Day #6
Today was my favourite day of the Daan Batayan trip. Because we had to suffer for Jesus, again!
It started with a boat. Ok, maybe not. We drove, and THEN got on the boat.
The sea was looking a bit yucky when we left, but nearing Logon island, it got more beautiful, beautifuller! I mean seriously, the only thing i've seen that beats it was the beach in perth (oh gosh, just talking about it...). But that had to wait. We were brought first to a church, where the we had service. You ought to hear about it from the preacher of the day, Aaron. God moved, again. i would just like to add my little rambling, that this church had a better snare. Lol. But the most important thing was, God was there. And i'm sure that must have given Aaron a little surprise ;)
After that, we had to lug the food over to the beach. We saw our fish before it was cooked, and my, it was quite big by our standards! Me and Aaron kinda embarassed ourselves looking not at all macho carrying the rice. But, in our defence (puffs up chest), the handles were thin! Cutting into the hand. Haha. SOOOoo anyway, to the beets! My goodness. Sea urchin (admittedly not as good as hokkaido sea urchin), ba buey (pork), and lots of other goodies. And as if that was not enough, the SEA!
i was so sad to leave that island, and some faces...
Anyway that night, we went to another church. It had the best drumset i had seen so far, but like what Aaron mentioned, they did one of Kuya's pet peeves. (Read his blog, i'm not telling!) Pastor Daph got up to preach, and God moved, again. Lol! Amazing. Later an old lady i prayed for was like "aslkd alskdjfgl iopwueoi owpiedfl" and i was like "hmmm, yes, si". And they had this guy with an amazing talent - he could mimic a trumpet and some other brass instruments! Sounded like a 50's record or something. Absolutely talentabulous!
Back, bathe, sleep. Woot woot.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
This is For....
The Soccer Fans
Xiong who is in NCDF
Just to lighten the load of NCDF with a good laugh.
those who have finished NS
Lucky for us we don't have people like that defending our country.
Have a good laugh, it helps lots.
And I have a new haircut which looks terrible so thus I will not post it till next time
Alden was here.
Xiong who is in NCDF
Just to lighten the load of NCDF with a good laugh.
those who have finished NS
Lucky for us we don't have people like that defending our country.
Have a good laugh, it helps lots.
And I have a new haircut which looks terrible so thus I will not post it till next time
Alden was here.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Cebu Part 5 : "this is ministry"
Day #5
We woke up to Walter's howling. Breakfast, then we had "orientation" - a walk around the Daan Batayan. I was with Daryl, Aaron, Rachel, Ryan and some others. We went to see the cemetery (better than in Cebu City), walked into the villages (and into some backyards - man you gotta see it, nearly every house had a chill place - think lying down on cool bamboo with the sea breeze), past the slaughterhouse (where Aaron unleashed) and then to the school area. Some of the guys went in the opposite direction, to the marketplace. We met them halfway and then walked back. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, we met pastor Vic too. It's amazing, because he spends time just walking around and chatting with the villagers almost everyday... But i guess that's another story!
Next we went back to the village area, this time armed with a giant speaker (courtesy Aaron and Hiang). Dance, basketball, dance, balloons... you can just imagine the madness. I love how kuya was just able to like butt in everything - a mahjong (with cards) game, the basketball game, into village life! What he said woke me up a little too - these encik (ok, i'm quite sure its not spelt that way - chinese) spend their money and embarass themselves. Why? Not because they are good dancers, but because they want to share God's love!
Back, bath, service. Dwayne preached, and the message was well received. Kuya said later it was a slap to him, since Dwayne mentioned that faith is not necessarily dependent on age.
Haha - i know it's not as detailed, but i'm fighting the sniffles, so i get excuse right? Haha... Just check out Aaron's blog chaps.
We woke up to Walter's howling. Breakfast, then we had "orientation" - a walk around the Daan Batayan. I was with Daryl, Aaron, Rachel, Ryan and some others. We went to see the cemetery (better than in Cebu City), walked into the villages (and into some backyards - man you gotta see it, nearly every house had a chill place - think lying down on cool bamboo with the sea breeze), past the slaughterhouse (where Aaron unleashed) and then to the school area. Some of the guys went in the opposite direction, to the marketplace. We met them halfway and then walked back. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, we met pastor Vic too. It's amazing, because he spends time just walking around and chatting with the villagers almost everyday... But i guess that's another story!
