Hey everyone!

I hope everything is well. A lot has happened in the month since my last post, so I'll do my best in updating you all on what's going on. Everyone in the Children, Youth and Families sector is currently in the town of Bagac, completing our Pre-Service Training. We are divided into three different training clusters and in the month that we have been here we have ran two different community development sessions, helped facilitate a community project and will facilitate an overnight youth camp this Friday and Saturday. It has been an exhausting amount of work but we have all accomplished a great deal. Bagac is a beautiful place consisting of a small beach town and surrounding rural neighborhoods (or Barangays). Atilano Ricardo, where I live, is one of these rural Barangays. My daily scenery consists of palm trees, mountains and rice fields.

So far the whole experience has been pretty positive. My living situation is very modest, but I have an incredible host family. Even though I won't be here for very long, their house really feels like a home and it's a great place to come back to after a hard day of work. I can't ask for much more than that. The food continues to be an adventure, and I've had everything from squid to snails. Every once in a while my family makes me their version of American food, which always makes me smile. 

 Personally, I think my growth here has been pretty significant. I'll admit, coming into this experience with an MSW probably made me a little cocky. Having the concept of self-awareness being drilled into your head for four years can make you think like you know all there is to know. But there is always room to grow, and I am continuing to learn. The most challenging thing I have experienced so far was translating and reading a Tagalog speech in front of about 80 community members at an event during the first week in Bagac. To say I was out of my comfort zone would be an understatement. It ended up going over really well, and I attribute a lot of that to my amazingly supportive language and technical instructors.

That's about it for now! I love all of you and I'm constantly thinking of friends and family members while I'm over here, even though I'm always meeting new ones.

Peace!