Laney must have been contemplating the beauty of creation!
After our first two weeks of craziness (Staying up till 3 am for a week trying to get settled, Emmy breaking her finger by smashing it in the stairwell door, orientations and logistics of starting school in 3 different places...) we really seized the chance to take advantage of some beautiful weather over Labor Day weekend. We went to a nature center in Milwaukee and then grabbed a "Hot N Ready" from little Ceasers for a picnic on Lake Michigan ;) The water was COLD, but the girls had a blast playing on the beach and running in the water. (Chloe was actually the first to plunge in in her clothes, as she was balancing on a log and fell in!)


A little covered in sand and seaweed... But I relish the chance to let them play outside at all!
"Mommy, this is the biggest sandbox EVER!"
Some craziness was mixed in in all this fun -- little did we know, Lake Michigan was full of REALLY STICKY, paper mache - type seaweed! Notice how Chloe's hair looks gelled?? If you look closely you can see the little bits of green ALL over and maybe even the overall green tinge :) I washed her hair THREE times, tried to strip it with lemon juice, and eventually just had to spend hours combing out little spinach-y chunks so she didn't smell like dead sea creatures for the first day of school! There were a few tears, but some major laughs! (Emmy's wasn't so bad, and I let Matt deal with his own hair!)

Note the frothey green run-off... after rinse #3! Good times...

For Chloe's birthday we went to a charming "country fair" at Old World Wisconsin, which I believe is similar to the Amana Colonies. We had a great time, even though it was rainy and 54*. We pet the animals, toured the schoolhouse, watched the blacksmith at work and visited at length with the shoemaker. We enjoyed the band, and watched a lady comb wool and spin yarn.
Chloe really enjoyed combing the wool and separating it out of the brush. I think it made her miss our Sammy dog ;)
The girls enjoyed a little snuggle time in the fancy two-hole outhouse!
Once the crowd cleared out due to rain, we really got to spend some time with the animals. Emmy liked the piggies best. Chloe liked the calf. Laney thought it was all hilarious.

We had a great time. It was nice to just slow down for a few hours and be together as a family! (Something I'm not sure we did all summer, save for a few great nights with friends grilling, catching fireflies, or having swim parties!) Old World Wisconsin was worth the splurge. The only down sides were getting our umbrella stolen and the restrooms, which Emmy said smelled "badder than repulsive!"

As we first raced through the "Frogger" path of traffic in Manilla, we had to laugh at all of the aggressively piloted jeepneys emblazoned with hand-lettered 'How's My Driving?' signs!
This picture appears to be a random shot of one of the Hagen boys' new toys -- but check out the bicycle to the left. The kid is probably 12 or older, and his bike is approximately Emma's size...
It's not uncommon for grown men to ride a bike like this one. (This particular model also has no brakes!) One guy put Jen and I to shame as he zipped up the hill past us while we were riding the Hagens' ten speeds... Matt outran a slew of dogs on this little beauty. I have just one word... RAD!!!
...Also not uncommon for the trikes to be ablaze with names, family names, nicknames, Superman symbols and other American icons. I saw New Orleans Saints gear everywhere, and the FOX symbol was big too.

Here's a heavy laden trike -- these little things do big work. It's no wonder there are so many Vulcanizing shops along the roadside!

We traipsed over the Island of San Migel to a little village to find a "Sari Sari" store for some supplies. We had a parade following us as looked from little store to little store...
This oddly named establishment was a larger "convenience store" in Iriga City.
The rice bins at the market were of remarkable magnitude! They stretch far back into the tent, with a variety I never would have imagined.


These were a random novelty marketed at the Manilla airport -- real toads shellacked into handsome coin purses, complete with google eyes! Makes the cute little leather fish seem so mundane...

Ah, the meatstall... in the afternoon! We quickly realized the importance of buying your meats early in the morning, especially in the open air in the tropics...
This is the entrance to the Iriga City market (across the street). Inside it spills open into tent after tent of random items and food. Everyone clamors for your attention, especially if you're a foreigner.
Here Chloe was fishing out her every peso for a coin purse for her friend Laeli. She carefully checked each stall until we found the perfect item for the right price ;) All of the stall owners loved showing her their wares!
Obviously, there's no shortage of food -- we shouldn't be going hungry here! I'll be doing most of my shopping in the open air market, as we will eat a lot of fruits and veggies, and buying beans in Manilla since they aren't readily available down south. Also, I'll probably buy peanuts (like the ones in front of Chloe) and making my own peanut butter. Since it's Emma's favorite food and our staple here at NTBI, it would be pretty difficult to quit cold turkey :), plus I'd like to avoid the meat stall as much as possible!
I don't have a copy of my pictures from the actual grocery store trip -- they're still on the Hagen's computer -- but this gives you an indication of some of the strange products you might find on a Philippine shelf.

