The life and times of a PCV in the Philippines.
I haven’t posted much in the last few months, life in the peace corps seems simultaneously uneventful and horribly busy. As some people know, I was planning to transfer to PC China following my service in the Philippines. Unfortunately, the medical clearance for China is more stringent than the Philippines. Read More …
I have always been pretty proud of myself for staying so healthy here in the Philippines. So many of the other volunteers have been sick repeatedly and until recently I didn’t really have any more problems than I would at home with minor colds, flu, etc. Note that I said Read More …
Last week I enjoyed my last vacation here in the Philippines. Holy Week is generally a time of travel here as people rush home to be with loved ones and spend a few days in a beautiful place or a corner of the country where they celebrate Holy Week in Read More …
And for the first time ever, I am filing my income taxes. As a volunteer I don’t have enough taxable income (and the IRS does tax a portion of our living allowance) to require filing my taxes, but it seems that this year there’s a rebate for which I apply…and Read More …
Last night I experienced my first earthquake of respectable magnitude. Over the past (almost) two years I have felt a handful of tremors. At first, I never really realized what was happening. It was so subtle, I just figured that I was imagining things. Last summer, as I sat on Read More …
Thanks to everyone for the plethora of birthday greetings! Last year I had a party at school and ended up with way too much leftover spaghetti, so this time around had a nice, quiet day to celebrate. I can’t believe that I’m only a few months away from coming home. Read More …
CNN has been interesting lately. Maybe not so much informative as providing things of interest. Yesterday I saw an article about Peace Corps Volunteers. It’s an interesting read and particularly addresses the practice of many Americans to join the Peace Corps not as fresh-out-of-college youngsters (as many PCVS are), but Read More …
but this CNN World story really exemplifies something about the Philippines. Something that can’t really be accurately put into words, but that gives great insight into Pinoy culture. Read the article above and then watch the video. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. In fact, make sure you aren’t drinking Read More …
Californians left in dark as heat wave continuesParts of Southern California sweltered in triple-digit temperatures on Monday as a heat wave stretched into the seventh day and contributed to power outages that left thousands with without air conditioning. Temperatures soared in the San Fernando Valley with Woodland Hills reporting 102 Read More …
It’s been five weeks since I moved to my new site and that time has been quite hectic. I have been away for almost 2 1/2 of those five weeks for trainings and medical appointments for Peace Corps. This past week at the school has been consumed with a national Read More …
This is the view that I get on my walk to my new school. The top of the mountain is hiding behind the clouds, but from my vantage point, I can see into the crater of the volcano when it’s clear. To give some scale, the summit of the peak Read More …
I have officially completed my site transfer and moved into my new home. The last week I’ve been living there, getting settled in and getting to meet people at my new host agency. In contrast to my old site, I’m at a high school in a small rural community. So Read More …