The last few days have been rather hectic. I haven’t had time to compose any journal entries, but I have plenty of ideas including a short thesis on the use of the car horn in the Philippines.
Two days ago I came to my cluster site with three other volunteers. Our original hub group of 13 was split in three and we came to a small rural barangay (neighborhood) near Naga with our language teacher. Here we are all living with host families and are only a few km apart.
My host family is great, ate Shirley and kuya Fred are very nice and I even went jogging with them this morning. They have one daughter, who is in high school, and have several other kids that they’ve “adopted.” This means that they care for the children because their parents cannot, whether it is because they have too much on their plate or because they’re overseas workers. They are helping to put two of the girls through school and in turn they help out around the house with chores and such.
The house is cute and as per Peace Corps, I have my own room with a locking door (though I rarely lock it). There is running water, but no shower or flush toilet. Instead, one uses a bucket. That means you flush the toilet by pouring water into the bowl from a bucket that you fill up at a spigot in the CR (comfort room, aka bathroom). As in southern Europe, there is no toilet seat and you throw your used TP in the trash. To shower, you fill up the same bucket and use a large dipper to pour the water all over yourself. The water is cold, but it feels really good in the heat. All in all, it’s a very efficient way to bathe- I just don’t like the mosquitoes that inhabit the CR in the morning.
So far the food has been really good. Apparently, Bicol is known for having spicy food. Spicy here isn’t really very spicy, but rather tasty. My family has been very health conscious as of late and they had no problem when I told them that, “fish makes me sick.” The fare has been fairly light and the veggies are plenty. I have been eating some pork and chicken, but it’s good and I don’t take a whole lot of the meat. As seems to be the case with all PC trainees, they’re worried that I’m not eating enough (which is funny because there are 5 regular meals a day) and I’m trying not to stuff myself. Last night we had string beans with garlic, peppers and pork, while tonight was curried chicken and potatoes and fresh pineapple for desert. They seem to be worried that I walk to and from class rather than take a pedicab (bicycle w/ a sidecar) but I joke that I need to walk so I don’t get fat from all the eating. I think that they still think that I’m crazy, but they seem to like me anyway so I don’t let it bother me.
Outside of my window, acting as a finicky alarm clock, is a veritable menagerie of farm animals. There are chickens (and at least 2 roosters!), ducks, geese and some gray birds that I can’t identify. Out back there are also turkeys and on the other side of the house, three sows that are all preggers. What a racket that will be when/after they give birth. In the field outside of my other window there are a couple of cows, one of which came up near the house today, and a carabau (water buffalo). Surrounding the house are rice paddies, which the family farms. They also tell me that there are several papaya trees out back. In the front yard there are many beautiful flowers, which my host mother raises as a hobby/business. In addition to that, she is also a member of the barangay counsel (a government job- but not a well paying one).
The Fred and Shirley maintain that they are very poor, but life here seems to be pretty comfortable- not a lot of luxuries, but everyone gets fed, bathed, entertained and has a bed to sleep in with a fan to blow on them while they do. I’m very happy with my host family situation and I look forward to going running with them tomorrow morning at 5 am.
As far as class goes, it is slow going. Right now we’re just trying to get the basic mechanics of the language and it’s proving to be quite frustrating- especially since we’ve been meeting in the afternoon when we’re already tired. The last few days we’ve had tasks to accomplish in the morning, so we do language in the PM. Hopefully, we can get on the language in the AM schedule soon because the current situation is very taxing. In the meantime, I get to use the little Bicol that I know at home, but my family and I can communicate well enough with English that there have been no disasters so far.
Right now, I’m sitting on my bed under the mosquito netting (I have no screens on my windows, so it gets buggy at night- and one of the two cats just jumped in and scared me) typing away and soon it’ll be 9 pm and I’ll be ready to pass out and sleep even through the geese and television. Tomorrow we will go to a local government meeting and there will also be a surprise birthday party for one of my fellow volunteers, his wife and host family are plotting together- lets hope it works. Sunday, I’m told, I will go to the market with my family so that we can pick out veggies for the upcoming week. As you can tell, I’m well fed and cared for- so no worries. Internet is sparse right now, so I’ll write entries when I can and upload when possible.
Vanessa, thank you for the beautiful pictures and the wonderful & laugh inspiring account of your family life. I’ll try to teach Cleopatra how to crow before you return to the U.S.!