Friends:

After arriving back in Manila from Boracay, I had to part ways with my Aunts. I love you Auntie Espie and Auntie Jovie! See you next time!

I had a few hours to kill before my next flight (home), so I headed to Mall of Asia. It wasn’t that far from the airport and my client, Meinard Cruz, stored my luggage in his car.

Meinard suggested that I get an all-over body massage to help me relax before my long 36 hour journey home. I hadn’t yet seen my friend, Manolo Silayan, leader of the Alitaptap Storytellers group. He had been traveling all over the Philippines doing storytelling workshops so he agreed to meet me at the mall for a bite to eat. While waiting for Manolo to meet me, I did have my massage. Oh so wonderful! Manolo has the cutest little boy – Janro – who is 7 years old. Unfortunately, with all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures!! Mahal kita, Janro! Thank you both for coming to see me. I wish we had more time together!

Then it was time to go. Meinard and my cousin, Katrin, took me to the airport for a final farewell. From Manila, I flew to Guam (3.5 hours). From Guam, I flew to Tokyo (3.5 hours). In Tokyo, I had a 6 hour layover! Fortunately, the Narita (Tokyo) airport has a lot of amenities. I found an origami museum!

Talk about spectacular! I was in awe of the intricate detail of the origami and soooo inspired. I have a book idea! Here is a gorgeous garden around a Japanese house. There was so much more – parades, dinosaurs, dolls, boats, animals, fish… The artistry is breathtaking. Of course, I had to bring some home so I bought a beautiful origami doll.

Next stop, food. I love Japanese food so I ordered some gyoza, fried pork dumplings. In the restaurant, I met some gentlemen from the Czech Republic. They were part of a large music and dance troupe that toured in Japan – 27 shows in 40 days. I wish I could remember the name of their group.

At the restaurant, I met the most beautiful girls – the servers – two Japanese and one Filipina! The Filipina, named Aya, has lived in Japan for ten years and speaks fluent Japanese as well as Tagalog and English. They were so sweet and took me to my next stop – The Day Room!

What is a Day Room? It is the most awesome concept and EVERY airport should have one! At the Tokyo airport, you can rent a day room, a small room with a bed and a bathroom. I had a 6 hour layover in Tokyo so this was a perfect solution for me. I rented the room for US$19 for three hours. For two hours, I slept – I even put on my pajamas! I had a wakeup call and then took a hot shower before my next long flight to Newark, New Jersey. The day room is equipped with a single bed, slippers, towels, toiletries, a hair dryer, night light – basically, it’s a mini hotel room. When you turn off the light, it’s pitch dark so I was really able to get some quality Zs. Tokyo was the best layover I ever had. I recommend the day room to anyone who has a long layover and an international flight. Oh, and if you just want to take a hot shower, you can do that too for just US$5!

My next flight was to Newark, New Jersey (12 hrs). Fortunately, the flight was not full and I had 3 seats to myself! I got to stretch out and sleep. In addition, we were traveling on a newer airbus and the built-in TV on the back of the seat in front of me had some awesome features – over 300 pre-programmed movies to choose from, TV shows, and a customizable iPod-like music player where you could choose the songs you wanted and place them in your personal “jukebox.” It sure made the time pass a lot more quickly. Across the aisle, I sat next to a cool guy from Seaside Heights, New Jersey, who works 5 months out of the year and tours beaches for 7 months out of the year. Pretty awesome, right? He had also just visited Boracay. Small world. Hi Brett!

As we were getting ready to land, Brett told me that I would be able to get a pretty nice view of New York City, so I got my camera ready. Here is NYC welcoming us into the U.S. I even saw Lady Liberty but she was so far away, I couldn’t get a good picture of her.

After a 4 hour layover in Newark, it was a 3.5 hour trip to New Orleans. By the time, I arrived home, I was exhausted. I had traveled for over 48 hours total! My husband and two daughters greeted me with a card and flowers. The traveling took a toll on my body and I sounded like a frog when I spoke. The best part of getting home was my little girl running to me and screaming, “Mommy!” then jumping into my arms. As soon as my arms wrapped around her, the tears just flowed. I missed my family so much!

