Director, Director.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to meet the Peace Corps Director. Yes, that's right - the director for the ENTIRE Peace Corps around the world! He came to visit the Philippines and was only able to visit one training site - and it was ours! How cool to only be a PCT for two and a half weeks and already get to meet the director. He and his wife shared some of their stories from their PC days in India in the 60s, and it's pretty inspiring. Every time I hear of someone else's amazing experience, I get more and more excited for my own. And then I remember that I'm already living it.

Members of my cluster, Director Ron Tschetter 3rd from left, CD Sonia Derononcourt on right, and LCF Edward second from right

On a lighter note, last night I washed my clothes myself for the first time. You may think that it's an easy task to do, but the blisters on my hands tell a different story. We wash by hand here, so my "student helper" (the girl that lives in our house who gets sent to school and does some housechores in return...because school is expensive, and a bit of a privelege here) showed me what to do. Wash, scrub, transfer, rinse, scrub, transfer, rinse, scrub, transfer, rinse, scrub, wring, hang. It was pitch black (because my schedule has been so busy lately), so picture me sitting on a cement slab on a stool that is way too short for a 5'7" American in the dark with a small yard light. My aunt walked over to see what I was doing, and she could literally NOT stop laughing at the sight of me. She thought it was so funny that I was washing my own clothes. She also brought over some rubber gloves and a scrub brush for me to borrow, which was so nice of her, since detergent is strong enough to pretty much burn through your skin. Hence, the tiny blisters on the hands. Gross. Such a great workout though...leaving me with a sore back and neck. I hope to perfect this skill sometime soon!

Coconuts can save your LIFE.

I have an amazing story to tell you. Gear up for it, because it’s pretty exciting. Seat belts on? Sige. Did you know…that a coconut can save your LIFE??? It’s true, according to our PCMO who came to speak to us the other day about intestinal parasites. This discussion on parasites of course included a discussion on diarrhea, because a Peace Corps Volunteer is not yet a Peace Corps Volunteer until they have had a solid case of diarrhea (no pun intended). The most common reason for death of young children in the Philippines is from diarrhea, which leads to dehydration. Now, when one is dehydrated, there are many choices – Gatorade, Electrolyte Tabs, water. All of these are great, but I have found out that I am extremely lucky to have the chance to be a PCV in the Philippines, and this is because of the coconuts. Yes, that’s right, the coconuts. If a person is dehydrated, all they simply have to do is find a young coconut (instructions on how to do this...keep reading) and drink the young coconut water. The amount of electrolytes in one young coconut makes it equivalent to drinking three liters of water. Now, how do they know this information? According to our PCMO, an article appeared in one of the prestigious medical journals about a case of a young child suffering from dehydration in a very remote island of the Philippines. The doctor wanted to put the child on an IV to rehydrate him, but there was no IV fluid available. The solution was to grab a young coconut and hook the child up to the young coconut directly through an IV. “Yes, three young coconuts saved that child’s life,” says our PCMO. Amazing. I think I will live longer because of all the young coconut water I’ve been drinking (because there is no purified water available at our host agency, where our trainings occur).

You might be wondering how you can find some young coconuts to enjoy for yourself. Well, it’s a good thing because I asked, “How do I know if it’s a young coconut?” The answer was simple—“Ask the vendor.” Serious. So I guess Peace Corps does not want me to climb up any coconut trees anytime soon. As my LCF says, “Coconuts can make you live longer, but they can also cause a shorter life.” When those coconuts fall, they FALL from the tree. Get.Out.Of.The.Way.

Another exciting event has occurred this week. I know you were all waiting for it and expecting it, and now the time has come. Yes, I am in love. It’s true. It’s just what Peace Corps does to a person. Who am I in love with, you ask? Well….they all have four legs and are only a few weeks old. I’m in love with PUPPIES! (Derby, quit your jealousness right now.) Wow, I had you SO fooled. The puppies were born at our host agency, where the mamadog created a small hut within a hollowed-out tree for them to live. If I didn’t have six more months of living with host families, I would claim one right now for myself. But that will have to wait. There will be PLENTY of puppies available, I am sure.

Not only this, but I have also fallen in love with all the children at my host agency. They are amazing! Each day, their smiles are so huge and they remind me why I am here!!!!!!

Intestinal Parasites, Cats, and Roosters.

Today, we had our amazing session entitled "Intestinal Parasites and Hospitalization". No worries though...I don't have any yet. Some symptoms, maybe, but those parasites can't work this fast! Ha, it's a reality for most volunteers, I guess, so I must be prepared. We also received our first shots for rabies and Japanese encephelitus. Now there are no worries when strange cats show up in my bed.

Last night, I was in my room getting ready to settle down and do some reading (mind you, it was 8:00 and everyone was already in bed...exhausted from the heat and the brain-stretching). All of a sudden, I had the feeling that someone was watching me. You know that feeling? It just feels creepy. And then I saw it. Behind my mosquito net was a set of eyes. A CAT! A cat?? My family doesn't own any cats. I was actually really tempted to claim it as my pet, so I would always have a friend to listen to me. Then, I decided to wait for the rabies shot. Hopefully the fleas left when the cat did, after tshhhing it away. Good bye, cat. Hope to have another pet soon.

