El jueves (thursday for those who know little spanish :D )

Dear Parentals and Siblings,

Sorry I am posting so late, I had a bit of a delay that you will read about later on. Okay so here I go. Wake up time today was at five thirty today because breakfast was at six thirty. We ate bananas, watermelon, eggs, and pancakes. We were all enthused that we had the most delicious orange juice again and for others they had their choice of water coffee and watermelon juice. At seven we packed into two vans and drove for a half an hour to the beach or coast. Thank goodness the AC worked. At the beach we picked out fins and put on sun screen. Afterwards we drove 45km to the island called Cayos Cochinos. On the boat ride over, the weather was nice and only one person became sea sick. As we approached the island, the water began to change color. We learned that the dark, rich and royal blue color was where there was coral reefs underneath and where is was turquoise there was white sand. Once we arrived at the island, we were able to take pics and we came across iguanas. We watched a video and learned about the reefs and then we were ready, or "estamos listos" as they say it here. The boat drivers took us to various places where we snorkeled. I personally have to say I was in awe with the beauty. The coral was rich in color and movement. There was purple and blue and green everywhere. The fish were jaw-dropping as well. Have you ever seen a fish with five colors? It was astonishing. I got to swim with schools of fish and dive in the glass-clear water. Oh and the water is so warm here. Absolutely nothing like our beach. The jelly fish are even different here. Today I would have to say was the first time I have ever been stung by a jelly fish. It was an interesting feeling. Others got stung too, but we are all okay. On the different islands there were houses on the small and isolated pieces of land. At one of the places we stopped to snorkel and rest there were coconuts that we could purchase. I shared one with Shelby. The guy we bought it from used a machete to clean it and poke a hole so that we were able to drink the coconut water. It was rich and flavorful and refreshing. After the water was gone the guy took the Machete to make a spoon out of the coconut skin and then cut the coconut in half to eat the pulp. I was surprised. The pulp of the coconut was soft and moist. I also learned that the pulp is used to make coconut milk. After our stop we ventured to the next island to explore the jungle on a hike with our guide, Melvin. As we approached maybe one hundred meters from the shore we were in the jungle. Melvin stopped at a tree--full of termites. Termites taste minty. Enough said ;) We furthered into the jungle where we were looking for boa constrictors, better known as snakes. We found two. Steve volunteered himself to pick one of the snakes up. Dont worry no one was bit. He picked it up successfully and we played pass the boa around for about fifteen minutes and took a lot of pictures. The boys also thought it was hilarious to scare the girls by touching their legs and hissing. Melvin scared Shelby Byer by putting the snakes tail on her leg. I have to agree it was hilarious because it wasnt on me. After our little tour in the jungle we went to a different island to eat. For the meat eaters, the chefs brought out a whole fried fish--with a face. Personally I loved it and cleaned it until there were only bones left. Others pretended to eat. We were able to have free time, which we spent buying suvineers and swimming in the water. After our free time was up, we headed back to the beach by boat and then headed home by the vans that we used earlier. Once we arrived at the hotel, we all took showers and waited for the bus to meet the Hogar children at Pizza Hut for pizza. Dinner was so much fun. It felt like I was eating with my family. The food was good and the children were happy. We were also able to play on the indoor playground and play soccer with the kids. As an hour or so passed, it was finally time to say goodbye--the hardest part of the day. Emotional breakdowns in the parking lot are not fun. I do appreciate the tias who watch the children everyday and barely get to see their own family. Yolanda, a tia at the Hogar, told me that her husband is seven hours away working so she barely gets to see him or her children. The children hate saying goodbye, but they have to wake up early for school. I am appreciative for the time we get to wake up for school opposed to the childrens time which is 3:45 in the morning. Paola, one of the orphans, holds me tight as we both say goodbye but never let go. Its hard to let each child go. They are so thankful for the little they have in their lives. Most of the children have been abused in some way shape or form. They adore all of us and geuinely love us all as we do them. Being someone who doesnt cry in front of people, i found myself trying to hold back tears. I   cannot bring myself to realization of the terrible experiences the children have gone through or the desparation each one has for a permanent figure to be in their lives. I want to take them all home. Well its getting late so I will wrap it up. I was delayed in writing the blog because I was the lucky one to get pierjos ( LICE!). Its actually not as bad as i thought it would be and i can cross it off my bucket list. No one else has it and now i have a whole bed to myself, which is a major perk of having lice. Im not completely shunned, but I try to avoid any contact with our group as possible because I am contaminated. My lice is being taken care of though. While i was getting bugs pulled out of my hair, a group was able to explore the town with Stewart, or Estewart, as the kids call him. As usual, we all spent time together in the same room and now we are off to bed. Buenas noches. We love all of you guys.
-Brianna Michalkiewicz :D