Jeepney Adventures

So July 4th, 2014 is a day I won't soon forget. Not just because it's our Independence Day, but because of what happened to me; it was definitely the highlight of my trip. Basically here's how it goes. "The itsy-bitsy spider climbed down onto my face, off the jeep I go!" So it was the last day that we got to teach at our schools to all the little 5th and 6th graders and I tried so hard not to cry. I will truly never forget these kids. Anyways we were leaving and went down to another school and when we left that school that's when it happened. First, I have a deathly fear of spiders so you can kinda tell where this is going. I was riding on the back of the jeepney and one of the kids next to me pulls a spider off his leg and turns to show me; as soon as he turned, the spider dropped down onto my face. So I freaked out and jumped off the moving jeepney because I was so scared. I thought we were going slow enough that I could just jump off but next thing I knew, I was on the ground and the jeepney was driving faster than I realized! Dewey had grabbed me and held my hand, but soon let go because he knew that if he didn't, I would just drag. I stood up and I saw Rick sprinting towards me and everyone silent and staring at me. I looked down and my hand, leg and foot were bleeding a little.  I noticed my back was hurting so I turned to look and I had a little road rash. With everybody staring at me, it took every ounce of energy not to cry. Some of the leaders immediately started washing off my cuts and put some Neosporin on them. Then I got to lay down in the van the rest of the way home. Honestly, my life kind of flashed before my eyes and I thought I was going to die for a split second. It was also one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I'll never forget it though so you could say it was a pretty eventful day. After we got back, my cuts were cleaned and bandaged. I was exhausted and slept well that night!

-Tori Boyer

Adventures in the Philippines

It's crazy how fast this week has gone by. I have loved every second and completely fallen in love with these kids. I have surprised myself  with all the food I have been so willing to eat and it has made my experience that much better! The food is amazing though and I think I might actually miss it, but not as much as the kids. Teaching was sort of a struggle, but all the notes I got from each student told me other wise. They loved all the lessons and hopefully got a little something out of each one. its absolutely shocking to me how something so little can make these kids glow. Like when we handed out their school supply kits, the smiles on their faces were priceless and they kept asking "For me?". It makes me appreciate all the things we are given back at home (like a working toilet) a thousand times more. We take so much for granted, I wish everyone could experience this to know the feeling and be more appreciative. Working on the buildings has been another experience that has changed my outlook on how we live. One of the days, all we had to do was move cement bricks from point A to point B and in a matter of seconds, every single kid was helping us, at least 20 of them carrying bricks to point B and running back to grab another. It seemed like a game to them or something and I kept asking if they wanted a break and they would just shake their heads and ask for another brick. The whole time I was just thinking how at home,  no kid would want to do that. They would probably just be playing games on their iPhones and iPads. So I loved seeing how willing they were to help. Another thing that I think is so crazy that just made my day was driving to and from the schools on top of the Jeepneys and seeing hundreds of faces light up when they saw us smile and wave at them. Everything here is so beautiful, especially the people. Saying goodbye is going to be hard but I just hope that this short week has made a difference to someone because I have been changed for sure. Mahal Kita!!

-Aly

McKenna and I helping at Igpanolong 

Kids helping move bricks

The kids at my school (Salvacion)

The Magic of Maasin!

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by! Teaching was definitely a learning experience but was so much fun. My favorite part so far has been the people. They are so grateful that we are here to help them. The kids at my school don't speak much English but you can still tell that they are so excited for us to be there. Even though we are here to help them, they have done so much for us. I was so touched when I found out that the flowers lining the street up to the school were just for us. These Filipino people are amazing, literally wiping dirt from my hands and feet, feeding me more than I could ask for, and still asking what more they can do for me. I absolutely love it here and especially love these children. They are all so unique and have a special place in my heart. I love them so much and I can't imagine having to say goodbye.

-McKenna Morrison

Love this place!