It’s good to be home. There’s definitely no place like home!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

The above picture is my last look at the beach before I left Boracay. Notice the sand bags and the fallen tree trunk? Just one month earlier, a storm ravaged the shores of Boracay, leaving the beach stripped of tons of sand and natural shoreline. It had not yet been restored when we arrived and may take some time before it is finally repaired.

So it was back to Manila by tricycle, by bangka boat, by van, and by plane. Here is a picture of the bangka boat that took us back to the Caticlan Jetty Port, where our van driver, Ernie, was waiting for us.

Here is a picture of me leaving Boracay in the bangka. I am happy to have had the experience but sad to leave the beauty of this paradise behind…

Ernie, our van driver, took us through the countryside and even paused so I could take some pictures. I had to take this picture since I tell “Rockin Three Billy Goats.” So where is the troll? “Who’s that trippity trappin’ over my bridge?!!”

Then we came across two carabao – a rare sight to see them so close! Wow! Unless, of course, you work with them in the rice paddies.

When we arrived in Kalibo, Ernie told us to try the chicken binicol. It is chicken cooked inside bamboo over a hot fire. It sounded delicious so we sat in a restaurant across the street from the airport while a porter took care of checking our lugagge in and securing our boarding passes (couldn’t do THAT in the U.S.!). When I saw the chicken, I lost my appetite. My Auntie Jovie grabbed the first piece yelling, “I just love chicken feet!” Ugh. Gross. Disgusting. And with rice, no less, sitting atop a beautiful banana leaf…

Okay, not everything was picture perfect. But I did give you all the good parts. You can’t have the chicken without the feet too. LOL

Fortunately, our flight back to Manila was not full. So we all got our own window seats! Here is a picture leaving Panay Island.

I was born in the Philippines so I guess I am truly an island girl at heart. Until next time…

Mahal kita!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Katrin and I planned on going parasailing (Day 6 in the Philippines, Day 3 in Boracay). Auntie Jovie and Auntie Espie left earlier to explore the island. They were supposed to be back by 10am to go parasailing with us but they never showed up so we decided to head off anyway. Later on, Katrin and I found out that Auntie Jovie and Auntie Espie got lost! They made it back to the hotel okay albeit late.

We had to walk down a path by a cave to get to the beach to find a parasail booking agent. Here I am posing in my fiery red sarong. I really did adapt to island life!

To go parasailing, we had to take a speedboat to the parasailing boat.

Once we got to the parasailing boat, we had to get hooked up to our parachute straps as well as don a life vest. Here we are in fullgear…

Now check out the Super Girls parasailing! Wheeeeeee!

Yes, it really is us. Here is a close-up. Wow! What a natural high! Pun intended! hahaha

After our parasailing adventure, we headed back to the beach in front of our hotel. I coaxed the speedboat driver to give us some extra time and he did, giving us another spin around. Welcome to the “Lifestyles of the Wish We Were Famous!” What a life! Sailing, snorkeling, speed boating, parasailing, sunning… I could get used to this! I went from the color of the foam in a cappuccino to the color of cappuccino itself! LOL

After our parasailing adventure, we found my aunts and spent the rest of the day sunning and swimming at the beach. It was wonderfully relaxing although I still can’t seem to get all the sand out of my nooks and crannies! hahaha

Here is a picture of my two aunts, taking a welcome respite in a shady cove…

Later that night, we again headed to D’Mall for some dinner. Katrin wanted a henna tattoo painted on and although my aunts protested, she did it anyway. She’s 20 years old… what can you do? Anyway, it looked cute although it was a tad too large for my taste. But hey, thank goodness it was only temporary…

Afterwards, my aunts headed back to the hotel and Katrin and I went back to the club we danced at the night before – Guilly’s Island. Now we had star status and we were invited to sit in the “VIP” section. The manager even rolled an air conditioner in front of me to cool me down (it’s an outdoor club on the beach). It seemed that everyone found out that I was an “author” and on the front page of the newspaper. My aunt called me an “artista,” which is a big deal in the Philippines. It was fun to be a “star” for a night. Here is a picture of me planting a kiss on a fan… Move over Angelina Jolie… LOL

Boracay was a fun-filled vacation of a lifetime. I enjoyed every minute of my time there. Too bad it was so short! We were leaving the next day – my family back to Manila and me back to the U.S.

