Dear ACE students,

 The tinsel is away, the Christmas lights are down and 2 weeks into the New Year most people have already broken their new year’s resolutions! Kimura sensei had so much fun traveling to the Philippines for the very first time. 

 I feel ecstatic that she could visit my hometown and experienced the simple life of the people who reside there. 

Together, we visited several places, including the very famous Chocolate Hills in Bohol which is located in Cebu, a very countryside like that reminds me of my childhood days. 

 It was also my first time to visit Cebu though I’m a Filipino and I can say that Cebu is one of the places that I can recommend to everyone because most people can speak English and has an easy access to Taxi everywhere with the low cost fare. 

 We also visited Hundred Islands in Pangasinan which takes about 1 hour and half drive from where my family lives. My hometown is still in the process of developing its beauty to help the people who live there with their job opportunities and to foster their livelihood in near future.

 One of the things, I noticed with our trip is that most of the malls we visited have been using paper bags which is a big help to the environment. 

 It is impossible to have zero plastic bags in local municipalities. However the government in the Philippines made this rule to encourage people to reduce the garbage on the streets.

 I heard that Japanese people are fond of the “Reuse, Reduce and Recycle” Policy is a very smart idea. Thank you for being the best example of everyone in cleanliness and discipline.

 We are reducing our use of plastics!

 We have significantly reduced our usage of plastic carrier bags in favor of re-usable shopping bags and crates. Nowadays, many malls and supermarkets in the Philippines refrain from giving plastic bags to customers to carry their items. 

 Some malls exclusively offer mall-goers with brown-bags and “eco-bags” in any time of the week. 

 Although plastic bags could carry a lot of weight and a number of items, the disadvantages and environmental hazards outweigh its benefits. 

 It has raised alarm in those people who are concerned about the negative effects on the environment and global warming. 

 There’s not much wasted things if we will all adopt this kind of rules and regulations. Paper saves animals. 

 Plastic wastes which include plastic bags are one of the main reasons for many marine and land creatures to die. Each individual can contribute to the society in simple ways.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla