Something you can find in every Filipino Barangay is.... a videoke bar! Filipinos LOVE to sing.
We took our first weekend trip away from Banate today, finally free from classes! Our goal was to find clear water to snorkel in, and although we didn't end up finding clear water per-say, we did find some local hospitality! The children at the beach had never seen Americans before, except for on t.v. So we made friends very fast once we got there. There was also a family picnic going on and once they realized we didn't bring any food, they made it their priority to feed us... home-made mango ice cream, chips and cold coca-colas! I love these people!
But back to the singing, Filipinos LOVE to sing. Walking down the street some will actually sing at you! Kite's, our normal hang-out spot, is also a popular videoke bar. And what do Filipinos like to sing? Anything and everything from love ballads, Celine Dion, to Akon, and L'il Kim. It doesn't matter if your good or bad or really bad, they are always up for a song!
I was going to leave you with a song from one of my new friends from the beach, Cherry, but I'm having trouble loading the video, so look for it later!
(Also many thanks to Tyler M. for letting me use his awesome picture as my new blog header.)
Halong!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Get use to it, Part 2
1. ROCKSTAR STATUS
Everywhere we go, people know our names and shout "Good Morning", "Hello!", "Where are you going!" Children flock to the street so they can see you and shout Hello! You feel sort of famous... it makes me wonder if the novelty of us being here is going to wear off ever.
2. THERE IS NO "BREAKFAST" FOOD
In America we have certain foods reserved for breakfast: cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, etc. In the Philippines there is no such thing. It is perfectly normal for my breakfast to consist of rice (what meal is complete without it), fish and fried chicken. Some other foods that frequent my table are various soups made with either fish, chicken or vegetables. Dessert is usually fruit, and the mangoes are delicious! Other foods that I eat often include shrimp, crabs, squid, eggplant, and cucumbers.
Like I mentioned before, we also snack throughout the day. My snacks usually include some type of fruit I have never heard of, and various sweet treats. And when I say sweet, I mean SWEET. Filipinos love their sugar and like to put lots of it in everything!
3. NO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
We are pretty close to the equator here so we have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. Also taking into account how hellish the heat is at midday, the town in up and running around 4 am and pretty much quiet around 8. My friends and I closed the local bar the other night at around 9pm.... yep.
4. SPIDERS ARE A KIDS BEST FRIEND
My host brother, Jan-Jan, was running around with a little matchbox and kept poking at what was inside. I asked him what he was keeping in there. Imagine my surprise when he takes out a giant spider that starts to crawl all over him. It is a very popular game with the kids, especially the boys, to catch or even buy spiders and then fight them. No lie! (I guess I should also mention that the spiders are not dangerous. No Black Widows here!)
They take sticks and place a spider at each end, then let them have at it! Winner gets to eat the loser.
5. ANIMALS ARE NOT PETS
This is probably the hardest thing to get use to here. Stray dogs and cats litter the street. And there is definitely no such thing as a fat animal here. The dogs and cats are all skin and bones. Cock fights and dog fights are a common occurrence. At the resort bar that we hang out at there is the saddest little monkey chained up with a broken foot. His chain doesn't even allow him to reach the shade so he is stuck in the sun during the heat of the day. This is a very harsh reality for me to understand here. I have to come to the realization that these are cultural differences. Cock fights, illegal in the US and cruel-seeming to me, are a part of the culture here.
On a lighter note, my host family and relatives actually do have pet dogs that are purebreds. They are well taken care of and treated nicely.
Ok since that last one was a bit of a downer, I will leave you with smiles!
Everywhere we go, people know our names and shout "Good Morning", "Hello!", "Where are you going!" Children flock to the street so they can see you and shout Hello! You feel sort of famous... it makes me wonder if the novelty of us being here is going to wear off ever.
2. THERE IS NO "BREAKFAST" FOOD
In America we have certain foods reserved for breakfast: cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, etc. In the Philippines there is no such thing. It is perfectly normal for my breakfast to consist of rice (what meal is complete without it), fish and fried chicken. Some other foods that frequent my table are various soups made with either fish, chicken or vegetables. Dessert is usually fruit, and the mangoes are delicious! Other foods that I eat often include shrimp, crabs, squid, eggplant, and cucumbers.
