Hello... i'm really surprised that people still come to this blog? Haven't been logging into this account for about 3 months now and only to find that there are still some views almost every day. Well, thanks guys? Hahaha.

During that 2 weeks (well, not entirely 2 weeks but close enough) of home-stay in the village, i find myself slowly getting accustomed to the village life - ie. waking up at 5am without an alarm, heading off to wash clothes, climbing trees, forest adventures in the middle of the day and chilling at the beach. Of course, it wasn't easy at the very start and its at that point in time where most people will say "learning to step out of your comfort zone". It wasn't that bad honestly but its probably just something that we aren't really used to, considering how so many things and facilities are within our reach back here in Singapore. Back in the village, there's no toilet flush, no shower head, mirror and whats not. As for water, we need to walk to the water pump and carry buckets of water back to the house. Life is very simple over there and to be honest, i really kind of like it. When i was there, i didn't feel disconnected with the 'internet world' (ok fine, i still have 3G) but i still feel that i can live without it. Despite having just the minimum, all of the villagers there are so happy and contented with their lives. They are always smiling at you when you walk past them and even greeting you happily. Like what the village head says, "they are just really happy to have you guys here". The simple joys in life that we often overlook in Singapore.

And of course, among all the other kids in the village, i miss this 2 kiddos the most. DJ (the little boy above) can be such an angel yet be super mischievous at the same time. He can be that sweet little boy who holds your hand or sits on your lap quietly for that one moment and the very next, he could be hitting or throwing things at you. Melody (the little girl) is my host's daughter so very naturally, we spent a lot of time together. She was a really shy girl and it was really hard to get her to talk to us and participate in the games that we have planned for the kids. But slowly (and surely), she started to open up to us and also became one of the sweetest little girls that i have known. During our stay in the village, the Spin team were invited to their fiestas (where they have their performances etc) and the road to the location and back home was really dark. Melody and some other kids from the village will always be there with huge torchlights to guide us back home. They are always with us wherever we go because they are worried about our safety. So even when we had late night meetings and reflection sessions at the main dining hall or at the beach, the kids will always be there to bring us back when we are done. Melody is always there. Her mom, who's also our host, is also another sweetest person i have ever known. She will always help us to fill up the water bucket in the morning, put up our mosquito net (it will always be up when we are back from our reflection sessions), turn on our fan and have it blowing at us, offering us coffee and food everyday without fail and have the light on throughout the night. I'm really thankful and grateful to our host (Melody and the other villagers as well) for all her kind gestures and i wish i could have done more for her before i left. Looking at her, it taught me so many things - how they are so willingly to give when they already have so little, how they would go to the extra mile just to make us comfortable in their homes and how open they are to actually host us in their house, which also happens to be their own private space and comfort zone. Whatever that i have seen and experienced in Philippines definitely opened up the perspectives that i have on people, the world and life.

After about 11 days, we left the village for Boracay where we had our R&R for the next 4 days. The travelling part was really long but we were definitely rewarded with the view, clear water and super fine sand! I love water sports so its definitely the place for me! During which, most of us managed to do island hopping, snorkelling, flying fish, jet ski, ATV and 10m cliff diving (which surprise surprise, i did it twice). Already missing the beach life, guys! Hahaha

Stay with me for the rest of SUMMER '15 (hopefully i can get the other blog posts up soon heh heh)!

Stay safe and happy, guys x