Wish List

Hello Friends, Family, people just looking around,

So I have been asked to put up a Wish List of sorts, different things I may want but I do NOT need any of this stuff. I can live without it. I am going to put up a variety of stuff so don't be freaked out. But seriously it is not necessary. It will be updated, here there and everywhere.

cards, letters, notes
ear buds
markers/ colored pens
fructice surfer hair paste (it is in a tub)
movies (dvd's only - no vhs player)
books/magazines - even if they are old, stuff you have read just sitting on your shelf that you don't want
peanut m&m's
planner/fun calendar
nalgene bottle
art therapy source book by bernie siegle

I WANT TO SEND A BIG SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SENT ME E-MAILS, CARDS AND PACKAGES I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!! IT IS WONDERFUL KNOWING HOW YOU ARE DOING WHILE CHOMPING ON A RICE CRISPY TREAT :-)

Some of what I've seen in the Philippines

These are some photo's from my first host community Saguing, Bataan. I really loved it here and learned soooo much :-)

Well the Philippines is so diverse and this is a big part of what makes it special. People here are always smiling and love to dance, sing and eat. I am afraid of gaining any more weight but my host mom thinks I am "reducing" which is making her nervous.

Manila August 2007

More photo's from our last stint in Manila.

Manila Swear In and Training

So these are some of the wonderful people I have been working with and currently work with. Swear In was amazing it was beautiful, grand and really fancy. It was held at the U.S Embasy in Manila and our host families, advisors/teachers and coworkers were invited. It was the nicest event I have ever been to. I am so lucky to be here!!!

Floodings/typhoons

So when I think about flooding I think of some excess water in the yard or wash that is gushing with water after a monsoon rain during the last hour. Water that will recede within just a short time and the only remnants of gravel and dirt in the street would remain indicating there was ever water rushing down the road.

Here in the Philippines the floods are a little more extreme, well "a little more" may be an understatement but in my community it is a fact of life. A flood something that will happen whether you prepare for it or not (like last week). It rained for 72 hours straight from a mild drizzle to an out right torrential down pour. Lightning crashed and the wind ripped leaves and branches from trees. I was either at work, at the bakery (watching the weather with amazement) or in my bedroom wondering if I will be able to get to sleep with the noise during this time. I am lucky that I have roof insulation because the roves here are made from tin and are really noisy. The other morning I was on the phone with my dad and the rain (ulan in tagalong) really started coming down; I could barely hear him and moved to different parts of the house to continue the conversation. In the end I lost cell phone signal and realized it was the beginning of the harshest part of our 72 hours. Why did we have such crazy weather, well it is easy… we get these crazy down pours when a bagio (typhoon) hits relatively close. In this case the bagio hit the side of Luzon (I live on the main island Luzon) and we get the left overs. Lets face it the Philippines is also known for their crazy weather. We have just been in a drought (so much so that we have had brown outs because there is not enough water in the dams for hydro electricity) so it is really good we got some rain.

Last year a bagio actually hit my previous barangay and it even took out a side of someone's house. Concrete block houses are built at least 2 cinderblocks off the ground. Most are about 4 blocks high and then the living room and bedrooms will be a cinderblock higher. My current house is like this: I step up one cinderblock onto the patio. I step up another cinderblock into the house and go up 4 steps to my room. If we have a flood I am totally safe. In my last house you would walk up 3 cinderblocks into the outdoor kitchen, then another step into the dinning room and living room and finally one more step into my bedroom.

When I left to go home from work on Wednesday I had to step in ankle deep water to get to the vehicle just to take me to the main road. My compound is on a slight slope so the water does not remain in the courtyard but just flows towards the back of the compound and goes somewhere else.

I went to Olongapo last Wednesday to buy a bike because having to ride in this weather gets me home faster than walking in it and I am not in a city where public transportation is readily available once you walk out to the street. I also need the exercise. The only vehicles that were making it were the big public busses (like a Greyhound). My counterpart said that Olongapo would be a little flooded but not where I was going. Since I was on a mission no amount of bad weather was going to stand in my way, after all I was already walking home in it. Okay the havoc the rain had caused was immense. People's homes were flooded by the feet. The roads were knee deep in water and people were wading through it. A great big machine was reaching over the bridge grapping debris caught at the bridge because water was pouring over the bridge. In some places the water was as high as the top of the bus wheel. Every field and open area was flooded and could not determine how deep it was specifically but it was at least 2-5 feet deep.

