So it's been awhile since I've updated my blog, I guess there hasn't been enough to tell (or want to tell!) so I've done a little reflection! I'll hopefully add some photos later in the week! Merry 'early' Christmas everyone!
I woke up this morning and before I knew it reality set in.
I am not home, I do not have the comforts I usually have.
I look around from my bed, there is my kitchen, and there is my bathroom.
All in one room I feel trapped, I feel stuck, I have nowhere to go.
But it doesn’t stop me; it doesn’t stop me from getting up.
So I get going, get started for the day.
Wonder what is going to be beyond those doors.
What child is going to ask for money?
What adult is going to sing “Wish you merry Christmas” again
I learn to say “wala”, means nothing
Most of the time, they give up other times and more recently they follow you ‘wala’ isn’t enough.
I walk up to the shops, pass the colourful jeepneys, and pass the young children carrying their baby siblings in over sized clothes sometimes wearing nothing at all.
I wonder what life is like for these children, I wonder what I could do to help them because I know money isn’t the answer – money encourages them to come back for more and we don’t want that.
There is a feel in the air of happiness, people are more giving and there seems to be carol singers everywhere! After all Christmas is a big celebration here.
Maybe this is why there are more people asking for money and not saying wala is not enough.
I feel and I know that Christmas is a time to give and I’ve already given to those that are in need that I am connected on a personal note, isn’t that enough!
So after I’ve made it to and from the shops, I head home to the safety net of my four walls. I tell one girl ‘wala’ as she follows me down the lane. One of the locals hisses at her to leave me alone and eventually she gives up and walks away
Reality is I can only do so much!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Chasing the kite
I had one of those moments where my heart was torn in two!
I spent the day volunteering for the children's rights festival, a festival that two of my friends (fellow volunteers) had been working on. It was an amazing day, a day I will forever remember.
The fesitval was a celebration of the 21st birthday of the National Convention of the rights of the child and saw many small NGOs, local governments and schools come together to celebrate.
There were approx. 3000 children from all walks off life and backgrounds that had registered for the event and another 100 if not more that came off the street.
Yeah I spent the day mainly pouring cups of water for children and handing out food but I did get to spend sometime interacting with some of the children including children from shelters and homeless children.
But one story that will forever stick in my head is the little boy who wanted a kite!
I had just finished my lunch and was sitting with a friend in the media tent when I was interacting with three of the street children and one little boy from a shelter. He was a lovely boy who instanly connected with me - he was being rather cheeky and kept poking me and running away! We started to play and he grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the event - he kept running accross the oval, I followed him intrigued to see where he was going and what he wanted. We finally reached the end of the oval and he pointed towards a small cart with kites and balloons - he said in broken english: "I want a kite"
Thinking wow how am I going to say no to this one so I asked the man how much, he told me 40 pesos, 40 pesos thats 1 australian dollars, 1 australian dollar what difference was that going to make so I thought if I could make one boy smile then a kite it would be!
So together we counted out the last couple of coins I had and he took the 40 pesos to the man and bought himself a kite. His face just lit up and he run off with the kite in the air, he came running back and said "You made me happy" and then he ran off again - around and around he went whilst I held back tears.
He kept coming back throughout the day to give me a big cuddle. For the whole afternoon I kept seeing this little boy helding tightly onto his kite so he could keep a close eye on it.
I spent the afternoon wondering if I was going to end up with 3000 children from the festival also wanting a kite, thankfully word didn't get out! :-)
It was that small thing that I did for that little boy, it only cost me $1 but I know that I made a difference to that boys day!
It was a powerful day, with so many smiles on these children's faces over the simplist things. The volunteers that worked hard to get the event up and running did one amazing job!
And it will certainly be a day I will never forget!
Love Zoe
I spent the day volunteering for the children's rights festival, a festival that two of my friends (fellow volunteers) had been working on. It was an amazing day, a day I will forever remember.
The fesitval was a celebration of the 21st birthday of the National Convention of the rights of the child and saw many small NGOs, local governments and schools come together to celebrate.
There were approx. 3000 children from all walks off life and backgrounds that had registered for the event and another 100 if not more that came off the street.
Yeah I spent the day mainly pouring cups of water for children and handing out food but I did get to spend sometime interacting with some of the children including children from shelters and homeless children.
