Week 12

Okay. I currently owe you all like 5 weeks of post so here it goes. Right now I am on my way to Vigan City so I can take my entrence exam. Today is Friday July 6th.

  Recovered: I am free from Stsph Infection and my skin is better excema wise!

School: My Entrence Exam is tomorrow so wish me luck everyone!!! I'll let y'all know how I do.

D&D(Dungeons and Dragons):   Since my cousin Dimer showed interest in playing D&D I have been working on setting a campeign for him and 2 other people he finds to play the gsme with us. I'm excited to be a DM (Dungeon Master).
  Beforw I left Texas I was playing a campeign with my friends. Amanda was our DM, and the party consisted of Hannah, Jacob, Tim, and Aaron. I've come to enjoy the game of D&D and I miss my game nights with those friends. I want them all to know I miss them. I didnt realize how much of an impact I made on my friends. I knew I meant something to them because they all mean something to me but it wasn't until ileft that I saw the effect on my friends and I am sorry guys. Really, I am. But life said I needed a change and here is where i ended up. I hope yo post some of the adventures in the campeign here so be ready!!! Also, if you play D&D let me know some of the stories that come out of your campeigns. I love heard about D&D it's so interesting and fun to listen too!

  Zach: Okay so Zach wanted me to make 'Shorts' of an anime but it'll be more of a written manga sort of thing. He wanted me to call it "The Next Buddha" but I'm going to call it Igorot (E-go-rah-t) because that's what I'll call my character. I have piercingd and tattoos and that's an old trsdition so that's what I'll call it.
  It's going to be a Comedy. I want friends who are interested in drawing the shorts into comics to message me because I would love to post the comics here to the blog.
  There will be arcs. The current arc will be the current time of me being in the Philippines. I'll have an Arc for thr times when I was in Jr High and High School. And I'll have an Arc for the Game Nights that I was able to go to. I have stuff written already it's a matter of bing able to post it since my wifi is yet again messing up.

  Wifi: Wifi here makes me so mad. I could have prevented this at the airport but my mom and aunt DO NOT get along so I'm having to fight the 3rd world way of living with this wifi problem. It's not 100% bad. Honestly, nature had a mesmerizing song if you take the time to listen to it. But even though I want to post once a week sometimes I canr even do that.

  The first problem Ihad was that the network (somehow) would stral my load. It would randomly drain.

  Then there are times when I cant load my phone because i dont have a load card.

  And now my wifi sim, where you preload load to it won't let me log into it. So the wifi is locked. I plan to get it fixed in Vigan or not use it anymore.

Im also thinking of getting this sim called 'Load Wallet' it's a safe way to store load and I can sell it. So i can make money off of it. I can charge up to P5 per transaction. I'll probably only do P2 though lol.

  Languages: I havent done muh talking. I try. And i am better at understand the people here but I'm nowhere near fluent. Tagalog is the easiest for me to pick up on. But i cant avoid learning Ilocano and Itneg so I go ahead and learn as much as I can.  The great thing about this place is that Filipinos don't understand each other so it makes the intimidation less dominate. People are happy that I try to speak their languages and I'm happy they try to speak English. But. Let's be real here. Would you rather speak 108 languages or English? I opt for 108 languages. Lol

  Something the people here don't get is that people who 'English' butcher English. So while Filipinos try to learn the proper way to speak English us Americans are over here saying Oh-range vs R-ange and us Texans stop bothering to speak proper English when we came up with the word Y'all'd've. And no, I won't tell you what that means outright. Ask any Texan you know for the meaning of Y'all'd've.

  Work: So before I left the US I was working at Dollar General as a Key Holder (shift mananger). And before that I worked as an Overnight Sales Associate so basically was a manager. I got fired because I spoke up about the Store Manager not doing their job. I knew they weren't doing their job because I was the one doing their job.

  Well! I found out they got fired. Im so happy. They got what they deserved. And! There's hope that I can go back to working for that company WITH managing experiance! I'm so excited and I hope if I apply I can come back to the company. I know, it sounds crazy. Why would I want to go back to a Gas Station job? Because I loved it. The job was simple and easy and I worked my shift and went home. And went back the next night. It was great.

  So if push comes to shove I can work at the gas station again. And if not, there are other has stations. So there's hope.

