Posted Pics

Just a note to tell you that I posted some pictures on Autumn's blog. The address is http://aaa.textamerica.com/

In addition to seeing a few of my pictures, you can also see some of my BEAUTIFUL grandson!!

Handog and Prayers

We had our going away "Handog" for our host families last Saturday. A handog is a party or celebration in honor of some special event. All of the trainees and our host families met at NVSU on Saturday morning. We played games - musical chairs, island hop, rock-paper-scissors tournament, line basketball with wadded paper, and water-balloon toss. Filipinos LOVE to play games and are very competitive. It was fun.

After the games, we had speeches and certificate presentations. Each cluster chose one host family member to speak on behalf of that cluster's host families. Our cluster chose Manang Norma, my host sister. She was funny. Whenever I asked her if she would mind speaking briefly at our handog she said, "Oh of course I will. I have already prepared an outline in anticipation that I would be asked to speak." What a woman. Then she told me that she really wanted to go first, so would I please arrange it. Oh my, what a woman. When I got to NVSU, I managed to convince them to rearrange the schedule so that she could speak first. And so it went. She spoke. . . and spoke. . . and spoke. First in English, then Ilokano, then back to English. And finally, she was finished. Like I said . . . what a woman.

That afternoon, she hosted a "thanksgiving prayer meeting" at her house. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced because I'm not Catholic. It was really cool, though. About 25 women gathered in her living room. We sat barefoot on the floor and recited prayers by call and response. Some of them, like the Lord's prayer, were familiar to me. Others were not. But the entire experience was peaceful and calm. On a table in front, there was a statue of Mary with three burning candles. Surrounding Mary were offerings of rice, coconut, boiled eggs, pancit (rice noodles), cooked meat, glasses of water, a San Miguel beer, and a plate of cigarettes. I felt blessed to participate in this ceremony because I could feel the faith of the women as they prayed in unison. It was powerful and I am thankful for it. It was also a time for me to personally reflect on all that I am thankful for - and that's a lot.

It may be a while before I get to post again as this is a busy time. Take care and keep writing. I'll be back ASAP!

Getting Close

I've been in country for almost two months now and pre-service training is rapidly coming to an end. I'm feeling a mixture of things. On one hand, it feels like I've been here much longer than two months and on the other hand, I can't believe how fast the time has flown.

I feel excited and overwhelmed and nervous and sad and happy . . . all at the same time. I'm really looking forward to life in Kapangan and to all the challenges that working in the High School and in the community will bring. But I also feel anxious about much of my assignment. We don't receive our "technical training" for three months. All the training we have had so far has been in language and community entry skills. This is because for our first three months at site Peace Corps wants us to focus on establishing and developing good relationships with our coworkers and people in our communities. I'm just a bit concerned that my supervisor wants me to "get to work" as soon as I arrive and that I won't have all the knowledge that I need yet. Oh well. I have a feeling that Human Relations degree might come in handy after all :-)

And I'm feeling a bit blue about leaving my cluster mates and the other 15 trainees that are in Northern Luzon. We have had lots of good times together and having each other has really helped with the transition into this place. It's tough enough to be one of four Americans in a community. I have a feeling that being the only one will be interesting. Kind of like living in a fish bowl. Not to mention that internet is at least two hours away (depending on the road). Maybe some of you will write me letters! That would be great.

I also feel sad about leaving my current host family. Mrs. Norma Dalire has been an entertaining and most gracious hostess. She is funny and blunt and kind and compassionate and bold and daring and strong and ornery. Kind of like me. That's probably why I like her so much! And the rest of the people that live in the compound have all become precious to me, too. The other night I was staying at NVSU in Bayombong. Grace, one of the 15 year old girls that lives there texted me to ask "Madam Tracy, when are you coming home?" That just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I will also miss Manang Winnie and Ading Susan. (Manang and ading mean older and younger sister - both are terms of respect.) Winnie and Susan are the house helpers. They cook for me and wash my clothes and get me tricycles in the morning and make sure I have snacks to take with me and help me practice my Ilokano. They speak very little English, so we communicate in more ways than with just words. Mostly we laugh and do hand signs and speak what little of each other's language we know and then laugh some more. I will miss them both. A lot.

