&Nick&Danny&Matthew). Despite our separate breakfasts, we shared good vibes over the huge variety of fruits brought to us. We began to work on the library, painting it (and each other at times ;)  as well as setting up windows and door frames. Originally painting the inside green, it was later decided that it should actually be white! This presented itself as an interesting minty white color as we tried painting over it. Originally overconfident in our hammering abilities, we were quickly shut down by our inability to, in fact, hit the thin and annoying nail (as can be demonstrated by the silver hammer marks on the wood surrounding the nail…) Then Mac, the amazing handy man and overseer of construction who casually handled a nail through his thumb, came in and hammered everything in half the time it took us to do one. Back together again for an especially uniting lunch, where good energies were overflowing the room, we had some delicious chicken tamales wrapped in banana leaves, along with several other amazing food choices. While we had our lunch, Aurora, an amazingly talented artist and healer, told us her story. We were all enchanted by her account of the Tata Duende and how her path led her to her current position. As soon as our stomachs were yet again filled, there was a rush to grab fresh sets of clothing (not that we needed them or anything, as there is no such thing as sweating in Belize). Then in a stroke of luck, Dilan found that everything she had left behind had been saved for her, and we continued on our way. On the epic journey toward a cacao plantation, we were guided by Marroquin and his trusty dog. Once arrived, we were led through the dense jungle on the 2 lane highway, through some trees, over a river (where piggy back rides were provided even for those even too large to receive one) where one of our comrades had his shoe ripped away from his grip by the rapids (Julian <3), through more trees, and finally into the heart of the plantation, where we were viciously pursued by an inch long scorpion, luckily we were able to overcome the evil creature, who realized we were too tough for it to handle, and even obtained photographic evidence of his cowardliness. YOLO. Then repeating the same journey described before, with some new piggy back rides, and others who were brave enough to walk through with their shoes on through the rapids. Then we arrived to the museum, where we were greeted by a small puppy, chickens, and hopes for chocolate. There we proceeded into the museums kitchen where our bonds were further strengthened by the magical powers of the delicious substance called chocolate. We first tried cocoa beans that had already been fermented, then ones that had also been roasted, both of which were rather bitter. Ms. Bastedo had become a dog and was rolling on the floor with one of the dogs in the side room (the dogs and chickens here are really comfortable walking in and out of stores and houses). Then came the process of grinding. It would be fair to say that none of us were particularly good, but we did see Tyler show off his guns (sleeves up). Then came Carlos, prepared to face the challenge with a chocolate dance. For several minutes we watched as he did the same amount of work that the many people before him had worked together to accomplish. It was beauty. The chocolate began to look like chocolate and we all made sure to double-dip on as many fingers as were necessary to make sure we had gotten a good taste. The teachers then demonstrated once again their spectacular waitressing skills, as we repeatedly attempted to make sense of our drink orders (from a list of three choices). Cold water was definitely appreciated. Then a rush to go next door and buy some chocolate and other little touristy things and we were back to the Mayan Center to grab our stuff. Before returning to our home stays, we made plans to meet again before the day was over, for we knew that we could not remain apart for very long. Then each one of us went to our respective families, and yet again, consumed a wonderfully wonderful feast. Our instincts led us to the soccer field before we knew we were destined to meet there. There, we all engaged in a very intense soccer game with some locals and had to run into tall cutter grass to retrieve the ball every five minutes. A game of soccer on the school field, split into the monkeys (ma-ash) and the jaguars (balum), got rather interesting, especially since there were no goals and no real rules. The freshly cut grass (which was attracted by our positive energy) followed us home. We were covered in sweat and gross stuff and showers felt like heaven (to those of us who took them). Each of us slept (or talked deep into the night) and dreamt of one another.<3 We were ready for another day of good feelings.

-Carlos & Dilan