Hey everyone
I have a couple of days worth of stuff to fill you in on as I have been flat out. I can't remember if I told you about the 88th birthday party but it isn't very exciting so I will leave it out. Basically I hung out with 25 octogenerians who played games like at a kids party then ate pizza, fried chicken and spagetti, followed by mango ice cream and roast banana cake.
So onto the next day. The weather here has been consistantly stiffling and the rain that we had in the mornings has done little to ease off the heat. It is a little frustrating too as we are unable to do Tae-bo when it is raining most of the time. I am beginning to resemble the pillsburry doughboy with all the food that Grace, and now her sister babot, are feeding me.
On Wednesday afternoon I went to the Maple School. This is run by a Fikipino couple who have lived on Vancouver Island for the last 35years and came back to Sorsogon to start a school for the poor to teach them English from infancy. As with most things in the Philippines, money dictated the way the school was able to function and survive, and instead of catering to poor or street children, the school is filled with the children of the rich here, including the grandchildren of the governor and mayor. Anyway, that aside, the school takes children from the age of 3 and they are taught everything except Tagalog class in English. The owner taught in Canada for 35years and is determined ot teach the children proper English and phonetics as opposed to the terrible English that is taught in public schools here.
I had such a fun time with the children. Each classroom that I went in to sung me songs and recited poems in English. I was quite excited to be able to join in as a few of the songs were ones from my childhood. The kids were busy making papier mache dolphins as they went on a fieldtrip to Naga to see the dolphins the other week. There was very little difference between the running of the classroom there and those in a NZ primary school. On Sunday though, I am going out to a slum area with the Espedidos (the owners) with a heap of lollies and treats for the children in the slums who are taken for a free class each week. I can't wait to get out there. The difference between the children at the private schools and the slum children is so obvious when you are playing with them and talking to them. It is both heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time.
So after going home, I had a date with the 10year old little darling who lives in a hut in the backyard of where I am staying. I asked her Lola if she would mind me taking her into town for halo halo at Chow King and some treats care of Ate Torie. For the sake of about $1.50 NZ, I was able to give Maya such a fun afternoon treat which I know I won't be forgetting in a long time. I can't wait to show you the pictures of her smile when you was eating the dessert. By way of explanation, the halo halo at Chow King is huge! I ordered one just for her and didn't think that she would be able to eat it - she is about the size of a 5yr old in NZ. Anyway, I think that she was trying to race me to the bottom as she downed it so fast and kept giggling when looking at my pathetic effort. The best part was that her stomach grew and grew until she looked like a little buddha about to pop. It was hilarious. She was actually very trusting given that I was taking her into town using the tricyces (the local form of transport) knowing full well that I have no sense of direction. I can't understand what she says to me in Tagalog but I know she was cracking up at my slight incompetence.
I had an appointment to go and see the boys home that Cath volunteered at that night. Father Luigi took my around a little but as it was night I wasn't able to see a lot. The boys were in their hour of prayer and reflection (it's a Catholic home) and they were all dying to come out and play with the latest foreigner. It was great talking to Father Luigi about the situation with the street children and the increasing child prostitution problem. I won't go into the details here as I get so angry when I think of the youth justice system, or lack thereof, that they have in the Philippines in general. Those of you who want to hear me rant about it will get your chance when I get home.
Before I forget, the other eventful thing that had happened on Wednesday was that the verdict on the corruption charges against ex-president Jo Estrada were being broadcast live from 8am. I don't suppose that there is much on NZ news about it but it is massive here. Basically he was missusing public funds and got caught. His trial at a special court went on for months and the verdict was handed down on Wednesday. Metro-Manila was chaos. They closed down a large number of streets and schools/Unis because there were pro and anti-Estrada protestors gathered to hear the verdict. Grace and I were watching it all live on the national news broadcast and all the electricity went out. This is nothing unusual. Would you believe that in this time of democracy and freedom of the media etc throughout the developed world, I found myself in the middle of a 'brown-out'. The local government apparently decided to cut all the communication so that the verdict wouldn't be heard in Sorsogon. I couldn't believe it and was particularly annoyed as it was a stinking hot day and there weren't any fans or aircon to be used. Anyway, Estrada has been found guilty and is now being kept in his holiday home worth millions of pecos in the Baracay, Cebu.
I think that that is all that I can remember from Wednesday. Hope it hasn't been too long.
Onto Thursday...
Torie
