A lot has happened since Halloween. So please bear with me in trying to catch you up. I'm not so good at this blogging thing, but I promise I will try and do better next year, maybe that should be my New Year's Resolution, haha!
Several years ago, when I was still in college, I had heard of this organization called International Education Week and I always thought it would be cool to partake in this event. So this past November I was finally able to plan an event and help celebrate education around the world. I used some of the quizzes from their website and gave them to my classes. Then we had a race between the classes to see which group could place the various flags in the correct spot on their World Maps. It was a lot of fun and I think the students realized they still have a lot to learn about the World!!!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. Ryan and I did.
A few months back, Ryan and I decided to plan a haunted house to be hosted in our house for all that wanted to come. We were trying to think of a way to celebrate Halloween and invite people over without offending others b/c they weren't invited. So the only logical thing we could think of was to have a haunted house where all could come and experience a little bit of an American tradition.
So the planning began. We came up with tons of ideas, probably around one a day. Some of them worked and other didn't, plus I had to keep Ryan under "control", b/c if you know Ryan you know he LOVES to scare people and Filipinos get scared really easily and I really didn't want to have to take a trip to the hospital b/c of our haunted house.
So I rounded up some of my drama students to have "stations" throughout the haunted house and they helped me finish some of the decorations throughout the house. They were amazing! During our practice one of the students asked if we were going to have medics at our house. We asked why. She said for the oldies. They might need them. Haha.
Throughout the past week while we were trying to prepare for our event several of the neighborhood children kept coming around wanting to help too. A few hours before it started I told them to come back at 6 when it started so we could get dressed. Well of course they arrived early and knocked on the door. I only had half of my make-up on when I answered the door. When I answered the door the children gasped and started backing up, asking what happened to my face. They were very concerned for me. I quickly explained it was make-up and they slowly started to come forward. Needless to say they had a blast that night!

"Oh my God!" these are the words we heard a while back. Let me explain. A while back we visited a fellow volunteer at her site, a high school. She was touring us around her school. When we walked passed one of the classrooms, which we couldn't see into, a voice said out loud, "Oh My God!" as I passed, then as Ryan passed another "Oh my God", and as the last volunteer passed another "Oh my God!" When I heard this I immediately starting laughing. It was a very touching, funny, and interesting experience! We then walked into that classroom and came face to face with our "Oh my God" student. It was a lot of fun getting to talk with and see new students at a different school. Who knew we could cause such a reaction, "Oh my God!"
Also a while back I announced to all four of my classes that I was having a contest. The contest was to write a one-page paper on their goals and dreams for their lives, even if their goal is unrealistic like becoming superman. So the prize for this contest is to join Ryan and I at our house to have "an American" dinner prepared for them. I had several students enter the contest and last weekend we had our first "winners" join us for dinner. It was a lot of fun! Ryan and I made Mexican rice and beans. We then taught the students how to make flour tortillas. They had a blast making them! We had a good time learning more about one another and sharing stories. When they were leaving one of the students asked if I could correct their papers so they could work on improving their English. So of course I did.


Another student from another class asked me to do the same for her as well. I returned her paper the other day, which was pretty good, but I left her tons of good comments and told her how proud I was of her and her paper. When I handed her paper back to her she was a little nervous at first. She hesitantly looked at my comments and started jumping up and down because she was so excited that I enjoyed her paper. She ran and showed her other classmates her good work. She then came back to my desk several times with a huge smile and said thank you about ten million times!


It's moments like these that I truly enjoy being here in the Philippines.

