Merry Christmas!

Yes, it seems like the last 3 months of celebrating are coming to their peak this week. School ended yesterday with an impromptu Christmas Program. We danced and sang and played games. It was a lot of fun. The students exchanged gifts. I have a pile of about 100 homemade and very creative Christmas cards.

Over the weekend I traveled to the Provincial Athletic Meet to support our athletes. We joined with all of the schools in Mt. Province to play about every sport you can imagine (no football) including chess, table tennis, and martial arts. There was also a cheer dance competition in which our entire 4^th year class competed and took 3^rd place.

This week there is rooster’s mass, starting at dawn every day. On Christmas Eve I will attend the midnight mass and the program here before heading to my host mother’s home town for  Christmas Day. I’ll let you know how it is.

Hope all of you are enjoying the holidays. It hasn’t been at all stressful here like it sometimes is back home. Maybe because we have stretched it out since September.

Cheers!

Pictures!

Sorry bad news. I've been taking lots of pictures but most of them are of me and the students and co-teachers. In order to protect them and follow the peace corps policies, i don't feel too comfortable posting them so you will just have to wait until I get back! However, if I were able to post them, this is what you would see:

• Me teaching my first year students the Cupid Shuffle.
• Leading a small workshop with the community members and teachers.
• The making of a music video with English Club members to "Where is the Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas.
• Our Piso War fundraiser (similar to the coin wars you did in middle school)
• Our Christmas Party at Mt. Data Lodge.

I miss everyone back home and hope you are all doing well. Time is flying by here which I suppose is a good thing. I hope you are all getting in to the holiday season because I am buried in it here!

The Hunt for Kalimansi

The hunt for a lime. But it was much more epic than that.

This struggle starts a few days back at an English Club meeting. We were planning the Christmas party. The members suggested I make something and I offered to make cole slaw. The next day an enormous bag of cabbage was waiting for me when I entered the school. The way home that afternoon was dark and drizzly. I passed a group of students and asked where I could get a carrot. By the time I arrived home there was a carrot waiting for me on the counter. Then I remembered I need a lime, and so I asked my host mom where I could find one.

“You’ll have to go to the top of the mountain,” she said with her back to me, busy preparing dinner.

I must have thought she said “on the mountain,” and since we lived on a mountain, I turned to my host brother and asked if we could go right then and there. He looked doubtful at first but then agreed to take me to find the lime tree.

As it turned out she didn’t simply mean “on the mountain.” She meant it when she said “the TOP of the mountain."

So, in rain-boots, my winter coat and my flimsy umbrella we started our hike. The wind chose to pick up within a few moments of our departure and my umbrella became useless. Up we went. Up and up. There were a narrow set of concrete steps built into the mountain. Near the top we left them behind and began trekking through the rows of potatoes in the terraced gardens. It was muddy and I nearly caused a landslide. After 25 minutes we reached what must be the peak of Mt. Data. The wind was whipping the rain around us and we looked down on a large garden with rows and rows of cabbages. Trees were scattered about. I followed Rajiv as he carefully wound his way toward a specific tree that was set alone from the others. The Kalimansi Tree. I was exhausted but my host brother immediately set to picking the small limes. I stopped him after some time.

“Uh, Rajiv? You know I only need one right?”

It was dark when we arrived back home. I was soaked and muddy. But I felt like I just returned home with gold from the top of a sacred mountain. The coleslaw turned out horrible. I got a little zealous with the lime juice that I was so proud of fetching.

The Mt. Data Dilemma

After speaking with the community officials, students, and teachers, I now have a more detailed and complete picture of Mt. Data. I completed a small workshop in order to assess and prioritize the needs of the community. I was surprised to see that nearly everyone agreed on the most pressing issues here: Conserving the forest and sustaining the watershed. But these problems are not easy to fix, and the more questions I ask the more complicated it gets. First a quick history of this place.

Back in the day, the Americans ran a sawmill here. That explains why so many of the hills are bald here. Even above the school is a huge mound of sawdust which they have graded flat to use as a track and field. People from all over the region came to work at the sawmill. When, the Americans left, they turned it over to the Filipinos. However, shortly after, the National People’s Army burned it down because they refused to pay them tax. With no more sawmill to employ the people, many simply moved back home.

What is left is a small community of maybe 100 families. The only source of employment here is the Mt. Data Lodge, and the two public schools. However, even most of the teachers return home every weekend, and simply board here during the week. Many other families also leave to go back to their families on weekends and holidays.

