Settled?
Tuesday, 5 October 2004
Peace Corps calls the first months at site the “settling-in” period. The assumption I suppose is that after the first months you are settled? Not so in my case. By now I was supposed to be moving into my nipa hut, but it’s still very far from completion. Right now the roof is almost completed and some work has been done on the CR walls. Still no hut walls, floors, etc. Meanwhile, the situation at my host family’s house had become very uncomfortable. The first few months of host-family living went well; however, in the last few months I sensed tensions building and no longer felt welcome in the home. All signs indicated that this was due to disappointment/hurt feelings over the fact that I was having a nipa hut built and would soon be moving out of the house. (Reverse psychology to get me to stay? Didn’t work!) I know that on several occasions Peace Corps prepared my host family for a move like this, and yet it was causing a rift. After weeks of trying to resolve the issue on my own, I employed the Filipino third-party system and asked Pauline to intervene and talk to my host mom. My host mom lied and said that there was no tension and told Pauline about some conversations that we never actually had. Guess she had to save face. I had also made arrangements with Pauline to move into the staff house, where I’ll feel more at ease, until my nipa hut is completed. So Pauline broke that to my host mom as well when she talked to her.
So here’s the sequence of events for the last few days: After I checked out of my luxury birthday-night hotel room, I transferred to the nice pension that I had stayed at with Martha. On Saturday, I went with some friends from Puerto to Honda Bay. We took a pump boat out to Snake Island and had a cook out. Everyone had planned to snorkel too, but a storm blew in and it was pretty cold, so only Jason and I braved the water (the real problem was the cold wind once we got out). On Sunday I slept in, had a nice leisurely morning, and then took a shuttle van to Espanola. I went directly to the staff house to “hide out” that night until I could move in for real the next day. Monday morning I returned to my host family’s house, packed up, and my host dad helped me get everything into a trike and haul it into the staff house. This evening I returned to settle accounts with my host mom, the first time I saw her since Pauline talked to her for me. All of a sudden she was super-friendly and accommodating. At least I got to leave things on a friendly note even if it seemed fake.
Wednesday, 17 October 2004
Ah, the freedom to live like an adult again! Probably the best luxury is getting to cook for myself. Sure, it was very nice to have meals prepared for me, but to NEVER be allowed to cook or decide what I wanted to eat was driving me crazy, and at times making me sick from all of the oil. The first night I even washed up Pauline’s dishes, much to her protest. I assured her that I was so happy to be ALLOWED to wash up that I was happy to wash her stuff too. I also told her that she didn’t need to worry about it being a habit, the novelty of washing the dishes would wear off almost instantly. Sure enough, it did.Anyway, if I thought living with just a housemate increased my freedom exponentially, just imagine what having staff house to myself for the week is like. Pauline’s up in Puerto this week. Not that I was looking to get rid of her or anything - she’s a great housemate. However, I’ve always cherished alone-time and this is the first extended private time that I’ve had since I’ve been in country. Well, actually, since I left Washington in December. If my nipa hut isn’t going to be finished anytime soon, this is the next best thing.
Speaking of the nipa hut, who knows when it will be finished! Over two weeks ago I made a payment for partial completion of the roof and CR. Since then part of the sawali exterior walls have gone up. This looks like a dramatic change, but actually there’s very little work involved to match the visual improvement. The landowner has told me several excuses for why the work hasn’t been done and says that now the builders are ready to start again. He says the material for the floors is ready and they won’t take long to install. I’m very wary of this, but I’m planning on being away from site for the next two weeks. If they really are going to be working on it, it’s unfair for them to not get any payment until I return. So tomorrow I’m leaving a small advance payment for labor with the landowner. I’m going to make it very clear that the work for this money has not been done yet. I’ll also explain that I’d like to make a large payment when I get back if alot of work has been done to earn it. But if only a little work is done, then I’ve already paid for that. I’ll emphasize that I really want to make a large payment though, so hopefully that will be an enticement for more work to be done.
At work, Pauline and I have been preparing an interview-style survey to be conducted in some of the upland barrios in Espanola. The goal it to assess the current environmental awareness level of the people to help focus the themes, methods, and materials for the IEC (Information, Education, & Communication) campaigns to be conducted throughout the entire planning area (5 municipalities). The survey is scheduled for after I return from In-Service Training at the beginning of November. It will be conducted in Tagalog or Palaw’an (the local language of the upland people in this region), so it’s not like I’ll be of any big help during the actual interviews. However, I’m extremely excited to get out into the areas that will be affected by the protected area establishment that we’re working towards. Finally, some field work! I can get a feel for what the conditions are for the people and see the real rural areas are like.
Friday, 22 October 2004
Today I cast my vote (I think). I sent in my voter’s registration (using my aunt’s address) to the State of Washington a couple of times before I left the States (simultaneously requesting an absentee ballot), but never got a reply. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania I always received a voter’s registration card. But apparently my first WA registration (using my school address) really was filed, because they sent a card to confirm that I had moved out of the county. I don’t know if they based that on my change of address form or the new registration I sent in. Either way, it meant I was no longer registered at my first Washington address, but who knows if I really am registered at my aunt’s address or not. I had kind of given up on the whole thing even though I know it’s a really, really important election. I just didn’t know what else I could do. Luckily, several PCVs were scrambling to get their votes cast, and I got re-inspired. I’m in Manila now, in advance of our In-Service Training (IST), so today I went to the U.S. Embassy American Citizen Services and filled out the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot. They also faxed in the form requesting an absentee ballot. You can only use the write-in ballot if you’ve already requested an absentee ballot. So, if I’m actually registered, my vote should count (shouldn’t everyone’s?). I also picked up a stack of extra write-in ballots, and am trying to push them on anyone who’s able to use one. I guess I’m trying to make up for almost giving up earlier. No, I should have been at least this involved in the first placeMonday, 25 October 2004
Yesterday, I went back to Kim’s tradefair at the MegaMall (yes, it really is mega) – crafts, edibles, & other products from the Bicol region. I went a little overboard on both visits buying a bunch of handicrafts. I love that kind of stuff, and haven’t seen much of it here (which really surprises me). I packed light to come to Manila, which also means I don’t have a big bag with me to stuff all of these things into. So now I have to keep track of a bunch of smaller bags. Lots of fun carting it all to Los Banos where our IST is. I didn’t buy as much as Reins though, he’s carting the furnishings for his treehouse around with him!Last night IST started with just the basic registration, and dinner. Then we all went out to a nice bar/coffee shop/pool hall place. Good chance to start getting caught up with my batchmates. Today IST started for real with sessions – several “how are things going at site?” discussions. I also have apparently become the ballot-girl of the Batch. I’ve been pushing the write-in ballots, answering questions about them, and facilitated their delivery to the Embassy to be expedited to the States. Got a great picture of me holding up a handful of the completed ballots in front of the Philippine flag.
