Arriving in the Philippines

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to check in. I am currently residing with a host family in Barangay Saging, Dinalupihan in a province in the Philippines. It has a population of about 3000. It is a rural community and a bunch of friendly folk.

Right now we are in clusters of 4 Peace Corps workers and we all live on the same street. The weather here is just so hot and yesterday we had our first bout of rain which increased the humidity but decreased the temperature. I am not sure which I am having the most difficulty with: humidity or heat. Our classes are held outside with an electric fan blowing at us in full force. Rachel's family has a great porch so we are doing our lessons at her house this week. We do language class for 4 hours a day in the morning and by lunch time our brains are fried. Technical and cultural sessions are held in the afternoon which teaches us about the Filipino culture and the philosophies our job will entail. There is some hands on experience through developing and implementing a few community projects. On Saturday's we take a trike to the next Barangay where we hook up with another cluster for a link site training which focuses on technical training.

My host family is awesome!!!! They are so nice and really helpful. The mother owns a shop in the Market and her two sons are 10 and 8. The boys are really cool and are helping me with my tagalog. They have a cousin who visits often and she is 5. Our language instructor has deemed her the cluster's assistant and she is also my friend. My host mom and her family speak great english and the majority of her family live in the neighborhood too. My host dad is an overseas worker and I will not have the opportunity to meet him. I also live in a family compound (multiple houses with cousins and siblings about 20-25 people) and Lisa one of the other Peace Corps volunteers lives in the compound too.

Overall I am adjusting well. The fan in my room is my best friend and I have finally figured out how to strategically place it so I get the most cool air during the nights. The food is really good and the housekeeper is a great cook. Here, generally speaking they eat 5 times a day, three meals and 2 marienda's (midmorning and afternoon snack) For all those who thought I would get thin on my travels I don't think thats going to happen.

I did post some new photo's of the Philippines, as you all know I am not that great about taking photo's so there are not many. However, some are really fun and taking public transportation is really cool. Trikes are my favorite but I think Jeepney's are the most decorative. The one I rode on (in the photo album) was not that decorated but still an awesome vehicle.

I also wanted to post my new cell number because some people are having a tough time getting through. You dial out of the U.S with: 011 Then dial the Philippines country code of 63 then my cell number with area code: 910-705-3113 so all together is 011-63-910-705-3113. Also for a frame of reference I am 15 hours ahead.

Anyway, till the next time :-)