MORE GRADUATIONS!!!!!

3rd April = Graduation!!! 

We woke up at 4:30 am to get dressed in our fineries, ready to leave for Dod's graduation by 5:00am. When 5:15 am rolled on we received a txt to let us know that the Elan's were delayed and we'd only be leaving by 5:45. We reached the venue for graduation for a ceremony that was scheduled to start at 7:00 am sharp. Dod's looked dashing is is white uniform and everyone was gearing to start...however true to the famous Asian Stretchable Time, the service began at 8:00am. It began with an hour long church service followed by the recognition of outstanding awards (180 of them), later followed by the presentation of 800 certificated. This service concluded around 1:30pm. The hall was packed and families of each graduate seemed proud of their achievements. 

Though the whole service was long we were proud of Dod's. He had definitely earned his certificate. He now hoped to get an internship with an international shipping company in Manilla, with the hopes to gain employment in international waters.

Today Dod's came to the shops with us to pick out a new phone, his graduation present from his sponsors. So thank you sponsors- you know who you are :)

Dods in his full formal wear.

A sea of sea-men and women.

Dods with His proud parents, Armida and Dan.

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Other than attending graduations we've still been filling out time in with filming and just general dose of silly that comes with being on holiday. Since we are cooking our own food James and I have had some culinary lessons from the budding chefs here. So far we have cooked up a fish that we cleaned ourselves...(well James learned how to gut it :P). And we learned how to clean and cook crumbed calamari. we might have a while yet to go before we can be considered pros at this :)

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In other news George Owen (James Owen Sr) arrived safely yesterday.... His bags however have decided they would like an extended stay in Singapore. Hopefully they will arrive this afternoon around 3. It will be a tight squeeze though as we leave Cebu today at around 5.

Yeah cue music... all our bags are packed and we're ready to go... :) We are leaving the island of Lapu-Lapu today and heading to Surigao del Norte, some more remote islands. we will be taking 6 boys with us and they will help run some circus workshops for the communities on at-least two of the smaller islands. While there we will stay with our friends Dan and Arminda's family, we have stayed there twice before. Not sure of what the internet situation is like there so will try to stay in touch online...if not you will hear from us again when we return to Cebu, Lapu-Lapu on the 16th. 

until later, take care.

'Tis the season for graduations...

This morning we'd just gotten back from the wet market with our purchase of smelly fish and fresh fruit when Angelito, one of the boys here whom we know as JR informed us that today was his Elementary School Graduation and he would like it if we attended. With 5 minutes to wipe off the sweat and change into something presentable we piled into David Gray's car and headed to the local gymnasium for the graduation ceremony. Two of the other boys, Vincent and Jemoy also attended the ceremony. The actually ceremony was LONG... with 270 graduating students and over 500 awards presented. JR however seemed proud to have had us there and that made is all worth while :)

 

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Yesterday we caught up with one of the boys Jemar, who no longer lives at Cornerstone. Jemar has had a tough year since we last met, he lost his Mum to breast cancer and his younger half-brother passed away from unknown causes a few weeks after their mother. Jemar has since been living with extended family and working to make a living. Jemar has always been a bright pupil and has decided this year to return to high school, with the help of some sponsors in Melbourne, we are hoping he will stay in school and finish his education.

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Other than catching up with boys and attending graduations we've been occupying our time with filming. James is working on the next Something for Change movie- titled 'OZ'. I think the boys are enjoying it so far. without giving anything away here are a few pictures from on set :) 

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Tomorrow is going to be a big day, its also the main reason we came here a week earlier than usual. We will be attending the University graduation of our sponson child, Dan David Elan. Dod's as we call him will be graduation from Nautical Engineering something or the other tomorrow and Something for Change collectively have been sponsoring his last four years of tertiary education. More on this tomorrow...

When Shakespeare said "if music be the food of love, play on", he definitely wasn't living in a house full of teenaged boys with a whole band set up in the spare room.

This post is dedicated to the senses... i'll let you piece together some of what is being signalled to my brain right now.