This is a question that I have gotten a lot lately.
A couple years back our town, Hilongos, got an education volunteer, but she did not stay very long. She ended up E.T.-ing (Early Termination) in May of her first year, so she was only at site for about six months. Now that Ryan and I have been in the Philippines for a year (Yep, that's right you read correctly, ONE YEAR!!!) People are starting to wonder why we are still here, not that they want us to leave, they just don't understand why we are still here.
Personally I love it when I get asked this question. It gives me the chance to explain the Peace Corps 3 goals (#1-to provide a qualified volunteer where needed, #2-to share the American culture with Filipinos, and #3-to share the Filipino culture with Americans.) and to share my interests of different cultures and travel.
The next question people always ask is "Don't you miss your family, oh maybe not because you have your husband?" And my answer is always "Yes, of course I miss my family. I miss them everyday, but being able to use the internet to talk with them helps a lot, and I know they are back home supporting me in being here helping in the Philippines!"
Then the last question, "So you don't get paid, right? Then I don't understand why you are here?" See many people here, and many back home as well, don't understand why someone would want to volunteer for 2 years! And even for myself it's hard to explain, but you know how everyone has a calling, or somethings that they are really interested in and drawn to? Well for me that thing is cultures/travel. I love to really experience cultures and to see what the World has to offer. I like comparing what I know to be "normal" to other's "normals". It's very interesting to me.
Do you remember my blog about our trip to Vietnam with Kenny? Well that was our first time out of the country since being volunteers, and I noticed that, although I LOVED our trip, it was just a vacation, a very enjoyable one, but none the less a vacation. While we are here in the Philippines we get to take "mini-vacations" but we really get to experience the culture, people, foods, etc. There's a big difference, and I'm really starting to like the volunteer aspect more than "vacationing", although I couldn't do it for the rest of my life, I am definitely enjoying it while I can. And all I'm saying is that this experience makes me think differently when I do travel and I like that. I also think that once I do travel again I may approach it in a different light to try and really experience the culture.
I have also made some awesome friends throughout this experience and they will forever be my friends, b/c we will have this special bond and be able to really understand what each of us went through. Being away for so long is NOT easy by no means, but I have really liked learning new things about myself and pushing myself to overcome discomforts. In the eyes of a volunteer two years is not long; it takes a long to build relationships, figure out ways of doing things, and understanding the flow of everyday life in a foreign country. But being away from home and loved ones, two years is very long. There are so many times in Peace Corps when you feel so conflicted with yourself. One minute you feel homesick and the next minute you meet the most friendly and amazing Filipino that just lights up your day. Being so far away and in a foreign place really allows yourself to open up so many doors, many doors which you didn't know you had before. Many of your worries and stressors are completely different and you tend not to worry/stress over things you did before. There are many things that I miss about home, but after being here for one year I am starting to appreciate the beauty of the Philippines and am learning to "just go with it" a lot better. We still have 15 months to go, but honestly I feel like those will fly by (especially since August is almost over and it feels like it just started!) I want to make the most of the time I have left here, because who knows what the future holds. (And if you know me, you know that I have a few plans that Ryan and I could follow, but like I said there are a few of them, so who knows which way we will end up going, you guess is as good as mine)
So thanks for listening to some of my thoughts I have been having lately. It's nice to write them out :)
I would like to leave you on a very uplifting note. There is this little girl that I think lives in our neighborhood, she is probably one of the cutest little girls in the whole world. Every time she see either Ryan or I, or the both of us, she just lights up like she is a 1000Watt lightbulb. She has the biggest and cutest smile. And she will wave at us until she can no longer see us anymore, even if we are going the opposite way so that our backs are towards her. Anyways I finally got her picture and wanted to share it with you. Maybe she will help light up your day, because anytime I'm having a bad day/moment/week all I have to do is picture her smile and it helps light up my day :)

So Kristy and Tammy were supposed to leave Manila on June 11th, but ChinaSouthern Airlines screwed everything up (for them) and delayed their flight by a day. This was good news for me, because that meant I got to spend one more day with them. We had fun staying in a very fancy hotel, for free, shopping at the Mall of Asia and hanging out a little more before they had to leave.



Once they left I had a VAC meeting in Manila. The meeting went well, but it was also sad because it was our Country Director's last meeting. She left for D.C. Our new CD has arrived, but I have not had the opportunity to meet him yet.

So after the meeting I started going to my school. I was thinking it was going to be a lot like last year, where I sat around, helped every once in a while, but I read a lot. Nope, not the case. During the month of June I have been teaching a lot. And to tell you the truth, it's exhausting. So my co-teacher set me up with the follow schedule: 7:30-8:30, 10:30-11:30, 3-4, 4-5. That's a LONG day, and I'm not a morning person so it's hard for me to get to that first class! But so far things have been going well.

