Time keeps on slippin', into the future

6:55 PM Trisha Patek
Wow! Things have been flying by over here. We have both been very busy and a lot has happened since my last post. Hope your ready to read...

So let me start where we left off. Ryan and I started our puppet shows. These have been going great! The students, day care workers, and the parents absolutely love our shows. We put on a puppet show for about 20 mins each time we preform. We sing songs and have a little skit. We talk about brushing teeth and washing hands. It's so much fun. Afterwards we take pics and let the students "meet" the puppets. Our puppet shows have been put on hold while school is out, (summer starts in a week in a half) but once school starts again, in June, we will be very busy with at least one show a week! We can't wait :)







A couple weeks back, Ryan and I were able to go back to our Training Site, Dumaguete, for a much needed fun weekend with great friends. We were able to meet up with 4 PCVs and hang out with them while we were in town. It was weird being back in Duma, but really nice. While we were there we were able to swim with the whale sharks (Butanding) as well as many turtles. It was such an unforgettable weekend! Swimming with the whale sharks was very hard for me. Some of you may know that I sometimes have a hard time staying clam and breathing right when it comes to snorkeling. Add knowing you are going to see a HUGE shark well it makes it all that much more, shall we say, exciting. Haha. Anyways I did it, I swam with a whale shark! I'm very proud of myself. Now swimming with the turtles I absolutely loved. I would do that every weekend if I could. Turtles are so graceful and super fast swimmers. I was able to swim with a turtle that had a head the size of a basketball and was almost as long as I am. I really wanted to grab on to it's shell and go for a ride. I think sea turtles are my new favorite animal. <3 Oh btw my underwater camera broke when I took it in the water during this trip, so no underwater pictures to show, but I will always have my memories. 


         




After that amazing weekend my school, HNVS, had it's annual JS Prom. I was worried about going because I knew it would be a long night, but I had so much fun! It was great to see everyone dressed so formal and excited about the program. The prom here is nothing like prom back home. Here they have an official program with exchanging of gifts, the key of responsibility, as well as passing on their majors to the juniors. It's quite an ordeal. I'm glad I got to be there this year and celebrate with the seniors. :) 



The Prom wrapped up February. Stay tuned to see what has been happening in March. Take care. Love you all and miss you even more! :)


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I Live Here!

10:55 PM Trisha Patek
Motivation... that's what I have been lacking lately. Well that's not completely true. I just finished an AMAZING book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It's a book about this little boy who looses his dad during 9/11. I didn't loose anyone that day, but many people did and I believe this books expresses the loss that many people felt and still feel from that bad day. If you haven't read it; READ IT!!

Anyways back to the Philippines. So I have realized that I live here. Sounds like a funny thing to say right, but for me it's not. Being a Peace Corps Volunteer I am "working" 24/7 365 days a year. It really is the HARDEST job I love. There are moments when I truly love being here and can't imagine how hard it's going to be to leave. But then there are other days where I'm ready to get on the plane and go "home." I think that one of the hardest things about living here is always having to be here. Let me explain. The second I step out of my house (literally sometimes it's the SECOND I step out of my house) I'm greeted with intense stares, random phrases being shouted at me, or people questioning pretty much everything I do. So sometimes it's tough to leave the house. Haha. And yes I get away from site sometimes to attend trainings, seminars, etc. and sometimes I even leave for a vacation. But it seems like when I return things are some what a little harder, for a little while at least. When I return I have clothes to wash (by HAND NOT in a machine, that does NOT count anymore as washing clothes), not to mention washing other parts of my house that have become molded or infested with some kind of bug, invasive questions to answer (because everyone wants to know all about everything), and of course teaching haha. So sometimes it's hard. That's all I'm saying. I would also like to say I'm spoiled. I know this and I'm really missing my spoiled life. I'm missing all of the comforts of home and everything that goes with that. Those things, not to mentions family and friends, are things that are helping me pull through these last few months! So keep the encouragements coming...

On a more positive note. My counterpart and I have started a "Reading Club" with some of the first year students at my school. For the past year and a half I have been teaching 4th year students, which means they are 15-16. But for now, once a week, I work with 1st year students, 12 year-olds. They look like babies. And I'm LOVING it! Maybe it's b/c it's something new, or I actually feel like I'm teaching. Whatever it is, I <3 it! They really give me positive energy and help me stay motivated. We usually work on pronunciation, which is really funny and we laugh a lot. Then we read a passage, answer some questions, and work on comprehending what we read. It's great. And my counterpart and I are great co-teachers. We work so well together! I will REALLY miss her when I'm gone. 



