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