A few days into things

So we are finally settling into San Ignacio. There are some things that are hard to get used to. One of those being you can't flush any TP because everything is on Septic tanks. Kinda crazy. You have to put it in a bag and empty it out every morning. On Wednesday night, there was a DOG WAR I believe ALL NIGHT LONG. All of the dogs all over the neighborhood were running around howling, barking, running through the bush etc. Needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink. We have also had to get used to all the little ants and bugs. The heat is finally becoming bearable, or maybe we are just getting use to it. We were going to hit up the beach this weekend but the Tropical Storm is going to put a damper on that. I think we are just going to stay in town and do some day trips instead.
Jim and I are taking Spanish lessons three times a week with 4 other people in our program. The teacher is from Nicaragua and is just great. We are also helping with the children that come to Cornerstone house everyday during school for lunch because they can't afford food otherwise. We are planning activities for them with our roommates, Colin and Jackie. The kids are adorable. We are also helping them after school with their homework.
Yesterday Jim and I woke up at 4:45am to head on the bus to Belize City to take part in the first ever Belize meeting for discussing the effects of HIV/AIDS on orphaned or vulnerable children. Cornerstone put it together with UNICEF and was the largest event they have held to date. Jim and I learned a lot about HIV/AIDS in Belize and heard some heart breaking real life stories. In the afternoon sessions, we broke into smaller groups and were paired with some of the National players in Belize - the department of human services, the department of health etc. Cornerstone has been granted $50K to distribute from UNICEF to orphaned or vulnerable children due to HIV/AIDS and Jim and I have signed up to help coordinate the process of it. Jim with his database experience and mine with my analytical background are going to try and help streamline the process. It should be a really interesting project to work on because we will be working with many local organizations. We are excited about both of the projects we are working on. On the other hand, spending the day in Belize City yesterday was enlightening to say the least. It is VERY dirty and there are so many children just running around. Most of the wooden houses are run down and rotted. It is not the beautiful city you might imagine it to be since it is right on the Caribbean coast. Anyways, I will let Jim write some more. Take care.