The Philippines!

Catching up on my spring: back in March, my second Southeast Asia stop was the Philippines, where I visited the three campuses of Brent International School. It was fascinating to experience the differences between the schools, from Subic's 200 students (80% Korean) in a building on a former U.S. military base, to Baguio's hillside cluster of buildings with 300 students (60% Korean), to Manila's student body of more-than-1000 diverse students from all over the world.

And I got to travel and experience wonders of the Philippines, from Subic Bay on the western coast...

with breakfast by the bay,
















and fruit bats in one protected area;

then across the central plain and up twisting roads to mountain-top Baguio,

where I was the first-ever international author to visit,

and students were very excited by autographing.

Baguio had some of the most amazing jeepneys I saw.

Then back down the mountain and across the plain, driving through Manila and to the southern suburbs...

Another  hotel breakfast with a very different view!

  to the main campus of Brent Manila.

Throughout, I was accompanied by librarian extraordinaire Debbie Kienzle, and welcomed so warmly and graciously by her library staff, the schools' personnel and students, and the Filipinos I met everywhere we traveled.