Connie Hoover

well, it was kind of like a durian...

2010-11-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

You ever notice how you don't know how much you miss something until you get it back again. It's happening to me. Right now. I didn't know how much I missed the Philippines until I found an Oriental store, and located Nagaray's Cracker Nuts and Filipine mangoes for sale. Those two things in itself would be a lot...but wait, there's more. The store also held the precious durian fruit, whole, frozen, and only a few hours of defrosting away from being the smelly mess I came to love. YAY!!

I think it's this line of thinking that will wrap up this epic blogging that's continued for over 2 years. So often you don't get the full picture of something or really know your true feelings on something until you look at it differently. Perhaps you see it from somebody else's perspective, or you lose it and then are able to find it again, or maybe you just let yourself really think deeply about something for more than 5 seconds before you are off listening to your iPod or checking your email; no matter what is making you see things in a new light, acknowledge it and let it change your life.

Durian was a smelly disaster, and now, it's seriously a delight that just made my night.

Post COS Travel

2010-11-13T05:41:00.002-08:00

A part of leaving Peace Corps, it seems, for many people is the post-service travel that many go on. I guess it makes sense to take advantage of the readjustment check that you get and the lack of employment that you suddenly find yourself in to travel while you can. I chose to travel to China, Italy, and then Paris. I know, your stomachs are probably growling already, and I'll admit, my scale is showing the results of this trip!

While making my way through China I was able to see the Expo in Shanghai, the Terra-cotta Soldiers in Xi'an, and the Great Wall in Beijing. And yes, of course, eat some amazing Chinese food! I think it's always interesting to compare different countries of Asia to the Philippines. Probably one of the first things I noticed, particularly while I was in Beijing was the cars.

It felt so wasteful to watch all the cars go by us on the highway that held only a single passenger. I never really thought of it before, but after seeing jeepnies, busese, and multicabs packed the max, it was obvious how lonesome the person looked as they drove. Favorite part of China? GREAT WALL! The entire time I was walking on it, all I could think was, "I'M ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!" It was like a soundtrack on repeat in my mind. "GREAT WALL, GREAT WALL, GREAT WALL." Too cool.

The Great Wall of China. Waaaay steeper in parts than I ever imagined!

Terra Cotta Soldiers!

The Chinese Pavilion at the World Expo.

The next day after the Great Wall I found myself in Italy. I'll probably never get to say that sentence again, but while I could, it was awesome. :)

I met up with my friend Kindie in Italy, and we hit all the big places that we've always heard about and always wanted to see. We began in Naples, took day trips to Pompei and Capri, went on to Rome, Pisa, Florence, Lucca, Cinque Terre, Venice, and Milan. Favorite parts? Probably just hanging out in quiet Lucca and definitely seeing the Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper in Milan. The whole experience of visiting the masterpiece was like none I'd ever had. They take you through several secured areas until you get to the door and hear a loud siren that tells the previous group it's time to vacate the viewing room and our 15 minute viewing session is about to begin. Was it worth all the trouble? Absolutely. I'm pretty sure I'm a better person for having seen it. Haha, joke lang :)

Hillside homes on the island of Capri, Italy.

And finally, our last train ride took us to Paris. I guess I had a lot of preconceived notions of what Paris would be like, most of which were not the most positive, but I gotta say, I really enjoyed it. Aside from the freezing temperatures, which my last 2 years of living in a sauna didn't exactly prepare me for, it was waaay cleaner than Manila, the metro system was color coded and even I could navigate it, and the sites that you always see on tv or in movies were there, in living color! Best part of Paris? Eating the crepes. OH THE CREPES! God bless Nutella and bananas. Amen.

The light show on the Eiffel Tower.

So the last 25 days of living ou of my backpack are done. They were busy days, which probably was a blessing because it kept my mind off the missing of friends back in the Philippines.

But now, on my second day back at home, I've got all the time in the world. EEKS. I find myself trying to find cheap quotes on car insurance and trying to figure out how to fit a resume onto one page and then trying to find people to send said resume to. Oh, right, and trying to walk off Italy and China. Well, on the bright side, if I can't find the cheap quotes for car insurance, at least that will help me with walking off the sad leftovers of ravioli, wine, and spicy tofu. :)

RPCV

2010-10-21T00:57:00.000-07:00

Just to make it "blog official," I'm done, finished, humana, completed with Peace Corps. :) More to come later.

Facebook

2010-10-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

During my time in Peace Corps, my thoughts have often wandered to the past; not my past, but the past of Peace Corps. What were the first years like for those young trailblazers? Obviously electricity and running water were not guaranteed components, and living conditions on a whole would have been austere, but what about relationships with the nationals they meet?

In one of the last blogs I wrote, I said that saying goodbye was made easier by knowing that my friends at site are just a quick e-mail away...and I'm not even out of the country yet and have talked to some of my students more on the Internet than I have in the past 3 weeks. Facebook, it changes everything. While living at site, I didn't accept my students as friends on the social network because I didnt' think that would be the wisest thing, but now that I'm done teaching, I addressed the 300 friend requests that had accumulated through my time at site. EEKS, sooo many! Some I didn't know, I think the wow factor of seeing a foreigner prompts people I don't know to request. I'd like to think it's because I'm just SO cool...but nah, I know better.

So now I leave the Philippines tomorrow, with lots of new friends, and glad that leaving doesn't mean waiting months for a postal reply as it would have in the past.

Good Times.

2010-10-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

My host mom and I, attempting to sing videokee.

My host family hosted a big beach party for all the students and teachers at my school to say good bye. I know, they're big on hosting! :)

Delicious chocolate cake from Michelle... and videokee in the background.

Second year students... I'm going to miss them!

First year students... I'm going to miss them too!
Check out their plates, banana tree trunks and leaves. Coolest. Thing. Ever.

A beach party wouldn't be complete without the beach, and a boat.

I had such a great time being able to just have fun at the beach with the students and teachers. My host mom once again went above and beyond my expectations when she put together this amazing lunch for so many people. Good times.

Despedida Season

2010-10-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Despedida: a farewell party. Yep, it's time to say goodbye, and that's just a little crazy. I think saying adios to all the students and coteachers is made easier by knowing it's not goodbye forever. With things like Facebook and e-mail, not to mention the ability to fly back once I save a lot of pesos, I know that I'll stay up to date about all the current events at my site. But still, I'm sure going to miss talking with my coteacher in between classes, joking with students, watching kids read in the library, and listening to the school's hymn every morning. So, a big thank you to INHS for having me the last two years, and letting me join the INHS family. And you're right, "It's not goodbye, but till then..."

The Last Supper

2010-10-10T03:48:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning, I've been having students over to my house to share dinner.

It's one of my favorite things.

This past week we shared our last dinner together

We had rice, chicken, green beans, salsa and it was good.

Teacher Day

2010-10-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

World Teacher day has come and gone this past week, and the day was marked at my school with all the homemade goodness that I have come to love about the Philippines. I think America celebrates teachers, usually during Teacher's Week, with a couple staples. Gift cards and smelly things from Bath and Body Works comes to mind immediately, but it's different here. Gifts come more from the heart I think, and are made by the students themselves. The SSG (student government) at school put together a program that paid tribute to the teachers and let each class salute their advising teacher. They also had greeting card contests (where the kids made their own... no purchasing allowed!), poster contests, and dedicated songs that they sang on stage for us. Oh, and they made a student vs. teacher parlor game competition. Eh, ok, maybe my American self came out during this portion of the festivities. Dude, it was HOT! I think my coteacher above shows exactly why I wasn't thrilled about having to jump in a sack in 90 degree weather... haha :)

Can you spot my portrait? Yep, I'm blindingly pale. I think I'm going to be tan though when I get back to America. I can't wait for my family to see my rockin' flip-flop tanline.

My co-teacher and her advisory class. I'm really going to miss them!

"but I am too young!!!"

2010-10-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

A little cultural 411; apparently turning 25 gives the official go ahead for people here to begin the "so when are you going to get married?" questioning. I got it a little before, but MAN OH MAN, it's guaranteed now that if somebody asks me for my age (which actually happens a lot... I'd like to think it's because I'm so young looking they can barely imagine me out of high school let alone living alone in a foreign country...but no, that's not why) the "And you will be married soon?" or "Do you have a special somebody?" questions immediately follow.

I've been 25 for less than a week, and it's already old. NO, I'm not ready to get married, NO, I'm not really worried about it right now, and NO, my life won't end if I end up not having kids.

America, will you be like this? Here's hoping NO!

Silver

2010-09-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

It was my third birthday in the Philippines today, and I've reached what everybody here tells me is the "silver birthday." In other words, I'm an ancient twenty five years old today. Haha, yeah. Doesn't sound like much, but when I think back to when I first arrived here as a whippersnapper of twenty two, it just reminds me of all the awesome expereiences I've gained during this period of my life. My host mom went about this day in a way that would make it one of my best, and most memorable birthday I could ever ask for. Starting at 4am when she and a group of neighbors and co-workers showed up at my house for a Maligayang, serenading. They also brought flowers, and garlands, and made me feel so special!
Then we all sat down and had a breakfast of sticky rice, bread, and chocolate.
Breakfast of champions!!!

I got to school and the party continued. The student body surprised me with a great rendition of Happy Birthday, and I kept getting birthday treats throughout the day. For example, I walked to my desk and Genelyn and Lyka Mae had made me this poster. They wrote "Saranghae" all over it... Korean for "I love you." I laughed soooo hard when I saw that. We're always joking about how much they want to go to Korea and be a Korean popstar... even though we all know Lady GaGa is waaay better than any Korean popstar...
But I don't doubt Genelyn and Lyka, they'll get to Korea one day. :)

Then by the end of the day, it was birthday party with the host family! My host dad, who works on a ship and is away from home right now, sent orders for a lechon. Just another example of how awesome and considerate my host family is! So here is the birthday piggy... I think I'm goign to seriously miss the lechon presence when I go back home. It's such a staple at all social gatherings, is it really a party without the lechon?!

So here we are folks, this is what 25 looks like. I've decided it's going to be the best year yet. A year of cultural blending, and finding out ways to keep the best of both worlds.

It's going to be good!

DANCING INMATES!!

2010-09-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

With 24 days left in my Peace Corps career, I have certain things that MUST get accomplished. I will get to see the window grills put on the library before I leave, host a couple of groups of new trainees at my site, master the art of making biko (my favorite rice dessert), and learn how to open a bottle by using another bottle.

But what did I just check off my list of things to do? Seeing Cebu's Internet famous Dancing Inmates!! AAAHH!!! Yeah, I know, what is cooler than that?! I know, not much.... :)

I had seen the youtube video of the prisoners before I arrived in the Philippines, and marveled at the oddity. But after being here for over 2 years, it's not odd anymore. They first became famous for dancing to the song Thriller, and anybody who stays in this country for more than a month can attest to the citizen's strong devotion to Michael Jackson, and there's never a day that passes that I don't see some type of dance routine being done. So the fact that all those people choose to dance to hit music and then put on a show, is just natural.

So on the last Saturday of every month, the inmates do choreographed dances to both current and past musical hits. The show lasted for over an hour, and included Justin Bieber's Baby, MJ's Billie Jean, and Shakira's Waka Waka. I think the Waka Waka was my favorite one... so here it is!

Medical

2010-09-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

This past week has been occupied with Peace Corps requirements. There are weeks where I forget about Peace Corps. I don't have anything really to do with them except a monthly call-in and the ever present feeling that my regional manager is distantly keeping tabs on my existence. But now that I'm less than a month away from finishing my contract, it seems that PC is EVERYWHERE. This includes awesome flight to Manila for a medical check!

Oh Manila, what a love/hate relationship. How can an entire city smell like a urinal? Why is it that 95% of the times I get into a taxi there I have to struggle not to scream "SERENITY NOW!!" But man-oh-man, how I love to eat you Manila. Cheeseburgers cooked to medium with non-eden cheese (aka, made with real milk that has to be refrigerated!!), McDonald's french fries, pizza with mozzarella cheese... I mean yum.

But back to business, medical check is finished. Apparently the Philippines is rotting my teeth, so I get to have 6 fillings done before I return home. I told this to my host mom when I returned to site, adding how I can't eat sugar anymore. Her response was, "I have ice cream in the ref for dessert... so very hot today!" ...and the cavities continue!

garth brooks

2010-09-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

I've touched on the subject of storms here before, but I finally got out of bed to take a picture of one this week. I took this picture from the window of my bedroom, facing towards the ocean. The houses are across the street from me, and then if you look closely you can see a taller building behind them with a belltower, that's the church.

Monstrous rains falls here often, but when it comes at night they takes on their own character. Without local weather reports, you don't know what will happen. And when the lightning seems to strike right next to you at times, or as the case was last year, does and and gets the tv, you can't help but wonder what the statistics are for getting hit. I love the thunder here. The mountains on the inland of the island make the sound echo, at times lasting for up over 20 seconds. For the flat-Florida girl, this is insane!

Any ideas?

2010-09-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Alright, here's the situation: I keep waking up in the middle of the night to this scratching sound.

It seems like it is coming from above my ceiling. Imagine a long fingernail slowly and deliberately going at a piece of plywood and that's about what it sounds like. The only thing that brings to my mind is the ghost story you hear in elementary school about the escaped lunatic who was found on the roof of the girl's car slowly scratching his way through the metal roof... as a girl, and the driver of a canvas top convertible, that always left me feeling a little uneasy. Now, as the girl trying to sleep, it just irritates me.

WHAT IS IT?!

Rat? Tuko lizard? Crazy lunatic guy?

The world may never know...

A Day is What you Make It.

2010-09-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

I work in a high school, but really, I'm at my best with little kids. So what do you do when Peace Corps tells you you have to work in a high school? You do, and then you volunteer your own time at the local elementary school. I head over to Inopacan Central School at the end of my lunch time and help with the school's library. It's so interesting to compare elementary schools between what I see here and what I grew up with in America. Did you know that teachers here are likely to be asked to help pay for the running of the school? Yep. And who is responsible for upkeep of the school? Yep it's the teachers. And during the town census and the running of the election polls, guess which government employees are expected to lend a hand... correctomundo, the teachers! You can imagine, with all those responsibilities plus those of actual teaching, it's a time consuming profession. This past September 11th, we held an in school inset workshop to talk about reading strategies that can be used with whole groups. In my opinion, activities with cooperative small groups are great, but at times inpractical. The desks and space issues in the classrooms here make it very challenging to manuever around the room and traditionally, the students here are used to doing things together and out loud. I'm not saying new ideas shouldn't be tried in the classrooms, but I do think that it's always nice to work with a person's strengths. Whole group is one of the strengths here, so at the workshop I introduced ideas that the teacher could use with all of her students, whether he or she did have small groups or in the more likely scenario of a large 35+ student whole group.

