Thoughts, happenings, and pictures

Today was the first week of a new schedule for the volunteer teachers!

Old schedule:
7:30-8:00am: I taught CVF (Bible class)
8:00-9:10am: I taught English
9:10-9:25am: Snack time for the kids, Filipino teacher break
9:25-10:35: I taught Math
10:35-11:05am: continue in Math if needed, or Jhing would teach science
11:05-11:30am: club time, which was chaos.  Basically, the school would split and some kids would spend time in a classroom playing Heads Up Seven Up, and the rest would be in the School Meeting Area for games.  After 15 minutes, they switch.  It's also the Filipino teachers' lunch break.
11:30am: I go home.  The kids would have lunch and then the Filipino teachers would teach their Filipino subject.

New schedule:
The same until 9:25.  Now, the Filipino teachers teach math and the volunteer teachers get a break from 9:30-10:00 and then help in the classroom or pull kids out to tutor.  Our principal thought it was important to give some duties back to the paid staff because the volunteers were teaching more than they were.
Also, instead of club time, the kids rotate each day to a different volunteer teacher for art, music, games, PE, etc.  I do PE.

Something else that's new are Enhancement Classes for one hour after school.  Basically it's more tutoring for kids who struggle.  The Filipino workers are in charge of that, but I will begin helping probably one day a week starting this coming week or the next, along with some of the other volunteer teachers.

I like the new schedule, and I like tutoring!  I'm still trying to figure out the best system, though.

This week, my class memorized Genesis 1:1 and I had them do a craft creating a paper plate book on the days of creation.  I actually roped the plates together myself ahead of time and wrote on the back of each plate what God created.  They would have had a hard time putting the book together.  They could have written the words but we started the book Wednesday and it takes them forever to write anything, so I needed to speed the process up a bit.  So, on the front I had them write "God's Creation" and draw a world.  Then they open up to the first page and on the left is where I had written, "Day 1: day and night" on the back of the cover page.  On the right they glued on a construction piece of black paper and yellow paper.  For day two, they drew water and put cotton ball clouds above it.  Day 3, they drew mountains and grass and flowers.  Day 4, the sun, moon, and stars.  Day 5, birds and fish.  Day 6, animals and Adam and Eve.  One the back of the last plate I wrote, "Day 7: God rested."

Thursday was feeding site day!  It's my busiest day of the week because I have school, and starting this week we have a volunteer teacher meeting with Shannon every week after school, and then I have the feeding site and then Bible study.  Love every bit of it, though, and love the kids at the site!

Friday was chapel day.  I was MC, which didn't mean much other than I led the school in opening prayer (I pray and they repeat back) and then called up other people to lead songs and the story and different things.  Still, I felt important!

Friday was also Luke's last day.  He and his huge family (there are ten kids altogether, nine that are here on the island) are moving to a different island to serve the Ati tribe.  His leaving was another occasion for a picture.  I'll miss having him in my class!

The Russels already do a feeding on Panay Island a couple times a week, plus there is a new school opened for first and second grade Ati children there and Rusty and Kristin are trying to help get that going.  That is their main ministry focus, but they also did administration and organization work at Agape before Shannon (Canadian volunteer principal) and her family got here.  Carrie, their oldest daughter, also teaches Kinder.  Now that Shannon's here, they felt led to go help more at the Ati school.  Kristin will home-school all nine of her kids and tutor the Ati kids in the afternoon.  Right now, there is just one Filipina teacher for a first and second grade combo class (that's all that's in the school), so Carrie is going to help teach.  Rusty and Kristin will both continue to serve the school and get things running there as they've been doing, but obviously it will be easier for them if they're actually on the island!

I've learned that the Ati tribe are the original Filipinos to live in Boracay, but they've been degraded and harshly treated as time has gone on.  As Boracay became a tourist destination, the Ati people lost their homes.  They have darker skin than most Filipinos, which automatically puts them in the lower ranks.  Here in Boracay, they are not allowed to own land or have jobs, so they beg.  At times, from what I've heard, they get forced off the island and shipped to Panay.  The government has given them a small area where they can have their own homes there up a mountain, but the children do not receive an education because they are unaccepted and bullied in the schools, thus, the purpose of starting a new school for them.  I went to a couple feedings there when I first got to Boracay, and they are beautiful, wonderful people!  I don't continue to go to those feedings only because there is already help at those and there are feedings here that still needed more help.  Carrie is quite the photographer, so I'll steal one of her pictures to post here.  I could post a TON of her pictures, they are all so beautiful and make your heart melt.

When I first learned these details about the Ati tribe, I got a little bitter.  I thought about the kids at Agape and how they all come in their matching uniforms and have small classes with two teachers and laugh and learn and make friends.  Not that they're wealthy, but they at least see opportunity in their future.  I thought about the Ati tribe, and how they're mistreated and neglected.  I wondered if what I'm doing has much purpose.  I just wanted to go find every Ati person I could and give them a big hug and tell them they DO have hope for an ETERNAL future in heaven!  Maybe I should have.  But I also remembered that our mission is to provide the children at Agape with a CHRISTIAN education.  These kids don't need Jesus any less than the Ati people.  Maybe it's even the tougher mission in some respects, because it means teaching kids to love people who they've only heard nasty, negative things about.  These kids need Christ so that they will know HIS love, and know that He created every person in His image.  Maybe they will learn how to love a little more like He does.  Yes, that includes people with dark skin.

Just some thoughts.  Now back on my previous track!  Friday was the first ever Fun Friday for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at Agape.  The plan is for them to have one the last Friday of every month during the second half of their school day.  Seeing as I don't teach those grades, I didn't really have any responsibilities for it, but I did get to hang out and help a little bit after I got home from school.  They ate their lunches at the Jungle Barn and then played games, got fun water safety lessons from Red Cross, bumped a volleyball around, and had a sandcastle building contest.  So fun!

