Passing through the Philippines

Hello there, and welcome back to Travel Genie!

My class of third and fourth graders
in the local elementary school in
Maravilla, Cebu

It's spring time in State College and the month March in particular makes me think back to the annual Interim Trips that my high school participated in. Each year, students were fortunate enough to travel to a foreign country for between one and two weeks, to site-see, participate in language immersion, or become involved in a community service trip. One of my favorites, the one that I will be writing about this week, was a community service trip that I went on with nineteen other classmates to Cebu, Philippines.The purpose of the trip was to teach English to elementary and high-school students, as well as to pass out care-packages of clothes and medicine to the families of our students. And, because the purpose of this trip was significantly different from those of the trips I previously described, this post's format will also be different from previous ones - the biggest difference being that, there won't be any major Filipino landmarks discussed. 

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, that consists of Cebu Island and about 167 surrounding islands. Its capital city is Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines. It was colonized by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and, eventually, became the first European settlement established by Cortes in the Philippines. It finally achieved independence from colonial rule in 1946, and is now one of the most densely populated islands in the Philippines.

My third-grade class in Maravilla,Cebu

The part of the island that I visited, is a small town called Maravilla. The town partnered with my school in Singapore, under a student-run organization called Wish for Kids. Through Wish for Kids, the local elementary and high schools have been able to receive books and other classroom materials to enhance the learning of its students, providing them with a way to continue to university and, hopefully, a higher-paying job. My trip consisted of daily visits to the elementary school and, along with a fellow student, I prepared lesson plans to teach basic English to the grade levels assigned to me - grades 3 and 4. We were also able to teach English to high-school classes for a day.

Playing with the Kids after a Long Day of School

While we were there, we were fortunate to witness a local festival, the Sandagat Festival, which commemorates the arrival of Magellan and, with his coming, the introduction of Catholicism, the main language of the region. 

Decorations for the
 Sandagat Festival



The final part of the Sandagat celebration, in which a decorated boat with
an effigy of Magellan, as well as effigies of the Virgin Mary and
Jesus are danced around.





Some of the older women heralding in the decorated boat



The trip itself was extremely fulfilling, and gave us an opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the Filipino culture, as well as form bonds with the students there. Even though there are no extensive historical sites, no fancy five-star resorts, and no top-notch restaurants in Maravilla, Cebu in the Philippines, it still definitely makes my list of top destinations and I strongly recommend visiting. The people are friendly and, when visiting you truly have an opportunity to make a difference.