Monday, 1 November 2004,All Souls Day
Overall, IST was a nice reunion for our batch, but not of much value besides that. There were some interesting outings like an intro to bee keeping and an intro to papermaking, but no information specific enough to actually get anything started. There also weren’t any sessions holistic enough to be of general value. (Like something along the lines of how to access the current environmental awareness level of your community/target audience. Would be good to know since many of us are supposed to be providing environmental education.) But, like I said, it was a nice reunion.Yesterday, most of us came back to Manila. Some people left on Saturday already, and some are staying in Los Banos for awhile. A bunch of us in Manila tried to find something fun to do for Halloween night. Realizing that it’s not really celebrated here, we still thought we’d find something in Manila since it’s so Americanized. A few places tried to put something together, goth music, etc. But overall, pretty disappointing. We spent most of the night wandering around trying to find someplace fun to stay.
Today is All Souls Day – Todos los Santos, which is a big holiday in the Philippines, but more so in the barangays than in Manila. So we missed out again! Apparently communities will go spend the entire day in the cemeteries with the dear departed. They bring lots of food, and it sounds like they make a big picnic out of the whole thing. Maybe next year I’ll get to check it out somewhere.
Tuesday, 2 November 2004
So, I sent home a bunch of things with Martha to the US. She gave them to my mom to distribute/hold on to. Mom just flew to see my brother’s family and brought along the presents for them. Somehow it didn’t occur to her when I told her what my brother’s present is (a bolo knife) that this is something that one must pack in check-in luggage, not carry-on! So she got stopped by security guards, bags searched, and was escorted back to baggage check-in. Unfortunately, she didn’t make any news headlines: “The new face of terrorism – 67 year old woman brandishes foot-long knife in airport.” I am glad though that they didn’t just confiscate the bolo, it had a very nicely carved handle and sheath.Wednesday, 3 November 2004, U.S. Election Day
What is wrong with our country????? This election shouldn’t even have been close, much less have gone this direction. How could people take a look at the things Bush has done and think “there’s a man who belongs in office.” I’ll admit that Kerry may not be the best person for the job either, but at least he hasn’t already proven that he’s inept. I’m very disappointed that the American public didn’t turn out in droves to vote against Bush. Now none of us want to return to the U.S. Next time someone asks me if I’m Canadian, I may just say yes. I’ll never give up my right to cast a vote in the U.S. (it’s too important to world politics & decisions), but who says I have to admit my identity as an American to everyone?Thursday, 4 November 2004
I ended up staying in Manila after IST for some medical appointments, and now I’m stuck here for another week. Yesterday I had my eyes checked because they’ve been dry and burning for awhile. Signs of ocular rosacea, which I’ve been watching out for given how pronounced my facial rosacea is. Turns out my eyelids are infected – the glands between the eyelashes that secrete an oil film over the tear layer on the eyes. No wonder my eyes have been dry, without the oil layer, moisture rapidly evaporates from the eyes. Anyway, this condition is a common part of ocular rosacea, which nobody here has heard of and no one seems interested in looking up or reading the information I’m handing them. I did insist that the Medical Officer put a copy of the documents I’ve looked up in my medical file. So if there are complications down the road, I can prove that I tried to get proper treatment from the beginning. (May be important in negotiating post-Peace Corps medical coverage.)Today I had an orthopedic appointment to have my ankle checked out. My left ankle took a long time to recover from the double sprains that I incurred while backpacking for a month in Australia more than a year ago. But before I came to the Philippines, it seemed to be alright again. Lately however, it’s been bothering me. Seemingly unrelated to any activities I do (i.e. even if I don’t do a lot of walking or any hiking), it will tighten up and cause pain. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the morning or stand up after sitting awhile and my ankle just won’t work. I’m usually caught off guard by this when I start to walk and have to hop a few steps before I can stop and try to loosen it up. I’m not used to taking inventory on the working order of my feet each time I start to walk! After x-rays and thorough poking and prodding (painful might I add!) the doctor concluded that I have tendonitis in two places, bursitis, and an inflamed joint on the side of my foot. No wonder it’s been bothering me!
When I went back to the PC office and told the Medical Officers what the doctors said about my eyes and ankle, I think they were surprised at all the things wrong. One said, “What happened? You’re damaged head to foot!” I told her it’s because I’m old now; I turned thirty so my body is falling apart :-). She laughed and assured me that isn’t supposed to happen until you turn forty. I told her okay, I’d cut it out then.
Thursday, 11 November 2004
It was an interesting medical stay in Manila. One of my batchmates was also stuck there for medical. This guy and I have never seen eye-to-eye on anything, and he just constantly rubs me the wrong way. After being stranded together though we managed a sort of truce, enforced by me halting all conversation when necessary and insisting that he back off. We even got to the point were we had a decent in-depth conversation last night about being a PCV in the Philippines versus being of more value elsewhere. Now of course that conversation is nagging at me (who would have ever thought the two of us would share similar views). I guess I could pretend I wasn’t thinking these things until I said them out loud, but now the cat’s out of the bag…I find myself becoming more and more disheartened. I cannot help but to compare situations at my site with those I’ve both witnessed and worked in throughout other parts of the world. I frequently feel my services would of greater assistance in a more underdeveloped country/area. Also, it’s difficult to remain motivated when projects plans are progressing so slowly. I keep reminding myself that this last part is a common sentiment for first-year PCVs, so I have to keep hoping that things turn around soon.