Today (Saturday), a China team arrived!  They will be here for a week to help at the school and feeding sites.  When a team is here, that means the First Love sailboat is here!  After my fun volleyball time with the kids today, the group had already gone out and so then I got to go with Shannon, her two girls, Anderson, and a bunch of kids.  The kids made it so fun...they're so hilarious :)

I was reminded several times this week how great Filipino personalities are!  I've had many times when they make me laugh just because they laugh so hard at the littlest things.  Or I'm in awe at how friendly and hospitable they are.  Or I just love how a kid's smile can brighten up anyone's day!

Tuesday, Elizabeth, Carla, and Olivia had Lauren, Anderson, Randy, Praise, Hya, and I over for dinner.  Randy, Praise, and Hya live in staff housing at the back of the barn and all work at Agape.  Hya and Praise are roommates, and Randy is roommates with another teacher named Ronel who is in Manila right now.  They kept me in stitches!  Especially when we played cards and the losers had to get baby powdered.

Also on Tuesday, I played beach volleyball with my normal crew and it turned into more of a "who can make the funniest mistakes" game.  We didn't make mistakes on purpose, but the games were just more lighthearted that day and every time someone messed up it was so funny for some reason!

I try not to think about how hard it will be to leave here.  It's not always roses, but as a whole I just LOVE it!

The only one in tennis shoes

If volleyball lingo bores you, part of this blog may not be very interesting to you :)

Today after school, we had our staff meeting from 3:00-4:00.  After that, I had told one of the people that I play volleyball with that I wanted to go watch them play indoor (although it's really outdoor, but is on concrete and played by indoor rules), so I headed out to find the court.  I just wanted to watch because I didn't know what it would be like and if I'd be good enough to play with the guys.  They had also planned on starting at 4:00 so I knew I would be late.  However, I went prepared in my tennis shoes just in case.

Mark is the one that originally invited me to play beach volleyball a few weeks ago and he now plays indoor a lot of days.  The other guys on the team that were there were people who I've played beach volleyball against once or twice.  Besides not knowing if I'd be good enough, another reason I wasn't sure about playing was because no one really invited me (ha), so I invited myself to watch :)  Another reason, like I've said in a previous blog, is because they play for money...gambling, basically.

I got there today and they were still waiting on the other team to show up.  I asked Mark if they still play for money every time.  I didn't know if that was a one-time deal or if they still do it.  He said they do.  He also said I could play.  I told him I didn't want to play for money and that I would just watch, and he said not to worry about the money.  I'm not sure how that works...hopefully the others don't chip in to cover me!

I could tell by watching them warming up hitting (with their one volleyball they had to chase every time) that I could definitely play with them.

Something else I noticed when I got there...I was the only one in tennis shoes.  Everyone else had on flip flops.  Silly me.  In Kenya, kids who owned tennis shoes would always take them OFF to play, I guess to keep them in good condition.  Here, the locals are pretty impoverished but I guess I forget that sometimes.  I felt embarrassed, but then I thought it would look silly of me to show up in tennis shoes and take them off.  My "rich" spoiled self (by Filipino standards) was also afraid of how bad it would hurt to land after jumping!

So here I am, the only girl, the only white person (Caucasian = money), the only one with tennis shoes...

...and the one who doesn't want to gamble 500 pesos (about $12).  The irony of it all.  Oh well.

So, I played!  It was kind of confusing at first.  We played five on five.  I quickly learned that no one really rotated.  Between beach and indoor, there are different rules about how you can take the ball or send it over.  In those ways, we played by indoor rules.  As far as rotating goes, we didn't.  There wasn't a front row and back row.  I just plopped myself in left front (Mark had taken the middle blocker "position") and stayed there for the entire match, hoping I wasn't taking someone else's desired spot (I would have asked but, as is the Filipino way, they would have just told me I could stay there).  The court, with boundaries marked by a rope that was held down by rocks in each corner, was very short.  The setter usually always faced the way he was going to set (at least we had a designated person as a setter, though).  The sets were always inside and not pushed out to where the antenna would have been if there was one.  The fact that the court was short meant that you had to really pound it straight down or give more of a controlled shot, hopefully aimed to an open spot.  Even though I hit the whole time, we all passed in serve receive except for the setter.  For some reason, though, I literally didn't get the ball served to me one single time.  I don't know if they thought a girl wouldn't be able to pass the ball and they wanted, in their mindset, to keep a more competitive game or what, but after they saw that I could hit it seems like they would have realized I could have passed okay, too.  I really have no idea what the deal was with that.  It was all definitely a learning experience!

We played four sets to 25 and won two of them.  I think they determine the overall winner by points, and I don't know who that was.  I did realize, though, that I'm not a huge fan of playing on a team and risking making mistakes and costing us points when my teammates might end up losing money because of them, while I just have a grand ole time playing for fun.

It was serious volleyball, though!  Filipinos are some of the nicest and friendliest people I know, but there were no high fives and there was no smiling or laughing!  When there's money on the line, as they say, "This is a serious game.  It is not for fun."

I guess I broke that rule, because I had fun!  I really did!  But if they continue to play indoor I don't think I'll go very often.
1) It's awkward and unfair for me to be the only one in tennis shoes.  I also don't really want to play without them.
2) Filipinos are so nice that they are happy to tell me that I don't have to put in money.  But, I also don't want to take advantage of that.  Filipinos are very much all about making sure they don't hurt other people's feelings, so I know they won't ever tell me I can't play.  Maybe they legitimately are fine with me playing, but I'd rather not risk it.
3) I don't like having the pressure of other people's money on the line!  I played with them just fine, but I also had my fair share of mistakes.  I felt guilty every time I messed up.
4) A white girl that can hit a volleyball harder than several of the Filipino men, who had training themselves when they were in school, shows that I've had better coaching and the resources for that coaching and training.  It almost seems like just another way to show off wealth.  That was something I felt a little bit in Kenya, too.  We played the national volleyball team, and they are so athletic but just lack the resources for really good training.

Soooo anyway, that's my volleyball story!  I'm finding out more and more about this culture all the time!

It's the little things

Sometimes I feel like I haven't helped improve the class whatsoever.  Trust me.  Just Monday, my kids made me so frustrated I was on the verge of tears!

BUT...

