Welcome Home!

This doesn't even come close to capturing how blue the water was.

I know I've been back from vacation for almost two weeks now, but I thought I'd hit the highlights (and...lowlights?) of seven days I spent in the Philippines.

Highlights

1. Filipino mangoes. You haven't lived until you've had one, and I say this in all seriousness. I had fresh mangoes, I had dried mangoes, I had mango milkshakes, and I had mango pancakes. It doesn't matter what form they come in, Filipino mangoes are unparalleled in the mango world. Yes, I am now a bit of a mango connoisseur.

2. My first venture under the sea. Dave was pretty adamant that we go on a "Discovery Dive" while we were in the Philippines, which basically just lets you dip your toe into the world of scuba diving (no pun intended). My newfound fear of sharks made me a bit reluctant to join in on this adventure, but I'm so glad that I did! I don't even have words to describe how incredible the experience was; all I had to do was dive down about 8 meters, and it was like being on a different planet. Since this was a "Discovery Dive," we didn't get flippers. Instead, the dive group held onto us by our tanks and carried us around. We were given food to feed the schools of tropical fish, which was probably the best part of the entire trip for me. It was amazing to be so close to creatures I've spent years marveling at on the Discovery Channel. As I passed over the reef, I watched sea anemones make their lightening-quick retreats. I looked down to see starfish littering the ocean floor, along with enormous purple sea urchins. Scuba certification is now at the top of my to-do list - I can't wait to get back in the ocean!

3. Fresh fruit shakes. Whether it be Filipino mango, buko (young coconut), or banana, I treated myself to at least one shake every day (yes, I said at least one). Sometimes this required a bit of a search, but I always managed to find one. Frankly, life has been a little lackluster since I gave up this habit.

4. Cliff diving. I figured if I've been skydiving, I've got to be able to go cliff diving. I literally had to work up the courage to jump every single time, but it was exhilarating. I only managed to jump from 5 meters, or about 15 feet, but they also had 8 meter and 15 meter jumps (~25 and 45 feet, respectively). Next time :)

5. Leisure reading. In the past 2 years, I think I can count on one hand the number of books I've read for pleasure...and when I say one hand, I actually mean one finger. This week of vacation allowed me to lay on the beach or sit in a hammock and read to my heart's content. I managed to finish Girl With a Dragon Tattoo. Now for the sequel...

6. Beachside massages...and regular, good old massages. Enough said.

Less than ideal elements included:

1. Prostitutes. Everywhere, young and old (but mostly young - very young), accompanied by old white men. Two friends that we met up with told an incredibly depressing story of encountering a 14 year old girl who was with a middle-aged companion - a gentleman (I use this term lightly) from Indiana. She was crying. When my friends suggested she just go home, it was revealed that she wasn't allowed to go home until she made enough money. Let me reiterate that she was fourteen. These guys gave her the money she needed and put her in a taxi home - but that was just one girl, and that was just one night. It makes me physically ill to think about all the other Filipino girls who have undoubtedly been in her place. Probably the most disgusting thing was the old men. By the end of my trip, I couldn't even look at an old white guy and not assume that he was a sex tourist. It was that bad. There were absolutely hoards of them, milling around with scantily-clad Filipino girls in tow, flying in from all over the world to find companionship (that's the pleasant way of putting it). I somehow resisted the urge to confront each one I saw and call him out for being a sick pervert, but I will never forget what a disgraceful phenomenon this was to witness.

2. Typhoons raining on my parade. It started raining on day 4, and it basically didn't stop for the rest of the time I was in the Philippines. This, unfortunately, led to the cancellation of our underground river tour, which was to be the highlight of our time in Puerto Princesa. The city didn't offer much else in the way of sights or entertainment, so we spent most of our time in hammocks reading.

3. Sleeping on an airport floor...and getting bitten by a roach. Ew. If you ever find yourself arriving at Clark International Airport on a red-eye flight, keep in mind that the departures terminal does not open until 5:30am the next morning. This will effectively dash any hopes you had of spending the night snuggled in a chair in the terminal, and you may have to seek refuge in a 24-hour snack bar. Lack of chairs and loss of sanity will lead you to try to sleep on the floor, at which point a cockroach may mistake you for a corpse and try to nibble on your flesh.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to get back to my extra firm Chinese bed. I'd also be lying if I said that I wasn't craving rice and genuinely looking forward to my free cafeteria lunch the next day. But it was great to get out of China and see a new country. The Philippines had a really unique vibe; in some ways, it felt very much like South or Central America (not very surprising, given the Spanish influence), but at other times there was no mistaking that we were in Asia. But at the end of the trip when I was crossing back into Hong Kong, I really felt like I was on my way home. And that's a really great feeling to have when you're thousands of miles away from the place you grew up.

***

The week that I came back, teaching was at an all-time high. Kids were enthusiastic and generally well-behaved. Everyone was greeting me in the halls, and I was feeling pretty pleased with how things were going. This week has been the polar opposite. The kids have been unbelievably rambunctious; one group finally got to write sentences for the rest of their class - the first and hopefully last time I'll have to implement this punishment. Regardless, I'm pretty much sick to death of kids this week.

Sometimes being a teacher sucks, because I pretty much like all of the kids that I teach. It's just the teaching process that's the tricky thing.

A few of my adorable Grade 1 students

A few parting thoughts:

• You know you're a teacher when the only necklace you wear is a USB on a lanyard. 
• Teaching makes you appreciate your teachers so much more. 
• I've become infinitely better at improvising in the past month. 
• Kids are kids no matter where you go. And I still love them.  

And this is my oasis, no matter where I am in the world.