tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18911480871186615352024-03-13T19:08:59.839+08:00Matt's Peace Corps JournalMt. Data, PhilippinesMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-12358081830677525652013-11-05T04:44:00.001+08:002015-10-15T23:27:20.027+08:00Goodbyes<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My Peace Corps service officially ended on September 17, 2013.</span></div>
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</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iEYN3OEeeW0/UngE5Zg5SBI/AAAAAAAAAvY/qRdJ8x-yVfM/s1600/philippines+59+219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iEYN3OEeeW0/UngE5Zg5SBI/AAAAAAAAAvY/qRdJ8x-yVfM/s320/philippines+59+219.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Up until the last day at site, if anyone asked me if I was ready to go home the answer was "Hell Yes!" Thoughts of my family and friends, buffalo wings smothered in hot sauce, juicy hamburgers grilled to perfection, and cheese that didn't taste like erasers were increasingly taking over my brain. Sometimes I would snap out of these thoughts to find myself staring into space with drool creeping down my chin. But don't get me wrong. I was continuing to enjoy my last days at site and kept busy until the last minute. And as it turned out, leaving the Philippines was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alumni reuniting at my going away party in La Trinidad.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the Philippines, it is common to hold "despedidas" or going away parties for friends leaving for an extended time. I decided that I would have two: one at site, and one in La Trinidad where I completed my Pre-Service Training. It was great to see my first host family for the last time, as well as say goodbye to friends that I had met during my first few months in the Philippines. Wonderful food was served on the rooftop of a friend's house, and the guitar was brought out and songs were sung. The greatest part of the evening was when many of my old students, who had graduated and chosen to pursue their studies in college, began showing up one by one to offer their farewells. It meant so much to me especially since some traveled as long as 8 hours to be there that night. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With two weeks to go, I decided to start wrapping up projects at site. My hair grew back. So much so that I let one of the students give me my final haircut. He did a great job! Values class went awesome. Students are no longer afraid of condoms and discussed other life-skills like prioritizing responsibilities, and their role as a responsible community citizen. Some even went out and planted pine trees! The murals were completed, and I cleared out my desk just in time to relax for the District Athletic Meet. After cheering on our athletes despite drizzly weather, I had two days to go and decided it was about time to start thinking about packing up things to go home. My final despedida was scheduled for Monday, the night before I would leave for Manila. Fitting two years of memories into two suitcases proved a challenge, but I was able to do it! Although I would have loved to bring Siglat back home with me, I arranged for my host family to keep him. He's so happy there and I'm sure I can trust them to care for him.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Getting ready to sing.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I arrived to school Monday, I was surprised to see posters that the students had made, leading me all the way down to the school. The students prepared a few songs and games for our classes that morning with lots of picture taking. After lunch the entire school marched up to the community hall for a program with songs, dancing and playing of the gongs. The party was wrapped up with a raffle in which I gave away ALL of my belongings left in my apartment, from the frying pan to t-shirts to the bedroom mirror. Every student got a little piece of my life from the past two years to keep.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Playing the gongs! For the final time....</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Raffling off my stuff</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the party, the teachers and some of the older students followed me back for dinner at my host family's house. It was a difficult night, saying goodbye for the final time and realizing the impact I had on the students, and the impact they had on me. I kept my composure until the following morning when my host family bid me farewell on the bus. I'm sure I made the Filipino sitting next to me very uncomfortable as he was forced to sit by this strange foreigner with tears streaming down his face. It dawned on me that I was leaving family and friends, just as close and important to me as those I have at home in the US.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fourth Year 'Pearls' </span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As volunteers, sometimes our biggest struggle is witnessing the lack of a tangible impact. After all, who doesn't want something to show for all their hard work? But sometimes, it's the relationships we build that are the biggest accomplishment. After two years, my greatest successes come from the students who have told me that I am the reason they didn't drop out of school, or am the one who inspired them to volunteer. Raising English test scores doesn't mean as much as hearing a students say that I am the one who boosted their confidence in speaking English and is now studying at a top university, or gave them the courage to confront their family problems.</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Peace Corps' slogan is "The hardest job you'll ever love." Now that I'm finished, I have to say that I agree completely. The last two years have been a roller coaster of emotions, testing my strength in about every aspect of my life. But the best part of the experience was discovering what I love. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the Pinoy escapade draws to a close, it makes me both nervous and excited as to what adventure life will lead me to next. This will be my final post. Thank you to everyone who has followed my experience for the last 27 months!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Until the next chapter,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-Matt</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Senior students</span></td></tr>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-55575290486388564052013-08-28T16:00:00.000+08:002014-05-11T11:42:20.164+08:00Banana Training<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The school year is underway. In addition to teaching
English, I was also given the subject of Values for the senior students. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Values is taught three days a week and typically involves a
short sermon to students about quitting their bad vices, focusing on their
ambitions, and strengthening their spiritual relationship with God. I asked the
principal if I might take a slightly different approach. She said go for it.
When she asked what materials I would need, I said only two things. A condom
and a banana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since I started teaching at Mt. Data, three students have
become pregnant and several others had previously given birth. This is somewhat
surprising given that there are only around
200 students at the school ranging between the ages of 11 and 16. On
top of the problems of drinking, smoking, and gambling, it was easy to
see that the values subject wasn’t as effective as it was meant to be.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I found an excellent resource - a teaching manual from
Advocates for Youth meant to give Life Planning sessions to inner city children
in the U.S. By following the lesson plans and altering it to fit the students,
I have been enjoying this subject more than any other. It’s been a great chance
to help educate the students and prepare them for topics that are typically
seen as taboo in public schools. We tackled gender equality, sexuality,
safe-sex, and a ton of other topics including the STD horror show we all
encountered in middle school sex-ed. We have also discussed peer pressure and
relationships, and this quarter the students are planning community projects to
improve their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I have been given full support by the staff, I am
wondering what parents will say this Wednesday during our parent-teacher
conferences. An American teaching Filipino values? I’m sure it will cause some
protest. What Filipinos generally assume about Americans is that the second we
turn 18 we abandon our parents to go frolic and have lots of sex and eat white
bread and get filthy rich. So I’ll be surprised if no parents make a few
comments to the school about my role in the development of their child’s
principles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On top of teaching, my time has been spent helping to advise
the new Art Club and organize basketball games for the students. Last month was
our Nutrition Month program during which students danced and brought huge
vegetables from their gardens to showcase before cooking them and eating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Peace Corps Close of Service Conference was held at the
beginning of the month and was the last chance most of the volunteers had to
say goodbye to their fellow volunteers before going home to the U.S. On the way
to the conference I stopped at One Hundred Islands National Park with my host
family to go island hopping and explore the hundreds of small islets. It was
beautiful and I’m happy I got the chance to have one last adventure with my
host siblings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With less than a month to go I’m trying to make the most of
my time left. While many volunteers choose to travel around the Philippines during their last few weeks, I’ve decided to dedicate it to my site. I’ve
developed close relationships in a lot shorter time than two years before, so
saying goodbye to my friends here will surely be difficult. My going away party
is planned next month so I will have my last in-country blog post then!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dancing to "Gentleman" during the Nutrition Day program.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dance crew preparing to play the gongs in a tribal dance.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jump Cabbage</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SBP-ueQjPOE/Uh2s6wUhzGI/AAAAAAAAAto/ODYQDXJczv0/s1600/philippines+56+317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SBP-ueQjPOE/Uh2s6wUhzGI/AAAAAAAAAto/ODYQDXJczv0/s320/philippines+56+317.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How teens look cool.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-keYFQ9ySlW8/Uh2tCvFwwOI/AAAAAAAAAt8/0FEWWUz1frY/s1600/philippines+56+372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-keYFQ9ySlW8/Uh2tCvFwwOI/AAAAAAAAAt8/0FEWWUz1frY/s320/philippines+56+372.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our campsite at 100 Islands</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYZOcOkyZm0/Uh2tCae2sII/AAAAAAAAAt4/zRIsGDxlPRg/s1600/philippines+56+377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYZOcOkyZm0/Uh2tCae2sII/AAAAAAAAAt4/zRIsGDxlPRg/s320/philippines+56+377.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My host family and I at the national park.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-32330695567728814662013-08-28T15:41:00.001+08:002014-05-11T11:45:39.604+08:00Filipino Haircut<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">June means the start of school and it also means every
student and teacher in the Philippines will be making the trip to the barber to
get a haircut, myself included.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Getting my haircut is one of my favorite things to do here
for several reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A haircut typically costs between 30-50 pesos.
