Last week in Colo

Friday (Sept 2) - Had language class from 8-12. In the afternoon we did assessments. We were hoping to fly through them so we could go out to Subic and have a nice dinner. Some of the people went ahead and went and Pam and I were going to meet up with them later. Well... assessments ended up taking FOREVER! Pam and I didn't get out of there until 6, wouldn't get to subic until at least 7. So we decided to not even try to make it and just went into Dinalupihan and ate at Mang Inasal.

Saturday (Sept 3) - We had out tech session wrap up (the working in the school part of our training). For the wrap up we went out to the beach in Subic. Started off raining that day, but cleared up enough for us to have some fun. We played around on the beach, tossed a football, and played some team building type games. We had to put in some wrap up time too discussing our 2 months of being in the school. It was a nice and relaxing day. When we got back Karen, Mike, Regina Renee, and I went out to eat at Mang Inasal. There aren't many options in Dinalupihan. They do have really good chicken I enjoy so two days in a row was ok.

Sunday (Sept 4) - Gina's host family had a party for some of us Americans! They took us to a resort called Punta Belle. The resort was back by itself by a river and with mountains in the background. It was very pretty and had two big swimming pools. We had fun swimming, sitting in the river, eating meat on a stick, and just hanging out. Part of us going was that we promised Gina's host sister that we would eat Balut. I don't know that the taste of it was really all that bad, kind of like a hard boiled egg, but the thought of what I was eating and the looks of it really grossed me out! I took a bite and ate it, but couldn't eat the whole thing. That night after we got back my family, Karen, Mike, and Ariel's cousin Jay went to Subic to Pier 1 for dinner. Pier 1 has live music and is right on the beach. It was a really cool place, but we were so tired it was hard to really enjoy. We of course still had a good time though.

Monday (Sept 5) - This week we spent most of our time preparing for our LPI (language proficiency test). We will be graded on what we've learned of Tagalog so far. I'm hoping I'll pass, but I'm really not sure. I haven't done so well memorizing all the vocabulary and everything. So some of our time was spent in the classroom and some of it we could stay at home and study.

Tuesday (Sept 6) - Studied more for my LPI. That afternoon we had our closing ceremony at the Elementary School. They made it a big to do and we got certificates from them and we gave our counterpart teachers certificates. I got a really nice card from my counterpart, Jake, and a paper weight. After it was over lots and lots of pictures were taken and they had Pansit for merienda. That night Karen, Cristy, and I went into Dinalupihan and ate at Chow King. It was nice to get out and just hang out for a bit.

Wednesday (Sept 7) - This morning was spent in the classroom reviewing and having a 1 on 1 with Elsa practicing for the LPI. This afternoon we had our language wrap up. For a gift we gave Elsa the game Scrabble Slam. We had played Quiddler in class and she really enjoyed it. We couldn't find Quiddler at the store here, but I had brought Scrabble Slam from home and it was still brand new. After we gave it to here we played a few games. It's a fun game to play and I think Elsa really liked it. After that I went over to Gina's house and played cards with her, Karen, and Catherine. We've learned a lot of new cards games! Who knows how much time we spend playing cards :)

I'm taking my big test tomorrow!!!

It's my last week here in Colo, Dinalupihan. Sunday we are leaving bright and early at 6:30 am headed to Cavite to spend a week debriefing PST (training), meeting our counterparts, and swearing in to be a Volunteer for the next two years!

Since I'm leaving my family here I don't know what my internet situation looks like in the future... Hope to keep you guys regularly posted still!

1 week until swearing in!

Friday (Aug 26) - In the morning we had a meeting and language class. That afternoon was language class, but the community had a cultural program to celebrate some holiday. Not sure even what the holiday was :) We got to go and watch the performance. It was dancing and singing through the years of Philippines and from the different locations around the country. It was pretty good and fairly interesting. That night we had our one-on-ones with our language teacher and elementary facilitator instead of having to do it on Saturday morning. I ended up getting out of there at 8!  
 
