I am experimenting with a new blog at http://skumis.tumblr.com
I may phase this one out, or keep them both running. What do you guys think?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thanksgiving-ness
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, 6 of us (Tom and Leah, Jessie and I, Sammy, Molly) met up in San Juan for a belated-Thanksgiving celebration. It was decidedly un-Thanksgiving like. This is the first time Jessie and I have celebrated somewhere where it wasn't cold and truly Fall. It was still awesome, though.
We stayed at a cool little hotel that was more someone's really nice house converted. The grounds also had outdoor huts that we would stay at sometime in the future. The coolest thing, though, was that the owner allowed us to cook our own dinner there. We went to the market and bought a couple of already dead chickens, vegetables and drinks...headed back to the hotel and cooked, talked and drank. It was perfect.
I have pictures somewhere...I will try to post in the future.
On Sunday, I tried surfing again. Man is it hard! Maybe someday I will get good at it.
Okay, that's all I have the energy for.
Pis.
We stayed at a cool little hotel that was more someone's really nice house converted. The grounds also had outdoor huts that we would stay at sometime in the future. The coolest thing, though, was that the owner allowed us to cook our own dinner there. We went to the market and bought a couple of already dead chickens, vegetables and drinks...headed back to the hotel and cooked, talked and drank. It was perfect.
I have pictures somewhere...I will try to post in the future.
On Sunday, I tried surfing again. Man is it hard! Maybe someday I will get good at it.
Okay, that's all I have the energy for.
Pis.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
All Sworn in and Ready to Go
On November 13, 2009, Jessie, I, and 60-some other trainees from Batch 268 were sworn in as Volunteers. It was fun and exciting, though not necessarily exciting for a blog reader.
The biggest part of the day was that we were sworn in by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During Counterpart's Conference, which leads up to Swearing In, we had heard that Clinton was in town. There were rumors that she might make an appearance. On Thursday it was confirmed.
I keep trying to think of a way to explain why this was so cool, but as I always remind you, I am not a very good writer. It was exciting to have someone so high up the political ladder conduct something that is so important for our transition from Trainees to Volunteers. By having Secretary Clinton swearing us in, I felt somewhat validated in what we are doing here. Mind you, I don't necessarily feel that I need the validation, but prior to coming here, I was questioned a lot about what the Peace Corps is and how valid a program it is and blah, blah. Maybe this acknowledgment is enough for those naysayers...maybe it isn't.
Here are some pictures (sadly we weren't allowed cameras in the U.S. Embassy, so no Clinton pics).
This is a picture of all the trainees from La Union. These are the people I know best in the Philippines. They represent 3 training clusters (2 Education, 1 CYF). They are scattered throughout Ilokano-speaking Luzon now. It is sad not seeing them regularly.
Here I am with the other 4 CYF Volunteers and 2 trainers that I trained with for 12 weeks. These are the people that I saw every Monday through Saturday (and most Sundays). It will be odd not having them here in Caba with me.
Note, the shirt I am wearing is called a Barong. It is a formal shirt that my host dad lent me for the event. He wore it at his wedding. Pretty awesome, eh?
Ok. That's all I've got for now. Keeping watching Twitter to the right. Also, we have a new mailing address...send us presents. Or send us Amazon.com gift cards to my email address. We have a Kindle now and books aren't cheap!
Pis Out
The biggest part of the day was that we were sworn in by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During Counterpart's Conference, which leads up to Swearing In, we had heard that Clinton was in town. There were rumors that she might make an appearance. On Thursday it was confirmed.
I keep trying to think of a way to explain why this was so cool, but as I always remind you, I am not a very good writer. It was exciting to have someone so high up the political ladder conduct something that is so important for our transition from Trainees to Volunteers. By having Secretary Clinton swearing us in, I felt somewhat validated in what we are doing here. Mind you, I don't necessarily feel that I need the validation, but prior to coming here, I was questioned a lot about what the Peace Corps is and how valid a program it is and blah, blah. Maybe this acknowledgment is enough for those naysayers...maybe it isn't.
Here are some pictures (sadly we weren't allowed cameras in the U.S. Embassy, so no Clinton pics).
This is a picture of all the trainees from La Union. These are the people I know best in the Philippines. They represent 3 training clusters (2 Education, 1 CYF). They are scattered throughout Ilokano-speaking Luzon now. It is sad not seeing them regularly.
Here I am with the other 4 CYF Volunteers and 2 trainers that I trained with for 12 weeks. These are the people that I saw every Monday through Saturday (and most Sundays). It will be odd not having them here in Caba with me.
Note, the shirt I am wearing is called a Barong. It is a formal shirt that my host dad lent me for the event. He wore it at his wedding. Pretty awesome, eh?
Ok. That's all I've got for now. Keeping watching Twitter to the right. Also, we have a new mailing address...send us presents. Or send us Amazon.com gift cards to my email address. We have a Kindle now and books aren't cheap!
Pis Out
Friday, November 6, 2009
Training is Done
Week 11
11/01/09 - 11/08/09
Week 11 was our last week of training here in La Union. For most people that means moving onto a different site after swearing in on November 13, but for us it just means starting are permanent jobs here. We are both really excited about it, though it this point there is not much to say. Lots of potential...
