At Work - Day One

Yesterday was the first day of work at St. Matthews Government School. We arrived at 8:30 and played with the kids until 9 when they had school. Then we divided up into two groups. One group sandpapered the swing set while the other leveled the ground and painted the bike rack. At 10:30 it was the kids' first recess so we stopped work to get to know them. We played with the soccer ball and they showed us how to play marbles and tasos.  When recess was over,  the two groups switched jobs. Some of the teachers painted and others worked with our Belizean friends, Juan and Jose, building a slide.  At 12:30 we had lunch at a restaurant right by the school where some kids can buy breakfast and lunch. The students followed us to the restaurant and talked to us while we ate lunch. After a brief rest we sang to a class of 7 year olds and they taught us a song in English and Spanish.  At 2:30 we started painting the shutters to match the walls. At 3:30, when school ended, we played a game of soccer with about 50 Belizean kids. After the exciting game we headed back to Monkey Bay.

by WL, AGN, CB