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:

Week 1

08/22/09 - 08/30/09 (or so)

Well, we have now been in the Philippines for a full week. It feels so much longer already. That is neither a good thing nor a bad thing...just and observation of how time has become weird.

This first week was Initial Orientation (IO). Oh, before I get into that, can I say that the Peace Corps LOVES acronyms. It is insane. Kind of like learning another foreign language. But, back to the IO. After flying in, the 70 trainees spent a week at a hotel in Antipolo (just West of Manila). Basically, we had meetings all day on various topics. It was pretty low key and helped us to transition to our new environment and get to know each other. I think if we had just flown in and been dropped off with our host families, my head would have exploded.

Anyway, not much exciting to report about the IO experience other than I am glad I had the chance to meet all of the other trainees in our batch. Sadly, though, at the end of the week, we all split off to our respective regions. A week doesn't seem like much, but I grew fond of so many people and wish that I could see them more often than we will.

It is funny, as I am typing this, I realize there are so many things to describe, but I am not eloquent enough to weave them into a narrative, so here is a bulleted rundown:
- 69 or so trainees
- 3 types of volunteer: 01) coastal resource management (CRM), 02) children, youth and family (CYF), 03) education
- 3 regions of training: 01) la union, 02) bataan, 03) leyte
- each region has 2 of the types of volunteer
- i am lazy!

Ok, so the week is over. We are now with our host family in the La Union region (cannot post specific town for security reasons). We will be here for the next 3 months doing Pre-Service Training (PST). It is hot. It rains in the afternoon. It is really quite beautiful here.

I will attach a few pictures of thew view from our hotel.

Not sure how often I will be able to update the blog.

Hope you are all well.

Peace Out


View of the Hotel


Another Shot of the Hotel

How Do I Post?

Since arriving, it has been difficult for me to determine what I should post and what I shouldn't post about this experience. I am not talking about what is "appropriate" to post in a blog about the Peace Corps. We discussed blogs and Peace Corps policy during staging and it seemed pretty obvious: don't be an insensitive asshole and save your frustrations for personal conversation. Maybe that isn't obvious for some people in the Internet Age, but either way, that isn't what I am talking about. My problem is: what do people want to hear about? Of course, you could be sarcastic and say, "we don't care what you have to say, Scott." I am sure that is true for a lot of you, but hey, you don't have to read this blog, so that problem is easily solved. My problem is, with all the information and experience that I am taking in right now, how do I pick out the things to write about?

I don't know.

Should I write about really unique experiences that make for funny/interesting stories? Should I share random details of the process for people who are interested in the Peace Corps? Should I just wait until I am inspired to write? I really don't know.

So, after all that, I will share a little story.

Last night I took my first malaria pill. The medicine we are on is supposed to be taken once a week. We take them Mondays because it is easy to remember "Malaria Mondays." The possible side effects include gastrointestinal distress, vomiting, diarrhea, vivid dreams, and psychosis!! How horrifying is that? You won't get malaria, but you could go insane!!

Fortunately, I took mine before bed last night and woke up feeling ok. I also preemptively took immodium for my stomach, so maybe that helped. We are supposed to go to the Mall of Asia today to get cell phones, and I didn't want to feel sick on the bus. Too soon for embarrassing stomach problems.

Okay, that is my one random story.

Everything else is going well. I like my fellow trainees. Jessie and I are excited to find out what our training region will be. I think it will be ok to post about it when we know. If not, you will get a personal email from me about it.

Until then. Peace Out.

We Made It!

After months of anticipation and preparation (in the form of buying supplies and packing and saying goodbyes), we have finally made it to the Philippines!!

On Thursday, August 20 we flew from Chicago to San Francisco for staging. The Facebook group that Kris started came in handy because Jessie and I (mostly me because I am a Facebook stalker) were able to identify fellow trainees who were also flying through Chicago. It was amusing to me...hopefully not creepy to everyone else.

We arrived in San Fran after a 4 hour flight and had staging. Really, not much exciting to report about that. It gave us a chance to meet the other trainees (note, we are not volunteers until after our 3 months of training).

On the 21st (which feels like is yesterday in our time-traveling minds), we flew from San Francisco to Tokyo. It was about an 11.5 hour flight, but it wasn't bad at all. The plane felt pretty roomy. There were lots of movies on demand and a trivia game that was designed for people much smarter than me. Jessie slept almost the entire flight, but doesn't actually remember sleeping.

We spent 2 hours at the airport in Tokyo. It was pretty entertaining. The women's toilets (I'm told) have a fake flushing sound so that you can be discreet in your bathroom-ing. Both the men's and women's toilets have built in robot bidet's that they call "showers." I didn't not try them, but apparently they were very powerful. I also took a couple pictures of the McDonald's menu, which had a couple random burgers. I will try to post them later...

We then flew for 4.5 hours to Manila. It was a good flight because I was out cold the entire time.

We arrived in the Philippines at about 11:30, or so, at night on the 21st because of the time change. We basically lost all of August 21 to flying and time changes.

