Masskara! and Typhoon Juan

The past week has been a little crazy.  We spent Tuesday through friday at City High, mostly observing and pretending to be useful in our classrooms.  I spent Thursday and Friday being sung to and danced for by about a hundred high school students.  My favorite act of them all, however, was the rendition of "Reflection" from Mulan, sung by a boy in a silky pink bathrobe and lipstick.  I was also asked for my autograph, took about 38,000,089 pictures, and was asked by 15-year olds to send regards to my single brother in America.  I will miss those kids.  Even though I only visited some of their classes for 3 sessions, they still told me they loved me and that I will always be remembered in their hearts.  

Who is that girl I see?

On Friday, three of our co-teachers took Meg and me out to dinner at the mall.  They are very nice people and told us about how they view their role as a teacher.  I know that the poverty of my students is going to define my position as their friend first, then teacher.  These kids face challenges few in America have to deal with (like working all night as tricycle drivers, leaving school to help their families grow sugarcane, and having to work long hours to get food).  Teaching here will be way different from teaching in America, and it really seems like the teachers here have no choice but to accomodate their students' lack of focus, time, and ability.  It will be interesting and challenging to see where this job takes me...
But on a lighter note, Masskara.  This is the Philippine version of Mardi Gras that takes place annually in Bacolod City (my permanent site, as it so happens).  We were invited to attend the festival overnight by my supervisor, who got us second-row seats on the VIP stage.  We watched 5 hours of children dancing to the same Masskara theme song.  The dances were really impressive and the song will be forever in my heart and mind.  Diri sa Bacolod...

These are elementary school students...

After the dancing--which, I should note, interferred heavily with my dinnertime and constitutes the only event to supercede any meal I've had in the Philippines--we went out on the town.  A bunch of PCVs were there and we wound up at a ridiculous place that had firebreathers and Filipino men asking us to dance.  We ate dinner at an outdoor tent which reminded me a lot of the dingy places I used to eat in China.  We got back to our hostel around 2am and slept until about 10:30 on Sunday.  
To top this week off, we have an "extremely catastrophic" storm headed our way.  Evidence of this can be found in the foot-deep water that surrounded my host mother's house when we got back to Iloilo.  

The walkway in front of my house

Hopefully I won't get leptospirosis.  Walking to school tomorrow is going to be a dang mess.  To make matters more interesting, apparently my room flooded a little bit while I was gone and got into a few of my books.  Topping off the interestingness of my return home is a rat poop that was found on top of my mosquito net.  On top.  
We only have 3 more weeks in Iloilo, which is both a good and bad thing for me.  It's good because I am looking forward to moving to a more comfortable house and starting my life for the next 2 years.  It's bad because I will really miss the people I have come to care about here.  My fellow PCTs here in Iloilo will be scattered accross 3 islands.  My host mother and the children around here will also be sorely missed.  And perhaps worst of all is the uncertainty of if or when we will see our Peace Corps staff again.  They have really made this experience so far worth remembering.  
Sharon: best known for her incredible cuteness and good nature in any situation.  "It's still warm!"
Carlos: food eating legend and one of the most generous people I've ever met.  "Unicorn."
Hanna: who smiles always, our kasama queen
Roli: I have only had class with him a few times but he seems to be able to make anything funny, such as warning us that a turkey wearing slippers is probably a Filipino demon called an aswang
Allen: who always keeps the van freezing cold and whose son sings about dirty underwear with little hair (no joke)