 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
February 21, 2004 - My life is filled with fun experiences. I ride my bike everywhere in town and whenever students see me, they shout "Kuya Lane!" I was recently hailed by this big group of 5th graders. A politician was serving samporado (chocolate rice) to all children. When I stopped, I was surrounded and offered many cups of samporado. It means a lot to me that the kids like me.
Another fun experience was having 6 boys |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
visit to see if I could play. After I fed them hot chocolate, they all fought to wash their cups. It was pretty funny.
One day, I filled out a "friend book" (name, family, favorites,etc) in my 4th grade class. I don't know my cellphone number or my home number by memory, but my students did! I filled out the book. Next night (and the next and the next) I got calls from students at home. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Ciriaco is my host father and a farmer. The rice crops are planted now, so besides fighting rice pests, he has some time to relax. But he's a farmer and farmers are used to hard work and doing things. He gets up at dawn and does things around the house when he is home. During planting and harvesting season, he stays at the farm. One of his hobbies is cleaning and fixing my bicycle. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and enjoys taking apart things and putting them back together. A neat guy. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Football and soccer are new sports for my 6th graders and already they enjoy them like any kid in America would. We watched Remember the Titans, with Denzel Washington at school. Our actual games look like a cross between football and rugby. The girls seem to like soccer. I really enjoy wathcing the kids play and have fun. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
We found out this week that my friend Catherine (far right) did not get into Philippine Science High School. She was sad. I offered to take her and her best friend Ailene (middle) out for halo-halo (mix-mix). It seems like a lot of pressure for an 11 year old. I feel the kids here are much more mature than I ever was at that age. I have certainly come to admire them and like them very much.
Recently a Peace Corps friend was in town and I invited her to visit my class. I thought it would be fun for my students to meet another foreigner. She is a white female who stands 6ft 3. It was upsetting to discover how people stared at her. It bordered on being just some of the rudest behavior I could imagine. In school, my students were thrilled to meet her. She is a genuinely nice person (most Peace Corps people are) and she sang for them and answered all their questions. More later.... |
|
|
|
Home
Next |
|