Part 2 of Back to School

We stepped off of the banca onto a bamboo raft and then were towed to shore

I was fortunate to join a team of medical professionals and division office staff to visit the island in the center of a crater called Taal Lake. Actually the island itself has another crater inside it, a crater within a crater. There is no electricity there and most folks make their living by fish cages. Horses are a main mode of transportation, I felt like I entered the Philippines 50 or 100 years ago. I talked to all of the pupils, sang songs, asked questions....

 First Island school we visited, no electricity

I saw a lot of these native type homes

Kids on line to get their teeth checked, notice the photo over the blackboard

What we saw upon arrival stop #1

Mam and I prepare to leave, yeah I need to quit eating rice

We head for another part of the island

enroute to stop #2

Next stop, beautiful flame tree in bloom top right

Buko juice a natural.....

Yes, we had to eat at every stop, no matter the time of day

Filipinos love getting their picture made, the gr. 1 class had 85 pupils and 1 teacher, ahhhh!!!

Really cool partnership between an American Solar Panel Corp. and the Philippines, free panels and they will create electricity to power a generator, then the school can have electricity

We head for our next stop, via this old volcanic cone

The third and final school we visited, the kids in this small community had to previously travel daily to the mainland to go to school, now they have a brand new one in their town, cool old volcanic cone in the far left distance

Not sure who this guy was but check out what he had stashed in his pants

Made a quick extra stop to change banca drivers and get fish

Tilapia waiting in the net

We got really wet on the way home

At our last stop, the earth/sand was black volcanic type silt. It was SO SO hot on the island, sort of like the molten lava way down inside the earth was radiating heat up to us

Look carefully at this photo, those bags weigh 50 kilos each and the guy in the foreground has 4 on his back!!!!

 

 We circled the entire island by boat, it was a real adventure and probably one of my most memorable days here as a volunteer. Seeing the remote location and how people survive and thrive....the kids appeared well nourished and happy. I would like to visit again and actually get to climb up the ridge and peek into the center volcanic crater and see the most interior mini lake.
Wow the Philippines are such an incredible place...
Got a great shipment of donated books from Books for Peace in California, finally setting up a mini-library. Veron and I hope to transfer to grade 5 soon. Heading to the big city for medical visit, Walk for Freedom anti-human trafficking rally, weekend here at home then off to a marvelous spot with gorgeous beaches and hopefully incredible snorkeling next week! Will research the old leper colony....stay tuned.

Back to School

Our town parade, gr 6 tchr left and gr 4 right

Sir Joey fixing computer for our in service training, we are lucky to have been given computers and an interactive white board

Pupils line up by grade level on the first day, national anthem, pledge and exercise, uniforms and polished shoes

Teacher Veron loves green, our gr. 1 room

The department of education is launching a new initiative K-12. many people are against it but it is best for the country to enable them to compete globally.

My adventure via boat with my former principal

The bancas ready for us to go to the island inside the Taal Lake Crater

One of our sweet gr. 1 pupils, notice her baon of mostly rice

What we saw on our adventure to the island inside Taal Lake

We arrive at the island

Enroute to the island

School began June 4th but the two weeks prior had a lot of activity. We began with Brigada Esquela, a community project of fixing up the school for the new year. Even the Air Force guys showed up to cut weeds. Things got painted, cleaned and repaired for the new year. Filipinos were amazed that I actually could paint and clean dirty fans....
I spent the second day of the new school year traveling with my former principal to an island that is inside the large crater of Taal vocano. It is a crater with in a crater. Basically an island inside a crater with another crater within. I went to visit the very remote schools on the island, no electricity, horses for travel - actually the best day I have had exploring the Philippines!!!!!!!!!!!!
More to come, internet is VERY slow tonight, part 2 soon.....

On a more serious note.....

I was blessed with a trip back to America for two weeks to see my family and see my "bunso" (youngest child) graduate from college - Magna Cum Laude! Four years flew by, seems like just yesterday we packed all his stuff in the car and headed off to the dorm for freshman year. I am really proud of him- he, like his brothers, earned his education - financially as well as intellectually. Three engineers, yeah I feel kinda proud. I knew they would be successful, I kept telling them they could.
Two weeks went fast, SC, NC - 5 different beds in 9 days! It was a little weird to drive again - we are not allowed to drive here in the PC, I was a little nervous especially since I was borrowing my BFFs Mercedes! Got to see my sweet pup and his momma and sister, ate a ton of shrimp and scallops - yummy - had a nice walk on the beach alone with God, IOP is the best!
So now I am back to sweating and sweating, at least it has begun to rain occasionally. The new batch of volunteers are due to arrive in July - wow we won't be the newbees anymore. We have corresponded via email and Facebook, the benefits of modern technology.
Still don't know what grade I am teaching and school starts next Monday - the Philippines is beginning a new education initiative K-12, with K-3 being taught in "mother tongue" - so I cannot be in grade 1 this year. My wonderful counterpart teacher may stay in grade 1 but no one has decided what to do with me yet. So stay tuned and I'll let you know.
Enjoy a few photos of aking pamilia...

