Friday, June 15, 2012

I'm Back! A Year in Pictures...

After living in the Philippines for 322 days, I am back in America! I made a video as a gift for some of my friends that I lived with in the Philippines to help us remember what this year was like for us. I posted it below to share with you. Enjoy! :-)


Monday, May 28, 2012

Adventures in Boracay!

Lately, I have been thinking about all of the neat things that I have had an opportunity experience during my time here in the Philippines. I thought I would write a post that shows just some of the fun and interesting experiences that I have not written about on this blog. These opportunities are very interesting to me because most of them only happen in the Philippines, and I feel lucky that I've been able to take part in them during my time here.

Trip to Ibajay
The pictures below are from a trip that we took to Ibajay. My co-teacher's son was being dedicated at their church, so they invited us to spend the weekend at her family's house. 
My co-teacher and her family. They are such a neat family!
Karoake is a very popular past-time here in the Philippines.
Masarap!


Ati-Atihan Festival

While we were in Ibajay, we were able to see one of the Ati-Atihan Festival parades. Each of the floats are decorated to celebrate the resources that are most valuable to that barangay.
Front of float
Back of float




Yes, those are real!
My lunch date
While we were watching, one of the parade participants
 thought it would be funny to  put charcoal on our faces!
The drums were so loud, I could feel them pounding in my chest.


These participants were covered in seaweed.

Cliff Jumping

On an island about 20 minutes from Boracay by boat is a place called Ariel's Point. You can take a daytrip there. Once there, you can snorkel, kayak, and go cliff jumping.




Helmet Diving
We had the chance to go helmet diving during which we wore helmets under water that were connected to oxygen tanks in the boat.


Duck Pin Bowling
We have taken a few trips to Ilo-Ilo city, which is about 6 hours from here. It is on Panay, the island south of Boracay. One of the things that we did there was go duck pin bowling. In duck pin bowling, you use a small, hard ball. You also get three rolls. There are people behind the pins that set them back up after each roll!
Notice the feet between lane 1 and 2 as well as
 the man picking up pins in lane 4.


Bat Cave
There are a few bat caves in Boracay filled with fruit bats. Honestly, this was not an experience on the top of my list. However, Dan really wanted to check it out, so I decided it was a good time to be adventurous. :-) So, my friends and I headed over to the cave and a local guide showed us around the bat cave...
Not so sure about this...

Climbing down guano-covered rocks. (Guano is a nice word for bat poop!)

Snakes!


Yes, those are all bats!

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

Finally, I have taken a few trips up to Manila. One of the things we did there was visit the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial at which are buried over 17,000 American and Filipino soldiers who gave their lives in WWII. That is not including the unbelievable list of soldiers that are listed as MIA. Before my visit here, I did not know that the number of soldiers that gave their lives in the Philippines was so great! It was an unforgettable place to visit.

 Graves marked by marble crosses at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

Tagaytay

During my most recent trip to Manila, I had the opportunity to stay with some wonderful friends in Manila. They took us on a trip to Tagaytay, which is a few hours from Manila. There, we were able to view the countryside and see the Taal Volcano.
Landscape in Tagaytay

Pineapple Fields
Taal Volcano
These are just some of the cool new things that I've experienced during my time here. I feel so lucky to have had these opportunities to explore and better understand the Filipino culture while serving here!

More to come soon from Boracay Island...


Saturday, May 12, 2012

Summer School in Boracay

I have been spending the past few weeks teaching students for the summer school program at Agape Boracay Academy. It has been so much fun to spend time working one-on-one with children that were in my class this year to help them practice the skills they will need for Grade 2.

Working on place value with a game 
Chiery has shown so much improvement reading in English!
Thrixy practicing her spelling skills

I can't believe I only have one month left on the island! Oh, how time flies!