Luxuries and amenities for one Filipino family
This man was lucky enough to have a caribou to help with the work! We saw many rice field workers and men out plowing with these oxen and wooden implements.
Laundry day at an Agta village. They get things amazingly clean in these stagnant waters!
This is the woman Steve and Matt took to the hospital... only to find out they needed to track down blood for her too. It's quite a story! Goiters like this are quite common, but the doctors feared hers would be detrimental to her breathing.
This is the chieftain from Ipil; he proudly took us up the mountain to see his vast fields and his old home. His arthritis now bothers him too much to live up the mountain, so his youngest son has taken over the old home and the chieftain built a new one in the village. Notice the gorgeous and isolated placement on the mountainside!
The trek to get up to that house had not been easy -- and Matt was carrying Ben not only because he was tired, but because we didn't want to chance him falling off the side of the trail and down the mountain! Zach and Mikayla were way out in front, but Chloe hadn't yet fully warmed up and was laggin back with me, behind Steve, Matt, Ben & Jen.

The opposite side of the mountain was more densely populated. To give you an example of the size of this home, notice the white-shirted figure in the doorway. She is a young woman about the size of your average 12-14 year old.
Something I left out of our post on eating in the tribe... The chicken who roamed through the waste from the chieftain's toilet was also very adept at sneaking food from their fancy stove! (This stove, like the fan and TV, were luxuries in stark contrast to the rest of the villagers' homes... and the chieftains own dirt floors & open sewer.)
This was actually at a classy resort where the Hagens go for family swims. There are buckets by the toilet, and you fill them at the pump in order to force flush the toilets. The girls had a little too much fun with this...

Here we have a pretty standard idea of the Agta house, though some of the tribe are alleged to be still hunter-gatherer in the more remote areas. This is a beautiful example of the hut, and it has the one living/ entertaining/ bed room and then a small side room, also with a smaller split bamboo bed.
This is the neighboring house in the same tribe. The little child played in its "basement." She was actually six, but smaller than Emma.
This is the "kitchen," though the well is a considerable walk back the trail.
This is the only well I saw, as the other tribes had access to rivers/ creeks/ lakes. The matriarch was bathing at the well when we arrived. I suppose it's more a cistern. Yet another huge safety hazard that stretches the American Mother!

Each of the Agta villages we visited was starkly different from the others, and each study had a different feel and level of excitement (though Steve taught the exact same lessons to each). This village had a handful of attendees, but each seemed very interested and the children were extremely interested in ours, not very shy.
Ipil was the largest and probably the wealthiest village (though still completely destitute by our standards and even those of the average Bicoloni). They were extremely eager to participate and to learn farming practices as well. They had by far the greatest turnout, and they were willing to read and answer questions with some prompting.
This village consisted of only a handful of family members. They were extremely shy and didn't even seem to be paying much attention. It turned out that they had not eaten in several days, so when we left we got them some rice to get them by. Severe storms and minimal agricultural knowledge can really take its toll on these communities. Though this one was only about 1/4 mile off the main thoroughfare, it was completely isolated and removed from society.
Even those who didn't attend the studies were quick to welcome us.

One thing that struck me about the Filipinos were the joys of childhood and the contrasting early aging/ hard lives of adults. In many ways the Filipino children, especially the Agta, had very difficult lives, but they seemed to take advantage of lots of freedom to explore and find fun. Notice this little guys goggles -- they are homemade! They're cut from coke bottles and then fitted with rubber and fishing wire. John Paul is one of the children I enjoyed spending time with on San Migel Island. I loved taking pictures of and observing their fun, and they slowly worked up the nerve to bring me shells, come sit by me, enjoy the shade of my umbrella and examine my features, including the hair on my knuckles! ;)
They seemed to have contests and take great pride in their abilities to run up the side of the pier and jump!
One interesting novelty in Bicol is "Coke in a bag." Even I must admit I enjoyed the drink on such a hot day... We got a round for everyone after our trip back across the lake from Ipil.
Though most dogs are not friendly pets, these children in one of the villages in which Steve is teaching were enjoying a litter of puppies. Since even public school incurs supply costs, the need for lunch, transportation, etc., children in these villages did not attend. We were met by a large crowd here -- I think they were less timid because they could all gawk at us from across the river, and also because they all wanted to witness it if we were unsuccessful in making it across the log bridge!

On a side note, you may have noticed that many children only wear one article of clothing (very often, a shirt with no pants). Keep in mind that all of these children were dressed in their very best for the American visitors. Also, you may have noticed the little boy's swollen testicle. We're not sure exactly what the problem is, but many of the children and adults have medical problems and deformities that they simply don't have the means to attend to.
This is the "jungle gym" at Ipil. One naked little boy was especially skilled at flips and hanging upside down... This was located precisely where the Chieftain's toilet drained and the livestock ran. They all had a great time, oblivious to these facts, and they sang some great songs for me while they climbed ;)
One of the villages is directly across from a cock farm, and they have a few roosters alongside their huts as well. The Filipinos attach blades to their feet and let them slice and fight, betting on the winner. Our kids had fun playing rooster limbo... I insisted Chloe not be a part of poking and harassing the poor thing, but it was fun to watch him fly if they lifted the stick above their heads.
These are the roosts... Though it was across the river, between the hundreds of roosters over here, the handful by the huts, the kids playing and the pig chained next to Steve, the study was very interesting!