That’s around $1.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> The barbers use enormous scissors like you would
use to sheer a sheep.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> They take their work very seriously,
methodically shaping your head like it’s a piece of art.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Afterwards they crack your neck or give you a
short shoulder massage.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Local hole in the wall barber shops usually consist of 2-6
chairs lined up between mirrors similar to what you would see in the U.S. There is sort of a menu of options you ask
for. For example, “High Cut” will leave you with short hair on the sides and a
crew cut on the top. “Siete” or “Seven,” will make your hair flat on top and
straight down the neck like the shape of a seven. “Calbo” or “Bald” will leave
you bald, while “Semi-Calbo” will leave you with a buzz cut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve had my hair cut maybe a dozen times since being in
country. The procedure is always the same. Walk in give my order, and walk out
a new man. The weekend before the first day of school left me searching for the
barber with the smallest line out front its doors. I walked in and gave the
usual instructions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Clean cut.” This means just a trim. I get it every time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Sir, clean cut?” the barber asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“With electric razor?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Yes.” Anyway that is standard procedure. They usually start
with the neck. But this time they didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Ok sir, clean cut.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Right down the middle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“AYSUS!” I literally shouted and nearly knocked the razor
out of his hand. I don’t even know why I said “aysus” I must have been in the
country long enough to where expressions just slip of my tongue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I angrily told him had I asked for <i>clean cut</i>, not “calbo.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“But sir, this <i>is</i>
a clean cut,” he said. I told him he was crazy and he turned to the other
barbers who all nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, that is clean cut.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sitting there starring myself in the mirror with a bald
streak down the center of my head there was only one thing that could be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Just finish it,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Afterwards I went straight outside and bought a cap and a
beanie for fifty pesos. All I could think of was what would I do in two days
when I was expected to show up for the first day of school? I went home and
stared at myself in the mirror. Eventually I just forced myself to accept it
and not to hide it. Anyway people would get used to it eventually (I was wrong
on that bit of logic).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reactions on the first day of school were as to be expected.
Jaws hit the floor, students just starred and whispered. Strangely the comments
were not what I expected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Sir, why did you get calbo?” they would ask. “It is
winter.” Apparently it wasn’t the fact that I was walking around with a shiny
scalp that intrigued them. It was the fact that only an insane person would
choose to go bald at the onset of winter. I explained the story and it became a
joke around the school. I laughed along with it and at the interesting names
they came up with for me. Mr. Clean, Brue Willis, Vin Diesel. One student said
I looked like a chess pawn. Hahaha! Two and a half months later I still only
have about an inch of hair. It’s growing agonizingly slow for some reason but
hopefully by the time I fly home it will be back to normal!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-24498069962803332082013-08-28T15:25:00.001+08:002013-08-28T15:25:29.751+08:00Mural Painting<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Has it really been five months since my last post? I guess
as time goes on and things become normal topics seem less and less interesting
to write about. But with less than a month left to go, I often wonder what I’m
going to say to people when I arrive home. Certainly most of you will want an
abridged version of my life in the past two years, so writing it out seems like
good practice. And since it’s currently down-pouring and gusting 1000mph
outside (<i>not</i> a typhoon, but who can
tell the difference?), I don’t really have an excuse not to update you guys on
what’s been happening the last few months!</span></div>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I returned to site sun-burnt and exhausted from the sand and
sun and 12 hour bus rides. During the summer, Mt. Data becomes a lonely place
with most of the high school students returning home to their villages,
replaced by a few of the college students returning to visit their parents for
a few weeks before returning to the much more exciting life in Baguio City. I
spent most of the time at the school finalizing a college guidebook and
thinking of a summer project.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A common Peace Corps project is creating a mural of the
World Map in the community or school. While my school already completed the
World Map project (initiated by a previous Peace Corps Volunteer), I decided to
plan another mural, this time a map of the Philippines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because there was no template for a Philippines map
painting, I had to start from scratch. This proved far more challenging than I
could have imagined, as the first and most difficult step was in finding a
reliable map of the Philippines. This is surprising because the shape of the
Philippine Islands as become sort of a national pride icon of the country. It’s
patch is sewn onto t-shirts and jackets, stickers placed on the backs of phones
and laptops, the image flashed during the opening jingle of news and television
programs. However no two maps I examined were the same, with most
inconsistencies in regards to the division of regions, and the size and shape
of regions in general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I finally settled on one, printed out the grid, and used a
little of the English Club money to buy some paint and brushes. I called for
the few students left in Mt. Data with nothing to do to come and help make the
map.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first step was drawing the grid. It was long, tedious,
boring work but necessary for an accurate map. Next, the students drew an
enlarged representation of the map onto the wall, using the squares of the grid
as a reference. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GPFwa7K3B40/Uh2iTS65pjI/AAAAAAAAAsY/x8NKBaDwyzw/s1600/philippines+53+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GPFwa7K3B40/Uh2iTS65pjI/AAAAAAAAAsY/x8NKBaDwyzw/s320/philippines+53+002.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tracing the map onto the grid.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After the map was drawn, we traced it in permanent marker
and began painting in the regions. A quick lesson in Philippine geography. The
country is generally divided into three large regions: Luzon (where I am),
Visayas (the center of the country with lots of islands), and Mindanao (forbidden
to Peace Corps Volunteers). The country is further divided into 17 regions.
These regions are divided down into provinces. Provinces consist of cities and
towns, with each town broken down into villages or <i>barangays</i>. I live in the barangay of Mt. Data in the town of Bauko
in Mountain Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i-xoG25jnvQ/Uh2iNPFmVkI/AAAAAAAAAsI/odQTI0vBAc0/s1600/philippines+53+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i-xoG25jnvQ/Uh2iNPFmVkI/AAAAAAAAAsI/odQTI0vBAc0/s320/philippines+53+037.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Painting in the regions.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After painting the map (color coded by region), the students
began labeling the map. Again tedious work because they are perfectionists when
it comes to making letters. But it was worth the wait! My friend Becky (another
Peace Corps Volunteer) also came up to lend us her eye for detail and make our
map 100% perfect!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HEt4Wt7My0M/Uh2iMjdIF1I/AAAAAAAAAsA/L97ueyXEX4g/s1600/philippines+56+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HEt4Wt7My0M/Uh2iMjdIF1I/AAAAAAAAAsA/L97ueyXEX4g/s320/philippines+56+023.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Labeling the map.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As of now the map is still not finished; the students are
listing the names of the more than 80 provinces on the two columns on either side
of the map. It has been a good project because the students have learned a lot
about their own geography, now knowing the locations of all the places they
here about in the news. We also continued the project by making a map of our
region, province and town for a total of four maps! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-60713621504439998422013-05-09T08:50:00.001+08:002013-11-09T09:16:07.973+08:00Silvery B--ches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poetry is a main component of the students' English curriculum. A popular poem discussed in our lessons of Asian literature is <i>Silvery Beaches</i> by Nu Yin. The first time I presented this lesson I had my students share any experiences they have had on the beach. Coming from Mt. Province many have not even seen the ocean, so I asked how they imagined it to be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My jaw fell open when the first kid shouted out, "All bi*ches are dirty!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another argued, "No, all the bi*ches I've seen are beautiful."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My lesson in poetry quickly turned into a lesson on correctly pronouncing the word "beach."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This summer I had the opportunity to travel to the Visayas, the group of islands in the center of the Philippines. The trip was hot. It was humid. And it unfolded some of the most spectacular and stunning places I've ever seen. It's amazing how quickly everything can be forgotten staring out at the vastness of the sea. It was the perfect remedy for the stress building up around the end of school.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From Dumaguete to Siquijor to Bohol. I was on a mission to find the most beautiful beach. Why did I think it would be a challenge? Everywhere we went offered a different experience and unique atmosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From Dumaguete we took a boat to Apo Island and snorkeled This island is tiny but the people were super friendly. When I think of "Island Culture" I think of Apo. Sitting around sipping on beer or a coke and watching the fishermen bring in the nets while the kids snorkel in the shallow water. The electricity comes on for only a couple of hours in the evening lighting up the coast. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our boat that brought us from Dumaguete to Apo Island<br />and later to Siquijor.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Apo Island</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From Dumaguete our boat made the 3 hour bumpy ride to Squijorr, an island known for it's mysticism, herbal healing and sorcery. My host mom even warned me about vampires before I left. "Make sure you don't leave a strand of hair behind or they will make a voodoo of you!" </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not sure where these myths and rumors began, but Siquijor couldn't have been more opposite from a dark and scary place. Bordered by white sand beaches and palm trees the people seemed to be entirely happy and relaxed. The lazy roads were strewn with crushed coral, and when we made it into the mountains for the Herbal Healing Festival, we were actually disappointed that the "shamans" turned out to be more like Christian priests rubbing crucifixes around various body parts. We did see a few women selling some herbal lotions and teas, but whoa! Way out of our volunteer price range.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">San Juan, Siquijor</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coastal road on Siquijor Island</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Women selling natural remedies to cure all ailments.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After spending four glorious days on Siquijor we took a ferry to Bohol. Too cheap to pay for the fast boat, we took the budget 6 hour night trip. We had the option for Tourist Class (with AC) or regular (no AC). You can guess what we chose. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sweat drenching our clothes and our backs sticking to the vinyl covers of our tiny bunk beds, it was not the most comfortable of trips. At one point a volunteer said she felt like we were in the third class of the Titanic.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we arrived in Bohol things brightened back up. The island of adventure is full of activities for tourists. I was able to find yet another amazing beach in Anda. The Bohol Bee Farm served amazing organic food and I ate meals there at lest three times. We also got to visit a tarsier sanctuary and see the little creatures that Bohol is famous for. Our trip concluded with a visit to a lodge hidden away in the jungle along the Luboc River. I even flew down the longest and highest zip line I've ever seen, spanning the entire river gorge. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anda, Bohol</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Luboc River</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zip lining across the river (see above).</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It may have only been for two weeks, but that vacation was just what I needed to rejuvenate my enthusiasm at site. Of course the pictures don't do it justice and I would recommend these places (especially Siquijor) to anyone looking for a relaxing spot to unwind. I would love to go back again, but I know that there are many other beautiful places to explore in this country first. </span><br />
