Day 6

Sean, one of the 4^th year medical students brought up a great point when we were discussing the state of the Philippines and the extent of poverty the country is in. You would think that these people who have little to nothing would be miserable, and instead they are some of the happiest individuals you will ever meet. In America we have everything. We have opportunities that these people will never get, and we spend our lives looking for the pursuit of happiness. Heck, I gave up all the pleasures and accommodations I have at home in the US to go on a trip somewhere that I have never been, where I take cold bucket showers, work in extreme heat, and encounter prehistoric insects, all in an effort to find happiness. We all wait for that thing that will make us happy. There’s a quote I once read that stated “We wait all week for Friday, all year for summer and all life for happiness.” It is completely true. We don’t just live in the moment, accept what we have an find happiness from that alone; we are always searching for more. I admire their happiness.

Today we all woke up late after a crazy fun filled night, and got set to go on an excursion to a hot spring on the base of the Bulusan volcano. We took the Jeepney there where I rode on the roof the entire trip there and back. I must say that sitting on the top of a Jeepney going 60mph on a windy road through the Philippines drinking a beer with my friends was quite a highlight. The hot springs looked like a beautiful resort, with small cabana-like huts for individuals to set up a BBQ. There were two types of springs, one was warm and the other lukewarm. The water coming from the volcano in the warm one was so HOT especially by the rocks. I couldn’t help think of Dante’s Peak while I was there. Our excursion was a lot of fun. However being the only blonde at the hot springs, I should have thought twice before going in a hot pink bikini as I was met with a whole lot of stares. The people of course were once again very nice. Hey if I never saw a bubbly blonde girl I would stare too. We are one of a kind….which may just be a nice way of saying really weird. We ate, and swam and took a million pictures with Brant’s underwater camera which we entertained ourselves with for quite a while before the day started coming to an end and we had to go home. Upon getting home, some of Jennifer’s cousins were running around the dorm area. Two little girls in particular, one 6 and the other 8 took quite a liking to me and I played with them for some time. Sean and I fought over which one we would adopt. They were hugging me and jumping on me, and we played for hours. They are the absolute cutest children. After dinner we played around with the karaoke for a little while longer before again calling it a night. Tomorrow starts a new week, and I’m in the OR bright and early in the morning. Can I get a HECK YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!