Brett's Blog
Our Cebu trip is coming toward the midway point. It has been quite an adventure. The school which I was assigned to is called Mabini, it is the second high school up the mountain. The drive, which would be scary for some, is so rewarding once you reach the school. On the first day we were presented with a celebration welcoming us. It included numerous singing and dancing numbers. It is amazing to think that they did all of the work just for us. After the welcome festivities we were escorted to the principles office where a huge breakfast spread was waiting for us. We were all anxious to get to the classroom so after eating our second breakfast, we did just that. Our classroom age ranged from 15 to 16 year olds. At first most of them were quiet but with the help of ice breakers we could feel the excitement in the room.
Due to the circumstances of the opening ceremonies we were somewhat short on time so we had to take out some of our activities. The activity which I believed the students enjoyed the most was the critical thinking bridge making activity by our engineering group. With this activity students were given straws and tape to construct a bridge that could support weight hooked onto it. After the time limit elapsed you could easily see that these kids were not just smart but very creative. The students reacted well to the testing portion of the activity. They enjoyed the competition of who's bridge could hold the most weight.
As I conclude my first blog post it makes me think how fortunate I am to have so many great opportunities in my life. This has been a real eye opener helping such beautiful people who are struggling with poverty. It is amazing to see that just the presence of people outside of their community puts a smile on their faces.
Brett Trager Kusman
- University of Louisville International Service Learning Program
Due to the circumstances of the opening ceremonies we were somewhat short on time so we had to take out some of our activities. The activity which I believed the students enjoyed the most was the critical thinking bridge making activity by our engineering group. With this activity students were given straws and tape to construct a bridge that could support weight hooked onto it. After the time limit elapsed you could easily see that these kids were not just smart but very creative. The students reacted well to the testing portion of the activity. They enjoyed the competition of who's bridge could hold the most weight.
As I conclude my first blog post it makes me think how fortunate I am to have so many great opportunities in my life. This has been a real eye opener helping such beautiful people who are struggling with poverty. It is amazing to see that just the presence of people outside of their community puts a smile on their faces.
Brett Trager Kusman
- University of Louisville International Service Learning Program
Location:A. S. Fortuna,Banilad,Philippines
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