Next we went back to the village area, this time armed with a giant speaker (courtesy Aaron and Hiang). Dance, basketball, dance, balloons... you can just imagine the madness. I love how kuya was just able to like butt in everything - a mahjong (with cards) game, the basketball game, into village life! What he said woke me up a little too - these encik (ok, i'm quite sure its not spelt that way - chinese) spend their money and embarass themselves. Why? Not because they are good dancers, but because they want to share God's love!
Back, bath, service. Dwayne preached, and the message was well received. Kuya said later it was a slap to him, since Dwayne mentioned that faith is not necessarily dependent on age.
Haha - i know it's not as detailed, but i'm fighting the sniffles, so i get excuse right? Haha... Just check out Aaron's blog chaps.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Cebu Part 4 (lemme think of a quote)
Day #4
I can't remember exactly, but I believe morning was just packing and early lunch, and then it was all on board and off to Daan Batayan!
The trip was about 5 hours, we had one pit stop. I was with Walter and Boy in the lorry all the while, and Lito was at the back with Wen Jie and then Choon Hiang. We got to witness firsthand police corruption, and i was laughing all the way, because Walter is such a cocomijante (or something - translates joker). i wish i remember half of what Walter taught me, but yeah. Baka is cow. Maybe the Japanese and Filippinos were together once, and that's where we get the phrase "stupid cow". Lol. Lemme rattle off somemore... nindut is nice, lugar is place (spanish charlene?), jagat is ocean, iro is dog, iring is cat, bogo means no brains (and is the name of a town, gasp!) and jollibee is KFC. Kidding.
Anyway that night we split into 2 upon reaching the church (not literally, 2 groups). I was with the unpacking/setting-up. I was half-dead, so although God moved with the group in the other church, i was pretty happy staying back and not letting others see a haggard necky. There's a story about Lynette, i think those of you who read Aaron's blog will know ;)
I was just so tired, not being able to sleep on the truck, that i totally forgot we hadn't eaten... Honestly, when the rest came back, i just wanted to sleep and not care about dinner. But well, dinner is dinner, this night kuya was gracious (and tired) so no debrief. Food was still not too bad, though not as good as previous nights since the girls didn't have much time.
I can't remember exactly, but I believe morning was just packing and early lunch, and then it was all on board and off to Daan Batayan!
The trip was about 5 hours, we had one pit stop. I was with Walter and Boy in the lorry all the while, and Lito was at the back with Wen Jie and then Choon Hiang. We got to witness firsthand police corruption, and i was laughing all the way, because Walter is such a cocomijante (or something - translates joker). i wish i remember half of what Walter taught me, but yeah. Baka is cow. Maybe the Japanese and Filippinos were together once, and that's where we get the phrase "stupid cow". Lol. Lemme rattle off somemore... nindut is nice, lugar is place (spanish charlene?), jagat is ocean, iro is dog, iring is cat, bogo means no brains (and is the name of a town, gasp!) and jollibee is KFC. Kidding.
Anyway that night we split into 2 upon reaching the church (not literally, 2 groups). I was with the unpacking/setting-up. I was half-dead, so although God moved with the group in the other church, i was pretty happy staying back and not letting others see a haggard necky. There's a story about Lynette, i think those of you who read Aaron's blog will know ;)
I was just so tired, not being able to sleep on the truck, that i totally forgot we hadn't eaten... Honestly, when the rest came back, i just wanted to sleep and not care about dinner. But well, dinner is dinner, this night kuya was gracious (and tired) so no debrief. Food was still not too bad, though not as good as previous nights since the girls didn't have much time.
Cebu Part 3 : "suffering for Jesus"
Day #3
The calm before the storm.
The day began with Chapel service, where i had to "preach". I had a crash course in body part naming convention, to add a little more authenticity to the message. After that was some downtime, where the Frisbee made its reappearance, and we had the chance to see the goat and the goatee (lol). Incidentally, goatee (as in chinny chin goatee) is bonggot.
After that lunch, and (my favourite quote from kuya) 'suffering for Jesus'!
For the uninitiated, in this case it meant SHOPPING!
We went to SM mall, and split into groups, where the madness began. I was with Aaron, Hiang and Lynette, and unfortunately we discovered the departmental store had cheap and good stuff a little too late after trawling around the mall. i saw a pair of Nike sneakers that i think i'll get in SG... Or maybe someone will get it for my 21st? Lol. I bought a cardigan only :( There were some nice Mr Bean shirts (i was thinking of getting some for myself and maybe for you 2 Bean boys in Aus, but the cut wasn't so good, unfortunately). There was a crocs waterfall (ok, not falling crocs, but the crocs stall was like... whoa.), and a CD store where the security guard (almost every store has one or two) was karaoke-ing away. When we passed the same store an hour later, there she was still, going strong! Ha.