Last week during snack time, Jhing thanked me for all my help and said that the class behaves much better than they used to.

Today, another volunteer teacher that is in the room next door told me how much quieter my class has been because she used to always hear shouting and craziness from her classroom.

You have NO IDEA how much those two comments mean to me.

Right now, I'm putting in a good amount of work preparing a simple craft for the kids to do on the six days of God creating the world, and I'm thinking about how much I really do love my kids!  Granted, it's a lot easier to love them when they're not sending me on the verge of tears, but I love them even then.  I'm learning, I'm growing.  No one said it was going to be easy!

This is my life!

Well, I really don't have anything especially special (was that redundant?) to talk about, but it's been a week so I must blog! :)

Monday was pilates day!  Shannon taught pilates classes back in Canada so some of us got together for a little pilates workout.  We did it on Shannon's family's rooftop balcony and it was a pretty tight squeeze for seven of us, but it was so nice to be able to look over the balcony and see treetops and the beach.  I felt like I could have taken a silhouette picture of Shannon (since she was obviously the best at pilates) and it could have been in a magazine with a picture-perfect background.

I think I went to play volleyball on the other end of the beach both Tuesday and Wednesday.  The competition somehow seems to be getting better and has been a lot of fun!  Thursday, I went to my feeding site and I really do feel like this is the feeding site for me!  Last week, I had some time to just play with some of the kids, and this week some of them seemed really excited to see me.  It gave me warm fuzzies!  Haha :)  Us foreigners (is that proper grammar?) also had our weekly Bible study.  Dan is here on the island this week and so we mostly listened to stories from him about his experiences in the mission field.  It's not like that was really our plan and he had prepared anything, but it just kind of happened.  Him and Tori have been in the Philippines for almost thirty years now, so we can definitely learn a lot from them!

I played volleyball again yesterday (Friday) and had been planning on playing today but found out that the guys I usually play with were going to be playing indoor volleyball.  There's another group of guys that they were going to play against for money.  1) I'm not really interested in gambling.  2) They didn't ask me to play, ha.  3) I haven't seen them play indoor to know if I'd be able to hang with them or not.  I was hoping to go watch today just because I'm interested to see what it's like, but I never really found out where they were playing.  Oh well!

School wise...I mostly really enjoy it, but there are ups and downs!  I get so frustrated with the way some of the teachers here teach and run the classroom sometimes, and also get frustrated with myself when I can't figure out how to keep the kids' attention even when I try to make the lesson as fun as I can.  Also, Thursday and Friday were preliminary test days.  School here is divided into quarters.  Each quarter has kind of like a midterm, or preliminary test (but it's not a big huge important grade), and something like a final, or the end of quarter exam.  For the classes I teach which are English and Math right now (and Bible, but there's only a final and no midterm for that), the kids did fairly well at Math and not so well at English.  I KNOW the kids know the material.  When we do different exercises and worksheets in class they have it down, no problem.  Then I give them this test and it all goes down the drain.  So, I guess we will just review it again and again while at the same time I try to get in their other lessons.  Or maybe I just go ahead and move on since I feel like they know the material outside of a formal exam.  I don't know.

Friday, the Filipino teachers gave their exams while the volunteer teachers worked on organizing the office and library.  Some kids go ahead and leave after exams and others stay to wait for their parents (things are different here in the Philippines!)  Towards the end of the school day, I went into my class because the kids were done with exams and a few were there playing.  A little boy named Mathew ran up to me and gave me a hug and said, "I miss you Miss Graham!" which is funny because one of the things I had just taught in English was adding -ed to past tense verbs (maybe I do need to review more :)).  Also, they pronounce my name more like "Gray-ham," but still, he was so sweet!  They had a blow-up globe ball, so I showed them on the ball where I'm from and pointed out to them where we are.  Mathew asked me if I would use my wings to fly home whenever I left.  So cute.  He's the one really smart boy in the class, but he was just being silly.

Then, later, after school was over and I had on my bag to leave, Mathew was still waiting for his mom in the "lobby" area, if you can call it that.
Mathew: "Are you going home Miss Gray-ham?"
Me: "In a little bit.  Are you?"
Mathew: "No."
Me: "Are you staying here at school until Monday?"
Mathew: "No."
Me: "So where are you going?"
Mathew: "Nowhere.  I'm waiting on my mom."
Me: "Oh, so you're waiting on your mom so you can go home?"
Mathew: "Yes."
Excuse me for not going step by step! :)  I guess Friday was Mathew day!  He was funny!

After school yesterday, the teachers had a social/bonding get-together thing.  We ate lunch at the school and then headed to the beach for some games.  Game one: a relay race balancing a little ball thing on a spoon and holding the spoon in our mouth.  The other team won.  Game two: a timed relay, running into the ocean and then squeezing out our shirt or shorts to try to fill a water bottle.  My team won.  Event three: sand castle building contest!  Three minutes and then Praise, the one who organized the games, was the judge.  My team won, which means we won overall!  It was a fun day!

This coming week I will have a new schedule.  Shannon wanted to give more responsibility back to the Filipino teachers since they're the ones getting paid and they actually teach less than the volunteers do, so I will no longer be teaching Math but will be helping give special attention to the kids who really need it.  I think I'm going to really like that because one of my favorite things about teaching has been when I can help a student one-on-one and see that light bulb coming on for them.  There are a couple of kids in the class who really need special attention, and then probably all but four or so struggle in one way or another.  Sometimes, I feel like they could do it on their own but just need someone to be there watching!  Hopefully those students will start to feel more confident about their abilities, and the other kids who are behind will start catching up.  It should be interesting to see how it all plays out!

I'm loving my time here, and am learning more than I am teaching :)

Here are some pictures from our social get-together!

Rain, running, and waves

Today was probably my favorite Saturday so far with last Saturday a close second.

I woke up this morning and headed to the girls' house for an amazing breakfast at 9:00.  We "singles" got together and had pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, mangoes, and juice.  Yum!

Olivia, Anderson, Lauren and I then played Dutch Blitz for quite a while, which I just learned by the way and am horrible at.  Then we played Taboo just for fun, not really keeping score or playing on teams.  We did that until about 2:00!