This seems to be the biggest barrier to solving problems. Although the community is populated, very few call it their home. Mt. Data is not their place of origin, so they feel no responsibility to sustain it. The community officials have found it difficult and nearly impossible to encourage people to care for the land or volunteer labor to help clean or provide deterrence.

Mt. Data is a farming community, so the land needed for gardens is just as important as the forest. The people seem to understand this dilemma, but aren’t sure how to go about setting it straight. I hope I can help. They are interested in building a fence around the water shed, and then someone asked if I can help with “social fencing.” I said of course I’ll give  it a shot.

As for the school, the teachers would like some trainings and workshops on library management, counseling, and teaching techniques. The students would like sports equipment and more computers. I’m excited to get started helping them.

Of course I forgot my camera again so pictures will have to wait!

Happy 50th Peace Corps!

I traveled to Manila last weekend to visit the 50^th Anniversary celebration at the Mall of Asia. The trip alone was an adventure in itself, but I got a chance to see the other volunteers and watch some great presentations by some local dancers. The volunteers also had some booths with some demos of the projects they have been working on. I had a good time but was relieved to finally come back to the peace and quiet of my site in Mt. Data.

This week began the start of the 3^rd grading period. I’ve had a chance to work with  my counterpart and try and design a new format that will add a little structure to the otherwise spontaneous lesson planning I’ve been facing since I arrived.

Next week I’m planning a small workshop that will allow the community to come talk with me, find out what Peace Corps really is, and give the people a chance to express their needs and expectations from me as a volunteer. I’ve spoken too many of the locals here already and it seems that many farmers are looking for agricultural assistance and are interested in organic gardening. I know little about either, so I’ve been spending some time researching and trying to find the right resources to connect them with. If anyone knows anything about growing potatoes give me a holler!

The Sky is Aliave

Today was the first of a long string of holidays celebrated here in the Philippines. Tomorrow will be All Souls Day and the day after that All Saints Day will be celebrated. Next week is a Muslim holiday, and in between we have the school’s annual district meet and the PC’s Grand 50^th Anniversary celebration. Today however has been claimed an unnamed holiday because we felt like we could use one more! And besides, they celebrate Halloween in the states, so why shouldn’t we join in the fun?

It couldn’t have been a more perfect night. A fog rolled in and the three streetlights that are strewn along the street became giant orbs of dim light. I was asked to be a judge for the Masquerade Ball. The children from Mt. Data came in there scariest masks, and a few adults joined in the costume contest as well. I regret forgetting my camera because there were some really great costumes!

Walking home I noticed the night sky, the first time clear enough to see the stars. I’m not sure quite how to say it without being overly poetic. I’ll say that it made even the dark sky back home in Skull Valley seem dead. It was alive, shimmering, glittering, moving. Shooting star after shooting star, like something out of a fantasy movie. The North Star was easy to find, twice the size. And I could see Orion’s Belt, this time clearly with his head, arms, legs, and sheath of his sword. It seemed so close and I stood transfixed for a while before calling it a night.

Message!

The other day I observed how the mail reaches me. As I was walking home from school, one of the big passenger buses came whizzing past me blaring its horn. I watched as the post woman came sprinting out of the post office, arms flailing in the air. As the bus threw itself around the curve, the driver chucked a bag out of the window which the post woman failed to catch. It hit the curb15 feet down the road where she retrieved it. “What’s that?” I asked. “Oh, just the mail,” she said, “look, you have a card!” As it turns out, the post office has a contract with the buses to deliver the mail along their routes. Just don’t send anything too fragile.

School is going well. The English program here is like a wild knot that I’m trying to untangle. I think I’ve got all the ends figured out, now I just have to work with my counterpart to slowly develop a strategy to implement a program that will last beyond my two years of service. It’s a little bit tricky because she plans to retire as soon as I’m gone!

Back at my host family’s house, I’m enjoying the food…maybe a little too much. Fresh veggies every day has me eating more cabbage than I ever thought possible. Add fresh carrots, squash, okra, onions, ginger, potatoes, watercress, chayote and, of course, rice rice rice! I’m weaning myself off of coffee and started drinking an array of wild tea instead. They have a several varieties of “mountain tea,” wild lemongrass, mint, and some plant that I can’t decide if it tastes like peppermint or root beer or something in between.

In my spare time, my host brother has been trying to teach me to play guitar. Otherwise, I have been reading or trying to recreate Taboo, Balderdash, and other vocab games that my class would enjoy. Know what a dingleberry is? Look it up. Holidays are fast approaching (we’ve been celebrating Christmas since September1). Next week is semester break for the students, the week after that is filled with days off due to more holidays, and then it is the district athletic meet. I’ll be going, hopefully, to Manila to attend the 50^th anniversary not only for Peace Corps in the Philippines, but for the agency itself. Thank you JFK!