I was able to give my presentation about Texas again. That was fun! I made some edits and added some new things, and the students loved it. I taught my students how to do the "Hook 'em Horn" symbol and how to say "Y'all" So a funny story. A student came up to me at the end of the day and asked "What does Y all mean?" At first I was confused, Y all? Then it hit me, Y'all!! So I told her what Y'all meant, how to say it, and how to use it in a sentence. She then ran off. I then got on my bike (I have a bike story next) and started to ride home. When I was riding I went past the young lady from earlier along with some of her friends. They were all practicing saying Y'all on their way home! Too cute!!

So bikes. Ryan and I went to Cebu to buy our bikes. That was fun. During our process of getting them to the pier, our taxi driver asked me how much was our bike, where did we buy it, all the usual questions and then why didn't we buy a motor (motorcycle)? I explained to him we're not allowed to ride or drive a motor, and honestly I would be nervous to do so b/c I don't know the driving laws. He laughed and said "Oh but they are the same as in America." WHAT!?! We talked some more. He used to be a driver in one of the bases in Manila. He said we both have the same driving laws, except Filipino's don't follow them.




Ryan and I have also started a garden at our house. Man, gardening is HARD work. We had to do everything very old fashion. It was hard, but fun. Some plants are already sprouting, even thought they were only planted a week and a half ago. Fun!

Last story. So last week we joined several PCVs, counterparts, supervisors, and host families in the Tacloban Parade. This was so much fun. It was like I was a movie star! Anyone who knows me knows that I never want to be famous, but it was fun being famous for one day. Although I did get gipped out of having my hair and make-up done. Oh-well. It was fun having so many people wave, smile, and scream when you waved at them.



I wonder what July will bring...

So last time I blogged I caught you up until the time Kristy and Tammy arrived. ALOT happened while they were here so get ready to read, lol!

So Ryan and I were going to met Kristy and Tammy in Manila on 5/30 sometime before noon. We decided to head to Tacloban earlier that weekend to be ready for our flight to Manila. It was nice to get away and relax before we had "visitors."

We arrived to Manila very early Monday morning and hung around until Kristy and Tammy were supposed to arrive. We had given them instructions on where to meet us and such, so Ryan and I patiently waited. I have to admit I was getting a little nervous! I was so excited to see family. With the exception of seeing Kenny in March we hadn't seen any other family in almost 10 months! Crazy talk!

So finally Kristy and Tammy arrived. It was SOOOOO good to see them! So nice to be able to hug and touch them! It was so nice seeing them face to face. (Skype is great, but in person is even better!) We talked for a while and then headed upstairs in the airport to have some lunch, yummy Yellow Cab Pizza. The girls had quite an adventure getting to us, but we were so glad they finally made it.

We then headed off to Palawan, where we would be vacationing, before they came and saw our site. Our hotel in Puerto Princessa was very nice. We had a great time there and enjoyed talking with our bird friend upstairs. (They had a talking bird that could say "Hello, Good Morning" in different voices, it was very funny!)

We wanted to go to Sabang the next day, but our receptionist told us that all the tours were sold out. We told her to keep us in mind if one opened up. So what do you know, at 7AM the next morning we get a call that they have a tour for us and we will be leaving in 30 mins! So here we go, headed off to Sabang. It was a very nice and enjoyable trip. We got to hang-out, relax and cruise the Underground River. I got a henna tattoo right before we got on the boat and of course I fell in the water trying to get out of the boat, so my tattoo didn't last very long :( But it was still fun.

Next we headed off to El Nido. So everyone told me just take a van from one town to the next, which of course takes about 5 hours. Well I wish it was that simple. We got a van booked, but it broke down several times within our "5 hours" to El Nido. We finally got into a working van to take us all the way to our hotel. That ride was fun. Most of the way the road was paved, but for about an hour it was not. Kristy and I were in the back. Let's just say I had to pee and I hit my head on the roof several times. Oh the Philippines!

So El Nido was AMAZING!!! One of my favorite places thus far! It was such a nice town, with a great atmosphere. The food was amazing, we had fantastic company. It was overall an amazing time. Those days spent snorkeling, island hopping, roaming around, shopping, and just enjoying each others company will remain with me always. I am forever grateful that I got to spend it with three of the best people I know!