Shockingly, I ate so much breakfast I skipped lunch today.  That NEVER happens! :)  I went and grabbed my laundry, and then volleyball started.  There was the best turnout yet, and the best consistency as far as people going and staying rather than going and coming randomly.  The kids, young and old, played games to seven and then a new team would go on every time.  I think it helped that there were more older kids this time which helped keep the rallies going longer, and I didn't have to constantly remind them to rotate.  We had the younger kids mixed with the older kids and everyone had a great time.  I was mostly just score keeper so that the kids could play, but even that was fun!

As volleyball was ending, it started to rain.  Olivia had just shown up beforehand and then suddenly decided it was a great time to go for a run, so off we went for a run in the rain!  A little ways down the beach, the sand started getting softer and more difficult to run in so we decided that was a great time to jump in the ocean fully clothed!  The rain had stopped but the wind was strong so there were some pretty big waves.  The waves made it that much more exciting!  After a few minutes, we got out and kept walking for a bit before picking up to a run again.  We made it most of the way down the island and eventually turned back.

I really haven't had a time yet where I've been really homesick, but I do just have a constant little bit of homesickness, mostly missing being able to just relax with friends or family.  I know I'm absolutely welcome to go the the girls' house anytime, but I also don't want to just go over all the time because I don't want them to feel like they have to entertain me.  I stay pretty busy and I really do enjoy and maybe even prefer alone time sometimes, but last night and today was perfect timing for me to just have fun with fun people!

"What's going on? What are we doing?"

I'd like to start with some good news before I get to my fun story (win win)!  The day after I had blogged about our classroom environment, Jhing suddenly started making rules for the class and a consequence system.  The only slightly annoying part was that she introduced it to the class in the afternoon when she teaches her Filipino subject after I leave, and I showed up this morning not knowing what she her stipulations were for writing names on the board and whatnot.  BUT, we're getting somewhere!  We also met with the principal today and she gave us some great ideas and talked to us about making sure Jhing and I are on the same page with our classroom rules and everything, which definitely needed to come from her lips or else I don't think I would have gotten anywhere with it trying to ask Jhing myself.

If I put myself in the Filipino teachers' shoes, I can imagine us "foreigners" may be unintentionally intimidating.  It could appear that us and the Canadian principal are on a "side" with each other, which isn't what we want at all.  I'm sure it's not super reassuring to them that we all are able to naturally connect better with the person who is leading the school.  Hopefully that's not how they feel, but I try to imagine their point of view I can imagine that as a possibility.  The fact that Jhing waited until I left to tell the kids about the new system worries me that she may feel that way, like I would disagree with her or something!  But maybe she just did it then because she didn't want to interrupt my teaching earlier in the day.  Who knows.

As a side note, there are I believe seven classes in the entire school.  Whereas I maybe wouldn't have gone to talk to the principal in the U.S. with the same situation, here she's able to get more personally involved in each classroom and wants to give ideas on how to help and make things run more smoothly for every class.  My intention definitely wasn't to tattle on Jhing, and Shannon (the principal) knows that.  In fact, I've told her a few times that I really need help, too!  I'm pretty open about my lack of experience and am not ashamed to admit that I'm clueless when it comes to some things.  Maybe sports has helped me to appreciate constructive criticism and I'm always seeking it!  I need it!

Okay, so that's school!  Our system is basically to give the kids two warnings for misbehavior and on the third time there's a call home to the parents.  I still need to be a little more clear on what exactly our rules are, but at least we have something.  Hopefully Jhing will really be willing to follow through with giving those third strikes and making the calls, because I think the kids will figure out pretty quickly if it always stops at two.  Hopefully, I will be bold enough to give those third strikes, too!  I can be a softie...

Shifting gears...

After meeting with the principal today, it was time for me to leave.  As Jhing was heading back to the classroom she asked me if I was going to the party today.  The what?  Jhing is pretty good at English, but may be the worst of any of the teachers.  She was saying it was the birthday party of one of the teacher's students, and I told her I didn't know anything about it.  She said all the teachers were invited, and she asked if I was free.  Something like that.  I was pretty clueless as to what was going on.  I kept asking her where and what time and she kept giving me different answers and finally told me to be at the school at 3:30.  I thought it odd that the party was at the school, but hey, I'm new here so maybe school is party central.  Considering I didn't know anything about it, I figured the other foreign teachers didn't either, but I know it's not the Filipino way to leave people out.  I think it's just a matter of people hearing things in Tagalog and speaking about things in Tagalog and not passing the information on in English.  So, knowing I would probably be the only foreigner, I figured it still would be fun to go since I had nothing to do anyway and it was just at the school.

I went home and had my alarm set for 3:00 to wake me up from a nap, but my phone beeped at around 2:30 with a text from Jhing saying, "You can come now in school."  That was odd because, if anything, people usually run late around here.  I rolled out of bed and headed to school only to find the Filipino teachers just visiting.  Somehow I eventually found out the party was not at school and that we would be going somewhere else.  Not quite what I had in mind, but okay!  We waited around at school for a while for whatever reason and I sat and listened to everyone talking in Tagalog, and finally we left.  We got outside of the school and stood there...and stood there...everyone else knew what was going on but I didn't want to sound silly and ask.  Finally Jhing volunteered the information to me that we were waiting on the "multi-cab" van thing that's used to transport some kids to school (kind of like a school bus).  They weren't trying to keep me out of the loop ever, but it just kind of happens when there are about ten of them and one of me.

I was hoping we wouldn't be going far in case I wanted to leave early because I had no idea how late the party would go or if I would be bored out of my mind, but of course I still don't even know where we ended up!  So, I figured I might as well embrace it and remind myself that I had nothing else to do anyway.  Part of me wanted to ask how late birthday parties go, but I figured that would be rude.  The reason I was a bit worried is because the karaoke parties I hear next door sometimes will go super late, and I think some of those are kids' birthday parties.