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">SILVERY BEACH</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">(nu yin)</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Once</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">For relations</span><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />I visited this place</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Alone</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">On this silvery beach</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Beside the cliffs</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">I walked in thought.</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">I gazed at the endless sea</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">And i pondered.</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Gazing at the sapphire and green sea</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">I felt calm.</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">I did not tire of staring at the waves coming towards the beach</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Like crumbling mountains</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">With terrific sound</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Like wanting to devour and swallow,</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Being alone, I felt scared</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">And took shelter from this tide and rough wind</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Beyond the edge of cliff</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">While i was seeking shelter</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">I thought of the cliffs</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">And of our lives.</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Though these dreadful waves</span><br style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; text-align: start;" /><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">Could sometimes overleap,<br />They could not overwhelm cliffs.<br />"Similarly in one's existence<br />though violent minds<br />like rough winds<br />may be attacking you,<br />if one practices patience<br />one can have tranquility in one's heart."<br /><br />When taking shelter behind a cliff</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><i><span style="background-color: #444444; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">This thought came to me</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-55457309334527802522013-03-22T14:23:00.003+08:002013-03-22T14:23:46.245+08:00School's Out!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So many things have happened since my last post I had to go back and read my own blog to see where I left off!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Valentine's Day was followed by our school Prom. The kids worked really hard to put together a nice program and use what they could to decorate our community recreation hall. Girls drifted off early to go prepare for what they had been waiting months for. The boys ran off searching last minute for a clean shirt to wear. Some boys came over to my apartment and asked if I would tie their neckties. I helped them get ready. A few actually found vests which I though looked pretty snazzy...until their friends started laughing and shouting "waiter, waiter!" Apparently a vest is the common uniform of waiters and bartenders in the Philippines. In a cloud of cologne, we all went up together and it was fun watching them find the courage to ask a girl to dance and hear the whoops and hollers anytime someone would hit the lights.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They days following revealed the relationships that formed from those first dances. It brought on the type of drama I tried to avoid back in high school. I always wondered if teachers were aware of anything going on. If it's anything like here, the answer is yes! In fact, the teachers here seem to enjoy gossiping about relationships as much as the students.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The group of kids coming over to my house continued every week growing in number until a peak of around 20 who came over during my birthday. The boys grilled fish on the barbecue and my host mom made a HUGE batch of pancit (stir fried noodles). We also made a cake and served up punch, despite they constant requests that I bring out the Tanduay rum.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While school continues to feel like work, the relationships I've formed with these kids are the ones I know will last forever. It makes all the frustrations worth it witnessing even the smallest impressions take place. The truth is I look forward every week to them coming over whether it be for English games or jamming on the guitar. And I've learned just as much from the boys as they have learned from me. The good news is I've got plenty of pictures to remember these nights. Any time the camera is left out, the night quickly turns to a photo shoot and usually a flexing contest between the boys.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Game of the Generals: My favorite Filipino board game.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My guitar is probably the true reason they come over.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Homemade version of Bananagrams. By far the most popular English game among the students!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't always understand what's going on. Just play along and hope they don't kill each other.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the bottle bricks continued to stack up, I started gathering the materials necessary to make some more benches. Purchasing cement took all of our available funds, so when it came to getting a hold of sand and gravel, we had to fetch our own. So, once again I accompanied a group of students to Tinpunan (remember the bamboo?). Thankfully this time we had a truck to haul the sand. But the students still had to carry sack fulls of wet sand from the river to the truck. Who needs a wheelbarrow anyway? We also collected some river stone to make a walking path in our school park. Our school campus is looking pretty darn good with our new benches!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to the students, they are used to carrying an average of 80-100 kilos per sack. That's 200 lbs!!!!!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We use soda bottles filled with non-biodegradable trash as bricks for our benches.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our town fiesta came next. I went to watch our students perform int he folkdance competition. The day was cut short by rain. We celebrated however, glad to finally have water. It's been dry since December I've been without running water, having to haul it from the neighbor's drum.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our school was awarded 2nd place in the competition. While I waited stranded in a restaurant waiting for the rain to stop I got hungry. But nothing on the menu looked particularly delicious...even the hamburger lost its appeal.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The students waiting their turn to dance the Filipino Polka.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These people just love their canines.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday was graduation and I think I may have been more excited than the students for the end of school. This year the school bought western style gowns for the graduates and sewed on strips of native weaving to give it a local flair. The students made their own hats out of cardboard and paper.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The graduation started promptly at 8:30. It also included special recognition and awards for all of the underclassmen. At the conclusion of the ceremony I took around a hat (like last year) and asked for everyone's autograph. I planned on giving them each a U.S. dollar, but after searching for two days was unable to find even one at any of the banks.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In our community it is common for the families of the graduates prepare buckets of food and the friends and family go around from house to house eating and chatting and drinking native rice wine. Last year I accompanied the teachers and made it to two houses; this year I was invited with a group of students and we visited a grand total of 14 parties until well after dark. We spent time at each house talking with families and sampling all the food. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Siglat is alive and kickin'! He's the only trained dog around for miles and has become sort of a novelty among the students. Still trying to figure out what to do with him in September!</span><br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-6901318796512853792013-02-05T16:39:00.005+08:002013-02-05T16:39:53.980+08:00The Hats I Wear<br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No! Stop! Don’t get sick. You’re too busy to get sick! The
thoughts flashing through my mind last night as I felt the on-comings of a sore
throat and stuffy nose. Despite chugging water and taking some vitamin C, this
morning yielded that “feel like crap” feeling. And though itching to get to the
school and continue work, I decided to do myself a favor and stay home this
morning. However, I suck at just sitting around doing nothing so I decided to
write a blog and share with you what’s going on here in the Phils.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may remember last year’s post around this time. February
is the month of our school anniversary, village fiesta and Junior-Senior
Prom…and more activities just keep piling on. But this time, I keep telling
myself it’ll be the last chance I experience these things so better make the
most of them. And although crazy hectic, I’m looking forward to the happenings
in this month of love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The nice thing about taking a break from formal teaching is
that I can explore and try my hand at other things within the school. I began
helping with “career guidance,” a term used for educating senior students about
college and plans after high school graduation. I realized our students were
pretty much clueless about the possibilities out there. And while college is
becoming a very popular choice for high school graduates, many don’t think
about it until the month of enrollment at which time they’ll most likely pick a
college and major that their friends or older siblings took up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started collecting resources to share with our advisers and students. The mass of information turned into a book that we've bound and
distributed to other schools. A teacher and I also made a game to help students
map out a degree based on their likes and interests. Hopefully our students
will become more interested in college, and use higher education as a means to
pull themselves out of the poverty in our community. This weekend we are
planning a field trip to take the seniors to visit some universities so they
can tour the campuses and speak with advisers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because I’m no longer in the classroom, some students have
requested meeting outside of school. This has lately turned into a sort of “Sir
Matt Club”. Every week we cook dinner and play English games or play the
guitar. While their artistic talents may be bland on paper, these kids sure can
play the heck out of the guitar. The group has decided to translate some
English songs into their local dialect and record a CD that can hopefully be
sold (interested?). Learning the ins and outs of recording software is yet
another skill I’m trying to master. By the end of this service I will be a
professional music producer, teacher, dance instructor, guidance counselor,
chef, computer programmer, film editor, journalist, event planner, curriculum
developer, and training coordinator…all roles I've *expertly* performed on
request from the teachers and students. So, tell all your friends and bosses
that there is soon to be an ex-Peace Corps Volunteer in need of employment who
can assume the capabilities of any professional (or at least pretend to).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you’re all doing well at home! Counting down the last
