Soaring

The group!

Mt. Pulag is said to be the second (or third depending on who you talk to) highest mountain in the Philippines. I had been trying to plan a hike to the summit for a couple of months, and this past weekend it became a spectacular reality.

Stop-over on the way to Kabayan with Ison and
my host brother Rajiv.

Some volunteers and I met with some other friends in La Trinidad. We collected a group that involved five volunteers, two of my host siblings, one of my students, three pastors,  and three others to form our hiking team. I've decided that connections mean EVERYTHING here, and through friends of friends of friends, we were able to get a private ride and a free guide to the top.

Skulls in the Kabayan

We left Baguio en route to Kabayan. Once we arrived in Kabayan, we settled down, and went to see a burial cave. We were invited into a house for dinner and coffee and even got some pure honey from my host family's relatives. At 7:30 we piled into a jeep and headed for the ranger station. We arrived at the mountain at around 10:30 pm and made the quiet hike all the way through the night. We stopped once to heat some coffee and catch a quick nap before continuing the last 1.5 km to the summit.

Sunrise at the summit.

I can't come close to adequately describing the experience through words or pictures. It was truly amazing possibly the most beautiful sight I had ever witnessed. As the sun crept up, the horizon ignited and revealed an ocean of clouds that stretched out before us. As the sun came closer to breaking the horizon, the clouds reflected the colors and glowed all around us. When the sun finally rose, the cold seemed to evaporate and we welcomed the warm rays on our faces.


As we hiked down, the sun exposed the beautiful scenery we had missed the night before hiking through the dark with only our headlamps. Bamboo grassland transitioned into beautiful mossy forests of ferns and flowers. We found a stretch of wild blueberries and enjoyed picking them during our last kilometer back to the station. We made it back down the mountain in time to hop on the first bus back to Baguio, and by that time the hike and lack of sleep had turned us into a group of mindless zombies whose only thoughts were of water and a soft bed.

Isa. 40:31

Disclaimer: I would like to acknowledge Cobra Energy Drink, without which this trip would have been an utter failure.

Let's compare:
Red Bull-50mg of caffeine.
Cobra - 135mg.
WHOOOOO!
(no joke)

Happy Easter!

Easter at home is always a special occasion. I have memories waking up early on Easter morning to hunt for eggs and see what goodies were in my Easter Basket. Usually my family drove down to Phoenix to meet family for brunch. 

Here an entire week builds up to Easter. Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday and lasts until Easter. In the Philippines, it is a special time of year, and I've heard so many different experiences from different volunteers. It is here where the reenact the crucifiction with men getting nailed to the cross. Others received beautiful woven palm fronds on Palm Sunday.

My site was pretty quiet during Holy Week. I was invited to a baptism in Itogon Hot Springs near La Trinidad and so I decided to go support my friend JL. It was beautiful and I got a proper sunburn for the first time in the Philippines. I stayed a few nights with his family and introduced the Easter-egg hunt to the boys their before attending church.

Cleaning fish with Erika (PCV) during the baptism in Itogon.

School is out but teachers are still busy reporting to finish filling out forms and paperwork. I'm working on a massive excel spreadsheet to make it easier for them. We are also planning to initiate an Achievers League, which will be like an Honors Club to encourage good character and reward academic excellence. When not in school, I'm finishing up things for my apartment. The room has a lot of empty space so next chance I get I'm going to look for some hammocks to string up. I'll keep you updated!

Quick Update!

Maybe you remember my list of resolutions back in January? Well, I've decided to add to the list! I'm also keeping track of my progress. I've realized that some of these objectives are going to be a lot more difficult than I thought, while at the same time I'm constantly creating a mental list of new goals I want to accomplish. So, if you want to follow along, check out the list to the right! I'll update it and add to it whenever I get the chance.


Also, I know some of you get tired of checking in only to find that I still haven't posted anything new. So, to make your lives a little bit easier, I've added the "Subscribe by Email" option on the right side. If you enter your email, it will send you a message every time I update. Hope it helps!
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Now, I realized that I've been putting up lots of pictures of the things I go and see, but not a whole lot of the everyday life at my site. So here is a glimpse:


When you walk out of my apartment (which I'll show you next time!) you walk down some stairs, then up some stairs, and you come to National Highway. If you turn left, this is what you see:

The nearest brown building is the post office, and in the distance you can barely make out the Barangay fountain, which is our landmark. The sidewalks are a blessing and a curse. They protect us from insane drivers, but it is also where all of the dogs prefer to do their business. People here refer to them as "submarines."

Looking to the right, you will see:

A simple row of houses built along the highway. The mountain rises to the left and drops to the right. That doesn't keep people from building though! Just around the bend is the path going down to the high school, and the greed roof you see in the distance is the elementary school.

Graduation

The school year is over! The graduation ceremony was held last Thursday. The teachers and students all worked hard to set up the stage and decorate it with enough calla lilies to build a float. Parents slowly started to drift onto the campus as the seniors rushed around tucking in shirts, combing hair and looking for neck ties. Once everyone had gathered and was prepared for the the baccalaureate mass...it began to rain. So everyone picked up a chair and we all moved indoors. Luckily two of our classrooms had a divider in the middle that we were able to push back and everyone was able to cram inside. And just as the mass finished, the sun came out! So, everyone picked up their chair again and out we went.

Giving the message speech sent from the Secretary of Education

The graduates paraded across the stage with their parents, then there were speeches given by guests and the valedictorian. The diplomas were handed over one by one to the students and their parents, and then awards were given to those with accomplishments including honor students, sports champions, and competition winners. The morning was finished off by a song by the graduates and an oath of loyalty to the school. Overall, the ceremony took about four hours.

Nice ties! Turns out I'm the only one in this barangay who
knows how to tie a tie. The boys had to line up!

The girls in their native skirts.

Again, just as the principal was thanking everyone for coming, it began to rain again and everyone rushed back inside to shake hands with the graduates and give them flowers and other small tokens. Although I didn't teach the seniors, many were some of my favorite students and I always enjoyed casually talking to them. In the chaos of picture taking I was able to request the autograph of everyone, congratulating them and reminding them they're all capable of doing great things, and who knows...one day they might be famous!

Taking the Oath of Loyalty

Following the graduation ceremony, it is tradition in our small community for all of the graduates to have a "blow-out" party. It's the closest thing to Halloween they have here. Small groups of people go from house to house of all the graduates. But instead of a few pieces of candy, everyone is invited inside for a full meal!