Piyesta!

Yesterday my friend Mike invited me to go to a birthday party with him and his host family. The only thing on my agenda was to make my lesson plan (which could definitly be postponed) and play solitaire with my Lola... so, I happily agreed to go to the party. At first, I thought it was just like any other party here in the Phillipines, all you do is eat, eat, eat. A photo of the enormous bowl of pasta is attached and that is just the marienda for the party, also known as the snack. I should also tell you that anytime you do not eat rice here in the Phillipines, it is just a snack. I have learned this the hard way because I would eat an entire bowl of pasta thinking it was my dinner and then be told a couple hours later that is it time to eat dinner. As I sit there, still full from pasta, I thought constantly about how I should never make that mistake again :). Anyways, so at the party we were just eating and chatting like normal. Then, the videoke machine came out which is also very common. Filipinos love to sing so this is traditional entertainment at any kind of party. The loud music and beautiful voices made every child in the barangay come out of their house. I quickly noticed that the children were more focused Mike and I than the music. One moment, I turned around to about 20 beautiful smiling faces and felt terrified because I was not sure what to do! After smiling for about 2 minutes, which held there attention while I picked my brain for ideas...we danced, sang, raced around the block, played slap and took pictures. As I was getting tired it was clear that the children could play for days. This was such an amazing experience for me. The children were so happy just playing silly games that I could come up with. Bending knees and raising your hands in the air never looked so awesome! When it was time to go, we were all walking down the street to fetch a bus back home and when we turned around... the children were following us, all 30+ of them just smiling away.

So Much to Say, so Little Time!

I honestly do not know where to begin. I am sitting here, drinking my coffee, wondering how in the heck to write about everything that has happened these past couple weeks. My free time is getting shorter and shorter, that is definite!

I think you would all be happy to know that the roosters no longer wake me up at all hours of the night and I am so thankful that my ears cooperated with my surroundings and now just tune those beautiful sounds out, it is a magically feeling that I used to think was never possible.

This past week all of the volunteers met together at Island Cove in Cavite for Supervisors Conference. We were all very exciting because at the conference we were going to find out where our permanent sites would be!!! HUGE NEWS!!! If I have not told you already, I will be heading to Mogpog, Marinduque. It is a small, heart shaped island. During conversation with my supervisor aka the principal at the school I will be working in I found out that there are many beaches, hot springs, caves, and mass amounts of peanut butter on the island. Naturally, I was ecstatic about every single thing she mentioned. Marinduque is also the island of brown outs, which did not excite me but I am sure I will manage just fine! Please feel free to research this current foreign island to me and pass on any valuable information. My supervisor is fantastic. She is also new to the school so her and I are looking forward to being the new team at the school- Mogpog National High School. She talked to me a lot of how she wants to implement new programs to increase interest in sports and healthy living. I am really excited to hear more about this and tackle this job because well, a healthy active life is a life I like to live and I will definitely need to find or create some running buddies :). Dreams now but I hope they will become a reality in the future.

My host family has already started talking about Christmas. They are going to put up the decorations in September before I leave so that I can see them. They have also invited me to come back to Naparing for Christmas!!! So, if I can manage to tricycle, boat, bus, jeepney my way back here for my favorite holiday, I will.

Yesterday, I went to Subic Bay with Karen, Amy, and Christy. It was nice to escape to a new place. Being the wanderer that I am I have felt a bit claustrophobic. BUT, as soon as my toes hit the water I felt free and content and it was a much needed feeling and day trip. Subic Bay is a historical site because it was the old U.S. Naval Base. Walking around town is sort of feels like a ghost town. There are a lot of deserted hotels and restaurants that were not able to stay in business without all the tourism, soldiers, etc. that used to use the port in Subic Bay.

The rain finally stopped which basically means nothing aside from the fact that I am constantly sweating again. I think it is going to start raining again soon though, or so I have heard.

Alright, I have to go brush my teeth and get ready to be productive on this bright Sunday. I do have like 1,000 more things to write to I am hoping to get to this later today plus add some more pictures if you are having trouble picturing my mumbled words.

Love to All!!

Isn't it Lovely?

Maganda ang Bahay!

Pagod Ako!

Life here in the Philippines has been wonderfully hectic, forgive me for the delay in updates! Where to start, Hm... the people. My host family is quite perfect I must say. I live with three people: lola sion (grandma sion) ate Elsa (sister) and my sisters son, Joshua. The neighbors are also relatives and the family has been living in Naparing for a long time, I'm not exactly sure how long, but they know a lot of people. Each day we chat or in Filipino tems, we chika-chika. Chika- Chika is funny because the community is so linked together so news travels fast. For example, everyone here knows I like coffee, everyone knew our companion Richard was lost looking for the internet cafe, everyone knows Catherine is 21 and the youngest volunteer. It is actually very comical to hear the updates about myself and other volunteers.

