Bosco School (by the way they are 16 years old instead of 18 when they graduate here in the Philippines). We went to the beach town of Batangas, well it was more of a cove next to the sea. It was nice to get away from the city for a few days, but it was no less busy and tiring than Manila. The best part of the week was of course being in the outdoors and getting to know the students better. I only talked to a few seniors in the mornings when I greet the students, but this gave me a chance to really get to know them more. Our retreat was called "Love Life Talk," and it was an opportunity to talk to them about growing up and the difficulties they will face especially when it comes to friends, relationships, and sexuality. I helped to facilitate along with Sr. Vena and her office employee, Lea. I had the chance to share a few stories and impart some things I have learned going through college.Our trip included:
- 3 nights in a house by the water (I actually slept great, I had my own bed while the girls slept on the floor and the boys in tents outside)
- Swimming in the "ocean" (In the Philippines, they are very conservative and everyone wears shirts and shorts over their bathing suits)
- 5 Sessions for the kids on love and life. The sharing was just like a teenage relationship…the girls talked a lot and the boys were shy to share anything, but when they finally did all the girls responded "ahhh." One boy said "don't worry girls, we will always care about you and protect you." The rest of the trip the girls quoted him when one of the boys weren't gentleman-like. There are only 12 boys in the class with 70-some girls.
- "Buhay Ko' To" (This is my life!) game. The purpose of the game was to make them realize they must take a hold of their lives and cherish it. Also, that there will be some people who will guide and others who will lead you in the wrong direction, so they have to discern who to trust. So to play the game, they were blindfolded, then had to throw one of their flip-flops into a pile and the adults hid them in the sand around the "arena of life." The kids had to find their other pair while us counselors took their sandals from them, or on many occasions ripped it out of their tight grasp. It took more than an hour for everyone to finish, and I think it was very meaningful for them.
- Walk on the beach and hike up a hill. The kids were a bit complaining about how difficult the hike was, so fortunately I got a chance to go ahead of everyone and made it to the top about 10 minutes before the next person and enjoy the view from the top. I wish I was able to climb the hill every day; it was nice to do something outdoorsy. The hike was at 6 in the morning and I was craving coffee so much by the time we arrived back at the house.
- Chance to talk with the seniors about normal things like music, relationships, friends, and college. One of the seniors, Lorraine and I had many conversations about the bands we liked in common. She thought it was very cool I knew the bands she listened to.
- Attend mass at the Chapel on the Hill on our way back to Manila. Pray the rosary at sunset over the ocean.
- Got to know some of the teachers at Don Bosco School.
- Laugh and have fun with Sr. Vena and Lea, the facilitators who I mainly worked with, on organizing the sessions and creating visual aids.
Finally, to explain the title of the post, the senior class has a little routine they say to everyone to thank them or just because they feel like it, and it is "Thank you…We love you. XOXO Seniors" with hand motions included.
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