  What I hope to change when I come back: What I want to be is a tutor. I csn pick up Substitue jobs in any city I'd like, to find kids who need to be tutored. I want to charge based on people's income they way they can afford my tutoring. I kmow that sounds odd but I'll have a down payment that'll get them so many hours in a week with me. I'll have a schedule of many hours a day we'll have and what it'll add up to in a month.

  I don't believe a person can learn properly if there isnt repetition and review. I dont know how I'll do it just yet but I get to practice here in the Philippines. I want to tutor other students in English. I was told to charge more than P100 but I'm trying to learn not make money. The P100 is to ensure the student shows up and to ensure that I have time for the person. I have to make lessons for the tutoring and when I tried to write a lesson in the same manner that a Tagalog learning book started i realizd how difficult English is.

  I was wondering what was taking so long. There's a wreak up ahead. The philippines traffic has become better with more structure but they are still very behind with no traffic lights, hardly any signs, and no street lights. Which is fine. It's not like we obey the traffic laws anyway in the US (what's a turning signal? Oh is that stop sign a suggestion. I'll think about it.) Lol.

  The drivers here are better than ours in the US. They know how to communicate. Which is MORE to say than in the US lol.

  Well everyone, I'm going to take my test in 30 minutes. Keep me in your thoughts. I'm nervous but I can do this. I know because a lot of people have faith in me. *inhales sharpy*

  Wish me luck, Shinar/Cho/DJ

Short Update! (Sort of Short lol)

  I know I havent posted week 8 or 10 and this next post should be 11 so here's a short update to make up for those.

  School starts in August and I should be able to turn in my stuff next week. My cousin Dimer is sick so we didnt go on Tuesday to go get his transcript. Hopefully he'll be up to it tomorrow but I dont know. I need to ask his brother Joshua for an update on his transcript. I have everything I need for my application but all three of us are renting the apartment so it would only make sense if I waited for them before I turned in mine. We all have to take the entrence exam anyway and hopefully theyre not full when we finally get our papers together.

The Santiago Beach is currently dirty due to the Typhoon. My family wants to wait 2 weeks before we go to the beach again and even though I'm reluctant... the water isnt safe for me. I currently have a mild case of staph infection. But because I've kept myself clean and dry it's not getting worse. If anything, it's getting better. On Thursday I want to go to the dermatologist to ask for antibiotics.

  Other than that I have load for the next 4 days. I've let my mom  talk to Inang and I've talked to Alan so that makes me happy! I got to read up in the president here and I COMPLETELY understand why many of my friends are worried for me but rest assured my family will keep me safe. I dont go anywhere without them.

  I'm writing again. (Lol yay carpel tunnel). The journals here are $.03 and this will probably become a problem for me buuut I dont care. That and there's CHEAP Japanese Candy that's sold at 7/11's. Like I got so excited you have no idea.

  I miss my friends back home. I do appreciate the messages that are sent my way. It makes me happy that you guys think of me and dont worry, i think of you too!

  Those of you who do not personally know me but view my blog from Spain, Canada, South America, or anywhere else!! Thank you!! Grácias! Hable con mi!! Comentarios are siempre welcomed! I need to practice my spanish!

  I'm thinking of making a travel instagram specifically for my good photos. I'll post up the link if i do decide this.
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  As I said this one is short but I'll still place some dedications here. This time I choose Zach Nguyen, Jennifer Garcia, and Erik Gonzales.

Happy Fathers day to all the fathers out there!!! I know it already passed but best wishes are always a thing.

  Week 8 was supposed to he dedicated to Zach and I have it typed on my laptop but I cant post it because my wifi isnt working. Im currently using my cellphone's load. Im thinking of buying this thing called 'Load Wallet' so I can have a safe amount of load and i can make money if people need load lol.

  Zach always compares my life to an Anime and I want to post some Shorts up based on that idea! There are so many stories i can tell in Shorts and I'd love to see my friends draw some of them as comic strips! If youre interested let me know, we'll figure something out!!!

  Anyways, Zach is awesome and has always kept ul with me because I try mrey best to keep up with him. We met in band in 6th grade. He played French Horn. I appreciate Zach and even though we argue but agree A LOT it makes the friendship fun. He's blunt and says things that catch me off guard but I do that too so we break even lol.

  Thanks for being here for me, Zach! I'll always be here for you!

