Michael S. Campos — Traveling with students to the other side of the globe brings with it constant stress and worry for their safety and well-being. The way this group gelled, however, allayed these concerns early in the trip for me. 

While I could talk at length about the way these students faced their fears swimming with whale sharks in the open ocean, jumping through canyons, hobbling along rickety boat planks, and navigating Manila’s and Cebu’s busy streets, I was most moved by their openness—to new foods, to trying out Tagalog and Cebuano words, dancing and karaoke-ing their way across the archipelago, and finally encountering their Sacred Heart siblings at Sophie’s Farm as one of their own. 

My gratitude to President Krejcarek and Rena Franco for the vision and heart behind this pilgrimage. Cor unum, indeed.

Michelle Wong — I was most impressed by how students were able to dive into the experience with an open mind. They were not afraid to try different things. I admired how respectfully they interacted with local students at Sophie’s Farm.

I am grateful for having experienced this trip with the students and other faculty members. The Farm was so different from everything I imagined it to be. But most of all, I was so happy to have connected with these high school students in a way that my limited interactions with them at school would never have allowed.

Hector Flores — Visiting Sophie’s Farm the second time around gave me a different view of the trip. I was so happy to see Sr. Lydia and the Farm staff again and they were also excited to see me. A big moment for me was having been asked by Sr. Lydia to drive all over Catarman. I never thought that I would be able to drive like a local in the Philippines! 

Like Ms. Wong, I don’t get the chance to interact with students a lot. But these kids welcomed, engaged with, and made me part of the group. By the end of the trip, we were comfortable with each other. They got to know me in a different way from the 

Mr. Flores they know at the engineering department.

The most important part of this experience is the chance to spend this time with my son, Dylan. While we gave each other space, I was impressed by how he grew and opened himself to a different culture. I want to give a huge thanks to President Krejcarek for this opportunity.

Rena Franco — I really wanted to showcase the Philippines and have the kids experience working at Sophie’s Farm. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know Sr. Lydia and the Farm community well. I wanted the kids to meet them. 

I organized the itinerary of this trip in the same way that I plan trips for my own children. After this week, I now have 21 kids. My heart is full each time I see them having fun, filled with excitement, and moved to gratitude. And I count among my greatest achievements having gotten Ethan “agree” to a new do 🙂

I am grateful that we are returning without too many mishaps. We all return home exhausted, but having fulfilled our mission as a school of the Sacred Heart. We hope to do this again in two years.

Today we got extra time to sleep-in and woke up at 9:00 AM. We started the day off with an exquisite real food breakfast. At 9:30, we headed off to the dried mango factory. During the bus ride, we discussed the history of the Philippines and in particular, the current events of Mindanao and Marawi City, which connects to our IB Global Politics class. 

Once we arrived at the Profoods Dried Mango Factory, we all purchased copious amounts of mango products and witnessed Ms. Franco purchase the entire store. We then headed to the Ayala Mall where we ate our choice of lunch, Chili’s. We walked around in groups purchasing souvenirs and clothes. Some purchased a lot and some did not.

At 3:30 PM, we arrived back at the Bluewater Resort. We had some free time at which time Ethan was forced to get a haircut by Ms. Franco while Lucas and Chris jet-skied and proceeded to be overcharged. 

At 7:00 PM we had our final dinner, which was another buffet at the Resort beach. We ate real food, including lechón and street tacos. After we ate, we witnessed and learned a special dance called, We Love Cebú. We all danced the Tinikling which was really fun. We closed the night with a dance party final celebration. 

By: Matthew Rivera, Gr. 10, Quinn Harrell, Gr. 11, Ethan Calaguas, Gr. 12

Today we all woke up at 4:00 in the morning to take a two hour ferry ride to Bohol. In Bohol, we first went to the Chocolate Hills where we rode ATVs and buggies through the valleys of the hills. After that, we headed over to a lookout point to get a better view where we took pictures and hiked up 220 stairs to the tallest chocolate hill standing at 125 meters tall. These hills, in actuality, were “matcha hills” due to the rainy season creating the grass and overgrowth. 

