January 8 Blog

By: Amy Campbell

We were all excited to sleep in after waking up at 4:45 in the morning all week for clinical. We said our goodbyes to the Mary Johnston students at breakfast before they started classes for the day. We discussed among ourselves how bittersweet it was to be leaving. We very much enjoyed our time at Mary Johnston and are very thankful for their hospitality. We became good friends with the MJ students however, we are all excited to get back home and see our family and sleep in our own beds! We said our final goodbyes and got on the bus to head to St. Scholastica College Manila, an all women school except for their Department of Music and Fine Arts.  The school has students attending from kindergarten to college.  Like, The College of St Scholastica Duluth, St. Scholastica College Manila is a Catholic institution for women established in 1906 and managed by the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Germany. We met with the college President Sr. Mary Frances and Virginia Fornias, Vice President of Academic Affairs and received a tour of the school. After the tour, we checked in at Friedenshaus, a hotel on the school's campus. Friedenshaus is the training facility for students who are majoring in hospitality and hotel management. We were served a delicious lunch. We have eaten so well on this trip: three course meals and buffets. It's safe to say none of us lost weight. 

After checking into the hotel and settling in we scampered over to the mall of Asia. The mall was a large as the mall of America if not bigger. The difference was that part of the mall was outside and it wasn't in a square. We wandered around for three hours shopping at culture shops and getting last minute gifts for family. Toria, Nate, and I ate dinner at a sushi restaurant and stuffed our faces. Although we have eaten very well on this trip it was nice to be able to pick our own meals. Some of the Mary Johnston students joined us at the mall. A couple of the guys went ice skating with them. Yes that's right, ice skating in the Philippines. There was an ice skating rink in the mall. The MJ students came to the bus and wished us safe travels and said goodbye.  We gathered up the last of our pesos and gave the MJ students the cash. We then headed back to the hotel to finish packing. A few of us hung out in a room and played cards together for one last night of fun. I personally have enjoyed this trip. I didn't know some of my fellow students before coming on the trip, therefore; I have really gotten to know my classmates and have made some good friends here. We are already talking about a Philippines reunion. I'm sad to be leaving here tomorrow, I have learned so much. I know that I can apply this knowledge to my future career and it has made me more aware of different cultures. I can't wait for my next adventure abroad and learning even more!