Well tomorrow Ryan and I are going to a day care in town and preforming a puppet show! It will be our first one of hopefully many more to come, so stay tuned to see what happens... Love you all and miss y'all tons! Until next time... 
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Birthdays :)

2:55 PM Trisha Patek
Ryan and I know tons of people that have birthdays in January, including ourselves! This was our last year that we will celebrate our birthdays in the Philippines. (Which makes me happy and sad all at the same time) A while back we were trying to decide what we wanted to do to celebrate our BIG days.

Last year for Ryan's b-day we went to the school and used the oven to make cornbread (we didn't have our toaster oven then), and to celebrate both our birthdays we went to the next town over to visit the Hindang caves. We went through some very smelly (from the bat guano) caves, as well as saw tons of monkeys. We had a great time. 

The Filipinos have a tradition that the birthday celebrant brings food, sweets, etc for everyone to share. Sometimes this is a VERY expensive tradition, so Ryan and I were trying to think what we could contribute without spending lots of dough. So for Ryan's b-day he bought some ice cream for his co-workers to share. They loved it! It was a hot day and everyone enjoyed a nice cool treat. For my birthday I decided to use a cake/icing that were sent to us from home. (Thanks Beth Pape) It was a German Chocolate Cake. The teachers and Ryan's co-workers LOVED it. They couldn't figure out how I made the cake so moist and how the frosting was so delicious. I tried to explain to them it was made from a box, but they didn't really understand. Anyways they really enjoyed it! 



So this year we wanted to do something different. For Ryan's birthday we went to one of our favorite islands; Canigao Island. We got there early in the morning and found us a spot on the  other side of the island where we were a little more secluded. This island is very small and you can walk all the way around the island in about 30 mins. Usually everyone gathers on one side of island, but it tends to get very loud. So Ryan and I walked to another part and camped out there. We had a very relaxing time.





Then the next weekend to celebrate my birthday, we went to the big city of Cebu City on the island of Cebu. We were able to meet up with two other volunteers, hang out and spend some time together. So from our town we take a night boat (with a/c, beds, blankets, and pillows; it's pretty sweet) and then arrive around 2AM in Cebu City, but the boat allows us to stay on the boat until 6AM. 


So once we arrived we headed to McDonalds (MacDo as they say here) to have breakfast. While we were eating it started raining, it was a heavy downpour, and this family of three (mom, daughter, and son) showed up outside and took a bath. It was funny b/c the little girl was having a blast, but you could tell the brother didn't want to be there and kept trying to hide behind a post. This is not an uncommon scene for us anymore, people bathing outside. Usually the older persons have clothes on, but the children usually are naked, although sometimes the older women are naked too. 


After this we headed over to one of the malls. It was great; we walked around window shopping in the A/C so we stayed nice and cold. We had Starbucks, Red Mango (frozen yogurt), and some amazing food. 




It was a great time and we really enjoyed our "last" birthdays in the Philippines! :) 
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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

10:01 PM Trisha Patek
Today was a great day and I wanted to share it with you. So on Tuesday my counterpart asked me if I could teach the classes by myself today because she would be out of town receiving a reward, so I said sure. She gave me an assignment to give them, which was really boring so I decided to kick it up a notch. This is how it went. I gave the students the assignment in a few notes, and then we did an exercise where I had them close their eyes (this was hard for some of them) and picture that they were 25 and a billionaire, but had to get a job next week, so what would their job be? I had them sit in complete silence (which was REALLY hard for some) with their eyes closed so they could really think about it. I then had them draw or write about this in a cloud that they had drawn previously in their notes. Some of the students then shared their dreams. This was amazing. I had some students share that I don't think I have talked to or gotten to talk in class all year. I heard some amazing dreams and was really touched by all their answers. You know, some of the students, the boys especially, were joking around and trying to be funny, but when it came time to share I didn't hear one smart-alleck remark. All that was shared was sincere and for the most part inspiring! Here's are some quick examples: one student wanted to own her own business that would help shut down all the factories around the world that employ children. She would then build schools for those children to go to. Another boy wanted to run a shelter where he helped children with malnutrition. One boy wanted to be a captain of a ship so he could see the world. Then we ended class by playing hangman in teams where I had pre-assigned words (vocab from their book) which they absolutely loved. Most of them have never played this before so they had a blast. And I did too; it was fun watching them have fun, and today made me feel like I made a difference. :) That's all, thanks for reading. Until next time...
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Just one of those days...