After El Nido we slowly made our way across the Philippines so that Tammy and Kristy could visit our site. So when you fly to Leyte you fly to the capital, Tacloban. Then you take a three hour van ride to our town, Hilongos. Our van ride back with Kristy and Tammy was the scariest of my life! Usually the drivers drive oh about 80-90MPH, but no this guy was driving about 5MPH. He was falling asleep!! Ryan and I were in the front and we were doing everything we could think of to keep him awake and eventualy he did wake up, but man it was SCARY! BTW only one dog was killed in that drive :(

So Kristy and Tammy arrived at our place and had a really good time getting to meet everyone, see our town, and spend time at our house. It was so nice having them here, seeing how we live, and experiencing our daily lives. They got to see our work places and experience walking through my school, which is very intimidating at times, because of all the stares, smiles, and "Hello, Good Morning/Afternoon Ma'am". Kristy also got to be with me while two of my students (girls might I add), who I just met for the first time (School had just started that week) sang me a love song.

Like with all vacations it had to end sometime. But man I didn't want it to. Kristy and Tammy finally headed out, and I headed to my VAC meeting and the craziness of June.

Until next time... Take care, love you, and miss you all!!!

Hello everyone! So I know it's been a while since I last wrote, but things have been pretty crazy around here. Crazy, crazy, crazy busy that is.
So for Easter Ryan and I met up with several other PCVs and headed down to a town 2 hours south of us called Padre Burgos. We stayed at a Filipino's friend's house, which was amazing. We ate some great food, went snorkeling, and relaxed. It was a very nice weekend with some very good people!



After Easter we headed up to Manila for a one-week training. We were able to work on some projects with our counterparts, which went very well. I feel really lucky with my counterpart. We get along very well, and we are able to work on things very effectively.



During our training Ryan and I also celebrated our 2-yr anniversary! Wow, time flies. I can't believe it's already been two years :)
After training Ryan headed back to site and I had to stay in Manila for two extra days to plan for a youth camp that I would soon be partaking in. The planning went very well. It was really productive and we were able to comprehend our purpose and how we could make the camp successful.
The next week I worked on reviewing grants. There were several grants, so it was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it. I am learning a lot of new things about myself and the kind of work that I enjoy doing, grant writing/reviewing being one of them.
Now I was off to Anitpolo City, near Manila, for a week-long youth camp called Padayon. This camp was AMAZING! It reminded me so much of our mission trip days down to Mexico. We got to train 12 youth to become youth leaders. They then turned around and lead their own camp for a few days. It was so incredible to see these youth grow over a short period of time. I also got to become better friends with some amazing PCVs. I will never forget that youth camp. It was definitely on the top of things I have done so far in country!



So that seems like a lot of stuff to be doing, right? Well that's not all I did. After the camp I helped out at the school with "Brigada Eskwela" which is an event where parents and community members go into the schools and help clean/fix/repair the school to get ready for the upcoming school year. I was allowed to clean only a little and then my job was to take pictures. (I was told "Oh no, Ma''am YOU can't get dirty, I will be the one!") During this event I met a lady that asked me if I knew of any foster parents in Texas? I was like yes, very hesitant wondering what she meant, so I asked why? She then said well Can you help me find one, because I have way too many children. I then asked "How many kids do you have?" She replied, "Seven, my husband is drunk all the time!" Then the other ladies surrounding us all chimed in saying, "Yah, he's drunk all the time." I didn't know what to say. I told her to go to the social work department in our town, but wow that was an interesting first-conversation.



The next day after cleaning the school my counterpart and I held a teacher training for the Communication Arts Department. This was a very fun and enlightening project! My part of the training was to enhance the teacher's powerpoint skills. Some teachers have never used a computer, so it was interesting to say the least. But I feel like that event opened up so many doors and relationships with the teachers. They are a great bunch of ladies and I really enjoy working with them!