So . . . I'm just feeling a mixture of things right now and it's a bit overwhelming. But it's okay. Because, truth be told, I still believe that this was right choice for me and I wouldn't change a thing. Love and miss you all.

Beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces

Lately one of the biggest challenges for me and my cluster mates has been feeling bored when we aren't doing some scheduled activity and feeling frustated because our activities are mostly directed by someone else. So, yesterday a cluster mate and I decided to go see the Banaue Rice Terraces.

We caught a jeepney at 6am and rode for about two hours into the mountains of Ifugao Province. The road was winding and the jeepneys were crammed full of Filipinos. Whenever I thought "okay, the jeep is full" - we would stop and pick up three more people! People were even riding on top. Whenever they wanted to get off they would bang on the top and the driver would pull over. Needless to say, even the trip there was a cross-cultural experience.

When we arrived in Banaue, we were met by J.R., the son of Paul, our language-cultural-facilitator (LCF). He and his cousin, Clint had a tricycle and were there to be our tour guides (for a fee, of course). It was nice because we knew that we could trust them and that they knew the area, etc. First they took us to the viewpoint at the top of the terraces in Banaue. The view was stunning. These terraces are built with dirt alone, they do not have any walls separating them. They stretch out across the sides of a few mountains and into the valleys. We took pictures at the top, but on those terraces there is no place to walk, so we couldn't get out and "experience" being in the rice.

Next, we had J.R. take us to another group of terraces in a village called Hoppaw. There, the terraces are supported by ancient stone walls that also double as a sophisticated irrigation system that waters all the terraces from the mountain water source at the top of the mountain. It's incredible. In fact, modern engineers have tried to replicate it, but they cannot. Because of the stone walls, people are allowed to walk through the terraces. So that's just what we did. We walked and walked and climbed many flights of rocks and walked and walked. Our destination was a hot spring on the other side of the terraces. It was the middle of the day, so it was extremely hot. I have to say, that there was one point when I said to the others, "You guys go on and I'll wait for you here!" But they wouldn't have it. So, I rested and started walking again. We walked and climbed for about an hour. Finally, we reached our destination. And I must admit, I was disappointed. The hot spring was a pool about seven feet in diameter. There were only a few little bubbles and the water was warm. I thought "ah man, all that sweat for this!?" But then Tom told the guides that he wanted to swim in the river that ran nearby. They told him "Sure, just climb over that wall to the other side." So, I thought, what the heck, might as well. I am so glad I did.

On the other side of the wall as a roaring river flowing over big boulders into a beautiful pool area. When I climbed down that rock wall and felt the water - I was in Heaven! It was so cold and refreshing! The river was beautiful and clear, not to mention being surrounded by beautiful mountains and rice terraces. The view was breathtaking and the water was delicious! I just soaked it up. The sky was bright blue with white puffy clouds. But after we were there about ten minutes or so, the clouds moved in and covered the sun and the weather cooled down. We stayed there and swam for about 20 or 30 minutes. Then we walked back under nice cloud cover and with a cool breeze fanning us along. I'm so happy that I didn't give up whenever I wanted to. I'm so thankful that they encouraged me to just keep moving - no matter how slow. It was totally worth all the heat and discomfort of the trek.

I must say, it turned out to be an awesome experience and a great break from the boredom!

Gotta run. Love to all. Keep writing - your emails and letters keep me going! Thanks.

Kenkane-ay or Iboloi?

So, I met my supervisor. The first question she asked me was "So, will you be learning Iboloi or Kenkane-ay first?" I said "Uh, Ilokano?" And she said "No, we speak Iboloi and Kenkane-ay - so I think Kenkane-ay will be best for you to learn first."

Oh boy. Here I go. I only thought I was making headway on my language acquisition! Oh well. It will be fine.

About my supervisor:
My supervisor is the principal of the high school where I will be working - Kapangan Central National High School. She is 39 years old and really sharp. She is married to the mayor who is loved by everyone in the community. She is a really pleasant woman and has a good sense of humor. She and her husband took me to their house where I spent the first night. She wanted me to see how they live. They have four children. Their oldest son (age 16) was actually enrolling in college the first day I met her (students graduate HS at age 16 here - they have no middle school). They have a daugher who is 15 and goes to the HS where I will work. They have a nine- year old son in grade six at the elementary and a son who is three years old and seems to be the "commander-in-chief" in their house. They are very family oriented and have a nice house. Yet, their privy and shower are outside. I'm glad that I stayed with them one night because it did give me a feel for their family dynamics and values. My impression was very positive.

