I made it!!
After an extremely emotional morning in Cincinnati on Friday, I made it on the plane to San Francisco (only cried a few times at the airport!). Maddy was amazing and picked me up at the airport and we went for lunch before she dropped me off at the hotel - she gave me a little pep talk before I went it. It felt very first-day-of-school, but really helped.
So! At the hotel, we had Staging which is where I met my batch (Philippines Batch 271) and we had about 7 hours of logistics and orientation in a room in the hotel. It was pretty dry, but really really exciting to meet everyone and finallllly talk to someone who is going through the same emotions. We all bonded over how little we knew about the next two years, so that was super comforting. After the official stuff was over, I went to get dinner and a drink (my last one in America!) with Maddy.
The next morning, we all got up super early to load onto buses and head to the airport! The flight from San Fran to Tokyo was around 11 hours, followed by an hour layover in Tokyo spent watching sumo wrestling on TV, followed by a 4.5 hour flight to Manila, followed by a 2 hour bus ride! Soo.. it was looongg.. If I ever feel like ETing (Early Terminating/going home early), I'll remember how long it would take and hopefully decide its juust not worth it.
We're staying in a sort of complex place called 11RR that is a hotel/hostel for group stuff. We're currently in IO (Initial Orientation) that has involved sitting in a room watching powerpoints from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. They are mostly super dry, policy and safety stuff, but we also have some more interesting sessions on development approaches - its during those that you get to know everyone better and I am soo impressed by all of the people in my batch. There are 70 of us total (33 in Education, 25 in Children, Youth, and Family services - CYF -, and 14 in Coastal Resource Management - CRM). Everyone is from really different backgrounds - teachers, lawyer, priest, policy work, government work, NGOs, students - its awesome. And! We range in ages from 22 - 82. EIGHTY TWO! Grandma and Grandpa, get down here! I honestly expected mostly college graduates, but I'm only of not too many. We have about 10 or 12 here that are 50+ years, and they are some of the most inspiring people - picking up and leaving for two years when you have kids, grandkids, houses, jobs, etc. Its crazy. We also have two married couples and a few who left spouses at home. So between/after these sessions we've been hanging out in this complex thing. Its super tropical - palm trees and green and flowers and.... A PINEAPPLE FIELD! Field? Patch? I don't know. So we have really fresh and delicious pineapple. The food so far is fine! They eat a loooot of meat here and rice for every meal. But after the next 10ish days here we go to host families, where what we eat is totally up to them.
We've been learning mostly about Peace Corps policy (wear a helmet, no motorcycles), health stuff (malaria suppression, endless vaccines, stool samples), security (don't walk alone at night, don't show off your knees and collarbones). Then! Today! I learned where I go to live for the next three months................... drum roll...........a place called Subic! Its in Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. So I'll be there for three months teaching in Subic High School, a school of about 5,000 from ages 13-17. They have high school year 1 - 4, which is like our grade 7 - 10. Its close to, but not the same as, Subic Bay which is where the U.S. Naval Base used to be - it was the largest U.S. Naval Base outside of the U.S. Now, its a more touristy spot. But Subic, where I'll be, is a semi-rural area.. its urbanizing really quickly. I'll be there with another 30 ish trainees, which is really really nice so a lot of us will be together. They teach us a lot that our fellow trainees/volunteers will be our best resources, and even in day three its already ringing true. Having such an amazing group that is very open about what we are worried about, what we are excited for, and our bodily functions has been a huge help.
So, until we go to our training site we'll be having more boring sessions plus! we're starting technical and language training! Right now.. Google Tagalog and check it out. Its a bizarrrre language that we're all hoping we can learn.. our effectiveness as a volunteer is almost entirely based on how well we connect and work with our community. While they do speak English here to a certain point, being able to connect in Tagalog is essential. I learned that in the 70s they made teaching English a really crucial priority but that has gone down over the years, so a lot of the older community can speak English while the younger Filipinos only learn/use Tagalog.
This blog has taken me all day to write. Sorry.. I promise I'll get better at it. I just went to dinner followed by a dance party - we learned to do the Shag, a southern dance.. I'm prettty good, jus sayin. This group is really, really fun. I can honestly say I like everyone - which is surprising with 70 people!
I also went to a mall! It was nice to get out the resort complex thing and actually see some of the Philippines. We rode in a Jeepney, which is kind of a mix of a Filipino cab and bus.. basically you jump on one and pass your fare up then knock on the roof when you want to get off. The mall was reallly nice and pretty big.. electronic stores, lots of cute clothing stores, a pet store, and looots of karaoke (which is huge in the Philippines). It was a good way to get out and see some stuff! Also.. everyone stared at me. We were warned about it.. and it is very real.
Okay! This actually took me all day. I haven't been journaling (jet laaaaag) but I will start tomorrow (I swear!) so my blogging will hopefully be more organized! In conclusion, I'm loving everything and everyone so far, Peace Corps is obsessed with safety, Subic is where I'm going for three months, and the flying cockroaches are very real. xx
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." -Muhammad Ali
After an extremely emotional morning in Cincinnati on Friday, I made it on the plane to San Francisco (only cried a few times at the airport!). Maddy was amazing and picked me up at the airport and we went for lunch before she dropped me off at the hotel - she gave me a little pep talk before I went it. It felt very first-day-of-school, but really helped.
So! At the hotel, we had Staging which is where I met my batch (Philippines Batch 271) and we had about 7 hours of logistics and orientation in a room in the hotel. It was pretty dry, but really really exciting to meet everyone and finallllly talk to someone who is going through the same emotions. We all bonded over how little we knew about the next two years, so that was super comforting. After the official stuff was over, I went to get dinner and a drink (my last one in America!) with Maddy.