The following Monday Kristy and Tammy arrived!!!! I feel like this is a very long blog so we will save that trip for next time. Love you all, take care :)

So Kenny has come and gone and life is starting to go back to normal, kinda. So shortly after Kenny left Ryan and I were able to transfer houses. We are now in a smaller place than feels like home. We really like it there. Our landlords/neighbors are amazing and the house stay very clean. We have the whole place to ourselves, which is a nice change and we also have a pineapple growing in the front yard, which I'm very excited about.
So after we moved houses Ryan ran off to Manila with his counterpart for a HIV/AIDS training. He had a blast, me not so much. I was stuck at home all alone, which wasn't bad at first, but then it got very lonely. I don't think I could do Peace Corps on my own. Way too lonely. While he was gone I attended the graduation ceremony and promotion program. Each program was about 5 hours long, which I felt was completely unnecessary. Here's an idea of how the programs went. They called every student up to the stage one at a time EACH time they got an award, instead of having the student come up once and giving them all their awards at once. It was a little annoying, but neat to see how another culture handles these types of events. I wasn't in any hurry, so it didn't bother me too much, but now I'm better prepared for next time. I then had a couple of days with nothing to do but a little housework and this is when homesickness usually gets a hold of me, and it did. I was much better once Ryan arrived.
Ryan came back to site and soon after I had to leave to attend a grants committee training. I had a great time in Manila. Got to work with some great people and eat some amazing food. We were able to create the grants committee and do some really good work that I think will really help everyone out, staff and PCVs. I had to stay a few extra days for the PCMO's to check out my ears and make sure everything was fine. I'm fine and healthy, so no worries! So now I'm sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight so I can finally go "home!"
We're going to head down South for Easter and then back up to Manila, together this time, for another training. Summer time = training time. Hope everyone is doing well. Think of y'all often, love you all, and miss you very much! Until next time...

Wow! I don't even know where to start. SOOOOOO much has happened since the last time I wrote. This will be a long blog, so be prepared, lol!

So let's see. First at the end of February I was elected to be on a committee called VAC. It's a small group that meets four times a year to work on policy issues between volunteers and staff. So Ryan had Warden training and when he was coming home I left to go to my first VAC meeting. This was also my first time in Manila. Manila is crazy! You can get anything there, but man, it's expensive! I was able to catch up with a lot of PCVs I haven't seen since we started and I also got to meet some people I never met. So our meeting went great! We were able to voice PCVs concerns and work them out with staff. We are very lucky and have a great staff backing us up. Then the next day we had a conference call with PC Director, Mr. Williams. We had an awesome discussion with him, and it really motivated me even more to be a part of PC. I might even think about trying to work for Peace Corps when we are done with service. Then my last day in Manila I was invited to go to the Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary Party @ the Ambassador's house! It was insanely nice. We had great food, got to meet some great people, and were able to talk to old PCVs and compare experiences. I really enjoyed every minute of it, and am so grateful that I got to be a part of that historical event.



So when I got back the next weekend Ryan held his Environmental Youth Hike. I got to help him out, and I'm glad I did. It was a huge success. There were about 200+ youth, whom all hiked 5K and picked up trash along the way. We played games, listened to various speakers, and took tons of pictures! It was nice to see that the youth care about their environment.



The next day we went to Ryan's supervisor's grandson's 1st birthday party. It was fun and a great cultural experience. There were tons of little kids there and I played "Hookie Pookie" with them. They loved it!



After all of that excitement we prepared for Kenny to come visit us! We borrowed some cots from the school for Ryan and I to sleep on while Kenny used our bed. We went to Tacloban to meet Kenny. When he arrived he was very hot, which was funny b/c it wasn't hot to Ryan and I, so I guess we are adjusting pretty well. We stayed the night in Tacloban and then headed to McArthur Park the next day. Afterwards we headed to Hilongos, to show Kenny what our everyday life is like. He got to see where we work, live, our friends, neighbors, places we like to eat, and how we like to spend our free time.

