- We flew through daylight the entire journey, and arrived the evening of the day after we set off!
- There are “No prescribed books for public schools”. teachers are forced to photo copy materials for their students, and not all schools even have xerox machines.
- There are 100 dialects spoken in the Philippines, which are all very different from each other, and for the first three years of school students are taught all subjects (except English and Filipino!) in their regional dialect, which means the early elementary teachers must be locals.
- St Paul had 30 minute recess every morning, and an hour for lunch. Students in the high School section do not need supervision during recess and lunch, and can be left unsupervised in their classrooms if the teacher has to leave!
- The bell was a gentle chime.
- The school was founded in 1970, and has its own museum.
- The classes are colorful, well-organized and clean.
- The cafeteria has stations from which students can select different food items.
- Some public schools have resident dentists, and "Feeding Centers" for malnourished students.
- The streets are alive with children playing, people eating in small cafes, and I saw no-one on a cellphone! (Not to say that a lot of Filipinos don't have cell phones.)