Hola amigos! This is Katie C. and Shelby R. blogging to you from the dining hall! We did many amazing things today, and we would love to share with you. Today, we woke up to dry skys, which was a nice change from yesterday! We ate a lovely breakfast of pancakes, rice, and eggs. It was absolutly delicious, and then we went to the deck to begin our lab work. Our group is doing our project on the effects of citronella (a plant that repels insects) on gmellina tress (a favorite of the leaf cutter ant). We began with finalizing our procedure and examining our fungi and microbes. Pablo gave us a tour around the farm to scavenge for the best materials we would need for our experiments. We worked through late morning on our projects, and then took a break for lunch. We had an equiste meal of cheesy rice, steak and onions, and fresh salad. After lunch, we had two hours of free time, so many of us went into the village to purchase items from La Pulperia (the local store). Many of us bought various types of candy including: watermellon flavored suckers, cookies and creme flavored suckers, bon bons, chocolate, carmels, and basically anything you can imagine. After we got back, Dr. Pinto took us aside for another meeting, and we had more time to work on our projects. Since our group finished early, we decided to examine our bacteria a little more closly. With the help of Dr. Pinto, we made a bacteria smear, stained it, and examined it under the microscope. We found something very interesting; not only did we have the expected type of bacteria, but also another type as well! The bacteria was from Grace's waterbottle, so it may have been a little frightening for her! Next, we went back to our cabins for a break, and then, before we knew it, it was time to collect our data. Our first trial didn't go quite as expected, considering the leaf we had was completly missing! Although, we did get data from the other two trees, so hopefully we will be okay! We watched as many of the other groups investigated, and did trials on their projects as well. After that, we had another fantastic dinner of fish and potatoes with fresh mango juice. Now, we are off to do another trial for the night! Hope everyone is well at home, and wish us luck as we continue with our adventure!