It has been a little over a month now since I lifted off the tarmac at Heathrow Airport feeling a combination of excitement and trepidation for what was to come. In that time I have begun to begin to learn a new way of life and settle into a routine here in the Philippines.

My tasks here are twofold, put simply: I teach maths and I play the keyboard.

The work of the Salesian community here in Borongan is huge and it is difficult to describe the entirety of their work and ministry in just one blog. One of their major tasks is providing vocational education for a number of trainees (aged from around 16 and up) who are looking to take courses in welding and small engine technology. Throughout the afternoon, the trainees will labour in the workshop learning and working on things that I have no clue about at all. But before all of that, the day begins when everybody arrives to the Don Bosco Training Center at 7:30am. There is a morning assembly and prayer time, followed by a spot of cleaning (the building gets dusty, fast!) and a 2-hour teaching period to follow – the students take additional lessons in English, Christian values, computing and of course, mathematics, which is where I come in!

When I arrived, I was daunted by teaching a class of 60 students. I was concerned that I wouldn’t know whether everybody was understanding the maths or that I wouldn’t be able to learn everybody’s names quickly enough. I was also worried that because of my north-eastern accent that my English wouldn’t even be understood. But, with a bit of patience we have somewhat settled into a rhythm and my initial worries are beginning to subside, especially as I get to know the students more.

I hope that my time in the training centre can be fruitful. I hope that I can at least offer a glimpse of why mathematics is a useful skill to have. Many in my class (and beyond!) see the subject in black and white. Maths is boring and difficult. I’m not quite sure how to convince them otherwise just yet – but in time, hopefully everybody will see the relevance of what we’re doing and how they can use their skills to benefit their own lives whether it be for future college courses or in their future careers as business people, engineers or part-time Su Doku champs!

Another big part of the Salesian’s presence here is the Youth Center which is based on the same site as the house I am staying. At present there is a small group of young people of varying ages who gather throughout the week, including students from the local high school and children from the surrounding area. On a Saturday morning we have music lessons where the young people can learn violin, guitar, Filipino bandurria and keyboard – last weekend I was teaching six students how to play chords! Eventually we hope to form a strong group of instrumentalists (including singers) so that we can lead the music every other weekend during the Sunday Mass as well as perform for other occasions throughout the year. I am very much looking forward to going carolling when Christmas time comes! It’s great to see so many young people become interested in playing instruments and they are picking it up fast. I even managed to have a violin lesson myself a fortnight ago; I can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the standard song of anyone’s first experience on an instrument.

I have more activities lined up for the coming weeks, and I’m really excited to be here especially as I am now feeling like I have begun to settle and adjust to life in Eastern Samar. What’s perhaps most exciting is that currently there are builders and construction workers all over the site working on a brand new youth and training centre which means that everything will be contained in one place. I am told that in years gone by there were often between 50 and 100 young people attending the youth centre joining together for a monthly programme, to use the games room and to pray the nightly 6pm Rosary. I hope that by the time all the building work is complete in January there will be more youth flocking to use these exciting new facilities in order that they can begin to grow in fellowship with one another.

I have only been here a short time, and have already been welcomed as a member of the DBYC family. I can’t wait for the months to come and see more people join, or return, so that we can create lifelong memories and share together in the richness of life here in this tiny corner of Southeast Asia.