When we lived in Hawaii, Sean used to love the days when we could do it all! Hike/beach/kayak! Well, we almost did that this past weekend, but decided not to kayak, since we couldn’t really take the kayak out very far. They only allowed us to take it to the buoys. What we did experience was a lot of good work (two turnovers in Olongapo) and a chance to unwind a bit as we went to Subic Bay and stayed at a resort (less than stellar) on the beach where they did have snorkeling then we found a hike! More on that later. Let me start with the work first. In humanitarian work, we are asked to check up on the past projects to see if they are sustainable- are they still using the materials, is the program meeting the expected goals, etc. We stopped on our way up to Olongapo to check up on a school district that started the literacy program before COVID. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that they continued to use the literacy tutoring cards during COVID. They uploaded them onto powerpoints! Ingenious! And they were so grateful for the program. Their district has amazing literacy rates now. 93% are reading at the independent level.

Next we headed to Olongapo for our first turnover. We gave 25 desktop sets to the Alternative Learning System program for learners that weren’t able to finish school. They were beyond excited and grateful! They quickly prepared the room by painting, fixing the ceiling , installing electrical outlets all over and making tables for them. They had one of the ALS students (tatoos and all) give a little testimonial as to how these computers would help them with their learning. So it was a satisfying turnover. Then we headed off to the Stake Center to sort and organize all the materials for the literacy training/turnover that was happening the next day. Luckily, they had only 10 schools that are involved at this time, so the sorting only took a couple of hours. We had help, of course! Monette Cruz, who is the communications director for the Olongapo Mission area, has been so instrumental in helping with all of our turnovers and projects in Olongapo. We couldn’t have done it without her! She is our go-between between the school division and us. I almost had to cancel the project due to their legal department’s demands on our MOA (legal donation agreement). It was ridiculous! I finally had to tell them four days before the turnover that our latest document was the final one and if they couldn’t agree to it then we would have to cancel the project. That changed things! The lawyer called me and we worked it out. We also weren’t sure how on board the superintendent was, but as it turns out, she was very supportive and even stayed for the entire training session on Friday. The training went well and the teachers were grateful!

So by now, it’s Friday afternoon and we decided to stay another night for a little bit of R and R. I thought it might be nice to stay at a “beach resort” so we went to one that was recommended. Well… after changing from the first room that smelled very moldy and getting a room where the french doors wouldn’t close, we did manage to enjoy ourselves. Not the nicest beach or place to stay, but we did snorkel- if you take bread, the fish will come- but no coral. At least we were in the water! Then we went to Zoobic Safari! It’s kind of a campy place but fun and interesting. If you pay extra when you go to the tiger safari, the guy inside the caged jeepney feeds the tigers raw chicken and the tiger comes right on the jeepney. It was a bit gross, actually, but you did have the chance to be up close and personal with the tigers! (picture raw chicken meat on the jeepney seat afterward). The crocodile enclosure was the same. If you pay extra for the raw chicken you can dangle it from a fishing line and feed the crocodiles. Also gross! They had 50 crocodiles in their pond and supposedly there are only 100 crocodiles in the wild here! They had a little animal show that was cute, but nothing too stellar. After checking out of the hotel, we tried to go to the Ocean Adventure Park (kind of like Sea World) but the shows were happening too late for us, so instead we found a hike. Finally!!! After wanting to hike for a year now, if finally happened. It was more like a nature walk. Lennie said it was a hike because we went uphill a bit. Maybe…. We had to go with a guide who seemed ancient, but was only 60 and wearing his flip-flops. He was a local Aeta tribe guy and did a great job of telling us about the trees, the U.S. military history in that area and showing us how we can drink water from water vines, using his machete for all kinds of fun things and being a pleasant hiking guide. It was a thick jungle with a beautiful little river (but no flowers). All in all, it was so great to be out of the city and to be immersed in nature for a day!