P.S. Change of address! You can send letters and small packages to the address on the right. Please don’t send anything expensive or, like I mentioned before, might break due to being thrown out of a window (defenestration – thank you balderdash).

My counterpart, Mam Nellie, and I.

Teaching in my 1st year class.

Volleyball is probably the most popular sport.
The boys play it every chance they get.

Where my food comes from.

Day 104

I’ve been steadily learning the routine of a teacher at a high school in the Philippines. Peace Corps has an agreement with the Department of Education in the Philippines that a volunteer is not supposed to teach a class alone without a counterpart. However, that rule blew out the window about a week after I got here. My counterpart is often called away or sometimes late which leaves me alone with the class. All has gone well, but I have quickly discovered the differences in the educational system here.

On the surface, students seem to be very well disciplined. They greet you wherever you go with a courteous “Good Morning Sir,” or “Good Morning M’am.” They stand when you enter a class and thank you when you leave. Here, the teachers move from room to room, not the students. Teachers and students both wear uniforms (I’m waiting for mine to be tailored). School begins at 7:40 with an outdoor flag ceremony led by a prayer, then the anthem, then the pledge. They have a 20 minute recess in the morning, and then an hour and a half for lunch. School is dismissed at 4:30.

However, unlike in the U.S. where a bell ends each period promptly, here a teacher must ring a bell (a rusty wheel-well) and it is anything but prompt. Usually the flag ceremony starts at 8, and the bell ends class 10-15 minutes late. Teachers are not expected to be on time, and it is normal for students to wander in to class late. This is understandable because many have to hike over an hour to get to school.

However, there is virtually no discipline. My students rarely turn in homework assignments and the teacher does not do anything but give a light scolding. Some teachers give empty threats while others try to bribe them, and disobedient students usually get away without consequences. Today I observed a group start a fire in the class room as a prop. I watched amused as the teachers acted as if it were completely normal.

Unfortunately, the same story goes for students who come to school drunk or misbehave. There is no detention because there are no teachers to facilitate it. Parents can’t be called because they are working in the farm. Students can’t be sent home because they are the school’s liability. It’s definitely not what I’m used to and they are probably going to find me to be a bit of a strict teacher. It’s fun to watch them think they can cleverly get away with things. They don’t realize that I was a high school student much more recently than their other teachers. Usually catching them in the act is enough to get them to stop and thankfully I have not had any trouble.

On a brighter note, the English Club is up and running. For their first activity they decided they wanted to watch an English movie and I agreed to set up a projector and movie for them. Of course they chose Twilight Eclipse. At the end of the movie I woke up and noticed most of the students left early, either because they didn’t want to walk home in the dark, or because they were tired of the same kissing scene over and over. Anyway, I was left watching the ending credits with about 12 high school boys. The girls were nowhere to be seen.

Eat with your hands!

It’s been a while but suppose that’s a good thing and just goes to prove how busy I have been. I have been co-teaching for two weeks now and so far so good. I teach two first year classes and two second year classes every morning. That’s the U.S. equivalent of 7^th and 8^th graders. Right now we are supposed to be studying drama. Not my strongpoint but I help out as best I can. At noon I return home for a leisurely lunch. And at 3 in the afternoon I head back to the school for research and lesson planning, which sometimes takes us late into the evening after dark.

This week I also helped to revise the English Club. Some students started planning ideas for activities and fundraisers. They have some really good ideas! If they can just get past their shyness to say them out loud…However, the students have begun to loosen up around me and have started talking more. Of course, I have about a thousand ideas running through my head, but I’m quickly finding out difficulties and challenges in organizing anything outside of class time.

The community here is made up of farmers. They work all week in their gardens (can’t call them fields because there is no flat land here). On weekends, they make the trip to La Trinidad to deliver the vegetables to the trading post assuming prices are decent. As for me, weekends are my days off but are usually spent washing laundry, going to church, and finalizing lesson plans.

The 5-meals-a-day routine hasn’t changed. Everything stops at 10 and 3 for merienda. My favorite snack of brewed local coffee with home-made peanut butter on toast followed me here, and I continue to enjoy it twice a day. As for the other meals, they are simple but delicious. Eating with your hands is quite common here and I’ve gotten used to it. They say it makes the food taste better…

Thanks to all who have sent letters or cards (mom). It’s always exciting to get something in the mail.