So we talked pre-reading prediction, vocabulary, and background knowledge. I can't remember if we use this term in America, but here they always say that we are "unlocking difficulties" for the students before the actual reading. Strategies included "If I know, then you know..." Frayer's boxes, 4-fold vocabulary, linear arrays, and KWL charts. Mid-reading was about reading with expression and tracking, and then post reading included things about retelling the story, Bloom's taxonomy questions, readers theaters, and more.

It's not the norm for schools in our area to have a library at their school that is readily available for them to use in their everyday classes. It felt good to watch the teachers at the workshop look through the shelves and find books that were appropriate for their students. In the pictures above, they're creating props or other teaching manipulatives that they could use while reading the books.

One of my favorites was from the 3rd picture, where Ma'am Heidi made a Grover face so her pre-k students could attach and detach eyes, nose, and mouth. Her book choice had been a Sesame Street book about the parts of a body. Another favorite, in the 4th picture, the teacher with the Dora book created popsicle stick puppets that can be used for retelling the story.

It was a positively hopeful day.

Merry Christmas!

2010-09-09T02:15:00.000-07:00

Let it be put in the record books, today, September 9, 2010, was the day I received my first official "Merry Christmas."

It's always exciting to wait for this special occurance. I've been eagerly anticipating it since September 1... the beginning of the Christmas season here. Other signs that it's the most wonderful time of the year? Christmas carols are already being played in the shopping malls.

entertainment+aircon=my favorite thing to do

2010-09-06T04:34:00.001-07:00

Did you know, that Mondays are free movie day for senior citizens in the Philippines? Yeah, it's true. They get in free with a valid id for the first showing of a movie. And let me tell you, they take advantage of it; there was massive chaos at the ticket counter! Lines don't always work here, and I'll be honest, as someone who's mom taught her that "you wait your turn in line," it's frustrating. But whatever, that's just how it is.

Other interesting facts about the movie theaters here? Well, first off, it all depends on where you are in the country. Manila and Cebu have HUGE theaters, where they let you reserve your seat on a computer system at the ticket counter. Then once you get into the theater, don't get comfy in your seat because it's likely you'll get to stand up for the singing of the national anthem.

On the other hand, if you're in a smaller theater in the province or a smaller mall everything is a little more informal. If I go to the theater in the Robinson's mall in Taclobon, they won't play the anthem, and at the ticket counter you get a little yellow ticket from one of the giant rolls of generic tickets.

But you know the coolest part about the movie theaters here, aside from it only costing between 50-200 pesos (a sweet $1-$4)? You don't have to sneak your food in! And when I say you don't have to sneak in food, I mean real food. Not just a cruddy like bag of pretzels or an illegal bag of skittles. I'm talking fried chicken from Jollibee's, wine from the grocery store also found in the mall, drinks from Starbucks, popcorn you bought not from the movie theater but from the Holy Kettle Corn kiosk right next to the theater.

But be forewarned, don't have your digital camera on you when you go to the movies. Pirating is big here, and if they find out you have a camera on you, you're expected to check it in with the security guard!

mental case

2010-09-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

You know that feeling of alarm that has a dash of excitement and then a pinch of "I don't think I can do this?" It's the feeling of being overwhelmed. That's the feeling that I'm blaming on a not-so-great week. The sad thing is, there was nothing to really overwhelm me at site, it's all in my head.

What started this feeling of anxiety was looking at friend's pictures on Facebook. My degree was Elementary Education, so I know people who were excitedly decorating and making strategies for what would be the best ways to set up their classrooms for the new school year. These pictures, in all their amazing beauty, left me breathless; literally, on the verge of hyperventilating. THERE'S SO MUCH STUFF!! Laminated posters, die-cut shapes, computer printed signs, cute bulletin boards decorated with ants that have titles like "Anticipating a Great Year," window decals, textbooks, classroom libraries, white boards, smart boards (I didn't even know what that was... I had to read the caption), fluorescent lights, computer projectors, classroom computers, pocket charts, that giant yellow manipulative clock, and I'm pretty sure I could feel the aircon through the picture; all the things that have come to be expected in an American classroom. You know what made me feel the most uneasy when looking at these pictures? The empty space. The classroom was so big you, as an adult, you could lay down and make a snow angel on the floor and not touch a single piece of furniture or another person. There was room to be an individual, a separate person from the mass.

Um, yeah, that's not what I've worked with for the last 2 years. (This is when the overwhelming feeling really kicked in.) I hope I can keep up. I hope I can take advantage of all the technology. I hope I remember to think of using an overhead projector instead of just a sheet of manila paper. I hope I can be best friends with the tech support guy at whatever school I end up working at. I hope I don't disappoint/make a complete fool of my students, the parents of my students, the principal, my co-teachers, or myself.

I hope I don't ever forget that you don't need stuff to be a good teacher.

Haha, and you know the best part of all this overhwelming business? I don't even have the job to worry about yet! Yep, it's all in my head.

current events

2010-08-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

On this side of the globe, in the sunny nation of the Philippines, I heard several current events being discussed at school today.

In America, since 2001, we have paid particular attention to those who surround us. Of course neighborhood watches were using their binoculars on their neighbors long before that year, but with the terrorist attacks that used a trusted mode of transportation to kill thousands there was a reminder of observing others around you, just in case. Now, our country has an entire generation of kids who know nothing but post-9/11 thinking; never leave your baggage unattended, report if somebody acts suspicious, and HOLY COW, use hand sanitizer... cause you don't know where his or hers hands have been!

In the Philippines, despite terrorist attacks in the southern island of Mindanao, you don't feel a constant fear radiating off people in public areas. I have my guard up against pickpocketers and kids trying to stick their hands into my pockets while I'm in the city, I'm not wondering if there's a bomb in somebody's box that I sit next to on the bus and I've learned just washing your hands with soap, the good ol' fashioned way, can keep you just as healthy as 99.9% Purell. I have boarded airplanes without having my id checked, and yeah, the naked woman at the bus terminal was acting shady but I never thought she'd harm anybody. Aside from some high tensions during election times, I feel like most people are just doing their own thing; getting from point A to point B and living their lives.

Unfortunately, yesterday didn't turn out that way. I didn't now about it till I turned the tv to CNN at 8pm, but since earlier in the morning in Manila, a tourist bus had been hijacked and 25 hostages were still, more than 10 hours after being taken over, waiting to be saved by police. Ironically, the hostage taker was an ex-police officer who had been dismissed due to extortion and wanted to be reconsidered. Sadly, 8 innocent lives were lost and 7 were wounded. Such a tragedy. It makes me wonder how the public here will act in another 20 years. Will the innocence be converted to the guarded once-over look?

To end the post on a lighter note, the second current event? One more common to the Philippines... beauty pageants! Yes, I've observed that there are few things higher on the list of favorites for many Filipinos than a glittzy beauty pageant. News of the latest Miss Universe was already making the rounds hours after it aired live. Congratulations Miss Mexico!

...and this was one of the most exciting parts of my week... i'm not sure how to feel about that...

2010-08-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

I am no good at cooking. I burn things, leaving the kitchen filled with a wonderful layer of smoke, which slowly permeates through the entire house. It's never good when I try to fry things, or grill things, or saute.

How do I eat?

I boil things and microwave (very, very carefully... cause yeah, I've been known to make things explode,) and now I rice cooker things. And here is where I say, KISS IT MARTHA STEWART!!

This rice cooker thing, (don't judge me because I'm in the Peace Corps and own a rice cooker, there are quite a few Filipinos who use electric rice cookers!) is doable. Even I can handle just adding water and rice, then plugging in a cord and pushing the button. this week however, I took it to a whole new level, a Martha Stewart level. Yeah, it was THAT good!

I know, it's kind of a no brainer, any heat will cook an egg... but for me this was some inovative stuff! My mom sent some Mexican rice seasoning packets (but if I wanted to make this Filipino, maybe adding Magic Sarap would work?) so I added that to the rice before it cooked. Once that was done, I added the chopped tomatoes, egg, and wait for it. wait for it. cilantro.

Yeah Martha, I grow my own cilantro!!

Then you just let it sit with the lid back on until the egg is done steaming. Steaming? I guess, but there's no water. Eh, I don't know, I'm not a cook, whatever. You let it sit until the egg is ready to your liking. Then you just take the pot out of the cooker, and here's the best best part, for that classic "eat it straight from the kitchen" feel you eat it straight from the rice cooker pot... and one less dish to wash. :)

It's a good thing.

i got the seniorirtis

2010-08-19T01:26:00.001-07:00

Senioritis. It's what seniors get in high school during the last part of their final year before they become, as my dad likes to say, "just one of the statistics (aka unemployed adults.)" I had it then, I had it during my last part of college. And yeah, I have it now during my last part of Peace Corps. But I think, dare I say it, my case is even more severe this time around!

I'm a countdown kind of girl. Let me describe my geekiness for you. I started counting down the days until my COS (close of service... last day of Peace Corps) waaaaay back, at around day 150; here's where my brilliant geekiness shines through. I don't just count the days, I make it into a game. I make myself not look at the calendar just so that I loose track of the days, and then when I finally do let myself recount the remaining days, it makes it feel like I'm so much closer because I got to skip all those inbetween days. Did I really get to skip all those days? No, but I have to make a little excitement for myself!

The tricky thing is, I know I'm going to miss my site once I return home. I'll miss my host family and co-teachers, and I'll definitely miss my students. It's kind of confusing to be so excited for something, but then know that once I'm on the other side of the Pacific I'll still be counting days till I'm able to come back for a visit.

But one countdown at a time, and for now, 63 days till COS.

Bahala Na

2010-08-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Bahala Na,

I'm going to be honest and upfront and just say it, sometimes I don't like you.

Oh, I'll admit there are times when I say your name. The bus is late, "Bahala Na." I have laundry to do, but the water is turned off, "Bahala Na." Brown out, "Bahala Na." You're a comforting thing to say when I accept that there's nothing I personally can do to solve the situation, so yes, "Bahala Na," I will let God take control of it. Why stress? You're a close relation to Timon and Pumba's "Hakuna Matata," and Big Mouth Billy Bass' "Don't Worry, Be Happy," and I like that, you're just missing your own catchy song.

But man, there are some times I just want to turn around and shout, "Dude, who invited you to this party?!" You're an expression that people say when they come to a metaphorical wall and are resigned to just stand there without getting a ladder to climb over, or better yet, a stack of dynamite to blow the obstacle to smithereens. Instead they'll just accept that they can't go further, shout out "Bahala Na," and forget about the goal or greener pastures that were on the other side of the wall. Sometimes I feel like you're a dream killer, Bahala Na. You're an excuse that turns to laziness; a reason to accept second, third, or even fourth best. Sometimes, you're a crutch that I find myself saying when I could just work harder and not have to call out your name.

You visited me this week, and I really wish you hadn't. Test scores were not what I was hoping for, "Bahala Na." No, not "Bahala Na." I will work harder. Enough said.

I'll give you this, you have great potential Bahala Na. Instead of taking anti-depressants or having panic attacks, we could just say your name and trust in God because we can't control everything in our lives. But really, you need to shape up and remember what you're really for.

Sincerely,
Connie Sue

big laugh.

2010-08-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

i was in my first year class last week, which has a boys on one side-girls on the other seating arrangement. after prompting the class for an answer, students had to raise their hands once they knew the answer. 3/4 of the girls had their hands up, but the boys only had around 1/4. i ask, "boys, come one, are the girls smarter today?" one boy's answers with a flat out, "yes." we all started to laugh.

later that day, i was walking back to my host family's house for lunch when i overheard a boy, this little short guy, from that same first year class as above, singing the song destiny to himself as he walked. i started listening when he came to the "you and i were meant to be, with all my heart and soul, i give my love to have and hold, as far as i can see, you were always meant to be, my destiny."

big smile.

OH, and happy 2 year anniversary. today marks the day i left sunny florida to start my adventure in the even sunnier philippines. and it also brings me to day 69 in the return to home countdown!

High Speed

2010-08-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

soooo... with the coming of the long awaited landline, comes somewhat of a tranformation to the small munipality that I'm living in. One of them, Facebook has taken on a life of its own! I literally have over a hundred Facebook friend requests from students sitting in my friend request box. (which will be accepted in October, when I'm not your teacher :) )

Another recent discovery... this blog! I'm getting this a lot around town, "I saw your blog!!" Which is when I get this nervous smile and say something like, OH, I hope you liked it...! I try to keep the blog about the optimistic reality as I see it, but I worry that my forienger's perspective may offend somebody. I apalogize now if it does; I mean no harm. It's only been positive reviews so far though, so that's good.

With my outsider's perspective, I'd say Internet is definitely changing the pace of our town. I saw one student yesterday doing a speedwalk, that would make all those early morning mall walkers jealous, as she was weaving in and out of the large group of students leaving the school for the day. Why such a rush? She wanted to be one of the first students in line at the Internet cafe. Her super fast speedwalking though, dodging innocent bystanders, too funny!

and the Oscar goes to...

2010-08-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

Folks, wow, you are in for such a treat... really, you have no idea. May I please present to you, a group of my amazing students as they lead you on an adventure through Inopacan National High School's library. All I can say is, watch out Hollywood! :)

Fact: Chow King has the best halo halo.

2010-08-05T02:34:00.000-07:00

Halo halo.

Can I say its changed my life in the most serious tone and not be over dramatic? I guess if you say it like "an angel's halo" you may think I'm referring to some type of religious epiphany or something. That may deserve a "changed my life" statement. But then if you say it like I mean it, "hollow, hollow" you would have to find out that I'm referring to a shaved ice dessert, and yes... yes, that would be over dramatic. Ha, whatever, it's the love of my life!

Halo halo means "mixed-mixed," and that is exactly what it is. You start with a foundation of crushed/shaved ice. Then you traditionally add evaporated milk, but if you like it sweet, just pour on the condensed milk. Then the mix-mix comes in. If you have the jackfruit, add the jack fruit. If you have the nata de coco (really stiff jello type material) throw it in. Why wouldn't you had some red beans or corn in if you have it lying around? Buko (young coconut) is delightful on halo halo. And if you throw in the buko, don't forget banana and rice krispies and leche flan... oh the leche flan!! And then, to really make it "fiesta halo halo," go ahead and throw on a scoop or two of ice cream on top.