About my worksite:
I will be working at Kapangan Central National High School. It is just a walk (about 8 blocks or so) away. The campus is pretty nice compared to many high schools I have seen. They actually have a small library, but none of the books are catalogued or labeled. One of my projects will be to organize the library. My other project is to develop a remedial English program for first year high school students who are struggling in English. The class will meet twice a week after school and will probably begin in August or Septemeber. I am excited about my work projects and look forward to meeting all the teachers. Most of the teachers were gone to seminar this week, so I only met two teachers. They were both women in their 20s who have been teaching at the school for about five years. I really enjoyed both of them. They took me around the municipality and introduced me to many people. Then we went and ate pancit (rice noodles) at the oldest / only restaurant in Kapangan. They told me they felt like they had known me for a long time, even though we had just met the day before. I took that as a very good sign.

About my host family:
I will be living with the sister of my supervisor and her husband. They are both 42 years old and are a really pleasant couple. They have a two-year old daughter, Ann Furnee, who is adopted. They also have a 12-year old boy living with them because his family situation was abusive. This says a lot about the kind of people they are - very loving and compassionate. I feel really blessed to be with them. The house is a two-story house. My room is upstairs with two other bedrooms and a den. There is a full-sized upstairs poarch with a beautiful view. I will enjoy that immensely. My host sister is an identical twin and lives right next door to her twin and her family. They have six-year old adopted daughter. They also have a two-year old son who is not adopted. Families here are extremely close. It's nice. The routine seems to be early to bed and early to rise. The roosters start crowing at 3am, so by 5am pretty much the whole family is up. At least that's how it was this week. We'll see. I got a really good feeling about the family situation and am looking forward to living there. Oh, one more thing - my host brother doesn't speak much English (at all) but he's a jokester and he wants to interact and joke with me - so he's trying to teach me Kenkane-ay and I'm helping with his English - seems like it will work out well.

About Kapangan:
Finally, the place I live . . . what can I say? . . . It's a beautiful mountain community with cool weather. The ride from Baguio City to there is a two-hour (extremely) winding dirt road that washes out during the rainy season. However, the view is exquisite. There are rice terraces, vegetable terraces, bougambilia, palm trees, pine trees, water-buffalo, and a big river that was dry when I was there, but will have water when I return in June because the rainy season is beginning now. The community is so peaceful that the judge (a woman) told me they are getting an accomodation for having the least amount of lawsuits. She said that when people come to her courtroom it is only to settle their cases. She rarely has to try a case. Nice. The people from that region are known to be peace loving people and extremely friendly and warm. That's exactly what I felt from them while I was there. So . . . I'm pumped.

Looking forward to winding things up here in Nueva Vizcaya and moving to Kapangan the second week of June. Enough for now. Love to all. Take care and write when you can!

Here in Baguio

Hello! I'm writing an update sooner than I thought because I am at an internet cafe in Baguio, waiting to go meet my supervisor at 3:00 this afternoon. It's about 12:30 now.

Our trip here was a piece of cake. I met up with two other volunteers (Jody and Tom) at 6:45 yesterday morning. We were going to catch a bus to Baguio. It just so happened that a private minivan came by the busstop on his way to Baguio. We took a ride with him, which cost 100 pesos less than the bus fare. The van was airconditioned (the bus would not have been.) The van driver took us all the way to our hotel. And we arrived in five hours instead of eight! It was a beautiful thing.

And speaking of beautiful, Kennan Road, the road into Baguio, is famous for its beautiful scenery. It winds through gorgeous mountains and the greenery and flowers are some of the most splendid that I have ever seen. It reminded me a lot of the area near Machu Picchu in Peru, but there aren't any palm trees there. Another beautiful thing is that the more we climbed into the mountains, the more the temperature dropped. We actually felt comfortable walking around town yesterday afternoon! The weather here feels more like Santa Barbara than August in Oklahoma (which is what it feels like in Solano.) I'm hoping it's this nice at my site.

