The past couple weeks have been very eventful. My school has semester break for a week which left me with plenty of time to gallivant around town and partake in various activities.
It all began at the Hot Springs in Buenavista. I went with all of the teachers at my school. We loaded up the jeepney early in the morning with plenty of food and people. All in all it was a very relaxing day. I ate way too much food, enjoyed a glass of wine poolside with all of the teachers, my shoulders got sun burnt, and had many good conversations with everyone! I am still getting used to having to go swimming with shorts on but it does create a really nice tan line.
The following day I was asked to attend the Baptism of the boy who lives next door to me. His mother asked me if I would be his Ninang or Godmother. I officially have a God son now! His name is Alfredo After the baptism we went back to their house because Alfredo was also celebrating his 8th birthday that day. It was a big day for him and his smile was huge the entire day it was really neat! It is common here for have a birthday party for the persons 1st birthday, and then their 7th or 8th. This means that the birthday parties are always pretty extravagant! I love attending parties because there are always so many little kids so it makes for an exciting day of playing games and laughing. There are always some children who are terrified of me at first BUT after a few hours and many long stares, they suddenly become comfortable and then just talk, talk, talk, talk!
The next morning, I went for a nice long jog, showered and then my host nanay told me that we were going to the beach! This was a pleasant surprise for me. Ulam beach is near my house and it is just beautiful to go to and relax. The sunsets are always incredible too! We ended up spending the entire day there. I spent many hours just floating in the ocean waves, thinking about life and really just enjoying the alone time, even if it was in the middle of the ocean. I even started to get used to the salty taste every time the waves splashed me in the face.
The adventures didn’t stop there! Then it was time for me to pack up my travel bag for an excited trip to Manila for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Peace Corps. The party itself was really entertaining, there were many different activities. I personally enjoyed all the traditional dances from the different regions of the Philippines; the costumes are always so vibrant! I also got to use the little artistic ability that I have to do some face painting for the children. The flash mob was a success; all of my practice was definitely worth it! Catherine and I practiced the routine on the boat trip to Manila which was a pretty hilarious site I’m sure! We went inside the boat where there were only two people sleeping. Word traveled quickly that there were two American girls doing a funny dance on the boat and it was not long before we had an audience of people to cheer us on! While in Manila I also ate pizza and Mexican, drank starbucks, danced the night away with many other volunteers, took really long hot showers, enjoyed sitting down to use the restroom and just completely enjoyed myself and the company of other volunteers who I definitely miss seeing!
Right now, I am on the bus back to Marinduque. I am hoping that November is equally as exciting as October! I am going to be busy preparing myself to move into my own house and planning activities for when Joseph comes to see me in January. More updates coming soon. Stay warm everyone J xoxo.
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