Sounds:

Tooting horns and the constant grunting of engines from the never ending flow of traffic.

Chickens squabbling. Chickens are also the only birds that seem to be around.

Children at play.

Rhythmic bouncing of basket balls off the concrete.

Constant shouts from strangers of, "Hey Rastafarian", "Do you know how to sing 'Frozen'?", "Hey Bob Marley's sister", "Are you Jamaican?".

Boys on musical instruments... with a house full of music loving teenagers the place is always booming.

Taste: 

Fresh Tropical fruit! need i say more?

Mayonnaise- its currently my favorite condiment.

that burnt sweet taste of caramelised bananas on bamboo skewers.

Touch: 

Humidity hanging around you like a shower curtain.

The suns warmth radiating radiating through you.

Dust setting it's self on you like a new layer of skin.

The wet droplets of sweat as it forms on your skik.

Smell: 

That pungent smell of urine in the alley way. 

Clammy body odour. 

Air laced with burning fuel. 

Fish frying on the street side.
Sweet smell of freshly sliced mangoes

That sticky sweet scent of caramelising sugar.

Sight:
Teenage boys lounging around in front of the telly or out under shade with earphones plugged it their ears, lost within the trance of music. 

Bustling market places full of trading stalls.

Open gutters

Uneven pathways

... the above is just an inventory of some of the hustle and bustle of life here in the Philippines...

Big sky lullaby...

After a few hectic days at work, 

Mountains of paper work,

Very little sleep, 

late night shopping,

Some last minute packing, 

The countdown is finally OVER!!!! 

Thanks to my beautiful friend Ange for the lift to the airport, you're a legend :) 

So far we've had un eventful check-in and flight, sometimes i think these are the best kind :)

The night is beautiful, making me so happy to be back in my favourite place in the world. 

Even though i don't have the energy to stay up and appreciate the wonder of the night, 

I know it surrounds me, singing to me my very own big sky lullaby :)

....

By the time the first meal was served i was using the last of my energy to keep my eyes open and to eat.

Needless to say we spent the first part of our trip (Melbourne to Singapore), sleeping. 

I for one woke up feeling extremely refreshed and energetic, possibly bordering hyperactive.

Poor James, there was another 8 hours of travel time before he didn't HAVE to sit next to me :P 

We made it here safe and sound at around 3pm. 

The boys have grown up...

Some are still doing the pretending to be sty thing teenage boys tend to do, 

Others thankfully still love to give and receive plenty of hugs :) 

Things seemed different right from the second the plane landed. It's not a bad kind of feeling just that we don't feel like we are visiting, but rather just returning to a place we know well. We have been doing our own thing and don't need to be escorted to the money-changers or grocery shops, etc.  We know our way around the place and feel so much a part of it. The boys are also comfortable with us and aren't treating us as visitors :)

At night Roger, who is a worker at cornerstone (he grew up as one of the boys here at cornerstone, on our first trip we met him as a boy here), suggested that we go out and surprise Robert.  Robert is one of the boys that we were involved with, helping him return to study at cornerstone 2 years ago. Robert now 22 had decided to trade in schooling to  pursue work.  He was aware that we were coming to Cebu but had no clue that we'd arrived, let alone turn up at the bakery where he works. He was pleasantly surprise and we had a good time catching up. 

Now for some sleep... 

Bigger and Better updated soon, I promise :) 

Time for new beginnings...

Just over two years ago i posted my last post on here... so this year I thought i'd resurrect this place again.
I know my grammar and spelling are awful and i get to blame dyslexia for that but I do like writing. I've always been an external processor...sometimes finding words to describe experiences and emotions help the mind to better absorb things :)

Now with a clean out of old posts and a whole new look i'm going to try and use this page to keep friends and family updated on the adventures of my travels. I apologize in advance for i don't know how frequently i'll be able to get online to publish posts but i promise to do my best to get musings on here as often as i can.

Oh yeah and for those of you who are wondering what travels; I leave for the Philippines in 3 sleeps for a 3 week adventure with Something for Change :) -More on this soon :)