Living Above the Clouds

The view from my bedroom window.

I am here! I reached my official site and new home for the next two years. After two long bus rides, I arrived at Mount Data, Bauko; Mt. Provine on Sunday evening.

I think whoever invented the word “breathtaking” must have been standing where I am now. Outside my house, I see the clouds floating among steep cliffs, vegetable terraces, and waterfalls. The road clings to the side of the mountains, winding its way from village to village. The high school I will be teaching at is terraced itself, and is about a 5 minute hike from my house.

It’s cold. The last thing I expected when I heard I was assigned to the Philippines. But the awesome beauty of the place makes up for that. The people are wonderful…all two hundred of them that make up the barangay. The students and teachers are pretty awesome and my host family, once again, is amazing. There are 6 children, but only the youngest (16) is living at home. The others are either working or studying outside the province and come home only to visit during holidays or school breaks.

Today, I made the two hour trip to Bontoc with my supervisor to make courtesy calls to the Governor and Mayor. About 5km from our destination we were met with a landslide blocking the road that must have fallen within seconds of when we saw it. After about half an hour it was cleared enough so we could pass. We made it through, made the turn, and low and behold there was another landslide blocking the road. We could see that the boulders were too big to be moved and after seeing them preparing the dynamite, we decided to walk the remainder of the way to the town. Upon returning, we were stopped by yet another landslide. As it turned out, the highway workers had a flat tire and so we waited nearly two hours while the police struggled to clear the road. In the end, I made it home safe.

It will take some getting used to but I am excited for it. The school was recently equipped with internet, but it is the only web-access within an hour. There is hardly any cell signal, and my first night here the electricity was out. So, basically, it reminds me of my house back home and I love it.

View from my house. You can see the treacherous
road winding back down the mountain. 

Top level of the high school.

Swearing In

The last week of training was intense but also very exciting. All the trainees gathered in Manila with our counterparts that we have been paired to work with. My co-teacher is Mam Nellie. She was about to retire but decided to stay after she heard I was coming! We spent four days wrapping up what we have learned the last two and a half months, and learning how to work together efficiently.

The swearing in ceremony was held on Friday. Each of the four language training groups was asked to perform a short presentation at the ceremony. My group had been training hard practicing a native Igorot dance. Even after we arrived in Manila, we held secret underground practices so we could keep it a surprise. Our group was the only one with costumes and was chosen for the finale. I'll try and post pics later.

It was hard saying goodbye to La Trinidad and my friends and host family there. On my last night, upon hearing that my bus was to leave at 3am, my host brother and sister decided to stay up with me all night and we pulled an all-nighter. It’s hard to believe that in just two months that you can build those strong relationships that will last forever.

Next stop: Mountain Province!

Dogs and Frogs

Only one week left in La Trinidad and I’m still as busy as ever.

Our community project last week was a success. After writing many letters and attending lots of meetings with the mayor and community officials, we were able to get 70 trash drums donated! We were worried at first because after spending an entire morning making house-calls inviting the community to our event, we had a no-show. We even called it 'Saturday Fun Fest' to try and distract from it's actual purpose (waste disposal and segregation awareness) But thankfully some students came to the school for report-cards and were also interested in learning. We ended up with a nice group of about 50 kids.  Prior to painting the trash cans, we led a fun workshop that taught the kids about proper segregation and waste management. We split them into groups and they rotated through four different stations led by the PCTs. Brian and I demonstrated how segregating and recycling can decrease landfills and avoid polluting Manila Bay. Afterwards we ate merienda (of course) and painted some of the trash barrels that will be placed in the community later. It was awesome.

Talking about trash.

I noticed I’m lacking some pictures of my neighborhood so here are some to give you an idea of everyday life. I live about a 5 min walk from the main market. I’m also right down the street from a major vegetable trading post in this region.


If I walk to the main road, I can catch a jeepney to my training site. Everyday is like a parade in the Philippines. I'm always admiring the jeepnies when I'm not riding in them. They are the main mode of transportation in the city. Don't be fooled, each one can hold about 22 passengers. If I close my eyes and imagine real hard, I can look across the street and pretend I'm back home. The only difference is that in this MacDo, the employees are the happiest people on earth. Customers get greeted with an overly-cheerful "Hello Sir!" every time they walk through the door.

The street outside my house.

Busy day at the trading post! Farmers from all over Luzon bring their produce.

Jeepney

McDo. The only place around with free wifi.

That's not a vet's office.