But one story that will forever stick in my head is the little boy who wanted a kite!
I had just finished my lunch and was sitting with a friend in the media tent when I was interacting with three of the street children and one little boy from a shelter. He was a lovely boy who instanly connected with me - he was being rather cheeky and kept poking me and running away! We started to play and he grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the event - he kept running accross the oval, I followed him intrigued to see where he was going and what he wanted. We finally reached the end of the oval and he pointed towards a small cart with kites and balloons - he said in broken english: "I want a kite"
Thinking wow how am I going to say no to this one so I asked the man how much, he told me 40 pesos, 40 pesos thats 1 australian dollars, 1 australian dollar what difference was that going to make so I thought if I could make one boy smile then a kite it would be!
So together we counted out the last couple of coins I had and he took the 40 pesos to the man and bought himself a kite. His face just lit up and he run off with the kite in the air, he came running back and said "You made me happy" and then he ran off again - around and around he went whilst I held back tears.
He kept coming back throughout the day to give me a big cuddle. For the whole afternoon I kept seeing this little boy helding tightly onto his kite so he could keep a close eye on it.
I spent the afternoon wondering if I was going to end up with 3000 children from the festival also wanting a kite, thankfully word didn't get out! :-)
It was that small thing that I did for that little boy, it only cost me $1 but I know that I made a difference to that boys day!
It was a powerful day, with so many smiles on these children's faces over the simplist things. The volunteers that worked hard to get the event up and running did one amazing job!
And it will certainly be a day I will never forget!
Love Zoe
The boy with his kite!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Two weeks of adventure
Well what an amazing two weeks I have had!
I finally have had the opportunity to spend some of my time being a 'tourist' around the Philippines.
I spent my first weekend away with two friends in Malapascua Island where we spent diving, relaxing, swimming and sight seeing! Malapascua is a three hour bus ride north of Cebu and then a boat trip across. I did three dives here and have now completed ten dives! For the first time I dived with 7 white tip reef sharks, they were amazing! I enjoyed watching sun rise and taking many photographs! We had a beach side little hut where on the first night we were attacked by mosquittos! One morning, I was up at the crack of dawn to enjoy a walk around the island, I wondered through the village and watched pigs being slaughtered, which was pretty yucky but part of life here in the Philippines! They were being slaughtered for a celebration dinner for All Saints Day. A day where families come together to spend the night at the cemetry remembering love ones.
After spending three days in Malapascua we headed back to Cebu City to catch a ferry across to Bohol. We stayed in the city centre for the night before hiring a trike for three hours to go from the tasiers (little monkeys) to the Chocolate hills before finishing up at Danao. Three hours on the trike was extremely painful! At one stage we didn't think we were going to make it Danao, as the place we were heading to was off the beaten track and the driver had to keep asking people where the park was. We arrived with a couple of daylight hours left so we checked in and went on the suislide, similar to zipline but lying down. We were like superman crossing the valley! We spent the night at the adventure park and got up early to enjoy a caving and tubing. After we finished our small tour at the adventure park we caught a motorbike to the Danao to catch the bus back to city centre, much cheaper way than hiring a trike!
After Bohol it was off to Manila for me as I had to attend a teacher congress in Taygaytay, an hour trip out of Manila. Taygaytay has the smallest volcano in the world Mt Taal. The hotel we stayed in has stunning views of the volcano so atleast I got to see some views of the volcano. The congress was good, I was able to gain some information regarding working with visual impaired students. It was hard to get use to the fact that I had to share a double bed with a filipino teacher, I just meet! I found it really hard with the Filipino's shyness, as many times they would sit next to me during the conference and not say anything to me until the end to simply ask for my cell phone number, if I had Facebook and/or if they could have a photo of me!
After the congress it was off to Antipolo to welcome the next lot of volunteers - it was good to meet some like-minded people adventuring into their own personal journey but also to catch up with everyone else living in the Philippines and reflect on how far we've come!