Friday, 12 November 2004
Well, the one thing that I was getting excited about work-wise I don’t get to participate in. The environmental awareness survey that we were supposed to conduct over a couple of weeks this month in the upland sitios of Espanola got crammed into a one-week schedule that will take place while I’m away on Thanksgiving vacation. Like I said before, it’s not that I would be of so much help during the actual interviews, but it would be the first opportunity to do any field work at all and also see real rural conditions here, i.e. perhaps see an area where I feel like I might be able to help out. Instead, I get to compile the report. Whoopee – paperwork! It doesn’t even make sense for me to write up the report since I won’t be involved in the actual survey at all (other than designing a large portion of it). This is why I don’t write home about the work that I do here – the only thing worse than paperwork is writing about paperwork! And it’s even rare for me to have significant paperwork to do. Mostly I keep busy by reading books. I think my record is the time I read 6 books in a week, one of which was 800 pages long. After that I switched over to crossword puzzles for a while.Friday, 18 November 2004
I got a call from Lani (from the PC Volunteer Support Unit, VSU, i.e. the lady to contact if you need anything at all accomplished, because she can get it done!) last night asking me to come to Puerto today for an interview with the person from the Office of the Inspector General. I’ve made trips to Puerto on shorter notice (it’s never easy though), but the real problem was that I leave for my vacation on Tuesday and I need to packed. I’ve become a pro at throwing things in a bag and living off of it for however long, but the complication this time is that I’m heading for the Mountain Province and needed to find my warmer clothes. I didn’t want to go up to Puerto just for the interview, stay the night, then return to Espanola to pack, turn around, and return to Puerto in time to get my flight. So I asked Lani to try to arrange for me to meet with the OIG person in Manila on Tuesday between my flight’s arrival and my bus’s departure that night. That didn’t work for the OIG, so the whole interview fell through. Too bad they didn’t make the arrangements with me in advance like they did for the other Volunteers they selected to interview. (They decided last minute to try to interview the Master’s International students.) Oh well. The good news is last night when I got home from the wake I was at, I dug through my stuff and found most of what I needed to pack. So now I’m almost entirely packed in advance… that never happens!Saturday, 20 November 2004
On and off today I’ve been texting with Kim as she endures the longest bus ride ever. Normally it takes her something like 10-12 hours on an overnight bus to get to Manila from her site. The Volunteers in that region really luck out for having the option to take a bus when their QTA (quarterly travel allowance) pays for them to fly. Anyway, the bus option was not to lucky today. Due to a typhoon coming through, the trip took her a total of nearly 24 hours!Monday, 22 November 2004
Today I blew my settling-in allowance (4,230 of the 5,000 pesos) on a mattress, a fan, and a stove burner – which doesn’t even include the gas tank. Not that I have anywhere to put these things since the nipa hut is nowhere near completion yet. I still don’t even have floors! I paid for the floors in advance before I left for IST. I was told they would only take a week. One month later… wala pa! Anyway… I bought the stuff today because the CI driver will be going to Espanola later in the week, so I can have these larger items transported to site for free. They’ll sit in the staff house until my hut is completed (so, maybe for eternity).Tuesday, 23 November 2004
I am so glad that interview with the OIG fell through for today; there was no time for it at all. As soon as I got to Manila Claire, Kim, Becky, and I went out for an awesome Middle Eastern lunch. Then we coordinated errands to get them done as fast as possible, and even so we were rushed like crazy. Last stop was the PC office, were we picked up another person, Karen, before we grabbed a taxi to take us to the bus. The ride was something like an hour, and the taxi was VERY full. Now we’re all on the overnight bus to Bontoc – 8 PCVs total just on this bus since our destination is the Mecca for PCV Thanksgivings. And what’s a bus ride without two flat tires! Gave those of us who haven’t been able to sleep on the bus a chance to get out and stretch our legs at least.Wednesday, 1 December 2004
It was a busy, fun-filled vacation! It really needed to be about twice as long to fully appreciate everywhere we went, but even given the short timing there isn’t anything I would have left out. Last Wednesday we arrived in Bontoc and then took the jeepney to Sagada. I top-rode for the first time – what an awesome way to travel! At first Claire and I were sharing the spare tire over the cab as a seat, but we couldn’t balance well and had nothing to hold onto. As soon as we slid ourselves off of the tire and sat directly on the cab roof we were a lot more comfortable and could enjoy the ride even more. The mountains are just beautiful – it reminded me of the Inland Northwest. Soon after we got there, I got to see Kiwi with his 6 sacks containing live turkeys. He brought them up from his site several hours away. We had lunch at the Yogurt House – awesome vegetarian options – and then hiked up to the weaving place outside of town. They didn’t have much in stock, but we placed orders that Cheryl said she’d be able to pick up for us around New Year’s when she passes through. That night we had a French dinner prepared for us at the pension where we were staying. Mmm-mm!On Thanksgiving morning, I slept-in while the turkeys were being butchered. Didn’t want to see/hear any of that. Later I got up and helped out in kitchen (on vegetarian dishes and desserts). Everyone was really good about pitching in and helping, so we had plenty of time to sit around and play cards after chores were finished. After the big feast, some of us played mafia. Julie and I took turns leading it so we each had a chance to play as well.
Instead of staying in Sagada and doing some of the many possible ecotourism things there (different hikes, caving, etc), a group of us went to Pam’s site about 45 minutes away. It took awhile to get a jeepney, but top-riding during the trip made the wait worthwhile : ). Pam runs both a science club and an art club at her school. That afternoon, the science club was working on composting, assisted by Kiwi, and the art club decorated cards with natural materials. On the way back to Pam’s house, we stopped at a vegetable stand to pick up some things for dinner (the rumors are true: Mountain Province has incredible vegetables). After the huge meal on Thanksgiving and leftovers for breakfast, a nice light green bean/tomato dish hit the spot. Then we watched a DVD, and Pam topped it off by making us popcorn. I really enjoyed getting to see another PCV’s site, from the people she works with to the place where she lives.
On Saturday we got up super early and took a jeepney from Basau to Bontoc (rode inside this time) and then a bus from Bontoc to Banaue. In Banaue we piled into an overcrowded/overcargoed jeepney to get to Batad, where the famous rice terraces are. We hiked down from the saddle into Batad and checked into Rita’s, a great family-run place. After a meal, we went on an exploring hike. We were running out of both daylight and energy though, so we didn’t make it to the bottom of the terraces. We kept trying, but never ended up on the right path. When we asked if we were going the right way I think people just answered yes because they meant that we were able to go that way, not that it would take us to where we wanted to go. When Rita’s daughter asked us why we didn’t go to the bottom, we explained that we took so many side paths that we didn’t end up having time. She just looked at us and said, “It would be nice if you asked the way.” We burst out laughing.
There was much debate over whether or not we’d be able to get a ride back from Batad to Banaue unless we left practically at dawn. I was willing to risk hiking most of the way back just to get a few more hours of sleep, but I was outvoted. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get going fast enough in the morning to bathe then, and I didn’t want to go all the way back to Manila without a shower, so I took a painfully cold bucket-bath that night. Then I hurriedly got dressed and practically sat IN the campfire that was going outside. As I was thawing out, I got to chatting with some of the Filipinos that were also staying at Rita’s. We had a great time singing songs, getting to know each other, and exchanging hiking stories. I was telling one of them, Jun, about how I kept hiking in Australia for weeks on two sprained ankles. He started telling me about this word they have: pasaway. As he struggled to think of how to describe it in English, I asked him if it meant stubborn. His face lit up and he said yes, exactly! From then on, they got a real kick out of calling me Pasaway.