At the party, it seemed like everyone was being hospitable to me and trying to make me feel comfortable more than anything!  The first thing we did when we walked in was get food.  There was a lot of it!  Jhing told me that here in the Philippines, birthdays at the ages of one, seven, 18 for girls, and 21 for boys are always especially big celebrations.  She said that even if you're poor, there will be a party.  Well, this family was poor by American standards for sure, but there was rice, a noodle dish that's popular here (it's kind of bland but for some reason I really like it), spaghetti (of a sort), a couple of potato/meat dishes, and fish.  Everyone filled their plates, and Jhing told me not to worry about my diet today.  Ha!  As if I had one, ever, at all, of any sort.

With the exception of maybe a couple extended family members and a couple of kids, we were the only guests!  It find it interesting that this was a "huge" birthday party but there were no games and we hardly saw the birthday boy as he kept going from his room to outside and there wasn't a cake.  It revolved around the food...and karaoke!  No, I didn't sing, although they tried to get me to a couple of times.  The only ones that sang are three of the teachers that also lead worship at church.  They took turns for a few rounds, and then Jhing came over and asked me if I needed to get back for anything.  I told her I was fine and didn't have anything going on and I thought she said the party would go late, but almost right after that it was like all everyone stood up and said "salamat" (thank you) to the hosts at the same time, while I sat there probably with a blank look on my face.  I had just starting adjusting my mindset for a late night and then we were leaving!  I hope we didn't leave early for my sake!  The birthday boy appeared and we sang happy birthday to him.  Then, our pastor's wife prayed for him, and we were on our way by about 5:30.  I may not have gotten bored had it gone into the night, but I enjoyed my time at the party and am happy for the little bit of bonding I had with the teachers, even if they did speak Tagalog during group conversation!

After I got back, I had time to do some grocery shopping and then Elizabeth, Olivia, Lauren and I watched Memoirs of a Geisha at the house.  It was a fun, homey, movie night with some amazing peanut butter popcorn Olivia made.  They have a tile floor but have some long padded things that we laid on to watch the movie.  I love it when I get to do fun things here like I would do at home!  Makes me appreciate them that much more.  To top it off, the six of us "singles" are going to have breakfast at the house in the morning.  Yum!  More homey fun.

Pastor Rolando is at the very back and Teresa in the red jacket is his wife.  The rest of the adults are teachers.  I caught Andrew in the middle of karaoke song.

The birthday boy with his back to me.  The girl in the middle and in the pink are Jhing's children.

A daunting task

When I first got here and started observing in the classroom, I knew there were some teaching methods Jhing used that I wouldn't personally want in my own classroom.  Jhing is a great person and really cares about the success of the kids.  She's creative and hilarious, but anytime she teaches it's basically yelling the whole time.  The kids don't really know how to behave.  She's a big fan of having the whole class answer questions together, which is definitely good at times.  However, I don't think they've ever had to raise their hand for something in their "grade one" life (it's called grade one instead of first grade here).  I was teaching math yesterday, gave time for the kids to work out an addition problem on their own, and then asked who could raise their hand and tell me their answer.  They all started yelling the answer, and the couple that raised their hands were yelling, "me, me!"  Keep in mind that these kids started school in July.  They should know how to raise their hands by now.

I want to transform the classroom!  I don't want it to be constant yelling and chaos.  I want rules and guidelines and consequences for misbehaving.

When I got here, during the Filipino teachers' thirty minute lunch break the kids would be split into two groups between the older kids and younger kids.  From there, they would be split up and half would go in a classroom for Heads Up, Seven Up and the other half would go in the meeting area for games, and then would switch halfway through.  It was pretty hectic.  Our new principal devised a "station rotation" plan for all of us foreign teachers to take on an activity for the kids to do for the whole thirty minutes, and then they rotate to a new teacher each day, so we have fifteen or so kids in one place instead of thirty.  It's much better, but also means other volunteer teachers get to fully experience my class.  Basically, I've realized my class just really isn't disciplined.  Others have pointed it out.

So while I kind of had just gotten used to Jhing yelling all the time, I've realized I need to get "un-used to it."  There is no reward/consequence system in the class.  We don't have a set of rules for the classroom.  I would love to see this change!

Of course, I can't do this on my own.  I have only done student teaching for one semester of PE (and only half of that was at an elementary), and while some things carry over to a classroom environment, not everything does.  This is only Jhing's second year of teaching.  Therefore, we have two fairly inexperienced teachers in one classroom.  I've decided to talk to our principal to get some ideas for rules for the classroom and a reward/consequence system.  It will be hard to change things.  Since July, the only thing the kids have known is to shout answers and to be, well, crazy.  The only thing they really respond to now is yelling.  For story time, for example, I've tried the whole, "Okay, you won't get a story until you're quiet and all eyes are on me" method.  They could care less.  If I notice a kid isn't paying attention and I ask them to answer a question, they don't care.  This will be difficult.

The other problem is that I really want consistency between Jhing and myself.  I also don't want to step on any toes.  Jhing really is super great!  I would just really love for us to work together and be on the same page to change the classroom dynamics.

Our principal is great and I think she'll be happy to even come into the classroom to help make some changes.  I'm looking forward to seeing what she has to say, but I'm also a little nervous about how this will all play out.  Hopefully we get somewhere!

Now, today, I'm wondering why God put me specifically in this classroom.  Of the seven foreign volunteer teachers at the school, I feel like at least three or four of them have a better grasp on how a classroom should really be run and would probably be more bold than I am to step up and be authoritative about it, not worrying about offending anyone like I am!  But I hold onto the fact that God put me here for a reason.  I want what's best for the kids.  I want them to know how to behave properly and I want them to have the best learning environment possible.  I need prayers for this!

