Joseph's Notes

Today, as I write this, is the first day of college for Lyn and for Wendie. It marks the beginning of the fulfillment of a dream for Lyn and the original reason for us moving to the Philippines—to finish her education. Lyn is working on her baccalaureate degree in radiologic technology.  She may be able to finish it in three years since she can transfer some credits from previous college work. Wendie is pursuing a degree in IT in programming in AMA. She also may be able to finish in three years because that school is on the trimester system. I am excited and happy for them as they embark on this ambitious course.

A Birthday Party Lyn and I got an invitation from our landlady Sarah, a cultured and distinguished Filipina, to the 75 th birthday celebration for her husband Eric, a lawyer originally from Switzerland. Their elegant home is off the national highway a few kilometers past Zamboanguita on a narrow concrete road about one kilometer and then follow more like a footpath for another kilometer to their mansion. Right beside the ocean, it was an elaborately catered event for about 70 guests with lechon baboy (whole roasted pig—the ultimate in feasting) and other traditional Filipino cuisine served outdoors. There was a 7 person professional band with an elaborate sound system for entertainment. Sarah asked us to sit at her table and treated us like royalty. There were a number of guests from Europe, but we were the only ones from America.  Setting up the tables Almost ready I think my favorite part of the evening was when the band played and sang an old love song, and Eric

One day we noticed some tiles in our living room buckling and notified our next door neighbor, Ariel, the caretaker. He notified the landlord (who is in Australia currently) and the tile man. The landlord’s husband (the Swiss lawyer) came over from Zamboanguita, and they determined that it would take three days to fix all the tiles that were affected and that it would be too dusty for us to stay there during the process. So we decided to visit the island of Siquijor (seeky-whore). We had been wanting to visit since we arrived. Besides, that’s where Lolit, Kaye, and Liam were visiting her family who live there. To many Filipinos Siquijor is full of mystique conjuring images of magic, some even of witchcraft and spells. Some people that investigated have found no scientific evidence of any of that, but the legend persists. Wendie riding her broom We ate a nice breakfast at McDonald's and jumped on the 7am Montenegro ferry to Siquijor. The trip of about an hour and

We love to travel, and we decided to take an overnight trip to Bacolod in neighboring Negros Occidental. Bacolod is easily the largest city on Negros Island with over 550,000 inhabitants. One of the main differences between the two halves (and two provinces) of Negros is that the East/Southeast Negros Oriental where we live speaks mainly Bisaya (Cebuano) and the West/Northwest Negros Occidental where Bacolod is the provincial capital speaks mainly Ilonggo (Hiligaynon). Also, though the land area of the two provinces is a similar size, the population of Negros Occidental is twice that of Negros Oriental. At the plaza downtown Bacolod San Sabastian Cathedral At the City Hall At the provincial capitol Is Wendie trying to wrestle this carabao away from a naked man? We left home at 4:30am to go downtown to get on a bus to make the 6 hour trip and arrived in Bacolod before 11. We ate lunch and checked into a pension house and then went on a little tour. The m

Wendie has been living with us since we returned from Bukidnon. Lolit, Kaye, and Liam stayed with us for a week and then proceeded to the island of Siquijor to spend some time with her family of origin there. Mary Grace, Lyn’s cousin, came about a week later to spend some time with us. Mary Grace’s father Gabriel is Lyn’s mother’s brother and is the closest relative to Lyn’s immediate family. Mary Grace will be trying to teach me some of the Bisaya language while looking for a teaching job. She is an honor graduate of Central Mindanao University and certified to teach all high school sciences. Wendie, Lolit, and Kaye arriving on the ferry at the dock in Dumaguete The Boulevard is in the background. The high school in Kibawe, Bukidnon where Mary Grace taught With her father, Uncle Gabriel, looking on One morning Lyn and I had some early morning business in Dumaguete, and afterward decided to eat a late breakfast at one of our favorite downtown restaurants. Eve