Like I mentioned before, we also snack throughout the day. My snacks usually include some type of fruit I have never heard of, and various sweet treats. And when I say sweet, I mean SWEET. Filipinos love their sugar and like to put lots of it in everything!
 |
| This deliciousness is a banana turon and is basically banana coated in sugar. Yeah its pretty much amazing. |
3. NO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
We are pretty close to the equator here so we have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. Also taking into account how hellish the heat is at midday, the town in up and running around 4 am and pretty much quiet around 8. My friends and I closed the local bar the other night at around 9pm.... yep.
4. SPIDERS ARE A KIDS BEST FRIEND
My host brother, Jan-Jan, was running around with a little matchbox and kept poking at what was inside. I asked him what he was keeping in there. Imagine my surprise when he takes out a giant spider that starts to crawl all over him. It is a very popular game with the kids, especially the boys, to catch or even buy spiders and then fight them. No lie! (I guess I should also mention that the spiders are not dangerous. No Black Widows here!)
 |
| Jan-Jan with his spiders. I love the fact that he happened to also be wearing a spider-man shirt when I took this picture. |
5. ANIMALS ARE NOT PETS
This is probably the hardest thing to get use to here. Stray dogs and cats litter the street. And there is definitely no such thing as a fat animal here. The dogs and cats are all skin and bones. Cock fights and dog fights are a common occurrence. At the resort bar that we hang out at there is the saddest little monkey chained up with a broken foot. His chain doesn't even allow him to reach the shade so he is stuck in the sun during the heat of the day. This is a very harsh reality for me to understand here. I have to come to the realization that these are cultural differences. Cock fights, illegal in the US and cruel-seeming to me, are a part of the culture here.
 |
| So cute! |
On a lighter note, my host family and relatives actually do have pet dogs that are purebreds. They are well taken care of and treated nicely.
Ok since that last one was a bit of a downer, I will leave you with smiles!
 |
| Filipino kids are the absolute cutest! (My host brother is up front in the orange.) |
Halong!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
You don't know heat
I was born and raised in South Carolina so I know heat and humidity.... or at least I thought I did.
The heat here is unbeleivable. There basically is no such thing as AC here except in some schools and municipal buildings. I wake up in the morning, take a bucket bath and then put baby powder all over my body. I go to school (which is right down the road at my language teacher's house). We have numerous fans going on during class. Then I go home for lunch and sometimes take another bucket bath follwed by more baby powder. Then there is afternoon lessons and "studying" followed by dinner and another bucket shower before bed.
(Just for the record "bucket showers" sound primitive but they are SO refreshing!)
Life here is dictated by the heat. During the heat of the day, my house becomes an oven. We walk around looking for a shaded area with the best breeze. I spend alot of this time on my tita's porch trying to stay cool, eating mangoes and talking chika-chika (gossip) with the relatives.
I dare anyone to try to compare their heat with mine.
Oh and for the record, yes we have a beach but if you saw the beach you would understand why we don't go swimminig in it. We will be going to another beach away from our barangay for all of our technical water training.
This country is truely a beautiful land with oceans, rice fields and mountains, but the heat is one not to be reckoned with.
Please for the love of all that is good, Bring on the RAIN!
The heat here is unbeleivable. There basically is no such thing as AC here except in some schools and municipal buildings. I wake up in the morning, take a bucket bath and then put baby powder all over my body. I go to school (which is right down the road at my language teacher's house). We have numerous fans going on during class. Then I go home for lunch and sometimes take another bucket bath follwed by more baby powder. Then there is afternoon lessons and "studying" followed by dinner and another bucket shower before bed.
(Just for the record "bucket showers" sound primitive but they are SO refreshing!)
Life here is dictated by the heat. During the heat of the day, my house becomes an oven. We walk around looking for a shaded area with the best breeze. I spend alot of this time on my tita's porch trying to stay cool, eating mangoes and talking chika-chika (gossip) with the relatives.
I dare anyone to try to compare their heat with mine.
Oh and for the record, yes we have a beach but if you saw the beach you would understand why we don't go swimminig in it. We will be going to another beach away from our barangay for all of our technical water training.
 |
| OK so the kids do go swimming in the water but I'm not sure I want to risk it here when there is trash all over the beach. |
This country is truely a beautiful land with oceans, rice fields and mountains, but the heat is one not to be reckoned with.
Please for the love of all that is good, Bring on the RAIN!