  Band was the center of my life for so long. Without it I wouldnt have met such amazing people like Zach or Jenny! Jenny and I also met in band. She played clarinet. Even though our actual 'meeting date' is up in the air the memories I've made with Jenny since then are far unforgetable! Jenny is very artistic and I can always turn to her if I need someone to talk to. She's one of the few girl friends I have lol. I love Jenny and spending time with her. It's nice to go adventures or talk about culture. I can learn so much from her! She has an amazing personality and even though we're physically seperated I know if either of us had the time we can meet up and catch up!

  I see her as a future travel buddy! Whether it's in the US or not. Hopefully, we get to have some of those adventures soon. Love you, Jenny!

  And lastly there's Erik! Erik was there for me when no one else was. He was the hope that I didn't think was possible and I wouldn't be the person I am today without him. Erik is by far my best friend and even though we dont always talk I know he'll always have room for me in his life and vice versa.

  I know that Erik will make a great father to his daughter Braelynn becaue he's hardworking, supportive, and overall a good person. It's hard to think of Erik as a negative person or a person who gets angry. Any negative emotion is hard to place with Erik lol. He cares so much for other people. And that makes them care the same in return. I'm glad that we met in 6th grade.

  When I think back on it we didnt have a single class together but we hung out with the same people and that's how we got to know each other. He was in Orchestra and I was in Band. He played Bass. A lot of our friends were nerds whether they were academically inclined, into videos games, or into Music. We all had a table at lunch we sat at in Junior High and then later in High school.

  Erik has always been an inspiration to me. He has seen an emotional side of me that not everyone has and that makes me respect him more because that side of me isn't easy to deal with. But he did it. And it didn't change how he treated me.

  Youre the best Erik! Thanks for everything.

  All the friend I've made have had an impact on me and my friends will always be family to me. They are the people who were truly there for me, whether they realize it or not, and that is something I apppreciate. People have said to me that making true friends is a talent but I feel that anyone can make 'real' friends as long as they present themselves as a 'real' friend and that's how I've always lived.

  Because what's the point in being friends if the friendship is fake? Not everyone that I consider a friend considers me a friend and that's a fault of my own. I treat people how I want to be treated and I'm good with connecting with people on an emotional scale. People say that there's a trust in me that they can see and I hope that never changes.

  Well, it's late for me so I'm going to turn in. If we're not connected on Instagram, follow me, and message me then I'll follow you back! My facebook is meant for people I meet in person so I dont always accept friend request on there. But my instagram is open to anyone so follow me and I'll be sure to follow back!

Thanks for checking in with me everyone. I appreciate every single one of you!! Till next time!! 

-Shinar/Dj/Cho

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Week 9: Progress Made and All The Rain

Me and my cousin Joville at Santiago Beach!

Rain Rain Rain!! (Literally it rained all week lol)

Sun:  Rest Day 

Mon: Transcript Came In! 

Tues: Independence Day (Though no one knows who from lmao) Santiago Dagat!!! High Waves and Gasping Breaths 

Weds: Practiced Languages

Thursday: Practuce Languages

Fri: Birthday Catholic Service

Sat Candon,Supplies

  My wifi has been picky but for some reason my apps work fine so I found a way around my problem! I am currently using my Instagram browser on my phone. I dont understand why ny wifi wont let me log into the factory setting password through my browser (through my laptop AND my cell) but I wont stress over it since I know now that I can go through other apps to get to the website I want. 

  There are 3 people that I want to bring up before I get started on telling y'all about my week. I want to thank Eric Hernandez for helping me with my spanish. My best friend's birthday was this week!!  Yay 22! Your wishes are official through the blog. And Lastly, Connie Hernandez gets a feature this week because I wanted to show her the blog lol.

  I met Eric Hernandez at Stripes while I worked overnight. He also worked overnight as a sweeper for All Clean of Texas. I wanted the job but even through my persistant I wasnt able to land it. Eric ended up changing jobs to work day time and for a higher pay so I asked if we could be friends on facebook and he said sure! Even though he liked to prick at my nerves during my shift I still enjoyed his company and now he's helping me learn Spanish! He's about to have a son soon so congrat and Happy Father's Day! He always post about his daughter, Julissa and I can't help but respect that so yay for good parenting! It's always a good feeling to see children being raised well by anyone, a single parent, a couple, seperated parents, adopted parents, ect. Thanks again, Eric! And I'll make sure I go to the Mexican instead of Google lol.

