on the other hand

So, after my last post, I felt kind of bad, like I just focused on the negative. Of course every story has at least two sides, so here's the more optimistic, bright, sunny, "the reasons I'm still here" side.

1. The canteen- the canteen at school is the filipino style vending machine. However, instead of selling doritos, coke, and other high fructose corn syrup delicacies, it features homemade foods that certain moms bring up daily to sell. My favorites are bananaque, buko juice, and papaya with salt and vinegar. There are also casava cakes, other gelatinous rice goodies, and the peso candy. A trip to the canteen is the bright point of my morning.

2. The Library- The last past week has felt really rewarding for me when it comes to the library. There are more boys coming in to read during their vacant time that are from the lower classes. The kids are also starting to write down words they encounter while they read that they don't understand. We then go to the dictionaries and find the meanings of the words.

3. Filipino friends- It seems that a lot of the young adults in my town have left to either go to college or work in the large cities in the Philippines or in other countries. Therefore, it's sometimes hard to meet friends. I have gotten to become friends with a couple of my co-teachers, and I can hang out with my host mom whenever I want. This is probably kind of a borderline issue... I really, really, really miss my family and friends back home, so the friends that I have managed to make here are super important.

4. Fresh fruits and vegetables- It's true. The fruits and vegetables are very fresh here.

5. Simplicity- Things, for the most part, are rather simple. Filipinos count on their family for everything, and that's really cool to see. It's the type of simplicity that features a store that only sells glass, a store that only sells bread, and an actual junk shop that you can go to to find the obscure piece that broke off your electric fan. I really really like this simplicity.

So, there you go. Everybody I know should come visit the Philippines so you can experience all these wonderful, awesome, too cool things!