On Sunday we got up super early once again. Jun and his group had promised to give us a ride back to Banaue if we made it to the crossing by the time they were leaving. And if we didn’t make it on time, we would be left with plenty of time to try and catch another ride. We left about 15 minutes after the group, but passed some of them on our ascent to the saddle. At the top (and every time Jun saw me) he called out “Pasaway!” His group took a steeper shortcut down from the saddle to the crossing (road intersection), but Kim and Cheryl preferred to take the dirt road. Even so, we got to the crossing as the last members of the group did, so we got a free ride to Banaue. Because we got there so early, we had plenty of time to explore the town and go shopping. We also visited the Banaue Museum. Late in the afternoon, we boarded the bus to Manila. Kim and I had made reservations in advance for ourselves and to pick up Claire in Bayombong where she was hanging out with Kiwi. It worked out nicely because Cheryl was able to take Claire’s seat and get dropped off at her site about 45 minutes north of where we picked up Claire. We arrived in Manila at around 4am and headed to the pension.
Monday morning I slept in, then got up in time to have lunch with Kim and Claire. That night we also had a yummy dinner and then escorted Kim to her bus in the pouring rain. I warned her to be prepared for another typhoon-length trip back to site. I don’t think the thought appealed to her very much.
Monday, 6 December 2004
Quote from Jim Morrison: Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself— and especially to feel. Or not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to— letting a person be what he really is....Most people love you for who you pretend to be....To keep their love, you keep pretending— performing. You get to love your pretense....It's true, we're locked in an image, an act— and the sad thing is, people get so used to their image— they grow attached to their masks. They love their chains. They forget all about who they really are. And if you try to remind them, they hate you for it— they feel like you're trying to steal their most precious possession.Wednesday, 8 December 2004
I made two phone calls today, both to friends to confirm my Christmas travel plans/visits with them. I had just gotten off the phone with the second friend when I got a text from the first “friend” that was obviously meant for someone else’s eyes, seeing as how it was ABOUT me rather than TO me. Childish and back-stabbing. Without going into details, let’s just say: change in Christmas plans to who knows what. Ironic that I had just emailed her that Jim Morrison quote – I guess I’m getting the brunt end of the hate for being able to see past the masks. I sent her a carefully worded email, but in the end couldn’t resist including the words “two-faced, back-stabbing, hypocrite.” I can put up with a lot of shit, but being treated like garbage by someone who I’ve done a hell of a lot for is not tolerable.Thursday, 9 December 2004
Tonight I gave Kathryn a brief account of what had happened, not too much discussion since someone else was there. After dinner we went back at her pension to watch a movie. She came out of her room and asked if I wanted to see her stitches. I said sure and asked her what happened as she showed me the couple of stitches in her back. She jokingly said, “I got stabbed in the back.” Simultaneously, she said, “Want me to check your back for stitches?” as I said, “Really? So did I!”Friday, 10 December 2004
Wednesday and Thursday I was frequently wracked with waves of hurt over the betrayal from the so-called friend, but from time to time yesterday I’d got a sense of relief. Today I feel mostly relief. I don’t mean just relief from the waves of hurt, but actual relief that I don’t have to keep being her friend. She sapped so much out of me and gave very little in return. I was never keeping score, but it was so blatantly obvious. After lots of thought, I realized that my inability to ignore someone in emotional need (friend or not) is probably one of my best traits, and not something that I can or want to change about myself. I just need to watch out for people who take advantage. And at that point I need to force myself to keep my distance.Sunday, 12 December 2004
Dah-da-daaaa! True friends to the rescue. Kim swooped in and decided to join me for some travels in the Visayas, and Reins extended his invitation for Christmas. The whole point in traveling during Christmas-time was to be with friends and take my mind off of getting too homesick. (So the timing of the back-stabbing was in particularly poor taste.) But now I’ve got something to look forward to again for Christmas Eve & Christmas, and not just the week after & New Year’s (those plans never fell apart).Last night we had our Palawan Christmas Party, complete with a white elephant gift exchange (or as Kathryn calls it, Dirty Santa). The spending limit for the gift was 30 pesos, roughly the equivalent of US$0.50 – can you imagine the luxurious gifts we got to fight over? Between that and the fireworks and watermelon, we weren’t quite sure which holiday we were celebrating: Christmas or 4th of July? Or Christmas in July? Christmas in July in December? It was definitely Christmas with a hot weather twist – Kathryn and Laura posed for a picture by cooling their hands in front of a fan instead of warming them by fire…
Monday, 13 December 2004
Kim and I are thinking of things to keep us busy for Christmas and that will combine some traditions from home (with a PCV spin on them) with things that we wouldn’t be able to do back home at this time of year. So, here’s my list so far…
What I want (to do) for Christmas:
- sing Silent Night by candlelight
- eat mangoes
- swim in the ocean
- make a Christmas tree on the beach
- campfire
- read T’was the Night Before Christmas
- play games (cards, board games, two truths and a lie, etc)
- sip sparkling cider
- open presents
- take pictures
- look at stars
- talk about the movie A Christmas Story
- make mint cocoa
Thursday, 16 December 2004
From Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig: Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.But of course, without the top you can’t have any sides. It’s the top that defines the sides. So on we go…
Monday, 20 December 2004
Last week I had stayed in Puerto longer than expected (surprise, surprise!) so I could attend the CI Christmas party. Last Monday I was literally checked out of the pension, with backpack on back, en route to the shuttle terminal when I got a text from Pauline telling me about the party on Wednesday night. They wanted me to come back up for it, but I couldn’t see any point in actually going to Espanola for just one day since all I really needed to do there was pack for my Christmas vacation. So I checked back into the pension. Then they rescheduled the party for Thursday night instead. That meant I left for Espanola on Friday. I did my laundry on Saturday and packed on Sunday. And today I’m back in Puerto!One nice thing about returning to Espanola was that I got to see my nipa hut. There’s actually been some progress made on it. Before I left for IST in mid-October, I paid in advance for the floors to be installed. I was told this would take no more than a week. They JUST FINISHED the floors. But to my surprise, they actually started on the next thing as well! The wall between the bedroom and living room is finished, and they were working on this interesting hallway thing when I checked in on Saturday. I’m not sure why a house with two rooms and a balcony needs a hallway, but it’s too late to do anything about it now. The floorplan makes no sense to me. I would have (and did) design it very differently. The new walls are made of hardwood. The landowner seems determined to make this place the least like a nipa hut that he can. It aggravates me that when I try to push to get the place finished, he talks about how he doesn’t have the money to get the supplies, but then he turns around and buys the most expensive things possible. I am so glad that at least I made him sign that MOU that he has to pay for costs over my budget since he doubled the size of the place and is upgrading materials. That still doesn’t get me a place to live any sooner though.