The funny thing, no cherry on top! Ha, I know, beans and corn galore, but I've never seen a cherry on a halo halo. Weird!

what's on my mind

2010-08-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

a. 78 days till i come home. b. i wish i had a can of chocolate frosting in the refridgerator right now. c. they play doogie howser here once a week, and i love it. d. i can't imagine the last two years without having michael jackson, taylor swift, and lady gaga in them. e. if you want to change the world, wear a condom and volunteer to read a book to a kid everyday. f. georgia or florida? g. do i take the plane ticket to america or the cash in lieu? h. i came to the philippines a young 22 and will leave an ancient 25. i. graduate school right away or finally work in an american classroom for the first time to gain experience? j. i want me some tijuana flats. k. it's the rainy season here, and so the mold grows, and then the allergies come to life. l. i like that i get a text from the postmaster whenever i get mail. m. rambutan. look it up, love it. n. no, the classrooms here are not airconditioned, and some of them don't have electricity. o. i love glee. p. australia is supposed to be needing english teachers. q. i have way too much laundry that needs to be done and not enough sunshine to dry it all. r. any leads on public schools hiring a "hard working, optimistic, committed to the job, returning peace corps volunteer" in the florida/georgia area after the holiday break? s. i need to sit down and write my description of service. t. if fazoli's is closed, where do you eat lunch after vbs? u. from my room right now, i can hear a group of people walking from house to house singing a prayer and playing guitar. v. facebook has taken over the town i live in. w. here you still say things like, "give my regards to so-and-so." x. i'm excited to be able to drive again... but not so excited to pay for gasoline and car insurance. y. this week my mom reminded me that i'm going to have to stop calling airconditioning "aircon" and after going to thailand with my friends i realized i can't hiss at waiters to get their attention anymore nor can i use my teeth to open plastic bags as has become the norm for me. z. ha, yep, hissing and using my teeth to open things, i am so classy folks!

Shut Up and Dance

2010-08-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a white girl who can't dance. I know, stereotypes are bad... but sometimes they're true, and the one that says that white people can't dance accurately describes me. I don't have the beat and I don't have the rhythm; I mean I can barely stumble through the electric slide. I never used to dance in America, but here in the Philippines it's not the worst thing in the world.

This past weekend I was one of the facilitators for a training another volunteer was leading, and one thing I loved about this training, and the Philippines in general, was the music and dance. Can you imagine going to a professional development training and everybody just listening to the Glee soundtrack and dancing as their opening energizer? I for one know I would have hated it if I was ever expected to dance at some type of conference, but now it's just fun! Everybody participated, even the woman who was breastfeeding her kid... I mean that's some dedication to the art of dancing.

The rest of the training went really well. We talked about Phonics and Phonemic awareness and how to use those unfamiliar teacher words in the everyday classroom. It was very hands on, and hopefully they can take some of the activities back to their classroom. It was a good weekend. :)

The Land of Smiles

2010-07-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

Largest Reclining Buddha, Bangkok

Street Vendor, Bangkok

Kayan Hillstribe, Chiang Mai

Elephants from the Maesa Elephant Camp, Chiang Mai

Ayuthaya Ruins, Bangkok

Where in the world can you find the largest reclining Buddha, street vendors on every corner you look, women wearing rings to extend their necks, elephants bathing in the river, and ancient ruins? I mean sure, street vendors, that's no big deal... and elephants are a dime a dozen...and what place doesn't have an old abandoned building around somewhere...and big Buddha's were seen in Hong Kong and Japan... but long necked Kayan tribeswomen?! It's gotta be Thailand!!

A couple of friends and I caught a plane to Thailand, the Land of Smiles, last Sunday and took a week to explore Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The entire time we were there I kept thinking how great it was to be with friends. Jasmine, who was another volunteer in Leyte, is half Thai and ever since we met she's given Thailand such a great story and I finally got to put a picture to her words. She and her family took us around to see all the attractions, which included the pictures above, as well as riding those beautiful elephants, shopping in bazaars, and visiting a floating market where I had my first Thai massage and fish foot massage. Yay to thai massage, nay to fish massage... waaaay too ticklish! It's kind of exhilarating when you're in a lake and a little minnow pecks your toe, but imagine if you stuck your feet into an aquarium and a school of the little suckers comes and laches onto your skin like blood sucking piranhas. Ok, I exaggerate... but there were a lot of fish eating away at dead skin on your feet!

I liked Thailand, and was really surprised with Bangkok. It seems so clean to me. Maybe Manila has gotten to me too much. I think of the city, which before Peace Corps brought a picture of small Orlando where you just basically have to watch out for pooping ducks at Lake Eola, and now I think of pulsating Manila. Manila, where everywhere you turn there's a group of street kids, guys peeing on the street, women trying to get you to buy things, jeepneys pouring out exhaust, and taxi drivers trying to rip you off, where you just sigh and mutter, "uh, Manila." I didn't get that feeling in Bangkok. It was clean, I didn't hear any roosters, and don't you know those are my two criteria! I don't know, perhaps we stayed clear of the trouble areas, but on the whole, super impressed with Bangkok, and Thailand for that matter. I will say though, you got the traffic too man!

You and Me Could Write a Bad Romance

2010-07-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when the plaid skirts get ironed, white shirts get an extra bleach washing, and black pants are pressed; aka The Acquaintance Party. It's the back-to-school bash that kids have been waiting for since school started back in June, and it's also my favorite dance that I'm required to go to.

Last year's theme was Michael Jackson, and to date is still one of my best memories of Peace Corps. This year they had an jaw dropping Lady Gaga impersonation contest. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I could be arrested for posting the pictures, so for viewing purposes just imagine Lady Gaga in her ukay ukay finest, dancing her heart out. So funny, and outrageous at the same time.

After the official swearing in that the new students do, and PTCA members pledge to do their best for the school, the lights drop down and the words DISCO bring on a roar from the students that I'm sure could rival any Lady Gaga concert. The kids had a great time, and well, me too :)

me and Genelyn

Lennie and some of the 3rd year boys in their dance competition

DISCO!!

What happens when somebody gets ahold of your camera...

and again, thanks Genelyn for the awesome pictures.

And here is the innocent side of Acquaintance Party, the side of the traditional Philippine School... the Inopacan National High School Hymn (they sing this at flag ceremony every morning). I will without a doubt, completely regret missing next year's party.

"well, the fruits and vegetables are always VERY fresh"

2010-07-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ormoc, Leyte, 2010.

Mercury

2010-07-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

Last May I complained about the heat, and after thinking, man it's still hot, (but nowhere as near as bad as May and June!!) I should share the secret tips of appearing "refreshed." I remember another volunteer, back when we first got to site, was so proud when one of her co-teachers told her she looked "refreshed" when she returned to school after the lunch break. And I must agree, aside from hearing you have mastered "Philippine hospitality" and "You're so sexy Ma'am," it is one of the best compliments you can get.

So here they are, the major things I've learned about how to stay alive during the heat:

1. Umbrella ALL the time. Rain is obvious, but sun is just as big. I constantly get the "where is your payong?" question, and many people won't accept my "I want a tan," reply. I'll be honest, I use an umbrella WAY more now.

2. Dishtowel down the back. I hated this at first. My host mom would stuff a towel down my back, as all moms do here (quite forcefully!) to absorb the sweat and keep your shirt dry. Now, it's not such a big deal. It really does keep you from having to change your shirt 10 times a day, thus saving you from washing 9 unnecessary shirts!

3. Baby powder. Baby powder is a girl's best friend. You just gotta use it, in the morning, mid-morning, after lunch, before bed, it's with you all the time. One of my friends also showed me how you can sprinkle it on underwear and bras to help absorb sweat... lovely right? Whatever, it works.

4. Fans. electric or hand, both rock the party. I don't leave my house without a hand fan. It's multipurpose also, seconding as a fantastic back scratcher and pointer for class. I can't imagine getting through a class without having my fan in my hand to make a breeze.

5. Hanky. I always thought they were dorky when I was younger... silly me. They're awesome.

6. Shower time 3 times a day. It's not questionable to shower in the morning, during lunch break, and before bed. It's a necessity.

7. Shade. God made trees for a reason, and if you cut one down, you obviously don't have to stay outside for extended periods of time. One a side note, since I've been here, I've begun to wonder why people plant trees that don't bear fruit? Shade and fruit are 2 of my most favorite things.

8. Pot-Pot. It's a bicycle taxi that I used to avoid cause I thought they were a waste of money. Again, time has changed me though. That extra ounce of sweat it saves is worth the five pesos.

9. High quality H2O. I actually used to complain about drinking plain water. Can you believe that?! I would say I "didn't like the taste." Oh man, major eye roll on my behalf, right now, as you read this. I can pack in 4-5 liters a day now in the summer time.

aaaaand, #10, and arguably the most important one:
Halo Halo. I will do a blog about the amazingness of this sweet treat another time. But for now know this, nothing is better than shaved ice and condensed milk.

Is it a good idea to list your goals on the Internet? hmmm....

2010-07-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

Last post I joked about how I could cross off the COS, or Close of Service, conference on my list of acronyms. This is one acronym I can honestly say I'm proud of. I was totally the kid in the front seat of the bus thinking I could never get through training, and then wondered how I could complete the first three months, and then BAM, it's 18 months later and there's just 3 months left till I return home.

COS conference consisted of meeting back up with the remaining volunteers from our original batch. We came over with 69 eager trainees and are now at a nifty fifty. It was kind of sad to miss the friends that you've come to make and who had already returned, but good to be able to see those who were still around.

The grand finale of COS featured an Ukay Ukay prom. I guess in America that would be comparable to a Goodwill Oscars. It was major fun picking out outfits that you can find at the ukay ukays. They pile up thousands of pounds of donated clothing from around the world onto tables, and let you sift through until you hit the motherload. My inspiratin was Deb from the movie Napolean Dynamite. Fortunately for me, my hair can naturally do an 880's poodle perm, so it wasn't THAT big of a challenge... for once I'm thankful for my afro tendencies. It was fun, and WOW, there are some awesome ukay ukay possibilities out there!

But for more on what COS conference was like, it was by far it was the most optimistic meeting we've had. In all of our trainings thus far, we had focused on how to overcome challenges we face at site, but this time it was a "We Did It!" RPCVs discussed what it's like to readjust to American culture. I apologize now if I freak out on you after I get back. They told stories of people balling at seeing wasted water, the price of brandname underwear, or flipping out on people who demanded 'skinless, boneless, white chicken.' I don't know, we'll see how it goes I guess.

And then we started to talk about successes we have had at site and really begin to focus on what the future holds for us. And that folks, is where the real scariness begins.

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!

EEEKS. I got some ideas. They involve graduate school hopefully, or if that doesn't pan out then working as a teacher at an elementary school. I'm going to work hard to get my Masters of Education in Literacy. The literacy degree is a result of my time in the Philippines. I've felt since the beginning that I could help my students so much more if I knew more about the subject. I feel like I wasn't the best teacher I could have been, and I think a degree in literacy will help any students I have in the future, regardless of where I end up teaching.

Who knows what will really happen, or where I'll end up in a year, but I'm starting to brainstorm and look at all the possibilities. It's just that there are so many possibilities!

sending all my love along the wire

2010-07-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

It's not something most Americans think about, or at least I didn't before, but did you know that you have to have a telephone landline in order to have an ATM? I also quickly learned once coming here that to have Internet in a town you must also have a landline. I think we can all agree, in the twenty-first century, landlines are important!

Back in 2008 when I was finding out where I would settle down for the two years of my volunteer contract, they gave me the chance to say what type of place I'd like to live in. City or province was basically the choice. I said city, a place that's connected and reconnected with telephone lines, a place where I could access the Internet. So, I'm ashamed to say that I started crying when I heard the words, "Your town doesn't have a landline." Looking back, I know I over reacted. Life didn't end and I quickly found a way to get an Internet connection, yes a slow connection but let's focus on the word connection, at site and always had a handy reason to take the bus into the city. Life didn't end, but it was a pain when it came to uploading pictures or having to send in reports for Peace Corps that required high speed Internet.

You can imagine how stoked I was when I saw this announcement on the community bulletin board in town:

That's right, ATM=Land line=Internet!

That was back in March though, and based on past experience of expectations regarding time, I optimistically assumed that ATM would be up and running by early November... riiiight around the time my contract was up.

But Philippines, you showed me!! It is with great pleasure and glee that I announce that this is my FIRST blog update via the brand-spanking-new landline that is now attached to the house I'm staying in.

CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT?!

IO-COS

2010-07-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

Heads up to those who are interested in being in Peace Corps, you're going to have to learn a new language. No, not Spanish, Tagolog, Cantonese, or Swahili; it's the language of Peace Corps. They don't use special glotal stops or subject-verb agreements, but instead it's a bewildering game of acronyms.

I mean can you make sense of these sentences:

You begin with staging, that's easy, but then you fly to your HC, meet your CD, PTO, and PCVs who will begin your IO. You get checked by the PCMO, meet your LCF, TCF, RM, SM, and find our where you will be for PST. You work, work, work for swear-in, take the oath and rush to your site to be with your HF, HCA, and CP. Inbetween trainings and PDO you will attend in IST, MST, and language camp (where you will take your LPI). But really, the whole time as a PCV you're working towards COS, when you can fill out your DOS and finally, finally, finally you become a RPCV.

I know, I know, it looks like jumbled alphabet soup, but it really does make sense Here's a translation:

You begin with staging, that's easy, but then you fly to your Host Country, meet your Country Director, Program Training Officer, and Peace Corps Volunteers who will begin your Initial Orientation. You get checked by the Peace Corps Medical Officer, meet your Language Cultural Facilitator, Technical Cultural Facilitator, Regional Manager, Sector Manager, and find out where you will be for Pre Service Training. You work, work, work for swear-in, take the oath, and rush to your site to be with your Host Family, Host Country Agency, and Counter Part. Inbetween trainings and Professional Development Opportunities you will attend In Service Training, Mid Service Training, and language camp (where you take your Language Proficiency Interview). But really, the whole time as a Peace Corp Volunteer you're working towards Close Of Service, when you can fill out your Description Of Service and finally, finally, finally you become a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

Right now, I'm at COS conference... yep, scratch another acronym off the list!!! :)

Sheldon

2010-07-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

I once said in a Facebook status: My favorite thing about hard boiled eggs is that nobody ever fries them.

Philippines, you have proven me wrong.

I was at Robinsons in Tacloban yesterday and saw this little booth called Itlog on a Stick (Egg on a stick). I became very curious, and then slightly disheartened when I found out that yes, there is such a thing as a deepfried hard boiled egg.

There's a lot of frying going on around this country, which is evident when probably 7-10 (done in my own personal, really has no scientific basis whatsoever, estimate) people will tell you they have "high blood." For a while my mind frame became, "If it's not fried or have condensed milk in it... I probably won't like it." But after numerous, and by numerous I mean sometimes up to 3 times a day, "You're fat," comments, I've started to seriously cut back on the fried food intake. It's easy if I'm cooking for myself, but it's not such an easy task to do if you're asked to eat at celebrations or other get-to-togethers around town. Sometimes though, you just gotta say no, even if it does make you look rude.

It was no problem at all however for me to turn down Itlog on a Stick!

Wearing It

2010-07-03T03:03:00.000-07:00

I was in Jollibee this weekend (the Philippine equivalent to McDonald's. Instead of a clown with red hair they have a giant bee, a very happy bee.). I don't go as often as I used to, but when I'm craving frenchfries, or a clean bathroom, I'll stop and enjoy the aircon as well. That was the case this weekend. I didn't want to use the NASTY bathroom at the bus terminal, so I hitched over to the Jollibee. I always feel guilty when I use the bathroom there, but don't buy anything, so I broke down and bought a nice cold drink (ha, yeah, it was such a hardship on my part!)