This week also had us doing our Language Proficiency Interview (LPI). Jessie is an ace and did just fine. I was nervous because I had a practice interview at the beginning of the week and totally blanked on all that I had learned. That got me reviewing...and got me a little freaked out. Thankfully, I knew more than I thought and did just fine. This morning I briefly talked to my LPI interviewer and she said that I "passed." I will get more detailed notes later in the week.
Either way, training is done now. It's weird, I feel like I have been here forever, but at the same time, everything is flying by so quickly. It has been great, though.
Tomorrow we travel to Manila for Counterparts Conference and then Swearing In.
After this post, I will probably not give weekly updates. I feel like I don't always have something good to say in a given week. I will still update regularly through Twitter, though, so keep looking to the right hand column of this screen!
Pis Out
11/01/09 - 11/08/09
Week 11 was our last week of training here in La Union. For most people that means moving onto a different site after swearing in on November 13, but for us it just means starting are permanent jobs here. We are both really excited about it, though it this point there is not much to say. Lots of potential...
This week also had us doing our Language Proficiency Interview (LPI). Jessie is an ace and did just fine. I was nervous because I had a practice interview at the beginning of the week and totally blanked on all that I had learned. That got me reviewing...and got me a little freaked out. Thankfully, I knew more than I thought and did just fine. This morning I briefly talked to my LPI interviewer and she said that I "passed." I will get more detailed notes later in the week.
Either way, training is done now. It's weird, I feel like I have been here forever, but at the same time, everything is flying by so quickly. It has been great, though.
Tomorrow we travel to Manila for Counterparts Conference and then Swearing In.
After this post, I will probably not give weekly updates. I feel like I don't always have something good to say in a given week. I will still update regularly through Twitter, though, so keep looking to the right hand column of this screen!
Pis Out
Handog, Halloween and Cemetaries
Week 10
10/25/09 - 11/01/09
Week 10 saw a lot of fun stuff happening for us.
First, we had out "handog" with all the host families. Basically it was a big thank you party from the trainees in our cluster. The funny thing is, the host families still ended up doing most of the planning. They are master party planners here! We had the event at our LCF's house (which is also our language training site). A big tent was erected, a videoke machine was rented, and, of course, lots of food was made.
The difference in this party is that the trainees got to make some American food for the host families to try. I don't think they trusted us enough to do all the food, so our food was just the "merienda" before the actual meal. Jessie and I made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. They turned out quite well and most of the host parents said that they enjoyed them. Whether they actually did, or were just being polite, who knows?
Saturday was my first Halloween abroad. They recognize the holiday here, but it is not widely celebrated. Our host family (being awesome as usual) invited all the trainees from the 3 clusters over for a Halloween party/beach bonfire. A couple people found costumes, which made it feel a little bit Halloween-y. One of the other trainee's family in the States sent him candy corn, which he was generous enough to share with all of us. While there isn't tons to note, it ended up being a great time for all of us.
While Filipinos don't generally celebrate Halloween, they do celebrate the day after, All Saint's Day. On All Saint's Day, everyone (or at least lots of people) head over to the cemetery where their families are buried to remember them. To an American, it may sound macabre to be sitting in a graveyard with the tomb of your relatives, but it really didn't feel that way. It was actually kind of pleasant...a bunch of people getting together to celebrate loved ones who have passed. It was interesting to Jessie and I. I wonder if there are people in the States who celebrate this way?
Alright...one more blog of weekly updates and then I think I am changing how I update...
10/25/09 - 11/01/09
Week 10 saw a lot of fun stuff happening for us.
First, we had out "handog" with all the host families. Basically it was a big thank you party from the trainees in our cluster. The funny thing is, the host families still ended up doing most of the planning. They are master party planners here! We had the event at our LCF's house (which is also our language training site). A big tent was erected, a videoke machine was rented, and, of course, lots of food was made.
The difference in this party is that the trainees got to make some American food for the host families to try. I don't think they trusted us enough to do all the food, so our food was just the "merienda" before the actual meal. Jessie and I made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. They turned out quite well and most of the host parents said that they enjoyed them. Whether they actually did, or were just being polite, who knows?
Saturday was my first Halloween abroad. They recognize the holiday here, but it is not widely celebrated. Our host family (being awesome as usual) invited all the trainees from the 3 clusters over for a Halloween party/beach bonfire. A couple people found costumes, which made it feel a little bit Halloween-y. One of the other trainee's family in the States sent him candy corn, which he was generous enough to share with all of us. While there isn't tons to note, it ended up being a great time for all of us.
While Filipinos don't generally celebrate Halloween, they do celebrate the day after, All Saint's Day. On All Saint's Day, everyone (or at least lots of people) head over to the cemetery where their families are buried to remember them. To an American, it may sound macabre to be sitting in a graveyard with the tomb of your relatives, but it really didn't feel that way. It was actually kind of pleasant...a bunch of people getting together to celebrate loved ones who have passed. It was interesting to Jessie and I. I wonder if there are people in the States who celebrate this way?
Alright...one more blog of weekly updates and then I think I am changing how I update...