The memories of Boracay and the time I spent with my family will be forever enduring, just like the waves that caress the sugary sand shores of the beach. Much love to all the people of Boracay! XOXOXO

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

It was my fifth day in the Philippines. No matter what time of the day you catch the beach, it is always beautiful! This is Diniwid Beach early in the morning. A great time to go walking and shell collecting BUT we had a date! It was time to get to our paraw (a bangka sailboat with bamboo outriggers). We were going island hopping, exploring parts of Boracay easier to get to by boat.

Here is a picture of Katrin and I posing in a small, beached bangka.

Auntie Jovie, Auntie Espie, Katrin and I boarded the paraw, not knowing what to expect. Two of us sat on each side, on nylon nets secured between two bamboo outriggers. Two men (Tim and Dudes) operated the primitive sailboat. Tim steered the boat from the back while Dudes managed the sails and rigs in the front.

Our first stop was Crocodile Island, where we went snorkeling. Rain and wind threatened our adventure but somehow, it seemed the sea god was listening and Poseidon  calmed down the weather and water for us. How I wish I could show you the splendor beneath the sea! Alas, I did not have an underwater camera! I saw an electric blue starfish, pink coral, orange sea anenome, black and white sea urchins, and an array of fish no landlubber’s aquarium could match. It was spectacular and strangely peaceful to swim with the creatures of the deep blue.

Here is a picture of Crocodile Island, a small desolate island shaped like a… you guessed it – crocodile! It is situated in one of Boracay’s best diving and snorkeling spots.

After our snorkeling adventure, we headed to Talipapa at Station 3. Take a look at this beach!

Here, I did some MAJOR shopping. I bought tons of handmade jewelry with pearls, mother of pearl, abalone, and capice shell at dirt cheap prices. I made sure to stock up for Christmas! Here is the jewelry stand where I bought my priceless treasures. The jewelry was handmade by a woman named Chickitang. She even customized several pieces for me right on the spot! I made her the happiest woman on the beach. My aunt said that I probably fed her and her family for at least three weeks with the purchases I made that day. Wow… So humbling.

I treated Chickitang and her daughter to food and drinks. I also treated our paraw sailors to drinks and pizza. Chickitang was so happy she even threw in some free pieces of jewelry! Our paraw sailors, Tim and Dudes, made sure our trip was phenomenal.

Next, we headed for Puka Beach, a private and protected beach where hundreds of thousands of puka shells can be found. To preserve the beach, tourists are not allowed to harvest any of puka shells. Unfortunately, the wind did not cooperate with us. It died down and walang hanging (without wind), we could not corner around the bend to get to Puka Beach. So the guys took us to Balinghai Point instead, the oldest part of Boracay. We anchored our paraw in the small, rock-protected bay.

The water was clear but it was quite rocky. Thank goodness for US made sand shoes! Here is a picture of the Boracay Beach Babes! Do you see a calendar in our future? LOL!

Okay, not quite Baywatch… But we had such a great time swimming, playing in the sand, and exploring. Dudes took me up a windy staircase that hugged the side of the cliff. Here is a picture of the steep stairs.

After 50 million breathless steps, I finally made it to the top. The view from above was worth the exertion of the trip. Check it out!

Nestled in a secret location at the top of this mountainous climb was a restaurant. Dudes’ wife worked there and gave me a gomamela flower for my hair. See, I really am an island girl!

After climbing down (gripping the railing I might add), I had to capture this beautiful view of the rocky path we just navigated.

We headed back to our hotel, enjoying the last of the water and the wind for the day. Here is a picture of us girls at the end of the day on our paraw.

