Hello
again! We are in Maya center, where we’ll be staying for most of our time in
Belize. We woke up early and ready to work. We walked to the school after a
hearty breakfast. Each of us did different actives such as; painting, teaching
kids in the classroom, and building a fence around the school. The students
from the school LOVED us. They rode on our backs and played fun games with us. Chloe
went and read to all the first graders while Sidney and Nicholas listened on a
lecture about birds. Although they state the lecture was somewhat boring, they found
the classroom environment to be fun.
We all played fun games with the kids after a short break.
We got to know some of the students and what their lives are like outside of
school. One kid from the school said
that he would save his book bag if his house was on fire (and all his family
members were already safe). We found this very interesting.
After we went back to our rooms for our homemade lunch. We
had, delicious, steaming, hot, chicken tamales. We also had fresh salsa and
crunchy, zesty, tortilla chips. We had the most tasty and luscious watermelon
juice. It tasted like watermelon. For dessert, we had warm, toasty, sweet,
cinnamon-y, raisin biscuits. (We really liked the food. If you couldn’t tell).
In the afternoon we went to the Mayan museum. We listened
to a fascinating lecture on the Mayan culture and their past. Then Henry, Lena,
and Sidney squeezed sugar cane with a special press. Then Rowan and Emma got
into traditional Mayan outfits and danced with Philip and Nicholas. It was very
entertaining. Then we ground coffee beans and corn (which we used to make tasty
tortillas). Our guide’s wife showed us how to make perfect tortillas using her
traditional technique. They were warm, corny, different, but still very good.
After we returned to our rooms, we were sorted into three
different groups. These groups were with one adult and each went to a different
local family’s home for dinner. We all had different meals and met different
people. Chloe, Philip, Charlotte, and Nicholas had a great time with their host
family. We ate rice, chicken, and mashed potatoes with egg salad in it. We also
had a sweet cherry juice, which was really refreshing. In Sidney, Veronica,
Emma, and Lena’s group, we had a delicious soup made with fresh cilantro and
young beans. It was savory and spicy as
well. We also had tortillas hot off the fire. In Henry, Elizabeth, Rowan, and
Grace’s group they ate amazing chicken, beans and rice, and some tasty
vegetables. After dinner, we had ANCHOR (Appreciation, News, Concerns, Hopes,
Obscurities, and Reading). Then everyone went to bed.
The End
From: Chloe and Sidney (leaders of
the day)