7½ months till I get to see you all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">P.S. I <i>thought </i>I
wrote a blog update for January. But since I didn’t here is a very short recall of Christmas: I ate a lot,
relaxed a lot. Dry season means no running water, which means I left the faucet
on in hopes that it would come, which means it did come when I was away in the
capitol, which means my apartment flooded and my host mother is now assured
that I am suffering from Alzheimer’s (wish I was kidding). Also, I introduced
the gift-sharing game of White Elephant to the teachers and this was the
result:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wait until the kids see what games are in store for their Valentine's Day prom...</span></o:p></div>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-49230330213502542542012-12-08T12:18:00.001+08:002013-02-03T15:31:14.671+08:00Rolling into Year TWO!<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It seems like it's been a long time since I've posted, an maybe it has. But it's not because things have been slow! In fact the last couple of months have been filled with one activity after another. I guess that's become the norm though, and so sometimes things don't seem special enough to post a blog about, but I'll do my best to update you on what's been happening in my life!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our Mid-Service Training took place in Manila. Besides the expected information to help us with our projects, it was a chance for volunteers to gather together and share stories. Above all, it served as a reminder that we are more than half way through with our service. For some, that thought came as panic-that time is going too fast and they realized just how fast the last few months will go. For others, you could see heads roll back in realization that another whole year is left and that time is going SLOOOOOW. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For me, it's a mixture of both, and i find myself feeling both ways depending on the day. Some days I think there can't possibly be enough time left to accomplish what I want. But then other times I feel like time is dragging by at an agonizing rate and that I can't wait to go home.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After training, I returned to the school to find them right in the thicket of the Bottle Brick project I had left them with. Basically, like in many areas of the Philippines, there is no place for trash to go. People throw it down mountains or burn it. One creative solution that has been circulating is to compact non-biodegradable waste into plastic bottles. The bottles can then be used like concrete blocks to build walls, benches, houses...anything you want.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The teachers were so excited about this idea that they have been requiring students to make bottle bricks since the beginning of school. When I returned, we had a bottle brick "party" to fill up extra bottles and clean up the last bit of trash from the community. Then the students went to work on their first bottle brick project: a concrete bench that will be part of our newly planned Student Park. The bottle bricks aren't slowing though...students are still bringing them everyday to school, so I'll keep you updated on their projects!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because of my workload, my supervisor and I agreed if I cut back on teaching to focus more on other projects such as applying for grants, creating instructional materials, and assisting other teachers. One of my last projects with my class was holding a class debate. I was worried about this because it is difficult for native English speakers, let alone students who are still struggling to learn English as a third or fourth language. However, seeing the excitement in the class, we decided to go all out. The seniors table skirted and decorated, the students arrived wearing their best clothes, and the speeches they gave were really good! I was really proud of those kiddos. Since then I've been working on games, a College Guide book, planning a sports camp, and guest teaching in the cooking class.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now for possibly the most exciting bit action that happened recently. THANKSGIVING. Every year Peace Corps Volunteers gather in Sagada ( only about an hour and a half from me) for a huge reunion. Last year most of my batch couldn't go because we were still confined to our sites during our few first months of service. This year however, our batch dominated the feast. About thirty volunteers joined in, cooking, preparing, and planning the event. We had all the traditional courses, except for the turkey (can you believe they are PETS here? No one would sell us one to eat! They have no problem eating dogs tho...), and cranberry sauce. But we made due with chicken and had plenty of other dishes to choose from including potatoes, green beans, stuffing, apple and pecan pie, salads, quiche, macaroni and cheese and lots of wine and beer!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's all for now. Christmas season is well underway (since September) and next up will be our Christmas party. Still no plans for the holidays, but I'm excited nonetheless!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And for those who have been requesting pictures of my dog...let me introduce you to Siglat!</span><br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-8301525886785526552012-08-19T17:57:00.002+08:002012-09-23T13:27:31.282+08:00The Data Games<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been a while since I've posted. It's the middle of Typhoon Season here, and we've already had 3 days cancelled due to the bad weather! It was exciting at first, kind of like when you find out there is a snow day, but I quickly discovered there isn't much fun you can have outside in a torrential downpour with wind blowing the tin roofs off of houses.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thankfully though, when it came time for our school's scheduled intramural games, the sun shone down like a blessing of good luck for our athletes. The kids chose their sport and were ushered off to different areas to play. The best will represent our school in the District Athletic Meet, with the best of </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">those </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">moving on to the Provincial Meet. I was disappointed I didn't get to watch a single minute of the Olympics this year, but the spirit of our little school on the mountain made up for that.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">WHO NEEDS SHOES TO RUN A RACE? </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">In a land of steep rugged cliffs, deep gorges and slippery slopes, the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Sawdust </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">is the only place in Mt. Data that the kids can </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">run </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">freely. Secluded by the hills and mountains, the screams and echos of laughter will guide anyone who wants to join in.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Games began with the Search for Mt. and Miss Fit. This was a continuation of our Nutrition Month celebrations that got postponed. Each school club had a representative in the pageant which lasted all afternoon. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Constants had to model different apparel, show a talent, and answer a question from the judges. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were ELEVEN different awards, from "Best Smile" to "Miss Coca-Cola" (body shape).</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Friday morning began with a simple opening ceremony. They athletes took an oath and said a prayer to guide them through the games. After the formalities, the fun officially started with the cheer-dance competition. Each grade had to present a dance with full participation of every student. I quickly got over my nervous feeling watching 11 year olds make three-tier pyramids on concrete, and sat back and enjoyed with the rest of the onlookers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once the dancing was over (7th Grade won), the athletes all drained away to their various venues. Table-Tenis went to the 2nd year room, Chess players when to the 3rd year room. Badminton players headed up to the recreation hall, while the track participants climbed up the steep path to the Sawdust. Sepaktakraw players headed to the lower building and tennis players ran up to the elementary school. That left the rest of the students eagerly waiting for the most popular event and main attraction: Volleyball.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The favorite national sport of the Philippines, basketball, was removed from the district as a lost cause by teachers years ago. Despite the students passion for the sport, money just wasn't willing to be spent on a sport that the students couldn't advance in. As sad as that is, our students quickly found another sport to love. Attention turned to volleyball, with boys volleyball in particular raising the most spirit at our school.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everyone waits for the upperclassmen to play. 3rd and 4th year boys attract the most spectators.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, the fans stick around to see which of the girls will be most likely to represent our school at the Provincial Meet.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The younger classmen also take their turn to play. Although few of them advance, they hope one day to become a provincial athlete.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of my favorite sports to watch is Sepaktakraw. It was hard for me to get good pictures so I encourage you to google it. The object is to get a small ball over a net that is a little smaller than the one used in badminton. There are three players to a team and once the ball is in play, a player may not use his hands or arms. While the game can be a little slow moving at times, it's incredible how they can use their feet to "spike" the ball over the net.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I enjoyed the days taking pictures and watching all of the athletes. I became DJ when students requested I bring out my laptop and play music over the loud speakers. They began requesting songs, and I soon had a huge pile of song requests and dedications written on every shred of scrap piece of paper that could be found. I assumed that only athletes would come on Saturday to play, but as it turned out, most of the students came to cheer on their classmates.</span></div>
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Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-17264723322944762752012-07-26T18:27:00.002+08:002012-07-29T15:38:50.825+08:00The Quest for the Enchanted Bamboo<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xwhixW-86pY/UBERTx0DMUI/AAAAAAAAAYo/sF5HqHOyaJQ/s1600/philippines+34+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xwhixW-86pY/UBERTx0DMUI/AAAAAAAAAYo/sF5HqHOyaJQ/s320/philippines+34+046.JPG" width="239" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wild Orchid<br />overlooking Tipunan<br /><br />.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At least, it <i>should</i> have been enchanted after what we went through to get it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let me back up and explain. One of my projects here is helping to build a Science Greenhouse. I planned this with one of my counterparts months ago. Our hopes are that we can build a greenhouse that can be used as a controlled environment to conduct experiments on plants and soil that are related to the science subjects. This is really great because it would relate to students interests as most of them are farmers. If we can show them that science can be useful for something in their personal lives, then hopefully they will become more eager to learn science. In order to build this thing as cheaply as possible, we decided to build the frame out of bamboo poles. And here begins Part II of <i>Matt's Magical Adventures in the Philippines</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course, we could have just bought the poles. We were offered a set of bamboo for p100. Whoa! That's like $2.50! But if we could get it for free by walking, then that's what we would do. It would be worth a nice little hike if we could save some money. Or so we thought. It was told to us that if we were willing to walk a few kilometers, we could cut our own bamboo and carry it back for free.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">See the peak in the distance? That's my house.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And so, one of the teachers told us to meet him one bright and sunny morning in the far-flung village of Tipunan. I met the students at the school and we started our trek. I assumed we would simply follow the national highway to the little road that wound its way down to Tipunan. It's a long walk but mostly down hill. There are no rides passing along the road, so anyone wishing to go to (or leave) Tipunan must hike.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Almost immediately the students veered off into the bushes along what revealed itself to be a narrow path. Down, down, down we went. Every now and then we would pop back out at the national highway before the students cut off onto another invisible pathway. As it turned out we were simply cutting the curves of the highway, saving us distance and time.