And the winner is...
7:53 PM
Hilongos, Leyte!!!! This is where we will be placed for 2 years. But more on that in a minute. Let me start where I left of last time.
So Apo Island was AMAZING!!!!! I was kinda nervous at first, because if you remember last time I tried snorkeling I hyperventilated. But I was determined this time. There was a group of 14 of us. We went to a resort off the coast of Negros, and then took a 30-40 min boat ride to the island. The first sight of the island and the water was picturesque. The water was so blue, turquoise, and beautiful. I was so excited to snorkel and I really wanted to see some sea turtles. So I hoped in the water and had trouble right away. The current was very strong and I couldn't catch my breath AGAIN :( Also some of the volunteers said "Oh there's a turtle" and when I looked it was gone. So I was growing very tried so I got back in the boat to rest, plus I was upset that I was having trouble again. So later we had lunch and my breathing calmed down. While we were hanging out on the shore I practiced snorkeling and finally got the hang of it in shallow water. A group of us then jumped off of some rocks and had fun being daring. LOL. So at this point I was very determined to snorkel and see these amazing things. So this time I got in very slow and was able to snorkel the whole time with the group. WOW! That's all I can say, it was so cool. It was like I was in an aquarium; it was so unreal and exciting. I can't wait to do it again. One thing I also want to say is that the sun is dangerous here. It is so close to us, that even putting on sunblock 5 times, I still got sunburned. Crazy!
So the next day we woke up at 3AM to be picked up in the rain to go to the bus station. We rode a bus for almost 6 hours to Bacolod for our supervisor's conference. I got to meet Ryan's and my supervisor and both of them are really nice and excited to work with us! We had lots of classes and learned a lot of new things. But the most important thing about the conference was finding out our site. Ryan and I thought we were going to be placed in Bohol (a different island) but this turned out to be wrong and we will be going to Hilongos, Leyte! So on Thursday morning we traveled with our supervisors to see our site. Because our site is far from Dumaguete and we had to return there by Sunday we only had the evening on Thursday and all day Friday to see our site. It was a very whirl-wind trip, but nice because we got to see our whole town, which is very small (and were excited about that, less pollution) On Saturday we had to go to Cebu island so we could catch a 6AM boat ride back to Dumaguete. So the trip, traveling, and meeting lots of new people was kinda stressful so I ended up catching a cold.
I returned back home on Sunday, alone, because Ryan had to stay in Cebu for his training for an extra week, and I felt awful. I called our medical officers and they brought me some antibiotics right away. I only had a cold and feel 100% better now, so don't worry. I also started to get homesick, because I just wanted to be sick at home with nothing but normal things. This soon passed and I was back to my normal self. So this week I had training as normal and worked on planning trips that Ryan and I want to take. Also I figured out times for family to come and visit us, and what we can possibly do. Ryan and I are really excited about our new site, and can't wait to start working with the people of Hilongos.
I have posted new pics on Flicker so please take a look.
Thanks for reading and until next time... Take care and I love and miss you all!!!!! :)
OOOOOOHHHHHHHH
P.S. Alyssa and Josh are the winners from the contest! We will have to mail them a prize when we get to our site. Here was everyone's guesses. Enjoy.
