I spent most of the day cleaning, packing, and giving things away. The kids were hanging around all day so I gave them their 'remembrances' a day early so they'd have something to do. All 11 neighbor kids got some kind of art supplies to call their own! I'm hoping I'll have some free time tomorrow to spend drawing and coloring with them.
This evening, I was treated to dinner by a bunch of my Filipino friends and fellow teachers in Naga. It was such a nice last get together and I'm so lucky to have had such a sweet and supportive group of friends. One teacher even offered to take me and all my luggage (and Bern in his crate) to the bus terminal in her van tomorrow night! That will save me a lot of hassle and money!
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| Farewell dinner with Gladys, me, Dinah, Alice, Julie Pearl, Meldz, & Sheryl |
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| Me & Dinah |
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| Meldz, me, Sheryl, Dinah, Alice |
After dinner I met up with two 272 Volunteers, Candy and Dani, for ice cream and to say 'see you soon'. I can't imagine being at the midpoint in my service (an inevitably difficult time for most Volunteers) and seeing my friends finish their service and go home.
When I got home I broke out some glow bracelets my parents had sent a long time ago (and I forgot about) and sat with Ate Yhen while the kids played. Have I mentioned how much I'm going to miss her?? She's only been here since May, but she's definitely one of my best friends here. I love sitting on my porch and chatting with her until it gets dark.
Tomorrow I'll do my final pack before leaving Villa 1. Luckily I made friends with the owner of the hardware store and he's offered to bring his scale to my house so I can weigh my bags tomorrow. Other than that, tomorrow I have to cancel my internet, get my furniture moved to the Dela Cruz house, visit the Dela Cruz family (they have electricity now!!), visit Lola Melba, and spend the rest of my time with my neighbors!
As I mentioned, I'm pretty calm right now and have been all day, but tomorrow it's going to be hard as hell...
Once again a beautiful post. I love that when I look at these photos I feel like I know all of your friends personally! I now say Ciao to Magarao (as I type, I pronounce the name in my head and hear Ricky correcting my pronunciation, in true Ricky style, because I ALWAYS get it wrong!!) But not this time. Ciao...so long...Magarao. You will be back. Be safe. Salamat Bella.
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