Prayer requests:
- That I can change the world!  Just kidding.  But I would like God to use me to help change a classroom and for Jhing and I to be on the same page.
- My station in the station rotation is PE.  I'm excited about it, but we have very limited supplies and very limited space, so I'll have to get really creative with ideas.
- I've had a little bit of a cold or allergies that is basically gone but I still just have that nagging snotty nose that's getting annoying.  Sorry if that's too much information :)
- I think I have a spider bite on my ankle and it's not a big deal at all but my loving mom (I know you'll read this, so thanks... ;)) is making me worried that it's something worse than it probably is.  The inside of my ankle is just slightly swollen and bruised looking.
- I've been feeding-site-hopping.  I thought I had found one I wanted to go to every week but then I learned there were sites that Teresa led by herself.  I think I will consistently help her at one on Thursday but need to decide if I should do more or anything.  My time here will fly by so I don't have time to waste!  Not that it's super important to figure out anything set in stone (any help at any feeding site is appreciated), but it would be nice for me and would probably help Teresa to know if I will consistently lead the Bible story time/games/singing, etc.

One month

I've been here for one month.  There are some things I miss.  There are other things I already know I will miss when I go home.

I miss my family and friends, but am happy for skype, texting, and facebook!
I miss home-cooked meals and having a refrigerator.
I miss having a comforter on my bed.
I miss having church in English, rather than mostly Tagalog with just occasional English.
I miss having a one-stop grocery store, rather than going to three different ones to get my few groceries.
Sometimes I miss air conditioning, mostly at school during late morning or at church.
I miss wearing my hair down and it not automatically sticking to my neck from sweat.
I miss having clean tap water.

I thought I would miss AC more, but once I get my comfy sporty clothes on I stop caring about sweat.  By the way, I do have AC in my room.
I thought I would miss having a flushing toilet, but really, it's not that big of a deal.
I thought I would miss having a car and/or easy transportation, but I've found it to be relaxing to walk.  I could choose to use a trike or motorbike, but walking is a good time just to think, even amidst the crowded roads.

I love walking out of the Jungle Barn in the morning and seeing a beautiful beach.
I love the kids, who remember my name and say hi even when I don't remember theirs.
I love the friendliness and hospitality of the Filipino people.
I love to see kids get excited about singing worship songs.
I love my students, even when they frustrate me.
I love the fact that I've been here one month and have been in the water four times.  The beach is great to enjoy sometimes, but it isn't why I'm here.
I love that sports is a universal language, and I have been able to build relationships with kids through volleyball and also met new people to play with.
I love my supporters, who helped me get here through prayer and/or financial support, and I love you for reading this :)
I love Jesus!!!  He is my reason for being here...He is my reason for living!

One month has flown by.  In some ways I want the following months to slow down so that I can savor every moment here!

A perfect day

After today, I'm tired but feel so happy and blessed.

I had my little volleyball "clinic" at 10:00 this morning and pretty much just let the kids play the whole time, helping them to remember to rotate and keeping score.  It was fun!

This afternoon, all of us foreigners went to the Johnston's house (the new principal and family) for a cookout.  It was the Kropp family's idea and we were originally going to have it at their house, but I think it's harder to get to when it rains.  It ended up not raining, but it got moved to the Johnston's just in case.  The food was great...it's so nice to get home-cooked meals sometimes!  But what I loved was just having so many people there together.  We try to have everyone at Bible studies, but sometimes things come up for people, and usually the younger kids go off and play.  Today was just a really great time of having everyone together for games and fellowship.  All ages mixed, we played games and just had a blast together.

After I got back to the Jungle Barn, it turned out that there was a celebration for Aileen's birthday!  Aileen and her husband work at the Barn, and she's the chef for when teams are here.  I don't know who it belongs to, but there's a guitar that's usually here at the Barn and Olivia, Lauren, a couple of other adults, and I sang fun worship songs with most of the kids while either Olivia or another man played the guitar.  We were having a blast singing and dancing around and doing motions to the songs that we have motions for.  It's times like that when I just feel the joy of the Lord and am thankful that He can be so FUN!  It's really special to see the kids choose to join in on the songs when they could go off and find other things to do.  We go crazy for Jesus!

All in all, a pretty fantastic day.

A full week

I thought this would be short because I'm so tired, but I was wrong!  I've learned a lot about teaching and the school this week, so be ready for all my thoughts to start pouring out!

This was my first five-day week teaching!  I'm only at school from 7:30-11:30am, which would be any teacher's dream.  It really is great, so I'm definitely not taking that for granted, but it can be hard teaching kids who just respond so much better to Tagalog, and it can also be hard when I don't have a printer at my disposal!  If I want to print any worksheets or anything, I do it at a print place.  It's cheap, but it's still money, so I try to figure out ways to get around printing.  I really don't mind, but that's just a fun fact.  The life at a low-budget school!

Overall, this week has gone well.  In CVF, we have practiced Psalm 119:11: "I treasure Your word above all else; it keeps me from sinning against you."  Day 1, they spent pretty much the entire thirty minutes of CVF writing the verse in their workbooks because that's really how long it takes them.  We also practiced it and I explained it.  Our lesson may not specifically go with the verse every day, but we do practice it every day.  Tuesday, I read them a story out of their workbook about King Josiah and they colored a picture I had printed.  Wednesday, after we practiced the verse, I gave them the project of drawing a heart with a picture of the Bible in it, and then drawing anything else in their life outside of their heart.  I'm pretty proud of my creativity on that one ;)  The point was that God comes first in our heart.  Yesterday, Thursday, I read them a David and Goliath story from a book and they drew and colored David and Goliath to the best of their ability.  Today, we had chapel so I didn't do a specific CVF lesson.

In English, I've been teaching adjectives and verbs.  It honestly can be pretty frustrating!  We can review and review and review the DESCRIBING words (I always have them say "adjective" together, and then "describe" together, and then I ask again, "What does an adjective do?"  If I'm lucky, they'll answer, "Describes!"), and they still all shout the completely wrong answer together when they're supposed to choose the adjective from a sentence I read.  I give examples, I do anything I can think of!  If it's something simple like, "a green frog," most will get it right, but if I give them a sentence, we're doomed.  Even when most of them get it right on the small phrases, that's a small majority.  That's really how it is for any subject, though, taught by Jhing or myself.  About half the class totally gets what's going on, and the other half is totally confused.  Yeesh.