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Back to Training
Week 9
10/18/09 - 10/25/09
After the fun of Manila and Supervisor's Conference, week 9 was a bit boring. It was tough getting back into the language after being in areas where we didn't have much chance to practice. By the end of the week, I felt back up to speed, though.
One highlight of this week was that it was Jessie and my 1-year legal anniversary. We had two weddings last year. There was our ceremony in Mexico with all our friends and family in February of 2009. Prior to that, though, we had a secret legal wedding on October 18 in front of a judge in Chicago. It was a really fun experience for us. Since getting here, we have been telling people that that is our anniversary date.
Our host parents decided to have a party for us. It was really great. A lot of the other trainees came by. They got us a fried pig's head. It looks a lot more exotic than it tastes. It was really quite delicious. We loved the whole day and appreciated what our host parents did for us.
We also were able to come back home to our beautiful sunsets. We are very fortunate that we can witness this kind of beauty every night (though we don't take advantage of it every night). We certainly haven't gotten tired of that!
Okay, I will try and shoot my last blog out soon to be all caught up.
Pis
10/18/09 - 10/25/09
After the fun of Manila and Supervisor's Conference, week 9 was a bit boring. It was tough getting back into the language after being in areas where we didn't have much chance to practice. By the end of the week, I felt back up to speed, though.
One highlight of this week was that it was Jessie and my 1-year legal anniversary. We had two weddings last year. There was our ceremony in Mexico with all our friends and family in February of 2009. Prior to that, though, we had a secret legal wedding on October 18 in front of a judge in Chicago. It was a really fun experience for us. Since getting here, we have been telling people that that is our anniversary date.
Our host parents decided to have a party for us. It was really great. A lot of the other trainees came by. They got us a fried pig's head. It looks a lot more exotic than it tastes. It was really quite delicious. We loved the whole day and appreciated what our host parents did for us.
We also were able to come back home to our beautiful sunsets. We are very fortunate that we can witness this kind of beauty every night (though we don't take advantage of it every night). We certainly haven't gotten tired of that!
Okay, I will try and shoot my last blog out soon to be all caught up.
Pis
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Our Unsurprising Site
Week 8
10/11/09 - 10/18/09
Week 7 and Week 8 really ran together since I was gone for part of both. After the street immersion in Manila, the CYF trainees met up with the rest of the Luzon trainees in Education and Coastal Resource Management (CRM) for the Supervisor's Conference in Cavite.
Supervisor's Conference is exciting for all the trainees because on the first night, we get to find out what our permanent site is going to be. Also, as the name implies, we get to meet our supervisors for our permanent site. For Jessie and I, a lot of the excitement was deflated by the fact that we were already pretty sure where we were going to be. We ended up being right.
A lot of hints had been dropped throughout training that our permanent sites were going to be the same as our respective training sites. There is nothing inherently wrong with either of our sites. In fact, our training sites are awesome. The town we are living in is awesome. Our host family is awesome. BUT, when everyone else is finding out about their cool new regions and new work sites...when they go to visit their site and get a parade and see new sights...it is really easy to be jealous. We weren't jealous of their specific sites, we were jealous of the new experiences that they had that we don't get.
This was a couple weeks ago, though. Now, that jealousy has faded. We are excited about staying here. We are excited that we don't have to pack up our lives again and haul them off to a new place. We are excited that we don't have to wonder whether or not we will get along with our new host family. We are content. And, now we have all these new places that we can visit where are friends are!
So, that was Supervisor's Conference. Not exciting for us, but great for everyone else.
It was great seeing all of the other trainees who we haven't seen since Initial Orientation. We will get to see them again when we swear in too. More places to go visit!
Alright, I am almost caught up with the weeks. Boring week 9 to come soon!
Until then...Pis Out (ps - "Pis" = phonetic spelling of "Peace" in Philippines)
10/11/09 - 10/18/09
Week 7 and Week 8 really ran together since I was gone for part of both. After the street immersion in Manila, the CYF trainees met up with the rest of the Luzon trainees in Education and Coastal Resource Management (CRM) for the Supervisor's Conference in Cavite.
Supervisor's Conference is exciting for all the trainees because on the first night, we get to find out what our permanent site is going to be. Also, as the name implies, we get to meet our supervisors for our permanent site. For Jessie and I, a lot of the excitement was deflated by the fact that we were already pretty sure where we were going to be. We ended up being right.
A lot of hints had been dropped throughout training that our permanent sites were going to be the same as our respective training sites. There is nothing inherently wrong with either of our sites. In fact, our training sites are awesome. The town we are living in is awesome. Our host family is awesome. BUT, when everyone else is finding out about their cool new regions and new work sites...when they go to visit their site and get a parade and see new sights...it is really easy to be jealous. We weren't jealous of their specific sites, we were jealous of the new experiences that they had that we don't get.
This was a couple weeks ago, though. Now, that jealousy has faded. We are excited about staying here. We are excited that we don't have to pack up our lives again and haul them off to a new place. We are excited that we don't have to wonder whether or not we will get along with our new host family. We are content. And, now we have all these new places that we can visit where are friends are!
So, that was Supervisor's Conference. Not exciting for us, but great for everyone else.