 I'm sure going to miss this place. Our group is planning a goodbye party to thank our host families. I'm working on making a pinikpikan pinata for the kids (beat the chicken, get it?) Besides that I'm feeding constantly from leftover merienda as I study for my Language Proficiency Interview.On top of all that I also have about a hundred invitations to dinners and lunches that just might send me into a food coma. Breakfast tomorrow with the Mayor. Oh, and as for the title of this post...that's what I ate for lunch today. No joke.

Malaria Dreams

Peace Corps requires all volunteers to take Chloroquine which is a malaria prophylaxis. While the presence of Malaria is scarce in most of the Philippines, I found out that it is endemic in Mountain Province. The neon pink tablets are taken once a week, so for us that’s malaria-Monday…usually followed by Traumatic Tuesday, due to the side effect of vivid and sometimes horrific dreams. Not something I’m particularly excited about for the next 2 years, but it makes for some interesting stories. Though for us here in La Trinidad, Dengue is much more present and common. I’ve been careful to avoid mosquitoes as one of our fellow trainees already caught dengue fever. There are usually outbreaks after heavy rain showers. And speaking of rain…

TYPHOON!

This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.

Yes it has been absolutely insane since last Friday when Typhoon Mina hit Benguet. Furious winds and endless downpoors lasted for over three days while the town seemed to slow to a crawl. The roads flooded and the house leaked. However, the worst news came when the dump site in Baguio collapsed causing a landslide of trash that buried several houses and killed 10 people.

Siakon, or "I will be the one"-
a common phrase here said when
someone is offering to
do a task ("I'll do it!")

Even now, the rain continues as the typhoon seems to have transitioned into a monsoon. I’ve never seen this much rain before. Yes, we have monsoons in AZ, but those you can just wait 45 seconds until they’re over and step back outside. Anyway, life here has become pretty much normal. We've decided to make cluster t-shirts featuring our Ilokano teacher (see pic). I’ve been plowing away at language, and we have a community project we are completing this week. Our goal is to set up a community workshop on proper waste management and segregation followed by an activity where the students can paint trash barrels to be placed around the community. So tomorrow I will be following up a visit to the mayor’s office and meeting with the barangay (sort of like a neighborhood gov’t) captains. 

I hope all of you are doing well back at home. I’ve heard the US is getting some pretty crazy weather too. Also, I’d like to know who is reading my blog! So drop a comment or shoot me an email. Maybe you’ll get a postcard…

Baluuuuuuut!

It’s the food the country is famous for, and for us volunteers, a passage of acceptance into the Filipino culture. In the early evening and into the night you will hear men calling up and down the streets selling balut. It is usually kept warm in a pot, and upon payment, one will often be offered a pinch of salt or splash of vinegar. But the best part is choosing your balut. It’s like those Wonderball chocolates we used to eat as kids. They all look the same on the outside, but on the inside you never know what surprise you’re going to get.

Balut are eggs which contain a partially developed duck embryo. If you ask, the vendor will usually tell you how long it has been maturing…usually 15-20 days. Opening a young balut will contain a very young fetus, while those that are 20 days old may contain feathers and small bones.

They are sold kind of like hard-boiled eggs. After softly tapping the top of the egg to crack it open, the juice is sipped out. Then, half of the egg is peeled off and you get to see what’s inside. Add a pinch of salt and a bit of vinegar and it’s ready to eat! I tried it a few weeks ago, shortly after I arrived in La Trinidad.

Life here has sped up insanely fast. I no longer wake up from roosters or barking dogs, and I can't even imagine eating a meal without rice. I just wouldn't know what to do with the food on my plate if there wasn't rice to mix it with. I'm enjoying the sun during the day and fall asleep listening to the thunder storms that roll in during the evening.

Co-teaching is slowly getting easier. I arrived just in time for second quarter which incorporates drama into the English plans. Most of my time in front of the class is spent waiting for the students to quiet down from consistent outbursts of laughter, most of which are caused unintentionally (example: let's count how many times Sir Matt can break a single piece of chalk, watching the pieces fall to the floor, until it is down to the smallest nub). But teaching so far has been a blast and I'm looking forward to my permanent site.

Hosting a PACA workshop at the high school with
students and members of the community. Can you spot the "Matt Fan?"

Site Placement!

I just returned from Manila where all the trainees gathered for Supervisor’s Conference where, for three days, we enjoyed the amenities at Island Cove resort. Soon after we arrived on Monday afternoon, we learned where we will be serving for the next two years in the Philippines. After over a month of waiting impatiently, I finally found out that  I will be teaching in, drum roll please...

