Trip to Manila

It's been a tradition of me and my housemates to meet at least once a year to visit some places. This year, we decided to have a Manila Trip. We did it during the Independence day. Zetta and I were having breakfast when I saw a map in the Young Star page of the Inquirer. We decided to use it in our adventure.

We went to the National Museum. There's no entrance fee that day. Yay! 

Our next stop was the Fort Santiago. We hired a pedicab driver to tour us around. In fairness, they know the history of the place. The driver also served as our tour guide.

The buildings gave us a European feel.

We also visited some churches like Manila Cathedral

and San Agustin Church

We ended our day by eating these ice creams from Big Scoop at Calle Escolta. 

Since it's Independence Day, we dropped by the Rizal Monument.

Trip to Mt. Batulao

This is not the usual travel blog. 

I don't think I can give you much advice about what to bring or what activities to do. I just write here to share my experience. I chose to make this blog personal. 

It's been a year since I climbed a mountain. I've been very busy with my career and of course with my master's degree. Whenever I have the opportunity for these kind of adventures, I eagerly grab them! :)

I cant remember the exact date of this hike but I know that it was my last day of second semester 2015. I was so tired of making my final papers for Philo Ed and my research paper for Psycho-Socio-Linguistics. I also had my final exam on Intro to Linguistics that day.

My brother texted me about his plan on hiking to Mt. Batulao. He's really problematic because my parents didn't allow him to go with his friends. As a "kind" sister (HAHAHA), I persuaded my parents to allow him provided that I'll go with Karlo.

I was in Manila that time. I think I arrived at Cavite around 7pm. I had dinner and hurriedly pack my things for the hike. I felt a rush because it's literally last minute for me!

I met my brother's friends and we ride a bus to Batangas. I think the fare from Robinson Dasma to Batulao is around 60php.

We decided to have a night hike. We paid 400 to a guide from the village near the mountain. I think it was around 11pm when we decided to sleep. I wasn't informed that nobody brought a tent! We just used some blankets and slept on the ground. I think we were halfway near the peak. 

We started hiking 5am to witness the sunrise at the peak of the mountain. It was all worth it. 

Trip to Westhill International School

"Work. Save. Travel."

I remembered posting it as my status in Facebook a year ago. I always wanted to visit different places. I can't to do it without money to pay for the food, fare and accommodations so I decided to search for a school who can support my passion and of course who can pay me well. :)

It's been a year since I started working at Westhill International School. I never really regret choosing to work in an international school over the all girls school and the catholic school who hired me.

Why work in Westhill International School?

1. The teachers and staff here are good people. Some teachers are born again Christians of different denominations, some are Catholics. We respect each others religion. I'm happy that we have morning devotions every day from 7:30 to 8am. It is lead by a foreign Pastor. It's really good to start the day with some singing of praise and worship songs and some word of God.

Westhill International School Faculty and Administrators

2. The students are very lovable. They may have different nationalities but I can see than they can work well with each other.  There is indeed a unity in diversity. All of them speaks English most of the time except in their Filipino subject. They also know how to speak French. I often join my students in their French class. (Free French lessons! LOL) 

My 5th grade students wearing their scouting uniform

Philippine National Dance Day Celebration

3. The facilities are commendable. All of the classrooms and laboratories are air-conditioned. The restrooms are always clean. The cleaning staff make sure that the surroundings are clean. Oh by the way, there are CCTV's all over the place. Each classroom has two CCTV's. The cafeteria, and even the hallways have CCTV's too.

Every classroom uses an interactive board. :)

4. The parents are friendly. I rarely encounter complains. The parent-teacher relationship is good because the teachers contact the parents immediately if there is a concern about their child. The parents also participate in school activities like the sports fest.

5. I'm very comfortable here. It may be thirty minutes away from home but I learned how to enjoy reading a book while on trip. I also enjoy making cool presentations for the students because we use the interactive boards in class. As for the lesson plans, the teachers are required to be in school during summer to finish our lesson plans for the whole school year. 

Before the school year ends, the teachers were asked to pass a letter of intent if we are staying or leaving. I didn't think twice. I really want to stay here. I realized that I'm getting paid to do what I really love to do.

5 Things You’ll See Inside A Teacher’s Bag

How would you find a girl who teaches? You’ll know she does because she always carries supersized bags.

1. Laptop

She has to carry her laptop every day with all the creative presentations for her kids. Yes, she sleeps late because she needs to prepare her lesson plan and all the visual aids for her classes. This applies to the teachers who do not have their own desktop in the classroom.

2. Flash Drive

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She’s always ready. Just in case her laptop malfunctions, she has the back up of all the presentations, lesson plans and class records. Her flash drive is full of icebreakers, full of funny videos, and activities that will surely get the students attention.

3. Planner/Notepad

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If she’s very organized, she keeps a planner that she updates everyday about her deadlines (grades, exams, narratives). However, if she’s really busy, there will always be a notepad or a sheet of paper with “Things to do” in it. Her activities never run out.

4. School Supplies

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She may forget her makeup kit, but she’ll always have her pencil case with colorful pens in it. She always brings her cute grading stamps, sticky notes and all the stuff for the kids’ projects. Most of the time, she takes home some test papers inside her bag that she can’t even check at home because she’s too tired to work.

5. Water bottle

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Mugs are overrated. Almost all of the teachers would say that they receive a dozen of mugs from their students every year. I think water bottles are necessity for teachers. She gives all of her effort during discussion. She uses different voices in telling a story. She exclaims when she’s happy. She sometimes yells to the naughty kids. A water bottle is something that would really help her survive throughout the day.