Hey loyal friends and students!
Hopefully that you all had plenty of Turkey and good family times. As a result of being at Taylor University (which means about a 14 hour drive away from Rhode Island), in the last few years I wasn't able to consistently make it home for Thanksgiving. Generally it was always just a few weeks before Christmas, so it always seemed either wasteful to buy a plane ticket for a two day/three day stint or daunting to make the 14 hour drive twice in just a few days. Whatever the case, I certainly did miss being home with the family for this one! I have gotten to see them more this Fall semester than I ever have before (this year I've seen the entire family for my sister's two wedding occasion---before this year the only time I would maybe go home in the Fall would be Thanksgiving). I think that being on the other side of the planet makes you miss people more than even a 14 hour drive.
Despite missing my family, I had a good Thanksgiving weekend! I indeed did teach both on Thursday and Friday (I would complain, but it really wouldn't make sense for Philippinos to celebrate when the pilgrims had a meal with the native Americans). On the other hand, I did get TWO separate Thanksgiving meals. First it was with the Hauses', the Boyd's (an English Drama teacher/ 3rd grade teacher couple), and the Mast's (Computer apps. teacher / French and Literature teacher couple). We had all of the classic fixings and it was a very pleasant dinner. Still, it is very strange to have a Thanksgiving Dinner when it get up's to 90 degrees outside (like it is right now). Oof. I had another dinner last night with all of the Missionaries that work in the compound. I sat with some adults instead of at the kids table (where a bunch of my students were). I'm pretty sure I still belong at the kid's table. Either that, or the kid's table just seems more fun.
I just realized that I'm running out of time. On Sunday's I play ultimate frisbee with a group of teachers (and a few students and parents join too). It's about time to head out!
These have been a little wordy lately (and I still haven't done that interview yet). I'll try and bring the camera to school tomorrow to get some more pictures that represent what is different about living in the Philippines.
Do any of you guys have any fun Thanksgiving stories to share?
When are you coming back to rjb?
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