Vegetables galore!

Here I am with Michelle and some upo, sili, and talong.

I apologize for the gap between blog pots– the one downside of my house is I don't have internet access, I have to travel about 15 minutes in order to be connected to the world. But, I am not complaining– I am happy just to have the internet! Right now, the work in the schools is a little slow because we are between the first harvest and the second planting. Currently we are waiting for seedlings to arrive from Manila. So in the mean time we are just checking on the gardens and hanging out with the kids. It is pretty easygoing and really fun. I always get lots of Tagalog lessons from all the children. I never leave the house without my little notebook and pen where I jot down literally every new word. I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to put in more of an effort learning Tagalog than I did Vietnamese.

In the gardens we grow sili (hot peppers), ampalaya (bitter gourd), upu (bottle gourd), kamatis (tomatoes), kalabasa (squash), talong (eggplant) pipino (cucumber), and sitaw (string beans.) I am probably forgetting something but I am sure at one point or another you will all hear of it.

sili

Container gardening– those are talong seedlings.

Talong

sideways kalabasa (forgot to rotate the picture. Whoops!)

Container gardening with sitaw

Ampalaya

Mustard plants growing in old coconut husks.

My buddy Allen.

I really enjoy all the schools I am working in. I think in general the Filipino school system is very well run and a fun place to be. It is such a happy environment and seems very relaxed, (well I guess anything would after coming from Vietnam's strict education system) but not relaxed in the sense that children and teachers are slacking off. Students seem happier and it appears that they are enjoying school. I guess maybe I like Filipino schools so much because they are similar to American schools.

Students at Diteki.

The walls are decorated with posters, and currently that are also displaying  Valentine decorations. I frequently can hear children singing and laughing. I also like how easy it was for me to just appear one day and start working with the students. In Vietnam Co Thanh had to pull a lot of strings to get me into one school, but here I just waltzed right on in and was welcomed with open arms. The teachers and principals are all so friendly. Every day Michelle and I eat lunch with the principal or head teacher. I really enjoy this because the principals love to talk about their schools and the challenges they face. I am learning a lot about the Filipino education system. I also love the way schools are physically set up. It is more like a college campus with lots of different buildings, all housing classrooms, canteens, offices, libraries, etc. All these buildings border a central field where the students play soccer, have recess, etc. There are usually flowers and trees planted around the buildings. It is just beautiful and delicious since most of the trees are fruit trees and the students love to climb them and pick fruit for me. Man, my life is pretty good!

Maria Aurora Campus

The field at Baler Central Elementary School.