Post Mission Mood

I've been home now for 5 days and have slowly adjusted to the cold weather, the dry air (!), and English school children. Admittedly, it's been a lot harder than I thought it would be, made even harder with the knowledge that the rest of the group was back in Manila continuing the work at Cashew and Mango. All I want to do is talk about my trip but refuse to be the "let me bore you to death with my dull holiday stories" person. I think it will help to do the assemblies in a couple weeks time; it will give me 15 minutes where I can just spout off about how fantastic it was to be in the Philippines.

In my head, prior to coming home, I knew that it would be tough readjusting to school, English weather, and BST. However, it's one of those situations where, until you actually experience it, you cannot fully predict how it will feel and the effect it will have on your mind and body. For example, I have been getting headaches over the last few days because I've been dehydrated and not drinking enough water. It took 3L of water yesterday to ward off the headaches. Never before would I have anticipated feeling parched in England!

Anyway, enough moaning. The fact that I'm a bit miserable is actually a good thing. It means that the experience has impacted me enough to change my usual way of thinking and cause me to re-evaluate life in the West. It has also given me a very strong desire to return and continue working with ASCF. One of the best interactions I had with a student this last week was when I was casually chatting with my Year 8s before lesson. Nicole looked at me and simply asked: "Miss, do we have a lot?" Yes, Nicole. Yes, we do.

Kristen