  If you are one of my friends on Facebook who speaks Spanish fluently, please.... Message me!!! The languages here in the Philippinrs originated from Spanish because it was taken over by Spain for 333 years (That I learned from my nephew RJ when I visited Apayao). Because Spanish is the origin some words bleed through and I know I've mentioned this over the weeks but each week somone new views the blog so here it is. Some words in Spanish bleed through or are very similar in Tagalog or Ilocano and even in Itneg. My favorite  one, for those of you Anime lovers is is Baca.

  In Tagalog, Ilocano, and Itneg: Baca
  In Spanish: Vaca
  In English: Cow

  The Stupid Cow joke makes me laugh but not everyone gets it here and that's fine lol.

  June 13th was my best friend's birthday! Happy Birthday Amber!!! Me and Amber were best friends back in Elementary. We didnt have a single course together in Junior high and didnt reconnect until Senior year of High School when we had Goverment and Economics together. it was as if our friendship was on pause and when I got to hang out with her again it was like the gap if years wasnt there.

  Amber can have moments of randomly NOT ANSWERING cell phone calls or messages but I dont mind. When I have time, I go see her or if she has enough energy she messages me. I love Amber to death and support whatever she whats to do in life. She's super creative and artsy and she's good at taking  care of kids. She watched Rylla in 2015 when I landed the Stripes overnight job for the first time. I asked her to watch her because I was going to school in between. Right now she's with a guy from Canada and he seems pretty cool but I've never talked to him lol. All he needs to know is that if he ever hurts her in a way that I causes me to retaliate he better we ready because I may be cute and adorable but I pack a punch :3  But I'm sure it wont come to that! Love you, Amber. One of these days you and I need to go to Canada. I have family there!!!

  And Lastly, Connie Hernandez. We had talked about the Philippines and some fun words like "Puto". Here in the Philippines Puto is a food, which is delicious, while in Soanish it's a curse term lol. Me and Connie had many classes together and if we didnt have the class together it was because she had the other period for the AP or Duel Credit course.

  Connie has a strong personality. Our senior year we campaigned for each other for Homecoming nominee. We told each other that if one of us made it on board to Homecoming we'd help that person get more votes. it would've been great if we both had made it but instead I made the court and she did not. I still appreciate Connie, she's a great person and even though we don't hang out I still consider her a friend! (I didnt win homecoming by the way. But I wanted tk get on the court so that I didnt have to play "My Girl" for an hour lol). Thanks for that Connie! Always know that if you need help with something, I'm here and I'll do my best to help!!!

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Now onto the actual post!

Sun:  Rest Day

  The bus ride back was 9 hours. It wasnt as dreadful because we didnt switch buses. The ticket was 1,300 for 2 people (me and my cousin Joshua). That translates to $25. Which isnt bad. But, we had to take a bus to Tuguegarao (Too-goo-goo-r-[ou like ouch] fitst and that ticket was 1,500 - $28.84. Which again, doesnt look like much but I only took 3k on the trip and luckily that left enough money for snack and a meal but that was it lol.

  I've grown to lik the bus snack Mani (peanuts) with garlic. It's only P10 (P - pesos) for a portion, which is small but Filipino size so it's okay. Right now the exchange rate for USD to Pesos is P52 to $1 so the snack was only $.20. I was glad to be home. I missed Inang (She is Lola but everyone calls her Inang so that's what I call her lol). Inang means mom. And even though Apayao feels better on my skin, it's a nice place to visit but I prefer the small town of Paltoc over any city area.

Mon: Transcript Came In!

  There was a typhoon here in Luzon, the island I'm on but my family is up in the mountains so we were okay! Jessa, the only cousin on my mom's side that's older than me retrieved my transcript from her address in Candon. I was super excited because it was supposed to come in a week before but I cant control the postal service and the transcript was making to the other side of the world.

  Despite all the trouble, I have decided to only turn in my high school transcript because I graduated top 10 percent but I wasnt top 10 percent in college. In order for me to be in the teaching program I need to score an 80 or above on the entence exam. And many people faith in me. Since I dont know what is on the actual test I have doubt that lurks in the pit of my stomach. All I hope is that everything works out and I can start on my journey to completeing the General Education Degree that I have been wanting.