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Arabica Coffee Beans</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eventually, the students who were leading (so much for my chaperoning) wound there way behind a house, down a slippery trail, and onto a dirt road. We walked for nearly 2 hours passing very few people along the way. Those we did see passed us slowly, hands clasped behind their backs, and dirty cloths around their necks to shield them from the sun. They seemed to be concentrating on putting one rubber boot in front of the other in absolutely no hurry whatsoever. We practically galloped by them as we charged down the mountain. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After a while, we finally reached the bottom. A river rushed past and we crossed a rickety hanging bridge. Natural vegetation was scarce. Nearly everywhere I looked I saw rows and rows of cabbages or potatoes. We all resisted the temptation to jump into the river and cool off, and decided we had better keep moving so we could meet Mr. Pakipac and find the bamboo.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It took us a few more minutes to wind our way into the village of Tipunan. We found Mr. Pakipac's house which was nestled behind the high school. In order to finish our work before lunch, he offered to take us right away to the bamboo grove. I was pretty tired, but agreed we should just get it over with.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mr. Pakipac shows us the bamboo.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And then we hiked what seemed to me another mountain just as tall as the one we just came down. Up, and up. And up and up. This time there was no road, or even a dry trail. We scrambled up slick mud stairs that had slowly given into a steep slope leading up to the peak. The sun beating at our backs, we climbed breathlessly to the top.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We nearly dropped once we reached the top, but Mr. Pakipac marched straight to a small clump of bamboo and started hacking away. We formed a sort of assembly line; some students cut, others removed the leaves, and the rest passed them down the mountain. After we cut 12 long bamboo poles we headed back down. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stripping the leaves off the poles.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At one point I slipped and instinctively grabbed for something to hold on to. However, the only thing around was razor sharp "knife" grass. One of my fingers was sliced open and started gushing blood. One of the students saw and ran and picked some leaves from the side of the trail. I'd seen these before because they are everywhere, and I had always assumed that they were just weeds. So, you can imagine my surprise when he mashed them up and pressed them to my finger. The bleeding stopped instantly!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, before I could properly thank the student, my attention was caught by something even more amazing. We had reached the a break in the trail and decided to follow a road back to the village. It was longer but not as steep and slippery. Just as I was looking up to ask about this incredible plant that had saved my life, I caught a glimpse of a carnivorous pitcher plant hanging on the cliff above the road. I had never seen on before! And as I looked closer, I noticed there was an entire colony of them! Another student, seeing my interest, walked to the cliff and uprooted a small plant, and handed it to me to grow in my apartment.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pitcher plants</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While waiting for lunch, we decided to<br />help the community and add to our bottle bricks!<br />Demonstrated here is the "Igorot Squat."<br />See if YOU can sit with your butt suspended and<br />your heels flat on the ground...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After lunch came the hike back up the mountain. We decided to take the road, rather than the trail. Again, it took 2 hours, this time all uphill. I learned why the farmers I had seen before were walking so slowly. Near the end it was all I could do to place one foot in front of the other. But thankfully, just as I was regretting again and again under my breath for not forking over the p100, we reached the national road and it began to rain. The walk back home was easy after that.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By the time I got home, it was cold, and I promised my self I would heat some water for a warm bucket bath. Little did I know I was about to walk in on the beginning of a 3 day brownout and would have no electricity for the next few days.</span><br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-56829178247675329132012-07-16T00:01:00.001+08:002013-11-09T09:25:28.563+08:00Focusing on the Good<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before I start, I just want you all to know I can cross off what was possibly the most challenging goal on my list. Yes that's right, I successfully cooked a PERFECT pot of rice! Even though it was just a little pot, it was soft and fluffy and not a single grain was scorched. If I can do that, I can do anything.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4GhtAD3gg1I/UALeEZPYxsI/AAAAAAAAAU0/9wb85pzRXAY/s1600/philippines+28+104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4GhtAD3gg1I/UALeEZPYxsI/AAAAAAAAAU0/9wb85pzRXAY/s320/philippines+28+104.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ua8ABamgmOw/UALc1_S5AjI/AAAAAAAAAUk/RlkgfZJsqQI/s1600/philippines+25+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ua8ABamgmOw/UALc1_S5AjI/AAAAAAAAAUk/RlkgfZJsqQI/s320/philippines+25+015.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Time here at my site has become what in the back of my mind I was secretly trying to procrastinate. But, there is no denying it now. What I'm doing every day is - Full. On. Work. Not the easy, leisurely work I imagined as a volunteer, but full-time, stress-filled, dedicated work. I love it, but I sure am tired at the end of the week. This school year, I've taken on the full responsibilities of a Filipino teacher and then some. Arriving to school every day before 7:30 and staying until 6:00. Managing 5 classes and three after school clubs. Plus developing a remedial course while tutoring two students after school. My week is booked solid, and I didn't realize how busy I've been until today when I realized it was the first day I've had to myself in the past two months.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8tdLl1cE224/UALb_sBtWRI/AAAAAAAAAUc/3vTtw-vLpSQ/s1600/philippines+23+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8tdLl1cE224/UALb_sBtWRI/AAAAAAAAAUc/3vTtw-vLpSQ/s320/philippines+23+006.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZTmbFhVigo/UALe9zhuENI/AAAAAAAAAVE/f46CxnuffII/s1600/philippines+29+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the most part, I feel increasingly more accomplished than those first few months of service. I'll admit there were days when I was wondering how much good I was actually doing, if my service would even make the tiniest bit of difference. There were times I felt my community didn't appreciate all the work I had been doing. In fact, there were days I wanted to shout, "Hey! I'm a volunteer. There's nothing holding me here because I'm hear on my own free will! I'm dong more work than you and I'm not even getting paid for it!" </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZTmbFhVigo/UALe9zhuENI/AAAAAAAAAVE/f46CxnuffII/s1600/philippines+29+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZTmbFhVigo/UALe9zhuENI/AAAAAAAAAVE/f46CxnuffII/s320/philippines+29+019.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8tdLl1cE224/UALb_sBtWRI/AAAAAAAAAUc/3vTtw-vLpSQ/s1600/philippines+23+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm sure other volunteers have had similar thoughts. They creep up on you and it's easy to dwell on them and let them worm their way into your head. It was scary how fast it happened and I had to constantly remind myself of the reason I came here in the first place.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6LtyXe3W3TU/UALdKBEEpeI/AAAAAAAAAUs/vsEm8x483Es/s1600/philippines+28+098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When school started, I was afraid it would bring the same stress as last year. The first week was frustrating because the kids wouldn't behave. It's hard to find that balance sometimes between "friend" and "teacher," and I was having a really hard time trying to keep class fun, while holding the respect of the students.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was one day, when it was just too much. Two periods in a row of misbehaving students and I slumped into a chair in the office while waiting for the coffee to heat. Two other teachers were also in the office gossiping about their classes. All our class sections have names, and in this case, they were upset with the Dhalia class's behavior. Finally, one of them proudly stood up and declared, "Dhalia, you are not enough to ruin my day!"</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6LtyXe3W3TU/UALdKBEEpeI/AAAAAAAAAUs/vsEm8x483Es/s1600/philippines+28+098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6LtyXe3W3TU/UALdKBEEpeI/AAAAAAAAAUs/vsEm8x483Es/s320/philippines+28+098.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What a wonderful phrase! It was at that moment I realized that the negative thoughts I had been thinking only bother me because I let them. Since then, it has become my personal slogan to myself. When there is something that would bother me, whether it be students or co-workers, I just smile at them and think life's too short for you to ruin this day for me. It also opened my eyes to all the students who <i>are </i>behaving and the teachers who <i>do </i>care. It's sad that out of a group full of good people, it just takes one to create a bad impression of the whole. Thankfully I have come to see the good impressions before the bad ones. Seeing the good in other people makes life easier on yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Photos:</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">1. Mt. Data Calla Lilly </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">2. Woman standing in rice fields</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">3. Grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">4. Class hike</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">5. Spider fighting</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">6. Barangay clean-up in lower Bauko</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">7. Things got a little crazy in a game of SPOONS when charcoal got involved</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">8. Provincial Athletic Meet</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">9. Welcome sign on my first day at site</span></div>
<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-41357410544341262202012-07-02T21:43:00.000+08:002012-07-02T21:43:51.138+08:00Grow Your Goals<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wow, I have been running nonstop! School is going great and I'm really enjoying teaching 5 sections of English, as well as help out with the English Club and Achievers' League. I was also asked to help out two students in a remedial program. We have a lot of fun a few days a week singing on the guitar, trying to untangle the crazy rules of the language (although it seems that there are more exceptions to the rules than there are rules), and have a good time. I also conducted one training on the Understanding By Design theory and, this past week, two fellow volunteers visited me at site and helped me conduct two trainings that I can knock off of my goals list. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On Friday, we held an all-day training for our school's Supreme Student Government. It's almost the same as Student Council would be back home. The students are elected by the student body and are expected to organize activities, school projects, and act as liaison between teachers and students. Our training introduced them to Robert's Rules and the basic elements of a parliamentary meeting. We also discussed the roles of officers and the expectations of the organization. The second half of the day was focused on project development, and we discussed creating some school unity through school spirit, and prioritizing a list of projects the SSG can begin to work on. The kids were great and I hope they'll be able to use some of our advice. The next goal (cross your fingers) is that our students can now go and lead the same training at the other schools in our district.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next day, we conducted a Classroom Management training for the teachers at my school. We even had some guests come from another school. It was a day filled with learning about teen behavior, how to react to different situations, and make the classrooms better for everyone. We had the teachers do all kinds of insane activities that were very entertaining to watch. We even ended the day by teaching them the Electric Slide!