8:22 PM Trisha Patek
So it's been a little hard for me to get back into the swing of things at site. Ryan and I had an amazing Christmas vacation and I wasn't ready for it to end. I definitely wasn't ready for the cold weather to be over, haha! So we are now back at site and I'm sweating again, oh well! It's been hard for me as far as my job goes. Don't get me wrong I love my school, my counterpart, and my students, but I'm not a teacher, so teaching everyday is not the ideal situation for me. We also have a LOT of interruptions throughout the year and it's hard for me to see the students not get the education they deserve. Usually I'm pretty good at putting this behind me and doing the most I can at the school, but as of late, it's been kinda tough. I think it's because I do care and I want the students to actually learn and I want to teach them something, but with what we have, our horrible textbook and very limited resources, it's hard. I will get over it and I know I am teaching the students, I just wish I could do more. I just wanted to share that with y'all. Peace Corps is a great challenge, although some may people think it's a glorified vacation, it's NOT and I just wanted to you to know that there are frustrations that go along with my successes as well.

Anyways, on a more positive note. I recently bought this book called Strengths Finder 2.0, and I HIGHLY recommend it! It comes with this code in the back where you can take an assessment to find out your top five strengths. Then it urges you to find things that work with your strengths instead of trying to improve your weaknesses. It's great, if you can you should check it out.

So my top five are: Learner, Relator, Achiever, Responsibility, and Discipline.

Leaner is basically what it sounds like, I love to learn. I am constantly wanting to learn new things, especially things that I find fascinating. And I continually want to improve.

Relator means I enjoy close relationships with a few friends. I want my friendships to be meaningful and to have an important part in my life.

Achiever means I like to be busy and productive. I have a great stamina and I like to work hard. It also means I like to be in charge of tasks and/or assignments.

Responsibility means I take psychological ownership of what I say I will do. I am committed to being honest and loyal.

And finally Discipline means that I enjoy routine and structure. I like to create order into the world around me.

So what do you think, do those sound like me or what?


This pic is from the Alikaraw festival to bring in the New Year! 
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Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Very Much, Thank you!

6:18 PM Trisha Patek
Well December has come and gone. It was a great month, although at times it was definitely tough. So it started out with Ryan's World HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Event, which I helped with. We had planned to have tree planting in the morning, but that didn't work out so we continued on with our candle light vigil. We had over 150 students show up for the event. We also showed a film called "Power of You" which is an awesome film in the national language, Tagalog, which allows the viewers to decide which path to take and how to confront the issues dealing with sex, STI's, and HIV. While showing this film we had tons of passerby's stop and watch the film; we probably had over 250 at that point watching in the town square. We had a little presentation to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and then we had candle lighting and releasing of lanterns. It was a great event and I think it greatly benefited the entire community.




After our World AIDS event I was invited to help participate in another World AIDS event, but this time on another island completely. I traveled to the island of Panay and to the town of Kalibo, which is very close to the "World renown Boracay". Anyways I was able to work with three wonderful ladies in helping educate a classroom of over 200 students about the facts of HIV/AIDS. We then participated in a parade (sadsad in the local dialect), which unfortunately was raining the entire time, but was still successful. This was the 11th year this community has put on the event and I was very grateful to be a part of it. The town of Kalibo has a wonderful health unit and some awesome volunteers throughout the town. I know that their event will only get more and more support while also educating their community.



The day after the parade we went to the volunteer's indigenous site to visit the village she works with there. It was really neat to be able to be invited into their village. We played a few games with the children and met with some of the elders of the group. During our visit the children noticed my tattoo and then it was over. They had a great time finding all the islands they knew in the Philippines. It was great fun! 



