Piyesta!

Yesterday my friend Mike invited me to go to a birthday party with him and his host family. The only thing on my agenda was to make my lesson plan (which could definitly be postponed) and play solitaire with my Lola... so, I happily agreed to go to the party. At first, I thought it was just like any other party here in the Phillipines, all you do is eat, eat, eat. A photo of the enormous bowl of pasta is attached and that is just the marienda for the party, also known as the snack. I should also tell you that anytime you do not eat rice here in the Phillipines, it is just a snack. I have learned this the hard way because I would eat an entire bowl of pasta thinking it was my dinner and then be told a couple hours later that is it time to eat dinner. As I sit there, still full from pasta, I thought constantly about how I should never make that mistake again :). Anyways, so at the party we were just eating and chatting like normal. Then, the videoke machine came out which is also very common. Filipinos love to sing so this is traditional entertainment at any kind of party. The loud music and beautiful voices made every child in the barangay come out of their house. I quickly noticed that the children were more focused Mike and I than the music. One moment, I turned around to about 20 beautiful smiling faces and felt terrified because I was not sure what to do! After smiling for about 2 minutes, which held there attention while I picked my brain for ideas...we danced, sang, raced around the block, played slap and took pictures. As I was getting tired it was clear that the children could play for days. This was such an amazing experience for me. The children were so happy just playing silly games that I could come up with. Bending knees and raising your hands in the air never looked so awesome! When it was time to go, we were all walking down the street to fetch a bus back home and when we turned around... the children were following us, all 30+ of them just smiling away.

So Much to Say, so Little Time!

I honestly do not know where to begin. I am sitting here, drinking my coffee, wondering how in the heck to write about everything that has happened these past couple weeks. My free time is getting shorter and shorter, that is definite!

I think you would all be happy to know that the roosters no longer wake me up at all hours of the night and I am so thankful that my ears cooperated with my surroundings and now just tune those beautiful sounds out, it is a magically feeling that I used to think was never possible.

This past week all of the volunteers met together at Island Cove in Cavite for Supervisors Conference. We were all very exciting because at the conference we were going to find out where our permanent sites would be!!! HUGE NEWS!!! If I have not told you already, I will be heading to Mogpog, Marinduque. It is a small, heart shaped island. During conversation with my supervisor aka the principal at the school I will be working in I found out that there are many beaches, hot springs, caves, and mass amounts of peanut butter on the island. Naturally, I was ecstatic about every single thing she mentioned. Marinduque is also the island of brown outs, which did not excite me but I am sure I will manage just fine! Please feel free to research this current foreign island to me and pass on any valuable information. My supervisor is fantastic. She is also new to the school so her and I are looking forward to being the new team at the school- Mogpog National High School. She talked to me a lot of how she wants to implement new programs to increase interest in sports and healthy living. I am really excited to hear more about this and tackle this job because well, a healthy active life is a life I like to live and I will definitely need to find or create some running buddies :). Dreams now but I hope they will become a reality in the future.

My host family has already started talking about Christmas. They are going to put up the decorations in September before I leave so that I can see them. They have also invited me to come back to Naparing for Christmas!!! So, if I can manage to tricycle, boat, bus, jeepney my way back here for my favorite holiday, I will.

Yesterday, I went to Subic Bay with Karen, Amy, and Christy. It was nice to escape to a new place. Being the wanderer that I am I have felt a bit claustrophobic. BUT, as soon as my toes hit the water I felt free and content and it was a much needed feeling and day trip. Subic Bay is a historical site because it was the old U.S. Naval Base. Walking around town is sort of feels like a ghost town. There are a lot of deserted hotels and restaurants that were not able to stay in business without all the tourism, soldiers, etc. that used to use the port in Subic Bay.

The rain finally stopped which basically means nothing aside from the fact that I am constantly sweating again. I think it is going to start raining again soon though, or so I have heard.

Alright, I have to go brush my teeth and get ready to be productive on this bright Sunday. I do have like 1,000 more things to write to I am hoping to get to this later today plus add some more pictures if you are having trouble picturing my mumbled words.

Love to All!!