When we arrived around one oclock yesterday afternoon, we checked to our room and then went to McDonalds to eat. Then, we walked to the bus station so that Tom could find a bus to Loag, in Ilocos Norte, which is his site. We found the bus station and found a bus, after wandering around for about 30 minutes asking people where to go and getting sent in different directions. It's always an adventure.

Tom left and then Jody and I met up with two other volunteers who are stationed here in the Baguio area. One is a lady named Joanie who is a year older than me. She will be finished with her service in August. The other volunteer is Chuck, who is 23 and has been here one year. Joanie was on her way to Manila to go to the dentist today, so we had coffee with her and she left.

Then Chuck showed us around Baguio a little bit. We walked to the open market. It was the largest I've been in so far. It was HUGE!! And people were shoulder to shoulder practically everywhere. We were looking for Jody a pair of shower shoes / tcinellas / thongs. It was tough because she is 6'2" and wears a size 11 shoe. Filipinos, for the most part, are small so shoe sizes generally don't go higher than a 10. She got lucky and found a pair, but they charged her 50 pesos instead of 20. Oh well.

It was interesting to me to hear all the comments that people made about her as we walked by. I mean it seemed like EVERYONE had something to say and then they would laugh. Filipinos are really blunt about telling you how you look. Appearance is extremely important here. So if they don't think you look good, they will tell you. To your face. "You are too fat." "You're hair doesn't look good today." But, if they think you look good they will say, " You look sexy." Or whatever. It's bizarre, but that's how it is.

Well, I'm going to go get some lunch and try to find my supervisor now. Love to all and take care!

Spoons and Forks

I don't think I've mentioned anything about eating utensils yet. Here in the Philippines, the eating utensils of choice are a large spoon and a fork. Knives aren't even offered. The spoon is actually what you put the food in your mouth with. The fork is called "the loader". It's used to pull meat off the bone and to scoop food onto your spoon. I actually enjoy eating this way.

I remember one time in the U.S., I was eating in a restaurant with someone. I was eating a spaghetti dish. Of course, they brought me a spoon and fork because in America we use the spoon as a tool to help spin the spaghetti around our forks so that we can eat it from the fork. Well, I was using the spoon to eat with because I found it more effective. I think I must have embarrassed the person I was with, because they reached over and offered to show me the correct way to use the spoon. I complied and didn't make a big deal about it, even though I felt embarrassed.

When I got here and discovered that Filipinos find spoons more effective for eating, I giggled.

It just goes to show that just because we may not fit in with the status quo where we are - it doesn't mean that we're crazy. It just means that we walk to a different beat. And we may find whole sets of people who walk (or even dance) to that same drumbeat. However, sometimes the drummer may be far, far away . . .

Just feeling a little reflective today. Anyway . . .

Going to get a haircut now and pack for my big trip tomorrow. Headed to Baguio in the morning. Then to Kapangan on Monday to experience my future home for a week. Exciting stuff. Of course I'll let you know how it goes. Take care. Love to all.

Losing Natosha

I'm feeling sad. One of the girls in our group, Natosha, is getting sent home. She broke a rule and is getting the boot. I loved her. She's been a ray of sunshine. In fact, I took more pictures of her than anyone simply because she had the biggest grin and was always up for having her pic snapped. Here's what happened. The host country national (what PC calls Filipinos) who was hired by PC as the driver of the PC vehicle started flirting with her. He's about 35. She's 22. She was flattered. He told her he was separated from his wife. They became involved. Totally against the rules. I had noticed the eye contact between them and had gone to her and told her that I noticed and if she's going to go there, be very careful. She denied anything was going on (but at the same time, she had that big grin on her face).

He told her that he was separated from his wife, but he "forgot" to tell her about his 8 and a half month pregnant girlfriend. Apparently he and Natosha were somewhere making out and the girlfriend showed up and found them. She called PC and turned them in. He was fired and she was sent to Manila. She begged, pleaded, and promised her soul to the higher-ups at headquarters, but they extended no grace. They want us all to know that they are serious about the rules. They wouldn't even let her come back and say goodbye to us or her host family. I talked to her last night. She's in a state of shock. Totally bummed. It's very sad for all of us. She would have been an awesome volunteer. It just sucks.