The girl had just filled my glass full of Coke and was turning back towards the counter... exactly as another girl was turning around in the same area. Yep, the coke goes flying all over both girls. But the clean, dry guy employee who is just standing to the side turns to me and says in this awesome, slow-motion voice, "O-M-G."

I just started to laugh, cause what else can you do?

President NoyNoy Aquino

2010-06-30T03:07:00.001-07:00

Yeah, that's a picture I took of my tv of the inauguration... and yes, I know how geeky that is of me, and I'm cool with it.

The new mayor, swearing in.

June 30... the big inaugration day here in the Philippines! Last May, elections were held for both national and local governments and today was the day many had worked so hard for.

I got to attend the swearing in for the local government unit (LGU) here at my site. There were councilmen who took their oath of service, and then the vice mayor and mayor.

Next I rushed back to the house to see the tailend of the national inauguration on television. Thousands of people came out to see Benigno "NoyNoy" Aquino III be sworn in as the 15th president of the Republic of the Philippines. His inauguration speech included promises of honest, clean government and persuing and investigating leads of previous corruption by politicians.

The last name, Aquino, may ring a bell to many of you. NoyNoy is the son of Cory Aquino who passed away last year and who was also a president of RP. His father was also famous for pushing the values of democracy before being assassinated during the Marcos reign. As an outside observer, it seems that the name Aquino goes hand-in-hand with democracy, and all the values that many Filipinos voted for.

An exciting time here in the Philippines!

i'm watching you

2010-06-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

sometimes I get this weird feeling like everybody's watching me here

these were all from the market in Ormoc, Leyte

One year later

2010-06-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Coolest thing OF the year: I discovered this back during the summer when I was breaking into the school because the main gate was locked. It's on the back of the CR (comfort room, aka bathroom) on campus for students. It only seemed appropriate to share it with ya'll as we just passed the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death.

yeah, that's right, it's a homemade memorial to Michael Jackson. :) I LOVE THIS. I know in America Michael Jackson became somewhat of a joke, with tons of people believing he is a sexual predator or at the very least just a very unique and perhaps misunderstood individual, but in the Philippines nobody mentions his questionable past. They LOVE him for his music, his dance moves, and perhaps his whiteness? I'm not sure about that last one, but in a society where whitening soaps are as bountiful as America's antibacterial soaps, I can't help but think that may be part of the allure. No matter the reasons, MJ is a loved figure.

Loved how much you may ask? Enough to where a year ago when he died, I had to actually console a student. "Ma'am Connie, is it true Michael Jackson is dead?!" "Yes... I'm very sorry, but I promise it will be ok. Promise." Enough that a prison in Cebu City created a dance team that did a mass dancing to Thriller and other favorites. (On a sad, sad sidenote, this amazing show has been closed due to questionable managing... leaving me kicking myself for not getting to see it earlier and hating corruption with an even greater passion!). And lastly, enough that last year's annual acquaintance party at school was abruptly changed from a luau theme to Michael Jackson after his death last year. I mean, need I say more to explain the deep passionate affair of Michael Jackson and the Philippines?!

And yeah, I'll admit it, I like his music more now that I've lived here... so BEAT IT!

N-D-bic-crash

2010-06-18T02:49:00.000-07:00

Somewhat funny story from today. In a feeble attempt to try and learn some of the local dialect before my time is up at site, I was having a language lesson with my co-teacher. She talks EXTREMELY slow for me and I pick up about 1/4 of what she says. I know, I'm linguistically challenged.

Anyways, we were having a conversation about what I plan on doing when I return to the States. I have some ideas about moving to Georgia to teach and go back to school. Her next question was, you're parents want you to go there? Meaning, this is your parents plan, correct? I at first gave her this strange look and said, a well... I'm 24, my parents don't really decide for me. She IMMEDIATELY busted out laughing, saying, I forgot, I forgot, you're American, you're so independent!!

In short, it's completely normal for Philippine kids to follow the plan that their parents have set for them. If I ask the fourth year students (seniors) what they plan to do after graduation, I often get the response, Well my parents want me to go to VISCA (a local agricultural college) or my father wants me to be a nurse. I guess maybe the thought process may be that if the parent is paying for the college, they also get to choose the course.... which makes a lot of sense now that I think about it.

But immediately after thinking that makes sense, I think how I never asked my parents if it's ok if I became a teacher. I don't think I ever even thought to ask them. I definitely ask my parents for their input, and usually take their words into consideration when I make major life choices, but I don't sit and wait for them to make all my plans... cause let's face it, I so would not be on the tailend of my Peace Corps experience if it had been up to my parents to sign me up! :)

Final thought: I didn't think about it so much before I left home, but if I had to pick one word to describe Americans, it would be INDEPENDENT.

obnoxious :)... but it's hard to convey smiles in blogs sometimes :)

2010-06-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

so... first day of school is over, and I survived. :)

It wasn't too bad, slightly chaotic at first, but I thought things quickly settled down as students figured out what was going on. There were still students who I saw that didn't know if they had passed the year before... I refrained from saying, "Well if you don't know, I'm going to go with a big fat NO!" I mean really, seriously? I let the other teacher answer that one...

Numbers were high, but still not as high as other high schools in this area. I'm not sure what the final total for the school is, but I do know that in the two first year classes there are 70 students and then in the one second year class there are 68. Other larger schools will have more sections (or in other words more classes per grade level), but we have a limited number of teachers, so one big ol' class will have to be. Obviously, it's tight quarters in the one second year class. Plus with the only one electric fan it's kind of miserable. I feel bad for the students, sitting on top of each other basically, and then the heat and humidity just make you feel like you're in a can of sardines.

Happily, the first year kids were pretty open and almost talkative when it came time to introduce the foreign teacher. It's so much more fun when people will make eye contact with you! :)

I also got over to the elementary school to check on their new library. We're off to a good start! Fortunately, the Librarian's course load was lightened (she was in charge of a content class, the canteen, and the library), so now she was given 2 vacant hours to use for the library. I'm also able to visit each day in the afternoon, so the library will be able to have kids at least for 3 hours a day. That is a huge accomplishment.

Today, a little kid named Andre wanted to check out a book about dinosaurs. Some of them are getting really excited. It's a fun thing to see! :)

seksi graded

2010-06-14T02:21:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at all of my friend's Facebook pages from back home, and am officially jealous because their summers are just beginning, and I go back to work tomorrow. The time has come... summer vacation is officially over.

In all honesty, I'm pretty lucky. Monday was our first day back to school, but another big THANKS to GMA for making it a holiday! Yeah, that's right, you heard me. The first day of school was turned into a holiday and school was canceled. Saturday happened to be the Philippine Independence Day, so the day off of work was transfered to the following Monday. Gotta love it.

New this year in the world of Deped (the Department of Education) is the trial run of sex education in selected public schools. This was announced to me by one of my students who came to my house and greeted me with a big "Ma'am Connie, We're going to learn about sex education!" Oh man, so glad I'm not in charge of teaching THAT class. Like some in the States, there are a large number of people here, including church officials, who do not agree with this new plan. Here's an article that features the island that I live on... to give it a more local perspective. It will be interesting to see if this will make it past the first year and what effect it has on statistics.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring. My guess is HUGE numbers of students on Tuesday; them all dressed in their spanking white uniform shirts and primply ironed plaid skirts and pressed blue pants. I'm excited to meet the new first year students, and am expecting to go back to those "who are you?... I have to talk to an american teacher?...NOSEBLEED!" moments again. ('nosebleed' is sometimes used as an excuse when the students are unsure of what to say and want to get out of answering). But that stage will pass, just like last years did, and soon we'll all be one big ol' happy family. I really hope it's a good first day!

Dude, they had gummy bears as party favors... COOL!

2010-06-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

May and June are definitely the wedding season! I got to go to ANOTHER wedding last weekend, but this time it was in Cebu... OOO-LA-LA!! :) My host mom and I took a ferry over and then quickly went to the pension house to change and get ready for the service by 12:30. Of course we got there at 1 and nothing had started yet... FILIPINO TIME! ha, we got there just in time. The service was held in the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, and was beautiful!

This wedding was for a girl who grew up in the town where I live. I'd never met her, but like most of my social events, I got in because of my host mom. It was a really nice wedding, with beautiful imported flowers, and a huge reception in a local casino. The picture below is the bride and groom with their sponsors. I think the groom is a seamen, and they're planning on moving to Canada.

The reception was VERY westernized, and lots of fun! They had a MC who tried really hard to get the crowd energized, two huge buffet lines, live singers, and a photo booth set up outside for guests to get momentos of the couple's special day... oh, and margaritas! :) The cake below blew me away. It had fondant icing, multiflavor layers, and best of all, they actually cute it and served it at the reception! I've found that it's often the tendency for the families to save the cake for AFTER the reception... which leaves me without the sugar buzz I was hoping for.

It was a neat experience to go to a wedding in the big city. Something different, and new, which makes the days go by quicker!

Summer Reading

2010-06-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

This past week has been filled with nothing but books, books, and yep, more books. After the great success of the high school library, when all you awesome blog readers help collect 5,000 books and ship them over, we thought why stop there? The students need books in high school, but they also need them before their secondary education. Imagine going to high school and never having visited the library in elementary school? That's the way it was for some kids... but starting this year, that number will be oh-so-much smaller!

We set up shop at Inopacan Central School! This week included lots of set-up preparation, and then teachers, their children, and some of my awesome high school girls coming to volunteer in the labeling of books. Luckily my students have PLENTY of experience when it comes to labeling, recording, and organizing books! :) I was really proud of them for coming to help.

We separated the books into four simple categories: fiction, non-fiction, reference, and teacher resources. Each section is given a tag with a color (red, green, or white) and a number. To keep the system easy and practical for the librarian and parent volunteers we kept the numbering simple. Each category starts with 1 and then continues open ended. So there is a F-1, NF-1, and TR-1. Our town doesn't have Internet yet, so this works for now. Perhaps when the slow Internet train finally comes to town we can upgrade to an online book catalogue. But for now, we have a notebook catalogue that gives titles, authors, and book number. Not quite the New York Public Library or anything, but I'm proud of it!

Here are the reference and teacher resource books. I'm hoping to get teachers interested in this special section we created for them. I put some of the American text-books and all the teaching books that Peace Corps supplied us as trainees... hopefully they're not going to ask for those back... so that teachers can have alternate resources. This will be a great source for graphic organizers, pictures, and up-dated information. I know some teachers are hesitant to try "new," yeah... it's not just American teachers!!! :) so I made a Library Request Form that teachers can fill out if they are looking for specific information. That way until they are familiar with the books and feel comfortable in the library, I can help them with locating what they're looking for. Again, hopefully this will work as well as I'm imagining.

The fiction section. We keep the bottom level of windows closed, because little hands fit through them so perfectly, as do the books when turned sideways. On a interior design sidenote, the curtains... so Filipino :) A lot of houses will have the curtains knotted like that to let the breeze in. I can never get the knot to look so perfect. Mine always look crooked, but then all you have to do is just kind of scrunch your eyes and turn you head to the side and they look as good as when my host mom or students tie them.

To familiarize the teachers with the new library we held a seminar on Thursday. Unfortunately attendance was on the low side. As I mentioned before, teachers were in charge of running the election poles, well they're also incharge of collecting the numbers for the census. So this week many of the teachers were completing their forms and visiting around town in order to find out the number of residences.

Only about 12 of the 23 teachers attended. It's a start though, and hopefully those that did make it will spread the word and get others interested. This is our fun agenda for the day. We came away knowing the rules of the library, setting a goal for kids to visit the library at least once a week (as compared to last year's zero times), a wish list the teachers compiled (they let me know that Filipino books would be helpful... so I can keep my eye out when I go to the used bookstore in Taclobon), and much more.

The next steps, raising funds from local community memebers in order to buy the grills on the outside of the windows, get an electric fan that works (ok, let's be honest, that's at the top fo the shopping list!), searching for Filipino books, and having parent and high school volunteers sign-up to help lead story-time and reading buddies.

i got the fatigue

2010-06-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

I got the fatigue; the blogger's fatigue. What to write about?! I've told about projects. I've mentioned the weather. What else is there in life?

This was my case, my sad sad tale of not having anything to write. I was thinking these lame excuses for my lack of writing when BAM, god healed me... here's the story:

An unsusupecting Peace Corps volunteer walked through her small town. She was walking along the only main highway through her site, a 2 laned road that runs the length of the island, and she had to carefully pick her way through a maze of parked pedicabs. The sun was shining high in the sun, making the volunteer have to shade her eyes. Finally she got to the shady corner of the street that she had to turn onto. She just got her eyes to adjust to the suddent shade when all of a sudden a woman carrying a young child walks up to her. She'd never met the lady before, nor seen the kid around town. She smiled politely, cause really, who would want to be known as the American girl who never smiles? Her smile was returned with a, "Are you American?" "Yes, ma'am. I am, " she replied. "Oh, so is she (the kid). Half American; her father is American," said the lady. "Oh, that's nice," said the hesitant volunteer. She wondered what what happen next. And then the volunteer's entire day brightened, "Her name is Princess Rapunzel," the lady continued.

Dancing for Money

2010-05-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

My neighbor got married this past weekend! I get invited to a bunch of things; birthday parties for people I don't really know, weddings for old white guys, but finally, a joyous celebration for somebody that I've come to know and like here in town! So fun!!

Weddings here have a lot of similarities with those back home, and then some differences. I think I mentioned another wedding (not the infamous old white guy one I attended, but a more age appropriate one) a while back, but this time I got some pictures to go with it to help explain.

Here is part of the bridal party. There are the traditional flower girls, ring bearers, bible bearers, bridesmaids, and then the Filipino addition of the ninong and the ninang. Ninongs and Ninangs (the adults in the pictures above) are the "sponsors" of the couple. They are entrusted in guiding the newlyweds or supporting them as the need be. It's really an acknowledgement of respect for the people in your life on your special day as the bride and groom. I really LOVE this idea. Respect here in the Philippines is something that always impresses me. Asking someone to be a sponsors is just another way that it is shown here. This picture also shows the traditional formal wear for men. It's a special lightweight, embroidered shirt known as a barong. I think women should totally steal the barong idea... they seem way cooler than the heavy, lined skirts the women must wear in the 100 degree weather!

Here you have the signing of the marriage license. You also can see the electric fans going full speed and just a few members of the photography team. When I say there was a team, I mean this event could have been confused with a paparazzi scene. Documentation... so very important in the Philippines :) Also, married in the Catholic church... it's soooo final.

