July 21st - July 25th

This week has definetely been a full one. After the weekend of the seminar and then Sunday going to church and then the mall, I was exhausted! Monday morning I woke up not feeling well. I was extremely queasy and my body was so physically tired, I could barely get myself out of bed to use the restroom. I slept in that morning, glad I was able to text the administration to let them know why I wasn't up at the school. Sleeping for 3 more hours worked and though I still felt weak, I made my way up to the school. I met with administration to discuss the seminar and what the next two weeks will look like for me. That afternoon I took it easy, making appointments with the teachers for the next few days.

Tuesday morning I woke up from a text message from administration saying there was no school, as it was Bohol day. What a blessing!! I slept in and then as the sun started to become brighter and brighter I decided to go to the beach. I called a taxi and laid out in the sun for a few hours, NOT getting burned! It was so nice to just lay there in the sun resting or the shade reading. I went to Alona Beach resort, which is a very nice resort on Panglao Island, a tiny island south of Bohol. This is where I can and did receive another $5 massage, laying on the beach. I think Alona is my favorite place in the world, so far.

Back to work on Wednesday, I spent the entire day meeting with teachers one-on-one to discuss their project for their next topic. It was something that was discussed at the seminar and they were asked to follow through and present their ideas to me. I was surprised as many of the teachers came with an activity rather than an actual project. I was warned by administration that this would happen, as the teachers are so engrained to lecture to the students rather than have then interact with their learning. This forced me to be bold with the teachers, explaining to them the difference, but to also have quick ideas on how they can turn their topic into a project. It seemed like the teachers understood and were very appreciative of the help. The administration said it's been very hard for the teachers to be creative themselves, to think outside of lecture, outside of the teacher's guide. I've also been teaching for some teachers in order to model using visual aids and manipulatives in the classroom.

This month in the Philippines is "Nutrition Month." Schools are supposed to do some sort of unit or celebration regarding nutrition with the theme of 'eating healthy while pregnant is beneficial for your baby.' Several things were on the agenda that afternoon, one including watching short bits from the movie SuperSize Me. I hadn't watched that movie, and with the brief bits I was able to see, I was shocked, as were the very skinny Filipinos! Each class had selected 4 students to represent their class. They picked a recipe and demonstrated how to make it. I was one of four judges that walked around, watched them prepare the meal and then was able to taste it... some of them I tasted several times! The above picture is one group of students. They made a noodle dish. The second picture is of one of my favorite dishes. It has potatoes, carrot and beans, I think... placed on top of a vegetable pancake. Does NOT sound delicious, but surprisingly it was!

Right now I am again sitting in a hotel in downtown Tagbilarin. My goal coming to this hotel was to upload photos of the last two weeks onto my blog and do a little research as well. The internet is intermittantly cutting out on me so the download function quits about half-way. So the pictures will need to wait. I was asked yesterday to preach at the Deaf church that I attended last week. So, I am doing a little research for that. Please pray for guidance and the right words (signs) to say. I'm not sure how many Deaf will be there, maybe about 25 students and 20 graduates of BDA. Pray for wisdom!

Here is a picture taken of the school after Nutrition Day. This is the majority of the students, most teachers, me and 5 French volunteers, working on building a canteen. I am in the 4th row from the bottom, on the right. I have a white shirt on with my judges medal (flower) on. This picture is taken on their basketball court.