a small thank you

I have been really blessed my whole life with the friendships I've encountered. In all chapters of my life I have made friends that I feel incredibly close with. The kind of closeness that is undying that does not fade with distance or time but grows. Despite the monotony of everyday life or the rapid changes, we retain the same character in our core regardless of the amount of time that passes. This has constantly proven to be true in my life.


To Nicole, Allie and Megs thank you soo much for your letters. You should have seen the smile on my face at school this afternoon when I received it. I am soo blessed to have such loving, caring and fun friends. So many memories with you guys! So glad to hear about your lives and I promise I will keep in touch!

To all my family and all my other close friends, thank you so so so much for your gifts, thoughts, messages, prayers, and everything else. You are truly making this experience more meaningful with your interest and support. I've felt so much love these 6 months from all of you! I couldn't be here today if I didn't come from such a wonderful place with beautiful people....

Philippines

Amy and I took a trip to Philippines for Christmas. When we were there I got to talk to some children who lived on the tourist island we were staying. Almost all Philippinos speak perfect english, even though it is their second language. These kids were really sweet and friendly. They were walking around asking for money. Playing with them for over an hour in the sand was life changing for me and something I'll always remember (despite having a few drinks before hand).


I felt extremely calm and happy when they first came up to me. I think this is influence of being a teacher for the last 6 months. Before when I would see children I would sometimes think, "oh how sweet", or "oh my, i never want one of those." But teaching has transformed me. Now when I see any child I have this urge to talk to them or help them. I sometimes wonder what their parents think when they see this strange woman waving and smiling at their kid. But then I usually get a big wave and smile back and I stop worrying. The confidence I've gained as a teacher helped me to reach out to these Philippino children regardless of cultural differences. I knew there were tourists staring, watching us play on the beach apprehensively. But I didn't care what they thought, I knew I was doing the right thing. There was nothing that I would have rather spent my night doing than playing with these kids.

Sometimes its uncomfortable talking to people of a different race or socioeceonomic background. The differences make people self conscious and if one person is poor, the rich person automatically feel some kind of guilt and shuts down. Laying on the white sand beach of Boracay getting a massage and a manicure at the same time (for less than $10 total) I realized I was a rich person. I wonder why I was born into a well off family living in the richest country in the world. What are the chances that I was born rich instead of poor? And why do I get to be so privileged when many other people suffer? Although I can't answer this question I can seize every opportunity to love all people of this world. I wont let the guilt of being born rich or the endless evils of the world hold me back. The kids that I played with hardly looked like they were suffering. They didn't seem to be starving in any way, and they can run very fast. They live simple lives with their families in small huts with no electricity. But they are full of joy and wonder just like any child from any country.

When I did see a family that was actually starving, I did panic and shut down. I could see no joy in these two woman or their numerous young children of any kind. All I could see was need. They were so skinny, so dark, so ignored. It was extremely sad and scary. I wanted to sit down and ask them what happened to them. To hear their stories of why they are so absolutely poor. I wanted to ask them why, but I didn't. I walked by them numerous times, gaining the confidence to bend over and give them some money only twice. If I could go back, I'm not sure what I would have done differently. I wanted to take their picture too. Maybe I should have asked if it was okay. That would have started a conversation (if they spoke english) and got the people around to stop ignoring them. And if I did have a picture to show the people of my world maybe it would be a great thing. Everything starts with awareness.

The sketch up there is of the kids we were playing with. I drew it yesterday from a photo. Could you imagine how powerful it would have been if it was a portrait of the starving family?