Day 12

I didn’t sleep in at all like I expected. I woke up around 7am and decided to go for a run. Jack Jack who is 9 years old decided to go along with me on my run. He ran in filp flops, and I was thoroughly impressed. I ran a bit ahead of him and then back just to finish it up, and collected about a dozen other kids on the way. They all walked back with Jack Jack and I for quite sometime. Once we got back to clinic Jack Jack still stuck it out and followed me to the dock. I slipped down the stupid rocks a bit and scraped my forearm, as Jack Jack gracefully got himself to the bottom. I stretched for a bit and did a ab workout. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. I love running, and running through the jungle of the Phillipines is just surreal. I’m not sure my DC runs will compare anymore. As soon as I was finished I showered and threw on my bikini because we all were getting ready to take the fishing canoes out. It took 2 boats to carry our group and we stopped in the middle of Sorsogon bay. What an incredible view! The mountains looked as if they were painted around the water. We jumped in for a swim, and it was pretty deep, well deep enough so that I couldn’t see or touch the bottom. AND I was so proud of myself, as I swam from one boat to the other with ease! My swimming skills are less then superb as some may know, so this was quite an accomplishment. We dove and flipped off the boat into the water and had just an absolute blast before heading back for lunch. I was one of the fortunate ones who didn’t get stung by a jellyfish. So far I’ve been dodgeing some bullets this trip….just awaiting my time.

 

After lunch we packed ourselves in the Jeepney to head to a white sand beach about 30 minutes away. Crank up the Call Me Maybe once again! It was overcast for the afternoon which was unfortunte but didn’t stop us from having an aboslute blast. The water there was warm and so calm. We had a small cabin to hang out in and the afternoon turned into just another party. They had some vendors at the beach that craft the local shells into beautiful jewelry, sculptures, keychains and hanging decorations. I haggled for 2 keychains I can take back as memories from this unbelievable trip. There will be more souvenir shopping later for sure.

 

By the time we got back dinner was out and ready. We had a long night ahead of us, as Momma Tess (Dr. Schuster’s wife) planned and set up a disco on the grounds. Momma Tess is absolutely amazing, and the master behind the amazing dishes we are so fortunate to eat.

 

We had strobe lights and neon lights illuminateing our back porch with music blasting from the stereos that transformed our entire dorm into Club Bicol. Filipino familes and children from the local area also came out and we danced the night away with all of the children. Let me tell you they are AMAZING dancers. The kids are out of this world. I had so much fun dancing and playing and singing with all of them. It was truly one of the best nights. I aboslutely adore the kids. They started a game with me where they’d run around and tickle me trying to get me to chase after them. It lasted quite a while but their energy level is much greater then my own. The little boys were obsessed with Zach who is 6’8 and was throwing them into the air like a basketball. They couldn’t get enough of that. I think this is the first time I even mentioned Zach’s height. Well he is very tall to say the least, and since the Filipino’s are generally very short stature, he stands out quite a bit. I’m sure in the near future the boys will be challenging the Filipino’s to a basketball game at the school nearby, and I can’t even imagine the look on their faces when Zach hits the court. Anyway back to the Disco. The song of the night had to be PSY’s Gentleman song, and the kids taught me the dance to this song. They also taught us a few other dances characteristic to their culture, so get excited when I bring back those moves America. We danced the night away and I didn’get get to bed until about 2am. The ENT surgeons and Brigitte, a second year from FIU will be joining us tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll be put together by their time of arrival.

  

The boys attempt to dance