Peace Corps Philippines batch 264

Hello everybody,
How is everything going back home? I have received some packages from the states and enjoyed them very much, ecspecially the almond rocas and maxim magazine. Time is going by pretty quickly now. I have a two week training to go to in September and after that I'll be coming home soon! I can't wait. It's hard to believe that I have been here for so long already.
Well let me recap you on the events of the last couple of weeks. The opening ceremonies of the kids soccer tournament was on July 30th. Our numbers went from about nine to sixteen the week before the tournament with the addition of some kids from the elementary school. They practiced hard and were very excited to show their stuff on the field. Before the tournament we had a parade which included all the teams and four elementary drum teams. After that I was introduced and gave a 5 minute speech all in tagalog about the boys and how they came to enter the tournament and so on. It wasn't easy but I did pretty well. After the speeches the drum teams competed and I was one of the judges along with the old goalie from the philippine national team. I didn't know what to vote on so I just did the best I could and the teams seemed content with the decision.
Our boys played the first game against A team from burot elementary. They played tough and stayed in it until the end. The final score was 0-1 Burot but my kids were happy about how they finished.
After the game I caught a bus to Angeles about an hour and a half away to play the Philippine Air force in a rugby game with my team the Manila nomads at Clark Air force base. This was the first time the PAF has played contact so we mixed the two teams together to be fair and had a great time. It really fun to get back on the field again after four months of not playing but I have to admit that my fitness is terrible. I was dead tired after 10 minutes of playing. After the game we had a social in Angeles and went out on the town after that. It was a great time, all the guys are great and from all over the world like France, Australia, England and South Africa.
After the rugby game I had to go to Silang, Cavitte by Manila for a two day peace corps warden training. I am the warden or person responsible for knowing where all other volunteers in my province are. They also trained us on procedures if we have to consolidate or evacuate from our sites. It was a beneficial training and it was fun to see some friends I haven't seen since we seperated 3 months ago.
When the training was over we all went to Manila to spend a night on the town. we played pool, talked about our experiences and shared our feelings about what we think of peace corps so far. We also went to a bar that played some great music like the cure and other great bands. Most of the music over here is Bon Jovi or black eyed peas. It gets annoying sometimes but it was great to go to a bar that played good music. After that bar we visited the hobbit house. that bar is owned by a former peace corps volunteer and all the employees are hobbits or midgets or little people whatever you want to call them. It was a cool place but dangerous the building seems made for midgets it has low entry ways and many dangerous spots for tall people but it was fun anyways.
After Manila I headed up to Baguio for a night to watch a movie and eat some good pizza but the bus took forever to get there so we only had time for the pizza. After Baguio it was time to go back home and get the kids ready for the soccer game. They played two games this weekend. they tied the first game but showed dramatic improvement from the week before. The second game was against the best high school team in the province. The game stayed 0-0 until don bosco high scored in the final minute. I was so proud of the boys. They played their hearts out and are even more excited to get back on the field next weekend. It was a whole day event this time we had a picnic during games and some trainers taught the kids some new things during breaks. I also played a game with the adults after the tournament was over. That was pretty fun but again I am terribly out of shape.
I also had a visit from my peace corps supervisor. The first thing he said when he got out of his vehicle was that my site stinks. I told him about the twenty goats we have and the huge piggery across the street. I thought it was funny he said that because I don't smell anything out of the ordinary anymore. Anyways we talked to my supervisor at site and she said i'm doing a good job. we discussed future projects and what my role is at the center. After the meeting we went out to dinner with the other PCV in the city and talked about things. It was a fun night. Well that's all for now. I hope everything is going well back home and by the way can someone tell Jarret to give me his e-mail address and also I'd like to see some more pictures from back home if you can hook that up dad. I love you all and can't wait to come back in October.

John McGill