Some things I am loving about Cebu, the people, the smiles, the courtesy and friendliness.
Some things I don't love, the pollution, the traffic, the expectations that things will not work ie mail, bureaucracy, people will be on time.
So, six weeks in.
School has started and a routine is in place. My house has come together nicely, although
it is still too big, it is comfortable. I
bought the funniest washing machine, about $125.00. You fill it with a hose, it agitates and
drains. You fill it again to rinse, it
agitates and drains. Then you wring out
the clothes, because I didn’t buy the one that spins, and hang the clothes to
dry. You can pick it up easily, it is
that light, mostly plastic. One friend
compared it to an easy bake oven. It is still better than
taking my laundry out and my cleaning women does it for me. I have Ruth, one day a week to clean and
iron. It is enough.
I live in a subdivision called Dona Rita, in Banilad, Cebu
City. I take the school bus, for staff,
to school at 6:30 every morning. We
arrive about 7. School starts at
7:30. My library is sad. The collection is worn and dated and the
catalog records are poor. Lots of work
to get it in shape. It is comfortable, good A/C and the kids are
enthusiastic. It also keeps me busy with
classes from preschool to grade five.
The plan is to build
a new library this summer. I also teach
ESOL one period a day to five, fourth graders.
It is a bit of a challenge because they are at such different levels but
we are progressing and having fun.
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Some things I don't love, the pollution, the traffic, the expectations that things will not work ie mail, bureaucracy, people will be on time.
So, six weeks in.
School has started and a routine is in place. My house has come together nicely, although
it is still too big, it is comfortable. I
bought the funniest washing machine, about $125.00. You fill it with a hose, it agitates and
drains. You fill it again to rinse, it
agitates and drains. Then you wring out
the clothes, because I didn’t buy the one that spins, and hang the clothes to
dry. You can pick it up easily, it is
that light, mostly plastic. One friend
compared it to an easy bake oven. It is still better than
taking my laundry out and my cleaning women does it for me. I have Ruth, one day a week to clean and
iron. It is enough.
View from my back porch.
I live in a subdivision called Dona Rita, in Banilad, Cebu
City. I take the school bus, for staff,
to school at 6:30 every morning. We
arrive about 7. School starts at
7:30. My library is sad. The collection is worn and dated and the
catalog records are poor. Lots of work
to get it in shape. It is comfortable, good A/C and the kids are
enthusiastic. It also keeps me busy with
classes from preschool to grade five.
Last weekend the new staff and administration went to the
island of Cabilao. It is about three
hours from here. It was a delightful
resort with comfortable rooms, pools, great food, spectacular snorkeling,
massage and walks. A few of us chose to
take a trip to the island of Bohol. I
finally got to see the Chocolate Hills.
It is an awesome sight, unlike anything I have seen before. The resort took us to Bohol, about half an
hour by boat, then a driver picked us up.
The island is beautiful and unlike Cebu, has clean air and clean
streets. We drove to the Chocolate Hills
where you walk many steps to the lookout point.
On the way the driver pointed out many damaged buildings from last year's earthquake. Most of the bridges had to
be rebuilt, some houses still down.
Bohol was hit very hard. Then we
went to a butterfly sanctuary that was beautiful. We also stopped at the Tarsiers
sanctuary. Tarsiers are the smallest
primate, they could fit in your hand.
They are strange and cute. They
are nocturnal so we didn’t see them doing much, but they do have some situated
so you can observe them. We had lunch at
a resort called the Bee Hive Farm, with a ocean side table, excellent salad and
marlin. It was a full and delightful
day. A walk and snorkeling the next day, all in all
an excellent long weekend. Looking forward to more excursions!
