Today we started the hospital project in Nicaragua. We are working on a site that shares property with a school, so there are tons of young children running around watching and are entertained by the new faces.

If you know me at all, you know I love kids; So this was quite exciting for me.

My go to move since we got here was to break the ice with skittles. I carry skittles with me because I am diabetic, and in case of a low blood sugar skittles work to pick me up quickly.  They also work well to connect with the kids.  Once I break the ice with skittles, they usually like piggy backs, being tossed in the air as high as possible, and basically treating me as a human jungle gym. If I could I would spend the entire day playing with the children, hearing their laughter warms my heart.

This is one of the young boys who I spent time today.Like the rest of them, he is pretty darn cute and the friendship we have started I hope to continue to build throughout the week and remember it for the rest of my life. How could you forget a face a like that!

-Jake Vandermeer