After spending a week with the volunteers a group of us decided to trek to Mt Pinatubo, a volcano that last erupted in 1991 and the crater has formed a crystal blue/green lake. The next 24 hours was one crazy story! We decided that we would bus up to Capas, a small town near Angeles. Angeles is known for its sex bars and hotels, which we soon learnt also occurs in Capas! We arrived when it was dark and got dropped off in the main town. We had recieved a text from the trekking company to try the eco lodge so we organised with two trike drivers to take us to this eco lodge. The trike drivers were happy to take us there but they had no idea where they were going and had to stop to ask a couple of times! We finally found the place and one of the girls walked in to check out the place and the owner made a passing comment "Oh three girls and a guy!" We looked in the room and I had never seen anything like it (I wish I had my camera for this!), it had just a small double bed that looked extremly unclean and a toilet in the bathroom (nothing else). You could tell what this room was used for. We decided that no this wasn't going to be the place for us so the trike drivers continued up the road and we found a resort. Strange resort - had garage doors and again wasn't the best place but better than the first. After a small discussion and deciding that it was getting late, we needed to make a decision fast so we decided to stay there organised for the trikes to pick us up at 4.30am the next morning to take us up to the start of the trek to Mt Pinutubo. Two of us took a trike into town to get Maccas for dinner before heading back and crashing ready for our hike!
The trike picked us up the next morning, we arrived at 6am to sign for the trek to discover the place wasn't open (even when she said we had to be there at 6am!) We hadn't had breakfast and there wasn't much in town to eat! Finally the place opened, we organised food etc and got onto the 4wd to start the trek. We crossed over volcanic ash, rivers and lots of rocks to get to our starting point. We treked up for two hours, finally arriving at the lake, which was amazing! It was so pretty and so worth the trip up. We dipper our feet into the lake before trekking the two hours back to the 4wd drive. After refreashing and enjoying a filipino lunch we paid money to get into a 4wd to get to the main town to head back home to Manila. Arrived fairly late and pretty much slept!
I headed back home on the Sunday and am now facing reality, as I head back to work and re-focus on my assignment.
I hope everyone is doing well back home!
Love Zoe
I finally have had the opportunity to spend some of my time being a 'tourist' around the Philippines.
I spent my first weekend away with two friends in Malapascua Island where we spent diving, relaxing, swimming and sight seeing! Malapascua is a three hour bus ride north of Cebu and then a boat trip across. I did three dives here and have now completed ten dives! For the first time I dived with 7 white tip reef sharks, they were amazing! I enjoyed watching sun rise and taking many photographs! We had a beach side little hut where on the first night we were attacked by mosquittos! One morning, I was up at the crack of dawn to enjoy a walk around the island, I wondered through the village and watched pigs being slaughtered, which was pretty yucky but part of life here in the Philippines! They were being slaughtered for a celebration dinner for All Saints Day. A day where families come together to spend the night at the cemetry remembering love ones.
After spending three days in Malapascua we headed back to Cebu City to catch a ferry across to Bohol. We stayed in the city centre for the night before hiring a trike for three hours to go from the tasiers (little monkeys) to the Chocolate hills before finishing up at Danao. Three hours on the trike was extremely painful! At one stage we didn't think we were going to make it Danao, as the place we were heading to was off the beaten track and the driver had to keep asking people where the park was. We arrived with a couple of daylight hours left so we checked in and went on the suislide, similar to zipline but lying down. We were like superman crossing the valley! We spent the night at the adventure park and got up early to enjoy a caving and tubing. After we finished our small tour at the adventure park we caught a motorbike to the Danao to catch the bus back to city centre, much cheaper way than hiring a trike!
After Bohol it was off to Manila for me as I had to attend a teacher congress in Taygaytay, an hour trip out of Manila. Taygaytay has the smallest volcano in the world Mt Taal. The hotel we stayed in has stunning views of the volcano so atleast I got to see some views of the volcano. The congress was good, I was able to gain some information regarding working with visual impaired students. It was hard to get use to the fact that I had to share a double bed with a filipino teacher, I just meet! I found it really hard with the Filipino's shyness, as many times they would sit next to me during the conference and not say anything to me until the end to simply ask for my cell phone number, if I had Facebook and/or if they could have a photo of me!
After the congress it was off to Antipolo to welcome the next lot of volunteers - it was good to meet some like-minded people adventuring into their own personal journey but also to catch up with everyone else living in the Philippines and reflect on how far we've come!