Monday, August 30, 2010
May Bag-o Nga Familya
Friday we arrived in Iloilo City which is on the Visayan Island of Panay. We then took a 1 1/2 coaster ride (which is really a big van) to Banate, where we met our host families. There to greet me was my host mother, Lisa, and her 9 year old son, Jan-Jan. Lisa welled with tears as I approached her and welcomed me in an embrace!
I love my new host family! I am very fortunate to have a large host family who all live together in separate houses on the same compound. My host dad, Jon, is the son of the the Barangay (town) Captain, which is an elected position. They are a very well respected family and I feel quite safe with them. I also have a 10 year old host sister. Everyone is so nice and friendly! I have a good size room with a bed that actually fits me (yeah!), a dresser and table. They also let me have one of the two fans that are in the household, which makes me feel very spoiled and grateful! They also decorated my room with yellow curtains and yellow paper on the walls.
I have many titas (aunts) who all also have houses on the compound. They have very nice houses which I visit often and sometimes have lunch at too. The compound also has many animals roaming about. There are hens, roosters (which love to wake me up at 4 AM), turkeys, geese and dogs. The dogs include what I call the "clean up dogs" which you don't pet because they are gross, but they clean up all of the leftovers from meals. Then there are the actual pet dogs, which are full breeds. One of my titas also has love birds, some kind of talking birds, and what they call a "wild cat" but I have never seen an animal like it before. It kind if looks like a cross between a possum and a ferret.
My "relatives" are always looking after me, asking me how I slept, if I feel safe, and how do I like the Philippines. I feel very fortunate to be staying with such great people who make sure that I am acclimating to the heat and culture, as well as teaching me the local language!
Meeting your host family can be somewhat of a very stressful endeavor since you are also being dropped off into a new town and culture. Thankfully I also have a awesome cluster (training group at my site). There are six of us and we all get along well and are each other's support system as we go through our training. I know there will be many many stories to tell and I will make sure to share some with you all!
Kita-ay kita sunod!
 |
| Me with my host mom and brother. |
I love my new host family! I am very fortunate to have a large host family who all live together in separate houses on the same compound. My host dad, Jon, is the son of the the Barangay (town) Captain, which is an elected position. They are a very well respected family and I feel quite safe with them. I also have a 10 year old host sister. Everyone is so nice and friendly! I have a good size room with a bed that actually fits me (yeah!), a dresser and table. They also let me have one of the two fans that are in the household, which makes me feel very spoiled and grateful! They also decorated my room with yellow curtains and yellow paper on the walls.
I have many titas (aunts) who all also have houses on the compound. They have very nice houses which I visit often and sometimes have lunch at too. The compound also has many animals roaming about. There are hens, roosters (which love to wake me up at 4 AM), turkeys, geese and dogs. The dogs include what I call the "clean up dogs" which you don't pet because they are gross, but they clean up all of the leftovers from meals. Then there are the actual pet dogs, which are full breeds. One of my titas also has love birds, some kind of talking birds, and what they call a "wild cat" but I have never seen an animal like it before. It kind if looks like a cross between a possum and a ferret.
My "relatives" are always looking after me, asking me how I slept, if I feel safe, and how do I like the Philippines. I feel very fortunate to be staying with such great people who make sure that I am acclimating to the heat and culture, as well as teaching me the local language!
Meeting your host family can be somewhat of a very stressful endeavor since you are also being dropped off into a new town and culture. Thankfully I also have a awesome cluster (training group at my site). There are six of us and we all get along well and are each other's support system as we go through our training. I know there will be many many stories to tell and I will make sure to share some with you all!
Kita-ay kita sunod!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Drum Roll Please!
Tomorrow I head to the Visayas! I will be staying on the island Province of Iloilo. I am one of two Environment cluster sites in the area and have already begun to learn my new language - Hiligaynon!