Night was time for street feeding. Apparently the turnout (about 50) was less than usual, but it was still a handful? We danced and danced (at least i pretended to), and then fed them. I helped with water, and with amusement park rides. Amazing how much energy the kids expect you to have. Word of advice - only starting lifting the kids near the end - else you might have more than just aching hands! New shoes to old shoes in just 2 hours! But it was an eye opener. i was quite surprised to hear later there were street gangs and that the kids were in some! The older kids were a nuisance but for the younger ones, kids will be kids.
Kuya made us suffer for Jesus again after that - we went for barbecued food. Sedap! (Lemit!) Super oily, but it was yum yum still. Drink Lift! Great stuff.
Anyway we got back that night - some crashed immediately, some continued practicing dance steps, i learnt the alphabet by hand from Raymond. Sweet.
The calm before the storm.
The day began with Chapel service, where i had to "preach". I had a crash course in body part naming convention, to add a little more authenticity to the message. After that was some downtime, where the Frisbee made its reappearance, and we had the chance to see the goat and the goatee (lol). Incidentally, goatee (as in chinny chin goatee) is bonggot.
After that lunch, and (my favourite quote from kuya) 'suffering for Jesus'!
For the uninitiated, in this case it meant SHOPPING!
We went to SM mall, and split into groups, where the madness began. I was with Aaron, Hiang and Lynette, and unfortunately we discovered the departmental store had cheap and good stuff a little too late after trawling around the mall. i saw a pair of Nike sneakers that i think i'll get in SG... Or maybe someone will get it for my 21st? Lol. I bought a cardigan only :( There were some nice Mr Bean shirts (i was thinking of getting some for myself and maybe for you 2 Bean boys in Aus, but the cut wasn't so good, unfortunately). There was a crocs waterfall (ok, not falling crocs, but the crocs stall was like... whoa.), and a CD store where the security guard (almost every store has one or two) was karaoke-ing away. When we passed the same store an hour later, there she was still, going strong! Ha.
Night was time for street feeding. Apparently the turnout (about 50) was less than usual, but it was still a handful? We danced and danced (at least i pretended to), and then fed them. I helped with water, and with amusement park rides. Amazing how much energy the kids expect you to have. Word of advice - only starting lifting the kids near the end - else you might have more than just aching hands! New shoes to old shoes in just 2 hours! But it was an eye opener. i was quite surprised to hear later there were street gangs and that the kids were in some! The older kids were a nuisance but for the younger ones, kids will be kids.
Kuya made us suffer for Jesus again after that - we went for barbecued food. Sedap! (Lemit!) Super oily, but it was yum yum still. Drink Lift! Great stuff.
Anyway we got back that night - some crashed immediately, some continued practicing dance steps, i learnt the alphabet by hand from Raymond. Sweet.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Cebu Part 2 : 'it's not right or wrong, it's just different'
Day #2
I cannot stress how similar the Teen Challenge way of life is very SAF-style, and that it is effective! We were up at about 7am (ok, so that isn't very SAF) to the sound of PT (yes, PT) by the kids. Apparently, it's supposed to include a run down and up the hill where Teen Challenge is situated, one which Aaron and I were supposed to try but didn't in the end.
Euvin did devotions in the morning, on consequences, which i thought was rather excellent, if not slightly too long! But it was really good i thought :) It was our second time meeting the kids, the first being the previous night when we had a tour of TC. It's really amazing/embarrassing to see them worship! And you can hardly tell that these kids are from the streets - abused and what not. A testament of the changing power of love!
Then was breakfast (LOVE the omelette) and brief for the next orientation "City as a classroom". Basically we were split into groups headed by a TC staff each and walked/public transported to the city for immersion and a learning experience. My group (Rachel, Lao Ban) was headed by Lida, who happened to be one of the older and more educated staff. We started walking down the hill, directly into the backyard of some people. Amazing how much a hi-5 can break the ice for the kids! We had a small group of 5 or so kids follow us - just because of 1 hi-5. Lester has the photo to prove it! Next was exposure to the Cebu public transport system. Gypnee, motorised and cycled bikes, horse pulled carriage (not those grand fairytale ones). We had to interview each driver. While they all were sort of barely scraping, one had to keep in mind what kuya said - the people are content with what they have, it's just a different culture. To us the conditions may seem appalling, but they are used to it! Anyway to throw in some maths, think anything from 100-300 pesos profit a day for the driver. Around 6 pesos buys you rice, 80 pesos fish.