After spending a week with the volunteers a group of us decided to trek to Mt Pinatubo, a volcano that last erupted in 1991 and the crater has formed a crystal blue/green lake. The next 24 hours was one crazy story! We decided that we would bus up to Capas, a small town near Angeles. Angeles is known for its sex bars and hotels, which we soon learnt also occurs in Capas! We arrived when it was dark and got dropped off in the main town. We had recieved a text from the trekking company to try the eco lodge so we organised with two trike drivers to take us to this eco lodge. The trike drivers were happy to take us there but they had no idea where they were going and had to stop to ask a couple of times! We finally found the place and one of the girls walked in to check out the place and the owner made a passing comment "Oh three girls and a guy!" We looked in the room and I had never seen anything like it (I wish I had my camera for this!), it had just a small double bed that looked extremly unclean and a toilet in the bathroom (nothing else). You could tell what this room was used for. We decided that no this wasn't going to be the place for us so the trike drivers continued up the road and we found a resort. Strange resort - had garage doors and again wasn't the best place but better than the first. After a small discussion and deciding that it was getting late, we needed to make a decision fast so we decided to stay there organised for the trikes to pick us up at 4.30am the next morning to take us up to the start of the trek to Mt Pinutubo. Two of us took a trike into town to get Maccas for dinner before heading back and crashing ready for our hike!
The trike picked us up the next morning, we arrived at 6am to sign for the trek to discover the place wasn't open (even when she said we had to be there at 6am!) We hadn't had breakfast and there wasn't much in town to eat! Finally the place opened, we organised food etc and got onto the 4wd to start the trek. We crossed over volcanic ash, rivers and lots of rocks to get to our starting point. We treked up for two hours, finally arriving at the lake, which was amazing! It was so pretty and so worth the trip up. We dipper our feet into the lake before trekking the two hours back to the 4wd drive. After refreashing and enjoying a filipino lunch we paid money to get into a 4wd to get to the main town to head back home to Manila. Arrived fairly late and pretty much slept!
I headed back home on the Sunday and am now facing reality, as I head back to work and re-focus on my assignment.
I hope everyone is doing well back home!
Love Zoe
Caving in Bohol
The village in Malapascua Island
Stunning beaches
One of the locals in Bohol
Chocolate Hills, Bohol
The hut we stayed in on Malapascua Island
Mt Taal
4wd up to the starting point to trek to Mt Pinutubo
Beginning the trek
The crater lake
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Almost 8 weeks in!
Wow, can you believe I have been here for nearly 8 weeks where has time gone!
And things have been going pretty well! Work has been pretty busy with continuing establishing positive relationships with both the university and of course the teachers and students I work with. I have also established an Individual Education Plan that will help support learning outcomes. I have spent two days observing the elementary classes and have begun to grasp an understanding on the education system of the Philippines. I enjoyed watching the 40 students in each class as they stood up to welcome 'teacher Zoe' into the class and as I was leaving stood up to say goodbye. I love the fact now that I can walk around the school and hear children jumping up and down calling out 'Teacher Zoe, Teacher Zoe' across the yard! I also found it quite amusing as each student during a break came up to me to ask if they could use the CR (comfort room) and when I said yes, half the class would laugh at me! I'm not sure whether the students really needed to use the comfort room or whether it was my strange accent that they wanted to hear!
After six weeks of emailing to get sponsorship, I recieved my first donation from an Resource for the Blind in America - they have donated some picture story books for the children written in braille!
I have also just recently finished interviewing the families at the centre and the stories they have told are amazing. With the two teachers, we have updated all the children's information and assessed the students level of independence.
This week has seen the first week of holidays - it is there semester break so the school is closed for three weeks, however I am busy working as I have lots of work to get done before I head away the weekend after next!
I have also been busy being a 'tourist' around the Philippines as I have started to travel out of Cebu City.
A couple of weekends ago I decided to test my new underwater camera at Apo Island just off the Island of Negros. I stayed with a friend in Dumaguete and went out to Apo Island on the Saturday. Although I was the only one snorkelling, the rest were diving I still had a ball watching the fish go by! The coral was amazing and even better I got to see my first turtle! It was a little disappointing that I only saw one but one is better than none! This trip has made me consider getting my diving license so will be doing my first discovery dive this Saturday and will decide then whether I can go ahead and get my certification.
