precipitation

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 :(

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!!!!

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!

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

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

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

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 :)