Comments on arriving in the Philippines? None yet. I am still processing.

It is really hot and sweaty. I don't mind it so far, but we are still in excited mode.

Alright, I am losing the ability to form coherent thought...

Peace Out

Wrapping Up Our Lives

Here I am all awesome about counting down my departure from work, and I can't even make time to post about staging...

Well, staging is coming up on August 20 in California (not sure if I am supposed to name the city on a public blog?). We were notified by email of this information with directions to call SATO travel to get our tickets. We also received a .pdf agenda for the day's activities that last from 2:00 - 7:00 pm.

Then, on August 21, we all fly out to the Philippines together!

Jessie and I really can't believe that it is coming up so soon. I have had no time to be nervous at all...completely in excited mode right now.

The past couple weeks have been weird for me. I wrapped up work on July 24. After 5 years as a public defender, I wasn't sad to leave. The job wasn't bad; I was just ready to get on with this new adventure. It has been a process that has gone on for a year, so it's not like I haven't had time to think about my "retirement" from the practice of law. I suppose it might hit me in a few months when all the excitement of leaving, meeting new people and training has worn off.

It has also been odd being mildly homeless. Jessie and I had been casually packing up stuff all Summer. After the 24th, though, we had 5 days to wrap everything up and either throw it away or move it into one of our parents' basements. We actually wish we had thrown more away (or given or sold). Two years seems like a long time to keep an IKEA bedroom set in storage. Maybe we will email directions back home for our stuff to be given away. Haha.

After moving out of our apartment, we moved into my little sister's apartment and have been staying here since. She has been kind enough to stay with her boyfriend during this stretch, so we have the place to ourselves. Still, it isn't ours. We have our Peace Corps bags (and a few other things) just laying around the apartment. We spend our days and nights either further organizing, hanging out with friends and family, or just enjoying some lazy time (and watching our new favorite show, Eureka).

In a couple of days, we are going to move out again and spend our last few days in the burbs with our families (sleeping at my parents'). It is supposed to be sad, but I am not quite there yet...still blinded by the excitement of leaving. Again, I think it will hit me later.

Hopefully when we get to the Philippines, I will have more exciting things to write about.

Until then...

The Saddest Robot in the World

Two Weeks!!

I can't believe that I am going to be done with work two weeks from today. After that, it is just a matter of weeks before we go to the Philippines!

If only those stupid staging documents would arrive.

Peace Corps Application Process - Part 12

Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of our Peace Corps interview! I can't believe how fast this past 12 months has gone by.

I can't believe that in another 6 weeks, or so, we are going to be departing for the Philippines for 27 months.

I am so excited!

I Love Robots!

Travel Guitar and Solar Charger

I got my travel guitar yesterday. It is a Little Martin Acoustic-Electric. Here is a picture of it next to my regular acoustic guitar.





We also got our Solio Magnesium Edition solar charger. Solar chargers seem to be a controversial topic amongst Peace Corps Volunteers. A lot of message board posts that I have read say that they are useless if you have electricity. My logic, though, is that, hey, you never know when you may be without power. I have read stories about people losing electricity to their town for weeks on end. If that happens, we want to be able to charge a cell phone, or an iPod, or any other gadget we may want to use to keep us connected or make us feel at home. We also want to have that extra juice for long trips or plane rides. Once the solar battery is full, it is good for up to a year without additional charge.

Okay, I think I just became an ad for solar chargers...

I'll let you all know how often I actually use it once we get to the Philippines.

Same goes for the guitar.

Latah.

8 Weeks/12 Weeks to Go

I am going to be done working at my current job in 8 weeks. I can't describe how exciting to me that is right now. I love the work that I do. I love the people that I work with. But after almost 5 years as a public defender, I am ready for a change...

Which leads me to the more exciting countdown. Jessie and I will be leaving for the Philippines in about 12 weeks!!! The time has been moving much faster than I expected, but that is a good thing. When I am not busy and can sit down and think about it, I start to get antsy to leave and 12 weeks seems like forever.

So, what are we doing to get ready for this awesome experience? Well, we have a shopping list of gear/clothing that we need to get. We are trying to balance the things that we actually need with the things we want to bring. For example, I need decent, nice-looking, warm weather clothing. I have lots of t-shirts and shorts, but still need the nicer stuff that I will wear to work. On the other side of things, I also bought a travel guitar (Little Martin). I know I don't need it, but I really want to have something musical with me. Either way, it is fun to go shopping.

Jessie and I have also been working on Rosetta Stone for Tagalog. After not having actively learned a language in over a decade, it actually doesn't seem so bad...but then again I am still only learning to count and say "the boy jumps" so things could get a lot more complicated and soon.

Jessie is leaving for Phoenix in a week to help lead Teach For America training for new teachers. It will be good experience for her and a bit of extra money for us, which is nice. It is also good for me because I have to study for the MCAT, which I am hoping to take at the beginning of August before we leave.

So, we are looking at a very busy and crazy summer. Hopefully some fun will be had too!

