Friends:

Today, I performed my “Jump, Jiggle & Jam” program for a PK-5 elementary school in the Metro New Orleans area. I had so much fun with the students. I saw about 600 students in two assembly performances in the gym. The show is a rousing and energetic performance of favorite folktales “remixed with rhythm, rhyme, and rap.” My first story was “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza,” a signature story full of humor and tons of audience participation. Both groups (PK-2 and 3-5) really enjoyed it.

Following that tale, I performed my original song, “Peanut Butter and Jelly Jam.” We build a “gourmet” PB&J. The sandwich begins with traditional peanut butter and jelly. Then there’s a twist as the other ingredients are added (apples & bananas, peppers & pickles, ketchup & mustard, and finally sardines & anchovies). By the end, the kids are really grossing out and laughing at the concoction. Here are some students helping me put that interesting sandwich together.

My last story was another signature story, “Rockin’ Three Billy Goats.” Kids love the “trippity trap” chorus and my rapping “Hoogedy Boogedy Woogedy” Troll. I never get tired of telling this story because every audience’s reaction to the story makes it fresh for me.

After my upper elementary performance, I had a Q&A session. The kids asked questions such as “Is it fun to travel to other countries and learn new languages?” “Where have you traveled?” “How do you remember so many stories?” I spoke to them about the importance of reading, writing, social studies, and taking learning seriously. I told them that when they are old enough to decide what they want to do in life, they will need to know as much as they can about the world around them.

When the students were filing out, they were high-fiving me, hugging me, and asking for autographs. One little boy exclaimed, “This is my first time meeting a millionaire!” They assumed that because I travel so much, I’m rich. Hahahaha!

It was a special day at school and they had other activities going on including a visit from the NBA Hornets Bookmobile. Parents were also in attendance at my show and I sold quite a few CDs. One of the 1st grade teachers returned with three of their students, who read me fractured tales from their writing journals. Wow! They were really amazing writers!

It was such a wonderful day and they told me they would be inviting me back again next year. Yay! (Thank you, Jeanne! Your school is wonderful - I love the teachers, staff and students!) I am really blessed to be able to do what I do for a living. Who wouldn’t want to have a job where you can be silly, have fun, and inspire children and teachers all at the same time?!! Thank you to all my clients and fans for helping me achieve my mission of “Connecting Children and Learning through the Arts.”

Boys and girls, if you are reading this, remember ~ keep reaching for the stars; sky’s the limit!

When I arrived home, I had more work to do (of course). I began preparing for my last two days at my Stories on Board Residency. I am going to tell a fun version of “The Three Little Pigs” and have the students play “Pigopoly.” (I couldn’t resist.)

My nieces are coming over to help me color the boards once again. (Thank you Eliana, Camrynn & Jasmynn!)

Next week, I finish my residency and then head to Dallas for the Texas Librarian’s Association conference. Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Today was Day 7 of my Stories on Board residency. Wow - what a great day! The work that was created today was absolutely amazing. My day began with 50 first graders in one room. Because my first grade class was canceled yesterday, we combined two classes. Though it was crowded, both classes really cooperated and had a lot of fun listening to “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza” and playing “Pizza Party.” We had as many as 8 children playing one game! Great job, Ms. Roos’ and Ms. Buras’ class!

My class with my second graders was interrupted because more than half of the students had to leave to shop at the school’s Scholastic Book Fair. I had 12 students in the class. So I went from an overwhelming 50 students in my first class to an intimate group of 12 in my second class. It was great because I was able to sit with a group and actually play the game with them. What fun!

When I walked into my Kindergarten class, the students began cheering and clapping for me, yelling, “She’s here!” It was such an boisterous welcome. The first picture above is a picture of me telling to the Kindergarteners. They are so cute and such  enthusiastic listeners - very participatory.

