But it will be a very long process. Rebekah Grade 12 Georgia A. Dear Rebekah, I think the most bizarre thing I ever witnessed as a reporter happened when I was just starting out. I was a freelance reporter in the Philippines about 12 years ago and on Easter, I went to report on a strange and unsettling ritual in some provinces of the country in which people volunteer to be nailed to wooden crosses and other people, wearing black hoods, walk through the small villages hitting themselves with wooden whips. The ritual is an extreme way of commemorating Christ's suffering on Easter. It is only done by a handful of people each year and the Catholic Church does not approve of it, but some people go ahead and do it anyway.
Nobody dies - they pull the men down from the crosses after a few minutes.
The whole thing has become a kind of odd tourist attraction, with visitors snapping pictures of the crucifixion and vendors selling soda and ice cream. About the most bizarre thing I ever DID as a reporter also happened in the Philippines. I wanted to go to an island military base that no reporter had ever been to before and the military officer who could authorize it said he would give me permission if I got up on stage at a local cafe and sang with the band. So far in this country, the opportunity to sing my way into a story hasn't come up.