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James Reports July 4th,2008

LIVING IN THE Philippines

  ahh yo--ahh yo--ahh yo (with a long O)

    This is not the correct spelling but is the way it sounds to my ears. "ahh yo" it seems to be a greeting but more than that - it is also saying hello - I am here - do you know I am here - Is anyone home. No one will enter your gate (unless they have mischief on their mind) without this call and an invite. The Filipinos are very polite and quite friendly. Everyone is ready with a smile and greeting. Everyone has karaoke in their homes and I think they all have large volume knobs - I guess it makes it easier to play it louder - surprisingly it is restful rather than aggravating - There is always loud music going but just one house at a time and someone on the mike adding their voice to the music - A lot of them are very good - some are as bad as me.

    It has rained during the day for the last several days - The rain here is different than back home - I never see lightening or hear thunder - just one moment it is not raining and the next it is raining harder than I have ever seen it - I think we can get 1 or 2 inches in 15 minutes - quite often the rain brings everything to a stand still.

    Livestock is not penned here--Chickens run loose everywhere (unless it is fighting chickens) The cows and the carabao are led around with a rope thru their nose - they never seem to wander and pull on the rope - they seem content where ever they are left - the owners seem to leave them anywhere there is grass and lead them to the river once or twice a day for water - the carabao (water buffalo) are used for plowing - pulling carts - and riding. The horses are used for fighting - it is a big sport here. The hogs have a loose rope around the neck or run free but they stay right around the house - they do not seem to wander off.

    Another cobra at the school in the mountains on the fourth (about 2 1/2 feet long). The teacher was writing on the blackboard and one of the boys spoke up "Mam-there is a snake". It was crawling across the floor right behind her. A couple of the bigger boys attacked it with brooms and a stick. The rest of the class and the teacher were on top of desk and chairs - the class room emptied fast. After the boys dispatched the cobra, the class returned to normal. That is the second cobra that size in about 5 weeks - I suspect there is a nest near where the young are coming from. That means a male and female somewhere near and much larger. I think the school needs to go on a snake hunt. Anyway it is a memorable 4th of July.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July--hasta leugo