I am very excited to see what my town is like as well as meet my new host family, where I will be staying for the next three months for Pre-Service Training or PST.
 |
| Filipinos working in the rice fields. |
As a mentioned in my previous post, we had an excursion to the mall yesterday evening (it was not a PC sanctioned event, we just really wanted a taste of the Filipino City). It was very eye opening to see the level of poverty that so many live in. There are huge areas of "houses" which are poorly made out of bamboo and whatever trash one can find. They all hover over the water as if they could collapse at any moment. Many of these people probably once lived in more rural areas where they did not have much money but were able to grow enough food to support themselves. Many decide to move to the cities for a chance to work and earn a living. However these cities are so overpopulated that there are not enough jobs and people end up living in very unhealthy living conditions without enough money to feed themselves or relocate back to the country. Seeing the way so many live makes me truly thankful for what I have, and being born in America with so many opportunities.
 |
| Shantis - they look about to fall into the water! |
On a lighter note, the trip to the mall was really a blast! A small group of us traveled together, by getting a ride on a jeepney, which is a very popular mode of public transportation. They are small buses colorfully decorated. PC trainees and volunteers are not allowed to drive and for good reason! There are virtually no traffic rules, except drive on the right side of the road. Even at the major intersections it's every man for himself! I almost have to close my eyes as we barrel around motorcycles, cars, buses and pedestrians.
 |
| As I was riding on a Jeepney, I shot a pic of one in passing. |
The mall was very nice and new, opposite everything else in the city. It was very similar to American malls having many floors, and stores like Ace Hardware and Gap. There are also department stores and a supermarket. I bought a few staple things (toilet paper, shampoo and peanut butter) in the supermarket and we had dinner at Pizza Hut... yeah that's right, we ate at Pizza Hut in a Filipino mall :)
 |
| There was also shrimp flavor and crab! |
They also had some very interesting pringle flavors in the supermarket, including shrimp, crab and blueberry hazelnut. I may have to work up to that one...
I also needed to get a pair of nice sandals, since flip flops here are seen as a little too informal. I had to go to one of the department stores to find my size in the "plus size" section (can't wait to have to buy a pair of pants in this country, I'll probably have to shop in the maternity section to find my size!). There were 300 pesos, roughly $6. The sales women were SO friendly and nice and enjoyed practicing their English with me.
Our travel back was a night ride on an even smaller jeepney. No matter the size though, more and more people just piled in! All-in-all it was a very enjoyable and interesting excursion and I look forward to many more like it!
Well I have a very early flight to Iloilo tomorrow. Time to meet the host family!
Sige, halong!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Boat Safety!
Today was the first time that I have gotten the chance to get outside of our "orientation bubble". We were able to go to the mall on our own and get a taste of Filipino life. But I will touch on that in another post. Today I will recap our adventure in boat safety!
We first were transported via bus to the beach (about 30 min away) for our boat safety lessons! We went in groups of 5 or 6 (however many could fit on the boats) and practiced jumping into the water and using our life vest in case of emergency. So the reason for having to do boat safety is pretty obvious, I mean we are on an island country. But for other reasons as well - the main type of boat used is called a banka or pump boat, which is a basically a small home-made outrigger canoe made out of bamboo. These boats can be powered by an engine, sail or man power (paddles). These boats are by nature do not have the best balance and they can tip over quite easily. There have been incidents in the past with Peace Corps Volunteers being in such a boat and therefore now we have boat safety.
So my story begins here.
My group was the last to go out. There were six of us on the boat. The Filipino boat captain ordered us around about where to sit so we would balance the boat right. We went out into the water and practiced jumping in and inflating our life vest, we also went over what to do if someone tried to grab onto you or if you need to tow another. Then we had to be able to climb back into the boat by ourselves. After we all climbed back into the boat, our instructor (a current PCV) who was still in the water asked us if we could
get his sandals from the bottom of the boat so he could climb in.
Now the boat is very narrow (as seen above) and we all had on our inflated life vest around our necks, so it was not an easy task to look below us to find his sandals. As we were all trying to look at the bottom of the boat, we began to loose balance and started to tilt back. We all tried to hang on and lean forward so as to flip the boat back (although two people fell off, you know who you are C and J!). Although we were successful is leaning enough to get the boat back on the water, water had already began to flow into the canoe part of the boat and we were sinking. Fast! We all jumped ship and tried to save the boat, but alas we were too late. The poor boat captains life possessions as well as various pieces of the boat began to float away. We all scrambled to collect his things and the boat pieces and helped him tow it to shore. So although the purpose of the boat safety was to make sure we would know what to do if a boat capsized or sank, our group was the only one to actually have hands on practice in such a scenario!
On a side note, I felt really bad for the boat captain because the boat sinking ruined his motor. However I was assured that Peace Corps would reimburse him for the loss.
