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Published: March 10th 2010
Turtle Sanctuary
Totally worth getting stung!I went through my photos this morning and selected a few that I wanted to post here. My thought was I would pick some pics and then build my blog around those...the folder has 46 images in it...
Right now I'm marveling at the wonder of electricity and praising the person who thought it would be a good idea to attach a few blades to an electric motor. Prior to 6:30 am its comfortable outside. Thats when the temperature hovers around 75 degrees F, after that its a steady and rapid increase to 90. Not, that I'm complaining...ok maybe just a bit. Last night I came back to Dumaguete City for a day or two in order to finish some business. A fellow traveler from Italy joined me and for the first time I got to show someone some of the cool things I've stumbled upon here. We spent most of our time at the Public Market. We were on a quest to find a Filipino flag and ended up spending hours perusing through the stalls discovering everything but a flag! Every night when I'm in the city I eat at the market. Last week as I was waiting for
Pimpin' It
Having fun with our tricycle driver my pork to be cooked I went to a different vendor. I was greeted by this lovely older woman sporting a four toothed smile. Our conversation went a little something like this: "You want cucumber?" "Maybe. What is this one," I asked pointing to a huge pot of what looked to be delicious beets? "Cow tongue," she said with her huge grin." "Yes, I'll have cucumber." She let out a laugh as she put my salad into a plastic bag.
I've been teaching a bit and working on the prep for the triathlon next month. Between volunteering and dealing with getting sick a second time I haven't had the chance to get dive certified or even snorkle. Yesterday I had an hour to spare before the boat was leaving the island, so off to the sea I went. The visibility was marvelous, the best its been the whole time. As I was swimming out to my favorite spot I saw a translucent, jelly-like tube. Brillant strobes of light raced across the length of its entire body. I couldn't believe how clear and calm the sea was. The fish seemed more patient and less skittish than usual. I was thinking
how lucky I was to be experiencing this when all of a sudden it felt like someone jabbed a needle into my arm. I looked down, but saw nothing. Then there was a needle in my chin and the only thought in my mind was JELLYFISH. I dove down and swam to the side. It got my calf too before I escaped. I looked back, but saw nothing. It was really painful and, of course because of my extensive time spent in the sea, I had no idea what to do. Should I get out and pee on my arm and leg? How will I pee on my chin? I concluded that if the pain didn't get worse, I didn't swell up or start tingling all over, then I would probably be fine. A little later I saw this huge turtle and that made up for getting stung a second time! Last night I said something about my experience to my fellow traveler. She is a dive instructor and confirmed that there were jellyfish all over yesterday. She was surprised I was only stung twice. Lucky me!
Two weeks ago I was laying in bed wondering why and the
hell the pig outside was squealing so loud I could hear it even with my earplugs in. The pig had been tied to a coconut tree in front of my place for two days. It just ate and chilled out the whole time. Finally, it quieted down and I wanted breakfast so I got out of bed. When I stepped outside I was greeted with big smiles and good morning greetings from the group of men butchering two pigs on my front porch. I'm not lacking in the surprises department while living here thats for sure! The pigs were for the birthday celebration of Liberty Rhodes, the woman who I'm volunteering for. That night they were served up with rice and noodles to any person who showed up at the basketball court. I held back tears as I watched child after child getting a huge plate of food! Completely moving. After dinner I was one of three judges for the Mr. Macho Gay 2010 Competition. Its quite possible that I laughed harder than I have ever laughed before. Just imagine blasting techno beats and fishermen dressed up in drag...its hard to do so I'll include some pictures. Again, the surprises
just keep on rollin' in. Who in a million years would have thought that on a small island, in the middle of the Philippines, there would be a drag competition whose stars were the local fishermen?
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anonymous
non-member comment
So amazing! It looks like you're having a wonderful time!