Wheel...Of....PLACEMENT!

I figured I'd try to get a blog post in for the month of June....so, here it goes.

June has been a very long, long, long month. Even though I've only been in the Philippines for seven..or is it eight..weeks, it feels like it could be a year already.

About a week ago, my training cluster and I all traveled up to Tarlac City to find out our site placement announcements and to meet our future supervisors for the next two years. The process was suspenseful and done in a game-show like fashion...something that I could have done without...but, regardless, I found out where I am going to be living and what my job will be for the next two years. Uhhh...finally.

So, it turns out that I will be a high school reading teacher working to develop a project to help slow readers and non-readers. This is actually a pretty hefty task considering the language barrier issue...and the fact that I have absolutely no training in these sorts of things. I've tried to skirt around this issue as I talked to the teachers that I'll be working with over the past few days. Every teacher here in the Philippines actually obtained a degree in Education...as opposed to me or other teachers in the U.S. who can major in basically anything and THEN decide that they might want to teach. So, explaining my qualifications has been a challenge...and most of the time I'm not sure if I'm trying to explain how I'm qualified to the other teachers or myself.

As for my site placement, I have grown used to the place that I will be living for the next two years. But, I'd be lying if I said that I was thrilled when I found out that I was placed in the province of Nueva Ecija in central Luzon. When I received the literature that was supposed to ignite interest and wonder into my future home...the picture on the first page was of a pack of oxen grazing by a watering hole...then I flipped the page and saw that the second picture was of an indecipherable ritual..and the third picture was the exact same picture from the first page of the oxen at the watering hole. I looked closely to see if they had moved in this picture...bu they had, in fact, not.

Next, packet went on to describe how central Luzon was the rice bowl of the Philippines...and that they had a dam here...and, that if one desired, dam tours could be arranged. I continued to read about other "attractions" that this province had to offer until I started to fade out into oblivious realization that they couldn't even find a way to write something compelling about this place...but, I'll have to give them credit for pulling from what they've got. There's an agricultural college here, a bunch of stuff happened in certain parts of the province that are significant due to wars and colonialism...but there aren't any real things to see about these events....it's just good to know. There's farms..and some more farms..and tours can ALSO be arranged to see some of these farms. Oh...and there's another dam. It's a rubber dam and it's the only on in Asia. Are you jealous yet?

The entire event of learning about where I was set to live for the next two years vaguely reminded me of several of my summer vacation "itineraries" from when I was younger. The packet was put together to make the dams and farms interesting in the same way that digging in the mud at Arkansas' Crater of the Diamonds State Park or standing at the Four Corners are supposed to be valid reasons to take a vacation and travel. On the upside, I figured that I was probably well prepared for this type of placement seeing as how I've spend more hours at model airplane museums and historical battlefields, among many other thrilling destinations...than many people that I know. No offense, Dad.

Immediately after the site placement announcements, we were set to have an introduction dinner with our supervisors....only, my supervisor didn't show up. I went through the entire ice-breaker game waiting to meet this person...only to be told after I was left confused and without a partner that PC KNEW she wasn't coming, but they forgot to tell me. Okay then.

So, that day...in particular...wasn't all that great. Somehow, out of about forty trainees, I happened to be the only one whose supervisor did not show up for dinner. So I sadly ate dinner and just proceeded to feel sorry for myself.

Now I will fast forward a couple days. I've traveled to Nueva Ecija, which is only about one hour away from where I am staying in Tarlac. That was another disappointment...I was really looking forward to seeing some more of the Philippines...but, I guess that will happen some other time. Everybody here has been very friendly, welcoming and, all around, has brought up my attitude from the low points of the other day. Even though the project may be daunting, I like the idea of having a challenge to work with and the other teachers seem very eager to work with me as well. My supervisor, who came to the meeting site the next day and initially gave me a very distant and uninterested vibe, has spent a lot of time with me and I've gotten to understand her a bit more.

Yesterday, for example, I was called from the classroom I was observing to meet the principal up in her office. I immediately proceeded across campus to her office, but she was not there...so I waited...and waited. I carry a large messenger bag with me for these reasons...I'm never at a loss for something to read or do. So, I just waited. One of the things I've just come to accept here in the Philippines is that many people do not care for clocks anyhow...I've started keeping a running mental count of the number of clocks that I see that are non-working.

My question is: Why have a clock at all if you don't care if it works or not?!!?

The approximate count is up to about thirty...when I started noticing these clocks in the early days, I was still making excuses as to why they never told the correct time. Maybe they haven't replaced the batteries for the new school year yet...maybe this particular clock was just broken. Maybe the clock was placed in an area where nobody could really see it anyway....the excuses could just go on. But, I believe I've made a valid general observation that most clocks in the Philippines do not tell the correct time (except for twice a day!)

ANYWAY...I was sitting in the principal's office waiting area. Finally she returned, briefly nodded to me and then proceeded into her office with a companion. The principal was talking...or actually yelling...at this other woman, but it was hard for me to tell if it was out of anger or if that was just the way she expressed herself. I figure I'll get better at this as my Tagalog improves. After about fifteen minutes of this, she stepped out of her office and proclaim, "Mellen! We will go now!"

By this time, my host mother..who is also a teacher at the school...was also there. The principal told me that we were taking a trip to some place that I'd never heard of...and all I could say was, "Sige, po." (Okay, ma'am).

Well, it's time to make a long story short..as, I'm running out of internet time...I ended up attending a meeting of the International Rotary Club. It was a special night of inductions. There was food, congratulations, appreciations, awards and recognitions...and it was quite possibly the most boring five hours of my entire life. The boredom was compounded by the fact that I had no idea what was being said in all of the speeches, but I was perceptive enough to know that much of what was being said and done was repetitive. There were about ten photo-opt handshake sessions...and after the night was over, I still have no idea what the Rotary Club does.

One of the women who went with us to the meeting was nice enough to translate some of the things that were being said. Apparently, there were some things said about me in reference to the "foreigner", but I didn't catch it at the time...and it was pretty standard anyhow. If anything, these types of things still make for stories...wether they are interesting or not is another thing all together.

There will be more stories to come, hopefully, in the coming weeks. So many things are still happening at a fast pace that I have a hard time absorbing all of it, never mind reporting! Take care everyone....