In Olongapo the wind was out of control and you couldn't even use your umbrella for fear of it breaking (hello incoming Mary Poppins). Lisa met me here with her host mom even though she wanted to curl up and read her book today. We both got a rain suit and boots so we are more prepared. I also got a bigger umbrella one that could cover a small family because I really didn't feel well covered in mine and I happen to be bigger than the average Filippino but now I will be totally fine.

Please understand that I am in no serious danger and don't be concerned about my safety regarding where I live, work or even the weather it's just that I totally underestimated the power of the weather and what people have to live through. I am getting such an education here and I love it :-)

Sorry no photo's

1st Day at Site

Gosh today was a great day and it was the first official working day of my two year Peace

Corps service. My counterpart was out sick today but that was okay I was able to observe and talk with many other people at the center. I chose a rather busy first day actually.

Upon my arrival I got to meet about 4 people from the regional office at the center to do inventory of all the government items and label every chair and stapler that belongs to the government. It was really interesting. I actually had the chance to meet many of them yesterday at the Flag Ceremony at the Region 3 head office in San Fernando, Pampanga. Okay so a Flag Ceremony happens every Monday morning about 8:30am. At this time everyone at the office meets out in front of the flag, the national anthem is sung and the flag is raised for the week. After a prayer is said for the health of the agency, workers and various other things (it was in Tagalog and I only caught some highlights). The regional director introduced me to the staff and welcomed me into the Region 3 community. I waved and nodded. Our Region 3 director is new and from Mindino. She arrived last Wednesday or Thursday. She talked about ethics and professionalism and focused on the dress code and arriving on time especially since everyone working in the regional office should be an example to every other DSWD worker and the community. She was very poetic. We (well they) sang a song which was upbeat and I think about something positive regarding work. Birthdays were read out and the birthday song sung. Another prayer was said for those with birthdays. The rest of the staff raised their left hand towards the sky while bowing our heads blessing those whose birthday was this month. There was only one small problem… it was so hot during the ceremony and being outside without a handkerchief or towel was difficult. From what I understand all government agencies have a Flag Ceremony on Monday mornings including my center and the schools.

It is interesting that in this society there is absolutely no separation of church and state. For example: trainings are never held without saying the national anthem and a blessing (prayer) from one participant at the beginning and usually at the end too. I am so used to a culture (American) that scoffs at religion and downplays its importance and will cause an almost national incident for any use of religious connotations in any government proceedings.

Okay back to my day… I observed a house parent and caregiver in the toddler cottage. These workers have their hands full with the boys and their needs. Later I followed the head social worker in to the cottage for the older boys until the volunteers from a private high school arrived and did some homework with the children and threw the kids at the center a party. It was really nice and the kids liked it.

Also a family from the USA arrived today to pick up a little 7 year old boy they adopted. It was really cool and the entire staff was really happy for him. I did meet the adoptive family briefly and they were pleasantly surprised to see a Peace Corps volunteer.

I had a chance to talk with the social workers about their needs. One just arrived back from the USA after escorting prospective children on an overseas visit with a possible adoptive placement. She said that children from the center go every year in various programs to English speaking countries for prospective adoptive placements and need more English skills. She wanted to set up a class for these specific kids so they are better prepared. Another asked me to help with her training for foster parents which was really nice. I will be co-facilitating 2 half day trainings for 2 different sets of foster families. This is the second 2 half day trainings I was asked to participate in. I have only been there one day and already get to be utilized. I am really excited about this center and really tried to stay out of the way today and practiced my tagalog as best I could.

Being here and starting again (this time at the center) is a little surreal. I guess since training is really over and my knowledge and skills are being put to the test I will see how I can perform. Already I feel I am up to the task but you never really know until you are in the situation. I can say identified some areas I could help with however I am at the center at their request and I want my projects to be sustainable so I plan to really work with the needs they identify and in time suggest other areas of interest.