I made friends with Joy's cousin and sister yesterday. They are probably eight years old. I no longer have any more Buttfreckles left!! I should have brought a bigger bag with more stuff! When I go home and find sales on Hello Kitty things I will send them to Mitzi to sell in her shop. I love her little store! Maybe some American chocolate?
Its already hot at 7 am. Last night the min was so full & lit up the night sky like a fluorescent bulb! So beautiful… & the stars shine so brightly… and with colors…
Joland, Mitzi's husband, is an amazing father! Kind-hearted.. He has had a life with challenges and is taking care of his brothers along with his wife and son. They are rebuilding the house for his brothers not far from Poppa Tony's hardware store. I love watching them all interact with Tyler-Seth. He is their world! The community is very involved with raising kids. Tyler Seth has a nanny - Gina Lynn. She stays here with the family to take care of Tyler. Its crazy how they support each other and I wish we had this in the states. They very rarely say no to Tyler, they redirect his actions and allow him space, unless its a very real danger… It is so awesome to be a part of this world!! Just to be and allow things to be…
A gift from Mitzi - for me, a backpack gifted to her by her aunt. For my mom, a traditional basket from the Valdenor family
Patricks hat and one for my Dad
My alarm clock! I do not even have to remember to set it.. But the snooze button is broke. LOL
SO BEAUTIFUL!!!
On the road to Guian and Sulangan
Rice fields :-)
I love the way the clouds form here
Whenever we pass a big house, Mitzi says,
they are probably a foreigner or have family in a foreign country.
I love these Jeepeneys!!!
At first I thought these might be little houses but it is how they dry their coconut wood. Mitzi says if they put it on the ground it will rot really fast from the humidity.
The college where Joy will attend in a few months
I kept thinking that I would find some area that was left undisturbed by the typhoon but I was wrong… The further we drove, the more devastation I found… It breaks my heart to see all the chaos but at the same time they are standing up, pushing back and rebuilding what they once had. Beside the broken houses I found glorious gardens in full bloom!! Life keeps happening despite what the world throws...
I love these leaves!!!
The water is soooooooo clear and beautiful!
SO CUTE!!!
Rebuilding of the road
This is a surf town that was completely destroyed
I cannot get over the devastation...
This used to be a ChowKing - major food chain
The resilience of even the coconut trees was captivating..
I cannot believe the storm just cut the trees right in half
Pilgrimage Site to St Anthony de Padua, in Sulangan
I love this tree
Beautiful architecture!!!
A lot of the windows are broken from the typhoon and they have roof damage
Broken door from the storm and still so beautiful!!
Prayers to St Anthony de Padua - one for my mom and one for my nephew
Dried fish in the small market
I tried to spend a little bit in each stand
these necklaces are beautiful!!
So cute!!
The street in front of the church in Sulangan, Philippines
BEAUTIFUL!!!
This one held a particular interest to me.. but there was no name associated with her...
A little bird!!!
I love this!!
Father & Son :-)
Me, Mitzi and Tyler Seth
This picture was taken next to a few fishermen who were teasing my picture taking… So I did not take a picture of them! I refused!!! Take that crit theory!! lol
More of the surf town….
OUR LUNCH!!! :-)
Rotisserie Chicken! YUM!
One of my favorite things in the Philippines, mais con yelo!!!
A street kid that Joland gave lunch to… Amazing! So I gave them our soda
He brought a friend to share the food
This is the market in Giuan
These delicacies were really good!! I do no thane a comparison… But they kind of have a Chinese noodle texture with a coconut/sweetened condensed milk flavor. :-)
More shops in Giuan
Another foreign aid group
Beautiful…. :-)
What an experience… The pilgrimage site was magical, one of the saints caught my eye. She had on a red dress and was holding a vial of water. Maybe St brigid? We bought shell necklaces in the small market, took some pictures… it was awesome! Then we ate lunch in Giuan - there were street kids begging for money. It is against the law to give them money because some of them are fronts for crime syndicates. These children were just hungry and at the end of our meal Joland gave them the remainder of our chicken. So I gave them the rest of our soda - Orange Royal.
----
Later in the evening I was out in my usual spot looking at the night sky and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye… A little light.. I thought, may its a satellite… or a falling star?? But then I saw it again, a little light… and another, and another… FIREFLIES!!!!!!!!! I have DREAMED about seeing a firefly for so long! Today's lesson? DREAM BIG! The universe has a plan and I know wherever we go will be amazing! Fireflies!!! Who have thought? Also, they were surrounding the tree where I had left a few pieces of food for the dog.
I turned to Anton, Mitzi's brother and said to him, "are those fireflies?" And he said yes! Sometimes there are so many around one tree and they think that maybe a spirit lives in the tree. So I got to ask him about their mythology/folklore a little bit and wanted to know about the faeries and little people. He said they live in the hills, supposedly. ;-) But they leave them alone, they do not mess with them. He was very excited that I was excited about the fireflies!!!
Only three days left in Balangiga and Joland wants to make sure I get to the airport so they might stay in Tacloban. They do not have to as I made sure the hotel where I was staying had an airport shuttle! My family is very hospitable…
The night sky
FIREFLIES!!!
Continues:
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