Last weekend saw me head to Bacolod to visit some friends but also to see the big Masskara festival. Masskara means 'Multititude of Smiling faces" as the story goes the town back in the 80's experienced a crisis with a boat that collided with another boat killing about 700 people from Bacolod which cause a very depressed feel around the town so the local government decided to throw a festival. It was a big couple of nights with lots of street parades, street parties, lots of crazy food and mixing with fellow volunteers. It was really good to catch up with everyone. I also had the opportunity to visit some of the heritage houses and see the Ruins. It was a very short trip but well worth it!
Next weekend will be a quite one (apart from my dive) but then for the next couple of weekends/weeks I will be away seeing many islands in the Philippines! We also welcome the next lots of volunteers in the first week of November and our intake have the job of organising and running some of the sessions!
Apart from travelling and working, I have started to enjoy a regular lesson or dance out of Belly dancing as well as running and swimming!
With the typhoon up in Manila we have been getting alot of rain and many thunderstorms but apart from that all is going well!
Hope everyone is going well back home!
Lots of love Zoe
And things have been going pretty well! Work has been pretty busy with continuing establishing positive relationships with both the university and of course the teachers and students I work with. I have also established an Individual Education Plan that will help support learning outcomes. I have spent two days observing the elementary classes and have begun to grasp an understanding on the education system of the Philippines. I enjoyed watching the 40 students in each class as they stood up to welcome 'teacher Zoe' into the class and as I was leaving stood up to say goodbye. I love the fact now that I can walk around the school and hear children jumping up and down calling out 'Teacher Zoe, Teacher Zoe' across the yard! I also found it quite amusing as each student during a break came up to me to ask if they could use the CR (comfort room) and when I said yes, half the class would laugh at me! I'm not sure whether the students really needed to use the comfort room or whether it was my strange accent that they wanted to hear!
After six weeks of emailing to get sponsorship, I recieved my first donation from an Resource for the Blind in America - they have donated some picture story books for the children written in braille!
I have also just recently finished interviewing the families at the centre and the stories they have told are amazing. With the two teachers, we have updated all the children's information and assessed the students level of independence.
This week has seen the first week of holidays - it is there semester break so the school is closed for three weeks, however I am busy working as I have lots of work to get done before I head away the weekend after next!
I have also been busy being a 'tourist' around the Philippines as I have started to travel out of Cebu City.
A couple of weekends ago I decided to test my new underwater camera at Apo Island just off the Island of Negros. I stayed with a friend in Dumaguete and went out to Apo Island on the Saturday. Although I was the only one snorkelling, the rest were diving I still had a ball watching the fish go by! The coral was amazing and even better I got to see my first turtle! It was a little disappointing that I only saw one but one is better than none! This trip has made me consider getting my diving license so will be doing my first discovery dive this Saturday and will decide then whether I can go ahead and get my certification.
Last weekend saw me head to Bacolod to visit some friends but also to see the big Masskara festival. Masskara means 'Multititude of Smiling faces" as the story goes the town back in the 80's experienced a crisis with a boat that collided with another boat killing about 700 people from Bacolod which cause a very depressed feel around the town so the local government decided to throw a festival. It was a big couple of nights with lots of street parades, street parties, lots of crazy food and mixing with fellow volunteers. It was really good to catch up with everyone. I also had the opportunity to visit some of the heritage houses and see the Ruins. It was a very short trip but well worth it!
Next weekend will be a quite one (apart from my dive) but then for the next couple of weekends/weeks I will be away seeing many islands in the Philippines! We also welcome the next lots of volunteers in the first week of November and our intake have the job of organising and running some of the sessions!
Apart from travelling and working, I have started to enjoy a regular lesson or dance out of Belly dancing as well as running and swimming!
With the typhoon up in Manila we have been getting alot of rain and many thunderstorms but apart from that all is going well!
Hope everyone is going well back home!
Lots of love Zoe
Partying it up with the locals at Masskara
Just one of the many floats
One of the heritage houses
The many 'smile' masks
The 'ruins'
Riding a trik to the ruins
On arriving home from Bacolod my landlord had put up a christmas decoration up on my door
- think its early? Its not, they were playing christmas music back in September!
(sorry for the side photo but the computer is doing tricks on me!)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Moving in a new direction!
What a week it has been - I continue working at the braille school and feel like I am moving forward slowly but surely!