More about our mall trip into the city later!
We first were transported via bus to the beach (about 30 min away) for our boat safety lessons! We went in groups of 5 or 6 (however many could fit on the boats) and practiced jumping into the water and using our life vest in case of emergency. So the reason for having to do boat safety is pretty obvious, I mean we are on an island country. But for other reasons as well - the main type of boat used is called a banka or pump boat, which is a basically a small home-made outrigger canoe made out of bamboo. These boats can be powered by an engine, sail or man power (paddles). These boats are by nature do not have the best balance and they can tip over quite easily. There have been incidents in the past with Peace Corps Volunteers being in such a boat and therefore now we have boat safety.
So my story begins here.
My group was the last to go out. There were six of us on the boat. The Filipino boat captain ordered us around about where to sit so we would balance the boat right. We went out into the water and practiced jumping in and inflating our life vest, we also went over what to do if someone tried to grab onto you or if you need to tow another. Then we had to be able to climb back into the boat by ourselves. After we all climbed back into the boat, our instructor (a current PCV) who was still in the water asked us if we could
get his sandals from the bottom of the boat so he could climb in.
Now the boat is very narrow (as seen above) and we all had on our inflated life vest around our necks, so it was not an easy task to look below us to find his sandals. As we were all trying to look at the bottom of the boat, we began to loose balance and started to tilt back. We all tried to hang on and lean forward so as to flip the boat back (although two people fell off, you know who you are C and J!). Although we were successful is leaning enough to get the boat back on the water, water had already began to flow into the canoe part of the boat and we were sinking. Fast! We all jumped ship and tried to save the boat, but alas we were too late. The poor boat captains life possessions as well as various pieces of the boat began to float away. We all scrambled to collect his things and the boat pieces and helped him tow it to shore. So although the purpose of the boat safety was to make sure we would know what to do if a boat capsized or sank, our group was the only one to actually have hands on practice in such a scenario!
On a side note, I felt really bad for the boat captain because the boat sinking ruined his motor. However I was assured that Peace Corps would reimburse him for the loss.
More about our mall trip into the city later!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Get use to it, Part 1
So I wanted to share some of the cultural differences that I have to get use to and am thinking this is probably going to be a series as I am introduced to new customs. So here is part 1:
1. EAT YOUR RICE WITH EVERY MEAL
That's right, rice is served with every meal... even breakfast. Surprisingly I am not sick of eating rice... yet.
2. NO TP?
The preferred Filipino method is to use a ladle and water bucket to rinse yourself off afterwards. I have yet to use this however since I am at a resort for orientation and they do have toilet paper, however you cannot flush it. Instead it gets thrown in the waste bucket (which gets emptied often).
3. SIRMAM
Everywhere you go you are called sir or mamm. Married couples are simply "sirmamm". As in "thank you-sirmamm" and "Good Morning-mamm"
4. EAT AND EAT OFTEN
The food is quite good, especially the fish, and they love to feed you. We are served large buffets for meals and snacks throughout the day.... I am probably going to gain 50 pounds.
5. MANGOS ARE DELICIOUS
Apparently the Philippines is known for having the best mangoes. I have never been a huge fan of the fruit, but they put it in many things, juice and desserts and I have to say it is really delicious!
more to come later!
1. EAT YOUR RICE WITH EVERY MEAL
That's right, rice is served with every meal... even breakfast. Surprisingly I am not sick of eating rice... yet.
2. NO TP?
The preferred Filipino method is to use a ladle and water bucket to rinse yourself off afterwards. I have yet to use this however since I am at a resort for orientation and they do have toilet paper, however you cannot flush it. Instead it gets thrown in the waste bucket (which gets emptied often).
3. SIRMAM
Everywhere you go you are called sir or mamm. Married couples are simply "sirmamm". As in "thank you-sirmamm" and "Good Morning-mamm"
4. EAT AND EAT OFTEN
The food is quite good, especially the fish, and they love to feed you. We are served large buffets for meals and snacks throughout the day.... I am probably going to gain 50 pounds.
5. MANGOS ARE DELICIOUS
Apparently the Philippines is known for having the best mangoes. I have never been a huge fan of the fruit, but they put it in many things, juice and desserts and I have to say it is really delicious!
more to come later!
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