"Life is a journey, not a destination"

June 17th – 30th:

And, just like that… June has come and gone. My only wish right now is that the success and greatness that filled the days of June continue. I will begin my blog post with a comical little story for you. For me, it was not so comical at the time but now it is just hysterical. I actually do not really know if I should put this on the internet but well, it’s funny. So, when Joseph was here in January we met Tim and his wife (I would write her name but I will admit that I can’t remember it right now). Tim is an American and his wife is a Filipina. The come to Marinduque every now and then to visit friends and family. They just arrived in Marinduque last week. Before they came, Tim contacted Joe to see if there was anything he could bring me. Joe, the fabulous being that he is said, “Bring her cheese!”

I was riding in a jeep here in the island and randomly saw Tim walking down the road. I shouted the signal for a jeep to stop and hopped off to greet him. He may have been just as surprised as I was! He invited me to his house to visit and meet his daughters, and of course to pick up my cheese. After spending time with them, I came home. I was practically running down the street going home, I was completely overjoyed to have cheese in my hands. This was real sharp cheddar cheese. I ate grilled cheese, tomato, and avocado sandwiches for the entire week. Actually, I am still eating them. Okay, so why is this so funny? I was at school yesterday and my stomach started to hurt. Then it started to rumble. The pain and uncomfortable feeling seemed to get worse by the second. Luckily, the day was almost over. I rode my bike home, really slowly and wanting to cry the entire time. I could barely walk when I got home; I had to hunch over and take baby steps. When I got to my room I put down my things, and simply stood still as a statue, waiting to see what my body would do. Then, I f*rted, the loudest and hugest f*rt of my life! It literally blew me away. I guess that is what I get for having zero self control eating my delectable block of cheese.

Speaking of self control, I also have none when it comes to eating the Reeses that everyone sent me. I have always liked sweet things; I thank my mother for this. Everyone knows my mother has a secret stash of M&M’s or some sort of chocolate delight in her closet or desk drawer. I would sometimes walk in to her office in the morning there she was, with a handful, munching away. When I was in America, I would have something sweet every now and then, like a culver’s hot fudge sundae or a Mcflurry with the kids I nanny for. I had control over my cravings. However, now… the control is imaginary. The lady who lives with me is always commenting on how I eat really healthy but I also enjoy sweets. I love the fact that I can understand when people are talking about me, finally!

Okay, enough talk about food. I will move on to Sports Club. The second meeting was just as fabulous as the first. Some students expressed a desire to have a jogging club. So, jogging club is also part of sports club. I brought my friend from the community to club last week. He is 72 years old but in great shape. He talked to the participants about how important exercise is now and throughout a lifetime. Everyone was really listening to every word that he said. He made an impact on them. Some of my students wrote in their diaries, “Mam Gina brought a friend to sports club. He was 72 but he looked 42!” Then, they would do on to say, “I am going to exercise more so I can be healthy.” Every week I lead a warm-up and cool-down session. This coming Saturday some of the students are going to lead the warm-up. They wanted to Dance the Dougie as the warm up activity. I doubt this song is still popular in the states but it is a huge hit here right now! This should be a lot of fun! They are planning to incorporate some of the stretches I have taught them into the dance… I am anxiously waiting to see what happens when they blend dancing with stretching.

This week I will be busy completing my report form for Peace Corps about everything I did the past three months. I am also going to write a letter to the Mayor of our town. The activity sports club is putting together for July is a 5K Fun Run/Walk. We will run from our school to the center of town! I am going to ask the mayor to donate snack and drink for after the event. To say thank you to the Mayor I am going to propose that we will hold a roadside clean up on the 5k path through town. This clean up will beautify the town and also help us with our plastic recycling goals at school. We are hoping the Mayor will run with us, too!

The comfort food that creates discomfort. What is my body going to do when I go home? Now, all of the veggies, fruits, rice, eggs, fish come from my neighbors.