I experienced my first field trip as they call it here (I kept calling it an excursion and they just looked at me blankly!) We headed to a little crocodile park with a many different Asian animals including the tarsiers, the philippino eagle and a few other little random animals inwhich I had never seen before from asia (one looked very similar to what I think a sloth looks like!) I must admit it was a very different 'excursion' to what I am use to back home - no parent permission slips went out - at first I was concerned about this, wasn't sure if it was just the philippino way or whether the school just lacked an understanding on safety issues. I soon found out that it is a requirment but the teacher has never had to write one - so of course that got me thinking and asking a lot of questions regarding policies and procedures within the centre. I'm very consious of being a 'westerniser' and the fact that the Philippines do things differently but I have had some concern about the welfare of the students. (This has been an issue for the teachers as well, as they are so far under resources and don't have the knowledge!)
So I am now also possible writing some policies and procedures for the centre (of course I can only get started on this) as I don't want to end up focusing on just this.
The field trip, was good fun and the parents/caregivers attended the day so in the end it wasn't a big issue that parents hadn't given permission because it become more of a 'fun' day. We all rode a jeepney to the park and I soon learnt that this was OK as long as no children were riding on the roof!
This weekend has certainly been extremly busy - I got to enjoy watching the Pies win the grandfinal with a few aussies (not many) but drinking $2 beers was pretty awesome!
And today I enjoyed running in ther 'Pink' cancer fun run as an unregistered runner! It was a good run considering I haven't gone for a ran since early last year but I managed alright apart from the fact that they don't close the roads so jeepneys, taxis and motorboke were still on the roads and yes we had to give way to them - thats of course you were a hard core runner which meant you could get a motorbike escort!
This has really made me what to get back into my running!
And of course I also enjoyed doing the skywalk and the edge roller coaster ride, a ride that tilts you at 50degrees. Good fun! Check out my photos on facebook!
I have never done something like this and I think now I'm craving more adventurers sports!
Next weekend I am off to Dumaguete to snorkel with the turtles at Apo Island!
Looks like I am in for some busy weekends ahead as I start to explore the wonderful islands!
Hope things are going well for everyone!
Love Zoe
I experienced my first field trip as they call it here (I kept calling it an excursion and they just looked at me blankly!) We headed to a little crocodile park with a many different Asian animals including the tarsiers, the philippino eagle and a few other little random animals inwhich I had never seen before from asia (one looked very similar to what I think a sloth looks like!) I must admit it was a very different 'excursion' to what I am use to back home - no parent permission slips went out - at first I was concerned about this, wasn't sure if it was just the philippino way or whether the school just lacked an understanding on safety issues. I soon found out that it is a requirment but the teacher has never had to write one - so of course that got me thinking and asking a lot of questions regarding policies and procedures within the centre. I'm very consious of being a 'westerniser' and the fact that the Philippines do things differently but I have had some concern about the welfare of the students. (This has been an issue for the teachers as well, as they are so far under resources and don't have the knowledge!)
So I am now also possible writing some policies and procedures for the centre (of course I can only get started on this) as I don't want to end up focusing on just this.
The field trip, was good fun and the parents/caregivers attended the day so in the end it wasn't a big issue that parents hadn't given permission because it become more of a 'fun' day. We all rode a jeepney to the park and I soon learnt that this was OK as long as no children were riding on the roof!
This weekend has certainly been extremly busy - I got to enjoy watching the Pies win the grandfinal with a few aussies (not many) but drinking $2 beers was pretty awesome!
And today I enjoyed running in ther 'Pink' cancer fun run as an unregistered runner! It was a good run considering I haven't gone for a ran since early last year but I managed alright apart from the fact that they don't close the roads so jeepneys, taxis and motorboke were still on the roads and yes we had to give way to them - thats of course you were a hard core runner which meant you could get a motorbike escort!
This has really made me what to get back into my running!
And of course I also enjoyed doing the skywalk and the edge roller coaster ride, a ride that tilts you at 50degrees. Good fun! Check out my photos on facebook!
I have never done something like this and I think now I'm craving more adventurers sports!
Next weekend I am off to Dumaguete to snorkel with the turtles at Apo Island!
Looks like I am in for some busy weekends ahead as I start to explore the wonderful islands!
Hope things are going well for everyone!
Love Zoe
Saturday, September 25, 2010
A month has gone by!
