Things Slowed Down A Bit

Well folks, we're officially in finals season here at San Beda College, which means that Matt and I are officially done lecturing until November 4th, when the next semester begins. So, this past week, and for the next 3 weeks, life is a little slower for Matt and I. But, don't worry, we're not just lounging around and slackin' off. This past week our big job for the week was coordinating a group of Bedans who won the National SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) competition, and are now on their way to the World Competition in L.A.! They'll be there until this next Thursday, and then they're off to good ol' Minnesota. That's right, Matt and I have officially begun building the bridge between San Beda and CSB/SJU..mostly because we haven't stopped bragging about our schools since we've been here. What's resulted is a great interest in beginning an exchange program between Collegeville and Manila. So, we worked with the group from here at San Beda and A LOT of professors, administrators, faculty, and staff from back home. So, for those of you who've played a part in this, THANK YOU SO MUCH, and for those of you still on campus, look for a group of 11 Filipinos around campus next weekend! If you run into them, say hi and tell them you know us! Haha!

We also started prepping for our classes next semester. Matt's doing a history/philosophy of art course, and I'll be teaching a Filipino History/Poli Sci/Constitution class. So, this past week we've started lesson planning and I've been..catching up...well...let's be honest...learning the history/poli sci/constitution of the Philippines. Again, this arrangement is pretty optimal for me, because I live to learn and...well..I'm an attention whore, so having an entire group of people HAVE to listen to me 3 times a week for an hour at a time is...well...fantastic!

Aside from doing some research and learning, Matt and I have been partaking in one of the great Fall American pastimes- Playoff Baseball! And can you imagine HOW EXCITED we were when we found out that ESPN Philippines was broadcasting every playoff game!?! We were ecstatic!!! Well...here we are on the eve of game 3...and now we kinda want our time back. I mean...COME ON TWINS! WHAT'S THE DEAL!?! This is just getting ridiculous, and now I'm not sure what's worse, watching the Twins get throttled at home and having to deal with it or watching them get throttled from across the world. Regardless....COME ON! Oh well, San Beda plays again this week, still on their quest for perfection in the championship round. And, we just found out that we won't have too much of a break in between perfection and victory...because the Back to back to back to back to back to back to back...the 7-consecutive-NCAA Championship Soccer team, the San Beda Red Lion Soccer Team, starts with the new semester. Thank goodness! Matt and I have been awfully worried about having a sports/competition/success withdrawal following the Twins, but now that we know that we're at the athletics powerhouse of the nation..well...now we're not worried about the Vikings or the Timberwolves or the Wild. We've got the freakin Red Lions! Woop woop!

So, that's the big news from this past week. This past week I celebrated my first month here, and you know, it's really been an incredible one. I've been re-reading my Japan Study Abroad journals this past week, and this was about the time that I started going through some substantial culture shock/homesickness. The homesickness and stress and frustration of the language barrier just finally got to me and started wearing me down. But, so far here, things have just been SO unbelievable for me, the people here are just SO incredible, and the community here is making sure we get out enough that culture shock has been almost non-existent and life is just incredibly enjoyable. There have been days where I've felt pangs of homesickness, but in the end, life is just so enjoyable here already, with SO MUCH potential for it to only get better once classes start, that I haven't had enough frustration or confusion to feel stressed or pressured or sick. But, we've got playoff baseball here, which is a HUGE part of what fall is to me. Yesterday we went to The Town, so we got a little taste of America, before the movie the monks took us out for pizza and fries, so we got our comfort food, and while we were eating a marching band walked past the window. So, life here has just been SO erratic and fun and unbelievable that there's just no way for us to be homesick yet. Aaannnyyywho, hope things are well back home, good luck, and talk to you soon.