The Consulate was honored to host Asia's first (and best 😀) National Women's Rugby League team ahead of a big tournament. And just like the singer, these Sampaguitas rocked! One hadjust won a medal at last month's South East Asia games, some were working moms, many fawned over Rizal, and all of them were simply awesome.
and their jersey suited me as much as theTamaraws'did, too 😀
Of all the beaches we've covered, Clovelly is the most...different. Best I can describe, there's a small sandy strip at the end of a narrow bay surrounded by broad concrete platforms and promenades. The result is this weird sensation of consciously being in a huge man-made enclosure that somehow enhances the natural open-water experience. Kids freely dive/jump off constructed platforms into naturally deep waters, the sea floor is teeming with aquatic life popular with snorkelers, and the ocean tide funnels in and out of the bay strongly enough to lift/drop each floater a couple of feet and make swimming in any direction demanding. Pretty overwhelming stuff, actually. Fortunately, Clovelly is also the spot where Nippers (i.e. kid surf lifesavers) do their training, so you feel more secure and confident thrashing about in the water knowing any number of 5 - 12 year-olds can swim stronger than you and save your ass.
leaving only the birdlife to mock my surf survival skills
While on hike on some far-off mountain in New Zealand, an earth-shaking text from ONE IDEAL MAIN manages to reach my phone
Hey now! Yes, unbeknownst to moi, the exam results had come in earlier that day, and the batch was already in the middle of some very viberly celebrating
I joined in as soon as internet/circumstances permitted...
...with those nearest and dearest to me
Our fate-tempting "We Did It!" jump-shot soon made the rounds on everyone's social media and is geologically poignant now but does capture the overflow of emotions everyone's feeling.
