Siquijor. Day 3.

Our third day in the Philippines just so happened to also be Christmas day.  We've apparently started a tradition where there must be sand somehow incorporated in our Christmas.  Last year it was the desert of Dubai, this year it was a tropical beach (or should I say, beaches) in the Philippines.  Who knows?  Next year it might be the desert sands of Mongolia.  (fingers crossed)

Terry, one of the owners of La Casa de la Playa, offered to take the beau and I on a day trip around the island.  Her girlfriend Romy decided to join us and we spent a good seven to eight hours exploring all that Siquijor had to offer.  We started off at a Christmas celebration at a local church.  It brought back so many memories of my time with family in Hawaii.  There were people everywhere and everyone was so happy and welcoming.  There were children playing and people were singing and dancing to Christmas tunes.  I could've probably stayed there all day, but we had more of the island to see.  In all reality, we could have probably spent the entire day hopping from Christmas party to Christmas party.  Everywhere we went, people were having outdoor extravagant parties.  As soon as they saw that we were foreigners, they would flag our car down and basically force us to join them.  They'd clear a spot for us at the table, pour us a rum and coke and ask us all about ourselves.  As soon as we brought out the cameras they would put on a show of dancing and singing.  There was even a rousing game of musical chairs.  It was all so refreshing and there was joy, so much joy.  One might say that it was ubiquitous.

We not only party hopped; we also visited a local healer, explored Terry's favorite beaches, visited the gravestone of a woman who died at 116, hiked to some beautiful waterfalls, dipped our toes in a natural pool at the base of a "magical tree", and chased the sunset.  It is impossible to recap everything in one post, so instead I'll post some pictures from the day and I'll have separate posts dipicting each activity later.  They have to be highlighted- they're just too good to miss!

Like I said- a LOT of Christmas parties!  The remainder of our evening was spent relaxing on the front porch and playing card games to see who would win the chance to sit in the hammock.   Not a bad way to celebrate!

I feel it in my fingers... I feel it in my toes.

Christmas is all around us.  It's everywhere I go!

Ten bazillion points if you can name what movie that's from.  If you don't know, you should google it and then watch it.  Ten bazillion times. 

It's Christmas time Ladies and Gents.  What does that mean for us English teachers in South Korea?  It means another year lacking candy canes, real Christmas trees, absurdly over decorated store fronts, and crowded shopping malls.  Christmas isn't really big in Korea.  At least not in Pohang.  Our main shopping street won't get Christmas lights put up until next week.  Yes, it takes them forever to put them up, but oddly enough, they keep them up until mid-February. 

Christmas time also brings with it our school Christmas party.  My fellow co-workers and I got started 3 hours earlier than usual this morning so that we could shop around for decorations for our partay. 

This is what we found.

At first glance it appears to be a wonderful Christmas wonderland, until you realize that it's quite possibly all of the decorations in Korea.  This was quite literally everything that we found.  We settled on some festive hats, tinsel, wrapping paper, ribbons, and supplies for our Christmas craft. 

Ahh yes, I chose the reindeer hat.  I thought it was awesome.  Awesome until little angel Andy came up to me and said, "Teacher you are a reindeer!" to which I responded, "Yes Andy, I am".  He then explained to me, "But teacher reindeer have thin legs and yours are thick!"  Thank you for that Andy, you little gem, you.

Claire got to work on creating a beautiful snowman while I made little presents to hang everywhere.  Aria and Landis, being the taller girls in the group, hung everything up for us.

We'll be staying late tomorrow night in order to get everything finished.  Luckily our boss knows how to get things done.  She simply asks what food she needs to buy us in order to keep us happy.  I think tomorrow's dinner will consist of Korean hangover soup (oh.so.good.) and Baskin Robbins ice cream (almond bon-bon for moi).  I might take it all with a little side of cough medicine.  I've been feeling a little under the weather and it's flu season again.  All of our students are coming to school wearing their masks.  We decided to take preventative measures and now all of my co-teachers and I have our very own masks. 

I'll be sure to keep you updated on our Christmas progress.  I won't actually be able to attend the party since the boy and I will be on a wee vacation!  I'm actually a little disappointed that I won't get to see all the kiddos enjoy the Christmas fun but I definitely need this vacation.  Sun, sand and delicious food- here we come!