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....

Greetings from beautiful Tarlac!

I realize it's been a while since I've posted a blog entry, but I haven't been able to access a computer that often...or I've been tired...or I haven't wanted to cross the street that I'm pretty sure has me bargaining with death on a daily basis.

So, yeah. I've been at my training site since last Friday and living with my host family. I'm located in the province of Tarlac. The smaller unit of government is called the baranguy, but I won't go too much more into the details of my location. This blog is public and all you'd have to do to find me is look for the awkward looking American stumbling down the street. I believe that I will be training here for three months and then, if I don't wash out, I will be sworn in at the beginning of August.

My host family is very nice and I have my own room in a house (with no air conditioning), two girls aged 8 and 10, and an older couple. There are also six dog and four duck at this place. Now, when you think about dogs you may envision lots of cuddles and companionship...but, in this case, you would be very...very....wrong.

The dogs at the house were one of the first things I noticed. It works as follows: One mother dog runs in between the front porch area and the back yard while functioning as a garbage disposal for most meals...oh, there's about 4-6 full meals a day here, so she does pretty good. As for the puppies...the best I can liken them to are Jim Henson characters from The Dark Crystal. There are five puppies, some white with floppy ears, a couple are brown with black muzzles...they are cute, in theory. But, the catch is that they are the secondary garbage disposal after their mother. They hide out underneath various objects in the yard until they sense you approaching the back door. When they know their going to be fed, they all run up and bark in unison for the food...after you give them the food, there is a very quick flurry of action until they again scatter to their respective hiding places. I tried to pet one once...but it yelped and ran away. SO, that's the dog story.

I'm slowly learning Tagalog...very slowly. My host family really wants me to be fluent quickly, so they have been helpful in the process. I have no complaints so far...except for that I'd like to eat my breakfast without being told to repeat word in Tagalog...I'm just not in the mood for it when I first wake up. The Peace Corps has kept us very busy and yesterday was the first serious "cross-cultural" experience that I can say I've had so far. The story is as follows:

A couple days ago I was informed in passing that the community leaders would like it if us PC trainees would take part in a local fiesta celebrating some saint for some saintly or otherwise religious reason. We weren't really told in detail what we would be doing....as I've just come to accept is how EVERYTHING works here...so, of course, I just agreed and went ahead with what everybody else was doing.

Wait. Hold on a second...did you ever have that dream where you were walking down the street while children and elderly people paraded around you carrying Molotov cocktails...and then you look down and you're wearing a ballgown and carrying a small crucifix? Everywhere you turned, people were pointing and smiling and speaking some language that you were trying really hard to understand...but just couldn't?

Oh....no, what was I thinking? That wasn't a dream! That is what happened, in reality, LAST NIGHT!!

Yeah. So, I'll have to agree...it was definitely cross-cultural and I enjoyed it, despite how awkward I felt. There may be picture of this in order to add some more details to the story.

One last bit before I have to run. In order to get this ballgown, we had to drive to the next town to find ones that could be fitted to our larger American frames. Besides the shame of being too fat to fit into a dress in the town I live in, I had to go home an explain where I went to my host mother. When I started to tell her that I had to take a short trip for the dress because I was "too big" to fit into the dresses in this town, she promptly took my water bottle and refilled it with the ice water in the fridge. Apparently, she thought that I had finally mastered a usable phrase in Tagalog;see....tubig (too big!) is the Tagalog word for water.

There are lots of things happening here, almost too much for me to report on regularly, but, so far, I believe I am hanging in there despite missing lots of you guys back home! Take care and until next time...

A quick note about sending things here...

Not that anyone was thinking about sending me stuff or anything, but just in case you were, I was told some tips that will be of use:

-pack things in small boxes, such as a shoe box or something around that size. I believe the mail has to be delivered to me and all packages are opened, searched and re-packed, so the smaller the better...padded envelopes are really good too.

-on that note, all the packages will be opened. Don't send anything that may be confiscated or stolen...and make a list of what was sent so I know if it got to me or not.

-please don't send books until I'm at my site...I still have one more move left before I get to settle down somewhere for a while...well, unless something changes, anyway. And, again, on that note, I'm dying for some books to read! I didn't bring much in the way of reading and I'm regretting it.

Okay, enough of that. I'll try to make a link to this on the side, but my computer use is sketchy, at best...so just try to remember!

Malaria Monday

Just to start....no, I don't have malaria. That's just what our medical officer suggested we call Monday so that we remember to take our malaria medication. This medication supposedly has some side effects that can include insomnia and vivid dreams, so I opted to take it tomorrow morning....meaning, Tuesday. I figured that Tuesday often lacked recognition as an important day in the family of the week, so I have dubbed Tuesday from this day forward: Two Tab Tuesday.