It was great seeing all of the other trainees who we haven't seen since Initial Orientation. We will get to see them again when we swear in too. More places to go visit!
Alright, I am almost caught up with the weeks. Boring week 9 to come soon!
Until then...Pis Out (ps - "Pis" = phonetic spelling of "Peace" in Philippines)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Street Kids, Prostitutes and Flooding. Oh my!
Week 7
10/04/09 - 10/11/09
Week 7 saw Jessie and I spending our first bit of time apart. The CYF people throughout Luzon went to Manila for some street immersion. We got to follow around a couple NGO's as they did street education with homeless children. It was interesting to see young kids with barely any clothing, barely bathed, yet flocking around the educators to learn their lessons. It was impressive to see these street educators teach valid lessons about life skills, while not being boring or lecture-y. I have a lot of respect for those people after seeing them in action.
CYF Luzon also got to witness two types of prostitution in Manila. One was obvious, one blew my American mind. The obvious one is that there are bars in Manila that you can go to to get GROs (Guest Relations Officers). Quite simply, there are bars with lots of prostitutes in them. You go in, make eye contact, and next thing you know, you are surrounded by 3 attractive women who will flirt with you all night, as long you are buying drinks. You then have various options to pay for sex with them. What made that experience disturbing was all the "white" people in there. There are so many older male foreigners who go into these places and act like they are just the shit. It's creepy and despicable...though I think there is a psychology of pathetic-ness involved in some of the lonely old men who actually feel special in these interactions, but that is a conversation over drinks, not blogs.
All in all, it was a fascinating experience. I was moved by it, but am not good at articulating feelings like that. There are other blogs that can do it better. I will say briefly, though, that it is unreal seeing this young kids on the street, who barely have food, who barely have adequate clothing or shelter...it is unreal seeing them there with big smiles on there faces, helping each other out, always curious about strangers (not just begging)...just so much more positive than their circumstances would indicate. It makes me want to contribute that much more to help meet their basic needs in life.
While all of this was happening, I also had to deal with a scare back at site. The day that I left La Union, the rains from Pepeng were really picking up there. Sadly, Jessie had to stay behind and deal with it. Our town generally doesn't flood with heavy rains, but this time the water started creeping up. In the middle of the night on Thursday, October 8, Jessie woke up during the heaving storming that had gone on since the day before (when I left). The power had already been out all day. The water was starting to rise outside of the house. Jessie went upstairs and woke up our host parents...at which time they proceeded to move everything that was downstairs to the upstairs!
Needless to say, Jessie was a little freaked out. I didn't find out what was going on until Friday morning because the inexpensive Nokia phones that we use here don't give you any warning alarm when your text inbox is full...and mine was full. I felt so terrible (and scared) the next morning because Jessie had been trying to text me throughout the night and I wasn't getting any of them (it eats up too much money to call). Thankfully everything turned out ok in the end. No major damage to our town, though the town just North of us had some mudslides and a few deaths due to the river washing some people away.
That wrapped up week 7 for us...which transitions to week 8 when Jessie and I were reunited at the Supervisor's Conference in Cavite.
More on that to come....
10/04/09 - 10/11/09
Week 7 saw Jessie and I spending our first bit of time apart. The CYF people throughout Luzon went to Manila for some street immersion. We got to follow around a couple NGO's as they did street education with homeless children. It was interesting to see young kids with barely any clothing, barely bathed, yet flocking around the educators to learn their lessons. It was impressive to see these street educators teach valid lessons about life skills, while not being boring or lecture-y. I have a lot of respect for those people after seeing them in action.
CYF Luzon also got to witness two types of prostitution in Manila. One was obvious, one blew my American mind. The obvious one is that there are bars in Manila that you can go to to get GROs (Guest Relations Officers). Quite simply, there are bars with lots of prostitutes in them. You go in, make eye contact, and next thing you know, you are surrounded by 3 attractive women who will flirt with you all night, as long you are buying drinks. You then have various options to pay for sex with them. What made that experience disturbing was all the "white" people in there. There are so many older male foreigners who go into these places and act like they are just the shit. It's creepy and despicable...though I think there is a psychology of pathetic-ness involved in some of the lonely old men who actually feel special in these interactions, but that is a conversation over drinks, not blogs.
All in all, it was a fascinating experience. I was moved by it, but am not good at articulating feelings like that. There are other blogs that can do it better. I will say briefly, though, that it is unreal seeing this young kids on the street, who barely have food, who barely have adequate clothing or shelter...it is unreal seeing them there with big smiles on there faces, helping each other out, always curious about strangers (not just begging)...just so much more positive than their circumstances would indicate. It makes me want to contribute that much more to help meet their basic needs in life.
While all of this was happening, I also had to deal with a scare back at site. The day that I left La Union, the rains from Pepeng were really picking up there. Sadly, Jessie had to stay behind and deal with it. Our town generally doesn't flood with heavy rains, but this time the water started creeping up. In the middle of the night on Thursday, October 8, Jessie woke up during the heaving storming that had gone on since the day before (when I left). The power had already been out all day. The water was starting to rise outside of the house. Jessie went upstairs and woke up our host parents...at which time they proceeded to move everything that was downstairs to the upstairs!