Wednesday, 22 December 2004
I spent tonight roaming the mall in search of the finishing touches on my Christmas shopping. I hate malls anyway, and usually avoid them like the plague at Christmas-time, but at the same time, it seemed like I needed to keep shopping just to make things seem more “normal.” The most important things I needed to find were Christmas stockings. This was top on Kim’s list of family traditions that could be replicated PCV-style. She was going to make us stockings, but ran out of time. So since I had time to look for some here in Manila, I was determined to find them. I was astounded at how hard they were to find. Everyone nearly ended up with Christmas-decorated potholders instead. Why would that be more common to sell? Anyway, I decided to make another loop in the mall before I bought the potholder stocking-substitutes. I was almost disappointed when I found the stockings because by that time it was starting to become very funny to me that we’d have potholders instead. The other hard find of the evening were candycanes. Once I got it into my head that we needed candycanes to go in the stockings, I couldn’t just let it go. At the very end of my shopping trip I found some, but what we nearly ended up with was some individually wrapped mint candies that I was going to tape together into candycane shapes. Again, I was kinda disappointed that I didn’t have to make the substitute. I think the back-up options would definitely have been memorable and amusing, but seeing has how the stockings & stocking stuffers were Kim’s tradition that she wanted for Christmas and not mine to mess with, I’m glad I was able to come up with the genuine articles.I came to Manila with just my backpack packed, but after shopping for more Christmas stuff and picking up my packages at the Peace Corps office (I couldn’t believe it when our mailman kept pulling out packages for me!), I had to struggle to fit all the excess cargo into the duffle bag I had brought along “just in case.” (I learned my lesson from another trip to Manila – I always come back with more than I bring.) So, I’m bringing “Christmas in a bag” with me to Siquijor.
Wednesday, 29 December 2004
Last Thursday, the 23rd, Kim and I flew from Manila to Bohol and then took the boat to Siquijor. Reins’s cell phone has been broken for awhile now, so we were never able to get directions to his site. We were pretty sure that if we just asked around for directions to the white guy, we’d eventually get to him, so that was our plan. But we didn’t get to try out this approach because Reins met us at the pier – which was extremely nice, but makes for a less interesting adventure/story. :-) Also meeting us at the pier were Dawn from Batch 262 and her friend/counterpart Venus who were in Siquijor for a visit and our batchmate Melissa who is also stationed with her husband on Siquijor. After lunch in town (and a trip to the market to buy some mangoes for me!), Dawn, Venus, Reins, Kim, and I piled into a trike to get to the treehouses where Reins lives. It’s a project run by the local fisherfolks’ association that is just getting off the ground. The goal is to generate income by renting out the treehouses (built in the mangroves) to tourists. Reins used his nipa hut money to have a treehouse built for him there, and then when we COS, the association can rent it out to tourists as well. He started the building process at the same time I did, and he just moved into his place right before we got there. (Neither one of us really knows WHY our places took/is taking so long to build compared to other people’s.)The treehouses are awesome! Right now there are just a few, but Reins made sure that Kim and I got the one with the best view. The houses are connected by a boardwalk and the ocean flows right underneath at high tide. In the afternoon, Dawn and Venus went for a run, and Kim snuck off to sing some videoke (she’s addicted!). I helped Reins unpack the pots, pans, dishes, etc so we could cook dinner there that night. Some people from the fisherfolks association brought over some stools and an table so we were able to set up his balcony like a kitchen area (his floorplan also got changed on him without consultation, so he ended up with no kitchen area). Toward evening, everyone pitched in to get the meal prepared and then we took a housewarming dinner picture before we began eating.
After dinner, we went to go meet Reins’s host family and then we went to this disco being held at the barangay hall. Even though we were exhausted, we had to stay for an appropriate length of time before we could sneak away. When we got back, Kim was already zonked out in the bed. I had trouble sleeping because there was videoke blasting right near us. I dozed off a few times, but it never lasted. Finally at about 4am (yes, the videoke was still going), I decided to give up on sleep and went outside to enjoy the stars. I stretched out on the boardwalk furthest from the videoke and focused on listening to the sound of waves below me, trying to tune out the other racket. I saw a few shooting stars and watched some clouds roll by. There were fireflies in the mangrove trees that stay lit up longer than the ones back in the States. Just before dawn the bats came swooping through. It was honestly a great way to kick-off Christmas Eve morning.
On Christmas Eve day, we did a tour of the island. First we went in search of aswangs (witches) for which Siquijor is famous. We tried to find some of the witchdoctors/healers with magical powers (since you can’t actually expect to meet with the aswangs), but the healers weren’t around. We stopped on the drive though the Bandila-an forest to hike up to the peak, the highest point on Siquijor at 557 meters. Next stop was this gorgeous waterfall with crystal blue water. We jumped off of the top of the falls a couple of times and swam for awhile. As I was getting changed to leave (cloaked in my sarang) Kim was watching this group of kids across the river. First they started to dance the Otso-otso (a popular trendy Filipino dance that came out around the time that we got to the Philippines), and once the kids were sure they had Kim’s attention, they turned around a mooned her! After that we needed to go to a more wholesome place – the oldest convent in the Philippines. You can see the pattern of the coral in some of the “coral-stone” blocks forming the building. You can also see the motorcycle parked in the entryway – apparently the nuns can ride motorcycles even though Peace Corps Volunteers aren’t allowed to! After the convent, we headed to the beach. At this point, the total lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I started to get a headache and really wanted to take a nap. Reins suggested I go swimming to wake up instead. And what he meant by that was to jump off this cliff (outcropping) into the water. Jumping off a cliff is a definite cure for a headache/sleepiness. It was a rather high leap to take; I hit the water feet first as intended, but the soles of my feet slammed the water so hard that they hurt for the rest of the afternoon. Took my mind off that headache though! Before we returned to the treehouses, we stopped at Melissa and Kyle’s luxury nipa hut. It’s large with a huge tiled bathroom, but everything else is made out of bamboo. It’s elegantly styled and rustic at the same time.
