Sunday morning I went with Tony to the Manila Country Club to watch the Pacquiao/Clottey fight which was such a treat to be a part of. Watching a Pacquiao fight in the Philippines is like watching the Super Bowl in the US. EVERY person was watching, and the entire country's energy and attention was given to the fight during the week leading up to the event. Not only that, it was surreal to watch an event at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium while I was on the other side of the world. Tony's friends were great, and it was a blast watching the fight with them, even though it was quite uneventful due to Clottey's pure defensive approach. I was very appreciative that Tony brought me with him (as Tania and I have been for everything they're doing for us while in their country), and also happy that Pacquiao won because I think the country would have burned if he lost.
After the fight, Tania and I packed our bags and got picked up by two reps from (Christian) Child Fund (CF), the foundation that brought us to the Philippines in the first place. Carmen, Tania's mother, has sponsored a child within this organization for a long time now, but has never actually met any of these kids in person, so we thought we'd utilize this opportunity to become personally familiar with her charity while we were in the region.
It turns out that one of the men who picked us up, Hubert, was going to be our guide/rep for the week. After the 3 hour drive to Taal, which is in the Batangas region, we were shown to our hotel, the Little Bridge Resort. It did have a pool and was on beach-front property, but that's as far as the resort aspect of the hotel went. The pool did serve us well throughout the week, though, because we swam man laps with our snorkel masks. It's amazing how much more we like swimming as a source of exercise when breathing is easier by the snorkel mask.
Several CF staffers took us into the main area of Taal on our first night to grab food. We got a pizza to go and some groceries from 7-11 and headed back to the hotel so we could get a good night rest before our big first day in Batangas.
Monday morning we headed over to the elementary school with Hubert and encountered a sea of children who were in a parade line walking out of the school gate. The parade, and subsequent singing/dancing performance, were all commemorating the kids' awareness of El Nino and its effect on our planet. We walked with the kids for about 20 minutes before returning to the school and over to the outside stage where the rest of the morning would occur.
Taal kids and a sign they made on recycled plastic during their El Nino parade.
One of the incredibly well choreographed and performed dance pieces during the El Nino show.
Several groups of kids sang songs like "My Heart Will Go On" and "Nobody" (apparently the biggest song to ever come out of Korea - actual song begin after the 2:00 mark in the linked video). Other groups of kids performed choreographed dances that rival some of the best we saw on last season's So You Think You Can Dance. The kids put so much effort into the performances, and it was so cool to witness in person. They also treated us like celebrities, giving us seats up front and coming up to us to say hello. Such a great way to get to know the kids of this area.
After the show, we walked over to the CF office and met the child who Carmen sponsors, Janric. His father brought him and his sister to the office, and we got to spend an hour with him, just long enough for him to warm up to us, and not too long to remove him from his daily routine. Tania had thoughtfully bought Janric some children's books which they read and played with during our visit. Janric especially took to a book that came with stickers that he could place throughout the book. He was quite timid during the first half of our visit, but as more stickers were stuck and the more time he spent next to Tania, he definitely took a liking to my beautiful wife. When the visit was done, we all exchanged hugs and took some pictures so we could share the moment with Carmen and Tony.
Tania with Janric (blue), a CF staffer, and Janric's little sister (orange).
Tania with Janric and his sister at the end of our visit with them.
Even though our primary purpose of coming to Taal was to meet Janric, CF knew that we wanted to spend a week with them to experience what the organization does for the local community, and to get to know the community in which Janric lives. One day we toured all of the villages within Batangas and around Taal. We sat with a group of mother's and their children while a local elder taught the mothers about pre-adolescent development and care. We toured a few plots of land on which CF funds go towards locals growing their own food and raise their own cattle. And we ate lunch with a few families at their homes while asking questions about their lives and community.
Mothers and their children at the pre-adolescent community class.
One of the children at the class, after I made her cry (ask Tania).
Yet the highlight came at the end of the week when we spent two days with a youth group that uses the CF office as their activity headquarter. These teenagers, some of whom were CF sponsored children earlier in their lives, worked to raise funds for a computer, choreographed and practiced dances and songs, and simply enjoyed each others' company in a very positive and productive atmosphere. Tania spent Thursday afternoon really getting to know the kids, asking about their dreams and aspirations. One girl was so obviously ready to be a leader in the real world, and we will not think twice about hiring her if she ever wanted to work in the US. And on Friday, as a farewell gathering for Tania and me, the kids performed several dances and songs to commemorate our visit to Taal. We couldn't help but get choked up as we watched how happy and appreciative these kids were to have support from the outside world. I even got into the mix and joined them on stage for a dance, but quickly fell behind because I didn't know their choreography. It didn't matter, though, because it was the fact that we were all together, two completely different worlds joined with the hope that we can all live and work together to make this world a better place.
The CF youth group singing for us at our farewell ceremony.
The two of us with the CF youth group.
Along with Tania's sunrise boat ride to a beautiful choral reef, a climb up to the roof of the Taal Church (and subsequent magnificent views of the ocean and inland areas), walks to other villages and their markets, tours of local museums, and a few dinners at the Taal Bistro (we did eat sisig, a local favorite that we saw on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations), that was our time in Batangas. It was a complete departure from the luxury shown to us by Tony and Annie in Manila, which gave us an eye-opening perspective on the country because both sides are incredible in their own ways. This dichotomy is seen on a much smaller scale in many areas of Manila where the opposite ends of the spectrum sit less than a block from one another. But like we said, both lifestyles are rich and beautiful in their own ways, and we're forever grateful to have been able to see and feel firsthand why the Philippines is a land of people who are very proud in their history and culture.
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