Tues: Independence Day (Though no one knows who from lmao) Santiago Dagat!!! High Waves and Gasping Breaths

  Because of the typhoon there were waves at Santiago Beach. There normally isnt. But it made a fun experiance. The second time I went I was more prepared but this time, I was not able to keep up with the waves and kept getting knocked off my feet, which was still fun BUT being thrown 20 feet from your original location in one single swoop makes you think twice about what youre doing sometimes.

  I wanted to be Navy a long time ago. I knew I wouldnt be able to because of my medical records. But I also know that I dont do well at getting yelled at and in the military, there's lots of yelling. I'm not a person who can fall in line and follow orders without questioning what I'm being asked to do. It's not one of my skills but I am glad that there are people out there willing to do so.

  Eveyone was excited to not be in class today but NO ONE seems to know who they won their independence from that day. There's only two options: Spain and America. I'm assuning it's Spain because America let the Philippines do their own thing after helping get the government set up. But, independence is independence so it could have been from either.

  According to my nephew Rico Jay (who is 17) the Philippines had natives before Spain. They were tribes and working fine without Spain. Then Spain came along! Then World War Ii happened and the US bought the Philippines. During World War II, the japanese came over to the Philippines to hide and the chinese came over to sell merchandise. Today, many Koreans and Indian (from India lol) come to the Philippines for education because it's cheaper than their home.

Weds & Thursday: Practuce Languages

  I dont quite remember Weds and Thursday. I do know that traveling here mentally exhaust me which is why I don't like doing it to often but we still do it lol. I picked up my story that I wrote back in 2010. Ive written it more than once but I have faith this time. I tried to wrok through some of the lessons in my workbook and the phrase book my brother gave me but I have to have someone check over it and my cousins arent always home.

  What I do is write for about an hour. Then I get up and do something else becauee my head usually hurts at that point lol. I ghve myself an hour break and read over what I wrote. I try to finish about a page or two in my journal a day. But the only books I have are for Tagalog. So if I can get a hold of Ilocano, Itneg, and Spanish I write that too. It's a long process but if I want to learn all of the languages it's what I have to do.

Fri: Birthday Catholic Service

  I'm not super religious. I havent been church lately. I've been sleeping in lol. But friday there was a birthday party (or maybe it was Thursday I dont know lol. Either way, my cousin Kervin and Lander wanted me to go to a birthday party to eat. But this birthday party was different. Honestly, if the people here can find a reason to hold a service, they will and this time I got experiance or more catholic kid of service.

  I noticed that there wasnt a single male adult in the house at this birthday party. It was for a a 3 year old. The people kept standing and randomly singing after they said a verse or so but I couldnt sing along because everyone k ew the songs by heart, in Ilocano (I'm assuming). So I sat awkwardly thtough the service. The women sang and it had an ominious ring to it. I tred to pick up on the rhythems to see if I could think of the english version but didnt find a rhythem i recognized.

  It downpoored onced the food was given so me and my cousins headed home. I feel odd not being required to give birthday presents but I do like that the only requirement is taking food home lol.

Sat Candon,Supplies

  Living in Paltoc means that i cant to the store whenever. There's no short 'ten minute drive' to the store. i was running low on supplies (like my sulfar soap) and my Uncle needed to go buy feed for the pigs so we went. Every time we go to the CSI I have to buy the Buko shake from the stand in front. Don't ask what that CSI stands for but it's like a Sams, the prices anyway. They can sell bulk but they sell indivual items with a free add on. Say that its P120 for 3 + 1 is free so P120 for 4.)

  Why my mom insit that i buy things at an SM (Save More) which is basically a walmart is beyond me. AT the CSI the quality is the same and the prices are cheaper so if I can get away with it I am for the CSI but SM sometimes is easier to navigate. I'd like to buy things at The Market but in order to buy things there you have to speak the language or the prices will be raised because English is a higher status marker. 

  I feel that this post is shorter than the others and that's okay! Not a lot happen this week and I'm fine with that. I dont really want to have a set schedule until school starts. Let me know if you're curious about anything. I try to post when I have connection through my instagram which post for my facebook too. 

  Til Next week, 

Shinar/Cho/Dj

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Corn

Took this photo while waiting for my family to get back from their Underground Cave adventure in Luna, Apayao. This is a field of corn (Mais/Maíz: Tagalog/Spanish)

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Week Six: One Official Month!