The final outing for Christmas Eve was a church service, held entirely in Visayan. There were some familiar tunes though (first time I’ve ever heard Jingle Bells sung in a church service – or in Visayan for that matter), and the words to the songs and some of the prayers were printed up in the program. The program of course was entirely in Visayan as well, but the pronunciation is similar to Tagalog so I was able to follow along even if I don’t know exactly what was being said. Before the service was over, there was a little pageant by the children (cute!). Then there was a dinner (two kinds of rice for me since everything else had meat) and a gift exchange. We had made a mad dash into a store just before going to the church to pick up some gifts since fortunately Reins knew about the exchange in advance. They post-service activities dragged on but we couldn’t leave until it was over. Kim had stayed behind and was wondering what took us so long. We discussed sneaking some food out to bring back for her, but Dawn had her heart set on cooking a dinner to make it feel more Christmas-y to her. So it worked out that we didn’t find a way to bring food back.
By the time we began our real dinner, it was very late. Everyone was tired, but we had some Christmas activities to do! I pulled out my “Christmas in a bag” and started out by making some mint hot cocoa (crushed some mint candies and added them to Swiss Miss – NOT milo!). Then I broke out the sparkling grape juice (no cider available) I had brought from Manila to go with dinner. Reins also brought out some wine he had gotten. After dinner I fished out the lyrics to Silent Night from my Christmas bag. We tried to light some candles around the table, but the wind forced us to the back walkway. We did a candlelit singing of Silent Night for me since every Christmas Eve back home the church service I go to ends that way. The wind was still an issue and caused some re-lighting to occur during the song. But what really made the experience unique was the termites that kept biting us. Kim seemed to get the worst of it for some reason, and if she wasn’t jumping from a termite bite, then it was from wax dripping on her. Consequently, her candle went out all the time. But the humor of having to do the termite-stomping hokey-pokey while singing Silent Night made me giggle instead of get homesick. The next Christmas item pulled from my bag: T’was the Night Before Christmas. We returned to the table on the balcony and I read the story as one of Kim’s Christmas wishes. Then we opened the gifts we had gotten at the church service, and I gave Kim one of the things I had bought for her since she hadn’t gone to the service and gotten a present there. I also opened up some of my packages from home since my family opens our Christmas presents in the middle of the night after the candlelight church service. We also broke out various junk food/goodies and had candy/nuts from Bicol and Palawan in the Philippines and Washington State (thanks Aunt Eileen!). We wandered off to bed stuffed (and covered in termite bites).
Next morning: Maligayang Pasko! (Merry Christmas – in Tagalog). Actually, since we celebrated it in the Visayas: Mayang Pasko! Kim was awake bright and early the next morning and ready to do the Christmas stockings. I needed awhile to wake up. While we were chatting, I received a call from home and was able to talk to my mom and dad. While I was on the phone, they opened the gifts that I had sent back for them with Martha in September. Then when I got off the phone, I went over to Reins’s treehouse where we all made breakfast and did a Christmas morning gift exchange, complete with stockings (stuffed with many things, including mangoes!). It was a very special Christmas for me: to be amongst friends, everyone doing what they could to make the holiday special for each other.
After breakfast, Kim left to go visit Melissa and Kyle until the next morning when she’d travel over to Bohol. The rest of us got ready and then went to a Filipino Christmas party. First thing, of course, was a big lunch. I warned Reins not to take too much food on his plate since I would need to put food on my plate to be polite, but wouldn’t be able to eat it since it all had meat. So after I picked at my rice for a while to make it look like I was eating, we found the opportunity for me to dump most of the food onto his plate. I then spread out the remaining scraps on my plate to make it look like I had enjoyed a full meal. After we ate, they started up the videoke machine for us – joy, oh joy! Venus really got into it though, and I’ve gotten over not wanting to do it ever so was able to seem quite enthusiastic as well. Then they turned off the machine to start some of the party’s other activities. But the activities didn’t start for quite some time. Reins laughed and said he’s never seen Filipinos actually cut people off while videoke-ing because they couldn’t the singing stand it anymore!
Eventually, the party’s other activities did start though. There were several dance performances by the kids. Then a game where a rack of baggies of goodies is lowered/raised on a rope and the kids try to snatch off the baggies. Finally there was a piñata-style game using a clay pot instead of a piñata (we had played this during training at the Handog sa Host Families). We had been planning on going caving after the Christmas party, but by the time we left, transportation was a big problem and we couldn’t make any reasonable arrangements. So, we returned to the treehouses.
At one point during the evening, I went back to my treehouse to start charging my cell phone. As I was returning, Reins was heading down the boardwalk to talk to the people at the front desk since his power had gone out, but there was power at the rest of the place. Venus played with the electrical socket to see if she could get it working, and discovered termites around the light bulb. The fisherfolk people said they needed the key to my treehouse to check the connections. This didn’t really make sense to us, but I started to get up to bring them the key. Suddenly it hit me – I asked if the wiring to his place was just a big extension cord. Reins said he didn’t know, but he wouldn’t be surprised. I started laughing. I told him I had unplugged a cord in my treehouse so I could charge my cell phone. I didn’t know what the cord went to, but when I unplugged it I looked around to see if there were any changes. That treehouse doesn’t have a good view of Reins’s, but even if it did, his is so far away I wouldn’t have looked that far. I excused myself to go “fix” his electricity. When I swapped plugs at my treehouse, I heard a cheer from Reins, so I knew it fixed the problem. We decided to blame it on the wok-woks – monsters that disengage their top-halves from their bottom-halves and float around in the night causing trouble & eating babies.
Early on Sunday morning, the 26th, Dawn and Venus left to catch their boat. I transferred my stuff to Reins’s spare room so I wouldn’t have to pay for the rest of my stay in Siquijor. Reins and I took a look at my new underwater camera housing that my family chipped in for as a follow-up gift to the digital camera they bought me for my birthday. He showed me how to properly silicon the o-ring, etc, so make sure it gets sealed correctly Once we had it ready, we went to his office to pick up diving gear. Then we met up with some Japanese volunteers (friends of friends of Reins) that were visiting Siquijor and headed to a dive shop to fill up the air tanks. Unfortunately, there was no one at the shop to fill the tanks. We hung out at the resort for a little while, and we found out about the tsunami disaster so we watched the news. Then we decided to leave the dive gear there and come back the next day to try again.
We stopped at the market to pick up some things for dinner, and then returned to the treehouses. We started some dinner preparations, but took a break so Reins could give the Japanese volunteers and me a tour of the mangroves before the tide came all the way in. During the tour, a couple of places on my hand started burning. At first I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but after I absentmindedly put one of the burning places in my mouth, I figured it out – hot sili pepper! I washed off my hand as best as I could while down in the mangroves. Then thoroughly washed my hands back at the treehouse. What I didn’t thoroughly wash was the cutting board. When I was almost finished cutting up the rest of the veggies, I discovered this huge oversight as the rest of my hand started burning. I asked Reins to mix up some milk for me so I could soak my hand in it to hopefully relieve the burning. It helped, but not nearly enough. I spent the rest of the evening with my hand in milk and had to go to bed with my hand in a pan of water to help relieve the pain (didn’t want to get milk all over the place if I knocked the pan over in the night). By the next morning, the pain and swelling were gone. I just had a few places where my skin was messed up and some of my nails were tender from my fingers being swollen the night before. If those sili peppers were eating straight through my skin, can you imagine what they do to your insides?!