And finally, the money dance! During the reception you see many of the same traditions that an American wedding would have; slicing of the cake (although no cake fights), sharing wine, releasing of the doves (maybe in days past in America), and toasts of well wishes. A unique Filipino tradition is the money dance. The couple shares a dance as husband and wife, and as they dance, pins are passed out so guests can come up and pin money on the bride and groom. It's to get the couple off on a prosperous start... and so much more convenient than all those giftcards Americans hand out!

Well, there you have it, a Filipino wedding in a nutshell!

Yours, Anne

2010-05-30T02:39:00.000-07:00

I have a special student. Well, honestly I have a lot of special students, but if I could give a "You're a Terrific Kid and I love Talking with You about Books You Read because You Always Say Things that Make me Take a Moment and Think, WOW, You're a Cool Kid" award, this award would go to Lyka Mae.

She takes the time to read books that I say I really enjoy, and then patiently lets me talk to her about them. It's honestly a highlight of my time here. Our latest book was Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

Background knowledge is so important when you pick up a book. Grasping loose ends until you have a firm understanding of what you're about to read makes understanding easier, and in the long run, more solid. Background knowledge was slightly tricky for this book. World War II has a major part in Philippine history. The English textbook the students are issued at school feature articles about the Japanese invasions, the Bataan Death March, and Douglas MacArthur's landing. They know WWII, in the Pacific. WWII in Europe and other surrounding areas is not covered as much however. Other unknowns, like religion also came up while reading the book. Roman Catholicism is it here in Inopacan. A small group, perhaps 100, citizens in town are not Catholic. Learning that Anne was Jewish gave an opportunity to introduce new ethnicities and religions. Anne's diary offered so much for discussion.

So what did we discuss? Well of course we talked about the Haulocost. What did it mean? How could it have happened? What has the world learned from it? And then my wow moment happened. Lyka said, in this simple honest voice, "I think I'm a lot like Anne."

In all my excitement to share points that I had gathered when I read the book, or had talked about in previous discussions, I had forgotten this obvious link between author and reader. Both are the same age, both are girls, and both are wise beyond their years. The book doesn't just showcase social injustice, but also the feelings that young girls have. Those feelings of, "Seriously, can ANYBODY understand me and not judge me at the same time?" Lyka could feel where Anne was coming from.

And that is what it's all about. :)

Monday Night Movie

2010-05-26T02:20:00.001-07:00

Do you ever wonder if your dreams may be psychic visions? Predictions of what are to come? Sometimes, I super hope so.

I've had some really cool dreams since being in the Philippines. One night I dreamed my host mom was Oprah. My room was a-maz-ing! As was the ski boat and lake that was part of the package.

Another night I had President Obama visit my classroom here in the Philippines. Super cool, but I was so nervous! He really is nice in person.

And then last Monday night I dreamed of a salad fight. I so miss good salads. There were all types of lettuce, bright red tomatoes, and feta cheese; all flying in the air, just waiting to be devoured.

These could all be right around the corner for me! A quick glimpse of good things to come!

Ooooor, if you wanted to make another guess as to why I have some strange dreams, you could say it's from the malaria pills that volunteers here are required to take every week. Vivid dreams are a side effect, and while mine aren't terrifying like some of the other stories I've heard, they do seem really real.

I'd kind of like to go with psychic though... that seems WAY more fun :)

bad for the crops

2010-05-19T16:22:00.001-07:00

Though the days of our summer vacation are quickly dwindling, there is one thing that keeps rising in Leyte; the heat!

Man, everyday seems to be a scorcher and it seems like there's a cd in my head on repeat that keeps saying, "It's hot, It's hot, It's hot." Ha, the heat is almost all mind consuming. It wears me out mentally and physically. I'm ready for bed by 8.

I thought the humidity was bad in Florida, but I think it's worse here. And then to top it off, ever since the election and we've had such little rain that the water levels are down so the water only runs in the house from like 11pm-5 or 6am. I wake up in the middle of the night to fill buckets and old coke bottles so I have water for the next day, aaaaaand I do the dreaded laundry.

Yeah, it's 3am and I'm doing laundry.

Which leads me to end with, Anybody want to get a raindance started?

fiesta time

2010-05-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

My second fiesta at site was this past week. FIESTA, YAY!!! haha, kind of. At times fiesta gets old to me. There can be so many of them, and so many people, and so much food... it's just so much. But this fiesta felt different from the others, and I guess it's because I was more "part of the crowd."

Last year I stuck with my host family the whole time. I didn't know what to expect, what to do, it was all new. This year though, I ventured off on my own more. It felt good to get invited to the house of one of my students and then get called into more houses as people saw me walking by. I was honored to be invited into people's homes for the staple fiesta meal: spaghetti, cake, lechon, coke, and so on. Good times.

Election Day

2010-05-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

A president, senators, campaigns, and elections; all things that are essential to America's government. It's what we know, what we expect, and a process to governing that we have come to respect, for the most part. Those things are also found in the Philippines.

Today, May 10, 2010 is Election Day here in this nation of islands. We're not really supposed to make comments about politics or the government of the country we're volunteering in, so I'm just going to report on what I observed.

People, lots and lots of people out to vote; that's what I saw. A few people told me, "Very different than America, no?" I kind of laughed, well, we get to wait in long lines to vote too! Except here it's sans line, so instead they give out a slip of paper with a number on it and then you're called to vote when it's your turn, and the waiting can last literally all morning if you're there when the poll opens at 7 am.

Election Day is a holiday, no work, and school is already out for summer, so people were able to spend all day at their respective voting places. Teachers are in charge of running the voting and all precincts are in public schools. There is a like an express lane for senior citizens, pregnant women, and the disabled, even though I think all would agree that "express" was used in loose terms. The wait in line could last hours, cause the number of people at each precinct was around 1000. I asked one lady who was observing the voting how long, on average, it took for a person to fill in the ballot and slide it into the scanner. She said roughly 10 minutes. This year was the first year that voters filled in their ballot with a special marker and then slid it into an electric counter.

The temperature yesterday was probably in the high eighties with 110% humidity. It was the kind of hot where all you do is stand outside and your shirt is soaked through within 10 minutes. Yep, long wait and killer heat.

Haven't heard any results yet, and somewhere I did hear that the voting times were going to be extended, so now, like in America, it's just "let's wait and see."

Ok, I tried really hard to keep it to the facts and as far as a blog goes, it was probably pretty neutral... maybe, kind of, sorta.

king kong played ping pong while eating a ding dong in hong kong

2010-05-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

Big Buddha

Laser Show

Fish Market

Mickey and Minnie at Hong Kong Disneyland

Sunday afternoon in Kowloon Park

What's the best part about being a teacher? Changing the lives of countless children? Seeing improvement in your students throughout the year? Or perhaps taking away something new that you may have forgotten since you were a kid, but your innocent students have retaught you? Or, it could just be summer vacation! :)

I took a quick trip to Hong Kong this past week. Wow, man, what a shopper's dream. Whether you have the means to do up-scale shopping or bargain market shopping, this is the place to do it. So as somebody who likes to look, even when the price tag is way out of my league, I loved walking the streets as I window shopped at Gucci, Tiffany's, and Louis Vuitton and then even more fun when I got to walk up and down the street markets and actually buy the knock-offs. Temple street market at night was fun, and just browsing through the fish market (for once they were all alive and swimming!) and flower markets were interesting.

I also took a day to visit Hong Kong Disneyland...which yeah, I know, sounds so completely touristy. But I'm from Orlando, Florida! I was completely hooked on seeing how the two parks compared. Overall verdict: there's no place like home. :) Hong Kong's was cool, and yes, the "queues" were much shorter, but nothing compares to Cinderella's Castle... sorry Sleeping Beauty.

Lastly, I rode the cable car up to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. This made me think of Japan, and how different these two trips ended up being. Japan's religious sites were all hundreds of years old, while the Big Buddha was built in 1993.

swimming in the deep end

2010-04-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie or try and sugarcoat it. I rarely ventured into the deepend of the pool, when I was a kid, when I was a teenager, or even the day before I left for Peace Corps. I can't remember when my fear of swimming in open/somewhat open water started, or why, but I'm sure it has something to do with Jaws and my older brother telling me that sharks not only swam in the ocean but also under the sand... so logical thinking for any kid would be swimming pools were also fair game. Perhaps that's when all my trouble started, I don' t know.

I do know that last weekend I stood on the bow of a boat, eyed a whale shark, and jumped in for a nice leisurely swim with it... Ok, leisurely may be stretching it, but I was at least in the water!

My friend and I went down to Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte for a weekend of snorkeling with the gentle creatures. We went with an crew that goes out weekly to give foreigners the once-in-a-life time thrill of diving with the world's largest fish. All I gotta say is they look WAY bigger when I was in the water and their dotted skin is just an armslength away than when I saw them at the Georgia Aquarium a couple years back. WAY BIGGER!!

Live and Learn

2010-04-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

I would imagine that if you had a child, your very first child whether the first of many or the sole mini-you, you would do anything to protect him or her. The reason there are over a thousand parenting guides and Baby Einstein videos is because deep down, no parent wants to screw up their own flesh and blood, right? The first years of that innocent life must be pins and needles for the parent as they learn the basic do's and don'ts of parenthood. But of course, there must be one moment when they drop the ball, figuratively speaking... hopefully, and Baby gets hurt. I would assume that hearing the screams of pain coming from your own child would threaten to cinch the strings of a mother's heart making his or her's pain their own. Lesson learned. It's not ok for Baby to eat peanutbutter when he is allergic to peanuts, and it's not advisable for her to go outside without shoes because somebody was careless and dropped a glass and the remaining shards of glass will rip her feet to shreds. You live, you learn, and you make sure that you don't do it again.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Musuem. It was last on my stops through Japan, and by far my favorite part of the journey. The simple reasons of this museum, and the surrounding park, are to not only remember, but to live, and to learn from the past. August 6, 1945 was the day that put Hiroshima on the map, and sadly erased thousands from it at the same time. At 8:15 am the first atomic bomb was dropped, and the entire world changed. I knew little of the atomic bomb prior to coming to the museum. I knew that Americans dropped it, and it put an end to the years of bloodshed and killing that had amassed into World War II, but I didn't know of the personal devestation it brought to the individuals; the ones who lost their lives immediately due to the heatrays, those who managed to navigate their ways home while their melted skin hung off their arms, legs, and backs until there was nothing to do but slip off into surely what would be a better place, or the lucky ones who survived unharmed, until years down the road when they exhibited the signs of radiation poisoning.

The museum did what I thought was a thorough job of not only telling, but also showing things you probably learned in history class as well as opening the door to the lives of those actually touched by that day. They had copies of Einstein's letter to Roosevelt telling that the knowledge was there to create such a weapon and it could end up in the "wrong hands." You could look at detailed models of the pre and post-bomb city of Hiroshima. They had what appeared to be chunks of glass that were really the result of sand being exposed to intense heatrays in the desert during bomb tests. And they had an exhibit that introduced the needlessly short biographies of kids who had been put to work by the Japanese government to clear lots throughout the city that would give them firelanes incase of an air raid attack but actually became their final resting places.

It was during this last exhibit where the full impact of destruction hit me. I just kept thinking, is this the result of the formula falling into the "right hands?" But how different would my life be if instead of visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum I was visiting the Oviedo Peace Memorial Museum, or more appropriately timed, the Shelbyville Peace Memorial Museum. Shelbyville was the town where my dad, whose own parents were learning the do's and don'ts of complicated parenthood, was on August 6, 1945.

After visiting the museum I got curious. How close was this major event in history to wiping off my parent who was alive at that time. The answer, 1 degree, in a way of thinking. Apparently Hiroshima is roughly at the latitude line of 34 degrees. Little ol' Shelbyville, Tennessee? 35 degrees. Yeah, I know, nowhere near each other, yet, almost just like a hop, skip, and a jump. All that type of thinking just leads me to wonder, who isn't writing a blog at this very moment because that complex mathematical problem was solved by "the wrong hands."

As you can see, the Peace Museum made my brain work. I appreciated how one of the major ideas expressed was, this tragic event happened, over a hundred thousand people were killed because of it, and what about now? Each time a nuclear bomb test is done in the world, the mayor of Hiroshima telegraphs a request of ceasing. The citizens of Hiroshima have learned their lesson, but have the rest of us?

I guess if I ever have a child I'll make a lot of parenting mistakes, but I will live, learn, and change.

things i like about japan

2010-04-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

the ONLY piece of trash in a giant river running through Kyoto

(and no, I don't really like the piece of trash... but the fact that it's the ONLY piece of trash in a river is pretty amazing!!)

nets that hold the garbage on pick-up day in Nara

picnicers everywhere in Osaka

cherry blossoms :)

quick snapshots of Japan, more to come

2010-04-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima, Japan

Bamboo Forest, Kyoto, Japan

Todaiji Temple, Nara, Japan

Osaka Castle, Osaka, Japan

To console myself after my mom and sister's too soon departure, I went to Japan.

It was my first time going on a big trip by myself... and what an amazing experience! I was lucky enough to line up my trip with cherry blossom season, so the entire countryside was dotted with magnificently delicate pink and white flowers. the Philippines can be a beautiful place, however its beauty can be classified as nothing but tropical. Japan's beauty is one of cool refinement. A beauty that goes hand-in-hand with a cup of hot green tea. A beauty that has next to zero trash in it, and has me wanting to go back.

Through the week, I was able to visit the cities of Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. My only reget is that I didn't get to spend more time in Japan.

did you know that 80% of pollination is done by bees?

2010-04-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

The site of the Blood Compact. This was when the Spanish and Filipinos first made a deal of friendship... obviously before the 300 years of colonization...

The Chocolate Hills. They're called this because during the dry season the trees and shrubs turn brown, thus giving the look of chocolate.

Tarsiers!

Can you find the queen?

The month of April is well underway, and with it came not only Easter but also my mom and sister. They arrived the day before the big holiday, and I was so excited to be able to show them around the Philippines. After a quick tour of the shopping Manila has to offer (which is a lot!!) we took a quick trip down to a part of the country I'd never been able to visit before. We stayed in Bohol, a popular tourist destination here, and were able to see the Chocolate Hills, stay at The Bee Farm, and see the much anticipated endagered tarsiers.

The Bee Farm was a pretty cool place to stay. It specializes in organic farming, and provides its guests with tours of the garden, bee insights, and the BEST food I've had here. Did you know that you can eat bouganvillia?! Yeah, it's true. They make salads at the restaurant that include beautiful flowers in them, and tell you, if a bee pollinates it, you can eat it. So my friends, be prepared, cause when I come back home I fully expect you to eat the bouganvillia and cosmos flowers that are in my tossed salads!

P.S.

I'll provide the honey mustard dressing.

Good Friday

2010-04-02T19:04:00.001-07:00

Back at staging (the time where all the PCVs first meet and sign away the next 2 years) we began to be introduced to the Philippine culture. This is when all of our googling endeavors were combined and we found out what others had discovered. Probably the 3 big things: balut (fertilized duck eggs), NPA/terrorists, and lastly, THEY CRUCIFY PEOPLE?!