In math I've been teaching adding two digit numbers.  I'll probably be ready to move on to adding two digit numbers where you have to carry a number next week, but it'll be emotionally hard (ha) for me to do that because I just so badly want every kid to get it!  However, I have the same problem as English: some of the kids can do their two digit addition problems so easily and will be done in no time, while others still struggle with single-digit addition.  There's hardly any grey area; some kids get it, others don't.

There are so many things I'm learning about this school's system.  School gets let out at 1:30, so the Filipino teachers basically assist us most of the mornings, and we assist them for maybe thirty minutes of class in the morning.  They have an hour alone in the afternoon for their Filipino class.  The volunteers, such as myself, actually teach more than they do.  This is why we all came here and we are happy to do it, but it's frustrating because some of the Filipino teachers think they're over-burdened.  I have 15 kids in my class.  In a U.S. classroom that would be small.  School ends at 1:30, which is normal here but is pretty early compared to what I'm used to.  The Filipino teachers at this school plan for their Filipino lesson and a short lesson for music or something like that, while we do CVF (only thirty minutes), English, and Math.  It's also a privilege that there are two teachers in a classroom.  Pretty good ration!  The Filipino teachers do have to stay at school until 3:30...which gives them two hours a day to plan for their hour and a half of teaching.  Again, this is all fantastic, and I love teaching the classes we teach, but one of the things our new Canadian missionary principal brought up in a staff meeting Wednesday was keeping some kids after school sometimes for tutorials since the Filipino teachers are there anyway.  Some of the volunteer teachers offered to help a couple of hours a week, but the Filipino teachers didn't like the idea because they feel they are too busy.  Fifteen kids in a classroom is fantastic, as is English integration.  There's also nothing wrong with ending school at 1:30.  It makes sense considering they don't get much of a recess or PE.  The frustration is that it should be about the kids, and we would hope that the paid teachers would be fine with helping in tutorials when they will be at the school anyway.

Okay, I vented a little bit.  In every school in the entire world, I know there are things that need to be worked on.  Shannon, the principal, is communicating with Dan and Tori (missionary overseers of the school) on how to work everything out.  She sees ways that the school could be improved, and that's why she's here and we're all here!  To help!  I also pray that the Filipino teachers don't see us as trying to come in and take over everything, because we ALL have our faults and need Christ to break us and mold us.  I also know that it's probably unfair to compare things to the U.S., because U.S. teachers are over-burdened.  Therefore, if I indicated that teachers here, particularly at this school, have it easy, maybe I shouldn't have.  It's just hard to see kids struggle who could be helped so much, and then not having willing people to help them.

Also, I do love the teachers here.  Really!  They are the nicest, sweetest, funniest people ever!

Now, outside of school!

After playing volleyball Monday afternoon, I went back and played again Tuesday.  It was so fun!  Wednesday, I helped at the feeding site I've been to the past two weeks.  Thursday I went to a feeding site I hadn't been to before and helped lead the story-telling and took coloring sheets that I had printed for the kids.  It didn't really register with me that there were sites where the pastor's wife, Teresa, is the only leader and organizer.  I kind of figured it out on my own somehow.  Hopefully I'll be able to help out just a little bit, even if it's only one site, and take some burden off her shoulders.  And it's fun for me!

By the way, the sites on Boracay are funded by the church I attend here.  Teresa is the pastor's wife.  The budget has been very low for the feeding sites, so they've had to cut back on how many they do.  Teresa talked to me after the feeding site Thursday and I could just see her heart and passion for the ministry.  She never ever asked me for money or for me to ask anyone else for money, but if you read this and feel like you have something you could give, I'm sure I could find out how that would work!  I wish I could have recorded her talking to me.  She is on fire about sharing God with these kids and providing a meal and some fun for them!  I don't think coloring sheets are in her budget, so I'm hoping I can at least help provide that small luxury for the kids when I help (because it is considered a luxury to them!).

So, that was my week, and I feel like it was my first full, "real" week.  Five days of school, two feeding sites, and of course our weekly Bible study on Thursday and I will have my volleyball clinic tomorrow!

Boracay is amazing!

Yummy food being prepared at the feeding site

Volleyball just finds me.

I have so much fun with the kids at the Saturday volleyball clinics, but the more I see them play volleyball, the more I want to play "real" beach volleyball with adults!  I even shared that with Anderson and Lauren as we ate out that night.

Last night (Sunday), I was taking a walk down the beach road as I often do and was wearing Baylor volleyball clothes.  As I was passing one place, a working guy about my age asked if I played volleyball.  I kindly said yes, and kept walking because you usually don't want to get caught in a conversation because someone will end up trying to sell you something.  Plus, that's a pretty typical question for me!  But then, I heard, "Tomorrow?  Do you want to play tomorrow?"  I weighed my options.  Do I keep walking, or do I find out what this is about?  Is he being nice or creepy?  Considering he was kind of a scrawny brace-faced guy, I decided to turn around and said, "What?"  He told me that he would be playing in station one (the resort area) at 4:00 and that I could come if I wanted.  I told him I might, and asked how I would know where to go.  He said to meet him at 4:00 at that same place on the beach road.  I made no promises, but said I would try.

First thing I did when I got back was go to the house to ask the girls' opinion because they've been here the longest and I imagine they have the best creepy-radar.  Carla was there (and this is her second year here!), and she said that sounded like fun and that I should go!  I figured that would be the case considering we would be in broad daylight and the resorts are obviously on the nicest part of the island.

So after teaching today, I headed home, relaxed and napped, and then met Mark (as I have found out is his name) and followed him to volleyball!  The net isn't actually at a resort, but is just on the beach in the resort area.  It's one like I use for my clinics that they dig holes for to put in the ground and then take it out when they're done.  I really had no idea what to expect, but they were pretty decent!  One other Filipina (girl) was playing when I got there and then another played again at the end, but mostly I was playing with/against guys.  Not pro status by any means, but they played legitimately by beach volleyball rules and it was fun!  Mark had told me we would be playing doubles, but it ended up being three on three which was fine with me.