We visited some of the "attractions" - the Santa Nino church, the cemetery (as Kuya affectionately called the "souvenir shop"), the slums (which we passed on the highway, also called TC's "bible school"), and ended up at Sunburst restaurant for lunch. The cemetery was expecially interesting - there were people living there! They have no cash so they stay there, and work for some of the cemetery's richer "inhabitants", cleaning the graves and selling candles and such. It was weird to see kids running and playing around and on top of the graves, and Daryl pointed out the sign which said "no running/playing/living". As Choon Hiang put it, it felt almost more of a tourist attraction than a cemetery. The handling of corpses wasn't pretty either, they wait for bodies to decompose before placing the bones into the cavities in walls. You could tell how rich the families were by the decorations (one cavity i saw had about 8 names scrawled in the cement). Apparently, if the families cannot pay up the bones are excavated and placed in unnamed bags. Should the family be able to pay up later, any bag is taken. We also saw some of the graves of the really rich. One was almost a small house (i think costing 80 million pesos), with 2 storeys and with electricity - for the family to come and stay over.
The slums were also an eye-opener. I am told that in past years the kids would come running to you, but this year was very quiet - mostly due to the relocation. Unlike Aaron and Wen Jie's group, we did not visit the kids under the highway, due to time constraints.
After lunch was a visit to the church, where Lida payed a lady to pray for us with candles (for the experience of course). Then we queued to see the Santa Nino (baby Jesus) statue, and also saw the Magellan's Cross. Apparently when the ladies pray they have to dance to keep baby Jesus' attention. Which was pretty amusing i thought.
After that was return to TC for dinner on motorbike, and, to steal from Aaron, another night drive, where we got to try balut. i didn't think it was anything really special, just that the juice reminded me of crabs. Hmm...
Night was fun, we had musical mafia. In the first game I accused Lester on gut instinct, which led to me being killed in the end, and in the end who won? Lester and Dwayne, the mafia. Lol. In another, me and Ryan (with everyone's help) managed to trick everyone into killing each other.
It was fun.
I cannot stress how similar the Teen Challenge way of life is very SAF-style, and that it is effective! We were up at about 7am (ok, so that isn't very SAF) to the sound of PT (yes, PT) by the kids. Apparently, it's supposed to include a run down and up the hill where Teen Challenge is situated, one which Aaron and I were supposed to try but didn't in the end.
Euvin did devotions in the morning, on consequences, which i thought was rather excellent, if not slightly too long! But it was really good i thought :) It was our second time meeting the kids, the first being the previous night when we had a tour of TC. It's really amazing/embarrassing to see them worship! And you can hardly tell that these kids are from the streets - abused and what not. A testament of the changing power of love!
Then was breakfast (LOVE the omelette) and brief for the next orientation "City as a classroom". Basically we were split into groups headed by a TC staff each and walked/public transported to the city for immersion and a learning experience. My group (Rachel, Lao Ban) was headed by Lida, who happened to be one of the older and more educated staff. We started walking down the hill, directly into the backyard of some people. Amazing how much a hi-5 can break the ice for the kids! We had a small group of 5 or so kids follow us - just because of 1 hi-5. Lester has the photo to prove it! Next was exposure to the Cebu public transport system. Gypnee, motorised and cycled bikes, horse pulled carriage (not those grand fairytale ones). We had to interview each driver. While they all were sort of barely scraping, one had to keep in mind what kuya said - the people are content with what they have, it's just a different culture. To us the conditions may seem appalling, but they are used to it! Anyway to throw in some maths, think anything from 100-300 pesos profit a day for the driver. Around 6 pesos buys you rice, 80 pesos fish.
We visited some of the "attractions" - the Santa Nino church, the cemetery (as Kuya affectionately called the "souvenir shop"), the slums (which we passed on the highway, also called TC's "bible school"), and ended up at Sunburst restaurant for lunch. The cemetery was expecially interesting - there were people living there! They have no cash so they stay there, and work for some of the cemetery's richer "inhabitants", cleaning the graves and selling candles and such. It was weird to see kids running and playing around and on top of the graves, and Daryl pointed out the sign which said "no running/playing/living". As Choon Hiang put it, it felt almost more of a tourist attraction than a cemetery. The handling of corpses wasn't pretty either, they wait for bodies to decompose before placing the bones into the cavities in walls. You could tell how rich the families were by the decorations (one cavity i saw had about 8 names scrawled in the cement). Apparently, if the families cannot pay up the bones are excavated and placed in unnamed bags. Should the family be able to pay up later, any bag is taken. We also saw some of the graves of the really rich. One was almost a small house (i think costing 80 million pesos), with 2 storeys and with electricity - for the family to come and stay over.