It's true, sort of. There's a place in northern Luzon called San Fernando, Pampanga, where yes, a man volunteers each year to be nailed to a cross. He does it as an act of repentance, asking God's forgiveness for his sins. There are also other men who walk through the streets of town whipping themselves with spindles of wood and having their backs cut with glass. This again, is to show repentance.

I know I've become desensitized in a way since coming here, because while I was shocked back at staging, the shock wasn't with me yesterday. I did however get an uneasy feeling in my gut. What a unique experience.

Delta

2010-03-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

March has literally sprouted wings and just flown by. Yeah, it's true.

Last week I attended a short PNVSCA (Philipppines National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency) conference in Cebu. Yep, yet another acronym to learn in this country. Between the Philippine government and Peace Corps, no letter is left without deeper meaning. Anyways, it was a chance to see some other PC volunteers that I hadn't seen in a while, sleep with aircon, and meet other volunteers from different countries that are also volunteering in the Philippines. Korea, Japan, Australia, and Germany all had respresentatives present.

Last night was also a momentous occasion... graduation! I remember last year coming back from the ceremony, at midnight, and thinking "yeah, I'll definitely be sick next year at graduation time." Well, I forgot, and ended up going again. This year I came back thinking, "10:30 pm is better than midnight, and WOW, don't ever have to go to one of those again!" We had 70 graduating seniors, so the program lasted from 6:00-10:30.

My favorite part of graduation, aside from the end, is watching what must be a universal tendency for teenage students to get annoyed with their parents. It's a tradition here for the parents to also come up on stage when their senior walks to give them their cap and have pictures taken and then shake hands with the administrators and DepEd representative, and I know I saw a couple eye-rolls from students when parents couldn't figure out the front of the cap, or better yet, when they also had an added congratulatory garland to put around their son or daughter's neck and they got so flustered up on stage that they forgot to put it on first... leaving them trying to put this tiny necklace on around their kid's big ol' square topped hat. It's like a thought bubble pops up above the graduate's head saying, "Oh, please, just get this done so I can sit down!" It was cute.

Now for the rest of March. Yep, it's the end of the month so I'm definitely waiting on payday. Aaaand, as soon as the month is over, I get to have a visit from my mom and sister. :) So the faster March can fly the better!

Kindie, my next suggestion will be Condie

2010-03-15T02:33:00.000-07:00

Take a step back in time with me. A few weeks ago my friend Megan came down to visit for the weekend. During that time my host mom, who is the head nurse of the rural health clinic and pretty much in charge of all births that occur in the town, told us that there was a lady in the clinic delivering her baby. We immediately suggested that they should combine Megan and Connie into Cegan for the baby's name. JOKE LANG.

Step back into today, I'm standing on the side of the road waiting to catch a van into Baybay when a lady calls me over and says, "This is my baby Cegan! Cegan Dave! You're dad's name is Dave right?" Why yes, yes his name is Dave. I guess my host mom had added on that part on her own. And yet another thing I enjoy about the Philippines!

Inopacan Central School

2010-03-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

taking down Christmas decorations in the new library room

scrubbing and cleaning at parent's work day, March 12, 2010

The time as come. The time has come for Connie to get off her butt and do another project. :)

So this month I've begun working with Inopacan Central School on their library. I'm not sure if it's because this is an elementary school, I've gotten more experience in dealing with library fundraising, or the parents are just more comfortable with me now that I've been living here for over a year, but MAN! this project is seriously rocking right now. During the past week, Central School has held a parent meeting to inform and brainstorm on how to best deal with the library needs it has. Their decision: a library committee. Last Thursday we held the first meeting, which drew out 6 parents and 2 teacher representatives. I was thoroughly impressed by the turnout. They elected officers for their committee, talked about what makes a "working library" and using the basic steps of Plan, Organize, Act, and Evaluate, have started to create an action plan for the immediate needs.

First on the list, as I'm sure you would guess, is funding. We've decided that solicitation, which on a side note, is how many things in the Philippines are funded, is the way to go. I've drafted a letter that parents will send to family, friends, and neighbors who are living around the world as OFWs, as well as a letter for interested donors in the community. We're hoping that their families and friends can hold book drives and send books via balikbayan boxes as we did for the high school.

Number two on the list, the room. This is where I'm most proud of the library committee so far. The room that was to be used for the library was packed full of old tables and desks. In the space of a week, the room has been emptied of all unnecessary items and cleaned by parent volunteers. Yep, parents showed up with their buckets, brushes, and soap and got busy cleaning up spiderwebs and the unblievable amount of dust that accumulates here. Within a week of having a library committee the library already has had a facelift!

So where does the library stand today? It is probably about 80% ready for books. We still need to work on sturdier shelving and painting, but those aren't immediate needs. Personally, I need to work on a library education program for not only the students but also the adult leaders so they can be aware of all of the amazing possibilities a library brings with it, and lastly, I'm going to work on enjoying being in an elementary school again and getting to know the parents again. I really feel like this project, combined with working at the high school, is going to be a special, memory making way to end my last few months in Inopacan.

Hoover, Connie. "Thank You Again." Leyte: Can You Read Me? Publishing, 2010.

2010-03-10T03:53:00.000-08:00

I know it's been awhile since I talked about the library project that we've worked on at INHS, but that's because it was so successful that I at times forget we haven't always had it; it has honestly just become a norm at the school. I think that is the most that any Peace Corps volunteer can ask for; the project fits into the routine of the locals.

For the past few weeks the library has been filled by fourth year students (seniors in American terms) who are completing their research reports. For the first time, they have books in which to research at school. For example, one girl was researching the Titanic. She was able to not only look in the Encyclopedia, but also found National Geographic magazines, and several non fiction books that were on the shelves. So compared to past years, where students had to travel to other towns to utilize the Internet, they can now spend time at school researching. I think it will also help cut down on the rampant plagiarizing that occurs in the school systems here. Why? Today I overheard that same girl who researched Titanic pointing out to another student how to site from an encyclopedia. In no way am I saying plagiarizing is not happening now, but at least now they're within shouting distance to hear, "HEY, WHERE'S YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY?!!"

All in all, expectations have been raised in this year's research reports. Thank you for that.

sea urchins

2010-03-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went to the island again. This time I went by myself and got tons of questioning looks in response. I know, it sounds kind of weird to go to the beach by myself, but honestly, it's one of my favorite things to do. It's so relaxing and a chance to just sit in the sun and be still. The island is by no means empty, there are many families there, which I always kind of situate myself with in case I do need help, but I've gotten very good with "Oh, I'm very shy" or "I want to get a suntan," which usually gives me an excuse not to hang out with all the people who always invite me to join their parties. This time around, I did hang out with some of the boys who were there for the day. They were great.

They shared their sea urchins with me, which kind of tasted like raw crab.

Job Opportunity!!

2010-03-04T23:57:00.000-08:00

It's March 5, 2010. The school year is quickly approaching its finale, and I CANNOT wait! :) I love my school, really, I do. It's super tiny in Filipino terms (only around 370 students), and if I ever have an idea of special projects or ideas that I want to try, I've never been told no yet. It's a great place to be. BUT MAN O MAN, I am SO ready for sleeping-in days and trips to the beach that are possible Monday through Friday.

Something that has been different the past few months at school, and when I've told people about it back home they ask me if they've understood correctly, is that since January 8th, we have had no principal or school head at the school. Since our school population is so small, we're not required by the Department of Education to have a full fledged principal, but we should have some type of school head who has taken classes in school administration. That being said, we don't have one any more. Why? There is an upcoming election in May, thus all promotions throughout different national agencies have been postponed as of January so that no corruption or questionable advances can be made in connection to the election. I guess if we were going to receive a replacement head, it had to be done the same day that we lost our previous one because that was done on the last day before the deadline.

It's been interesting to see how the school functions without the designated leader. Luckily, one of the teachers, the Officer in Charge (OIC), has stepped in and is doing the administration type work that is obviously needed at a school, particularly during the final weeks when graduation and national achievement tests are to be given.

so, how many more days till summer break? :)

tsunami

2010-02-28T02:28:00.002-08:00

Ripples in a pond. Such a small idea that could literally wipe out neighborhoods, towns, even entire islands when you label those ripples as a tsunami. I caught wind of the massive earthquake in Chile last night (their morning) while I was watching CNN and my ears quickly perked up when I heard Pacific Islands. Wait, THAT'S ME!

It's amazing to think that a tragic natural disaster in one continent can effect a little island in the Philippines on the other side of the world. We got the safety and security text from our SSC guy in Manila to let us know that we were in a Level 2 Tsunami warning, and like the rest of the Pacific basin countries, it became a wait-and-see game. Fortunately my site is on the western side of Leyte, which I'm guessing would be the safest place to be aside for the mountainous center of the island.

The day is now over, and we just got the text from SSC letting us know that the warning is over. I haven't heard of any major, or really minor for that matter, reports of damage in the Philippines. All is well.

I did read however in today's Philippine Inquirer that in 1960 when Chile had their major 9.5 earthquake, it was reported that 24 hours after the quake the Philippines had waves measuring in at up to 6 meters. Those were some major ripples. I'm glad today turned out the way it did.

you should come visit me

2010-02-21T22:17:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's a pretty rough life sometimes...

Can you imagine spending your day on an island where you don't have to think, seas have more than four shades of blue in them, and the sand has a delightful pink hue to it. I mean, I'll admit it, it was REALLY difficult to spend the day as such a beach with my friend who came down for the weekend. VERY VERY DIFFICULT!!!

GRRR, I mean, this is just SUCH a hard way to spend my mid-twenties...

I'M NOT LISTENING

2010-02-16T02:29:00.000-08:00

Some awesome things I've caught myself saying the past few days:

*Francisco, take the plastic bag off your head!

*Get you feet off the window!

*Don't jump out the window!

*Keep your arms inside the window!

*Don't spit in the classroom!

I mean, I've said good things too, but these stick out the most in my head.

Marshmellow Friends

2010-02-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

Prom 2010

Third Year Students

Graduating Class 2010

The end of the school year is quickly approaching, which means that PROM is in the air! Last night was the big night for the third and fourth year students. This was my second prom, and by far the coolest thing for me personally, was the fact that I...after so many months of being in country and show at thing up early...I mean, American time... for everything... actually arrived around the same time as the other teachers (a cool 19 minutes behind schedule)!

Did you hear me?! Yes, it's true! I used to wonder how everybody knew when to show up late at the same time, and I have adapted well enough to be late with the best of them! I think this shows some real personal growth, right?! :)

Prom was fun yet again. It was probably even more fun this year due to the fact that I had actually gotten a chance to teach and get to know the students who were this year's Third Year Class. So all my "sheets OF PAPER" boys were dressed up, including Rainier who was rocking a baby pink suit and title "Star of the Night." His costar was Queenie, who had a beautiful lavender ballgown. They were a cute little pair of peeps.

Really, the only sad part of the night was when I realized that I wasn't going to get to see my second year students dress up for Prom 2011. Guess we'll just have to set up some type of live Internet stream...cause yep, big news, Inopacan is supposed to get Internet within the next few months!

Sinulog Pictures

2010-02-10T00:47:00.000-08:00

Each group that presents will have a Queen that is always holding a Santo Nino figure.

Costumes are AMAZING!

I think, and you can totally correct me if I'm wrong, but these might be "the heathens" before Santo Nino was introduced to the islands. Whoever they were, they were hilarious and fun to pose with.

One of the queens

The parade lasted for 9 hours as bands, dance troops and floats marched through Cebu City.

These were girls who were just about to preform at the grandstand where they would be judged. All presentation stops at noon for a lunch break. I loved their flowers!

Sinulog always has the best performers. Costumes, routines, and precision is key.

Saturday night during Sinulog. IT WAS PACKED!!

Mass on Saturday night of Sinulog. I've never been in such a densely packed crowd before. At the end of the service, the priests lead the crowd with "Viva Senior Santo Nino!" or "Viva Pit Senior!"

The men here are wearing malongs, which are found more in the Mindanao region of the country.

i don't know who 'they' is

2010-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

They say that there are two seasons here, the dry season and the wet season. They say that the wet season is from October to June, and the rest is dry. I guess there's some general truth to this. As I've said before in other posts, there were points during January that were sunless for over a week stretch, but once the sun breaks through the weather could be any other day during that dry season. The only truth that I think you can say about the weather here is that no matter what month, you can count on it being hot.

Connie's Hot Scale:

November- December: It's Hot
January: Can't walk to school without Sweating Hot
February-March- It's so Frickin' Hot
April-July: I'll Drive 3 hours to Taclobon just to sit in the Airconditioned Mall Hot
August-October: I Think I can Make it till the New Year Hot

solution: halo halo.

don't knock cockfighting until you've lived next to a guy with over a dozen roosters in his front yard

2010-02-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

I can't prove it, but while I was gone for Christmas vacation, I think the rooster population on my street may have quadrupled. This is probably the biggest hurdle I've had to get over since returning . I quickly readjusted to lack of aircon, crowded transportation, and work, but man, these roosters are about to drive me crazy. I've taken to counting the number of crows I hear in a 60 second time period. The other day, it was 9pm, and I heard 9 calls. Then at 11pm, I heard 10 calls. When it was 4:30 am the next morning, I got up to 35 rooster crows. It's almost like a continuous rooster call, because by the time one rooster finished, three other have already started.

My solution: Let's up the cockfighting folks.

Let's take a drive

2010-01-29T17:45:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we took a walk, so this Saturday, let's take a drive.

I've been in the Philippines for 17 months, I think, and riding the buses are normal now. For example, I didn't blink an eye this morning when I got onto one of the smaller buses that runs up and down the coast of Leyte, and joined 33 other people that were on the bus that was built for 24. I thought nothing of the entire back bench of the bus being filled from floor to ceiling with old pig feed bags (basically plastic burlap bags) that were stuffed with seaweed. The guy smoking next to me on the bus didn't really bother me, ok, well maybe a little, but at least he was right next to the window and most of the smoke got carried away with the wind. I liked seeing the traveling salesmen who were hauling their pots to sell, from town to town, hoping to come home with pockets full and hands empty. And I was excited when the kid in front of me turned on his cellphone to play music... and even more excited when the music Low.

And finally, it was fun because this bus scored high on my "How Filipino is my Ride?" game. Points are given for the number of rosaries, stuffed animals, Christmas lights, other religious figures, draperies, music, and number of livestock that can be seen in the vehicle. As you've gathered from above, music was present, but it wasn't Low, so the points were not as high. The bus did have 2 rosaries hanging, so that was double points, and it also had a Sto. Nino figure. The draperies were floral print and hung above the windshield, but sadly no Christmas lights were plugged in to work off the brake lights. On the bright side however, there were multiple stuffed animals suction cupped below the drapes. All in all, a high scorer!