I'm sure my parents' question would be how I did playing with them, ha (after a warning to be careful).  I did okay, but definitely didn't show them up!  It was an adjustment for me to play with the volleyball they had.  It often rolled off into a puddle area of water on the beach so it was heavy with water, and that made the ball go different places than I intended at times!  I also wasn't particularly fond of diving.  At the resort end of the island, the sand has less rocks but is hard packed.  Advantage: you can jump higher and run faster.  But then again so can the opponent.  Disadvantage: I don't really want to dive.  Maybe I could buy some knee pads to wear out there ;)  Just kidding.

Anyway, it was fun!  I pretty much had no idea what their conversation was about the whole time because they were always speaking in Tagalog, so that makes it a little less fun, but I'm so happy to have a place to play volleyball when I want!  Mark said they pretty much play every day, so it's great to know I have that option.  I hadn't even had volleyball in mind when I came here at all, so it's so funny that I'm doing the clinics and now this.  Volleyball just finds me!

When you look for adventure...

Wednesday morning was our school program, and it went well!  My class was so good, stepping up to the microphone holding their posters that were almost as big as they are, and for the most part as far as I could tell, reciting their parts perfectly.  I can take no credit for that, because their parts were in Tagalog and Jhing was the one that prepared them so well!

School program

Thursday was a busy day.  I taught all of my subjects, which includes the Bible curriculum, English and Math.  I think it went pretty well.  I only hope that were able to understand me well enough!  I went from there to the Barn, ate lunch, and soon after that took my laundry to the laundromat.  I helped Olivia at a feeding site and so I made the copies for the coloring sheets and got the candy to give out for the dessert treat because she wasn't feeling very well.  We later headed to the feeding site and had a good time with the kids!  Straight from there, we went to our "foreigner" Bible study.  We all get together every Thursday.  It's fun to have fellowship with everyone!  I often see the "singles" throughout the week, but it's nice to be able to spend time with the families as well and have the mom/dad types to talk to :)

Feeding site

At Bible study, I found out that Friday was sporadically decided to be a national holiday, which isn't too uncommon here.  No school!  So on Friday, Elizabeth, Olivia, and I set out to Punta Bunga Beach.  As we were seeing people that morning before we left, Elizabeth would tell them we were going on an adventure.  We didn't know exactly how to get there or what it would be like, but we had heard it was nice.  It's a private beach in front of a resort, so only the people in the resort go to it.  You can also spend time on the beach if you eat lunch there, which is what we did.  So, we headed on our adventure in a van owned by First Love (the organization Dan and Tori are affiliated with).  Elizabeth had gotten permission from Dan to drive us there, so we found Isidro to ask for the keys.  In his broken English, we weren't entirely sure why he seemed reluctant to give them to us.  I think he was saying policemen would be suspicious of white women driving on the island.  We went back and forth a while and finally got the keys.  Elizabeth told him we would be careful, so we finally left and found our destination fairly easily.

Punta Bunga with Olivia (middle) and Elizabeth (right)

It literally looked like no one was at the resort, so we felt like we were treated like princesses.  The waiters were there completely for us, the beach was there just for us.  It was great!  We planned to leave at about 2:30 so Olivia could make it to her feeding site.  When we headed up to the van and started pulling out, a Filipino man waved us down and pointed out a completely flat tire.  Filipinos are so hospitable and every one of them anywhere nearby rushed to the scene to take it off.  It had a big gash in it.  We called Isidro and Aileen (husband and wife that work at the Jungle Barn, grounds-keeping and chef for when teams are here) and they came to get the tire.  Olivia set off to find a trike so she could get to her feeding site.  Isidro and Aileen left on their motorbike to find a new tire...and apparently had to search the whole island.  Aileen said she was about ready to go to a different island to look for one!

Working on the tire.  You can see how flat it is!

While they were gone, Elizabeth and I sat by the resort's pool.  I read for a while.  Then I fell asleep for a while.  Then I swam for a little while.  Then I read again.  It sure was a nice place to be stuck, but there did come a point when we were just ready to go!  Aileen finally called us around 5:30 saying they had put on the new tire and we could go, so we headed up to the van, thanked everyone, and took off!  It was still a really great day.

Later that night as I was finally back at the Barn and on facebook, a church friend from home messaged me and asked if I was okay because she had heard about the earthquake and tsunami.  Huh???  Apparently there was an earthquake somewhere in the Philippines and a tsunami warning as well, but I later found out the earthquake was offshore (although I think one death was reported) and the tsunami warning was quickly taken away, plus I think it was in a different part of the Philippines.  It's so funny to me, though, how I find out about things happening here from people at home.  When flying here, I heard about flooding in Manila from my friend the day I was supposed to leave.  Manila was my initial landing within the Philippines, and I hadn't heard anything about that.  Now this happened, and I heard about it from someone at home!  Thanks for looking out for me, everyone!  I obviously need it! :)

After a sound tsunami-less sleep, I woke up and felt like my cheek was a little...heavy.  I thought maybe I had drool sitting there in my cheek (ew) but could soon tell that it was swollen.  I'm not a morning person, so instead of hopping out of bed to check it out, I laid there for a couple minutes imagining what it would look like and wondering why it was swollen.  I finally got up and, yep, there it was!  And not only my cheek, but my forehead a little bit, too.  I got ready and went next door to the girls' house to see what they thought.  Elizabeth gave me an ice pack and they said the same thing had happened to another girl that was here previously and it went down after about three days.  Maybe it's a spider bite or something, but it's a mystery!  It doesn't hurt, and now that the day has passed I hardly notice it because I think it's gotten a little better.  My sister's friend who is an RN must have seen the picture I posted on facebook and gave my her hypothesis (parotitis), but none of the symptoms matched other than the swelling.  It's a mystery!

A swollen cheek!

I continued about my day and ran some errands before my little weekly volleyball clinic/game time I informally run.  I had fun with that, then ate out and ended my night with a four-way skype call with some friends!

At the end of the volleyball clinic (and after a few kids had left).  Sic 'em from the Philippines!

A flat tire, tsunami warning, and swollen cheek meets the protocol for adventure, in my book.  I guess I got what I asked for!