Bauko, Mountain Province!! Which... probably means nothing to you. So let me fill you in.

Mountain Province is, well, in the mountains. The towns are small and mostly rural. It is one of the coldest places in the Philippines dropping all the way down to a chilling 47 degrees. I will be teaching at Mount Data National High School. It’s pretty small…only about 200 students, compared with the 2000+ that most of the other education volunteers will be teaching in.

So it looks close right? Ha! 5 hours by bus.

The pictures I've seen are stunning, depicting misty valleys with the green peaks of mountains popping through. I've been told there are few restaurants, no internet cafés, and will  travel 5 hours to the nearest bank at least once a month. It is a cool place with lots of hiking and lots of culture that I can’t wait to experience. And after arriving in Manila, which is like stepping out of the Phoenix airport in summer ("oh, but it's a dry heat"), I immediately wanted to return to the fresh mountain air.

Our supervisors came that evening for dinner and to spend the remaining two days with us at the conference. I met the principle of the school I will be teaching in. We really hit it off and I’m super excited to be working with her. She showed me some pictures of the school and we talked about the needs and goals that can be addressed. While English fluency is my main focus, we are also hoping to improve the library, enhance the remedial reading program, and initiate some sort of computer training for the teachers and students.

But before all of this:

On Sunday my host family took me to Baguio. We saw the old American military retreat of Camp John Hay. It was like being transported back to the US. Nicely paved roads (with sidewalks!), surrounded by pine trees and the occasional American-style house. Don’t forget Starbucks.

The best part however was when we stopped at a Convent on the way home to buy some natural jam and peanut butter that the nuns sell. They were also selling Kopi Luwak coffee. Anyone seen the Bucket List with Jack Nicholson? Kopi Luwak, known as Civet coffee here, is the rarest, most expensive coffee in the world! And guess where they make it? You got it. Right here in my town. The nuns were selling it for super cheap. I paid about a buck and a half for a cup of coffee that would cost upwards of $60 in New York. This made me super happy and is one of the most exciting things I’ve done thus far. If you want to know the special process behind it, I’ll just let you google it for yourselves.

How we celebrate

Saturday was my host sister’s birthday. Here in the Philippines it is traditional to have friends and family over to the house for a party that is centered all around food. Earlier, I had offered to my host sister to cook her some American dishes. She took me up on the offer and invited all 8 of the education PCTs over for the party and we all cooked. The house smelled like America. Deviled eggs, guacamole, stew, spaghetti, Spanish rice, and flan. Everyone served up a bit of their heritage in our not-so-American food buffet. But it helped us explain that America is in fact a melting pot, and the wide array of food was actually a good representation of the United States.

The Crew with the Bday Girl.

Not be outdone by the Americans, the family of course cooked up some Filipino food. In American, a guest would enter the house with a nicely wrapped gift to add to the pile of presents. Yesterday, the only thing wrapped was a whole roasted suckling pig that  Mich’s boyfriend proudly threw on the table to be cut. The intestines were soaked in blood and served as a side.

Mmmmm...

Then came the Pinikpikan. I had heard about this dish before. My host dad calls it “Killing me softly.” Basically a live chicken is beaten with a stick until dead. Then its throat is cut and they bleed it out. After that, they the burn the whole bird over a flame until all the feathers are charred. They scrape them off and then boil the chicken to make a smoky broth. The meat is cut up and served. We got to witness the entire process, from the bludgeoning to the torch.

Witnessing Pinikpikan

I also experienced my first typhoon on Wednesday. School was cancelled, although it wasn’t nearly as bad here in the mountains as it was in the coastal regions of the Philippines. The greatest fear is the landslides which can wipe away houses and take many lives in a matter of seconds.

Monday we all travel to Manila for the Supervisor’s conference. We will meet our supervisor and finally find out where our permanent site will be. I had a site placement interview yesterday. Although they were careful not to spill the beans, it was obvious Peace Corps had a site picked out for me. From what I could decipher from the questions, it sounds like I will be in a small school, in a very rural location, maybe in the mountains. But after everyone’s interview, it sounded like our group gave them a doozy and they might move some people around. I’ll just have to wait until next week to find out!

My host brother and sisters!
Fatylin, Michelle, and Chars

A Day in the Life of a Peace Corps Trainee

As my routine has slowly started to develop, I will share with you how my typical day unfolds.