After visiting the hills, we ate a buffet lunch on a private cruise along the Loboc river. There was music on the boat and tinikling dancers on the rivershore. After the cruise,  we went to see a Tarsier monkey sanctuary. These are small primates with beady eyes who could be held in the palm of your hand. 

We took a ferry back to Cebú where we then ate dinner at the Quest hotel, before heading back to the BlueWater Maribago to end the day.  

By: Lucas Rockefeller, Gr. 10 and Christopher Smith, Gr. 10

We started the day off with a 5:30 am breakfast at Bluewater Sumilon, the hotel we stayed at for the night. We boarded the boat for mainland Cebú to swim with the whale sharks. After another quick boat ride, we jumped in the water and immediately saw numerous baby whale sharks! We had the opportunity to swim side by side with them and take lots of photos in the ocean. 

After a two hour bus ride, we arrived at the Kawasan Water Falls for canyoneering. After getting suited up, in life jackets and helmets, we embarked on our journey. It started with a kilometer long zip line ride, where we went in pairs to the entrance of the falls. We began our trek descending slippery slopes in the canyon. After “unli“ photos, we jumped off of our first cliff. With the help of our guides, we swam, slid, and jumped over multiple rock formations. After jumping off of our highest boulder (of 7 meters!), we ate lunch on the side of a cliff facing the falls. We took final photos and jumped off the rope swing to top off our adventure.

Once back on the bus, we took a four hour bus ride to the other side of the island to our next (and final) hotel; which is closer to Cebú city. 

These were once in a lifetime experiences and we look forward to the days ahead in Bohol and Cebu! 

By: Ruby Quintos, Gr. 11, Pauline Currier, Gr. 9

We started the day at 4:00AM with a nice breakfast provided by the nuns at Sophie’s Farm. The stay at Sophie’s Farm was very moving and enlightening. We formed real bonds with many of the students there and got to know their lives. Sister Lydia, Sister Sandra, and everyone living at the farm were so hospitable and welcoming allowing us to feel the reach of our RSCJ community. We said our heartfelt goodbyes to the students and hopped on a two hour bus to Calbayog Aiport in Eastern Samar.

Following the hour long flight on a propeller plane we were welcomed to Cebú with a traditional dance by locals. We met our tour guides, Vicky, Mary Ann, Amor, and our photographer, Walter. We ate our lunch as we embarked on the four hour bus ride to Bluewater Sumilon. Unfortunately one of our beloved travel mates fell sick with heat exhaustion but quickly recourperated during the bus ride! We were provided with many drinks and snacks as our tour guide informed us that locals eat six times a day. 

When we finally arrived in Bluewater Sumilon we sat in the bed of a tiny truck as they brought us down to the dock where we then made our way to the hotel in a boat. Our hotel was located on a private island with many amenities including a private beach, an infinity pool, baby shark watching, and breathtaking views of clear water ocean. We had a few hours to rest and relax until it was finally time for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called the Pavilion and had a nice buffet. When walking back to our rooms, the rain started, giving us a refreshing end to our day. We all went to bed after due to our early morning the next day. 

Even through today was a busy and tiring travel day, we still had much bonding time and are so happy to have this opportunity to travel to the Philippines. We are so grateful for our experiences in Samar and are looking forward to our days spent in Cebu! 

By: Ainsley Smith, Gr. 10, Sabrina Chua, Gr. 10

Day 2 at Doña Lucia! We started the day as always with breakfast at “Stuart Hall.” We went on with working alongside the local immersion students with planting trees, trying the coconut fresh from the trees, and ending the work with racing up coconut trees (Ms. Franco lost 2k pesos…).

Real bonding started after lunch. We played a game called Dama, which was similar to checkers. We also explored the other stations such as this card game similar to Mahjong, leaf weaving, and we can’t forget the karaoke.