Oh, and we still have to pack up all of our belongings and deposit them in our parents basements. Fun...

Peace Corps Application - Part 11

Jessie and I have been invited to volunteer in Philippines!!!

Wait, what happened to Turkmenistan and Central Asia? Let's backtrack a little.

At the beginning of February, while we were in Mexico, Jessie and I were contacted by our placement officer by email. She said that we were still on track to be volunteers but due to the necessity of medical accommodations (probably Jessie's asthma), we couldn't be placed at the location we were originally nominated for. This was fine with me because I wasn't exactly excited about it. Don't get me wrong...I would have done it no matter where we were sent. But let's face it, some places are more interesting/desirable, for some people, than others.

When we got back, I called our placement officer on February 12. She told me that she had a list of countries that could probably accommodate us and had already been in contact with one of them. It was a country in Asia, Jessie was still going to be a teacher-trainer, I was going to be switched to youth development, and we would be leaving in mid-August. Looking at the list of possible Peace Corps countries in Asia (Cambodia, China, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand), we figured it was probably the Philippines because that country's recruits left last year in mid-August and they had the programs were were nominated for, minus the health extension, which was my original nomination.

It turns out we were right! Except we still had to wait a bit...

On March 3, we received an email from our placement officer indicating that we had, in fact, been invited to that particular program. They still couldn't tell us what country, because it is Peace Corps policy not to let you know the specific country until the actual invitation is in your hand. We were super excited, though, and figured that it was a matter of days until we got the invitation.

Wrong.

It didn't land in our mailbox until yesterday, March 18. If you are currently an applicant for the Peace Corps, you know that it can be exciting/stressful to wait for updates and new information. Jessie and I generally didn't have that problem. We knew the process was slow and were really calm about it...until we knew we were getting an invite. We were excitedly checking the mail every day...it was really quite a pathetic sight. I would always call or text Jessie to see if we got it yet. When she said no, I would swear a little bit, wondering what could be taking so long. I know it sounds dumb, but you would understand if you have gone through this. Remember when you were applying for college and were expecting your acceptance/rejection in the mail? Multiply that by 10.

Anyway, we are super excited now. We have a packet with all sorts of information (maybe for a future post) and have a lot to take care of in the next 5 months. I will try to post more regularly about that aspect of the process.

Until then...

More Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Much Prettier in Person

Peace Corps Application - Part 10

We Have Been Medically Cleared!!

On December 8, 2008, the Peace Corps sent Jessie and I letters in the mail indicating that we are now medically cleared. Jessie's letter is slightly different than mine. She is "provisionally qualified for service that support individuals with asthma." While her asthma isn't particularly bad, she still needs to be in a country where she can get advair, albuterol, or any other meds she may need. We have no idea if this affects our original nomination. I wonder if there are countries that we automatically can't be placed in, or if we just need to be placed in a location that is near a medical facility. I suppose that is a question for our placement officer.

Overall, the road to medical clearance was not terrible, with two exceptions. First, on November 5, 2008, I was sent a follow-up letter from the Medical Office. They wanted me to go back to my doctor because I am overweight and they want to make sure it wouldn't affect my service. Those of you who know me, know that while I am not skinny by any means, I am certainly not dangerously overweight. The problem is, the Peace Corps Medical Office has never met me before. So, they ran my height and weight into a BMI calculator to determine how fat I am. Unfortunately, I scored over a 30 on the BMI scale, which labels me as obese! Now, if you look anywhere on the Internet, you can see that Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most ridiculous way to measure a person's health. It doesn't take muscle mass vs. body fat into account. It is just weight vs. height (with age and sex thrown in for good measure). By the BMI standard, for me to be in the normal weight range, I should weight 155 pounds. I would look anorexic if I did that.

Anyway, after a brief bought of anger/annoyance/amusement, I made an appointment with my doctor to check my fatness and to get some more blood work (I had a couple of slightly out of range liver levels). He said that I am not obese and filled out the form that they sent me. My blood work came back normal. I faxed everything back to the medical office about two weeks after that.

The second issue that Jessie and I had came up about a week ago. You see, Jessie is much more diligent than I am about calling to find out what is going on with our status. Thank goodness for that. When she called to find out if they had received all of our faxes, they checked her file first. Medical had marked her file and said that all faxes were received and they were waiting for my file to be complete. So, they check my file. Medical had marked my file and said that all faxes were received and that they were waiting for her file to be complete! Unfortunately no one had cross-referenced the two files yet, so they were both on hold. Again, good thing Jessie had called in, otherwise who knows how long it would have been before anyone noticed.

Where are we at now? Well, I believe we are now in for a long waiting game. Since we are not set to leave until next September, we really can't get an invite for another 3 months at the soonest (unless they move up our nomination). We could end up waiting all the way up until about 6 weeks before our departure date. So, we have a long way to go. Hopefully the wait is all we have to deal with. If there are budget issues, are departure could get screwed up too. Hopefully we won't have to worry about that, though...