Foundation Day - It's Showtime!

For the past two months the school has been busy preparing for Foundation Day. After the Mass and program, each grade level was responsible for a presentation after the parade... and so were the teachers. First-year students danced the tinikling. If you haven't seen it, youtube it because it's pretty crazy to watch. After that, the second-years did a folk dance. The thrid-years danced the boogie and the fourth years followed. And that left the teachers. They requested I teach them something from Arizona. Since we don't really have traditional folk dances, I thought a country line dance was in order. Yee-haw! So After weeks and weeks of practice, the teachers kicked of their debut of Cotton Eye Joe.

A counselor and the Vice-Mayer happened to witness it. They liked it so much they invited the teachers to come to the Begnas Festival in March and present it in the municipal capital. *Update: The Counselor has uploaded these videos to youtube if you want to see us in action! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZG4I4uHe7E 


After the demonstrations were over, a massive lunch was served. The PTA held a rafflle for a new washing machine and so people hung around for the drawing. After that, it was time for the greatest show on earth.


Months ago, back in December, the English Club asked me if we could hold a fashion show for fundraiser. Now, I'll let you know that I know absolutely nothing about fashion, modeling, clothes, drama, or any of the necessary knowledge to plan a fashion show. So, I said yes! Since school resumed in January, students have been gathering at lunchtime and after school to practice their modeling poses. They went to thrift stores (wagwagans) and borrowed clothing. The day before the show, we went up to the recreation hall and set up the stage hanging up curtains, setting up a runway out of long tables taken from the library, and preparing a program. "MDNHS presents the first ever Wag Wag Fashion Show!" Come showtime, the we had a full house, standing room only and the kids did great. I was really proud of them because they did almost all of the planning themselves and the show was a huge success. Parents are  even requesting that we do it again every year!

Barangay Day

Fiesta Time!


The morning after prom (and what a slow morning it was), we all gathered for the parade to kick of the Barangay Fiesta. The students prepared the drums and flags and we headed up the highway to start the procession. It was mandated that all students and at least one member of each household be present in the parade. So, it was not surprising that nearly everyone was marching and there was nobody left to actually watch the parade. Save for the few buses that passed us on the way to Baguio.

After the parade was a, you guessed it, program. There were dancing presentations from different groups around town. Then food was served to EVERYONE. I'm not sure how much rice and was cooked or how many pigs were slaughtered. But it was a lot of food.

The highlight of our fiesta is the basketball games. Teams are invited to play here, and by Sunday a champion is announced. However, Saturday morning brought the coldest weather I've experienced since I've been here. It was cloudy, it was rainy, and eventually I gave up on the games and went and heated the coffee.

Going Green

"What is this thing I'm holding in my pocket? It's 6 inches long and has a head. Oh! It's a nail. What's this I'm holding in my other pocket? Yes, It's what you were thinking a moment ago."  

 -said by the school principle during the welcome speech at a provincial                                                         competition.

Green jokes, or dirty jokes, are rampant here and for the most part treated more lightly than back home. Sticklers for political correctness would not survive here, but I've been enjoying humor.


With that in mind, it was time for Junior-Senior Prom. It's a bit different from the prom I went to. More formal if that's possible. To begin with, all the juniors are partnered with a senior. They have a short procession and then line up where the juniors pin a corsage on the seniors, and the seniors light a candle and give it to the juniors. Then there is a program. Oh, how the Filipinos love programs! For every event there is a program. First there is the opening prayer, then a song, then the welcome speech. Then once we're warmed up they call on guest speakers and 36 hours later there is the closing prayer.


Now, since the teachers asked me to be the one to plan the program, it was my first instinct to cut the program completely and go from candle lighting to dancing. So I asked what would happen if there was no program. All I recieved were blank stares until someone said, "No, that's impossible. It's never been done before. There has to be a program." Alright, with that I asked if it would be ok then if we let the students do the speaking since, after all, it is their big night. In the end, we didn't invite any guest speakers OR parents which is usually the case. The students did a great job in delivering their speeches. First was the Senior Class History, a reminiscence of their past four years. Then the Juniors gave the Class Prophecy for the Seniors - where they saw their role models in years to come. Then was the turning of the key, challenge of acceptance, and Senior Legacy. Then finally it was time to dance!

Chairs were cleared. Speakers boomed. Food and mocktails were served. Then came the games, and the reason for the title of this post.


Teachers had told me that in previous years, sometimes the students were shy and refused to dance. So I assinged each of them to come up with a game that we could play if things started to get slow.


The first game introduced had students tie a long eggplant to their waste from a string. Then they had to use it to role a baby tomato across the floor to the finish line.

Next up was egg smashing. This time an egg was tied to the waste of a pair and they had to swing their hips in order to smash the eggs.

Then, the girls were made to feed a raw egg down the shirt of their male partner, all the way down their body, and out the pant leg, taking special care not to break the egg.

CENSORED

And my contribution you might ask? The final game, in order to determine Prom Queen and King. The boys sat in a chair holding a bowl of bananas on their lap. The girls had to eat the bananas (no hands of course). Then they had to switch positions and the boys had to do the same only this time by getting a peanut out of it's shell with no hands. The first to complete were the winners!

In Full Swing

Wow, I just realized that my last post was over a month ago. So, here I am to let you all know that I'm still alive! And here's what's been happening.


School started agian January 3rd, and I arived with a fresh and strong attitude to get going on some projects. So I dove right in, but I'm finding out things move slow here. Very slow. And with teaching classes every day, it's difficult to try and plan for big projects this summer.


I was invited by another volunteer to visit her site and help conduct a reading workshop to the students there. It was successful and  I enjoyed the oportunity to see how the high schools are different in the other regions, and also share ideas with the other volunteers.

Here in the Philippines, every Barangay has a festival, every municipality has a festival, and then there is the Provincial Festival. Last week the teachers took me to Sagada. It is Mt. Province's most famous tourist destination. We went to attend the Etag (dried, smoked meat) Festival. We got to see some amazing street dancing, placed our orders for our Sagada Weaving Products, and ventured into the underground caves. It was a blast.

Our family picture by Lake Danum (Lake "water").

I'm trying my best to do the Igorot squat.

Found a small hidden shack and peeked inside. What did I find?
One of the famous Sagada weavers!

In the caves!

February is by far our busiest month and I could definately use the extra days. This thursday is our prom. The teachers asked me to help out so I've been helping to plan the details for that. The next day is the beginning of our Barangy Fiesta. I'm not really sure what will happen then but Barangay Day seems to be what everyone is talking about. Then, February 24 is my school's Foundation Day. It acts like a parents day/ homecoming. There will be performances and food and all the of the community is invited to come to the school. The teachers asked me to teach them a dance, so we've been practicing the Cotton Eye Joe. Aside from that, the English Club is putting on a fashion show which is now the highlight of the program, and we have practice every day. AAAND, I'm helping teach a group of students the salsa dance that they can perform during the Begnay (municipal) Festival in march.


In March, I have promised the teachers that I will teach them to type fast. But right now i'm just concentrating on the present. Today is Valentin's Day and so I had the students write love letters to their secret crushes and we sent them to the other classes. Some really got into it!