May 28th, 2018

Sunday: Santiago

Monday: Vigan (Rent)

Tuesday: Hang out in Barayok

Wednessday: To Cabaroan! Mangas! Field Day

Thursday: Hung Out with Kervin

Friday: Candon. I made Gulash for everyone!

Sat: Stayed Home. Work on Ilocano/Tagalog/Itneg

  So I want to start by congratulating my buddy Leo Ramos for not losing hope and being freed of cancer! I'm super stoke that everything worked out for you. I wish I could buy you some 'Congrats, you didn't let cancer kick your ass' present but I can't so this will have to do! Me and Leo have known each other since sixth grade. I probably have an old picture of us somewhere from being in band together. He played tuba and I played trombone. We've always had each other's backs. No matter how far we stray in our own paths we'll always be there for each other and those kind of friendships are the best! Gad you're good bud. I hope all is well after this. Keep strivin' and survivin', bro!

  Also, Friday or Saturday Alan's little sister graduated Kindergarten! His family made me a part of their family and I'll always appreciate that. Before I left I helped her with the last few assignments she had. We had to get pictures that represented words that started or ended with curtain letters. Ex: Beginning or ending with 'th'. Imagine me trying to explain to her that there isn't exactly a picture way to represent the word 'though'. Here little brain couldn't wrap around that concept lol. I want her to know that I'm proud of her. And hopefully sooner rather than later I can teach children her age or older since I'm going for elementary education. 

  When I have connection I'll have a better hold on whose birthdays are coming up. I'll probably dedicate a photo or a post or something to the people that month because I care about all of you who are in my life (whether we met in The States, in the Philippines, or haven't met at all. Friends from junior high up until High School and even those who have worked with me know that I love giving away birthday presents. They're ways for me to say, "This is what I thought about our time together + it's your special day!"

  Here in the Philippines you don't really give gifts of birthdays. You show up and spend time with the person and that's enough. Presents are not expected. Eating the food that is cooked is expected and honestly that's how I feel. Not about the food but for my birthday I enjoy seeing people who care to put the time aside to see me or tell me happy birthday. Although, I don't like announcing my birthday, I never have. Most of my friends know it's either in April or in the week between April 10-20. I know Daniel Lucero knows my birthday because mine is the day before his.

  Anyways, Happy Birthday Adrian Fierro. Gosh, I hope you aren't any taller than last time I saw you. I'll always hope for the best for you and hope that everything is going well. You should be 22 today. If I'm wrong I'm sorry that I don't remember lol. I'm pretty sure I'm not. I also wish I could send you something, wherever you are. All I know is that you're living life and you don't seem to be in any trouble and that's all I could hope for. Always know that I'm here and if you need anyone to talk to I can use messenger for free at all times lol. Happy Birthday/ Maligayang Kaarawan/ Feliz
Cumpleanos! I hope you see this!

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IL - Ilocano
Tag - Tagalog
Span - Spanish
It - Itneg

  It has been an official month since I've landed in the Philippines. There are so many things to learn here it's making every day a challenge that's fun to beat. Little (basit - IL) by little I learn the languages. And yes, I said languages. I'm sure I've said this before but I'll say it again. I'm currently focusing on Ilocano (IL) and Tagalog (Tag). For what words I don't know I use Spanish (If I know it) and most of the time the person or people I'm talking to understand what I'm trying to say.

  Eventually I want to have a word of the day in all of the languages. I'm working with my family to figure out how I want to do this. I'm thinking of having a collection of words per week. Ex: Seven Numbers, Seven Animals, Seven Items, or ect. Most Ilocano and Itneg (It) are the same but not all the words. Tagalog is based off of Spanish. Actually, most of the languages are based off of Spanish. I don't wan to say that they all are but that might not be a false statement. 

  Sunday: Santiago Beach is about an hour and a half drive from Paltoc. This week and the next we went to Santiago but the week after I hope we can go to Urza (San Esteban) again. I have to pay for the cottage and the general drive because we're going to the beach for me. So hopefully, everything works out. Urza is where I took the picture of me and my cousin on the rock and there are more rocks to swim to swim to so I have my fingers crossed. It's also deeper there. I would really love to become a stronger swimmer than I am. I'm not too bad but my cousins (who can swim) are like graceful fish gliding through the sea lol. There are some of my family members who cannot swim and I hope to teach them so they can enjoy the sea (Baybay - IL) like I do and maybe they'll be able to adventure the ocean with me to small achievements like rocks lol. 