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Both days were very successful, and I had a great time watching the teachers and students get excited about their future plans to make the school better. Hopefully I'll get to see some small changes take place before I leave. But already this year the teachers seem to be trying extra hard, and their effort is being rubbed off onto the students!</span>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-49818073413310426052012-06-10T18:42:00.000+08:002012-06-10T18:49:28.808+08:00Cooking for One<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As sad as the title sounds, I've actually been rather enjoying the challenge of preparing my own meals! In college I had my own tactic which involved cooking mass amounts of food at a time, freezing it or throwing it in the refrigerator, and living for the next week, popping the leftovers into the microwave.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here however, I lack the luxuries of modern appliances, such as a refrigerator, freezer and microwave. In fact the only appliance I have in my apartment is a gas range that is fueled by a portable tank.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Next challenge: Let's see, will I go to Safeway, Walmart, Fry's, or Albertsons to get my food? How about none of the above! The nearest supermarket is three hours a way, and the nearest village market is a 30 minute drive. Since I'm too lazy to even go to the open market, I've taken the hand I've been dealt, and stick to my site.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My host aunt owns a small sari store and sells basic necessities like individually wrapped one-time-use shampoo, sugar, salt, canned corned beef, AAAAANNNNND a freezer filled with chicken, pork and hotdogs! So, once a week I stop by on my way home from school, buy some meat, take out a portion, put the rest back (I've persuaded her to let me use her personal freezer), have her update my tab, and head home.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As far as veggies go, living in the middle of cabbage country, you think it would be easier to get fresh vegetables. However, since everyone here manages there own garden, there isn't a lot for sale. So I'll make an announcement in class and hope that a student will bring a sack of potatoes or carrots the next day, and I'll pay him the trading post equivalent. Thankfully, during school days there is another little sari store that sells lowland vegetables like beans, garlic, ginger, and sometimes if I get lucky, pineapples!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When it comes time to cooking a meal, I usually just throw together whatever I have around. First the rice goes on the stove, and then I look around my kitchen for the rest. This morning I threw some chicken in the frying pan with some garlic and fresh ginger. I splashed on some soy sauce and, just for the heck of it, added a heaping spoonful of sugar. To my amazement, I created a perfect Teriyaki Chicken!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Breakfasts used to be oatmeal and eggs until, let's face it, it seemed pretty wimpy without rice. And so I gave it up. I still manage a pot (french press) of coffee every morning, but I usually fry the leftover rice from the night before with some green beans and potatoes and it gives me the energy I need until merienda time three hours later!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I did a little quick math, and decided that if I were to eliminate meat from my diet, I could eat for less than 30 pesos a day. That's less than $0.70! For example, rice costs 30 pesos per kilo (two lbs) which will last me at least a week. I bought a kilo of green beans the other day for 20 pesos and they have lasted nearly two weeks! Eggs are 7 pesos each, and salt costs 15 pesos per kilo. Two pounds of salt for 35cents! The rest of it pretty much goes towards coffee, which is still absurdly cheap compared to what we pay in the States (Around $5 for two lbs).</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As for the rice, I'm still working on that perfect pot. But it should be soon. I've been getting lots of practice. It's a little bit tricky when you don't have any measuring utensils, but I'll reveal that little secret when the time comes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">P.S. Anyone watch the Pacquiao v Bradley fight? It was practically a holiday off here to watch it, although the mood died down pretty quick after the results...</span>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-3133429774107601752012-06-07T18:39:00.000+08:002012-07-12T20:30:12.262+08:00First Day of School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">School started this week! After working long hours for over a week prepping the grounds and helping tile the computer room floor, we were finally ready for Monday morning. Let me just say, that being a teacher doesn't make the first day of school any less exciting. Watching the students getting nervous, excited to use their brand new school supplies - it started to get me excited also!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This year, the Philippines began a K-12 program, adding 2 more years to the previous 10 year education system. "First Years" became "Grade 7" and with an all new curriculum, we are all curious to see how things will go this first year.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This year I am co-teaching two sections of Grade 7, two sections of "Second Year" and the one and only section of Seniors. I'm also co-facilitating the English Club, the school newspaper, and the all-new Achiever's League. The AL is our attempt at an Honor's Club to encourage students to maintain high grades, render service to the community, and develop their leadership skills.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Principal weloming the students at the flag ceremony.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In other news, the rainy season has started! For a while, I thought it never left. But the recent downpours have reminded me the difference in dry, drizzly season, and typhoon drenching wet season. Weather has gone from comfortably cool to damp and cold. The upside is we can let up a little on our careful preservation of water fom the summer. Coming from Arizona, I thought I knew how to preseve water. You know, turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth and all that. But when you have a few gallons a day to get through washing dishes, clothes, cooking and bathing, you'll realize how to make a bucket water last longer than ever before.</span></div>
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-66375276888649086622012-06-01T17:05:00.000+08:002012-06-01T17:05:12.926+08:00Family Tour<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Earlier this month I was blessed with the opportunity to see my family when they came to visit the Philippines! Their two week stay didn't seem anywhere near long enough, but we made the most of their short time here. They got to meet my friends and see my community, try the local cuisine, and experience a culture completely different from our own. Since it was my vacation also, I got to see some new places also that I've been wanting to visit since I arrived last July.</span><div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Best cure for Jet Lag? Don't stop moving and don't go to sleep! They may have hated me for it at first, but from the moment they stepped off the plane I had them on the move. After an eight our night trip to Baguio, we ate some breakfast and packed the car we had hired for our first week in the Cordillera Region.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first official destination was my site in Mt. Province. After a delicious dinner provided by my host mother, my parents settled down at the Mt. Data Lodge and my brother and our friend/driver JL came and slept with me in my apartment. The next morning, I gave them the tour of the school and took them to the shaky 800ft hanging bridge.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> After lunch we headed to Sagada. The following day we went caving and hiked to Echo Valley to see the hanging coffins.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I forgot to mention the bit of technical rope maneuvering.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Keeping on the road, we made the drove to Banaue in the afternoon, stopping over in Bontoc to see the museum. Banaue truly is an engineering wonder; terraces on top of terraces are crafted into the mountains by hand and without the use of stones. An amazing irrigation system taps the water coming down from the mountain and channels it through the rice patties. We took a 3 hour hike which turned out to be pretty intense due to balancing on long stretches of 4 inch wide irrigation walls. However, the views were outstanding and beautiful.</span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Figures like these are carved from the trunks<br />of fern trees.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From Banaue it was straight back to Mt. Data for two nights. On the way to Baguio, my brother John stopped and picked out his bolo (machete) knife that he had been searching for.
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> We explored Baguio for one day. It was rainy, but my family got to experience the enormous Baguio Public Market- a maze of stalls containing produce, meat counters, souvenirs, tobacco, coffee, wine and thousands of other products. The next day we took the 5am bus to begin part two of our tour: The Lowlands!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Actually, we had one destination in mind: The white sand beaches of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. I had heard rumors about the beauty of this place and, having never been there, was willing to risk the 10 hour trip to see for myself. My family had requested we see the beach at least once while they were here, so this seemed like a good time!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The rumors were true! Pagudpud is a small town near the tip of Luzon. Although there are what seem like hundreds of resorts and homestays, the town still manages a local, small-town atmosphere. Clean sand, clear water, lined with palm trees. This picture-perfect place is somewhere I definitely want to come back to...</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I hope you enjoyed your vacation. I miss you guys!</span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NOT as good as MacDonalds but<br />that is up for debate.</span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-88837593988281676662012-05-01T12:53:00.001+08:002012-05-28T15:50:31.931+08:00Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I moved into my own place last week. It's actually attached to my host family's house, and so I got a really great deal because my host mom even offered to furnish it! It's a two room apartment on the second story of the house. There is a kitchen area and an enormous bedroom, with a veranda outside leading to the CR (bathroom). As you will see, it is much more than I expected to be living in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Although, it still doesn't feel "lived-in" because I haven't been cooking. I still go back to the house for meals, but starting next month I will be all on my own as far as food goes. So, let me give you the tour!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <span style="text-align: left;">Please take your shoes off. This is barefoot and flip-flops only territory.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bright blue steel door. Sometimes I have trouble<br />getting in even when it's <i>not </i>locked.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> As you can see, my host mom provided me with a table and chairs, a bench and cabinet for my dining room! I have my thermos of hot water and mugs ready to serve coffee to any visitors who might stop by!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> If you look to the right you will see my kitchen! Complete with hot pink water barrel for storing water, a stove and oven ( a rare commodity even if it doesn't work), and of course Shelly, the shellane gas tank. The door on right leads to the bedroom, and the other door heads outside to the veranda.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View from my bedroom door. Notice those lovely curtains, tied back in the Pinoy way. It took me HOURS to get the knot into the "flower" but don't tell my host mom that...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On my counter we have my basil, homemade fly traps,<br />and a sanity-saving radio.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And once again from the corner of the room...</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's go into my room. As you can see, it's a little bare. I had so much extra space, I tied up a hammock in between the windows.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking to the right you will see my desk, and bunk bed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the far corner looking back. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's go outside. The bathroom is this way...</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to the Bathroom of Seven Luxuries!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Light enough to do your business 2. Toilet paper holder <i>with </i>toilet paper!<br />3. Shower head (even though it doesn't work)<br />4. Frog bathmat 5. Clog-free drainage<br />6. Extra water barrel with scum-free dipper<br />7.Toilet Seat</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well that's all. Thanks for visiting, come again!</span></div>