4:00am. No, that’s not when I get up, just the time when the one hundred and thirty two dogs that live outside my house decide it’s time to wake the neighborhood. At approximately 5:15 the dogs stop barking. At 5:20 the rooster takes over and crows for the next two hours. Shortly after comes the tooting bike horn of the bread cart. He must have friends across the street, because he lingers and toots his horn for at least 15 minutes. Every day.

When I do wake up around 6:30 I am lucky enough to be able to take a hot shower. Then it's downstairs for breakfast which is usually rice and leftovers from dinner the night before. I’m so glad they drink coffee in the Philippines.

After breakfast I set off for my training site, umbrella in one hand and my prepared pack lunch in the other. I live about 5km from my training site, so I walk to the main road and catch a Jeepney to the site for 8.5 pesos (~$.20). I’m finally getting used to umbrellas (I’ve never really had to use one before in AZ). Sometimes Uncle Sam will take me on the way to his shop. Did I mention my host dad happens to be the coolest dude in the Philippines? Today he took me in his Monster Truck, complete with flames and bull painted on the hood.

MWF I attend the Flag ceremony at the High School before language training. After lunch I go back to the school to co-teach my two classes and lesson plan with my counterpart. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays we have language training, assessments, or other training on stuff like safety, health, etc. Saturdays we only train for half a day. Sometimes we get to go use our language skills in the community. Today we went to the market in neighboring Baguio to bargain in Ilokano.

When I come home I eat the most amazing meals. Always rice and usually pork or chicken. Fried bananas for desert. I usually spend the last few hours before bed watching the News or Discovery Channel with the family (Asia’s Discovery Channel is so much better), studying my language lessons, or reading Aunte Apol’s memoir. It’s amazing and incredibly inspiring. She writes how she went from rags to riches; from being disabled and bedridden to becoming a functioning and successful business woman.

You can call me "Sir"

This past week flew by. The language classes are blowing my mind, but the visit to Benguet National High School yesterday went well. I met my counterpart who I will be working with for 3 weeks. MWF I will facilitate two classes of first year secondary (7th grade). Classes are pretty big...about 60 students crammed into a room big enough for 30.


Those of you who are picturing me dressing like the typical "shaggy" Peace Corps volunteer can delete that image from your minds. While teaching, I'll be in in slacks and dress shirt and shoes. A level of attire that I thought I would be postponing for two years. Time to show the world that I can be a professional! Looks like I'll be ditching the shorts and keens, so it's a good thing I am in thrift shop heaven here. Imagine if all the Savers and Goodwills decided to combine forces in an abandoned hotel. You get the idea. But I think it's going to be a long time before I will get used to being addressed as "Sir Matt." I'll expect that from all of you when I get back.

I was excited to find out that the people in this area are fond of country music and I hear it everywhere. I think it has helped out a bit with preventing homesickness. That and good ol’ McDonalds. Have to be a bit careful though. The term cowboy here can refer to someone who is rogue or a bit of a rebel, or as my host father put it, “Up for anything!”

La Trinidad. I live yonder, across the strawberry fields,
hither the market, and down 500 meters of chaos
thither the vegetable trading post.

My room with my world map.

Cluster group! Language class with Roritz, our awesome Ilokano teacher.

We No Speak Ilokano

There is so much to say I will have to try and contain most of it until I have some pictures to show! 


Sunday I said goodbye to the heat and humidity of Manila and  made the 7 hour trip up to the mountainous region of La Trinidad in the Benguet Province and I met my new host family. It is absolutely stunning here and the weather is perfect, although there are short downpours of rain throughout the day. La Trinidad is built on the mountainsides surrounding a valley of strawberry fields. It is strange seeing pine trees growing in the rain forest, and the streets are so wet and muddy that the Peace Corps bought us rain boots.


My host family is great. I live with Auntie Apol and Uncle Sam and their three children Michelle, Fatylin, and Charston. The kids are all in their 20's so I will have some people to show me around during my free time. Fatylin has a 3 year old daughter named Kairi. Uncle Dave also lives in the house and so does Josie, the helper. So all in all there are 8 including me. The two girls speak near perfect English, and Kairi speaks more English than many of the 3 year-olds I've met in the States. Apolonia is disabled and uses crutches and a wheelchair. Uncle Sam owns a Jeepney shop. More about Jeepneys later...


The house is extremely accommodating and I am living comfortable. It is way more than I expected and I am sure I will be happy living here for the next 9 weeks.


So far training days have been filled with language training and courtesy calls to officials such as the Mayor and the Barangay Captains, as well as the school admin centers. Later we will begin observing classes and then start co-teaching in the classroom. They are teaching us Ilokano, but we soon realized that everyone here has their own dialect and aren't necessarily fluent in Ilokano. In fact, some of the locals are more comfortable speaking in English. 