What an adenture!  Yes, we were tired but our day didn’t end there. We swam for a bit in the pool and headed for D’Mall for a bite to eat and some entertainment. It rained a bit and scared off some tourists but it didn’t stop us. We ate Mongolian Barbecue and had fun anyway. Then Katrin and I headed out for some dancing at the local nightclubs. We ended up at Guilly’s Island and had a blast. We received first class service – our waiter even escorted us back to the hotel (on the back of our tricycle), just to make sure we got back safely. Thanks, EJ!

Here is a picture of me in front of a handmade sandcastle. Too cool!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

It was an early day, having to catch a flight to Kalibo in Panay. I was vacationing in Boracay (a Philippine island), rumored to be one of the Top 10 Beaches in the world. I took my two aunts, Jovie and Espie, as well as my cousin, Katrin. Above is the view from my window, overlooking the province of Aklan, where the Kalibo airport is located. From Kalibo, we had to take a 1.5 hour van ride through the countryside to get to the jetty port in Caticlan. From there, we had to take a Bangka boat to Boracay. And finally a tricycle to our hotel. The journey went like this: car, plane, van, bangka boat, and tricycle – just to get to our beach destination. But let me tell you, it was worth it. More on that later — you’ll see…

Here is a picture of my Auntie Jovie, Auntie Espie and cousin, Katrin, deboarding the plane. Auntie Jovie had only flown a couple of times and it was Katrin’s first time flying. We flew Philippine Airlines (PAL or “Plane Always Late” as it is so affectionately nicknamed).

Once we arrived in Caticlan, we took a big Bangka boat to Station 1 in Boracay. This is Katrin boarding the bangka. Yes, it was scary. That’s why you pay a porter to bring your bags on board!

Once we arrived in Boracay, we had to take a tricycle to our hotel, Microtel Inn and Suites in Diniwid Beach. Here is a picture of tricycles taken from a tricycle!

Once we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted by the hotel staff with shell leis, ice cold sweet tea, and cold towels (it’s very hot in the Philippines). What a welcome!

I rented one of the best rooms in the hotel – an executive suite on the ground floor that sleeps four. The sliding glass door opens to the pool and the beach. What a phenomenal view!

This was my room… An American chiropractic standard bed! Yes!

Of course, I had to explore. Check out the BEACH!! Oooh! Aaaah!

Sugar white sands and calm turquoise waters! I really could become an island girl forever… After settling in our room, we donned our swim wear and had lunch in the hotel restaurant. Here we are – just the girls, sipping on Mango shakes…

Afterwards, we spent a few hours playing in the sand, surf, and swimming pool. Here is a picture of me by the swimming pool as the sun is going down.

Take a look at this gorgeous sunset! The sunsets on Boracay are breathtaking!

After getting cleaned up, we headed to “D’Mall,” hip, happenin’ part of town located at Station 2. D’Mall is a vast array of markets, shops, cafes, restaurants, and beachside dining. Since my aunts and cousin had never eaten Mexican, Spanish or Cuban food, I treated them to Cafe Ole’, a cafe serving delicious Spanish/Mexican/Cuban style food. My aunts ordered black rice (colored with squid ink) paella filled with a wide variety of seafood. Here we are dining outdoors.

Speaking of seafood, OMG! Take a look at these lobsters. And they are sooo cheap. About US$6 each and from-the-sea fresh too!

We had a wonderful time our first day in Boracay. We couldn’t stay out too late. We had a date in the morning. I chartered a “paraw,” a sailboat… I’ll leave you with a picture of our pool at sunset. Wish you were here…

Warmly, Dianne

My third full day in the Philippines began with another all-day teacher workshop, the same workshop that I did the day before. This time, the workshop was held at Lourdes School of Mandaluyong (in Metro Manila). The teachers were just as enthusiastic, creative, and daring as the day before, stepping outside of their comfort zones to learn new methods of using storytelling in the classroom.

Here we are, creating a board game from my modern telling of “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza.” Although I told the same story as the day before, the board game came out completely different. That’s the beauty of working with different groups – every group has its own interpretation of the story. I love that.