Have I talked about the roosters yet? Of course, you cannot travel to another country and not experience roosters. My mornings usually go like this. I wake up at about 2:30 and check my phone to see what time it is. Usually, I am surprised with text messages, because my phone does not get good reception...thus deliving text messages in the middle of the night. I go back to sleep, at least until 4. At 4:00, the roosters begin. It is not so bad, and I am actually quite used to it. Between 4:00 and 5:30, I doze in and out of sleep, usually only awaking when the roosters create their chorus. Yes, there is actually a chorus. I've been thinking about doing a fundraiser to get them some new choir robes. It's amazing. At 5:40, my alarm goes off. By then, I've had about 9-10 hours of sleeping, having gone to bed at 8:00 or 9:00 the night before. Still not satisfied, I hit the snooze button once, allowing me an extra 10 minutes of rooster sleep. It's amazing, and I love every minute.

After writing this, I will head home for dinner and studying. Hopefully my family teaches me Cebuano tonight, as it seems to be a mixture of Tagalog, Cebuano, and English that I am getting. It's actually pretty amazing that there are three languages spoken within the home! I will eat dinner....I'm really in the mood for rice, so perhaps we will have some :).

It's present at every meal, so I don't have to worry....

Love to ya'll.

Some Pictures.

Yes, I could carry all my luggage...arriving - even with an extra bag!

Technical training Objective #1:

Must learn how to drink coconut water.

My amazing roommates from IO.

Jeepneys! Check out the creepy picture of the baby with the Jollibee guy behind it.

Peace Corps office visit.

Outside of Mall of Asia - the ocean! You could smell the salt in the air.

My Wisconsin buddy and I with crazy hair and a beautiful sunset.

Coconuts.

(From August 23, 2008)

This morning, we had technical training at our site. We spent the beginning of the morning going over the purpose of courtesy calls. Courtesy calls are part of the Filipino culture, and they basically involve visiting the mayor, social work department (for us), and barangay captains in whatever site you are at. So yesterday, we did all those visits. Then we played with the kids for a long while—they are so fun!! We taught them a few games and then they taught us some Filipino games. Between my time in Manila and here, I have discovered that I am darn good at table tennis!

We all worked up a good sweat while playing—please think of the warmest day you could imagine and add 100% humidity and direct heat to it. That is what it is like every day! Yesterday, I actually felt kind of sick from the heat, but I got about 11 hours of sleep last night, so that helped a bit. After showering, your skin never actually dries. It basically goes straight into a sweat. I am anticipating mildew growing on my skin sometime soon, since it is never dry. Yuck. But that’s what I wanted! I am hoping I will adjust within a few months, because the sweating will get old.

This morning during training, we also drank directly out of coconuts! They just crack it open and drink the water out of it—so delicious…and messy! Having so many coconuts around is really helpful though for times when there is no purified water – just have someone pick one off a tree, cut it open, and start drinking! It’s pretty cool.

My New Home

(From August 21, 2008)

The sights and sounds of the city as we drive through the streets are both vivid and blurred. I am by myself but still one of many. The traffic. The stifling heat. And my new family. This morning, I both groggily and excitedly awoke at 2:50 AM to begin the trip to my site for the next three months. Meeting the other volunteers in the lobby, I could tell we were all pretty excited to move on to the next stage of PST. The tough part was that we all just formed bonds with many other people that we were leaving behind for other sites. I was leaving both of my roommates. When will we see each other again? October? November? It seems soon but yet so far away. The time will fly and drift, fly and drift. We headed to the airport and boarded the plane that would bring us to the next part of our journey. How am I feeling? Incredibly excited.

We arrived here at the (what seemed like) one-room airport, grabbed our baggage from the “turnstile”, and headed for the vans. At our location (one of the cluster’s host sites), we were greeted proudly by the host families. Some of the host families in this area have been home to as many as ten or eleven Peace Corps families, something which they are extremely proud of. There were hugs and handshakes even before we knew who of us was staying with which family. A potluck was also prepared by the families. There was so much food and with the idea of being culturally appropriate, we ate so much—and at only 9:30 in the morning! Most of the food was absolutely delicious, but I know I’ll definitely have to get used to some flavors and textures. I know for sure it will probably be rice, rice, rice for everything. Since I’ve arrived in country, rice has been present at every meal—yes, that’s every meal, including breakfast and also some snacks (as a dessert-like treat). Hm.

