The latest and greatest

September 23, 2013

I have been working with Miss Tina and Miss Jean in Nursery and Kinder the past few days.
It is really cool to be able to see them work with the kids, and to see how the kids respond to them.
In class I taught them some songs today, there is nothing like seeing a classroom of enthusiastic kids singing "If you love Jesus." 

I am still trying new things, some I can stomach more than others. The other night I tried Dilis: it stared at me, and I'm sure was cursing me as I chewed. It was quite terrible. Actually, the taste is not too bad; it is decently good. But getting over the fact that it's staring at me is hard, and I guess I can't do it yet, but I will try again! The boys ate the rest of my delicious Dilis. Lucky them.
Before I leave, my wonderful brothers have decided I am trying Balut. A wonderful dish... that I will probably puke while eating, but I guess I might as well try it just to say I did. Wish me luck! I'm hoping to put it off for at least 3 months.

Dilis.

Balut.  (They actually vary, some are a lot less developed and more runny, and others are more developed, etc.)

Some other things I have been doing have been a lot less unsettling to the stomach.
Friday we went to see a movie in Tagalog. None of us understood it, but that is okay! We got the gist.
Sunday afternoon the boys in our family had a basketball game. They did GREAT! We lost by a few points but everyone did really well. Especially Sir Nathan, Jake, and Joe. But maybe I am just biased.

Here is one of our wonderful moments cleaning the kitchen. One Direction of course, due to Jacob's request. 

The scary moth that joined us.

Joe being "manly" and playing his little fishy game.

Also, I got to meet a Filipino clown. 

Picture grayish pink make up all over an Asian face, a white yarn wig, rather feminine mannerisms, bright red lipstick, and a huge red nose. Tyler, if you thought clowns back home were scary... I can't even imagine your reaction if you met one here. 

I hope this finds everyone well, and 'hello' from Bacolod! 

-Sarah

P.S. The bugs are attracted to my computer screen, therefore I have bug guts on it. I am risking my life simply to keep you all informed on how I am doing. I STRONGLY DISLIKE BUGS!

Hello Bacolod

September 15th, 2013


Okay, I really will get better at doing this.
I have an excuse! We lost internet for a week and my blog language was changed to Tagalog.

My beautiful mommy, grandmother and baby brother are officially gone. So yes, I have now been adopted in to a new family.


Miss Karen (Mom), Sir Nathan (Dad), Joe (littlest big brother), Jacob (little big brother).



 

Things are completely different here in Bacolod. I hadn't considered a lot of the changes, and they came as a surprise to me. For instance,  we use a bucket and dipper to take a "bath" or "shower" (YES, I MISS NICE HOT LONG SHOWERS!!)  Laundry is hand washed and hung to dry in the yard, there is no hot water unless you heat it yourself, dishes are hand washed, and it is INCREDIBLY humid here. Although believe it or not, this dry Idaho girl is actually getting used to it.
"Lizards are our friends." I am told to repeat this quite often. Here, lizards frequent the house, along with ants, the occasional rat, other random insects, Milo (Our kitty!), and two sweaty boys.  It's actually not too bad at all, and the boys aren't actually that sweaty.
The rain is plentiful and beautiful! I love it! It get's cool and begins to pour, everything gets drenched and it's the best rain to dance in.
My new crazy family is pretty awesome! Generally, we/they dance in the kitchen while we are making or cleaning up from meals (*cough* Jacob and Sir Nathan. *cough*). Basketball is frequently discussed, and I'm always trying new foods. We had sardines tonight; I have no comment.
I guess there are a lot of differences here as opposed to back home. This short blog post doesn't even cover half of them (Church, language, culture, food, etc.). But the cool part is, despite the fact that nearly everything is foreign to me, one thing is the same. There will always be common ground with a handful of people wherever I go, no matter how different it is, and that is Jesus Christ.
He remains the same and that is a huge comfort in a place that is unfamiliar to me.

Until next time,

Sarah

P.S. Sardines are really not that great.

P.P.S Jake and I named the big lizard that hides in the wall Calamity Eduardo.

P.P.S Here's a bunch of random photos from our trip so far

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 September 3rd, 2013.
I left my wonderful Idaho! Let the adventures begin(:

The whole gang showed up to send me off, and my adopted Miller family and the wonderful Mrs. Blank. (:

And of course my beautiful, amazing, crazy family was there.

 I even had the honor of having my oldest sister/best friend there. I don't think I could have had a better "send off"

Our first flight was 2 hours long and we landed in San Francisco, we got off, went to our next plane, boarded and sat for the next 5 hours. Kalym did GREAT the first flight, just not so much the second one.

 

Once we landed, we met my Tita Elaine outside and she took us to our hotel.

 

 

 

 We walked around, ate dinner  and went to bed by 7:00 pm Hawaii time.

Aloha!