05-27-13: Finishing sewing of Blouse at Ka-Ricah's home with sewers.

Upper Javier Sewers discussion re patterns

05/27/13.   Our 45-minute jeepney travel to Upper Javier today was fun! Olive & I went to Ta-Reuben and Ka-Ricah's home with Virgean and Ruby, to finish sewing the blouse on the machine which I had started by hand. Ka Ricah is confident now & excited proud to have finished herself.  I will repeat the training process  tomorrow with the other sewers to reinforce confidence & motivate with praise. Their goal is to sew at a higher level without a pattern & to alter pattern sizes, but that comes with practice and time. PS: I have to chuckle: while we were sewing at Ka-Ricah's home, a neighbor was listening to "Inglebert Humperdink" music & we all sang along.  I have to mention Olive, the pre-k school teacher, has been a great travel companion & interpreter. She keeps me on my toes on the jeepney & sidecar trips, & has taken photos so that I can be included on occasion.  Attached a few photos from today's session.

Attended ALS (Alternate Learning System) session with 6 teenage students on 5/23/13 PM at Harris Meml College with Olive Oliveros, facilitator.

Canteen at Harris Memorial College: preparing for June 3 school start. Chef Hector (white tshirt) & Freddie (blue) patiently waiting on workers refresh painting of Canteen.

05-22-13.  I woke up early to adjust to the Filipino schedule and to exercise. Harris College is located in the mountains so there is no avoiding walking up and down constantly. I am so glad I brought a pair of running shoes. There is a basketball court on campus which I will use for exercise including general calisthenics, jump rope, and running.

Instant Coffee at the college dorm cafe called the "Canteen" tasted super this morning. Then I went to the open market with the chef "Hector".  Jeepney ride to the market and returning on a motorcycle sidecar ... overloaded with isda, prutas, and gulay (fish, fruit & vegetables) was FUN. Laughter is great medicine when riding in a sidecar in heavy traffic, and yes I cracked a few of my fresh eggs. I asked God for safe travel from the market and He did provide. Praise god. Amen.

On a more caring note, I observed a young family at their produce stand at the market. The father was patiently waiting for customers to purchase his Papayas or fresh Clams while the mother lovingly sat breastfeeding their infant son.  My heart went out to this mother as I watched her give several papayas to an elderly women in need who had just walked up. The mother chose to give what they could even though this family was too in need.  "Give us this day our daily Bread."

05-20-13.   It was a long, uneventful flight to Manila, arriving at 10:35 PM on 5/21. The driver was graciously waiting at the airport, and then the 1-1/2 hour drive to Harris Memorial (Methodist-sponsored) College in Taytay. I will be staying at the college dorm. I slept like a babe needless to say.