It's a Three Dog Night

...well, that might be an exaggeration.  It’s January, and normally at this point in the year I’d be getting all excited as the days got longer.  The sun would be setting later than 3:30… a little later every night.  That’s my favorite part about January.  I can’t say I sit around, longing for frigid temperatures, but I do miss the tilt of Earth’s axis affecting the amount of daylight hours.  Here the sun consistently rises and sets at the same time, year-round.  About 6am to 6pm every day.  Bo-ring. 

However the nice thing about January here is that you don’t sit around sweating all day long.  The temperature is very tolerable.  If it wasn’t for the mosquitoes, I would be sleeping without my fan on… and in the morning I have to throw on sweatpants and a sweatshirt because I’m so chilly!  It’s a really nice change from how it is, most of the year.  The strange thing about the weather in the Philippines is that it changes very drastically very fast.  Generally, December to February is “winter,” (ha) March to May is summer, and the rest is rainy season.  Not much of a transition from winter to summer, so it’s a bit of a shock when summer does hit.  I’m sure my parents remember my desperate phone calls last year, coming as I lay on the cement floor of my apartment, still sweltering.  It’ll be interesting when I get home this year (so soon!), since a New England September is quite different from a Philippines September.

I’m in school as I write this.  The day is almost over, and I have had my nose in multiple books since 7:30, working on my remedial reading curriculum.  I figure I’ve put in a solid 7 and ½ hours today (including working through lunch), so I don’t feel too guilty about turning my brain off for the remaining two hours.  Anyways it looks like I’m working diligently at my computer so whatever.  This is how my days go every now and then.  I get on a roll “like ham and swiss” and don’t stop working for anything… then I catch myself and realize that I’m being a lunatic and need a break.  I’m pretty sure my co-workers think I’m way too serious.  Little do they know, I’m actually a wild child.  (If you consider watching movies in my apartment by myself every weekend “wild,” that is.)

Although, one cool thing I did do recently was go on a trip to Palawan!  It’s an island in the southern part of the Philippines.  So beautiful.  You know when you see a recipe for Betty Crocker’s Shepherd’s Pie and it looks incredible, and then when you make it, it just looks like a pile of ingredients dumped in a dish?  And some vacation destinations look good on paper but you get there and it’s… eh?  WELL, this is 100% NOT the case.  Palawan lived up to every Google image I had seen.  The crystal clear water, teals and blues, plus white sand, colorful coral reefs, and an overall sense of serenity.  It is the most beautiful place I have been so far (although Batad is the mountain equivalent of beauty, in my opinion).

I went with a big group of my girlfriends, all fellow PCVs, and we had the most amazing time.  LOTS of girl talk J  We also went island hopping both in Puerto Princesa and then in El Nido, and snorkeling!  I think snorkeling was the highlight of my trip.  Or one of the top highlights, anyways.  I had never done it before, and just being able to putt putt around like a little motorboat while checking out all the awesome coral and fish was so cool!  The fish were so unfazed at our presence, and would just swim right next to you, below you, wherever.  And I saw pretty much everything from ‘Finding Nemo.’  I’m excited to do it again at some point!

But for now, back to Ifugao, and back to work.  It’s a good thing though.  I’m feeling productive again, and ready to dive head first into the remainder of my service.  I’ve got so much on my plate, and not sure how I’m gonna get it done.  Videbimus.

This is RMK, signing off.  You stay classy, planet Earth.