How April's Been Treating Me

I just got back from three weeks away from site. The first week, holy week, Cassie and I took for vacation on Pangalo, an island just off of Bohol. Bohol has a great deal to recommend it, not the least of which are my favorite things ever, tarsiers. They are the smallest…monkey-like animals in the world. After Bohol, we did more Peace Corps training on Mactan, a small island just off of Cebu. It was good to see the volunteers I’m very far from, but otherwise, the extra training isn’t worth a blog entry.

Because I can’t possibly ruminate now on the past three weeks concisely, or even clearly now that time has passed with so much packed into each single day, I will just post what everyone really wants: picspam.


Me on a rock on Alona Beach, Panglao, a place almost exclusively populated by Germans.


Cassie and I holding on to these European honey bees at Bohol Bee Farm, an organic farming complex. I especially like how my camera couldn't regulate its own exposure.


Bohol Bee Farm's livelihood project. Local women weave goods like curtains, bags, placements and many other things.


Tarsier - what I really am in my private life. Also: seriously, they're the size of a hamster. More camera dissatisfaction: This is the best of 22 shots, only 3 decent, and none in focus. Others got pictures easily. Arg!


The Chocolate Hills. There are over 1200 of them, and they're way cooler than you'd think they would be.


Cassie at the hanging bridge on Bohol.


Mactan Shrine, which commemorates Magellan's death at Lapu Lapu's hands


Julie at Cebu's Toaist Temple


One of the Philippines' most beloved saints, Santo Nino. Viva pit senor!

More pictures at Facebook, if you're savvy.

My dad arrived in Cebu on Friday night. We came back to my site last night, Sunday, and we'll be having visitors like Syd and Connie over the next few days, then going down to Padre Burgos until next Saturday, when he'll be off back to Cebu in time for his flight back to the States the next day.

School begins again in June. I'm taking May to prepare a remedial reading program to implement at my school. Cautiously hopeful for a more positive upcoming school year.