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.

So Christmas is over and it was weird. We had a good Christmas Eve with Ryan's counterpart's family. We had a lot of fun with them and got to see how a Filipino celebrated Christmas. Then we had a lot of rest, which was nice, but it allowed me to think of home often, which made me sad. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and had some joy. It was hard for me, but I made it and now things will get easier. Now onto New Year's, which will be amazing. We are meeting up with some friends on Bohol, where we will have lots of fun. I can't wait!!!!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who has sent us things! We have REALLY appreciated it!!! All the cards and packages have meant A LOT to us and we THANK YOU!!!

Special thanks to: Dana and Terry, Tamra, Tammy and Mike, Grammy and Grandpa, Grandma Ohio and Roy, and Karen. THANK YOU!!!! :)