A Day in a Picturesque Province

One of the things I enjoyed being in the Visayas Region was the opportunity to travel. I was able to visit Bohol – one of the loveliest islands in the southern part of the Philippines. This island is situated in the heart of Visayas and with the coastline skimmed by gentle coves and white sand beaches (I was struck by this breath-taking view).

I really enjoyed the sceneries on detour– the rolling hills and plateaus, the clear leafy rivers….i could say, Bohol is truly a picturesque province replete with ancestral and centuries old churches.

I loved the old house that we visited... it was built in the early 1800 ;-) The ground floor of the house was transformed into a cozy restaurant. The owner said that they are famous for their own native chocolate (cocoa) drink – the cocoa was a product of the restaurant itself – cocoa trees are all over the house backyards.

We also went to Corella town where we saw the tarsier – world’s smallest monkey with the size of a fist – its eyes are bigger than its head – amazing primate ;-)

Then our next stopped was the Chocolate Hills in the town of Carmen; the said hills was undoubtedly most famous tourist attraction. On our way to the complex (higher ground where one can view the hundreds cone-shaped hills), we were trapped in a heavy traffic. Hence, we went down from our rented van and decided to start the walk going to the top – whew! Hundreds steps to climb – well, worth taking it – truly the hills are natural wonders ..

We had our lunch in the floating restaurant that cruise the rivers…. and we ended our day in one of the beaches of Bohol…..

Truly an awesome experience ….I will always cherish it…. Well, hoping to go back there someday………. ;-)

My Cebu Experience

I know it’s been a month since my Cebu training ended…. And even now, I haven’t shared my experience yet… so here am I writing.

Well, I could say it was great experience…. even I, myself couldn’t believe that I’d been in Cebu and finished my training…..

I planned to take the training last April 2005 but I got badly sick that I wasn’t able to pursue my plan. As you all know, I’d been advised to be in one-month bed rest before and after my back surgery (Thanks be to God – my surgery was a success – now I’m alive and kicking)

When I was informed of the schedule for the TESOL training, I didn’t have a single peso in my pocket to finance the 5-week training but God provided everything. I flew to Cebu on the 9^th of May – first time (at least for a long time) that I’ll be away from my sister. A little nervous? No… I was thrilled – excited to what was waiting for me in Cebu, which at the time was a strange city for me.

Pulling my heavy luggage (don’t tell my surgeon about it – I am not allowed to carry heavy things ;-))… I was greeted by friendly Cebuano guards, and directed me to the direction where I could get a metered taxi (I couldn’t afford a service car).

At last, I arrived at the Pension House --- three of us will share the room. Climbing the stairs – my mind was wondering about my roommates (I know I’ll be sharing it with one American and one Pinay). My American roommate answered my knocked on the door…. Hi, I’m Abbie… are you ___?; Is this our room?” I asked; “Yes, and we have to figure out how are we going to give way for each other.” she said. Well, folks… it was a posted-stamp room – hahaha – quite small for three ladies – “Excuse Me” was the common statement you will usually here in this room ;-) Anyway, we had clean room, clean, bed, air-con and hot and cold shower. And the place was just across the school…… no hassle of traffic to worry about.

We were 20 students for this training…; Wow, it was quite a number (Good ;-)) Our trainers were two Canadians and one American. They were all TESOL experts…. Two-thumbs up for them!!! They were great – very competent. Well, truly the training was really intensive – schedule was tight and hectic. I was lucky enough if I could get four hours of sleep. We had lots of readings, homeworks and projects.

Well, the training was rewarding and fulfilling…. I learned a lot… Our efforts, hardships and sleepless nights (including our TESOL nightmares) were paid off during our graduation day – when we received our Certificate. (A Loud Applause for Us ;-))

In Cebu, God showered me with His blessings. I never got sick (though I always had my headache (any it was only mild)). One time when I had my “no dinner tonight” (just my saying when I need to tighten my belt – my practice is not to eat) – I was invited for a buffet dinner at Marco Polo (Great meal, I could say – a dinner that I could not forget). I had a bountiful, luscious lunch at Situkil Place (my friend’s family bought kilos of different seafood) and a thirst quencher juice at Shangri-la after a nice stroll on the white beach sand (I enjoyed every minute of walking under the heat of the sun). Well, I didn’t work on my tan as I planned to… I swam only once (sorry, for me huh! ;-))

Moreover, I had the chance to see the Taoist Temple, Tops (high place where one can see the splendid city of Cebu) and the Mount View. Similarly, we had one day Museum tour (in which we called Museum Invasion J) I tried their Lechon Baboy and Lechon Manok (they were really good… I love them) Oh speaking of food for P8.00 you can already have a good meal (only available at night…2 sticks of small barbecue and hanging rice (called puso) just add four peso if you want vegetable (ngoiong)…. Uh-oh… I missed these foods….

Well, I confessed some of my pocket money went to accessories… bought bunch of them…. My trainers even asked if I’m planning to sell them J…. My answer was “NO… they are for my friends (Sorry, I lied – coz I kept them J)

Oh my classmates are all nice and friendly…also I admired their creativity…. Well, the director of the school is really nice – warm and kind-hearted woman. One thing that I am also grateful to God is the gift of friendship from the new friends I met there.

Well, overall… I had enjoyable time in Cebu… I wish to go back there … by then… I’ll be with my SIGNIFICANT OTHER (hahaha… hopefully)