Needless to say, Jessie was a little freaked out. I didn't find out what was going on until Friday morning because the inexpensive Nokia phones that we use here don't give you any warning alarm when your text inbox is full...and mine was full. I felt so terrible (and scared) the next morning because Jessie had been trying to text me throughout the night and I wasn't getting any of them (it eats up too much money to call). Thankfully everything turned out ok in the end. No major damage to our town, though the town just North of us had some mudslides and a few deaths due to the river washing some people away.
That wrapped up week 7 for us...which transitions to week 8 when Jessie and I were reunited at the Supervisor's Conference in Cavite.
More on that to come....
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Twitter's Back
Ok...I tried to put the Twitter widget back in my page. It is in the right hand column. My username is skumis22. It should say that at the top of the widget. If it says anyone else's username, please comment on this post immediately. I don't want you guys to have to read some other clown's updates.
I am still processing (ie, being lazy) the blog posts for week's 7 and 8. I will post them soon, hopefully...
Pis
I am still processing (ie, being lazy) the blog posts for week's 7 and 8. I will post them soon, hopefully...
Pis
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Stupid Twitter
So, I had a twitter widget installed as a sidebar on my blog, but apparently it had someone else's posts popping up. So, all the stuff you have seen for the last few weeks is not me. I don't know what kind of random-ass things he was saying, but hopefully it didn't make me look bad.
For future reference, my twitter name is skumis22. If you see any other name, it's not me!
For future reference, my twitter name is skumis22. If you see any other name, it's not me!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Playing in the Rain
Week 6
09/27/09 - 10/04/09
All is well here.
It has been rather wet, though.
I case you don't watch the news (which I don't since I am TV-less), there was a massive typhoon named Penpeng that swept across the Philippines. If you looked at at weather map, it appeared as if the entire country was engulfed by it. Fortunately that was not the case. The really bad parts went up the Eastern coast of the country.
Our training region, La Union, is on the West side of the main island of Luzon. No major flooding. No major wind damage. We got lucky. I was told by someone that La Union gets lucky a lot because we have the mountains to the East and the South China Sea to the West (which supposedly is never the source of typhoons). We still get typhoons, but the super ones don't plow over us like other parts of the country. Not sure how true any of that is, but I'll take it for now and allow myself to be reassured. ;-)
We did get a heck of a lot of rain and wind, though...which leads me to another great Peace Corps experience. One of the volunteers in our cluster is having a birthday in a couple weeks. We are all supposed to be out of town that day, so her host family decided to have an early birthday party for her on Saturday (10/03). Now, Saturday night was the night that we had our worst weather from the typhoon: Signal 2 level winds and rain. I guess the birthday has to get cancelled. Wrong!
Jessie and I (accompanied by our host dad) drove over to our training site, parked the truck, and then trudged through rice fields to this other volunteers host family's house. It was awesome. Imagine Jessie and I all geared up with raincoats, headlamps (gotta see the path through the rice) and completely ineffective umbrellas, walking through a dark rice field in the wind and rain. Imagine us arriving and then shortly after that, all the other volunteers in our cluster arriving with their respective host families. It rocked. No fucking typhoon was going to cancel that birthday.
Leaving the party was even more fun because we all left together (see below picture). Raincoats, headlamps, flashlights, plastic bag ponchos. Lots of rain and wind. Did I already mention that it was awesome? Hahaha.
Stacking up experiences like this one is such a great part of this adventure.
Sadly, the typhoon caused the postponement of our supervisor's conference until next week. Still don't know our permanent site. Boo.
I should have those details the next time I blog, which may not be a couple of weeks since I will be offsite from 10/07 until 10/18.
Make sure you miss me!
Pis Out
09/27/09 - 10/04/09
All is well here.
It has been rather wet, though.
I case you don't watch the news (which I don't since I am TV-less), there was a massive typhoon named Penpeng that swept across the Philippines. If you looked at at weather map, it appeared as if the entire country was engulfed by it. Fortunately that was not the case. The really bad parts went up the Eastern coast of the country.
Our training region, La Union, is on the West side of the main island of Luzon. No major flooding. No major wind damage. We got lucky. I was told by someone that La Union gets lucky a lot because we have the mountains to the East and the South China Sea to the West (which supposedly is never the source of typhoons). We still get typhoons, but the super ones don't plow over us like other parts of the country. Not sure how true any of that is, but I'll take it for now and allow myself to be reassured. ;-)
We did get a heck of a lot of rain and wind, though...which leads me to another great Peace Corps experience. One of the volunteers in our cluster is having a birthday in a couple weeks. We are all supposed to be out of town that day, so her host family decided to have an early birthday party for her on Saturday (10/03). Now, Saturday night was the night that we had our worst weather from the typhoon: Signal 2 level winds and rain. I guess the birthday has to get cancelled. Wrong!
Jessie and I (accompanied by our host dad) drove over to our training site, parked the truck, and then trudged through rice fields to this other volunteers host family's house. It was awesome. Imagine Jessie and I all geared up with raincoats, headlamps (gotta see the path through the rice) and completely ineffective umbrellas, walking through a dark rice field in the wind and rain. Imagine us arriving and then shortly after that, all the other volunteers in our cluster arriving with their respective host families. It rocked. No fucking typhoon was going to cancel that birthday.