We were supposed to meet the mayor’s sister for lunch on Monday morning (yes, meet in the MORNING for LUNCH, that was the invitation), but she was a no-show. We waited plenty of extra time to allow for Filipino time, and then texted the mayor’s assistant to find out what happened. Turns out we were indeed ditched, so we went to Reins’s office and then back to the dive shop. The dive shop tried to come up with every reason they could for us to pay them money for boat transport, guide, equipment, etc. However, Reins had all the equipment we needed, and he’s a highly experienced diver so we didn’t need a guide. Even after Reins had them convinced that we would be doing a shore dive on our own, they came back and said that we’d need weight belts. Reins explained again that he has ALL of the equipment we needed, including the weight belts.
Since my camera housing didn’t come with a strap or anything to secure it to me, Reins had great fun tying it to my wrist with a strong twine using an excessive number of knots. I hadn’t gone diving since the end of training in April so it took me a little while to get used to all of the regular scuba equipment before I was able to start playing with my camera underwater. There weren’t a lot of fish where we were, but there were great corals. Probably best for me to start practicing that way – no moving targets. Moving photographer though. My buoyancy control has greatly improved since I started diving, but it needs to get a lot better. The dive shop person had filled up only two of the four air tanks before he left, so we were only able to do one dive. Reins packed up the equipment while I struggled to untie myself from my camera. He promised to help if I was still working on it by the time he was finished. I eventually freed myself.
Reins’s counterpart, Georgie, came over for dinner Monday night, and he kept talking about us going to sing videoke afterwards. I agreed to, since that’s what people here do. But just as we were heading over, Reins bailed and went to bed instead. I got stuck singing not just a few songs but about 10! It was fun, but terrible at the same time. Worst of all, he made me sing Skyline Pigeon. I don’t know if this song has ever actually been played in the US. I’d never heard it until I came to the Philippines, but it is one of the most popular videoke songs. Kim and I were talking about it a few days before, and she decided to sing it a couple of times when I was around, I think just to irk me. Well, she got me good – before she left Siquijor, she apparently told Georgie that I really liked that song and wanted to sing it. So I was trapped! I sang that with him as well as many others. Finally the stack of coins disappeared, so I quickly said goodnight before they go more change for the videoke machine.
When I got back to the treehouse, there was a text from my mom. She had been trying to get in contact to see if the tsunami disaster had any impacts here, but Reins has been using my phone a lot, so it took her a while to get through. I laid out on the boardwalk for awhile texting with her and watching the beautiful full moon. I went to bed at about 1:30. We had to get up at 4:00 to pack our stuff and catch the boat to Bohol. So I got very little sleep once again. Reins found great amusement in how cranky I was as I tried to pack (incidentally, while serving as a termite main course).
So, yesterday morning (Tues, 28 Dec 04), we arrived in Tagbilaran, Bohol. We got some food to last us for a couple of days and then got on the jeepney to come to Panglao Island. We’re staying at Alona Beach through New Years to do some diving. We did two dives yesterday off of Balicasag Island (and on our way out there, we saw a pod of dolphins from the boat). Along on the same dive trip was Kate, the 4th person from our batch to ET. She stayed in country to travel around with her mom though before returning to the US, so it was a nice surprise to run into her here. After we were finished diving, I was ready for a nap – the 2.5 hours from the night before just wasn’t cutting it! It was also a conveniently true excuse to avoid spending time with the recently ex-friend who also happened to turn up at Alona Beach yesterday. I skipped dinner and just went to bed. When Reins got back from dinner he woke me up to eat some chocolate – primo stuff from the States that Kate had pouched to him. What a wake-up call! Afterwards, I read for awhile and then went back to sleep.
Today I did a couple of dives off of Panglao Island – to a shipwreck in the morning and to a jeepney wreck after lunch. Yes, a jeepney wreck, I wasn’t expecting that. After we surfaced, I asked the guide how the jeepney got in the middle of the ocean (okay, so we weren’t in the MIDDLE of the ocean, but still!). He looked at me strangely like he couldn’t figure out why I would ask such a thing. Then he told me that it was an old jeepney from the Bohol Beach Club onshore there. That still didn’t really answer my question of what it was doing in the ocean. Finally he elaborated and told me that the owner had it hauled out there. Now it serves at both an artificial reef and a diving curiosity for visitors.
Saturday, 1 January 2005 – Haoli Makehikihou!
Happy New Year – in Hawaiian), or if you prefer: Manigong Bagong Taon (Tagalog)As planned, numerous PCVs met at Alona Beach on Thursday (30 Dec 04) to start an extended New Year’s / dive party. I did a couple of dives off of Pamilakan Island that day (I had only been snorkeling), so got to see most of the people only after I got back. People started arranging a night dive, which I’ve never done before. Then there was some question as to who’d get to go on the dive since the surf was a little rough (maybe for here!) and several people were inexperienced at night dives. Reins said it might help my case if I were going for my advanced certification and used this as my first training dive. Before that, I hadn’t considered getting my advanced certification, but Reins strongly recommended it and I really wanted to go on the night dive – so apparently I’ll be getting my advanced scuba certification! I’ll have enough time to complete the requirements before I leave to go back to Palawan.
As we were prepping for the night dive, word started to spread about the possibility that we’d have to be evacuated from Panglao. Apparently, a phone call had been placed to the Philippine National Police (PNP) that 9 tourists would be kidnapped from Alona Beach over New Year’s. When this was reported to Peace Corps, they got the Safety & Security officer working on researching it. PC talked to the manager of the dive shop where we were staying, and at first it sounded like everything was alright – the threat was considered a prank, but security measures on the island/at the beach were stepped up for us anyway (extra police patrols, etc). But right before the dive, PC said we’d need to evacuate. For the 30th, 31st, and 1st we would need to leave the island at night and stay in Tagbilaran instead. PC would pay for our hotel expenses there and daily transportation to/from Panglao; we would also get a per diem for those days. Woohoo – vacation on Peace Corps’s dime! They gave us permission to do our night dive (since the real “threat” was actually for the next day/night), and then leave the island immediately after.
