On Monday morning, one of our students introduced the class to some Vietnamese culture! She brought in some of her lovely dresses, and gave us some lessons on the geography. She also filled us in on the timeline, with the general history of the country!
Next, we traveled to the local Filipino Cultural Center, with a pastor named Darius Noble. There, he gave us a lecture about many slices of Filipino history and culture! We laid eyes on tons of parts of great culture, like the clothes, figurines, the national animal, the alphabet, art, and more! We also learned about the language, like the main dialect, Tagalog. Tagalog has very similar aspects to Spanish, because Spain had conquered and held control over the Philippines for centuries, before the Philippines declared its independence and split from its mother country. The country was discovered my Magellan in the 1400s, who sailed under the Spanish crown, which is why the Philippines have such a strong connection to Spain.
We also heard about life in the Philippines, like the working conditions. In the Philippines, the difference between its pay and America’s pay for workers shows a gargantuan gap, which made the students relieved that they have some better opportunities. However, the Filipinos take lots of pride in their work, and some of the students wished they could have that kind of devotion, motivation, and dedication!
The last activity in the day was traveling to the Manila Cafe! There, the class got to taste the delicious mango and lemon juices, which were adored by everyone in the group, and food such as grilled chicken with rice, and barbecue pork. After everyone finished their prized meals, we boarded the bus to go back to school
Here are some more of the amazing and skillful crafts!