My mom and sister are supposed to be visiting in April, I can't wait to play this game with them. :)

Tra-la-la-la!

2010-01-25T02:47:00.001-08:00

So I was hanging out at the school's canteen today before the 10 minute recess began, drinking some buko juice, and got to see one of the funniest mosquito slaps ever. There's one lady who comes to the school everyday to sell the best bananque ever. She's really sweet, I like her a lot. She was standing behind her bamboo table that was piled high with delicious treats when Swynford, one of the second year students, walked up to her. She says, "Come closer. Closer." He hesitantly inches forward, not sure what's going on, when all of a sudden WHAM! Out of nowhere, the sweet banaque lady slaps him on the cheek. Swynford kind of had this look of shock, like, "What did I do?! I just wanted some bananauqe!" She brings her hand away, and in the center of her palm is the splatter of blood from the mosquito that had been on his cheek. I start laughing because for some reason this is the funniest thing I've seen all day, the lady chuckles, and Swynford is left wiping off the aftermath from his face with this look of horror. In short, Bananaque Lady saves the day!

let's take a walk

2010-01-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

A walk to school takes only about 10 minutes. It's actually a pretty nice walk down the residential street I live on, take a right turn, and I find myself on the road that leads to the school. I definitely see things on my way to school that I hope I always remember, because well, they're so simple and not things that I would ever get to see in America. Here's what I saw during my walk yesterday on my way to open the library for Story Time:

coconut palms everywhere, the house where one of my students lives (they have 2 sets of twin boys, plus 2 other sons. The boys have chicken pox right now, but it doesn't stop them. Yesterday they were still running around outside, climbing trees, and having a grand time), a carabao lazily plodding down the street with a cart full of dirt harnesd to him, one little boy, probably around 2 and a half, who always waves to me. (His wave is awesome. He keeps his fingers tightly bunched together, fully extends his arm out towards me, and waves his hand in short spastic motions. It always makes me laugh.), the school gate locked, yet again, rooster calls (I timed it, I heard 30 rooster calls in 1 minute... no joke.) the library kids running up the hill, and Daisy Jane saying, "Ma'am Connie, I think we'll have to walk around the back and climb through the fence again," moms rushing out to take their clothes in from the line before the rain starts, and carabao prints in the mud.

exams

2010-01-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

this was periodical exams week at school

i never realized as a student that my teachers may feel so down during this time

that was a lot of work preparing for the exam

one kid got 0%, anwered every question, and still got a 0%

i saw kids in class this week that hadn't been there since the last periodical exam

blah

i think next time i'll give points for putting their names on the paper

Sinulog @ 30

2010-01-20T02:06:00.000-08:00

Manila is the largest city in the Philippines, but next on the list is Cebu City. Cebu is in the Visayan region, which is the same region as my site in Leyte. This past weekend, Cebu had their 30th annual Sinulog festival. I'm so glad I was able to go this year, it was quite an experience!

Sinulog is the fiesta for Santo Nino. Santo Nino is the figure of baby Jesus, or really more toddler Jesus. The story that I was told by my host family is that when the Spanish arrived in Cebu over 300 years ago, a figure of Santo Nino was given to the Natives. The figure was taken back when the Spanish left, but eventually made it's way back into the possession of the Cebuanos. It is the figure of Santo Nino that now brings millions of Filipnos to the streets of Cebu in celebration.

My co-teacher told me that Cebu has around 2,000,000 residents, but during this event an estimated 8,000,000 people packed the streets shouting, "Viva Pit Senor!" The weekend's schedule was filled with religious events, pageants, and street dancing. My favorite event was definitely the street dancing. Dancing troupes from all over the country came to participate in the parade and street dancing competition. The parade took 9 hours! The costumes were amazing and it was obvious that countless hours and pesos were put into creating the works of art. The costumes were all Filipino styled, ranging from the Spanish inspired to the Native ones with nipa hats.

As soon as I get to a place with high-speed Internet, I'll try to post some pictures.

precipitation

2010-01-14T23:14:00.000-08:00

It started raining on Monday, it's now Friday afternoon, and I desperately need some sunshine!

I remember this time of year last year being pretty gloomy also. The rain makes things a little complicated at times. For instance, walking to school becomes less enjoyable. I've finally given up on the concept of saving money and just pay the 5 pesos for a put-put (taxi bicycle) ride to and from school. The drivers of the put-put, which gets its name for the sound of the horn that is attached to the bike, puts plastic up around the passenger seat, as well as around the driver portion. It's like being pedaled around town with a shower curtain wrapped around you. It somewhat keeps the rain off you, and by far better than walking and having the mud splatter up on the back of your pants. I have yet to master the act of walking without splashing.

Umbrellas are also big business right now. The students all bring them to school, which is true on days where there is no rain but rather rays of scorching sun, and will leave them hanging on the bars that cover the windows. The umbrellas line the windows like a Skittle's rainbow of different colors and patterns.

Another result of the rainy season is the pile of laundry that is quickly stacking up in my bathroom. The clouds and rain don't offer much in the way of drying my laundry, so I've given up. Washing will begin again when the sunny skies return.

It may sound all gloom, but with all this rain comes cool weather, so it's not all totally bad.

adios bananaque :(

2010-01-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

So, with the New Year having gotten off to a pretty good start, it's time to really get down to those resolutions. According to Wikipedia, which everyone knows is ALWAYS accurate and should NEVER be doubted, roughly 64% of Americans are overweight or obese. It's the big elephant in the room that most Americans are completely aware of and are content at just letting it stand there.

I'm not obese, but I'm definitely not skinny either. I'm kind of in the middle where the resolution every New Years is to eat less and exercise more, and never really go very far. But why? Probably because in comparison to other Americans, I'm not the heaviest, so I don't feel an extreme pressure to be the smallest person. Plus, in America I'm never told directly, "Connie, you need to lose weight. You're fat!"

But yeah, that's in America. In the Philippines it seems that all physical appearances are open for discussion, and yes, that includes the dreaded phrase, "You're fat." My favorite example of this was this past November. The school had just finished their monthly mass, and as usual the priest and teachers sat down for snack afterwards. The priest sat at the head of the table and asked me to sit down next to him. As I start to sit in the chair, he so eloquently says, "Connie, you're getting so fat. You're bigger than before." Soooooo not as cool as when the other priest had told me I was getting "sexier and sexier" earlier in the year. I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out, but instead I pulled out my cellphone and started rapidly texting another volunteer to gain some reassurance that I am indeed not near obesity.

I've heard other volunteers say they've also received blunt statements on physical appearance. I understand that the priest meant to say that, oh, you're looking 'healthy' and you must be having fun because you've packed on a couple pounds since the last time I've seen you. But at the same time, I know my extra pounds would have been politely overlooked in America. Sometimes I really miss that discrete overlook.

As you can imagine, coming back from America after the Christmas season has opened the door to numerous "you're fat" moments since my return. So, here it comes, the resolution for 2010... once again, lose weight. At least this time around I'll have lots of feedback from the people around me... just hopefully of the more positive nature :)

MISSING PASALUBONG!!!!

2010-01-05T23:40:00.000-08:00

What could possibly be the worst thing to happen when traveling back to the Philippines? Yep, you got it, the airlines leaving your pasalubong bag in Chicago while you continue to travel on to Hong Kong and then Manila. It's not cool folks, not cool.

Pasalubong is the gift that you bring back to all the people you know in the Philippines. It's a pretty big thing, and expectations are held by many of the people you live near, work with, or saw a couple times in town. You can bring back all types of stuff, like clothes, candy, money, or games. As long as you have something to give, I think, from what I've gathered in my time here so far, you'll be ok. But when you don't have the pasalubong, oh man, I've already heard some grumbles through the grapevine.

All I can say to the people is, please, be patient... the bag is making its way to Leyte, and I have to drive the 3 hours back to Taclobon tomorrow to pick it up at the airport, but it's acomin!

let the jet lag begin!

2010-01-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Aaand I'm back. Christmas vacation is over, and it's back to land of fiestas and mangos.

I really enjoyed being home for Christmas and my mom's birthday. Things really hadn't changed that much; the inside jokes were all the same, and Tijuana Flatt's is still the best place to eat. I guess I'd go as far to say that Christmas 2009 became my new favorite Christmas.

I'll write more later, but for now, know that I made it back safely.

longest day ever

2009-12-11T02:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas vacation time! After 20+ hours of flying, some exciting airport food, and serious temperature shock, I made it back to Florida. Christmas vacation has officially started, and readjustment into American culture is well in progress. My first thoughts: a lot of people wear the color black, it seems like less people smile (or at least airport workers), and WOW it's super clean! I love me some clean public bathrooms :)

I must go now, giant portion sizes are calling!

i forgot the capabilities of fast internet

2009-12-08T16:19:00.001-08:00

sunset at Digyo Island on camping trip

Guacamole night with my students

Thanksgiving Dinner. We got to have pictures with the turkey prior to killing and cooking.

English Month '09, We had pre-school classes visit the library on field trips and the high school students helped read stories to them.

mid way through the acronyms

2009-12-06T02:47:00.000-08:00

MST is almost upon us. Mid-Service Training is when volunteers meet with Peace Corps Staff and hear old and new information. There always to seem to the big reminders they want to pass on: don't skip your malaria pills, don't ride motorcycles, don't visit Mindanao. They're also supposed to be telling us some new stuff, like elections. I'm kind of interested in that. It's looking to be a pretty interesting time in the upcoming months.

The past couple days I've been in Manila. WOW. Coming from Leyte, where the main roads are 2 lanes and transportation is in a bus that has missing parts of the floorboards or a van that is made for 11 passengers but routinely smushes 15 people in, this place is just that, WOW. Traffic is everywhere, people are everywhere, and every sink I've used has automatically not only had water but water pressure to go with it. I went shopping today and rode a taxi back with some friends... and they wouldn't move the car until 3 people got out because of capacity limits. HUH?! Whatever happened to, "There's always room for one more?" I know, I can't believe I'm somewhat complaining about that. Craziness on my part. I guess I've just gotten too used to practically sitting in the lap of the person next to me, I'm sure I'll quickly readjust to personal space.

Shopping in Manila is the name of the game. I've spent more in the past 3 days than in the past 3 months at site. The beauty of living in Leyte is the easiness of saving cash, and limited places to spend it. I have fully taken advantage of the shopping possibilities here, and really the only thing that limits me is the baggage weight limit. Luckily, international flights allow more :)

turkey on the table, with a head

2009-11-30T02:29:00.001-08:00

Turkey day came and went, and guess what, you couldn't really tell it was Thanksgiving. Peace Corps does not get American holidays off. Well, that statement can be misleading... let me clarify, Peace Corps Volunteers do not get American holidays off from work. So the last Thursday of November came and went like any other work day.

The volunteers living nearby did of course gather together to celebrate this special holiday together during the weekend. Last year we gathered at a PCVs site for our "Very Leyte Thanksgiving," and this year we switched locations to nearby Biliran for another great feast. We had lots of American favorites like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey (except here we got to take pictures with the live Mr. Gobbler prior to slicing, plucking, dressing, turning on a spit, and eating ), cranberry sauce, plus some Filipino favorites like biko (rice dessert), pancit (noodles with seasoning, meat, and some vegetables), rice, crabs, and manok (chicken). There was tons more, sooo lamit kaayo (very delicious).

One of the best parts is getting to see all your fellow PCV friends. We talked and laughed, and of course ate. We reminisced, talked about friends we miss, and got to know a new friend who was placed at a nearby site. We stayed at a nearby hotel, visited a nearby tropical paradise island, snorkeled, sunbathed, and ate some more. One cool thing that we got to do was use MAGIC... magicJack that is. My parents sent me this miracle phone jack thing that lets you make free international calls when plugged into high speed Internet. So phone calls were made back home, which made thanks giving even more. Nothing was very rushed or stressful, so I guess this year's theme could have been "Very Laid Back Thanksgiving," Gotta tell ya, totally the way to go.

duck eats worm, people eat duck, all around bad day for worm.

2009-11-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

My host mom is the head nurse at the Rural Health Unit, or the RHU. She made a visit to the school this week to pass out deworming pills to all the students. As I saw her passing out the medicine, I just thought how different the priorities are here compared to in America. Hookworms, roundworms, and pinworms are all everyday realities for many of the students, and for the public health center to give out free medicine is extremely helpful for the families who would not be able to afford to seek treatment . During my schooling, I never remember hearing about worms, but I do recall putting on the bulky headphones for hearing tests and the 7th grade scoliosis test. Very different than the immediate needs you find here.

Other happenings this week included my first, and admittedly long overdue, taste of balot. Back when I was still in the application/nomination/I can’t remember it was so long ago and frustrating process, I did the basic google search of The Philippines. One of the big hits was always balot. There’s just something about the eating of fertilized duck eggs that attracts the average google user I guess. I know a lot of volunteers tried the hardboiled duckies as soon as they landed, but I am a self-diagnosed picky eater. I probably would have tried it earlier but it’s been out of site, out of mind and it wasn’t until I was talking to my host mom that Iremembered I always meant to try it. I’ve learned that once something is mentioned to my host mom it’s immediately done. So the next day she bought bllot for me and a group of students that came over. The overall verdict: not bad. The juice was the best part, and the worst part was this hard egg white portion that was slightly gag-ilicious. I think I’d rather eat balot again than try the chicken legs on a stick. I’m not to that point yet.

a-z

2009-11-17T02:59:00.000-08:00

a) i forgot what a GAP bag looks like, b) underwear for thanksgiving has never been so cool, c) American q-tips are just better, d) i threw my back out and would like it to come back in, e) i really like how if Love Story, White Horse, or Fifteen comes on the radio the conversation halts and singing commences, f) 23 days, g) my new favorite vegetables are eggplant and okra, h) if it’s not fried or have condensed milk in it i might not eat it, i) handwritten letters are special, j) my magic scale has turned on me, k) i’m reading the book ‘tis at the moment, l) i have a nasty addiction to coke, m) i’m trying to decide when is the best time to buy a house, n) the students are excited about new moon, o) some students are reading the book new moon, p) i have no control in the second year second section class, q) i love my other 3 classes, r) my grammar is becomingly increasingly worser..., s)my host mom claims manny pacquiao is from our town, t)mid-service training –mst- is quickly approaching, u) the kraft macaroni and cheese arrived in time for the thanksgiving feast, v) i opened the door to my host mom’s house this afternoon and found her sitting like 2 feet from the door, getting a life-size Virgin Mary dressed (one of the funniest moments of my life, she laughed too), w) i miss my mom and dad a lot, x) i wonder how much i’ve changed since i’ve left home, y) white malaria pills are THE worst and i feel guilty having them available when we don’t have malaria here and other people have the malaria but not the nasty white malaria pills, and finally, z) the new tv seasons are starting to be shown

so close to 100%

2009-11-13T02:27:00.000-08:00

This isn't a funny Filipino story; just a funny teaching story. In my first year, second section class today we had a vocabulary test. I first call out the words that they were given at the beginning of the week, they write them down, and then they use the words to fill in sentences. Pretty old fashioned, I know, but just the idea of a type of an evaluation each week is a somewhat foreign idea at times.

