I shouldn't really be spending much time on Xanga, but today was one of those days to recount my days of high school and honor an old math teacher of mine: Mr. Robert Killian. Oh, and when I say 'honor' I mean defile.....

For those of you who haven't heard, Mr. Killian aka "Killer", was arrested and suspended from teaching at Norman North because he offered $$ in exchange for "specific sexual acts" from an undercover cop. When I heard the news I couldn't help but laugh. This was the teacher who was known for "molesting" girls in his math class. I knew it was only a matter of time before his arrestation. On VideoVigilante.com you can find the police report and an interesting article.

Here's an exerpt worth sharing, just because it's damn funny:

"The reasons for publishing this public information is to highlight the problem of prostitution, to show that it isn't just the creepy old pervert next door that preys on prostitutes....."

Um, yeah. Okay.

FOR CREEPY OLD PERVERT/MATH TEACHER STORY, CLICK HERE

I played with him for like an hour one day and watched him make basket after basket (he was pretty good for a four year old).... and I showed him how to play defense.... but he wore me out.

He doesn't speak english so I'd try my best at putting together most of the tagalog words I knew, but that caused him to think that I spoke tagalog fluently so that plan kinda backfired. He'd look up at me with his big brown eyes and talk and I'd have no idea what he was saying. It was sad. I'd have to take my cues from his facial expressions. And he was so polite and respectful for a little boy. We spoiled him and his brother so much while we were there because we kept giving them American candy and popcorn. They loved it.

When I think about it, it really breaks my heart knowing that he'll most likely grow up to become household help just like his mom did because that's the way things go in the Philippines if you're poor.... His future was determined pretty much the day he was born and he'll have little opportunity to explore his own natural talent. As soon as he's old enough he'll begin spending the rest of his life serving other people just so he'll have food to eat and a roof over his head, and no chance to live life on his own terms. It's a sad cycle and I wish I could do something about it. I feel so spoiled knowing that I, and many other Americans, take for granted the things that he'll never have.

This morning I was leaving mass with my aunt and cousins and this beggar approached me. It's not a rare occurence since this is a third world country, but this guy was a little different. The typical beggar asks for money and if you shake your head or say 'no' he usually leaves you alone and pursues the next person. Instead of backing off when I didn't immediately reach for my wallet, he got a little closer... and closer. I looked at my cousin Sabrina standing several feet away watching- and laughing at me and my predictament and even moreso my utter disbelief that this guy has no shame in invading my personal space. Finally my aunt gave the beggar 20 pesos to back off of me and leave me alone. It worked.

We got back from Boracay yesterday and the trip was a blast. It is sooo beautiful there. We got to snorkel, go sailing, lay out on the beach, and my favorite- go parasailing. I also had the very best mango shake ever. I did, however, see far too many speedos on old nasty men with breastacles. That was the downside.

Every day in Boracay I had a near death experience--

On the way there, the little plane we were in experienced some severe turbulence. This was not your normal turbulence. I seriously felt the plane plunging for a solid five seconds and my stomach was in my throat by the end of it. Everyone on board was scared, especially these two Korean girls sitting opposite of us. As the plane rapidly descended they both were holding onto the armrest so hard that it detached from the seat. They started freaking out and it was pretty funny. We asked the stewardess if that turbulence was common and she said yes.

Anytime we had a water activity (i.e. snorkeling, parasailing, etc.) we had to dock from the other side of the island so we had to ride a tricycle to that area. A tricycle is motorcycle attached with a side car so several passengers can ride. You can comfortably seat four in a sidecar of a tricycle. Christine and I were in the back and I've finally found out the true meaning of 'oh shit' handles. That's because driving here is CRAZY and we were going freakin fast on a busy street with oncoming traffic, pedestrians, animals, the whole shebang. I glanced at the spedometer to see exactly how fast we were going but it was broken. Go figure. I imagine it was something like 40mph. No seatbelts, no doors, just two bars of metal to hold on for dear life.

I will kill that rooster with my bare hands. It's the reason why I've been waking up at 6:30 each morning. That's earlier than when school was in session.

Rewind::

The plane ride here was tolerable and I couldn't complain since from Dallas to Seoul, Korea (14 hour hell flight) there were a bunch of empty seats so we could all sprawl out. It was nice. The Korean airport was swank. They had a Gucci, Burburry, and several other nice stores. I had an Italian BMT from Subway while we were there and it was funny to see a KFC and Burger King in Korea. Of course it's expected since they have TGI Fridays and Chili's here in the Philippines, but it's still weird. And the bologna in my sandwich tasted a little off.

The flight from Korea to the Philippines was a bit tighter as far as space goes. I had to sit next to this random guy who kept burping. I really wish they hadn't served dinner on the flight because first of all I loathe airplane food; second of all, I could smell this guy's dinner and complimentary bag of peanuts after each belch. SICK.

On Wednesday we're leaving for Boracay and it's gonna be so much fun. We'll be there for 4 days and 3 nights.

That's it so far. It's nice seeing my grandmother and my family. More later.

I'm in the Philippines now. Everytime I come here I forget just how different it is here compared to the US. For instance, yesterday morning I was awoken by a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing in the backyard. And the driving here is so crazy. Every driving trip is an experience because no one pays any attention to stop lights, signs, or anything at all. In America we're taught to drive defensively. Here I think everyone is taught to drive offensively and get wherever you need to get however you need to get there. It's pretty scary. Then there's the heat and humidity. It's hard to complain about Oklahoma heat after experiencing this.

I'll post more later.... the internet here has been shaky so I haven't been on that much.