Becoming a High School Teacher

Something I would never have seen myself becoming. In just the last couple of weeks, the Peace Corps staff has done a steady job molding even the least experienced of us into teaching professionals. While all of the CYF volunteers left the camp to go to their training sites, I have stayed behind with the other education volunteers for 4 more days filled with teaching strategies and lesson planning. I’ve always hated icebreakers, so it is a bit ironic that I’m becoming a master at using them in the classroom. Demo teaching today and tomorrow. Sunday we finally leave for our training sites.

Cheesedog N' a Waffle

Climbing a coconut tree.

Yesterday was water safety training. Because we are living in an archipelago, and chances are we will be on a boat at some point, the Peace Corps felt it was necessary that we all know how to inflate our life vests properly. So, we all loaded onto the buses and headed to the beach. They took us out in groups on small boats called bankas where we inflated our life vests, jumped in the water, floated around, and climbed back on. I’m sure all the locals were all laughing at the ridiculous Americans spilling onto the beach in their bright yellow life vests.

The only other time I’ve had the chance to leave the camp was to go to the mall. It’s nicer than most of the malls I have been in at home, complete with Dunkin Donuts, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Ace Hardware and lots of other American chains. Also, I’ve realized the Filipinos love snacks and are masters at making them. A popular one in the mall was a hotdog wrapped in a waffle. I opted for the German Cheese Dog Waffle and was immediately hooked.

Yes, there are hotdogs made out of tuna.

I’ve been told I need to give more details concerning the people and food. I’ve been pretty isolated here so far but most of the Filipinos I’ve met are short, smiling and extremely friendly. They use eyebrow wiggles when communicating and love fried foods. And going back to food, rice is a staple and eaten at all 3 meals of the day. Snacks are eaten in between. So far, meat is the main course, including lots of pork. To drink there are various kinds of juices (usually Tang or Kool Aid). The best is the fruit. The bananas, mangos, and pineapple are the sweetest I’ve ever tasted. I’m sure once I meet my host family I will have a clearer perspective on things and will have lots more to share then.

The Zen will continue

Recently energy around the camp has picked up because all the volunteers were told our training sites which will influence our permanent sites. I am part of the group that will be heading north to the mountainous region of Benguet. My cluster which includes 3 other volunteers will be living and training hard in La Trinidad for the next two and a half months.

From what my sources have said, this is the cooler part of the Philippines where the famous rice and vegetable terraces are, as well as lots of streams, rivers, valleys and volcanoes. It is the strawberry capital and the thrift store capital of the world. I can forget all about Tagalog; I immediately started language training in Ilokano, which is the predominant language in the region, and the third most spoken in the Philippines.

While it may not be the beach, which is what some people were hoping for, the coast is only a couple of hours away and it sounds like there is plenty of interesting things to see. I’ll be counting down the days until I get to meet my host family and get introduced to the education system. Until then, I'll be busy continuing technical training here at the camp.

AO (Acronym Overload)

The Peace Corps loves acronyms, almost to the point where it is getting ridiculous to keep track of all of them. PCT, PCV, IO, CYF, HF, V, OMS, LCF, CD, VAC, DMO, TCF, CRM, PCMO, RM, COTE are just a few. It seems if any word might have to be written more than once, it should be abbreviated. The lingo is like learning another language in itself.

They have been treating us very well. I think they are trying to ease us in a little at a time to reduce the culture shock. Bathing requires the use of a bucket and scoop but they installed air conditioning in the rooms, and although there are Filipino Peace Corps workers here, we are pretty isolated and haven’t really been exposed to the language or community. As for the Filipinos I have met, they are all extremely happy people, always smiling and very nice.

Initial Orientation

We all eat together in a cafeteria and then spend the rest of the day attending various training sessions. I will be here for about 2 weeks. After that we break into small cluster groups of 5 or 6 and travel to our training communities. We are the first batch of volunteers to do it this way. Normally we would be with host families after only a few days. Half of the volunteers are in the Education program like me, while the rest are in the Community, Youth, and Family sector.

We were all given cell phones, and I will post my number on the right. As for internet, it comes and goes, but I’ll try updating regularly while I can. For those of you wondering, I am 15 hours ahead of Arizona time. Today I’m headed to get my shots and Malaria medicine, and sometime tomorrow we find out where we will be training which will determine what language we will learn as well as the area we will eventually be assigned. Can’t wait!