The next morning, we all got up super early to load onto buses and head to the airport! The flight from San Fran to Tokyo was around 11 hours, followed by an hour layover in Tokyo spent watching sumo wrestling on TV, followed by a 4.5 hour flight to Manila, followed by a 2 hour bus ride! Soo.. it was looongg.. If I ever feel like ETing (Early Terminating/going home early), I'll remember how long it would take and hopefully decide its juust not worth it.
We're staying in a sort of complex place called 11RR that is a hotel/hostel for group stuff. We're currently in IO (Initial Orientation) that has involved sitting in a room watching powerpoints from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. They are mostly super dry, policy and safety stuff, but we also have some more interesting sessions on development approaches - its during those that you get to know everyone better and I am soo impressed by all of the people in my batch. There are 70 of us total (33 in Education, 25 in Children, Youth, and Family services - CYF -, and 14 in Coastal Resource Management - CRM). Everyone is from really different backgrounds - teachers, lawyer, priest, policy work, government work, NGOs, students - its awesome. And! We range in ages from 22 - 82. EIGHTY TWO! Grandma and Grandpa, get down here! I honestly expected mostly college graduates, but I'm only of not too many. We have about 10 or 12 here that are 50+ years, and they are some of the most inspiring people - picking up and leaving for two years when you have kids, grandkids, houses, jobs, etc. Its crazy. We also have two married couples and a few who left spouses at home. So between/after these sessions we've been hanging out in this complex thing. Its super tropical - palm trees and green and flowers and.... A PINEAPPLE FIELD! Field? Patch? I don't know. So we have really fresh and delicious pineapple. The food so far is fine! They eat a loooot of meat here and rice for every meal. But after the next 10ish days here we go to host families, where what we eat is totally up to them.
We've been learning mostly about Peace Corps policy (wear a helmet, no motorcycles), health stuff (malaria suppression, endless vaccines, stool samples), security (don't walk alone at night, don't show off your knees and collarbones). Then! Today! I learned where I go to live for the next three months................... drum roll...........a place called Subic! Its in Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. So I'll be there for three months teaching in Subic High School, a school of about 5,000 from ages 13-17. They have high school year 1 - 4, which is like our grade 7 - 10. Its close to, but not the same as, Subic Bay which is where the U.S. Naval Base used to be - it was the largest U.S. Naval Base outside of the U.S. Now, its a more touristy spot. But Subic, where I'll be, is a semi-rural area.. its urbanizing really quickly. I'll be there with another 30 ish trainees, which is really really nice so a lot of us will be together. They teach us a lot that our fellow trainees/volunteers will be our best resources, and even in day three its already ringing true. Having such an amazing group that is very open about what we are worried about, what we are excited for, and our bodily functions has been a huge help.
So, until we go to our training site we'll be having more boring sessions plus! we're starting technical and language training! Right now.. Google Tagalog and check it out. Its a bizarrrre language that we're all hoping we can learn.. our effectiveness as a volunteer is almost entirely based on how well we connect and work with our community. While they do speak English here to a certain point, being able to connect in Tagalog is essential. I learned that in the 70s they made teaching English a really crucial priority but that has gone down over the years, so a lot of the older community can speak English while the younger Filipinos only learn/use Tagalog.
This blog has taken me all day to write. Sorry.. I promise I'll get better at it. I just went to dinner followed by a dance party - we learned to do the Shag, a southern dance.. I'm prettty good, jus sayin. This group is really, really fun. I can honestly say I like everyone - which is surprising with 70 people!
I also went to a mall! It was nice to get out the resort complex thing and actually see some of the Philippines. We rode in a Jeepney, which is kind of a mix of a Filipino cab and bus.. basically you jump on one and pass your fare up then knock on the roof when you want to get off. The mall was reallly nice and pretty big.. electronic stores, lots of cute clothing stores, a pet store, and looots of karaoke (which is huge in the Philippines). It was a good way to get out and see some stuff! Also.. everyone stared at me. We were warned about it.. and it is very real.
Okay! This actually took me all day. I haven't been journaling (jet laaaaag) but I will start tomorrow (I swear!) so my blogging will hopefully be more organized! In conclusion, I'm loving everything and everyone so far, Peace Corps is obsessed with safety, Subic is where I'm going for three months, and the flying cockroaches are very real. xx
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." -Muhammad Ali
I just looked up Subic on google images and am wondering why I didn't sign up for the peace corps??? It looks similar to California (nice water, spanish names, a place called "Angel's City") so I'm sure it wouldn't be too big an adjustment. jk jk but whoa good luck with Tagalog!! And the cockroaches! Also: photos/videos of you doing the Shag or it didn't happen.
ReplyDeletePS Send me a pineapple.
ahhhhhh! I'm so glad things are going well! and yay cool people!
ReplyDeletelove you! miss you! and am SOOOOOO proud of you!
- moosh
I'm so happy to be considered a Varsity friend :) It's definitely a step up from the "C" Team in 8th grade. (Still bitter, hehe).
ReplyDeleteAlso...WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED YOU LEARNED TO SHAG IN THE PHILIPPINES?!?!?! Of course you could have gotten some home grown real lessons in S.C. at Furman but no! Of course you must learn the shag in Asia!! hahaha.
Lastly, I prayed to God for you that the flying cock roaches weren't real.. (This didn't seem to bother you as extensively as it bothered me...I am just scared that the even exist)... Sad to hear they are real so obviously God chose to ignore me. Thanks Jesus.
I miss you & I want more and more posts!!!!
-Maggie