The Wild Things...

One of the best things about being somewhere different is the variety of new and different animals we have encountered. Our first couple of days I was fascinated with the small lizards who we spied climbing on and in the hotel we were staying at. I soon learned that these are "butiki" and they really live everywhere here; I see two or three anytime I look at the wall in our home. The teachers at my school couldn't believe that we don't have butiki in Vermont. Steve has seen the most unique animals during our four months here, including a monkey (which was someone's pet, but was likely wild at some time) and a sea turtle. I decided to post a few of the pictures we've taken of local wildlife (and domestic life) to show you some of the animals we've come across in recent months.

This is not a butiki, but a slightly larger lizard we came across while visiting a historical site in Bataan.

This is the largest spider I think we have ever seen. She was bigger than my fist.
The dikya (aka jellyfish). We did not see a lot of marine life in our training site, but there were a lot of dikya.
The ugliest dog I think I've ever seen. He was mean too.

One of my favorite animals, the carabaw (water buffalo). There are so strong and gentle. People use them in the rice fields and pulling carts.A big slimy snail. These guys came out at night at the hotel we were staying at in Manila during our Swearing In.
Ants, there are SO many here! They are our constant companions.
Its hard to see, but that little dot is a lice egg. Ipis (cockroach) this one lives in our bedroom. He's about the size of my big toe.