Love at first sight is one of those theories that I have always wanted to be true, but I have never had any experience to prove it. Almost everything I have experienced in my first week in the Philippines has proved it to be true, especially with the kids. Upon arriving to Igpanolong (the school I was assigned to teach at), my nerves were off the wall, the new and exciting unknown at my fingertips. But after laying my eyes on the kids at their first opening ceremony, I knew that I had nothing to worry about because they were the happiest group of kids I had ever seen, and I had instantly fallen in love with them. At first, teaching seemed so unbelievably daunting, something that I had been dreading since starting the ROW program. Once my day to teach arrived, I was all nerves again. But everything ran smoothly, and my class proved to be one of the smartest groups of fifth and sixth graders I had ever met. Even though I have a unique connection with the students in the class I have been teaching, some of the strongest connections have been with the kids in younger classes. The things I have learned from all of the kids is far beyond what I have been able to teach them. After a full school week of teaching and learning the names of the kids attending Igpanolong, the connections i have built with both my class and the other students are unbreakable, and the memories i have made with them are something i will never forget. Parting ways with these kids is going to be one of the hardest things I will ever have to do, and their smiling faces and positive attitudes will forever influence my actions and life as a whole. The Philippines and the people of the Philippines are truly amazing, and I will always have a place in my heart reserved for the experiences and things I have learned while I have been here.

-Sadie Olson

Mahal Kita

My experience at Salvacion with the kids was greater than I ever had expected. Teaching the kids was a lot harder than i thought, but a lot more meaningful for the both of us. The 5th and 6th graders in our class was about 37 kids, and the way they wanted to serve us definitely surprised me. We taught them three lessons a day, the lessons i taught were compare and contrast, and Venn Diagrams. After the school day we would work on the construction sites at the school, this is where all the kids would follow us to help shovel, carry cinder blocks, and sand bags. We would all tell them that they didn't need to help, but they insisted and sincerely wanted to help. The work was tedious and not particularly "super fun" but they stuck with us the whole time, even if they were just watching and talking to us the whole time. Some of the children's english wasn't as good as others, but they would talk to you anyways and would be happy just holding your hand.  We did this every day Monday through Friday, the whole team is exhausted but we were always excited that we got to see them the next day. The friendships we have created with the kids is unforgettable and I know they feel the same way because they taught us the phrase Mahal Kita, which means 'I love you' in their language.

-Brooke

Paul Speaks

Hey this is Paul, I'll keep this short because it's almost dinner time. But this has been the most amazing trip so far. I watched about 10 cumulative hours of film on the airplane along with eating my own body weight in salted peanuts and pretzels. After much traveling and early morning pizza we arrived at the Dep-Ed building where we are currently staying. We dug holes on saturday, went to church on sunday, and on Monday and tuesday we've been teaching in the morning and moving rocks in the afternoon. The kids are super cute and a liter of soda is 30 cents, need I say more.

Hello!

I think that I woke up yesterday more excited than I've ever been because I was so excited that we were finally going to the schools. It felt like we had prepared forever and I just wanted to get in there and meet those kids. Everyone always talks about their service trips saying "oh it's the best feeling in the entire world" and I don't think you can believe it until you finally feel it for yourself. There is nothing more true. It is the best feeling in the world. The minute I got out of that van and saw all the kids standing on the porch of Maasin, my heart melted. I am 100% in love with these kids. They gave a program and were all so welcoming, showing their upmost respect to us. You could tell that they had prepared almost just as much as us, and they were all so well behaved. All my nerves went away as I looked at all those kids faces and just thought "this is it." I was beyond excited to be able to give the first "get to know you" lesson. I taught my lesson with help from McKenna and the kids eyes were glued on the front of the room the entire time. You could tell they were nervous and weren't answering many questions, but I have never seen that many kids be so focused at once. 20 minutes into the lesson, the kids were off the wall. Every single thing you said or did they copied and just had the biggest smiles the entire time. It almost makes you want to cry seeing how enthralled they are with the littlest of things.  After we taught our lessons at Maasin, we moved to Salvacion to help with their service project. The moment we walked down the road, all the kids came running and were so interested in getting to know us. They put flowers in my hair and said my name over and over again. There is no better feeling than one of those kids latching onto your arm and never letting go. We played red rover, down by the banks, and sang songs together while switching off shoveling rocks for the building we were helping with. They laughed as they tried teaching us words in their language and we totally couldn't say them. The one thing I learned was Mahal Kita. It means I love you.....and there is no other phrase that could better describe my feelings so far. I love them.  Every flight, spider, bucket shower, and pound of rice we repeatedly eat is worth it for these kids. They have the kindest most genuine hearts and I am so beyond lucky to have earned a spot in them. I'm never coming home.