Are We There Yet?

Another great week of training has come and gone here in Banate. Language and technical class have been going well, but my favorite parts of training come when we have time for adventures here around Panay island. Last Sunday, Venus, the teacher of the other CRM language cluster here in Banate, led us to go to a beautiful beach at Concepcion, on the north east tip of Panay. We took a 2-hour bus ride, waited another 1.5 hour for our boat to arrive, and then took a beautiful 20-minute boat ride past a handful of tiny islands close to Panay. There were some small accommodations for us on the beach but otherwise it was pretty  deserted. It was beautiful and so nice to get out away from the brown waters of Banate. I really couldn’t have asked for a better day off. 

This picture basically sums up my time a Concepcion.

Me, in my new Surplus Store, Ilioilo City, tank top.  

Lindsay, in one of her "Big White Ogre" poses on Concepcion.

Last week, after finishing class in the afternoon early (as we always do), my friend Laura and I decided to go on a hike. Lindsay told us about a mountain that was supposed to be a 30 minute-walk away. She said we just needed to walk straight past her house, veer left past some sugarcane fields, and then take a narrow path on the right. She said that there was a very minimal probability of getting lost, since it was basically a straight shot. Well, for me and Laura, the mountain was nowhere to be found. We ended up in this massive expanse of fish ponds and rice fields. At first we thought we could be going the right way, so we decided to go for it. Next thing we know, we’re not really walking on paths but rather along the narrow edges of various bodies of water, unable to change direction, even if we knew where we wanted to go. Sometimes the grasses came up to our shoulders, and a couple of times we were faced with crossing some pretty rickety bridges. After about 2 hours of going on long stretches of land and then making a left or a right, depending on how we were feeling, we found the main road we came in on. Unfortunately the land did not connect when we thought, so we were forced to make a right, then another right, and then a left to get to where we needed to go. At that point, we stumbled upon three different cows. There wasn’t much room on the ledges, so we had to sneak past them. My heart was beating fast walking past those cows: I’m from New York City, I don’t know what cows do (do they kick? do they charge?). We made it out unscathed and returned to our starting point about 2.5 hours later, where we ran into Lindsay. She said asked us why we were coming from that direction, and we told her where we had gone. Apparently our first attempt to “veer left” was a wrong turn, so we were off the trail from the beginning. 

Maybe following the ducks wasn't the best strategy...

I didn't say it wasn't beautiful, just that we didn't know where we were going. We never did make it to that house in the distance.

Laura crossing the makeshift bamboo bridge.

Our "path."

Look who's in our way... Thankfully he was nicer than he looks.

 

We spent the rest of the week playing soccer, going to class, and of course spending time at our one and only hang-out spot, Kite’s. Occasionally there even other patrons there. One time we sat down at a table, while a 1^st Birthday Party was going on. Next thing we know, Filipinos are bringing us delicious food, sodas, and dessert. Gotta love Filipino hospitality.

Happy Birthday Raphaella.

Marshmellows and sausage on a stick... why didn't I think of that!

Even Elliott's homestay mom and little brother, Ninyo, came to the party. Unfortunately now they all have "Sore Eyes" (aka Pink Eye).