Tulgao

Here's a little update:

I spent the weekend in a remote mountain village of about 2,000. It's called Tulgao, you can probably find it on google earth. It's at about 7,000 ft elevation. It was incredible there, tranquil. Near the village there is a waterfall and a hotspring. It was quiet, no jeepneys, no tricycles (motorcycle w/ sidecar). We were there to meet applicants for the educational sponsorship program, there were 25.
They had a celebration to welcome us, I learned several dances, they really focused on teaching us the courtship dances! It was a lot of fun. The women were dressed in woven wrap skirts, in the colours of the tribe. The men wore g-strings and woven bamboo hats. We spend the afternoon dancing with them, taking turns, they would perform and then the men/women would teach us the dance they had just done. They butchered a pig in our honour, thankfully I was able to gracefully pass on it.
The economic activity in Tulgao is essentially split between working on the rice terraces and slash and burn mountain gardening. In the gardens they grow kamotes (type of sweet potato) and beans. Over 85% of the adults in this village are illiterate, yet they have organized an environmental group to clean up and protect their village from developers who want to put in a power plant. I will be returning to Tulgao in June to help facilitate a leadership training for sponsors.
I am still working on developing a work schedule here. It's kind of challenging as there is little work right now as it is their summer vacation. The kids return to school in 2 weeks so then I'll be busy. I'm living on a farm 25 minutes outside of Tabuk. When the kids return I'll move into the dormitory and act as a houseparent/counselor. I'll also spend some time each day working in a literacy program.
This coming weekend I am teaching a couple of sessions in a peer counselling workshop for the high school students.
Last week I spoke at a college, we did a comparison of how Aboriginals here were treated by the Spanish colonizers and how Aboriginals in Canada were/are treated by Europeans. We also discussed the legacy of the racism and cultural destruction each group experienced. The professor has offered to teach me some of the history of Kalinga, the province I am working in. So I will be meeting with him again soon.

that's about it.