So I had called all 10 words out, and asked if they would like me to repeat any of them. Of course they said, yes, all of them, so I start to go through and repeat. "Number 1, freedom. Number 2, emulate. Number 3, draft. Number 4, revolution." At this point, I hear one little boy, Roben, shout, "YES!!!" I look down and he's put check marks next to each of the words I've called out. He looks up at me with a smile, excitedly awaiting the next word I call out, hoping he'll get Number 5 correct.

Yep, good thing I was just REPEATING the words aloud that will be checked later for correct spelling. I kind of tilted my head and gave him this look that said, “but wait a second…” After that second, Roben finally realized what he was doing wrong. He slaps his forehead with his hand and just shakes his head. Too funny.

David Letterman

2009-11-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

In high school, my best friend and I used to write our top ten moments for the year down in our yearbooks. It kind of helps remind you why you are the way you are now. Today marks the one year point of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. Here are this year’s top ten:

Top 10 Moments of Peace Corps: Year 1

10. Singing Hanson songs with Willard and MariBeth. No judgment, all Mmmbop.

9. Seeing my first movie in Ormoc. It’s like a 2 hour bus ride to Ormoc, which is the closest large city. After probably a month at site, I told my host family I was going to visit it on my own. The ride there gave me this awesome feeling of independence. A day trip by myself into uncharted territory was nothing short of amazing. I explored the city, found a 50 peso theater, and watched Twilight in the air-conditioning. Aahhhhh.

8. Dinosaurs at Jesus’ birth. Last Christmas, I looked down at my host mother’s manger scene she had displayed and saw where the house helper’s son but a stegosaurus next to the sheep and cows. It made me laugh.

7. Riding a bus with Jasmine and watching a guy offer our bus driver beer. Don’t worry mom, he declined.

6. Cooking lessons at Dovie’s. Bananque, fish, buko salad. I’m one step closer to diabetes, but at least it was delicious getting there.

5. Digyo. Inopacan is known for having 3 islands off its coast, and the very last one is named Digyo. It’s beautiful, with white sand beaches and a marine sanctuary for snorkeling. Definitely a cool place to go camping…you know you want to come and visit it!

4. Valentine’s Day. I really love my students.

3. Watching any type of beauty pageant or dance routine. Have you ever seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine? You know the part where she does her dance routine for the talent competition; it’s kind of like that.

2. Friends. Some are still here, some have gone back, and some I’ll be seeing super super soon!

1. Library. I love the fact that the books inside of it came from people that I love back home for new people that I’ve come to love here. It truly has made a difference for a lot of kids, and helped me get through my first year here.

Advanced Happy New Millenium

2009-11-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

Mark it on the calendar. Today I got my first "Advance Merry Christmas." A student told it to me during class this morning. I just laughed. Dude, it's the first week of November, but thank you very much!

People are always saying "advanced so and so" or "Happy belated whatever." It's kind of nice, like they want you to think of them later on, and they really do wish you that extra happiness. I'll get other sayings from students, like "advanced good evening," when all I'm doing is walking back to the house for lunch.

But by far, my favorite advanced greeting has to be the one that followed today's Merry Christmas. Not to be outdone by the eager wisher, the kid next to him followed with, "and Advanced Happy New Year!"

candlelight

2009-11-01T05:14:00.000-08:00

November 1 is celebrated as All Saint’s Day. Tomorrow is All Soul’s Day. Last year at this time we were leaving our training sites about to be sworn in as volunteers, so this year is my first year at site for the holiday. My host mom has been busy getting the family mausoleum retiled and in shape for the big day. She and her brother have taken a lot of time to prepare to celebrate their relatives and the saints that have passed away.

Tonight, we had a big dinner at her house with all of her family and then at 7 there was a mass held in the cemetery. When I say big dinner, I mean BIG, and with lots of people. I usually end up sitting next to my host uncle and his wife during meals like this. He has a tendnecy to make sure I try everything on the table. He'll even go as far as to crack the crabs for me and just place the crab meat on my plate. I don't know if he doesn't think I can do it myself, or if he's just being really helpful...either way, yum.

The mass at the cemetery was really like nothing I've ever been to in America. It is at this old cemetery packed with adults and kids, candles of all sizes burning on headstones or ornate candle holders. Everybody listens to the service and then most will settle in to spend the night among the graves.

Probably the one snapshot memory that I'll always keep in my head was a group of men and boys sitting on top of a double stacked vault, playing cards, with a sidewinding palm tree and the full moon in the packground. Seeing the place lit with candles was amazing, and made it a special memory.

so, i'm open to suggestions for topic ideas...

2009-10-31T03:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's official, October may have been the lowest blogging month so far in my 14 months of Peace Corps. Lately, the questions that have been filling my mind are: Why does October have to have 31 days in it? How long till I get to come home for Christmas? and How can I live in the Philippines and STILL be so pale?

Answers: Who knows, 40 days!, and maybe I really am albino?

November starts tomorrow, which makes today Halloween. I kind of forgot about it. My sister called to wish me a Happy Halloween and I realized my mental calendar was a day behind. YAY! So, anyways, I wore my orange pumpkin shirt and ate some extra pieces of candy. They don’t really celebrate the holiday here, but tomorrow will be All Saint’s Day, then followed by All Soul’s Day. Wait, wait, yep. Those sound like future blogging topics. Perhaps the blogging dry-spell has finally ended; we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

stop. drop. and i should have brought my ipod!

2009-10-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you get a phone call from your warden that gives instructions to drop what you're doing and go to your safety consolidation point? ha, first you complain. SERIOUSLY? I got plans man. I had to leave my school's Math/MAPEH Month presentation. I mean, really, I had to walk out during their opening number of girls dancing to Lady GaGa while holding meter sticks and protractors. I may not have a chance to experience something like ever again in my life... or at least not until the next DepEd sponsored month festivities...

Second, you ask, is anything wrong? Answer: Nope, just a safety drill, but you got to leave NOW. Ok, I'm out the door, grabbing the passport and cell phone charger and dramamine for the cruddy 2-3 hour mountain drive it takes to get to our checkpoint; in other words, DUDE, IT'S LIKE THE AMAZING RACE! I totally could have won it too, if it hadn't been a non-elimination round.

So, for everybody who wonders (MOM, plus all my church lady looker-outers), what do you do if there's an emergency? That's it. No worries :)

Word of the Day

2009-10-08T02:44:00.001-07:00

I was walking back to school after lunch today when I met one of my students half way. His name is Alfie. He's a really sweet kid. He's always kind and fun-loving, just an all around good kid. As we were walking, I reminded him that he has a vocabulary test tomorrow. In response, he took out his vocabulary notebook and I quizzed him as we walked.

Each week they get ten words that are from stories that are in their textbooks or other sources that we use. A few from this week's list are: glimpse, cumbersome, arid, humid, and ferocious. Those words were all taken from their textbook.

Anyways, back to Alfie. We had just about finished our walk, and were approaching the hill that the school rests on. Just as we were about to start the trek up, a motorcycle zoomed by us with one of the other teachers riding on the back. You could hear the strain of the engine as the bike made its way up the hill.

Without missing a beat, Alfie turned to me and said, "Sir George is cumbersome!"

End of the Week... Super Tired

2009-10-02T03:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday was my site visit by not only my regional manager, but also a pcmo and our Philippine country director. They came for a couple hours to chat, observe me co-teaching with my counterpart, tour the school, and eat lunch with my host mom. It was great to have a break from the norm, and they brought Tootsie Rolls, which is always a plus :)

They were all really positive about the library. I introduced them to some of the students who have helped organize books and have taken an interest in the project. It was amazing to watch one student, Denise, describe what she got from reading the teenage edition of Three Cups of Tea. The fact that she a) read the story from cover to cover b) could summarize the accounts c) tell her reaction and thoughts and finally d) do all of this in front of foreigners made me so incredibly proud. She is one of the students who came during the summer to help organize and also comes on Saturdays to help with the little kids.

Friday became our first day of "Reading Buddies." This is what I love/sometimes don't love about my site. I say something or think out loud, and then BAM it's somehow made reality; usually with me running to catch up. So earlier this week I said we need to get high school students to go to the elementary school and read them stories. So now every Monday, Wednesday, Friday I've got to get 30 high schoolers to Central Elementary by 4:15. It's going to be great, and the elementary school is really excited about it, but getting the routine of it down is a little rocky at the moment. Today wasn't a disaster though, so I have hope that it'll be smooth by the end of next week.

Another fun thing, my counterpart's daughter's pre-school class is planning to visit the library for a field trip! FIELD TRIP!! I'm so excited!

September 30

2009-09-30T02:50:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to think of the best way to describe birthdays in the Philippines. I guess the best word to use for mine today was "Homemade." For all the card holidays, like Valentines and birthdays, the students always all out to make it special in their own personal ways. For example, when I walked downstairs this morning, the kids had put a poster saying, "Happy Birthday Ma'am Connie Hoover" in my living room. I later asked when they put it in there, and they're like, oh, around 5am. That is some dedication!

They also made each class today spcial. When I stepped into my first class, Jundie, one of my students had his guitar and everybody broke out with 3 rounds of Happy Birthday. My second class had collected flowers to throw at me...some throwers were a little overzealous...but all in good fun! Then my third class gave me red hibiscuses. I got cards, letters, necklaces made out of flowers, balloons on sticks, all the little things that made it a very special day.

Then to top it off, my host mom went birthday crazy. I got a special breakfast, lunch, 4 cakes, banana splits, pizza, yikes. I'm literally about to explode. I think I'm going to need another 364 days to recover!

Ketsana

2009-09-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

The big news in the Philippines right now is the weather. There has been massive flooding in the capital Manila due to tropical storm Ketsana. Apparently this is the most rain that the area has gotten in over 40 years, and due to poor drainage systems, parts of the city have been reported as having 20 feet of standing water. Almost half a million people are displaced and the death count, which is around 100, is still rising. It's not a good situation.

The weather in Leyte however has been pretty mild. A couple days ago when the storm system was passing nearby, we had some thunderstorms during the night that made me jump out of my skin, and a couple of blissful days with no sun, but nothing like Manila's forecast.

75

2009-09-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that is for sure, September has flown by! I never thought I'd be able to say that about any month while I was in Peace Corps, but the time really is going quickly. Which is awesome, cause in 75 days I'll be heading home for Christmas!! Yep, 75 days; you can start making reservations at Olive Garden now, cause I plan on camping out in their parking lot the majority of the time I'm home. :)

The only thing that's been out of the ordinary lately was I visited another volunteer's site to help at a training she was hosting. I did an afternoon session about teaching strategies for vocabulary development, narrative text, and informational text. There were about 50 high school and elementary school teachers from a nearby town that came to listen. It was a good experience.

My favorite moment of the presentation was during the time I was reading the book, The Most Beautiful Thing in the World. It's a folktale from China all about 3 princes who must go out and find the most beautiful thing and bring it back to their father to earn the crown. The teachers were supposed to listen and then we were going to use different strategies to help with vocabulary development. Anyways, I got to the second prince's experience and he finds a cave with an enormous dragon in it. I asked the teachers, what would you do about the dragon? Without missing a beat, all of these middle aged women (plus one guy) wearing their DepEd uniforms, looking downtrodden from being in meetings all day, yell out, "KILL THE DRAGON!" Too funny.

This upcoming week should also be fun. It will include banana splits, mail, and a site visit from PC staff. I know, I can hardly wait!

yeah, pollyanna would be jealous...

2009-09-12T02:42:00.000-07:00

Some days are good days, and some days are bad days. It seems like September 2009, while it’s only the 12th, is going much quicker than September 2008 did. This leads me to believe that the number of good days are finally outweighing the bad days! :)

Honestly, the good days have been around for a few months now. On a regular workday I’m pretty content to go to school, eat lunch, go back to school, and then watch tv when I get back to the house around 5. While I’m at school I really enjoy getting to talk to some of the kids, and reading with them in the library. The days where everybody is afraid to talk to me are long gone, and again, that makes the days bright.

On the weekend days, like today, I would describe a good day as one where I get to go into BayBay or Tacloban and do a little shopping, eat a few French fries, and go up to the school in the afternoon to do Library Time.

Today, was a good day. I went into BayBay in the morning to buy some seafood at the market and was back in town by lunch. I invited my host mom over for a home cooked meal. I made spaghetti with some sautéed scallops, shrimp, okra, tomatoes, and onion. I wasn’t sure if she’d like it, cause as I’ve said before, my recipes tend to flop, but she seemed to enjoy it. I even bought some French bread at Maayong’s Breadshop and showed her how Italian restaurants will give bread with olive oil and herbs. She told me, “You know all the secrets!!” Haha, yeah… I’m down with Macaroni Grill.

Next I headed to the school for Library Time. I used to call this the volunteer pre-school, but I’m not sure if that’s the most appropriate name. The students’ ages are between 3 and 9, so it’s probably safer to just say Library Time. Whatever the name is, today’s was amazing! The past couple weeks we’ve had to cancel it, and it’s frustrating some Saturdays when not enough high school students show up and I’m outnumbered by little munchkins, but today those little guys had no hope. 15 high school students came to help!! That’s by far the highest number so far. I had them sit down and read them a story, pointing out how to use expression and ask questions as I read. Then I sent them down the hill to bring back one kid each. Those are the odds I like!

The story time went smoothly, snack had no problems (and all the trash went into the trashcan…which seems like it shouldn’t be such a big accomplishment, yet it is), and the kids went crazy over the new toys that came in the last balikbayan boxes. Puzzles seem to be the big winners so far, with Memory a close second.

By the time the kids went home it was about 4:30. 2 ½ hours of no major dilemmas or drama means, yes, a good day. And then to top it all of, one of my students, Leo, shared his sugar cane with me on the way back to the house. Gotta love that!

"I would have felt sad." - RoseMarie

2009-09-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure if I would introduce the idea of 9/11 to the students here, but I really believe in signs. I walked into the library today, and the first book I saw was September 12th: We Knew Everything Would be Alright and then I turned open our text book and the topic for today was reading to understand other people's feelings...which yes, I took as major signs to take the time to share such an important event in America's history.

As I told the story of the morning of September 11, the students listened attentively. We talked about the ideas of innocence, terrorism, violence, and "putting yourself in somebody else's shoes." The kids know about terrorism in certain parts of the Philippines, so I think that kind of helped them relate to the situation.

I'm so glad that somebody decided to send that book for the library! Being able to share it with the first and second year students and then to have a conversation with them about how we can learn lessons from such devestation was a moment I think I will always remember.