We then headed off for Vietnam! Well our trip didn't start out so great; we were supposed to leave Tacloban to fly to Manila, and then to Ho Chi Minh, except our flight in Tacloban got cancelled and we had to wait until the next day to fly to Manila. So we had to find a hotel, in the pouring rain, and hung out in Tacloban an extra day. We finally made it to Ho Chi Minh and had a great time. We visited some museums, went shopping, and tried lots of new foods. We then headed to Hanoi, which is in Northern Vietnam. When we got there it was cold! What an amazing contrast to the Philippines! Ryan and I soaked it in as much as we could! It was finally winter time for us, lol :) While in Hanoi we visited Ha Long bay, did more shopping, ate some amazing food, and had a great time hanging out. It was an amazing trip and we all had a really great time. Ryan and I want to try and go back to do some hiking when our service is over, but we will have to wait and see...



So we saw Kenny off and headed back to our site. It was a surreal experience. I was really sad to see Kenny go, but I'm sure glad he got to come visit us. Since he left I have gone through some more homesickness, but I will be fine and I know I will bounce back. Now it's back to work and time to dig our heels back into being volunteers. We will be transferring houses soon, which I think will be a better situation for us.

Just some random thoughts, Peace Corps has changed the way I look at traveling now. I found myself wanting to get to know more locals versus just going to the "touristy" places. I also wanted to learn some of the language, which helps a lot when your interacting with the locals. Not such a bad thing, I think.

School is ending and Graduation is next Monday! We have 345 students graduating! Summer is approaching, now if it will jut stop raining! (It has been raining here everyday, I thought the rainy season was over, but apparently not. I don't mind the rain, it just sucks when you have to hang laundry out to dry; it just takes longer that's all) Love you all, miss you like CRAZY. Until next time...

So it's been a while since I posted a new blog. I will try and be better at this. So much has gone on in the past month(s). Kenny is now here and tomorrow we are leaving for Vietnam. When we get back I promise to update this blog and get you caught up on what is and has been happening. Please be patient with me. More to follow soon... stay tuned!

6 months… that’s crazy to think that Ryan and I have been in the Philippines for 6 months!! And we have been at our permanent site for 3 months! CRAZY!! Time has gone by pretty fast too. We have gone through so much the last couple of years; it’s insane to think about. We both graduated from college, moved to Dallas to start our careers, got married, moved into an amazing apartment with my sister, gained valuable work experience, ran a ½ marathon, moved out of Dallas to visit with family, and then moved to the Philippines!!! Once in the Philippines we stayed a week in the greater Manila area, moved to Dumaguete, moved to Hilongos, and then moved into our own place. We have been learning a new language, getting to know our community, and figuring out where we fit in our community so that we can be the most effective volunteer possible. We have visited other towns, cities, and islands. We have met up with friends and shared similar stories of being homesick and how challenging this job is. I’m getting to know my students, only for them to leave at the end of March, because they are seniors and will be graduating, which is bittersweet. We have been through some rough holidays and birthdays, but we have also been able to make new friends and experience those holidays and birthdays with a new and interesting culture. I feel as if I have already grown so much, but we’re not even half way through. Our family and friends have been amazing through this all. They have supported us and we are extremely grateful! We know we are very fortunate and indebted to our families; to have given us all we have and to God for giving us the many opportunities we have been given. I know there will be many more hard days (Many times it’s a daily struggle only because I miss my family so much), but I am hopeful and looking forward to the future and what I will be able to do here in Hilongos. I am excited to start a girl’s soccer club and theater club next school year. And I am thrilled to try some new techniques in the classroom as well. I am also looking forward to family visiting us! Which will happen before I know it. I will make sure and cherish every minute of it. I wanted to use this post to reflect on things and I am glad you have shared it with me! Take care and until next time…

Happy New Year sa tanan!! (Everyone) Ryan and I had an amazing New Year's! We met up with several other Peace Corps Volunteers on the island of Bohol. We stayed on Alona Beach on Panglao Island, which is attached to Bohol. It was so much fun!! It was so nice getting to see everyone, hang out, and eat some incredible food! Some friends and I took a tour one day, where we saw the Chocolate hills, tarsiers, and went down the Loboc River Cruise. We also visited the Bee Farm, went snorkeling, and got to be beach bums for a couple of days. Needless to say it was fantastic! It really made all the past hard days worth it! Who knows when are next big adventure will be, but it was great while it lasted.