The slums were also an eye-opener. I am told that in past years the kids would come running to you, but this year was very quiet - mostly due to the relocation. Unlike Aaron and Wen Jie's group, we did not visit the kids under the highway, due to time constraints.
After lunch was a visit to the church, where Lida payed a lady to pray for us with candles (for the experience of course). Then we queued to see the Santa Nino (baby Jesus) statue, and also saw the Magellan's Cross. Apparently when the ladies pray they have to dance to keep baby Jesus' attention. Which was pretty amusing i thought.
After that was return to TC for dinner on motorbike, and, to steal from Aaron, another night drive, where we got to try balut. i didn't think it was anything really special, just that the juice reminded me of crabs. Hmm...
Night was fun, we had musical mafia. In the first game I accused Lester on gut instinct, which led to me being killed in the end, and in the end who won? Lester and Dwayne, the mafia. Lol. In another, me and Ryan (with everyone's help) managed to trick everyone into killing each other.
It was fun.
Cebu Part 1 : 'your life will never be the same'
Day #0:
We had a meeting the day before flying off. I lugged all my stuff to Church (ok so dad drove) and then to Aaron's for sleepover :) Not that we had time to do much, mostly just watched Youtube with Caleb and hung out. Slept 12.10am.
Day #1:
Up dark (in Cebu it's bright) and early. Lift from Uncle Choy to airport, where we met everyone else. Thank God for online check-ins! Euvin brought only one bag (admittedly a huge backpack), while others like the 2 Tans had hand carry luggage that was comparable to check in luggage. Quite a number of people came to see us off, was surprised that Josh and some of the army chaps were there as well!
So we checked in and had breakfast at some class-ish cafe (Susanne's and Charlene's workplace), and then some cleared their systems before boarding.
The flight was alright, definitely better than North West despite not having personal entertainment systems and being a much smaller plane. I was in the same row as (in order) Rachelle, Gabriel, Abel, Ryan and Susanne, so you can imagine the nonsense and camera flashes produced. There was a transit stop in Davao before we were whisked off again.
I cannot stress that we should all appreciate Changi Airport. I've been to a few in the past month, and still nothing beats Singapore!
Anyway. We landed, and had a warm welcome by Kuya Jacob, Daryl and some of the male staff, then a ride to Teen Challenge in San Carlos Heights. It was a very interesting ride - i am now thankful none of us had to drive. It seemed to me that traffic lights are only followed at certain junctions, and some of us found it amusing that Kuya could just stop the gypnee (however you spell it) and come out and talk to us! Of course in the middle of a traffic jam.
One of the most striking parts of the drive was on the highway, where Kuya told us to 'look to the left and not the right', which of course implied that we should look right. The highway was a new initiative by the government to "beautify" the city. So on the left, the beautiful ocean. The right, the slums and septic water. Later we would learn that the government had been relocating the squatters - another "beautification". Kuya told me that it was not the best solution, since in the end the kids still end up on the streets.
I was actually very surprised when we arrived at Teen Challenge. It was actually rather well equipped and clean! But of course, there are tons of stories about that. Next time if you have the chance to go Cebu, talk to Kuya Jacob and Ateh Doris - they will tell you about God's grace and His blessing. How, with the amount of property Teen Challenge now owns (i think 6), they are technically millionaires in that sense. How nearly every part was built by hand over the 22 years by the rehabs. And how beautiful the view is at night. I've not been to Paris, but i bet, despite the squats and the smoke chimneys, the nightscape gives it a run for the money!
Anyway, 10 boys and 6 girls - obviously one room would be rowdier than the other! Chocolate took on a whole new meaning everytime we clogged the toiletbowl (or CR, as they called it), and poor Walter (one of the staff - who i affectionately remember for his howl) had to help us i think about 4 times. I shall not mention that Dwayne (oops) clogged the toiletbowl once.