Tuesday will be the day that I take my two tabs of Chloroquine once a week...most likely, for the next two years. I've even recruited some other PCTs on my campaign! We thought we could even make tee-shirts to express our affiliations...they would, of course, be colored teal...or, if there is a bind at the screen printing shop, taupe.

I am tired and it is quite hot here. I still haven't gotten over the jet lag combined with sitting in a meeting room for 8 hours a day....oh, and Hepatitis shots were served up for this evening's Happy Hour. Something like....a single shot on the house!! What a deal.

I do have some pictures to post, which I will put up here the next time I remember to bring my camera down to the computer room. But, so far, to sum up...there's plenty of socializing going on, along with an incredible amount of information being thrown at us...albeit, in a very organized and informative way.

Besides the ants in the bathroom and the bats that fly around my balcony at dusk, I can't really claim to have experienced the Philippines as of yet. Since the local elections were held today, the fervor and excitement should be calmed down by the end of the week...at that time, we may be let out of "lock down" at the resort. We are set to move to our official training sites this weekend and I think that's when we move in with our host families.

My brain already feels like it's soaked in so much new information, meeting new people, and just talking about things that are incredibly interesting...it's hard for me to even believe that I was still in Texas a week ago!

Well, sleep must be had....soon I will be one with the waking/sleeping pattern of these here islands...which is something like, sunrise at 5:30 am and sunset at 6:30 p.m. But, yeah....til then!!

Oh, one last thing...this blog will be renamed after I get a feel for the perfect fit. I have a feeling that it might take me a few months of living here, but it will more than likely change. Not that it's that interesting or anything...I just thought I'd share!

Pre-departure countdown

I haven't actually left yet, so I'm not officially "in the Philippines." BUT...I have just sat through two days of pre-departure orientation (what the Peace Corps calls "staging") here in L.A.

It's been pretty cool to meet a bunch of people (65 of us, total) who have all been going through all the same stuff that I have for the past year. So far, I can say it's been pretty invigorating to meet lots of new people....of course, I haven't spent three months of my life with them yet during in-country training. We'll see how that works out.


On that note, I was told today by some of the PC officials that I need to watch what I say when I'm writing on here. I can't offend anyone whether they be my coworkers or other people in the country...it would really suck if I got kicked out of the Peace Corps due to something stupid that I put up online. So, I'll try to be nice.



Tomorrow morning, I'm up bright and early to be on a bus at 9 a.m. We all head for the airport and then get on a plane at 1 p.m to head to Tokyo, Japan. I'm excited about this because it's probably the only chance I'll get to experience Japan....from an airport terminal. Then, after about a two hour layover, we head to Manila. It's my understanding that we will not actually be staying IN Manila due to elections set to commence the day we arrive. I know....it's so convenient....I fly to this country only start out by fearing political and social upheaval.



Well, I need to conclude, as I'm running out of Internet money...but, I've also been told that it may be hard to communicate during the first few days of my being in-country. Although we will be near phones and Internet, at the beginning, there is much settling in and figuring stuff out going on. Basically, no news is good news...so, if no one hears from me for a little bit, don't worry!

Everybody take care and I'm hoping the 11 hour flight (plus 5 more to Manila) won't be so bad...expect some letters or postcards....uuummm, sooner or later!

Welcome!

Hello. I'm rushing to get everything together before I depart at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning...talk about hectic! But, in the mean time, I've completed this blog that may end up being quite useful in the next couple years.

I'm going to give a short walk through and feel free to look around, provide some comments on what you like or don't like or what you'd like to see added.

1. On the right hand side of the page, you'll be able to find all my contact information. The information will change as I move around, but even as the posts get posted, this contact information will stay on the right hand side. Pretty neat, huh?

2. Also in the right side bar you will find emergency contact information, the current time in the Philippines and a useful (hopefully!) glossary to help everyone decipher all the Peace Corps acronyms and various phrases that I will undoubtabley learn once I am there.

3. Anyone has permission to comment on here or contact me if they'd like. In order to do this, you may have to sign in or follow some directions when you click on the comment link. This prevents spammers from filling up my blog with their annoying ads. In the future, if I get too much spam or unsolicited mail, I may take down my addresses...although, anyone who is willing to send junk mail internationally must be a very determined individual/organization and, therefore, I may be willing to purchase their shoddy, useless products and/or services.

4. Check back here often! This site allows me to post up pictures and links. If your even more tech-savvy, you can sign up to a RSS feed and let your computer tell you when I've posted...this might help you if you're a little obsessive and like to check people's blogs every hour for new content. Also, I believe you can sign up to receive an email every time there's a new post.

Other than that...I guess I'll get back here the next time I get a chance!

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