More to come soon from Boracay Island...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Moving Up Ceremony

We recently had Agape Boracay Academy's "moving up" ceremony. Our school held this ceremony to celebrate all of the students and what they have accomplished this school year. All of the students received medals. The medals had been engraved with something special about that child that stood out to the teacher. The kids and parents were so excited and proud. I thought this was a neat way to show each of the students how important they are and how they are all gifted in different ways. It was such a fun day! I sure am going to miss these kiddos. I am so proud of them! Below are couple photos from the event. We have a break now before we begin our summer tutoring program at the school.

Global Academy was kind enough to let us hold our program at their school

Bashroden receiving his award for persistence.
My class after receiving their awards

More to come soon from Boracay Island...


Saturday, March 3, 2012

I Am So Thankful for What I Have!

Some of my friends and I now have the opportunity to buy groceries each Wednesday and bring them to the Ati village. They use these groceries to make a meal for the people in the village during our visit. We also bring vitamins for the children, play games, sing and tell Bible stories, and provide basic medical care. Providing basic medial care means cleaning cuts, putting medicine on the cuts to help keep them clean, and other simple things to help kids that are hurt.

The Ati people are the native people of Boracay Island. They are similar to the Native Americans in the U.S.A. because they were here first. People in the Philippines often treat them very poorly. People will make fun of them and do other mean things to them. It is very sad. Many of the Ati people have moved off the island of Boracay to live on the island of Panay. Panay is an island that is about a 10 boat ride from Boracay. This is where the village is that we visit.

I want to share a story with you that made me realize how lucky I was when I was a little girl and how lucky I am now to have enough money to buy medicine when I am sick.

About a week ago, when I went to the village, there was a little girl whose thumb had a very bad infection. An infection usually happens when a cut or a burn is not cleaned or kept clean well enough, so germs called bacteria get into it and keep it from healing.

The little girl's mother, Jemma, is a woman that I have spent some time getting to know in my visits to the village. When I talked with her, she told me that even though the local hospital will give the Ati people a free doctor's visit, she did not have enough money to travel to the hospital or for medicine for her daughter.

She also showed me a prescription written by the doctor that her sister needed that she could not afford. The prescription was for a medicine that costs 6 pesos per pill and she needed 10 pills. That comes to 60 pesos which is about $1.50.

It made me so sad that she could not even afford to buy medicine that cost $1.50. Most of the time, even kids in the U.S.A. have $1.50. Many of them even get more than that for their allowance!

There was a very kind man from Hawaii that came to visit the village a few weeks before. He left some money for us to use for the people in the village. We were able to give Jemma enough money to bring her daughter to the hospital and buy the medicine for her daughter and her sister. Now, her daughter's finger is healing.

Most of the Ati people in the village do not have very much money at all. Even though many of them work very hard, they do not earn very much money. Many of the people are often very dirty and they usually only have a few pieces of clothing. They live in a very small huts. Usually a lot of people live in one hut together, and they sleep on the floor. Even though they do not have a lot, they are still often very kind. The kids are usually very happy and joyful, and they love to laugh and play. I have so much fun hanging out with them and talking to the people in the village.

I wanted to share this with people back home because spending time with these people has helped me remember how important it is to be thankful for what we have. It is easy to want more things, especially things that are cool and new and fun. It is important to remember, though, that you do not need a lot of "stuff" to make you happy. Remember to be thankful if you have a place to live, clothes to wear, medicine if you are sick, and other things that many people in the world cannot afford.

Here are some pictures of people from the Ati Village:








Friday, February 24, 2012


For Valentine's Day this year, my friends and I decided to have a little party. We taped some hearts up on the wall and invited some of the kids and teenagers that we are friends with over to our apartment for the evening. We made french toast, eggs, and pancakes for dinner, had some hang-out time, played a game, and ordered Jonah's fruitshakes. It turned out to be a really fun evening! 




Hanging out with Jun-Jun, Karen, and Jirehn

Russ and Yun-Yun

Carla and Yun-Yun making scrambled eggs

Valentine's Day dinner

So many smiles :-)

Crazy photo with our Jonah's shakes