13K Run, Dogs, and a Party
Lucie, a Swiss volunteer, and also a new good friend of mine is a little crazy. She decided it would be a good idea to run to San Augustine from Long Beach (where we are staying). She asked if I wanted to go. And I don’t really know what I was thinking, but somehow and at some point the word “yes” came out of my mouth. We weren’t really sure how far it was going to be, but we figured around 16-18K. Lucky us, it was shorter than that - 13K. I must say we ran it very well considering that we had to leave at 8:30 instead of 7am to avoid the tricycles taking students to school along the dirt road. Leaving at 8:30 meant that we were going to run in the heat - and holy crap was it hot. Probably the hottest day since we’ve been here, and there wasn’t much shade. But we made it, and I’m not even sore today! Woot!
The adventure didn’t end there though, because the 5 dogs that seem to now be our pets (Collie, Baxer, Ikit, Shandy and Daisy), decided to run with us. We let them come along, which was very cute, and a sight to see (2 white women running with 5 dogs in the middle of the heat - everyone either gawked or laughed at us as we went by). But we didn’t really think about what would happen to the dogs. Baxer and Collie were smart and turned around and went home about 4K into the run. Ikit, Shandy and Daisy (the most cheerful white puppy ever) decided to continue. I kept an eye on them and had to watch out for Daisy so she wouldn’t make me trip over her (she’s a bit clueless sometimes) as they continued to run with us. Ikit and Shandy finally stopped at about 10K in, and Daisy, the smallest one of all, stopped just short of the finish. Lucie and I continued on though, and when we got to San Augustine, we got on a trike and drove back to Long Beach. I looked out for the dogs as we drove along, and only Ikit was there. He was too tired to keep going, so I hauled him into the tricycle in a very awkward postition for a dog, which totally freaked him out, but we managed to get him home. When we got home, of course, there was no Shandy or Daisy to be found.
When I first got here, I was really annoyed with dogs. They are everywhere, they bark like crazy at you, and keep you up at night, and they follow me into the classrooms where I teach, and basically I can’t seem to get them to leave me alone. One day I was so frustrated, I screamed, “I hate dogs!” only to get some stares and raised eyebrows from the Filipinos around. So you would think that I wouldn’t give a shit about these two missing dogs. But NOOO… apparently I have fallen in love with all 5 of them. I was so worried sick about the two missing ones that I spent 3 hours looking for them with Delfin, a good Filipino friend and tricycle driver. We managed to find them both, and we were so happy to see each other and I held onto them so tight on the tricycle ride home. And I tell you did I ever stink like dog after that 45 minute ride. But I can’t believe what a sucker I am… gag me.
Last night we had another party at my house. Not for me this time, but for Bing Bing’s 6th Birthday (she is a part of Lucie’s Filipino family) and for Lucie’s farewell. We had a huge feast, Lucie baked chocolate cake again, and I even got the courage up to sing for everyone (as per Lucie’s request - she’s so demanding sometimes). Lucie, Alexis (a new volunteer) and I also demonstrated some excellent dancing skills. All the Filipinos are too shy to dance - as much as we try to get them up, most of them will not do it. So, everytime there is music to dance to, it’s just us foreigners up there looking like silly fools. The Filipinos really seem to be entertained by us though.
I’m in Romblon now with Alexis and Lucie. Lucie will be off in about an hour or so, so we will have to say our goodbyes. I will miss her very much, she was such good fun, and became a good friend during these last few weeks. I’m sure we’ll meet again though. Tomorrow I’m going to go diving again - there’s some nice coral around at a marine reserve near here. I’m getting excited.
Next week is my last week doing volunteer work - I’m sure it will be a good one. Talk to you soon!
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