Tuli here, Tuli there, Tuli, Tuli Everywhere!

Okay, I admit it, I have a "thing" with signs. Yes, advertisements, directions, congratulations, store names, warnings - they are everywhere here in the Philippines. Many are in English and many in Tagalog. The ones in Tagalog are fascinating - I basically try to figure out what they are saying.
I walk by this office every day and I see the following sign posted on the door-

I didn't look the words up in my dictionary and just kept wondering what was so special about Tuli that you would want it painless?
Yesterday there was the huge banner out in front of the town hall advertising Libreng Tuli - free Tuli at the health center. I tried to find it this morning to take a picture and it is no longer there.
Okay so I was wondering what the heck is so special about Tuli?
Apparently here in the Philippines, male babies are not circumcised at birth. They wait until they are 12 years old and have it done then - thus, the ads for Tuli.With school starting June 4th, boys will not want to enter high school without having it done, so I guess that is why the ads are everywhere.
I know,  a little weird, but seriously?? Tuli here, Tuli there.....

Trees and plants galore!

Atis fruit tree behind my house

Calumnius tree, fruits on the tree trunk

Acacia Trees blooming in March, pink/white/yellow fluffy flowers

Nara tree (the national tree) blooming yellow flowers

Papaya trees behind my house, bananas in the distance

Mahagony trees blooming at school

Baby pineapple :)

Veron, Nika and pineapples in her front yard

Spectacular Boughanvilla in bloom

Coffee tree behind Veron's house

My harvest!!

Hanging Birds of Paradise flowers

Tilapia farm

Orchids are everywhere!!

Malungay tree and seed pods

Baby avacado behind my house

Our school Bahay Kubo being built

My tutor (on right) and her friend taking me to the Paminta (pepper) Plantation

Pepper is a woody vine and grows up a host tree

Close up of pepper vine growing

Owner of another plantation, still picking and keeping her young at over 70

After it is picked it is put out in the sun to dry and turn black

A basket of harvested paminta

Bamboo ladder, traditional basket and happy picker!

What you see along the road, sometimes it is rice sometimes it is pepper.

The plants here in the Philippines are just breathtaking, I never cease to be amazed and discover new trees and plants along the very same route.The Malungay tree is considered a miracle tree, the leaves are used to fight all sorts of illnesses. I never knew how pepper grew until I visited the plantation. Our province, Batangas, is famous for Cafe Baraco - the kind I picked in Veron's back yard.
Enjoy!

Where to start? At the beginning I guess?

March 1st, Peace Corps Day, now 51 years old, thank you JFK!

Presentation I gave to teachers about the Peace Corps

Adventures in Manila included a trip to see the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, the Muslim Town (where we ate with our hands and all the onlookers were amused) and handmade crafts under the bridge of Quiapo (plus we had two days of inservice PC training and 3 days of PDM (project development and management training) at Island Cove Resort near Manila.

Inside the famous church of Quiapo with Black Nazarene center

Vendor selling tobacco and betel nut products

Devotees praying for healing as they touch the Black Nazarene outside the church

Comic dress up day at the local mall, how come all the Asian folks are thin eating rice??

My counterpart Veron and I, so many interesting animals!

Moon rising near Manila

So much to say for March 1-11 only, next time Visita Eglecia, visita Pimenta Bukid and more. Who knew volunteering could be so busy - yes, plus I go to school everyday!!!

"Shake That Groove Thing" Filipino-style

Ibaan celebrated it's 180th Founding Day with a week long celebration. One evening was DepEd night where public and private schools participated in the celebration. We enjoyed superb traditional Filipino folk dancing and our group of teachers was assigned the theme of 1960's music. I was the only one who was actually alive in the 60's! What an experience, exhausting practices, great bonding among teachers, lots of laughs and my first time wearing false eyelashes! The town mayor and superintendent of education watched us along with many other officials and guests. I hope you enjoy, words could not express what this video captures!! Being a Peace Corps volunteer requires you to be flexible, I hope this counts!!!