  Santiago Beach is clean but it's not as clear water like Urza Major (San Esteban). I hope to find more beaches I can swim at. Salt water helps my skin immensely and that's why I try to go once a week.

  My skin: Overall my skin is getting better. I started using this Aloe Gel that my sister Lynn (Manang Lynn) recommended. So far it helps die down the itching but it doesn't stop it. I'm not sure what to think of it yet. I do know that my lotion doesn't mix with the Aloe Gel (but according to my sister Lynn nothing does) so I have to wait until the gel is completely dry before I can apply any lotion on top of it. I still use hot water to kill the bacteria in the water and sprinkle baking soda to enhance the effect. I lather myself in Sulfur Soap which I know helps my skin. So far it looks like my efforts have paid off. But I've lacked in taking two showers a day because I've been waking up later and I've been told that we're going somewhere or doing something so I don't have enough time to shower in the morning. Two showers help as well. Even if I'm going over my skin and not washing my hair one of the times, it helps the healing process.

  My old habit has been coming back of me waking up at 2-3am in the morning and staying up till 4-5am sometimes 6. I'm trying to eat less in the last meal of the day that way I don't have too much energy when I go to bed but I can't cut the last meal out because if I don't eat my Inang/Lola (IL/Tag: Grandma) will get upset and I don't like upsetting her.

  Monday: Vigan (Rent): Went to pay rent with my cousins Dimer and Joshua. We ate Sinigang at a small mall across from Mang Inisal because Mang Inisal was too crowded. Got to share my music with Dimer and introduced him to Skillet (Thank you Hannah!) Although I wish I had more CDs to show Dimer (and the rest of my family who is really into music Skillet will have to be the start). They got me to download a music downloading app and a music player. Right now I'm going through my cousin or niece (I think she's my niece lol) Genalye Rose. She has another name but I don't know how to spell it or say it.

  We paid rent in Vigan and looked into turning in our applications but I can't until I have my transcript. (I literally have everything else). Also, I learned a little about the money classes here in the Philippines and how to blend in because converting my paycheck from America into pesos was a BAD idea lol. But that's okay. I have six extra applications for a reason. Hopefully my transcript will come in this next week. Otherwise I can't take the test and neither will Joshua. I don't know how Dimer applies because he's younger and is coming out of Senior High (High School( I think.

Tuesday: Hang out in Barayok

  When I was working for Stripes I worked in San Angelo and Big Lake (an oilfield based town). In Big Lake I learned how to speak enough Spanish to get customers in and out of the door and that helped me tremendously when I got back to San Angelo and had a Spanish speaking customer and even in Dollar General when I occasionally would have a Spanish speaking customer. One of my cousins who went to Hawaii for some time thought that Texas was part of Mexico and sometimes, we might as well be lol.

  Before my mom left she joked that I should get a part time job helping my Auntie JingJing at her Marienda (Store IL/Snack Tag). Even though it was a joke I thought it was a great idea because of my experience in Big Lake. So Tuesday my Uncle McKenny took me took me to Barayok to get my first experience at the store. Even though some of the words didn't stick it was still easy enough for me to understand. I hope to help her out in the future which I probably will. 

Wednesday: To Cabaroan! Mangas! Field Day: This day scared me. My cousin Lander woke me up and said that we needed to go eat in Cabaroan and I thought that meant eating at some restaurant or some side food chain. What he meant was, "Let's go the field to go eat." I asked him why his little brother wasn't coming along and he shrugged and said, "Okay if you want." After getting off the motorcycle we went for a hike to where the huge mango (manga IL/Tag) tree was. Had he told me that we were going to the field I wouldn't have suggested for his younger brother to come along but he wasn't sure how to tell me before hand. Lol. We hung out watching people harvest mangoes. They divided the harvest and we ate (I have pictures that will be posted). It was an interesting experience but my skin worried me. Any unattended cut or open wound (no matter how small) that I have can get me Staph Infection and I'm highly sensitive. The moment I got home I took a shower and thankfully, nothing happened. The field is where my cousin Gary works. He doesn't go to school but he does work out there and that's not necessarily a bad thing! He chose what he wanted to do and he's doing it. I haven't talked much to him. Out of all his siblings (Joshua, Dimer, and Jovelle) he's the one I don't get a chance to talk to because he's out there all day. I hope we get to talk when I learn Ilocano.