After I returned it was time to get into Christmas Party mood. We had our classroom's christmas party, which was awkward at first, b/c no one would let me do anything I just had to sit there and look pretty. But it eventually got a lot better. We played some fun games and I even got a few gifts from some of my students. We played this one game where two people paired up and had to go down an obstacle course with a tomato between their forheads. My partner was my counterpart and it was a lot of fun!




After my party I went to Ryan's work's party. If you want to see how much fun he had, check out him new blog post!

After school got out for the holidays, Ryan and I headed up to Northern Luzon with a few other volunteers. We went to three different towns/cities: Baguio, Sagada, and Banaue. It was AMAZING! The weather was fantastic and the food was phenomenal. While we were in Sagada we got to go on an intense caving trip, which was crazy fun. We went on a couple of hikes and got to relax with great friends. (side note: I was still sad and missed my family very much on Christmas, but am super excited b/c I will get to see them this coming Christmas!) After Sagada we headed to Banaue to hike through the rice terraces. It was incredible! The rice terraces are SO old and amazingly well made. It was an intense but spectacular Christmas vacation and I'm sad it's over.






Now it's back to school and back to routines. Hopefully I will be able to start my soccer club this month, but we will have to see b/c it is rainy season. Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all but we will see you later this year! Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)
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November was a whirlwind!

2:33 PM Trisha Patek
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!!!


Ryan and I also had the opportunity to take some of our peer educators to a HIV/AIDS clinic  on a nearby island. This was an AMAZING opportunity and I'm so glad it worked out. We got to hear how this tiny organization has started out, how they hope to grow and help persons living with HIV in the Philippines. In case you didn't know the Philippines is one of only 7 countries around the world where HIV is INCREASING!!! Now this may be due to lack of testing in the past or people actually getting tested now, but either way it's on the rise and Filipinos need to be aware of what's happening in their country. While we were at the clinic we also got to talk with two persons living with HIV. Their stories were so impact full and meaningful to all of us and I am so glad that they had the courage to share their testimonies with us! (Do you recognize Ryan in this picture?!?)


After our awesome trip to Cebu Plus (that's the organization from above), Ryan and I headed to Batangas, which is South of Manila, for Mid-Service Training. This training was great, but it was also stressful. I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of Americans in one room! (There were 112 of us there) I also felt like I was riding a roller-coaster with my emotions while I was there. At various times I was super excited, nervous, anxious, scared, and a little sad too. It has been interesting to see where this adventure has taken me thus far, but I'm still excited to see where it takes me in the future! 
Oh so before MST I made a little side trip and got a tattoo! Yes, me, I got a tattoo and I absolutely love it!!! <3 

A couple days later my wonderful sister turned 24 on the 24th of November. I really miss her and hope she had an amazing birthday! I can't wait to celebrate future birthdays with her :) 
For Thanksgiving several volunteers got together from our area and had a real American Thanksgiving. It was delightful. We had so much food, which was fun to make, had great conversations and fun spending time searching for whale sharks, which we didn't find this time, but we are determined to find them sometime! So before Thanksgiving everyone was saying what they wanted to bring etc. (I made Dana's famous Marshmallow Loaf and Granny Morgan's homemade rolls, are you drooling b/c you should be) Ryan was able to find someone to sell us a turkey, so we were like cool we an have turkey, yummy. Well the day we were to leave the man brought the turkey in a bag to Ryan's work; it was still alive. Then he came to our house and killed it in our front yard. (I think if I had to do that I would become a vegetarian for sure!) So this man slit it's neck, plucked off it's feathers, then lit it on fire to singe off all the rest of the feathers and finally cleaned out the insides. It was a very different experience. But our neighborhood cats absolutely loved it; there were about ten of them in our yard afterwards cleaning up the mess. Haha! By the way, Ryan and I also successfully cooked our first Turkey! Which is super exciting! Anyways Thanksgiving was amazing :) 


So FINALLY at the end of November my drama club preformed their first play of the year! It was a great success and the audience really enjoyed it. I'm not going to lie, the students stressed me out a little, we didn't even have one practice with a complete cast, but the show went very well and everyone did a great job. The students acted out "The Disastrous Wedding" which is a murder mystery play. You were supposed to pay for the full script so we improvised and had the audience choose the murderer, which they really enjoyed so it all worked out! Needless to say our show was a scream...


And that completes the month of November! So until next time when I share the happenings of December. Take care, miss y'all! Love, love, love 





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