Arrived & Alive & In Love!

Well I here in San Ignacio now and it is just wonderful! The flights were good no problems or delays and sat by good people both times. Upon arrival we exited the back of the plane and was shocked that it was not as hot and humid as I was expecting! Phew. After customs and stuff we were greeted by our country directors and walked out to our awesome taxi driver who had crazy dreads and spoke Kriol. He so kindly loaded up our luggage and took us to the bus station. On the drive there he had a kriol calendar and we all took turns trying to read and say what was on it and it was quite entertaining. Once we got to the bus station and it was a little sketchy there because everyone is a madhouse trying to get on the buses but  we got on and were headed out to our home which was about 2 and half hours but it seemed like FOREVER!!!
We got to know our group a little more and then an adorable little 9 year old girl sat by me on the last hour and I made small talk with her a little bit. Finally we arrived to our destination and I immediately was in love. The atmosphere was just so cozy and friendly and as we were walking to our house a man chillin on some steps casually says, "Welcome to San Ignacio where the people are friendly." My heart melted and felt very lucky to be here. We walked down burns street which is the "tourist" strip and it was adorable and small and we saw white people! I was surprised at first but I guess there are a lot of European travelers here for the Mayan Ruins and Tikal and other cave adventures. So we are staying in the owner of a Hotel here house while she is in Canada for the summer. So this hotel has like 3 rooms to rent then our space, and then downstairs is an internet cafe and then big empty rooms that used to be stuff. So very interesting, but our cook here is so sweet and so giving! So last night we ate at ARB's were Kristina has made a good relationship with the family that runs it and had good convo over food. We were all pretty exhausted and went back to get take it easy and go to bed. But knowing me I have to be up late & don't like missing out on stuff so I did a workout video with Kristina. I am grateful she will keep me motivated to get back in shape and not gain weight while I am here. After I showered I finally felt humidity set in. I was sweatin bullets after I got out and that was awful! Bleehh Sleep time I was expecting to be dying of heat but having a fan right on me made it very nice, surprisingly! So today was our first work day and we painted for 5 hours the back of a school and stairs and it was interesting! The paint had disgusting blobs of booger like chunks in it and made it very difficult to paint but it got done... kind of. Then Kyle suggested singing disney songs to to make the time go by faster and him and Brad knew like every word to every song. I was SHOCKED and slightly jealous. They provided great entertainment for us. We also got to interact with the kids there for quite some time and they were awesome. Except they didn't understand the phrase "don't touch the paint" and they kept getting it on their uniforms and hands and I guess it was just too tempting to not touch. The older girls were awesome to talk to cause they actually talked back and were so grateful for their new paint job on their classrooms! Ah I just wanted to take them home! Oh and side note I definitely think I got more paint on me than I got on the walls.

After we finally go done painting we got fruit to make smoothies for lunch but just our luck the power went out so we couldn't use the blender. So that kind of stunk. 
We chilled out on the balcony and played banana grams and then our afternoon activity was to go on a photo scavenger hunt of the town and find some of the local key locations we should know. Kim and I were team members and at first I was a little nervous because we don't know where ANYTHING is. But the people here are super friendly and thats how we survived. We made a little 17 year old guy friend who directed us to the school we had to find. After that our hunt for the Octavia Waight Center was up and down hills, down streets that were no where near the center. Everyone was telling us different directions which was frustrating but we got to see th city really well and saw some awesome spots. Finally we asked this cute little old lady and she gave detailed directions and it sounded too far and Kim and I didn't think it was worth walking to a place we may never find. So we tell her thanks for the directions but we wont go. But she insisted it wasn't far and she came down to us and she was as tall as my chest and said let me take you to the street its on. We were surprised at her generosity and made small talk with her on our walk and I asked her how her day was and she said oh so good, they had a mothers day special at the Octavia Waight Center and I got to dance (followed by some hip sways) then she said she went to the Casino and danced some more (followed by some more hip sways) and I thought that was the cutest thing ever! She LOVES to dance. I knew we would get along well. She led us to the road and we continued down that and WALA we found it!! So happy it actually existed! We continued heading down the hill to find our other places and realized it wasn't even that far from our place... we just were mislead all over town. haha We continued to our other locations and one I liked was the Midas resort which has the pool we can pay $5 to swim in and it was nice to seeee. 
After that we had dinner and Kim and I won the scavenger hunt because we actually DID get the Ocatvia Waight Center, so the trek was worth it. So overall the people here are SUPER friendly and so willing to help us out. Krisitna my country director is so funny and seriously knows like the whole town already! She is good at talking to people and making connections and partners for us to work with. I am excited to work with the Domestic Violence Center next week in teaching basic computer skills, and domestic skills. :) Well its hott and humid here and I want to lay down next to the fan, so I am peacin out! Thanks again for making this possible all my supporters!