Thursday: Hung Out with Kervin:

  Me and the Kervin (Lander's little brother) hung out at the house all day. We read through part of his 4th grader book (Tagalog) and watched TV. I worked on some computer things and other than that I don't think we did much. I think I sang with my cousins this day. They really like my voice. I know I have a good voice but in America I never really sang in front of anyone. Here, everyone sings even if they're bad at it and I think because of that I was able to sing in front of them with ease.

Friday: Candon. I made Gulash for everyone!: Angel Hair Noodles are nonexistent here lol. And so is Garlic Salt lol. But Gallic Powder mixed with salt is the same thing. And Elbow noodles will have to do lol. I bought 1 Kilo (2.2 lbs) of lean ground beef (80/20??) and 1 kilo of elbow noodles. I bought 2 big cans of tomato sauce and onions (which were tiny. I'm used to bigger onions this was weird for me. Also the shopping experience was different. (I have pictures of that too!) Lol. I called it American Soapas (American Soup) because I thought Soapas was noodle in Ilocano but it's Soup. Which makes sense. But I asked Lander what it meant and he said it was noodle (This was later explained to me by Jovelle lol). Anyway. It was a success and most of it was gone. They don't have a fridge here so I couldn't put it away when lunch time was over but people still came over and tried it. (Apparently, I need 3 cans of tomato sauce and a 4th just in case for reheating lol but besides that the 'American Sopas' was a success,)

Sat: Stayed Home. Work on Ilocano/Tagalog/Itneg:

  I'm going to be honest and say I don't remember Saturday. I'd sit here and type to you every day when the day is over but I don't always feel like opening up my laptop to do so and it gets annoying when you go from your laptop to your phone and sometimes it's on your phone or maybe it's on your laptop and then there may or may not be a chance that there's wifi. Lol.

  Overall: One month. Whoa. I can't believe I've made it to a month! It's now officially the rainy season. Hopefully next week me, Joshua, and Dimer will have our stuff together to turn in our applications and get ready to take our Entrance Exams! Woo, College! Another thing about this place is they have uniforms per day based on what you're going to go to school for so that's interesting. I'm not really for it because I like choosing what I wear. All I hope is that the material is cotton and if it's not. I want to know if I can invest in one that is cotton. Because my skin doesn't work well with any other material.

  Well, goodnight for now. I wanted to make these short but I only seem to be making them longer lol. But more of you are telling me that you're keeping up with it so that makes me happy! Thank you for reading everyone. My dad this morning even told me that he read my blog and that made me really happy. If you all are commenting and I'm not responding it's because I don't have wifi but please, don't stop commenting! I want to hear what you're thinking.!

Until next time, Dj/Cho/Shinar 

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Selfie Taipei

On the plane heading for the Philippines. I was so tired but excited to start my new adventure. I sat next  to a Filipino couple who live in Chicago! They were talking about how they appreciate EVA Air. I second their opinion. The ride was nice and the flight was cheap compared to what it could have been. The only reason why my ticket was so expensive was because mine is an extended round trip. One of the few photos I took in Taiwan. One day I might visit the actual country who knows!

Sign in Candon!

There are many signs like this one in lots of barangays (cities/towns) 

(Left to right) Manang Gina, Sharmi, Dhexciah, me, Rico Jay

Filipino Snack One

  Banana Q! Fried Banana coated with sugar. 10 Pesos. Bought it on the way to Baguio on the bus.

  When riding the charter buses here in the Philippines at each stop a merchant or two or more will enter the bus and ask if you want to buy any of their merch (mainly food). It's convenient and not much usually.

Baguio May 4th

Panorama from the hotel balcony (:

Santiago Beach! 4.28.18

We always go here at least once when I come to the Philippines. I got my swim on early when it was cool (around 10AM) now it's 15:00 and there are way too many people out there lol

Breakfast 4.28.18

Brekfast! Crab, Rice, Clam, and Tomato! There was Fish, Watermelon, and Bittermelon as well.

Lunch 4.27.18

Papaiten, Dinuguan, and Bangus Sinigang! (Goat, Blood Pudding, Fish soup).

EVA Air Food

Flight from Taiwan to the Philippines! Fish and Rice!

Taiwan

Taiwan Airport. $250 in their currency. $8 in US Dollar :3