Alyssa Reiley and Josh Span- Leyte
Sherly and Clifton Cowey- Del Gallego, Luzon
Jeff and Tamra Howe- Luzon
Kathy Morgan- Isabella, Luzon
Chelsea Carter- Lucena, Luzon
Jeff Gravett and Rose Richerson- Altavas, Panay & Pinakpuk, Luzon
Korey and Carley Patek- Polillo Island, Luzon
Hank and Virgina Coor- San Fernando, Luzon
Kristy Carlile- San Fernando, Luzon
Mom- Naga, Luzon
Amy Lynn- Naga, Luzon
Rusty and Kathy Kroboth- Quezon City, Luzon
Margaret and Francisco Torres- Manila, Luzon
Trisha Patek- Bacolod, Negros
Ann Patek- Negros
Debbie Downs- Dagohoy, Bohol
Gary Weddle and Annette Reiley- Bohol
Tammy Burns- Antique, Panay
Lillian Patterson- Roxas, Panay
Daniel and Debby Robinson- Panay
Jordan Gunter- Panay
Debbie Todd- Panay
Kim McSweeney- Guagua
Mike Rodriguez- Buhi
Meredith Patterson- Mindanao
Leslie Patterson- Malaybalay, Mindanao
So Apo Island was AMAZING!!!!! I was kinda nervous at first, because if you remember last time I tried snorkeling I hyperventilated. But I was determined this time. There was a group of 14 of us. We went to a resort off the coast of Negros, and then took a 30-40 min boat ride to the island. The first sight of the island and the water was picturesque. The water was so blue, turquoise, and beautiful. I was so excited to snorkel and I really wanted to see some sea turtles. So I hoped in the water and had trouble right away. The current was very strong and I couldn't catch my breath AGAIN :( Also some of the volunteers said "Oh there's a turtle" and when I looked it was gone. So I was growing very tried so I got back in the boat to rest, plus I was upset that I was having trouble again. So later we had lunch and my breathing calmed down. While we were hanging out on the shore I practiced snorkeling and finally got the hang of it in shallow water. A group of us then jumped off of some rocks and had fun being daring. LOL. So at this point I was very determined to snorkel and see these amazing things. So this time I got in very slow and was able to snorkel the whole time with the group. WOW! That's all I can say, it was so cool. It was like I was in an aquarium; it was so unreal and exciting. I can't wait to do it again. One thing I also want to say is that the sun is dangerous here. It is so close to us, that even putting on sunblock 5 times, I still got sunburned. Crazy!
So the next day we woke up at 3AM to be picked up in the rain to go to the bus station. We rode a bus for almost 6 hours to Bacolod for our supervisor's conference. I got to meet Ryan's and my supervisor and both of them are really nice and excited to work with us! We had lots of classes and learned a lot of new things. But the most important thing about the conference was finding out our site. Ryan and I thought we were going to be placed in Bohol (a different island) but this turned out to be wrong and we will be going to Hilongos, Leyte! So on Thursday morning we traveled with our supervisors to see our site. Because our site is far from Dumaguete and we had to return there by Sunday we only had the evening on Thursday and all day Friday to see our site. It was a very whirl-wind trip, but nice because we got to see our whole town, which is very small (and were excited about that, less pollution) On Saturday we had to go to Cebu island so we could catch a 6AM boat ride back to Dumaguete. So the trip, traveling, and meeting lots of new people was kinda stressful so I ended up catching a cold.
I returned back home on Sunday, alone, because Ryan had to stay in Cebu for his training for an extra week, and I felt awful. I called our medical officers and they brought me some antibiotics right away. I only had a cold and feel 100% better now, so don't worry. I also started to get homesick, because I just wanted to be sick at home with nothing but normal things. This soon passed and I was back to my normal self. So this week I had training as normal and worked on planning trips that Ryan and I want to take. Also I figured out times for family to come and visit us, and what we can possibly do. Ryan and I are really excited about our new site, and can't wait to start working with the people of Hilongos.
I have posted new pics on Flicker so please take a look.
Thanks for reading and until next time... Take care and I love and miss you all!!!!! :)
OOOOOOHHHHHHHH
P.S. Alyssa and Josh are the winners from the contest! We will have to mail them a prize when we get to our site. Here was everyone's guesses. Enjoy.
Alyssa Reiley and Josh Span- Leyte
Sherly and Clifton Cowey- Del Gallego, Luzon
Jeff and Tamra Howe- Luzon
Kathy Morgan- Isabella, Luzon
Chelsea Carter- Lucena, Luzon
Jeff Gravett and Rose Richerson- Altavas, Panay & Pinakpuk, Luzon
Korey and Carley Patek- Polillo Island, Luzon
Hank and Virgina Coor- San Fernando, Luzon
Kristy Carlile- San Fernando, Luzon
Mom- Naga, Luzon
Amy Lynn- Naga, Luzon
Rusty and Kathy Kroboth- Quezon City, Luzon
Margaret and Francisco Torres- Manila, Luzon
Trisha Patek- Bacolod, Negros
Ann Patek- Negros
Debbie Downs- Dagohoy, Bohol
Gary Weddle and Annette Reiley- Bohol
Tammy Burns- Antique, Panay
Lillian Patterson- Roxas, Panay
Daniel and Debby Robinson- Panay
Jordan Gunter- Panay
Debbie Todd- Panay
Kim McSweeney- Guagua
Mike Rodriguez- Buhi
Meredith Patterson- Mindanao
Leslie Patterson- Malaybalay, Mindanao
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