The life and times of a PCV in the Philippines.
Today is another first…my first typhoon! Don’t worry, it’s a signal 1 storm- which means it’s pretty much a glorified rainstorm that’ll go on for a few days. Last night I awakened to the sound of loud rain on our tin roof, at first it sounded like my fan had Read More …
I’ve gotten some recent updates on changes in the Peace Corps World, via Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez is leaving his position to be an FAO representative for the United Nations. The newest PC child in the Asia region will be Cambodia. Some thought it might be Read More …
I have just returned to Naga from my week-long site visit and am quite glad to be back. I’m sure that I will grow to love my site, but right now I’m having a little trouble finding enthusiasm about the place. It seems that most of the volunteers in this Read More …
Not much time to write a whole lot now, but the last week has been busy and yet not. Monday was a holiday and with our extra day of free time, I went to a nearby waterfall with two other trainees. I took my camera and got some nice pictures. Read More …
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The time for my site visit is slowly creeping up on me. We leave our cluster sites and travel to what will eventually be our permanent sites this coming Tuesday. We thought that we were supposed to go on Monday, but it’s Labor Day here and that means holiday for Read More …
I have the feeling that my family was either trying to set me up with a cousin or said cousin got the brilliant idea on his own, but now I have been receiving the very unwanted attention of a 30-something filipino police officer whose life dream is to go to Read More …
So, a few days ago we left our cluster sites and returned to our hub site, which is where the training for the volunteers in this region occurs and where the training staff for our region is staying while we’re away. We had about 12 days with our families and Read More …
As one might assume, because the Philippines is a predominantly Christian (specifically a Catholic) country, the Lenten season is a pretty big deal. Our first few weeks at our cluster sites coincided with the culmination of all of this, so we had the opportunity to observe how our communities observe Read More …
It’s been almost two weeks at cluster and at this point I am happy, but also very ready to return to the hub site for a few days just to recharge my proverbial batteries. Life hasn’t been terribly demanding or frustrating, but it is a lot to take in all Read More …
As many may know, the Philippines is a very Catholic country. I believe it’s something like 92% of the country is Christian (there’s a large Muslim population in the south, near Indonesia) and probably 85% of the people are Catholic. Unlike the in the United States there is no separation Read More …
Life in the barangay (say: bah-run-GUY) is very different from what we’ve experienced so far. Peace Corps has been stepping down the level of accommodation since staging, likely to make the process of transitioning to a host family as smooth as possible. We will periodically return to our hub site, Read More …