Wacky Olympics
The highlight of this week was the Wacky Olympics that we put on for the kids yesterday. Sarah brought up the idea at the beginning of the month, and things came together nicely. I forget how easily kids are entertained! We did the classic wheelbarrow, gunnysack, and three-legged races, tie
d in with team building relays that always involve too much spinning and some hand-eye coordination to mess them up a bit. The grand finale was a balloon squash, but most of them popped as soon as they made contact with the grass so it was a pretty short game. In addition, some of the girls got spooked from all the popping and so we ended with a few teary eyes. Thankfully children recover quickly and I’m pretty sure they only have fond memories of WO’12.
Wacky Wednesday
For our day off this week, my team went zip lining, zorbing, and hiked to three different waterfalls. Zip lining was fun, with three differe
nt lines over rivers and beautiful landscapes. Then we went to “zorbit zone”. For those of you unaware, a zorb is this big ball that you climb into, strap up across from another person, and roll down a hill. At the last second our guy asked if we wanted to “zigzag”. Sure…? So he sent us off on a curve and I thought I was gonna be sick … but you don’t know until you go, so it was a must do.
Waterfalls are easily one of the most breathtaking natural beauties in this world, so that extravaganza quickly t
opped the charts for the day. Unfortunately my flops had broken sometime during the zip lining process, but as luck would have it we drove by a sandal stand on our way to the falls. One USD later and I was suited up with a fresh pair, ready to hit the trail. Right on schedule, the rain started pouring down as soon as we began our hike through the forest. However, this only added to the awesomeness. We were so busy trekking across bamboo bridges and finding our way along slippery trails veined with tree roots that we had to remind ourselves to look UP every once in a while just to take it all in. Do you know how small those gigantic tree canopies make a person feel? It’s pretty ridiculous. Then there were the actual falls. They were roaring ferociously as ever, with the water surging over the ledge and crashing up against the rocks, overpowering all the other forest noises. So good!
Wacky Weddings
My cultural highlight of the week was a Filipino wedding. A few of my teammates and I scrounged up the nicest clothes we had and grabbed a jeapney into town for the festivities. It’s already a little bit odd walking into crowds because people shamelessly take your picture. I get it, we’re out of place. Anyways, we found a seat at a back table right as the ceremony began, and tried to be as und
isruptive as possible. It was very sweet and while we couldn’t understand what was being said, it appeared very similar to that of an American wedding. Following the service was dinner, and we got called up to sit with the wedding party at the front of the room! So much for our “fly on the wall” tactic lol. This was a very nice gesture, and we were honored to be asked. However, it definitely put us back in the spotlight, which was just awkward enough to be highly entertaining. Congrats to the newly-weds!
So there it is: my last week here in Malabalay, and we’re soaking in every minute. We fly back to the main island on Monday for our final debrief, and then it’s back to the United States of America on June 9th. Crazy talk! Without wishing away my last days here, let me tell you I am more than excited to feel that US soil underneath my feet. Soon enough….!
