Life Is Good

Jacques and I were chuckling in bed last night. We've been so busy that we don't have a lot of time to think about what we're doing. When we slow down it hits us. It's surreal to be "settling" on an island in the Philippines, living out a dream we've each had for years, learning a new language, integrating into a new culture, sweating like a yogi in a Bikram studio, and missing the people we love. We have received so many positive thoughts, encouraging notes, and unending interest in our new adventure. Thank you. And... We especially love when you all include notes about what is going on with you, what's happening in America, or the little details we miss because we're not a quick call or text away. Some photos of our journey so far:

We finished Initial Orientation in Manila then flew to our Pre-Service Training on the island of Negos Oriental in the Visayas.  
Oh my goodness... it's so beautiful here.

We're loading up the Jeepney that will take us to meet our host families.

This is a shot down the street we live on. To the west... mountains! To the east...the ocean!

This is our host-parents' sari-sari store... think ancient 7-11.  
It's attached to the front of their house.

Jacques with our host-father, Amador. He gets up to go for a short jog (in his flip-flops) every morning at 5 a.m.. Then he runs the sari-sari store through the morning.

Jacques walking to language training in his "Las Vegas Blue Man Group" poncho.
He insisted it would come in handy!

Charlie our new alarm clock. He lives right outside our bedroom window.

Washing clothes by hand... takes all day to dry in the humidity..

The resort we stumbled upon out exploring. Visitors welcome :-)
The best room is $70/night- US dollars!

Clothes out-to-dry keep the city colorful!

A typical meal- fresh veggies (special for us!), fried fish and rice.  
This meal included bean soup with coconut milk- delicious!

Jacques showing off his new haircut... small catastrophe when the trimmers died halfway through... he had sideburn horns for a day! His longtime friend Jay said, "Papa must have had God send you to the Philippines. Because you're showering everyday now, Mama must have been in on it too."

We've always got company walking around the city!

Rambutan- Yummy fruit! Not as dangerous as it looks...


We've started our practicum hours. Jacques is working at a local university. He's constantly baffled by the challenging environment for students- 50+ in a class, hot, loud... he always asks, "how can the human brain learn anything in these conditions?"


I'm at a center called Little Children of the Philippines. LCP is a residential facility for orphans, street children, and those from the very poor "squatter" areas. I spoke to a group of students today- it was supposed to be a discussion about the importance of education and how I found success... the students were much more interested in how I met Jacques and how he proposed. Teenagers are the same all over the world :-)