Wow can't believe I have been here for a month already!
Things are going well, I am continuing my intensive language lessons and am picking it up reasonable quickly!
In fact last night I got into a taxi and said "Maayong Gabii" (good evening) and he spoke back in Cebuano asking how many years have I been in Cebu!
Work has been good, the teachers have been very responsive and excited to have me! Asking for my advice on children with multiple disabilities. I am in the process of making some weighted 'lap' calmers for some of the children. I meet one lady aged 27 years old, blind and deaf in one ear - she lives in an orphange and studying to be a teacher. Remarkable one lady, who started teaching me some cebuano! She has a shadow teacher that helps her get around and had a great conversation with her - this teacher is setting up a preschool for the poorer communities. The plan is to teach the children intensively for the next 6 months so they can be ready to start the school year next year. She is having difficulty catering for a child with mild autism and has asked to assist. As I am available on Fridays I have offered to assist for a couple of hours on the Friday. I have also been asked to assist a mother who has two children with Autism. I yet to meet the children but am so excited to offer assistance anyway I can!
I am finding the level of finance support very frustrating and currently searching for ways of applying for funding for the center, however as the center is based within the grounds of a university I have a few blockages in the way and have to gain their permission before making any changes especially when it comes to infrastructure! And the center is in a huge need to change or fix some of their facilities!
Watch out further, as I start to brainstorm and think of ideas on building resources - I'm hoping friends and family back home might be able to assist or provide ideas on where I can go! If you do have any ideas please email me at zbatten1@gmail.com
As for my social life, things have started to become a little busy & fun!
Went island hoping yesterday, was good fun! Enjoyed snorkelling, sun baking, swimming and of course seeing some of the islands within the Philippines! There wasn't to much sea life, saw a couple of small fishes and a blue star fish! Loads of crabs! Can't wait to do more of this on my weekends!
I have been lucky to have a few volunteers come over to Cebu to visit and have enjoyed their company!
Anyway hope you are all well!
Miss you all,
Love Zoe
Things are going well, I am continuing my intensive language lessons and am picking it up reasonable quickly!
In fact last night I got into a taxi and said "Maayong Gabii" (good evening) and he spoke back in Cebuano asking how many years have I been in Cebu!
Work has been good, the teachers have been very responsive and excited to have me! Asking for my advice on children with multiple disabilities. I am in the process of making some weighted 'lap' calmers for some of the children. I meet one lady aged 27 years old, blind and deaf in one ear - she lives in an orphange and studying to be a teacher. Remarkable one lady, who started teaching me some cebuano! She has a shadow teacher that helps her get around and had a great conversation with her - this teacher is setting up a preschool for the poorer communities. The plan is to teach the children intensively for the next 6 months so they can be ready to start the school year next year. She is having difficulty catering for a child with mild autism and has asked to assist. As I am available on Fridays I have offered to assist for a couple of hours on the Friday. I have also been asked to assist a mother who has two children with Autism. I yet to meet the children but am so excited to offer assistance anyway I can!
I am finding the level of finance support very frustrating and currently searching for ways of applying for funding for the center, however as the center is based within the grounds of a university I have a few blockages in the way and have to gain their permission before making any changes especially when it comes to infrastructure! And the center is in a huge need to change or fix some of their facilities!
Watch out further, as I start to brainstorm and think of ideas on building resources - I'm hoping friends and family back home might be able to assist or provide ideas on where I can go! If you do have any ideas please email me at zbatten1@gmail.com
As for my social life, things have started to become a little busy & fun!
Went island hoping yesterday, was good fun! Enjoyed snorkelling, sun baking, swimming and of course seeing some of the islands within the Philippines! There wasn't to much sea life, saw a couple of small fishes and a blue star fish! Loads of crabs! Can't wait to do more of this on my weekends!
I have been lucky to have a few volunteers come over to Cebu to visit and have enjoyed their company!
Anyway hope you are all well!
Miss you all,
Love Zoe
Our driver for the day.
The toilet on the boat!
Some of the locals!
Sunset over Mactan island
Friday, September 17, 2010
Maayong hapon!
Maayong hapon or good afternoon,
Things are going well in Cebu City, I started my work officially this week and so far all is going well!
I spent most of the week observing and getting to know both the students and teachers!