Kuya was very gracious to us this trip, we just had to unpack and have dinner, as opposed to the horror story i was told about the trippers last year who arrived at dawn and had to go for a service immediately, and unprepared. Dinner was great! It was my first introduction to bulat, a small fish (not small as in ikan bilis small), fried to a crisp so you eat EVERYTHING. I LOVED IT. But like David Palmer would say, your best days are ahead of you, and other good food was to come!
Kuya likes to use before and after mealtimes to do briefing and debriefing, and i always thought that each time was like a mini-sermon of sorts. I wish i had better memory cause he had a lot of quotes! So anyway he gave us some pointers about how in Philippines, relationships take precedence, and some stories about how important respecting another's culture is, and a brief about the rest of the trip. It's interesting that this team was highlighted as a "ministry" team - given the demographic of mostly 17-year olds. Something that Kuya didn't tell us he was "worried" about till the end of the trip ;)
We had a meeting the day before flying off. I lugged all my stuff to Church (ok so dad drove) and then to Aaron's for sleepover :) Not that we had time to do much, mostly just watched Youtube with Caleb and hung out. Slept 12.10am.
Day #1:
Up dark (in Cebu it's bright) and early. Lift from Uncle Choy to airport, where we met everyone else. Thank God for online check-ins! Euvin brought only one bag (admittedly a huge backpack), while others like the 2 Tans had hand carry luggage that was comparable to check in luggage. Quite a number of people came to see us off, was surprised that Josh and some of the army chaps were there as well!
So we checked in and had breakfast at some class-ish cafe (Susanne's and Charlene's workplace), and then some cleared their systems before boarding.
The flight was alright, definitely better than North West despite not having personal entertainment systems and being a much smaller plane. I was in the same row as (in order) Rachelle, Gabriel, Abel, Ryan and Susanne, so you can imagine the nonsense and camera flashes produced. There was a transit stop in Davao before we were whisked off again.
I cannot stress that we should all appreciate Changi Airport. I've been to a few in the past month, and still nothing beats Singapore!
Anyway. We landed, and had a warm welcome by Kuya Jacob, Daryl and some of the male staff, then a ride to Teen Challenge in San Carlos Heights. It was a very interesting ride - i am now thankful none of us had to drive. It seemed to me that traffic lights are only followed at certain junctions, and some of us found it amusing that Kuya could just stop the gypnee (however you spell it) and come out and talk to us! Of course in the middle of a traffic jam.
One of the most striking parts of the drive was on the highway, where Kuya told us to 'look to the left and not the right', which of course implied that we should look right. The highway was a new initiative by the government to "beautify" the city. So on the left, the beautiful ocean. The right, the slums and septic water. Later we would learn that the government had been relocating the squatters - another "beautification". Kuya told me that it was not the best solution, since in the end the kids still end up on the streets.
I was actually very surprised when we arrived at Teen Challenge. It was actually rather well equipped and clean! But of course, there are tons of stories about that. Next time if you have the chance to go Cebu, talk to Kuya Jacob and Ateh Doris - they will tell you about God's grace and His blessing. How, with the amount of property Teen Challenge now owns (i think 6), they are technically millionaires in that sense. How nearly every part was built by hand over the 22 years by the rehabs. And how beautiful the view is at night. I've not been to Paris, but i bet, despite the squats and the smoke chimneys, the nightscape gives it a run for the money!
Anyway, 10 boys and 6 girls - obviously one room would be rowdier than the other! Chocolate took on a whole new meaning everytime we clogged the toiletbowl (or CR, as they called it), and poor Walter (one of the staff - who i affectionately remember for his howl) had to help us i think about 4 times. I shall not mention that Dwayne (oops) clogged the toiletbowl once.
Kuya was very gracious to us this trip, we just had to unpack and have dinner, as opposed to the horror story i was told about the trippers last year who arrived at dawn and had to go for a service immediately, and unprepared. Dinner was great! It was my first introduction to bulat, a small fish (not small as in ikan bilis small), fried to a crisp so you eat EVERYTHING. I LOVED IT. But like David Palmer would say, your best days are ahead of you, and other good food was to come!
Kuya likes to use before and after mealtimes to do briefing and debriefing, and i always thought that each time was like a mini-sermon of sorts. I wish i had better memory cause he had a lot of quotes! So anyway he gave us some pointers about how in Philippines, relationships take precedence, and some stories about how important respecting another's culture is, and a brief about the rest of the trip. It's interesting that this team was highlighted as a "ministry" team - given the demographic of mostly 17-year olds. Something that Kuya didn't tell us he was "worried" about till the end of the trip ;)
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