I am labeled as the lucky one because the house I stay in is absolutely beautiful. I have a room upstairs which is kind of like the attic. Aside from my dislike of the mosquito net and the mosquitoes that will forever like me the room environment is perfect. I will never forget the roosters who live outside my window- they will forever, well for the next two months, keep me up at weird hours of the night and be my 3am alarm clock- aka the primary reason why I drink a lot of coffee! Last night I was attacked by biting ants. This was definitely not my favorite moment but I survived and learned that you can buy a chalk like stick of white poison to put around your bed and windows to help keep those pesty little buggas away from otherwise comfy and relaxing places.

Earthquake! Eeeek. There was an earthquake last night, rather frightening being my first experience. In all honesty, when my bed started shaking I thought a) there is a monster under my bed or b) i am dreaming because of the malaria medicine we HAVE to take. As I lay, deciding what the heck was happening I suddenly heard the tip toeing of my family members and realized I wasn't the only one who was laying in a shaking bed. The good news is everything is A-okay!!

My community is small but I like it. One day walking to class I got splashed with mud because a bus went flying by and hit a puddle. I learned my lesson the hard way to not walk so close to the street. Also, the highway (sion calls it, the cutest) is very dangerous and she finally lets me cross the street all alone.

Language training is moving along pretty smoothly. One the days where we have only language class, for about 8 hours, my brain truly aches. My host family continues to laugh at me whenever I practice my target language, each new word I say they are extremely excited and have to repeat it and tell many others of my new words. On Thursdays we have medical training. I am not looking forward to it this Thursday because last week left me pondering about all the horrible diseases/rashes/bites I could encounter. Now, when I see a mosquito bite I get nervous because I am convinced that it may not just be a mosquito bite... very complicated emotions for an indecisive person.

To end on a happy note- Tomorrow is my birthday and my first day in the classroom at Paluymo High School!! Hooray.

Write more soon! xoxo.

Kumusta? Mabuti!

Hello Again! So, currently in the Philippines it is rainy season, take note that this still means it is very hot and humid still. BUT, today the sun was shining and that was pretty awesome. As many of us know, when there are too many rainy days in a row, we all start to need a little taste of sunshine.

This past week we had water safety training at Villa Excellance, Tanza, Cavite. We all boarded the bus bright and early and took about an hour right to the site. It was good to finally see what the Philippines is like outside of this nook in the woods. When we got there we all split into three groups because there were three different fisher men who were taking us out to sea and making us jump in. With life vests on, we headed to the coast. I was put into the group with the smaller of the boats. This was not a worry to me until we put too many people in and didn't make it over the waves, causing our boat to fill with water and nearly sink. PHEW, that was a close call. The fisherman has to pump the water out, reminding me of the time my friends and I forgot to plug my dads boat up north and we had to empty the water ouf with buckets. My group decided to be patient and wait for the larger boat. Next try, my fellow trainees and I successfully jumped in, circled up and locked arms (which helps you stay warm!) and then climbed back into the boat. After getting used to the obnoxious itch on the back of my neck from the life vests, and failing to make it past the waves the first time, I finally did pass water safety training so no worries people.

My first trip to the mall was rather eventful too. To get to the mall, I had to take a Jeepney. Jeepneys are everywhere. It is similar to taxis in the U.S., but you can't call to have one come pick you up, you simply have to wait until one drives by. I didn't do much at the mall but buy essentials such as tooth paste nd toilet paper. I did find tim tams at the mall which was the highlight. Tim tams were my favorite cookie when I lived in Australia. I guess these will have to do since I don't have a stash of reeses peanut butter cups yet.

Right now in training, we are finishing up with lesson plans. Tomorrow (Fri) and saturday, we are doing demo teaching and then Sunday morning we depart for our training site, which is when I will meet my first host family and finally get to go to an actual school!

XOXO.

                                       

Meet Peace Corps Volunteers- Phillipines, Batch 270

This is all of us at our initial orientation site in Cavite, Philippines.

I like rice.

This first week has flown by. In reality, I have only been gone for one week; however, it feels like it has been months. From the friendships I have made to the amount of knowledge that has been thrown to me, I can say without a doubt that this week has been amazing. I really feel like our time here as a group will help me transition into life living with a host family in a more rural spot in the Philippines, one where bucket showers become part of my daily schedule. I am very anxious to meet my host family. Through conversation, I have convinced myself that there is a good chance that there will be children in the family which makes me happy. As I tackle this whole learning a second language thing I am going to try to “act and learn like a child would” so I feel like if I have them close to me they can symbolism a constant reminder.

Just in case you were wondering… I am already craving cheese, reeses peanut butter cups, and French vanilla creamer. Weird? Well, that is questionable. There has been an endless supply of coffee and tea though which has been very satisfying.  Throughout the day we do a lot of sitting and eating. The eating is normal for me, the sitting not so much. I have really had to try hard to make my body feel comfortable, hence the mass amounts of tea and coffee I have been drinking, I guess this is my way of recognizing that a cup of tea helps me stay relaxed.

Coming soon: stories about water safety training, my first visit to the beach, and my first mall experience (I need new toothpaste). Get excited.

XOXO,

Beaner