Saturday (Aug 27) - Arlan and RG had swim lessons at a resort pool down the street from 8-10. Karen came over and went with us. We just hung out in a nipa hut with some of the moms. One of the ladies braided our hair and another one went and bought us snacks, quail eggs and boiled peanuts. The quail eggs are pretty much just miniature hard boiled eggs. We went back to the house and played cards with Mhay and Ariel. We played cards for a good part of the afternoon. Ariel joked with us about getting a pizza and like an hour later a guy showed up at the door with a pizza! Wasn't the best pizza I've had, but it was decent. For sure a nice change in our meals. That night the family, Karen, and I went to a basketball game. Each town has their own team and then it was a tournament. At half time one of the things they do is faces of the night. They pick out 3 girls and then vote by applause for the best one. Karen got chosen to go up to the front; she was really embarrassed, as I would have been too. She didn't win first, but they gave her 1000 pesos. About $23. So after the game we stopped at Jollibee (the Philippine version of McDonalds) and Karen treated us to dinner. For all 6 of us to eat, it was 445 pesos.  

Sunday (Aug 28) – I spent most of my morning on the computer. I got caught up on some emails and got to talk to my parents on skype! It was the first time we had video chatted since I’ve been here! We’ve talked, but normally without the video because I just use the skype on my phone. The funniest part was my mom held the computer out to Goldie. I said hi and she looked straight at me on the computer. I think she was confused, but she definitely knew I was there. Mhay then came in and said we were going to go to the SM mall; it’s about an hour away. So I get ready to go and everything and then wait around. Then she comes in and tells me we aren’t going because it’s raining. Funny thing is… it’s been raining all morning! Catherine ended up coming over so we could work on the t-shirt designs. We are making a shirt for our host families as a gift when we leave and one for ourselves. Cristy had texted me and said I should meet up with her in Subic, so Karen and I decided we’d just go and hang out and wait around on her to text me back. We went ahead did some shopping and had dinner and on our way home, Cristy texted to say she decided not to go because of the rain! Oh well Karen and I had a good time and got out of the house for a bit.  

Monday (Aug 29) – In the morning we had language class. In the afternoon we had a meeting to plan for our community project on Wednesday morning. We got everything put together, printed out the papers we’d need, and made some final decisions. After that we went to a meeting at Sam’s house to try and decide what we are going to do at our swearing in. We have to do a song or dance or something. Much debate went into what we will do, I don’t really care. I don’t like singing or dancing or performing of any sort. Ended up we had to go back and change what we decided to do anyway.  

Tuesday (Aug 30) – For language class we decided we’d go on an outing to Subic. Part of the deal was that we had to practice our language while out. We started off the trip with a stop for ice cream. 7-11 in Olongapo, which we have to go right by to get to where we are going, has soft serve ice cream, so of course we always have to stop. Then we went shopping at the duty free store. I bought some food and a few gifts for my family for when I leave. It’s hard to decide what to get them! While there we stopped at the bank to get some money. Then we ate at Xpresso Café. It was my second time, and it was just as good the second time. We got a huge pizza to split between all 6 of us and it was only 130 pesos apiece. $3 a person. We had a fun trip and very nice to do a language class out of the classroom! That afternoon Mhay and I made Puto (a cake like treat) for me to take to our community project for the morning merrienda. While making puto we hung out in the nipa hut in the front yard. Pam walked by so we got her to come in with us. Then Mike and Gina walked by and they came too. We had a lot of fun just hanging out. They all needed to go home for dinner because it was about 7 and then the power went out. So we had a fun time trying to find everything and clean up and get them home. The power stayed out for about an hour so my family had dinner in the nipa hut.  

Wednesday (Aug 31) – In the morning we had our community project at the school. Our project was an information session about finding resources to develop their reading center and then some teacher training. My part of it was a Math session. I explained how to use math centers in a classroom and have the students rotate from one center to another. I showed them some different games and activities they could use as their centers. Don’t know if they’ll take it back to their classroom or not, but hopefully they got something out of it.

Thursday (Sept 1) – This morning we had language class. We are starting to try and do more conversations in preparation for our language test that’s next week. We’ll have a one-on-one interview with someone and get graded on how well we do. This afternoon we had another meeting to go over what we’re going to do at our swearing in and to discuss our party for our host families that is next Saturday. Then we had a medical meeting, but no shots! After that Karen, Gina, and Catherine came over and we played cards in the nipa hut. Mhay joined us and then the boys came in too. The nipa hut is a nice place to just hang out.

Can't believe the end of training is so close! Seems like time just flew by. Can't believe I'll be leaving here and moving on to my new location.