Tara! Let's Travel to the Philippines!

We landed in Palawan— and what a sight to see! Look at the sparkling blue water!

“Tara!” Pauline told us when we were about to go to the park. “Tara” in Tagalog (along with English, it is one of the languages spoken in the Philippines) means “Let’s go!

“Tara! Park!” We said. It means “Let’s go to the park!”

Why are we speaking in Tagalog? Do you know where we went today? We went to….. The Philippines!

While we were cleaning up after morning free play, we saw Pauline connecting the laptop to the projector. We were curious about what was in store for us during circle time. She thought it would be a good idea to talk about the country where she’s from– and it’s the–

“Where am I from?” She asked us.

“I know!” H raised her hand. She pointed to something on the map, not so far away from Japan. Yes, she’s right– she was pointing to the Philippines!

“If I want to go back to the Philippines…..” Pauline began.

“Take the airplane!” S said. Yes, that’s right! You can also take a ship, but it will take you 8 days from Tokyo to Manila, a city in the Philippines. If you take a plane it will be faster. Probably if you watch Frozen twice, take a nap, wake up and eat– that’s the time it takes to reach Manila!

The teachers took away the map from the whiteboard, and they turned on the projector. We saw the Philippine flag, and that it has a sun and three stars. It was also divided into blue and red parts. The next picture we saw was of a fruit that the Philippines is famous for– mangoes! We saw the teachers look gleeful at this- Sayaka made it clear that she loves mangoes, and Pauline said she misses how California maki is made in her country- with mangoes! 

The next picture we saw was of a–

“Bus,” we said.

“Hmm, this is a bit smaller than a bus,” Pauline said. It was called a jeep, or jeepney. The designs were quite loud and colorful. It looked amazing!

“Do you want to ride the jeepney?” Pauline asked us.

“YES!” We told her. Sayaka and Pauline began arranging the chairs. In front was C, who volunteered to be the jeepney driver. She sat on the left side, which was different from here in Japan. Beside her was Mi, a passenger. If you can see the pictures for our journal today, the chairs are arranged in a line, facing each other. That’s how the passengers in the jeepney sit down!

Pauline played a video of a jeepney ride, and it was projected on the whiteboard. It was fun because now it really looks like we’re riding the jeepney! We can even hear the sounds of the jeepney’s engine. 

“Where do you want to go?” Pauline asked Leo. They usually take the jeepeney when they need to go somewhere like the mall, park, school, work….

“Park,” L said. The jeepney continued to chug along the road.

“We’re here! This is the park!” Driver C called out, and her foot pressed down on the brakes. L got out of the jeepney, and A followed.

“Wait, do you also want to go to the park?” The teachers asked. A nodded her head yes. Now, C and S want to ride the jeep, but Pauline said they have to wait beside the road. When they see the jeepney, they have to flag it down by holding up their arm and waving their hand up and down. They did this, and Driver C stopped her jeepeney. S and C got inside.

When people ride the jeepney, they need to give their payment to the driver. Pauline gave A some pretend money and said, “Bayad po!”  which means “Here’s my payment, please!” She handed it to H who then started to stand up to give the money to the driver, but Pauline said we can’t stand inside the jeepney because it’s too dangerous. H handed the money to S, who sat beside her. S then handed it to L beside him, and L gave the money to Driver C. That’s how the jeepney passengers help each other give the payment to the driver. 

We all got off the jeepney and then it was on to a festival! In the Philippines, they love celebrating anything- that’s why they have a lot of festivals. Their festivals have big parades and they love wearing big, colorful costumes. This festival we’re about to watch was called an “Ati- Atihan Festival”, and their costumes were so pretty!

There was a band that played the drums, and the people were dancing along to the beat. We can join them, too, if we wanted! Of course, we said yes, and we all stood up and began to shake and jump and stomp according to the beat of the drums. We waved our hands in the air. We loved dancing in the festival’s parade!

All of that dancing made us tired, so Pauline asked if we wanted to relax. We all gave a tired- but- enthusiastic “Yes.” She said it was a good answer because the Philippines is also known for its beautiful beaches. The next video we saw projected was of a place called Palawan. It’s famous all over the world for its beaches. Palawan had white sand and crystal blue waters. We heard the sound of the waves crashing softly against the shore. WOW!

“Let’s go SWIIIIMMMMM!” Pauline announced, and we saw her racing towards the sparkling blue water. We jumped up and yelled in excitement as we raced towards the water. “YAYYYY! SWIMMING!” We all said. We were on the floor, pretending to swim. Some were floating on their backs on the water. Pauline started to splash us with water.

“Let’s splash each other!” She said, and we began splashing around. We jumped in the water, too. When we were tired from all the waterplay, we pretended to sit on the soft, white sand, as we sunbathed. 

“I’m splashing the water all over!” Co cried out gleefully.

“I’m jumping in the water because I’m a bunny,” H said.

“Who has sunscreen?” Pauline asked. We quickly ran back to the “hotel” to get some sunscreen. She spread it around her arms and legs, and we did the same, too. 

“Here you are, Pauline,” K said, handing her more sunscreen.

“I need to put on sunscreen, too!” C said. Both she and K spread some sunscreen on their arms and legs. 

We all lay down on the soft sand and had a rest. Pauline announced that it was time to go back to our hotel.

“Look, Pauline,” H said. She wanted to show us that she had rolled up her pants.

“Are you…. Wearing shorts?” Pauline asked.

“Yes!” H replied with a big smile, and together they laughed. It was perfect for spending time at the beach. Pauline had mentioned that there’s no summer, spring, or fall in her country– just hot weather. During Christmas in Japan, people wear coats and jackets; Christmas in the Philippines means wearing shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops. 

“Can you do that in Japan?”

“No!” C said. “We need to wear something long like a jacket,” she added.

“We need pants,” L said.

It was now time to go back to Tokyo. We took the airplane, and made sure we were buckled in. We watched a Paw Patrol movie, Frozen, and–

“Hello Kitty movie?” A suggested.

– yes, a short Hello Kitty movie. We napped then ate, and then we were back in Tokyo!

Now that we’re back in Tokyo, it was time for us to go to the temple. We love the temple and feel it’s our special place– a place that only Petals Class knows. Along the way, Pauline asked us what we loved the most about our Philippine trip.

“Food,” S said. He must be referring to the food we ate in the airplane.

“I like the mango,” R said.

“Me, too! I like the mangoes!” S said. We can talk more about our Philippine trip when we have more time. It was a good *virtual* tour!

Our morning free play was quite busy, too. Some of our friends were busy finishing their Valentine’s day bracelets with Sayaka and Kai. Some requested to draw, so they took sheets of scrap paper, crayons, and colored pencils and made lots of drawings.

That’s all for today. Phew! It was great that we could travel to the Philippines today. How about you? How was your day? Salamat po (Thank you!)!

Love,

All the junior jet setters in Petals Class