As your winter break nears, it is time for us to part ways. It has been a joy to share my experience in the Philippines with you Ms. Forte's class!
I have now been living in the Philippines for 18 months, and it was so fun to take you along for part of the journey. Especially because it meant that Ms. Forte and I could share about our culture, the culture from our Lola, our Filipina grandmother, that we are reconnecting with.
Growing up, Ms. Forte and I would participate in our elementary school's International Night every year with the help of our Lola. We would wear special Filipinianas, a traditional Filipino dress with puffy sleaves that our Lola bought for us in the Philippines. The night before the event, we would help our Lola cook lumpia shanghai, a Filipino eggroll with meat and veggies and turon, a dessert of sweet bananas covered in sugar and cinnamon, wrapped in eggroll paper and fried. During International Night, we would teach our friends and classmates the traditional dance of tinikling. This dance uses two bamboo poles tapped rhythmically together and on the ground, and dancers step gracefully over and between the bamboo poles.
Ms.