My third grade class had trouble quieting down at first because they were so excited about working on their game boards. But when they finally did work on their boards, they worked so well in their groups. Their story was “Sody Sallyraytus,” an Appalachian tale reminiscent of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” One of the students, Nicholas, came up with an ingenious board game design. The game is called “Don’t Get Trapped!” Wow! is all I can say…

In fourth grade, there was so much creativity in the air! Their story is “The Tortoise and the Hare” and they had some really cool board games. This one designed by Ajdan,  which is still in progress, will be titled, “The Hare’s Tale.”

Here’s another Hare board game design (again, still in progress), “The Hare Racing Adventure.”

Today’s fifth grade class was assigned “The Gingerbread Man.” I love this board game called “Gingerbread Man on the Run.” I can’t wait to play this game!

I am always in awe of the talent and creativity of the students. I just love working with them. High five to Ms. Massa’s class, Ms. Naugle’s class, and Ms. Brumfield’s class! You guys have done some incredible work! I’m so proud of you!

Tomorrow, I work with my last group of students creating board games. I look forward to working with my students and seeing what they have in store for me! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Today was Day 6 of my “Stories on Board Residency.” What a day! In the 8 years that I have been the artist-in-residence at this school, never once have I been late. Today changed that record. There was a big accident that clogged traffic for miles, causing me to arrive at 9:00 am (first class is at 8:45 am). I frantically called the librarian, Ellen (who books me every year), explaining the situation. She reassured me that everything would be just fine and she would adjust my schedule.

Fortunately, there was a puppet performance in the cafeteria by Calliope Puppet Theater. Ellen cancelled my first class and sent them to the puppet show. Then she moved my second class to my lunch period. That enabled me to have some free time in the morning so I was able to watch the show. It was a great show, showcasing multicultural stories about music from around the world. Karen Konnerth, the puppeteer, is a friend and I loved how much educational content was woven into her show. The kids really enjoyed it. Here is the story of the Legend of the Marimba from Guatemala.

I ate lunch at 10:00am! Then I had five back-to-back classes with no break in between. Needless to say, at the end of the day, I was exhausted!

Though the day started off on the wrong track, my classes were great. I did have to handle some discipline issues in kindergarten and second grade but the rest of the students were fantastic. Here is a picture of some of today’s second grade class playing “Pizza Party,” based on my story, “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza.” Hello, Ms. Leblanc’s class!

Again, I had a blast working with 3rd through 5th grade, creating the game boards. My third grade class’ story was “The Lion and the Mouse.” They came up with some creative titles and games including “Mouseopoly,” “Lion Limbo,” and “Lion and Mouse Land.” This is “Mouseopoly.”

This third grade group created “The Lion and The Mouse Game.” The third graders worked so well together - it was amazing. I really enjoyed their ideas and collaboration. They truly exemplified teamwork. Way to go, Ms. Ryan’s class! Woo hoo!

My fourth graders were assigned the story, “Jack Seeks His Fortune,” an Appalachian mountain tale. These students amazed me with their creativity. Some of their game board titles include “Jack and His Sack of Gold,” “Goldopoly” (notice how so many of the students love the “opoly” type of game?), “Go for the Gold!,” and “Not So Fortunate.” Ms. Morrow’s class, you did a fantastic job with your boards. I can’t wait to see them finished. Check out this board.

In fifth grade, they worked on the story, “Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby.” This group of fifth graders were planners and contemplaters, discussing their options in detail and consulting with each other on their game board designs. As a result, they worked a little slower and their board games did not progress as much as the other classes. Still, there were some impressive boards. This one is called, “The Carrot Trail.”

This 5th grade board game is titled, “Brer Rabbit’s Briar Patch.” I love the rabbit’s face! Fantastic work, Ms. McLeod’s class!

One of my fifth grade students from yesterday’s class, Samuel, really impressed me. He asked me if he could take a board home so that he could design his own board game. Today, he left the board in the library for me. It’s such an intricate design. I was so touched that he had the initiative to want to work on his own design. Samuel is such a sweet student. Every day, he carries my suitcase (filled with all my supplies - I call it my “Rolling Classroom”) down the stairs for me at the end of the day. Thank you so much, Samuel. You are awesome. This is Samuel’s board game design - he promised to fill it in and actually create the game too. Too cool!