So, sorry for the somber subject. It's just part of my experience and I wanted to record it here.

On a happier note, I will be leaving for my site visit this Sunday and I'm very excited about that. Two other volunteers and I will leave Solano on Sunday morning around 9:30. We will take a bus to Baguio City which is about eight hours away. We will spend the night in Baguio. Monday morning they will travel to their sites. Then on Monday afternoon I am meeting my work supervisor (the Principal at Kapangan Central National High School) at the bus terminal in Baguio. She has a meeting in Baguio on Monday, so she will accompany me on our two hour jeepney ride to Kapangan. I will stay with my new host family for a week. During the week I will be getting introduced around the community, attending some social functions, exploring the surrounding area, and visit the High School where I will be working and find out more about what they want me to do. I'm really looking forward to the whole experience. So, wish me luck and say a prayer. I'm going to need all the help I can get!

I must close for now. I'll write the next update whenever I can. It may be a week or more, though. There's no internet in Kapangan. I miss you guys and keep you all in my thoughts. Love to all.

Seeing the South China Sea

It's been several days since my last post because I've been traveling. Last Friday all 20 of the PCTs in Northern Luzon traveled by bus to the province of La Union to do our water safety training in the South China Sea. Wow. It finally felt like I was on an island - and it was great!

The water was a delightful shade of teal - and relatively clear. The bottom was covered with rocks - mostly small and smooth, but a few larger ones. The sand was volcanic. It wasn't black, but it was dark and stuck to our feet when we walked on the beach. The beach held more small rocks than seashells, in shades of black, white, grey, red, gold, and green. I only found two very small shells. The water tasted saltier than both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, if that's possible. The breeze was cool in the mornings and felt great at night, too. Palm trees and coconut trees sprinkled the coastline. The volleyball net stood supported by bamboo poles. Up and down the seaside groups of little naked brown bodies were splashing and playing and laughing and squealing. When a couple girls and I strolled along the beach, each time we met a group of kids they would say "Hello! What is your name?" (in English). They laughed and giggled when we replied in Ilokano and asked their names. Simple joy - so sweet.

The water safety training consisted of us watching a power point presentation and then going out 4 at a time in a "banka" (a wooden outrigger boat). We had to jump out of the boat wearing our lifejackets and then climb back into it. Granted, dragging my chubby buns out of the water up the side of a wooden boat with no ladder in the midde of the open sea wasn't a simple feat - I managed nonetheless. And now I know that I can do it if I ever find myself in the open water needing to be rescued!

The accomodations were acceptable, but very basic. We did have an airconditioner in our room, which was nice. Too bad it stopped working the second night. Oh well. I've learned to sleep in spite of the sweat. Just part of the authenticity of my life here, I suppose. SO looking forward to living in the cool mountains though! All in all, it was a really nice break from all the classes and studying that I've been doing. I look forward to visiting the beach again. It will be just about 4 or 5 hours from my permanent site, so feel free to come visit and I'll take you there! (We'll travel by jeepney, of course - which is a cultural experience in itself!)

So, I promised an update on how the party went. Here's the short version. About 70-100 people attended. The goat was roasted and the dog was a false alarm! If it was there, I never saw it. However, there were about twenty different dishes - 5 or 6 were different meats. I stuck to the goat. It was actually very tasty. After dinner we drank some beers and sang videoke. About ten of the other PCTs came to the party, so they were "very honored to have Madam Tracy and her colleagues" in attendance (as Andy, the guest of honor, announced). I continue to find Filipinos to be the most hospitible and gracious people that I have ever encountered. So, after such a sweet introduction, I felt compelled to sing a song simply because they wanted me to so badly. No, my singing voice hasn't improved since I've been here. But here's the deal, everybody in this country sings videoke and LOTS of people sound just like me. So . . . what the heck - might as well laugh at myself and have a good time - everyone else is! Awan ti problemma! (Not a problem).

Well, I guess I'll close for now. Hope all is well with all of you. You're in my heart and thoughts. Sige, baybay! (pronounced seegay, byebye - means okay, goodbye). I'll write more when I can.