Shout-out and Hint

I normally don't do any posting on here until the weekend but I felt compelled today to write because I'm in amazement at how the blog is shall we say taking off. In case you haven't noticed I added a counter to the bottom of the blog, thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Christine. And if you haven't done so yet, check out her blog its listed here on mine as one that I follow. If you are a foodie its a must. Anyway, not only does the counter allow me to see the number of visits but I can access statistics and even a map to show me just where folks are that are visiting Baby Duck's New World Adventures.

I wanted to share that the blog is being read coast-to-coast. Now I do have some online friends in Calif and TX so I can account for some of those BUT just today it indicated a viewer in Nebraska. I can't think of anyone I know there and it's been viewed in Oregon, again can't think of anyone there. I do know the church in PA did list the blog URL in the church's monthly newsletter and hopefully that and word of mouth are spreading the word about Sebio and his co-children. Next step, international readership.

So I want to give a shout-out to all those across the country, known and unknown, I hope that you are enjoying the blog and will return often. Please feel free to become a follower and/or leave a comment. I'd love for that number of followers to change, its been 10 for too long... we want to see more.

And now, a small hint and challenge about the blog's title...it has to do with: Visayas? If you'd like to take a guess, leave a comment or email me. Sorry there are no prizes or cash rewards for playing along except my gratitude and appreciation for joining me on this journey.

More to come and thanks for reading.

Prom (possible tissue alert)

It appears some things transcend no matter where you live, and in this case I'm speaking about going to the prom. Even in the Philippines adolescents get to experience this rite of passage and attend prom. Given the long and tedious time it takes for us to communicate back and forth with Sebio I can't give you any real details but I can share this picture of Sebio's prom.

I'm sure many of us can remember back to our prom(s) and how nervous and awkward we were feeling and it appears our Sebio is no exception. He looks pretty shy and nervous in this picture.

We were invited to help with his prom by sending over some additional monies for his clothes to wear. There appears to be a sort of "dress code" they had to abide by but we were more than happy to make sure he was properly outfitted to attend. You must admit he does look handsome, doesn't he?

Lately his letters have spoken about how he is working hard to make his school report. "I am busy studing and making the school report and one thing hard for me is CAT (Citizen Army Training)." He has mentioned this before so I had to go find out what exactly he was talking about. I found the following through my google search. There is no compulsory military service, or draft, in the Philippines. CAT (Citizen Army Training) is a course that is part of the fourth year high school curriculum. As with any course, the students receive marks for their performance. Like the academic requirements, they can either fail or pass. It is compulsory for all fourth year students, girls as well as boys.

It was while mentioning CAT that he also said the following..."every morning we have a training and it is hard but it's part of my schooling and I can do it because God is with us, and you and Ma'am Linda, Ma'am Bicky and others are my inspiration because without you maybe my future is not like this now".

He also wrote... "I am very lucky because I have sponsors that always thinking of me. I proud of you sir and ma'am. I shared my candies to our co-children and to our house-parents. I love you!" The aforementioned was also from the same letter that he signed off by saying; "I hope you are in good health and I love you".

This was the very first time he had said he loved us in a letter and honestly considering we have never met him face-to-face, we love him too.

Next time: I felt this post should stand on its own so next time, I promise, to explain the blog title.