www.Betsy and Terry.fun

Today our group visited another orphanage, which takes in street children who have been physically and sexually abused. Most of the girls ages 12-16 had been working as prostitutes for someone who had befriended them or their families. They were found and brought to this shelter for protection. They are so lucky to be given this second chance. There were 22 children there today. These children need sponsors so badly. I am looking into helping one of the older girls. She can't go to school yet because she is undergoing some intense psycho-therapy to help her deal with what she has been forced to do. I ended up feeling quite overwhelmed here as so many children are so needy and just wanted physical contact. After about 3 hours of constant hanging on to me, I was really ready to go home and take a shower.

They each have a locker to keep all of their possessions in. They are proud of this space and keep it very tidy.


Wednesday, October 12. Allison took the PSAT in the morning and as soon as she finished, we headed downtown to get fingerprinted for our extended visas. We were a little early so we met Terry and some coworkers for lunch at the Manila Hotel, a very nice place for lunch. Then it was all downhill from there. We had to take a girl from work with us to pick up a liaison from a travel agency (we were all packed into a little corolla) to go to the immigration office... EEEWWW! Dirty government building with too many people crammed into small areas. We had to have pictures taken then about 100 copies of our fingerprints. The guy was slinging my hands around like crazy. I was totally overwhelmed by this cruddy little crowded space. I am noticing that I am having more and more issues with the spacelessness of this society. I am feeling more and more claustrophobic and less tolerant.

We did end the day on a really cool note. Katie, Terry and I attended a reception at the U.S.
Ambassador's home. The American Women's Club newcomers were invited for a buffet. This home was huge with lots of outdoor living spaces, pool, baby grand piano, and a full city block of space. Our U.S. tax dollars at work!
Katherine Jones, Mery Montgomery AWCP President, and Paul Jones, Deputy Director
of Missions.
Katie, Barry and Michelle Marshall


Tuesday, October 11, found me dressing up for a fashion show! The British Women's Club sponsored this great day... 10 AM- 3PM... to support their charities. I spend time every
Thursday with some British women and they invited Michelle and I to share their table. It was absolutely incredible, just like I imagine a real Parisian or Italian fashion show to be like. Later we found out that some of the beautiful wedding dress models were actually men! I am beginning to understand that transvestites are quite common here. Someone asked me "Haven't you seen them, already?" I had to admit that if I had seen them, I wasn't aware of it. I guess I will start looking more carefully!

On Monday, October 10, I presented my project on the food of the ancient Filipinos and I used a power point presentation for the first time all by myself! I know this may seem insignificant to most of you, but for me it was another goal reached! Everyone else (9 others) used transparencies ( my preferred visual aid until now!) There are 40 of us and many more reports to present, so I hope that I encouraged others to try to use technology. This country is far behind the US in everything technological, (about at my speed!)

I played tennis for the third time, 6-1, 6-4 against Melissa, my early 30 something friend. Notice how she gets warmed up at about the time I get worn out! Last week Diane and I couldn't finish a set in a hour, which is all the time you are allowed. She was up 4-5 and we had deuce games almost every game. Diane is from Canada and in my Philippine History Class. I think she is also 30 something, but it hasn't come up. My goal is to do my best! I love being back on the tennis court! Trying to trick myself and my body into acting young!