I am trying really hard to break the habit of using makaton - I must look rather silly signing to students who can't even see!
I have meet a number of children with multiple disabilities and although I have worked with children with disabilities for quite some time, I have been faced with the challenge of working with children who also are blind. The teacher has been very responsive with some of my ideas and suggestions and this in itself is a big break through, as she openly explained to me that she doesn't know what to do with children with multiple disabilities.
I introduced some of my sensory/tactile toys and the children loved them, infact it was funny to watch the children touch some of the slimey type balls some of them weren't so sure or hadn't felt anything like them before, they eventually started to reach out for them. I also made play dough and it was fun watching the children have a go moulding the play dough.
I'm adjusting to the fact that children are touching and poking me just to get an idea on what or who I am. For many of you would know that I can be very tactile defensive at times so this is a huge adjustment (and no that doesn't mean you to can poke and prode me!) I even had one little boy ask me if I had a baby in my tummy!
The toilet facilities haven't been pleasent so I have taken to going home during my lunch break just to go to the toilet - its also good to get some fresh air anyway!
Outside of work, I meet the town general on Monday who presented me with a number of gifts including a cebu t-shirt and dry mango! And have started my intensive language course, will be meeting twice a week for two hours so wish me luck with my Cebuano!
I have struggled to ask for things as I have soon learnt that the way we say things can sound rather odd, like yesterday I needed to buy a towel and I asked at the big department store - the staff looked at me blankly so I had to explain what a towel was, I even attempted to act it out! I must have looked again rather silly!
I also have been told not to call my work place uni but university as uni (and I think its the way I sound when I say it) means the red light district! So here I've been saying I work at the uni!
I have had no mishaps with my place and I've adjusted to the fact that there are all sorts of crazy noises occuring throughout the night so far I've had the rooster crowing, a dog whining, videoke and TV's blaring!
Last night we had a massive thunderstorm and lots of rain!
Enough from me!
Hope everyone is going well!
Love Zoe
Things are going well in Cebu City, I started my work officially this week and so far all is going well!
I spent most of the week observing and getting to know both the students and teachers!
I am trying really hard to break the habit of using makaton - I must look rather silly signing to students who can't even see!
I have meet a number of children with multiple disabilities and although I have worked with children with disabilities for quite some time, I have been faced with the challenge of working with children who also are blind. The teacher has been very responsive with some of my ideas and suggestions and this in itself is a big break through, as she openly explained to me that she doesn't know what to do with children with multiple disabilities.
I introduced some of my sensory/tactile toys and the children loved them, infact it was funny to watch the children touch some of the slimey type balls some of them weren't so sure or hadn't felt anything like them before, they eventually started to reach out for them. I also made play dough and it was fun watching the children have a go moulding the play dough.
I'm adjusting to the fact that children are touching and poking me just to get an idea on what or who I am. For many of you would know that I can be very tactile defensive at times so this is a huge adjustment (and no that doesn't mean you to can poke and prode me!) I even had one little boy ask me if I had a baby in my tummy!
The toilet facilities haven't been pleasent so I have taken to going home during my lunch break just to go to the toilet - its also good to get some fresh air anyway!
Outside of work, I meet the town general on Monday who presented me with a number of gifts including a cebu t-shirt and dry mango! And have started my intensive language course, will be meeting twice a week for two hours so wish me luck with my Cebuano!
I have struggled to ask for things as I have soon learnt that the way we say things can sound rather odd, like yesterday I needed to buy a towel and I asked at the big department store - the staff looked at me blankly so I had to explain what a towel was, I even attempted to act it out! I must have looked again rather silly!
I also have been told not to call my work place uni but university as uni (and I think its the way I sound when I say it) means the red light district! So here I've been saying I work at the uni!
I have had no mishaps with my place and I've adjusted to the fact that there are all sorts of crazy noises occuring throughout the night so far I've had the rooster crowing, a dog whining, videoke and TV's blaring!
Last night we had a massive thunderstorm and lots of rain!
Enough from me!
Hope everyone is going well!
Love Zoe
One of the students playing with one of the toys
Another use for the toys!
The classroom!
The small shelf of resources/toys
Schools finished for the week and there were three trucks of students sitting in the back, not sure if this is a common transport method for the students! Atleast they were putting in bench chairs for everyone to sit on!
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