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-70258540073409256422012-04-18T19:54:00.003+08:002012-04-18T19:54:39.354+08:00Soaring<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mt. Pulag is said to be the second (or third depending on who you talk to) highest mountain in the Philippines. I had been trying to plan a hike to the summit for a couple of months, and this past weekend it became a spectacular reality.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stop-over on the way to Kabayan with Ison and<br />my host brother Rajiv.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some volunteers and I met with some other friends in La Trinidad. We collected a group that involved five volunteers, two of my host siblings, one of my students, three pastors, and three others to form our hiking team. I've decided that connections mean EVERYTHING here, and through friends of friends of friends, we were able to get a private ride and a free guide to the top.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Skulls in the Kabayan</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We left Baguio en route to Kabayan. Once we arrived in Kabayan, we settled down, and went to see a burial cave. We were invited into a house for dinner and coffee and even got some pure honey from my host family's relatives. At 7:30 we piled into a jeep and headed for the ranger station. We arrived at the mountain at around 10:30 pm and made the quiet hike all the way through the night. We stopped once to heat some coffee and catch a quick nap before continuing the last 1.5 km to the summit.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sunrise at the summit.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can't come close to adequately describing the experience through words or pictures. It was truly amazing possibly the most beautiful sight I had ever witnessed. As the sun crept up, the horizon ignited and revealed an ocean of clouds that stretched out before us. As the sun came closer to breaking the horizon, the clouds reflected the colors and glowed all around us. When the sun finally rose, the cold seemed to evaporate and we welcomed the warm rays on our faces.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7G1ibDDnU/T46kTUo_N8I/AAAAAAAAANo/dggUnAHAehQ/s1600/DSC03159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7G1ibDDnU/T46kTUo_N8I/AAAAAAAAANo/dggUnAHAehQ/s320/DSC03159.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As we hiked down, the sun exposed the beautiful scenery we had missed the night before hiking through the dark with only our headlamps. Bamboo grassland transitioned into beautiful mossy forests of ferns and flowers. We found a stretch of wild blueberries and enjoyed picking them during our last kilometer back to the station. We made it back down the mountain in time to hop on the first bus back to Baguio, and by that time the hike and lack of sleep had turned us into a group of mindless zombies whose only thoughts were of water and a soft bed.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">Isa. 40:31</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Disclaimer: I would like to acknowledge Cobra Energy Drink, without which this trip would have been an utter failure.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let's compare:<br />Red Bull-50mg of caffeine.<br />Cobra - 135mg.<br />WHOOOOO!<br />(no joke)</span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-13126110151499145092012-04-11T18:36:00.000+08:002012-04-18T18:36:35.670+08:00Happy Easter!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVhCKCzB3CM/T46XVMS7ywI/AAAAAAAAANA/1JNhUJhy-Tw/s1600/philippines+26+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVhCKCzB3CM/T46XVMS7ywI/AAAAAAAAANA/1JNhUJhy-Tw/s200/philippines+26+056.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Easter at home is always a special occasion. I have memories waking up early on Easter morning to hunt for eggs and see what goodies were in my Easter Basket. Usually my family drove down to Phoenix to meet family for brunch. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here an entire week builds up to Easter. Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday and lasts until Easter. In the Philippines, it is a special time of year, and I've heard so many different experiences from different volunteers. It is here where the reenact the crucifiction with men getting nailed to the cross. Others received beautiful woven palm fronds on Palm Sunday.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My site was pretty quiet during Holy Week. I was invited to a baptism in Itogon Hot Springs near La Trinidad and so I decided to go support my friend JL. It was beautiful and I got a proper sunburn for the first time in the Philippines. I stayed a few nights with his family and introduced the Easter-egg hunt to the boys their before attending church.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cleaning fish with Erika (PCV) during the baptism in Itogon.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">School is out but teachers are still busy reporting to finish filling out forms and paperwork. I'm working on a massive excel spreadsheet to make it easier for them. We are also planning to initiate an Achievers League, which will be like an Honors Club to encourage good character and reward academic excellence. When not in school, I'm finishing up things for my apartment. The room has a lot of empty space so next chance I get I'm going to look for some hammocks to string up. I'll keep you updated!</span><br />
<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-90355070974637306882012-04-03T17:30:00.003+08:002012-04-03T17:52:25.151+08:00Quick Update!<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Maybe you remember my list of resolutions back in January? Well, I've decided to add to the list! I'm also keeping track of my progress. I've realized that some of these objectives are going to be a lot more difficult than I thought, while at the same time I'm constantly creating a mental list of new goals I want to accomplish. So, if you want to follow along, check out the list to the right! I'll update it and add to it whenever I get the chance.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also, I know some of you get tired of checking in only to find that I still haven't posted anything new. So, to make your lives a little bit easier, I've added the "Subscribe by Email" option on the right side. If you enter your email, it will send you a message every time I update. Hope it helps!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now, I realized that I've been putting up lots of pictures of the things I go and see, but not a whole lot of the everyday life at my site. So here is a glimpse:</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When you walk out of my apartment (which I'll show you next time!) you walk down some stairs, then up some stairs, and you come to National Highway. If you turn left, this is what you see:</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The nearest brown building is the post office, and in the distance you can barely make out the Barangay fountain, which is our landmark. The sidewalks are a blessing and a curse. They protect us from insane drivers, but it is also where all of the dogs prefer to do their business. People here refer to them as "submarines."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Looking to the right, you will see:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5d_Lhnqkq4/T3rA8qP7bWI/AAAAAAAAAMw/ngUPC2q0tGk/s1600/philippines21+102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5d_Lhnqkq4/T3rA8qP7bWI/AAAAAAAAAMw/ngUPC2q0tGk/s320/philippines21+102.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A simple row of houses built along the highway. The mountain rises to the left and drops to the right. That doesn't keep people from building though! Just around the bend is the path going down to the high school, and the greed roof you see in the distance is the elementary school.</span></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-41158440754523850042012-04-02T16:07:00.001+08:002012-04-03T15:28:35.646+08:00Graduation<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JIn6QdiRsiY/T3qkvx5DPZI/AAAAAAAAAMg/0LDIl54Jig0/s1600/philippines+25+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JIn6QdiRsiY/T3qkvx5DPZI/AAAAAAAAAMg/0LDIl54Jig0/s200/philippines+25+057.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The school year is over! The graduation ceremony was held last Thursday. The teachers and students all worked hard to set up the stage and decorate it with enough calla lilies to build a float. Parents slowly started to drift onto the campus as the seniors rushed around tucking in shirts, combing hair and looking for neck ties. Once everyone had gathered and was prepared for the the baccalaureate mass...it began to rain. So everyone picked up a chair and we all moved indoors. Luckily two of our classrooms had a divider in the middle that we were able to push back and everyone was able to cram inside. And just as the mass finished, the sun came out! So, everyone picked up their chair again and out we went.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The graduates paraded across the stage with their parents, then there were speeches given by guests and the valedictorian. The diplomas were handed over one by one to the students and their parents, and then awards were given to those with accomplishments including honor students, sports champions, and competition winners. The morning was finished off by a song by the graduates and an oath of loyalty to the school. Overall, the ceremony took about four hours.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Nice ties! Turns out I'm the only one in this barangay who<br />knows how to tie a tie. The boys had to line up!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Again, just as the principal was thanking everyone for coming, it began to rain again and everyone rushed back inside to shake hands with the graduates and give them flowers and other small tokens. Although I didn't teach the seniors, many were some of my favorite students and I always enjoyed casually talking to them. In the chaos of picture taking I was able to request the autograph of everyone, congratulating them and reminding them they're all capable of doing great things, and who knows...one day they might be famous!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Following the graduation ceremony, it is tradition in our small community for all of the graduates to have a "blow-out" party. It's the closest thing to Halloween they have here. Small groups of people go from house to house of all the graduates. But instead of a few pieces of candy, everyone is invited inside for a full meal!</span><br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-70524735891819847172012-03-14T18:50:00.000+08:002012-03-14T18:52:32.718+08:00Treasures<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It doesn’t take 8 months in the
Philippines to record the differences in values between this country and the
U.S. But since I haven’t mentioned it, I’ll go ahead and do it now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First of all religion plays an
enormous part in the culture here. The majority of people are catholic but you
will find Protestants and the Islamic faith without looking too far. Students
pray before school and after lunch. Usually God is incorporated into lessons
and programs and speeches. People go to mass at least once a week. From what
I’ve encountered so far, faith is valued above all else in my site.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Close behind is family. And I
don’t just mean family who you live with mother father bro and sis. Extended
family is always close and it is rare for a Filipino to move far from his or
her birthplace. My site is unique because nearly everyone here has moved here
to work their crops, but none will call it home because it is not where their
family is. Home will always be where your family is. It is common for aunts or
uncles, cousins and grandparents to all live with each other. It’s just one’s
assumed duty to care for family and I doubt anyone would give up living in a
crammed home full of relatives if given the chance to move to a brand new house
miles away if they had to live alone.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Third is food. If there is any
occasion at all, there is food. At funerals, wakes, weddings, birthdays,
fiestas, you name it, food is expected to be served. Even when planning
trainings or school events, if anything takes place over lunch, you had better
find a way to feed your guests. At my site a mass feeding requires boiling chicken
or pork, and serving it with a heaping pile of rice on a paper plate covered in
a plastic bag (handy for taking home leftovers). Plates are then passed down a food
brigade until everyone has their meal. The broth from the meat usually arrives
soon after in a mug to sip on.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course there are so-called
material items that Filipinos value as well, but they also differ. They take
great care in appearance. Filipinos are very clean and tidy and if they can
afford it, they will wear the best clothing they can. My students prize their
Levis and Nike shoes. If you watch T.V. commercials are all for either laundry
soap or shampoo. It’s hard to explain
what has the highest value because it’s not necessarily a cell phone or laptop.