Tonight’s main activity was Barrio Fiesta, where we started with a mass (we read the first reading and psalm response 😨) and after, we shared dinner with the students! Admittedly, we were all super shy to talk, but we got past it and started to share jokes. 

After dinner, we had ice cream and the dances began! People sang and danced of different genres—we even showcased our talents with Salsa dancing, We felt a sense of connection with the people around us, especially the scholars of Sophie’s Farm, children of the Sacred Heart like ourselves. As we both speak Tagalog, it was easier to connect and to bond with the students.

We’ll miss them!

By: Elijah Guerrero, Gr. 10, Franchesqa Landicho, Gr. 11

We had an early start today, waking up at 3:00 AM to catch our propeller flight to the island of Samar. From the airport, we had a two hour bus ride, escorted by the local police to Sophie’s Farm. Upon arrival, the community excitedly welcomed us! 

In the afternoon, we ate Jollibee for lunch, followed by a tour of the farm before we headed out into an informal village near Sophie’s Farm named, Doña Lucia. This privately-owned land is rented out to local families who mostly work as farmers and fisherfolks. Many women and men work with livelihood projects on Sophie’s Farm.

At Doña Lucía, we played two rounds of basketball where we unfortunately lost both by only 2 points (first to 60pts.), but we had so much fun! The fact that two Convent students led our team surprised the local players—all teenage boys—at first. 

Afterwards, we went to the beach, watched the sunset, and recorded our sign language-infused dance titled “Salt & Light” that we learned earlier in the day. Finally, in the evening, we engaged in conversation with students from two local high schools. 

It was an incredible experience to learn about everything from their favorite pastimes, to their dreams and aspirations, to even some of their favorite basketball players. Now we’re going to bed and are excited to plant saplings during the day tomorrow!

By: Mila, Gr. 12 & Siena Kane, Gr. 10

Today our group did sightseeing around the Manila and Tagaytay area. After a buffet breakfast at the Dusit Thani, we got on our tour bus and made it to Las Piñas. There, we visited St. Joseph’s church, which is home to the only functioning bamboo organ in the world! Some people attended mass while others met and talked to some of the local high school students. Next, we made our way to Sarao, a small jeepney factory where they custom build vehicles. Everyone was able to ride in the jeepney, and Mr. Campos hung off the back! After this, we had an hour-long bus ride to Tagaytay. We enjoyed a buffet lunch at Taal Vista Lodge and saw incredible panoramic views of the Laguna de Bay and Taal Volcano. We took lots of beautiful pictures, especially Ms. Franco. It was really hot outside, but it was worth it for the view. 

Our favorite part of the day was the bus ride back to our hotel in Manila. We discovered that our bus had Karaoke, and decided this was our time to shine! First the back of the bus were the only ones singing, but we sent our microphones forward and expanded our performers to include almost everyone. We will be holding it against anyone who did not sing (Mr. Campos/Ms. Wong). Most of us ended our afternoon swimming in the hotel pool, with some heading to the mall to go shopping. Afterwards, we ate a dinner buffet at our hotel and finished the night with some free time around the hotel. 

Tomorrow we will be waking up at 3 AM to be able to catch our flight to Samar. Hopefully it’s another day of fun adventures and laughs!

By: Elizabeth Fox, Gr. 11 & Lillian McConathy, Gr. 11

This year’s sojourn began on a rainy Thursday night. Twenty one students and four faculty crossed the Pacific for a 14 hour flight to Taipei; a brief layover and two hours later, we landed in Manila close to noon on Saturday, 15 February.

A lunch in the Intramuros district of Manila brought us into the heart of the old city, a walled-enclave that witnessed the country’s colonial history under Spain (approx. 400 years), the United States (about 50 years), and Japan (about 4 years). We saw ruins of old garrisons, walked through underground tunnels that confined US and Filipino prisoners-of-war during World War II.

The day ended with a buffet dinner. Exhausted, jet-lagged, and too full to eat, we nonetheless managed to sing and dance our way to wish Ruby, Aaliyah, and Xochitl, the happiest of birthdays!