It's love, it's love, it's love that makes the world go 'round!

Today I had the class all to myself! Ms. Morales had to leave early, so I was in charge for the last couple hours which was awesome! During that time, the kids were pretty much just eating lunch, taking a phonics test, and working on their Valentine’s Day cards, but it felt great to have them all to myself! They were so excited about making valentine’s for their parents and families and even more excited when I told them I had a treat bag for each of them too. Rachel’s aunt sent lots of cute Valentine’s Day stuff and Rachel was sweet enough to share some little treats with Jessica and I for our classes.  The title of this post if from the song we sang today... it was really cute and seemed fitting for Valentine's Day and all!

 

  

  

Travis really doesn't like pictures! lol

  

   

  

 

 I got a couple little treats from my kids!

 

 

 My updated wall... it's a crazy mess!

They liked making our addition picture that went along with "light"

 

My wall beside my bed... I love all the cards and notes from my friends and family back home!

I’m a little sad that I’m missing like the coldest winter in Georgia, complete with lots of snow showers, but I am enjoying the 90 degree weather here. This weekend the girls and I are going to dinner with a few of the younger teachers at Hummingbird, spending some time on Caye Caulker, and snorkeling all day Saturday on the Barrier Reef along with a stop at shark alley… I’m SO excited about this! Hopefully we can find somewhere to buy an underwater camera so I can share the experience with y’all!

Week 5 = HOT

Week 5 in Belize is well under-way, and it's been quite exciting thus far. I'm now teaching 3 subjects each week on a daily basis (phonics, math, science) which has been really fun so far! I absolutely love my kids! It seems like every time I talk to Josh he asks, "what are you doing?", and my reply is usually along the lines of "coloring". So, I decided to take a few pics to show you why I've been spending my time coloring. Please don't laugh too hard at some of my drawings; I'm not used to doing as much "free hand" work as I've been doing here. Nonetheless, I think my "blends" cards turned out cute, and they certainly brighten up the classroom! I love being in a Kindergarten classroom... it's been so much fun!!!

 

We're working on R Blends this week, and we've already covered the L and S Blends.

These are a couple of my favorite kids... Ramani and Alex! They're too cute and always have a great story to tell me! The picture with Ramani was taken yesterday when it was around 95 degrees here... I stayed hot nearly ALL day long! Today was much better though!

I also had a surprise waiting for me this morning when I arrived at school.... it was a card mailed from Lindsey, my best friend since 1st grade for those of you who don't know! I was super excited about it! Thanks so much Lindsey... the card was so cute, and it was really sweet of you to send!!!

There's the card from Lindsey and us on New Years before I left! Miss you!

On a more serious note, I would like to ask all of you to remember my teacher, Ms. Morales, and her family in your prayers. Ms. Morales grew up as 1 of 11 children and received a phone call today during school informing her that one of her sisters who lives in California had unexpectedly passed away this morning. She was 68 and going through dialysis, but seemed to be doing just fine when Ms. Morales spoke with her on the phone over the weekend. I know that Ms. Morales would appreciate all your prayers as she and her other siblings go through this rough time.

Iguanas, Iguanas, Everywhere!

Last weekend started out great! I picked up a package from the post office that was filled with lots of goodies for the kids, snacks, cards, and even a vegetable peeler and strainer… I was SO excited! Most of the contents were from the wonderful ladies at HFUMC Preschool and my family… y’all are awesome! I’m truly blessed to have all of y’all in my life and I can’t wait to see you in May! I can’t say thank you enough for everything! 

 

San Ignacio is a little town located in the Cayo district of Belize; this also where the other 3 KSU girls call home. Our weekend started out with a drive to San Ignacio courtesy of Ms. P (the owner of Hummingbird). She goes to San Ignacio every weekend to her house out there and offered us a ride since the bus would have taken about 3 ½ hours; our ride only took 1 ½. We actually ended up staying with Ms. P at her house and meeting up with the girls for dinner and ice cream. 

 

Ms. P has chickens and ducks!

On Saturday we had a yummy breakfast (banana pancakes) and spent the rest of the day checking out the HUGE outdoor market and 2 Mayan ruins called Cahal Pech and Xunantunich. The market was awesome and filled with everything from local produce to hand-made crafts. Too bad there isn’t a market like that here in Belize City : ( . The ruins were amazing and had some great views of the mountain peaks in San Ignacio. It wasn’t as difficult to climb these ruins as it was Lamanai, but the views were just as breath-taking! Ms. P cooked all 6 of us an amazing dinner and then took us out for ice cream… it was a perfect night!

 

  

  

Xunanthunich

 

  

 

 

 

Ms. P and Mr. Roger

Sunday we woke up and went to get some banana pancakes and check out the market again to buy some fresh fruits and veggies to take back with us. On the way back from the market to Ms P’s house we stopped by the San Ignacio Hotel and took the Green Iguana Project Tour. This included lots of one-on-one time with the iguanas and even a quick bite to eat… termites! That’s right, I ate a termite! The tour guide told us that they tasted like carrots or mint, so Jessica and I decided to try it… Rachel declined. Hey, we’ve probably all swallowed some kind of bug at some point right??? It really wasn’t bad; I actually ate 2! Lol

The termite nest

Eddy (the tour guide) told us they tasted like carrots...

Jessica and I like carrots, so we gave it a try...

Yep, they do taste like carrots!

Eddy was sneaked and just popped these two little guys on my shoulders

these are the babies

Iguanas everywhere!!!!

 

I had my first observation from my KSU supervisor and director today, and everything went well with that thankfully. It was good to see familiar faces and also have them clarify a few minor issues. I’ve also decided that my collaborating teacher, Ms. Morales, is wonderful and will hopefully convince her to let me take a picture with her sometime soon! She always tells me to take as many pictures as I want as long as she’s not in them!