Leaving the party was even more fun because we all left together (see below picture). Raincoats, headlamps, flashlights, plastic bag ponchos. Lots of rain and wind. Did I already mention that it was awesome? Hahaha.
Stacking up experiences like this one is such a great part of this adventure.
Sadly, the typhoon caused the postponement of our supervisor's conference until next week. Still don't know our permanent site. Boo.
I should have those details the next time I blog, which may not be a couple of weeks since I will be offsite from 10/07 until 10/18.
Make sure you miss me!
Pis Out
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Week 5
09/20/09 - 09/27/09
All is well here.
Week 5 kind of blew, though. I lost my wallet and was dumb enough to have my new Peace Corp issued atm card with the pin number in it. I am normally not a moron like that, but I had just gotten it and thought I would be hitting an atm soon to change the pin number to something memorized. So, whoever found my wallet also found an atm and cleaned out my account. Fortunately, it wasn't tied to my U.S. accounts. Just the money that Peace Corps gives us was lost. Still, it was really upsetting.
Then, on Wednesday (10/23/09), I had a day-long flu. It came and went quick...body aches, digestive problems, fatigue. Then Thursday, I woke up and felt just fine. Weird.
Things got much better on Friday. A bunch of Peace Corps Trainees from the various clusters in my area met up and went to a resort to have a few drinks by the beach. It is really nice to be able to connect with other trainees on a semi-regular basis. It is a good way to decompress from the week.
Sunday (09/27/09) may have been my best day since arriving here. My host dad's family owns land with a fishing pond (like a mini fishery) not too far from us. He coordinated with all the host parents and set up a day for the volunteers to fish. They made us all fishing poles for us, cleaned and prepared the fish we caught, and made other food for us. We had tons of neighborhood kids hanging around us, playing and practicing their English. I am really not doing the event justice with this description. It was awesome though. I posted pictures on Facebook. Check them out.
Okay, I am being lazy about writing, so that is all.
We find out our permanent site this Sunday (10/04/09). Can't wait!
Pis Out
All is well here.
Week 5 kind of blew, though. I lost my wallet and was dumb enough to have my new Peace Corp issued atm card with the pin number in it. I am normally not a moron like that, but I had just gotten it and thought I would be hitting an atm soon to change the pin number to something memorized. So, whoever found my wallet also found an atm and cleaned out my account. Fortunately, it wasn't tied to my U.S. accounts. Just the money that Peace Corps gives us was lost. Still, it was really upsetting.
Then, on Wednesday (10/23/09), I had a day-long flu. It came and went quick...body aches, digestive problems, fatigue. Then Thursday, I woke up and felt just fine. Weird.
Things got much better on Friday. A bunch of Peace Corps Trainees from the various clusters in my area met up and went to a resort to have a few drinks by the beach. It is really nice to be able to connect with other trainees on a semi-regular basis. It is a good way to decompress from the week.
Sunday (09/27/09) may have been my best day since arriving here. My host dad's family owns land with a fishing pond (like a mini fishery) not too far from us. He coordinated with all the host parents and set up a day for the volunteers to fish. They made us all fishing poles for us, cleaned and prepared the fish we caught, and made other food for us. We had tons of neighborhood kids hanging around us, playing and practicing their English. I am really not doing the event justice with this description. It was awesome though. I posted pictures on Facebook. Check them out.
Okay, I am being lazy about writing, so that is all.
We find out our permanent site this Sunday (10/04/09). Can't wait!
Pis Out
Monday, September 21, 2009
Week 4
09/13/09 - 09/20/09
All is well here.
I was trying to think of a theme for this week's post, and I drew a blank. It's not that there is nothing to write about. There is plenty. It is just the problem of trying to focus my thoughts on things people might find interesting.
I could talk about food, but I haven't been keeping good notes on the dishes I have been eating. Or taking pictures of the food I have been eating. Bad Scott!!!
Maybe weather. I can always talk about the weather.
It is hot as hell here! I don't know what the temperature is (you can use weather.com for that), but I sweat a lot. If you look at pictures, you can see how hot I am. The word in Ilokano is napudot (nah-poo-dote).
Some people bath a few times a day and change their shirts often. The Filipinos in my town (not sure about elsewhere) think that have a wet back will give you pneumonia. If that were true, I would always have it. Ha! I also don't bother with the shirt changing because that just makes for more laundry. I do take a second bath in the evening sometimes, though.
It was a good idea getting synthetic tech-type shirts. They, at least, dry really quickly. The couple times I have worn cotton t-shirts, I have been drenched for the entire time I had the shirt on.
In the afternoon and night, it usually rains. This is rainy season, after all. It cools the air a little bit, but also adds plenty to the humidity. I fear for my electronics. Who wants to mail me some silica gel packets?
Actually, who wants to mail me packages in general? They have flat rate boxes. I'll give you the address if you email me. Come on!!
Oh, one more thing about the rain. It makes the spiders come inside. They are huge and fast. They don't bite, but that doesn't make them any less horrifying.
