niece dawn was 6 mos old when she 1st visited the philippines, 2 yrs on the 2nd, 4 on the 3rd, & 6 on her latest visit in may’07. this girl’s so sweet, smart, creative & athletic. i was amazed when she made me her student in her kindergarten class, kuno..hehe..speechless when she told us stories about jungle animals, pres. bush, war in iraq, the u.s. soldiers’ lives in iraq & how they fought in the war with what. i love dawn not because she’s cute & we share the same birthday but because she’s witty. at age 4, she visited great grandma’s place in the southern philippines & was very sentimental. she quickly browsed the place & saw lots of flowers, trees, grasses, bees, butterflies, ants, grasshoppers, chickens, pigs, goats, cows, cats, dogs, & some birds around the area that made her think she’s in a jungle..hehe..dawn’s a nature-lover & so she enjoyed it there, swam in the sea all day long, rode in great grandpa’s canoe non-stop, & collected some tiny seashells & corals as presents for her friends back in the u.s. but what she enjoyed the most was collecting fallen withered leaves.

dawn also loves music being able to play piano & sing christmas, eagles, & beegees’ songs. she has a wow magicsing videoke microphone at home, too. oh, yes she can read since she’s 5 & her score? no less than 90! meanwhile, pre-school classes, ballet dance, swimming, gymnastics, & piano lessons keep her busy. i can’t imagine how this cute little girl manages her very tight schedule & still be able to work partime as a school assistant (kids’ tutor) to her mom on weekends for $5/day! if mom forgets to pay, she’d post a big note on mom’s room’s door reminding her that payment is already due! there’s a clever girl in dawn & i have to write this well ‘coz she’ll be reading this soon.