【講師コラム】エセル講師No.14~ Summer together with my mother! ~

Hello! My name is Elyzander, and in the stead of my mother (teacher Ethel), I am to tell a story about my “best summer ever”. But, don’t worry because, in my story, I am always paired up with my mother. Now, then let’s begin!

There is a Japanese friend of mine who my mother teaches and loves to travel. He would go to various countries and visit wonderful places. On that note, he called my mother to travel with him across Luzon of the Philippines. And after long planning and preparations, we packed our things and went on the trip in a van! First, we went north to the “summer capital of the Philippines”, Baguio City, where we visited La Trinidad valley and picked our own strawberries on the farm. It was a quick tour but exciting activity because later that afternoon, we went straight to Atok, Benguet, to get a glimpse of the fire mummies of Kabayan cave. A day after, we went straight to Banaue to visit a beautiful and majestic waterfall that is icy-cold and has a warm natural hot spring by the side. Though we got there too early, the town official recommended we visit Wang-Od. She is a national artist often described as the “last” and oldest “mambabatok” or traditional tattooist. She is part of the Butbut people of the larger Kalinga ethnic group. Later, we headed for Tinglayan, Kalinga, where we viewed the majestic Banaue rice terraces. We stopped by a specific spot; the scenery at that point was the same scenery printed on our 100 peso bill.

In a transient house, we stayed in, I had never expected to meet one of my most memorable best friends- Ben. He is a labrador breed dog and is super kind and giddy. In fact, he served as our tour guide that afternoon, showing us his friends deer, monkey, and turkey. I played fetch, swam, and he even calmed me down when I accidentally got caught in quicksand. And even now, it serves as one of my most unforgettable memory, wanting to meet him again one day and play like we used to. After that, we visited more places on our trip, but it is another story. That is my best summer and most memorable experience. I wish I could share with you my other exciting ventures, of course, with my mom! Thanks for reading -Ely.