The night dive was incredible. Since it was a training dive for me, I had to start by swimming away from my instructor for the count of ten, and then returning to him. I’m not sure what this was supposed to accomplish/prove since we both had lights on and I could see my way right back to him. I guess it was to test whether or not I would freak out in the water with low visibility. They should have seen the conditions when I first got certified – visibility was so bad that unless you were within arm’s reach of someone, you couldn’t see them! So anyway, I did not freak out. We then went exploring the coral reef wall. We saw some really interesting things – several different kinds of crabs, including a really large hermit crab; and most notably, an octopus! I really wished that I had my camera with me, but since I was new to night diving and using the underwater light, I had decided it would be best to leave it behind. Too bad, because I think I could have gotten some good shots.
After we returned from the dive, we had to scramble to pack up our stuff, and then we all piled into the van that had been hired to evacuate us from the island. I was a bit chilled from the dive (or maybe it was the culmination of all three dives I did that day) and the air-conditioning in the van didn’t help. However, as soon as we checked into the hotel in Tagbilaran, I took a nice hot shower. There’s no hot water in Alona, so if we had to get evacuated, right after the night dive was perfect timing! It was getting late, but most of us hadn’t eaten yet. So we hit the town at about 10 pm to find some food.
Yesterday morning (New Year’s Eve!), we returned to Panglao to resume our dive plans. We took a boat out to Cabilao Island for our dives. It’s a longer trip, so less common than other dive options around Panglao. But with a boat full of people that all knew each other, the trip was really fun. By this time, I had gotten a strap for my camera and was looking forward to taking lots of pictures. Just from all the diving I’ve done in the past week, my buoyancy control and air consumption has gotten a lot better. So this time I was able to get some better close-up shots with my camera. I could look at something a little ways above or below me and just by seemingly will power ascend or descend to get closer to it using breath control. It’s really cool to just look at a place you want to be and then get there without moving! I followed around a cuddlefish for awhile and think I got some good pictures (a little hard to tell until I transfer the pix to a computer and can see them larger). When we surfaced from the first dive, there was a porcupinefish (like a blowfish) stuck at the surface, frantically swimming around amongst us. During the second dive, I think I got a really nice close-up shot of a morey eel.
On the way back from Cabilao, we discussed our options for a New Year’s Eve celebration that night, since we would no longer be able to attend the festivities at Alona Beach. Some people wanted to go out for a nice dinner, but everyone was also craving getting something from Trudi’s Place on Alona as soon as we got back from the dives. So did the only logical thing – we planned to have two dinners: an early “post-dive dinner” and a late “New Year’s Eve dinner.” We had enough time to enjoy the food at Trudi’s and still get ourselves evacuated by the deadline for the evening. Then we got to enjoy nice hot showers and get ready to find something to do in Tagbilaran. We ended up going to Metro Center for our New Year’s Eve dinner. The food was delicious, and Reins and I topped it off with halo-halo for dessert (in the spirit of “what can’t we do at home that we can do here”). After the meal, we sat in the lobby for awhile trying to think of what our next move would be. The really sad thing was, at 10pm, we were all ready for naptime and seriously almost included “powernap” in the plans. Instead, we wandered around town a bit, inquiring about where we’d be able to see a good fireworks display. We didn’t have much luck getting any answers to that question, so we decided to head over to the pier where we’d be able to see fireworks from different directions. So, it was a pretty low-key New Year’s with 6 of us just hanging out watching fireworks from a pier. At what we approximated to be midnight (everyone had their watches/cell phones set to a range of times that were somewhat close to the real time), Justin opened up the “closest thing to champagne” that the guys had bought and the sparkling grape juice that I had gotten. When the fireworks had died down and the drinks were gone, I headed back to the hotel for some sleep.
I wasn’t going to dive today. Last night on a few occasions I felt really dizzy, so I thought it would be a good idea to give it a rest today. I honestly went to Panglao only to hang out on the beach, but as soon as I got there Reins asked if I wanted to go on a dive and the word “okay” was out of my mouth before I could even think about it. I think I have officially become addicted to diving! And of course I didn’t do just one dive, but two. Both were in the afternoon, so by the end of the second dive the sun was setting. Made visibility pretty bad near the end of the dive, but to surface to an incredible sunset made it well worthwhile.
Tomorrow and Monday I will complete the training dives necessary for my advanced scuba certification. Then I’ll actually be officially qualified to do some of the dives that I’ve already done (namely, deeper dives).
Tuesday, 4 January 2005
Am hanging out in the Cebu airport. Left TagB this morning by boat, and in another hour or so I’ll fly to Puerto. Then I’ll head straight to the terminal to get on a shuttle van to Espanola. I had considered staying one night in Puerto, but after all the money I just blew on my vacation, I don’t think I could afford it. I’ll lay low for awhile and let my PC bank account recover a little. I actually would have been fine budget-wise if I hadn’t gone over the top and gotten my advance scuba certification in addition to all of the fun dives that I did. It was worth it though. Or at least I anticipate the certification being worth it. I need to look into doing some diving in Palawan. It’s ridiculous that I’ve been living there for almost 9 months now and haven’t gone diving once.Saturday, 8 January 2005
At some point this week I lost a day. At wasn’t until 4:00pm today that I found out it’s Saturday. I spent the entire day thinking it was Friday, stemming from the fact that all day yesterday I thought it was Thursday. So instead of “laundry day” I went into the office. The really sad thing is, given the non-existent staffing situation at the field office I couldn’t tell one way or the other whether it was a weekday or the weekend. I actually saw more people at the office today than I’ve seen all week. The good news is, I managed to finish uploading all of my pictures from my vacation. I just need to add captions and then that album’s good to go. I’ll just have to combine laundry day with market day tomorrow. I’m glad I found out the correct day of the week before I missed the market; that would’ve sucked. I’ve already been living off of primarily mungo beans and oatmeal (not eaten together) since I got back to site – can do without another week of that!The big news I found out upon my return to Espanola is that SPPIC basically has no staff left. The municipalities are also pulling funding. This vanquishes any hope I had that projects here will get off the ground. I thought I’d come back to site refreshed and ready to tackle things with renewed energy. Instead, everything is crumbling apart. Yesterday I sent an email to PC practically begging for help and possible reassignment. I also sent a message to WSU looking for pointers on how to salvage research for my Masters out of my experience here. The motto “I’m too stubborn to quit” which I had reminded myself of several times over the past months has now become a mantra that I constantly repeat to prevent myself from seriously considering ETing. I have started questioning if even my tenacity has reached its limit though. I think before I’d actually quit though, I’d run away from site and become a “voluntourist.” However, this certainly wouldn’t help get me anywhere with my Master’s.
| ©2003-2005
Marla Chassels