So today, lemon turned into sweet lemonade. And there’s more to come! Until next time… best wishes!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

They say that “All work and no play makes Dianne a dull girl.” So Dianne took some time out to have a little fun. I went to a Hornets basketball game with Antonio, my husband. We had so much fun (yes, the Hornets won!) rocking out to music, cheering on the players, and participating in the crowd games. Here is a picture of one of the games they had during a break between quarters. Two fans had to run inside a plastic bubble and race around cones. It was so funny.

Here is a picture of the Hornets Mini Cooper parked in front of the New Orleans Arena.

Of course, when I arrived home after the game, I had some work to finish. Soleil, Eliana and my niece, Camrynn, helped me with some new board games I created for my “Stories on Board” residency. (Thank you, girls!) I created a new game called “The Little Red Hen’s Pizza Party” to accompany my story, “The Little Red Hen Makes Pizza.” Here is Eliana and Camrynn working hard coloring the game.

Players have to move from slice to slice, all the way around the pizza to win. It’s fun and also highlights basic math concepts of addition and subtraction.

After Eliana and Camrynn finished working on my games, they began working on a game Eliana invented call “Lily Pad Leapers.” The object of the game is to leap from lily pad to lily pad until you reach the finish and win a big juicy fly. I made small origami frogs to serve as the game pieces. The game is adorable. Eliana is soooo creative!

The highlight of my evening was opening a package from my publisher, Libraries Unlimited. We are promoting my new book, Handmade Tales at several conferences this year. They created a “Handmade Tales starter kit.” The “star” of the kit is a printed bandana to accompany my story, “Bandana Man.” Check out the bandana. OMG! It’s awesome!

Well, it’s late and I have a big day at school tomorrow. My third through fifth grade students are going to work on their board games. I can’t wait to see how they turn out.

Until tomorrow…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Today was Day 4 of my “Stories on Board Residency.” I had so much fun today. My first class was first grade. They had a blast. Here is a picture of some first grade boys playing “Gingerbread Jam.” It was wonderful to witness the teamwork and camaraderie between the students.

First grade set the tone for the rest of the day. Being in that class just put me in a good mood. Their teacher is an absolute delight. She was so enthusiastic and it was contagious. (Thank you, Ms. Lemoine!)

She had the children use the “Engage-O-Meter” to gauge how much they liked the activity. A happy face signified that they loved the activity, a straight face signified that the activity was so-so, and a sad face signified that they did not enjoy the activity at all. The Engage-O-Meter was hung on a clothes line. The children were given clothes pins to clip to the face that represented how they felt about the activity. Here is a picture of students hanging their clothes pins on the Engage-O-Meter.

While most of the children hung their clothes pins on the happy face, one student had the courage to place his on the straight face, indicating that the activity was “okay.”

It absolutely thrilled me that Ms. Lemoine loved the Gingerbread Jam game so much she asked if she could have a copy of it. Of course, I agreed. I spent about 40 minutes making a copy of the game (reducing it on the copy machine, cutting pieces and taping them together, resizing and copying again, and finally putting the 8.5 X11″ sheet through the poster machine). So now, Ms. Lemoine’s first grade class has their very own copy of The Gingerbread Jam. Here is a picture me and the teacher who made me so happy. What a doll!

In my third grade class, I had a blast. The teacher there, Mr. Boone, is an energetic and silly teacher who really loves his students. When I asked the students to describe some of Mr. Boone’s “characteristics” (part of the lesson), they responded with “nice” and “fun.” He’s just the kind of teacher I would have loved having in third grade! I gave Mr. Boone my camera and he took some of the best pictures, including this self-portrait.

Here is a picture of me teaching the story mapping lesson to Mr. Boone’s third grade class.

After lunch, when I arrived in fourth grade, I told “The Ant and the Grasshopper” and started my lesson plan. Suddenly, the loud speaker pipes in, “Fourth grade teachers, please send your students to the No Tardy Party.” Students who did not receive any tardies that quarter were treated to a party. Consequently, about 3/4 of my class got up and left! I was left with 9 students. In spite of that, I had an awesome class. I proceeded with the lesson and the students really enjoyed the work. They are excited about inventing their own board games. Here is a picture of them working on their story maps.

