The Other Side of the World: Summer In The Philippines

Kumusta, Kumusta sa inyong lahat! (Hello, hello to you all!)

I miss you! I love reading your emails each week and hearing about what is going on in your life. It's sounds so natural, everyday. I can't believe that you are still real sometimes. But anyway, I really do love and miss you and want you to know that my heart is with you this May 26th.

I have a question. Did you all already see Les Miserables at Hale? If yes.... Why haven't I heard about it?!!!!!!!!!! I'm still sad I missed that one. Tell me all about it!

But I think that's all. Keep telling me all about your lives!!!! I love hearing it!!!!!!!!!

Well... another week has flown by. Sometimes I really wonder if seven actual days passed by... or if I just email home every other day. TIME.IS.SO.FAST!!!!!!!!! But despite how fast time feels, there is one thing that has felt very very slow in passing. SUMMER. Summer has been the LONGEST STRETCH OF SUMMER in my life. And it's only been one month. I feel like Summer has really been 4 months, or like... my whole life.

Here's some everyday facts about the summers here in the Philippines.

First off, you sweat every drop of liquid in your body everyday. Your clothes become one with your skin by the end of the day, so you literally have to peel it off to take a shower. Multiple times a day, I feel beads of sweat drip down my back, down the back of my calves... Yep. It's hot here.

I've decided that there is one must have filippino conversation that we have with everyone, everday. It goes like this.

They start it off by saying, "Mainit!!!!!" Which means "Hot!!!!!!"

To which we reply, "Opo. Sobra." Which means, "Yes. Very."

Then we sit for a minute, in silence, fanning our faces with lesson pamplets and blinking sweat from our eyes.

Then they say, "Grabi, Mainit!!!!!!!!!" Which means "Wow, it's hot!!!!!!"

To which we reply, "Opo. Sobrang Mainit!!!!!" Which means, "Yes, it's very hot."

We really do have this exact conversation with everyone we meet. I don't know if its a conversation starter or if it's just to hot to think of anything else to say. All I know is, it's really funny.

Lately I've been eating what I like to term as the Feinga diet, after my companion, Sister Feinga.

What is the Feinga diet?

When we first became companions, I was amazed at how many mangoes and bananas she consumed. Each day on average, she would eat 10 mangoes and about 8 bananas.

I thought she was crazy. But now... I eat the Feinga diet too.

We estimated that between the two of us, we consume about 100 mangoes and 60 bananas a week.

Aside that, this week I also ate Pinapple, apples, special bananas that you have to fry because they are too hard for your system, and buko. Fresh buko, straight from the tree.

Buko is a type of coconut, but its green and bigger than a human head. As we were passing by this buko tree forest, a boy offered to climb up and cut us down one. Sister Feinga was of course excited.

So we watched him crawl up this tall palm tree, Jungle Book style. Then he cut down one with his machete and we drank it. It was surprisingly, so filling !!!! Like, I just ate a steak, that filling!!!!!!!!!!!! It was pretty adventurous!

The computers are having issues right now... So I might not get to email much longer. Darn it!

I guess I'll just run through the important stuff.

We are slowly loosing a few of our investigators. This week the family that we tracted into that we were so excited about ignored us when we came over. We KNEW they were home, but they didn't come to the door. It was really sad. After we left, we could here them saying, "It's okay, they're gone!" Darn it!

But don't worry, we've also found some really great investigators this week and were still busy with lessons. And of course, our other family is doing great. They will hopefully have their baptism interview this week.

Well, the last piece of info is that next week is transfer week and I have a 60/70 percent chance of trasferring. I'm really hoping that I won't. I love Batangas and I love my companion!!!!!!!!!!!!

With Love,

Sister Beaumont

Emilee wasn't able to send any pictures again this week so I found these on the internet.