Okay, this post was weak. Sorry.
Peace Out
All is well here.
I was trying to think of a theme for this week's post, and I drew a blank. It's not that there is nothing to write about. There is plenty. It is just the problem of trying to focus my thoughts on things people might find interesting.
I could talk about food, but I haven't been keeping good notes on the dishes I have been eating. Or taking pictures of the food I have been eating. Bad Scott!!!
Maybe weather. I can always talk about the weather.
It is hot as hell here! I don't know what the temperature is (you can use weather.com for that), but I sweat a lot. If you look at pictures, you can see how hot I am. The word in Ilokano is napudot (nah-poo-dote).
Some people bath a few times a day and change their shirts often. The Filipinos in my town (not sure about elsewhere) think that have a wet back will give you pneumonia. If that were true, I would always have it. Ha! I also don't bother with the shirt changing because that just makes for more laundry. I do take a second bath in the evening sometimes, though.
It was a good idea getting synthetic tech-type shirts. They, at least, dry really quickly. The couple times I have worn cotton t-shirts, I have been drenched for the entire time I had the shirt on.
In the afternoon and night, it usually rains. This is rainy season, after all. It cools the air a little bit, but also adds plenty to the humidity. I fear for my electronics. Who wants to mail me some silica gel packets?
Actually, who wants to mail me packages in general? They have flat rate boxes. I'll give you the address if you email me. Come on!!
Oh, one more thing about the rain. It makes the spiders come inside. They are huge and fast. They don't bite, but that doesn't make them any less horrifying.
Okay, this post was weak. Sorry.
Peace Out
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Week 3
09/06/09 - 09/13/09
All is well here.
Let's talking about grooming and hygiene...
On Taking Baths
Jessie and I take what are known as Bucket Baths. It is exactly what it sounds like...well, unless you are imagining us sitting in a bucket. That would be weird. Basically, we have a few gallon bucket and then a large ladle called a tabo. The bucket is filled with water out of the faucet (for some they have to fill it at a water pump). The water is not warm. It is actually quite chilly. That is usually a good thing because it is so hot here, though that first splash of water over the back is usually terrible.
My technique...the bucket is full, the tabo is floating in the bucket, and I am squatting down in the shower in front of it. I then take a tabo full of water and splash it over me. Repeat, until completely wet. After that, I soap and shampoo up. I usually do this standing because my legs fall asleep if I squat too long and there is nothing more awkward turtle than being naked, soapy and unable to stand back up. When I am feeling all nice and clean, I crouch back down and begin rinsing off.
So, how does this rate compared to a normal shower. Well, it is quick and efficient. I feel good about not wasting water. The cold water certainly wakes you up in the morning. That said, there is something special about standing under a streaming of piping hot water and daydreaming (I do lots of thinking in the shower). No daydreaming in front of the bucket. Maybe when I get home, I will be more water conscious...limit myself to a water wasting dream shower only once in a while.
On Haircuts and Facial Hair
I haven't done either since getting here. I am debating just letting it grow until Swearing-In in November. That might make me look like a gross hairy man, though. Maybe you all can tell me as you see pictures posted. :-)
On Pooping
They do, in fact, have toilet paper here. I use it. I plan on using it for the foreseeable future. The plumbing in this country wasn't designed for flushing toilet paper, though. You have to throw it all in the garbage. They generally don't supply toilet paper in public toilets (or you have to pay for some). I also bring some with me. Also, a lot of toilets here, while being normal toilets with tanks, don't have plumbing to fill the tank. You have to flush the toilet by filling a bucket of water and pouring it down into the bowl. That is no big deal.
Okay, so why am I talking about this? Well, there is another cleaning yourself technique that I am very scared of. Lots of volunteers have tried it and don't seem to mind it. It involves using the tabo (ladle, see above), and even some soap, to basically give yourself a butt bath after using the toilet. I am primarily afraid of it because I did an already-clean simulation of the technique before using the bucket bath one day and I can't manage it without getting water everywhere. Imagine being in public and walking about with wet pants, feet and maybe even the back of your shirt. That is not a problem that anyone in this country seems to have...but I am apparently a disaster like that. Haha.
Alright, you now know more about my self-cleaning habits than you probably wanted. Sorry.
Anyway, I hope all is well in the States.
Peace Out
Scott
All is well here.
Let's talking about grooming and hygiene...
On Taking Baths
Jessie and I take what are known as Bucket Baths. It is exactly what it sounds like...well, unless you are imagining us sitting in a bucket. That would be weird. Basically, we have a few gallon bucket and then a large ladle called a tabo. The bucket is filled with water out of the faucet (for some they have to fill it at a water pump). The water is not warm. It is actually quite chilly. That is usually a good thing because it is so hot here, though that first splash of water over the back is usually terrible.
My technique...the bucket is full, the tabo is floating in the bucket, and I am squatting down in the shower in front of it. I then take a tabo full of water and splash it over me. Repeat, until completely wet. After that, I soap and shampoo up. I usually do this standing because my legs fall asleep if I squat too long and there is nothing more awkward turtle than being naked, soapy and unable to stand back up. When I am feeling all nice and clean, I crouch back down and begin rinsing off.
