DAY 4
Friday 9th June 2007

For the 5th time during my 2007 stay in the Philippines I woke up with a head ache. It was not one of the terrible editions, that I sometimes suffer from. On a scale from one to ten this was a number 4.
If it is number 8,9 or even 10 I cannot possibly move from the bed.
Fortunately I have only experienced one like that this time.

My dear hosts were going to Calapan all day, and they were preparing for the trip, when I got up. I enjoyed a cup of coffee and some bread with Danish (1) cheese.
Due to my physical condition I added a few pain killers to the menu
I was instructed what to do when I left the house and also when I came back again. I had a shower and put a lot of nice smlling liquids on my beautiful body. But I am quite convinced that any trace of the nice smell will be gone with the wind after 5 minutes in the class room.
I lockd and closed windows and doors ( I think) before I went to the highway, where the waiting time for a tricycle in average is around 30 seconds.
I was quite early at the school and I spent some time in the staff room recovering a litle.
A kind person gave me a glass of sprite, which I really needed.
I arranged my papers and at 10 o'clocl I went to the lesson.
I had chosen to start wih a song. In this case "Its a small world". Thy already knew that.
After that I gave some replies to selected questions from the students.

One student wanted to know I I had a motto, and in advance I had written down one of my mottoes:

"How to write a letter was next on my list.I had written down a few things I wanted them to remember. Iexplained what a good letter was to me.

Then we started.

I soon found out that they attacked the assignment in many different ways.
A number of students started right away and knw exactly what they wanted to write. I borrowed a couple og fine letters and read them to the other students. Some of them really knew how to create a letter that would please any receiver.
But there were also students who seemed to fear the empty paper.
But noone broke down and noone gave up.
Later on I read again from more excellent letters, and I told them they shoudl help each other if they found it difficult.
All the time I walked around in the class room to take photoes, and with 59 students its not that easy, I can tell you.
Only one student claimed very quicly that he had finished. The other students listened to my suggstions about adding sentences in Tagalog, drawing and what else came to their mind.
When I came to the staff room I had a little to eat. Rice, chicken and pork. Also mineral water, I paid 43 Php for that.
The staff room is also canteen for the students or maybe the canteen is staff room for the teachers.
But no matter what the arrangement is, I am impressed when I see how peaceful everythig is there.
There is no shouting and screaming and noone is fighting. Apparantly noone looks after the students.
Thought provoking

Now 1st year.
It was quite a success with "It's a small world" in the other group, so why no do it again?
And to tell the truth, we once again took care of "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt".
I gave replies to some of the questions they gave me, and also here I had a lot of interesting things.
I put some of the pieces of art on th blackboard, but they had a will of their own because of the hurricane from the fans.
But finally they stayed there.
The main topic of the day was the writing of the letters, and also here I told them abou the "rules" on writing a letter.
Of course more students had a hard time getting started in this group, and Iadmit that writing a letter to an unknown friend is not that easy.
But most of them worked very well.
One of the students wanted to st me, Ithink. He showed me an empty page and told him that he had finished.
I told him in return that he should not waste my precious time, and thats the last I heard from him.
The day before a student had promised to write a story in English for me, and he had actually remembered that.
It was a nice story indeed.
I ran out of time.
The lesson had come to an end.

I took my bag and walked out in the hot sunshine.