For me, I have begun gather my own collection of priceless items and here are
the top 3:</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. My bolo knife given to me by my
host brother on Christmas. It has 15,000 different uses such as chopping up a
chicken, cutting down a tree, peeling a carrot, and whacking a path through the
bushes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. My Sagada Bag, or as I like refer
to it: my magic bag. This thing is like the Mary Poppins bag. It was hand woven
in Sagada, Mt. Province and can carry my entire life’s necessities.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. My chicken. This thing has proven
to be the most frustrating animal I have ever tried to raise. After catching it
the first time, it has escaped twice and I have to keep chasing it around the
neighborhood. But one day it will provide me enough chickens and eggs to last
me the rest of my service! And the money I will raise from selling the roosters
for cock fighting will hopefully fund a small project for the school. Are those
high hopes for a single chicken? Maybe, but after all the talk I give my
students, I need to show them an example of reaching for one’s dreams.</span></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-49420870276159571472012-03-11T16:00:00.000+08:002012-03-14T18:16:46.335+08:00Happy Birthday to Me!!!<br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My birthday was last week and to
help me celebrate, the Peace Corps dragged me to Manila for a full week of
In-Service Training. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to celebrate at
my site but some volunteers who remembered my big day took me out for pizza and
it ended up being a pretty good day. But in order to enlighten you some more
cultural differences, here is what WOULD have happened if I had remained at
site.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hQb7b0_zkFY/T2Brp2BAgaI/AAAAAAAAALI/vKoM2PgqFL0/s1600/philippines21+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hQb7b0_zkFY/T2Brp2BAgaI/AAAAAAAAALI/vKoM2PgqFL0/s320/philippines21+002.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My host mom, extracting the "juice" from the rice wine.<br />It tastes pretty good! Kind of like a sangria but gets stronger<br />every day you let it sit.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Birthdays in the Philippines are
celebrated a little bit different from back home. First of all there are no
presents; if you haven’t figured it out already, nearly every celebration is
centered around food. Second, it isn’t the friends who treat the birthday-boy,
but the exact opposite. If it is your birthday, you are expected to provide
food for all your guests or pay for their dinner if eating out at a restaurant.
It can get pretty expensive and I was dreading it. I had already ordered my
rice for the wine and was counting the number of chickens I would have to buy
as my mental guest list kept rising. Teachers, family, neighbors. Those are
only the base. As word gets around, anyone might show up! However, this year I
was excused and I can start saving up properly for next year.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the training ended in
Manila, I rushed – no wrong word – I traveled as fast as the buses would take
me back to Bauko to catch the end of our town fiesta. I was supposed to present
an encore of the Cotton Eye Joe with the teachers. Unfortunately they had to
present alone because I was an hour late which, honestly, when making a 12+
hour night trip isn’t all that bad. The highlight of the fiesta, and of this
year for that matter, was the Tiliw ti Manok (Chicken Catch). This is a popular
game where they release the fastest chicken they can find and the person who
catches it wins!</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I won. I had to race against all
kinds of foes including my students, but I came out victorious. And my prize
was the chicken! Boy do I have some big plans for this chicken. It is going to
make me rich. Ahem, I mean it will make my school rich. Native chickens (any
other chicken than the standard white chicken) are the most expensive and most
prized of all chickens. When a person has a dream of a deceased relative, they
will fork out the cost of a native chicken to butcher and offer some of the
meat with a little gin to the ancestors.</span></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-31588828012363005942012-02-26T12:47:00.001+08:002012-03-15T17:35:16.974+08:00Foundation Day - It's Showtime!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VR109tlixR4/T0m2IWCyW6I/AAAAAAAAAK4/oNMHI5NJxJk/s1600/philippines+20+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VR109tlixR4/T0m2IWCyW6I/AAAAAAAAAK4/oNMHI5NJxJk/s320/philippines+20+018.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For the past two months the school has been busy preparing for Foundation Day. After the Mass and program, each grade level was responsible for a presentation after the parade... and so were the teachers. First-year students danced the tinikling. If you haven't seen it, youtube it because it's pretty crazy to watch. After that, the second-years did a folk dance. The thrid-years danced the boogie and the fourth years followed. And that left the teachers. They requested I teach them something from Arizona. Since we don't really have traditional folk dances, I thought a country line dance was in order. Yee-haw! So After weeks and weeks of practice, the teachers kicked of their debut of Cotton Eye Joe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">A counselor and the Vice-Mayer happened to witness it. They liked it so much they invited the teachers to come to the Begnas Festival in March and present it in the municipal capital. <em>*Update: The Counselor has uploaded these videos to youtube if you want to see us in action! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZG4I4uHe7E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZG4I4uHe7E</a> </em></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After the demonstrations were over, a massive lunch was served. The PTA held a rafflle for a new washing machine and so people hung around for the drawing. After that, it was time for the greatest show on earth.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Months ago, back in December, the English Club asked me if we could hold a fashion show for fundraiser. Now, I'll let you know that I know absolutely nothing about fashion, modeling, clothes, drama, or any of the necessary knowledge to plan a fashion show. So, I said yes! Since school resumed in January, students have been gathering at lunchtime and after school to practice their modeling poses. They went to thrift stores (wagwagans) and borrowed clothing. The day before the show, we went up to the recreation hall and set up the stage hanging up curtains, setting up a runway out of long tables taken from the library, and preparing a program. <b>"MDNHS presents the first ever Wag Wag Fashion Show!"</b> Come showtime, the we had a full house, standing room only and the kids did great. I was really proud of them because they did almost all of the planning themselves and the show was a huge success. Parents are even requesting that we do it again every year!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The morning after prom (and what a slow morning it was), we all gathered for the parade to kick of the Barangay Fiesta. The students prepared the drums and flags and we headed up the highway to start the procession. It was mandated that all students and at least one member of each household be present in the parade. So, it was not surprising that nearly everyone was marching and there was nobody left to actually watch the parade. Save for the few buses that passed us on the way to Baguio.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the parade was a, you guessed it, program. There were dancing presentations from different groups around town. Then food was served to EVERYONE. I'm not sure how much rice and was cooked or how many pigs were slaughtered. But it was a lot of food.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The highlight of our fiesta is the basketball games. Teams are invited to play here, and by Sunday a champion is announced. However, Saturday morning brought the coldest weather I've experienced since I've been here. It was cloudy, it was rainy, and eventually I gave up on the games and went and heated the coffee.</span><br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1891148087118661535.post-46420251018049236642012-02-18T13:48:00.000+08:002012-04-03T17:47:28.769+08:00Going Green<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"What is this thing I'm holding in my pocket? It's 6 inches long and has a head. Oh! It's a nail. What's this I'm holding in my other pocket? Yes, It's what you were thinking a moment ago." </span></blockquote>
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<i><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> -said by the school principle during the welcome speech at a provincial competition.</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Green jokes, or dirty jokes, are rampant here and for the most part treated more lightly than back home. Sticklers for political correctness would not survive here, but I've been enjoying humor.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With that in mind, it was time for Junior-Senior Prom. It's a bit different from the prom I went to. More formal if that's possible. To begin with, all the juniors are partnered with a senior. They have a short procession and then line up where the juniors pin a corsage on the seniors, and the seniors light a candle and give it to the juniors. Then there is a program. Oh, how the Filipinos love programs! For every event there is a program. First there is the opening prayer, then a song, then the welcome speech. Then once we're warmed up they call on guest speakers and 36 hours later there is the closing prayer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now, since the teachers asked me to be the one to plan the program, it was my first instinct to cut the program completely and go from candle lighting to dancing. So I asked what would happen if there was no program. All I recieved were blank stares until someone said, "No, that's impossible. It's never been done before. There has to be a program." Alright, with that I asked if it would be ok then if we let the students do the speaking since, after all, it is their big night. In the end, we didn't invite any guest speakers OR parents which is usually the case. The students did a great job in delivering their speeches. First was the Senior Class History, a reminiscence of their past four years. Then the Juniors gave the Class Prophecy for the Seniors - where they saw their role models in years to come. Then was the turning of the key, challenge of acceptance, and Senior Legacy. Then finally it was time to dance!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Chairs were cleared. Speakers boomed. Food and mocktails were served. Then came the games, and the reason for the title of this post.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Teachers had told me that in previous years, sometimes the students were shy and refused to dance. So I assinged each of them to come up with a game that we could play if things started to get slow.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first game introduced had students tie a long eggplant to their waste from a string. Then they had to use it to role a baby tomato across the floor to the finish line.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Next up was egg smashing. This time an egg was tied to the waste of a pair and they had to swing their hips in order to smash the eggs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then, the girls were made to feed a raw egg down the shirt of their male partner, all the way down their body, and out the pant leg, taking special care not to break the egg.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">CENSORED</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And my contribution you might ask? The final game, in order to determine Prom Queen and King. The boys sat in a chair holding a bowl of bananas on their lap. The girls had to eat the bananas (no hands of course). Then they had to switch positions and the boys had to do the same only this time by getting a peanut out of it's shell with no hands. The first to complete were the winners!</span><br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177518008144463192noreply@blogger.com0