So, how does this rate compared to a normal shower. Well, it is quick and efficient. I feel good about not wasting water. The cold water certainly wakes you up in the morning. That said, there is something special about standing under a streaming of piping hot water and daydreaming (I do lots of thinking in the shower). No daydreaming in front of the bucket. Maybe when I get home, I will be more water conscious...limit myself to a water wasting dream shower only once in a while.
On Haircuts and Facial Hair
I haven't done either since getting here. I am debating just letting it grow until Swearing-In in November. That might make me look like a gross hairy man, though. Maybe you all can tell me as you see pictures posted. :-)
On Pooping
They do, in fact, have toilet paper here. I use it. I plan on using it for the foreseeable future. The plumbing in this country wasn't designed for flushing toilet paper, though. You have to throw it all in the garbage. They generally don't supply toilet paper in public toilets (or you have to pay for some). I also bring some with me. Also, a lot of toilets here, while being normal toilets with tanks, don't have plumbing to fill the tank. You have to flush the toilet by filling a bucket of water and pouring it down into the bowl. That is no big deal.
Okay, so why am I talking about this? Well, there is another cleaning yourself technique that I am very scared of. Lots of volunteers have tried it and don't seem to mind it. It involves using the tabo (ladle, see above), and even some soap, to basically give yourself a butt bath after using the toilet. I am primarily afraid of it because I did an already-clean simulation of the technique before using the bucket bath one day and I can't manage it without getting water everywhere. Imagine being in public and walking about with wet pants, feet and maybe even the back of your shirt. That is not a problem that anyone in this country seems to have...but I am apparently a disaster like that. Haha.
Alright, you now know more about my self-cleaning habits than you probably wanted. Sorry.
Anyway, I hope all is well in the States.
Peace Out
Scott
Monday, September 7, 2009
Week 2
08/30/09 - 09/06/09
All is well here. We have now been living with our host family for a week. It feels like longer. That is not a bad thing. It's just that time is so different during this whole experience.
I am going to try and limit the focus of this week's blog. Today, I will be talking about my daily schedule.
My cluster (5 CYF trainees) has training Monday through Saturday. Jessie's schedule is not much different. We have language training in the morning. The language in the region we are in is called Ilokano. We are told that it is nothing like Tagalog. I didn't learn enough Tagalog from Rosetta Stone to make any really strong comparisons between the two. There are some Spanish words (really only nouns) that have made there way into most of the languages in this country. That is kind of nice for learning. We have only been at it for a week, so I don't know much. It is certainly daunting, but ultimately our instructors are all very capable and will do a great job with us.
After language training, we have about an hour for lunch. The other 4 trainees in my cluster go to their respective host family homes for lunch. My host family is about a 25 minute walk away from our training site, so I either bring a lunch or go and visit them at the store they own, which is only a 10 minute walk.
In the afternoon, we have our technical training. This has included lessons on the theory behind what we are doing, documentary and video watching (to see what issues Filipino children face), and visiting our "practicum" site. The practicum site is the facility that we go to once a week to do hands on work with children. Our first visit was last Friday. The kids there are seem really great. They are all boys (young men) who have gotten into some trouble with the law. The facility allows them to get life skills training, counseling, school, and other services. When they have completed enough, they are released and their record is cleared. That is not really the whole story, but should give you a slight sense of the program.
Okay, so that is what my days are going to be like for the next 3 months.
If you want daily updates, check out my twitter page here.
We also went on a pretty awesome hike on Sunday. Here is a picture from the top of the mountain we hiked up:
All is well here. We have now been living with our host family for a week. It feels like longer. That is not a bad thing. It's just that time is so different during this whole experience.
I am going to try and limit the focus of this week's blog. Today, I will be talking about my daily schedule.
My cluster (5 CYF trainees) has training Monday through Saturday. Jessie's schedule is not much different. We have language training in the morning. The language in the region we are in is called Ilokano. We are told that it is nothing like Tagalog. I didn't learn enough Tagalog from Rosetta Stone to make any really strong comparisons between the two. There are some Spanish words (really only nouns) that have made there way into most of the languages in this country. That is kind of nice for learning. We have only been at it for a week, so I don't know much. It is certainly daunting, but ultimately our instructors are all very capable and will do a great job with us.
After language training, we have about an hour for lunch. The other 4 trainees in my cluster go to their respective host family homes for lunch. My host family is about a 25 minute walk away from our training site, so I either bring a lunch or go and visit them at the store they own, which is only a 10 minute walk.
In the afternoon, we have our technical training. This has included lessons on the theory behind what we are doing, documentary and video watching (to see what issues Filipino children face), and visiting our "practicum" site. The practicum site is the facility that we go to once a week to do hands on work with children. Our first visit was last Friday. The kids there are seem really great. They are all boys (young men) who have gotten into some trouble with the law. The facility allows them to get life skills training, counseling, school, and other services. When they have completed enough, they are released and their record is cleared. That is not really the whole story, but should give you a slight sense of the program.
Okay, so that is what my days are going to be like for the next 3 months.
If you want daily updates, check out my twitter page here.
We also went on a pretty awesome hike on Sunday. Here is a picture from the top of the mountain we hiked up:
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