After explaining the “Stories on Board” method, the teachers went to work creating their own board games from the stories: “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza,” “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and “The Three Little Pigs.” Here is a picture of a very creative board game in progress. It is titled “Pizza Party.”

Colorful, fuzzy pom poms were used as game pieces while dice or spinners were used to determine how many spaces to advance the game pieces.

Here is a picture of Sister Ceterina playing one of the groups’ games called “A Tail’s Tale,” based on the story of “The Three Little Pigs.” She is having a ball. I wonder if she won? Go, Sister, go! Actually, Sister and I sat together for lunch and had a wonderful conversation about the power of reading and education in children of third world countries. We can make change – one story, one child at a time.

Here is a picture of some of the amazing board games that were created that day. I am always in awe of the talent and dedication of these teachers. Their energy and enthusiasm was absolutely contagious. I just LOVED being around these teachers. I can’t wait to see what kind of work they will be instituting in the classroom and how those students will be affected for the rest of their lives. Wow!

After the “Stories on Board” portion of the workshop, we moved on to “Tangram Tales.” Here is a picture of me instructing the teachers on how to create a tangram without a pre-designed patterned. All you need is a square sheet of paper.

Here are the teachers working avidly on their tangrams.

It was then on to create our Tangram Story Theater. Like the groups the day before, they performed “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories,” and “It Could Always Be Worse.” The dynamics of the groups were different than the day before but nonetheless amazing. Here is a teacher named Son telling her part of the story, “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” Her storytelling really touched me – she was so passionate and lively that when she finished, everyone clapped for her! See the tiger tangram in the background? Too cool!

Here is the story chorus, led by a teacher named Ning. Ning was lively, energetic and a real group motivator. The picture is blurry because they were all dancing up a storm! Ning is the third one from the left, in red and the blurriest because she is really movin’ and groovin’!

My workshop ended with “Tell Along Tales,” where I encouraged the teachers to use audience participation in their storytelling. I shared several examples of stories and shared a couple of stories they really liked – “The Viper” and I ended with “Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle.”

It was a great day, filled with enthusiasm, creativity, and lots of caring teachers. I had a blast with the teachers and look forward to returning soon!

I have to thank my sponsor, Scholastic Book Fairs, for an incredible time. Your staff was, as always, so accommodating and helpful. A special thanks and BIG HUG to Meinard Cruz, general manager, who over the years, has become a friend as well as an education partner. Another thank you to Elinor Ferriol, the sales manager of Scholastic, who made sure I had everything I needed. As I said before, Scholastic is FANTASTIC! I look forward to working with all of you again — soon! Here is a picture of Meinard, me, and Elinor (Enoy).

Of course, after the workshop, my day was not over. I had the privilege and the pleasure of spending time with my good friend, Zarah Gagatiga, a librarian and great storyteller herself! She met me at my hotel, the Legend Villas in Mandaluyong, where we had dinner together. Here is a picture of Zarah and I. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

After Zarah left around 9:00pm, my day was still not over! I had a date to celebrate with my friends from Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines. We met at a bar called Club Serve in Cubao at the Araneta Center. Boy, did we have a blast! Check us out! (Hi, Cha, Pie, Bing, Mario, Percy and my cousin, Katrin!)

Here I am at the end of the night – exhausted but very happy. And to think – I still had to go back to my hotel room and pack for my trip to Boracay the next morning!

Here is a picture of me with my friend, Jay. Jay is a fantastic storyteller and actor who presents storytelling workshops all over the Philippines. He also attended my first day workshop. Jay told me that my the marketing workshop I taught in 2004 in the Philippines really inspired him to make the leap into professional storytelling. Wow! Jay was kind enough to escort me and my cousin, Katrin, back to my hotel – just to make sure we made it back okay (more coffee, Jay?). Thank you, my friend!

Thank you to all the staff of Scholastic, the teachers, the librarians, storytellers, and my friends in Manila who made my visit so very special. One of the librarians told me, “Dianne, you are my idol! You inspire me so much!” I have to tell you that it is YOU who inspire me! Let’s keep connecting children with learning through the rich and diverse art of storytelling. I will be back – I promise!

Warmly, Dianne