Here is a close-up of a fourth grader working on her story map.

My last class was Pre-K. Wow - they are so adorable. They listened so intently to my story, singing all the choruses and really participating in “The Gingerbread Man.” After the story, we began playing the game. I was surprised at how quickly they grasped the math concepts in “The Gingerbread Jam.” They played as well as many of my kindergarten and first grade classes. Here is a picture of me giving a “high five” to one of my Pre-K students. (Thank you, Ms. Renee!)

Here is a picture of me with the Pre-K teacher, Ms. Muller. Isn’t she a cutie?!

After my last class, my day was not over! There was a big surprise in store for me. Betty Brodtmann, the librarian at the school where I did the Louisiana Story Fest residency in February, stopped by with a treat for me! She and one of the Pre-K teachers, Carla Short, gifted me two pies — sweet potato pie and pecan pie! I was so touched that I cried… The card that came with the gift said on the front “You are as sweet as pie.” Inside it read:

“Dianne, it was a pleasure having you visit our school. You are a sweetheart! Take care and God Bless. Sincerely, Betty & Carla”

Thank you so much, Betty and Carla! It’s a great feeling to know that you leave an imprint on someone’s heart like that. Here is a picture of Betty and me holding my pies. Mmmmmm!

Here is a picture of Carla with another teacher, Jennifer, from my residency in February. Carla is on the right.

I am soooo blessed to live this life! I am doing what I love, making new friends, and making a difference in the lives of thousands of children and adults each year. Thank you so much for being a part of my life!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

I spent most of the day preparing for my residency at a New Orleans area school (I have been a teaching artist at this school for 8 years!). I am doing a two-week artist residency at an elementary school (PK-5) presenting “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales.” For grades PK-2, I will be telling stories and then the students will play board games I created based on my stories. For grades 3-5, students will be creating board games from folk and fairy tales that they will deconstruct, from which they will create a story map. Using the elements of the story, in groups, they will design and craft board games based on the stories they choose. The upper grades’ activities will culminate in a grade-wide “Game Day,” where they will exchange games with other classes and play each others’ games.

Because I am teaching such a wide age range, I had to come up with a way to make the board games work even for children who have not yet mastered reading fluency (PK-1). I decided to go with a nearly wordless board game that I invented called “The Gingerbread Jam,” based on my retelling of “The Gingerbread Man.” Here is a picture of my 7 year old daughter (in all light pink) and her cousins helping color the boards.

The students will be divided into groups of 5-6. They will be instructed on how to play the game. “The Gingerbread Jam” tackles basic math concepts of adding and subtracting. Numbers do not go higher than “4.” This is done so that even my preschool students will be able to play the game with minimal supervision. Game pieces are fuzzy pom pom balls and the game uses either dice or spinners.

Here is a picture of Eliana (7 years old) and her cousins, (Camrynn [8)] Ashlynn [7], and Jasmynn [6]) playing the game. They had so much fun that they played it over and over.

The game is simple in concept but addresses many content standards in language arts and math. Besides, it also makes learning a blast!

I will be blogging about my residency every day so please come along and join the fun!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

On Sunday, March 16, 2008, an article was written about a “Read-Along” sponsored by the Philippine Inquirer, the Philippines’ largest newspaper, at which I was a guest storyteller. The article, which ran on the front page and about a third of an interior page featured a lot about me. Very cool. Though some of the facts are a bit incorrect, the article is still great. (I did not sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” - same tune but my adaptation called “If You Like to Hear Stories…) Here is the article:

Philippine Inquirer
Sunday, March 16, 2008 Vol. 23 No. 100

Read-Along Goes to Miriam for Campus Tour
By Kenneth M. del Rosario

KEEPING ITS PROMISE OF bringing reading closer to children, the INQUIRER partnered with the Miriam College Child Study Center (CSC) for its first ever Read-Along session in a private school.

Last Tuesday, more than 50 students in nursery and kindergarten had stories read to them by no less than the school president, Patricia Licuanan, and one of the students, 5-year-old, Angelo Aquino.

The children, aged 4 to 6 years old, also got a special treat when award-winning author and storyteller Dianne de Las Casas, who came all the way from New Orleans, took storytelling to another level when she told stories without reading from a book.

The INQUIRER started its Read-Along sessions in its Makati City office in May 2007. Since then, sessions were held in its office, in malls and hospitals, among others.

This book-reading in front of so many children was a real challenge for me,” said Licuanan, who read “Paradise of the Animals” by Virgilio S. Almario. But like a pro, she read the story, complete with props she had made the night before. The book is about a parrot which destroyed the peaceful lives of animals when it started telling lies that made everyone fight each other.

The children, attentive and energetic throughout the activity, interacted with Licuanan by imitating the sounds of the animals in the story which included lions, dogs, horses, elephants, tigers and carabaos.

He didn’t like the story
When Licuanan wrapped up her session, she asked the toddlers if they like the story she read or not. While many gave her a thumbs up, one student expressed his disappointment.

“No,” the child shouted. “I don’t like the story because the animals fought with each other,” to which the president and the teachers responded with laughter.

Licuanan said that she was glad the children freely expressed themselves as this is exactly what they are being taught in school.

Then it was Aquino’s turn to read. Dressed in full dinosaur suit, he stole the limelight when he read Carlo Diggory Shield’s “Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp.” After his performance, his classmates were up on their feet, clapping with fervor.

Clap if you’re happy
“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands [clap, clap]…” De Las Casas burst into song when it was her turn to tell a story. The children were more than happy to comply.

“When I tell my stories, I try to incorporate songs, dances, and a little choreography,” said De Las Casas, a professional storyteller for 13 years. “That’s how you keep children’s attention. Tell your stories actively.”

She started the session with “Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle,” using her thumbs to act out the two characters. The students joined in by imitating her gestures.

Half-Filipina, De Las Casas left for the United States when she was 3 and settled there with her family. She gave in to the children’s request and followed up with two more tales.

Handmade Tales
De Las Casas is in the country to hold a series of workshops on handmade tales, which is sponsored by Scholastic Publishing. Scholastic, which distributed reading materials to the children after the session, has been sponsoring De Las Casas since 2002. She holds storytelling workshops all over the country.

Her awards include iParenting Media Award, Children’s Music Web Award, Storytelling World Honors, and NAPPA Honors for her children’s books and storytelling CDs.

De Las Casas has two children, Soleil, 17, and Eliana, 7. She said that she would use her own kids, nephews and nieces to try out new stories she has written. “If they like my story, then maybe other children will too.”

Having conducted storytelling sessions in Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, and all over the US, she gets her inspiration from talking to children’s teachers. “Sometimes, they ask me to write materials to help them teach their students about unity, love or sharing.” she said.

Back-to-back sessions
On Monday, radio host Ariel Ureta and award-winning actress Cherry Pie Picache graced the back-to-back INQUIRER read-along sessions also held in Miriam College CSC.

Ureta has a child studying in CSC and so does Picache.

For the morning session, Picache read “It’s mine” by Leo Lionni in front of more than 50 nursery students.

Ureta brought to life “Si Beang Makulit,” a story he wrote especially for the afternoon session of the INQUIRER read-along. It is about making children believe that angels exist even if they can’t be seen.

First children’s story
Ureta said this was his first real attempt at writing a children’s story, although he has been thinking about it for some time.

He said he expected to read the story in front of out-of-school children so he wrote it in Filipino. When he noticed that the CSC children, aged 4 to 6 years old, would understand the story better if it were in English, he translated the story into English right there and then.

De Las Casas thanked the INQUIRER for spearheading the Read-Along sessions. “It’s all about literacy and teaching children how to use language to their advantage. Teach them to read and you teach them to decode anything - from math to science. Name it.”

“After all,” she said, “If children can’t read, what else can they do?”

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