So anyways, I met my host tatay (father) and host nanay (mother), and we set out for my new home for the next three months. In the house is also one son and two grandchildren, with the surrounding four houses owned by family members as well. The location is out of the city a bit, and I haven’t had much of a chance to explore yet, as I just arrived a few hours ago. I am supposed to be taking a nap at the moment, but I thought writing would be a bit more exciting. I unpacked (FINALLY…not living out of a suitcase!), and then we had lunch. You may say, “Food? Again? Didn’t she just eat?” Well, ladies and gentlemen, the news is that since arriving in country, the food has not stopped. It is constant! During training we had breakfast 6:30-8:30, snack (merienda) 10:00-10:30, lunch 12:00-1:00, snack 2:30-3:00, and dinner 6:00-8:00. Yes, that’s six hours that were slotted out for meals….future Weight Watchers member, here I come.

Also, today has been hotter than any other day, by far. It could just be that we are that much closer to the equator. Or it could be that we’ve been pretty lucky so far. My skin has not really dried since I’ve arrived here—sweat, sweat, sweat dripping everywhere. I know—yum. Cooling off really isn’t an option—no AC, no kiddie pool. It’ll be something the body will have to adjust to—slowly but surely. Tomorrow we have our second language lesson in Cebuano—the first was simply a “survival” lesson. In the afternoon, we’re meeting the mayor and other important figures in the community. Yay!

PST Placement

(From August 20, 2008)

Today we received our placements for PST (Pre-Service Training). I found out I’ll be heading to somewhere in the southern part of Negros Oriental in the Visayas. It sounds like it’s a beautiful city—very clean, college town, ocean, etc. Can’t wait! We’ll be heading out at 3:30 AM tomorrow for our respective cluster sites, traveling by plane. Our first activity after we arrive is meeting our host families at a potluck, and subsequently, I have realized I need to get used to eating fish with scales and bones right now—no hesitations. Maybe it’s delicious. I’ll let you know. The location of my PST also means that I’ll be learning Cebuano as my language instead of Tagalog. This is because the Philippines is home to over 140 languages that are typically dependant upon region. But no worries—the Rosetta Stone study will actually help with a lot of the pronunciation of Cebuano.

Also, tonight it was evident how much the Peace Corps really loves their volunteers. At the last dinner together as a group of 69 volunteers, we had tacos, hamburgers, and ice cream. Amazing. That will probably be the last of that for at least six months—whoa. To top it all off, we got to be rebels and eat the ice cream before dinner! Wow. Peace Corps LOVES us.

Dance, Dance, Dance.

From August 19, 2008


The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. The majority of the time has been spent in training sessions, which are typically pretty interactive and definitely involve an air-conditioned room. I like that. And we even get snack! A lot of information has also been thrown at us and has sunk in quite a bit, but some of it is still working its way in. Besides trainings, it’s been a combination of eating, socializing, singing videoke, eating, birthday celebrations, buying cell phones, drinking water, and oh yeah, eating.

Yesterday, two groups of dancers came and performed for us and they were both beautiful. The first was a group of children from Kanlungan sa ERMA Children’s Chorale, which is a non-profit that helps to protect and develop children who are abandoned, prostituted, exploited, abused, and trafficked. They were absolutely amazing. All of the songs were written and choreographed by the children, and they spoke of the hard times they have gone through—hunger, abandonment, crisis, etc. Watching the performance was incredibly moving.
The second performance was done by the University of the Philippines Los Banos Dance Troupe, which is a college-aged extracurricular group that performs cultural dances. The dances depicted different aspects of Filipino culture, including dances from Mindanao (the Southern Muslim region) and Ifugao (a northern tribal group). There were also many traditional Filipino dances, each representing something different. The dancers were amazing and really showed true appreciation for the culture.

It makes me wonder—does the United States have a dance? Can you imagine what it would be? Perhaps it would be the ridiculous chicken dance, which is performed at only weddings and church picnics. Or it could be the line dance, which originated from country music – truly American. Or perhaps it is one of my favorites—the sprinkler, the bus driver, the lawn mower, the flight attendant, and the list goes on. Hmm.

Today, we were able to visit the Peace Corps office and go to the Mall of Asia, which is the largest mall in ALL of Asia. The purpose of the trip was to purchase cell phones, but we were required to stay in groups with our guides, who will be our LCFs (Language Cross-Cultural Facilitators) and TCFs (Technical Cross-Cultural Facilitators) at our training sites for the next two and a half months. This mall was absolutely huge, from what I could gather. We only spent time in what seemed like the technology wing, where there were oodles of stores to buy phones, computers, gadgets, etc. The mall also had a full-sized ice rink inside and I’m sure plenty else in the other sections. After the big cell phone purchase, we had about an hour before the bus came so my group headed straight for the ocean, which just happened to be across the street. Convenient and oh-so-salty. The sunset was beautiful (well, not as beautiful as last night which I unfortunately did not catch on my camera). And the hair was crazy. Serious.

So anyways, that’s about it. We’ll be finding out about our clusters tomorrow, which will be about 5-6 people. As a CYF, I know I’ll be heading to either Bacolod or Dumaguete City, which means I will be permanently placed somewhere in the Visayan region. If you check out a map of the Philippines, the Visayas are all the islands between Luzon (the northern island with Manila) and Mindanao (the southernmost island). Thursday, we’ll be heading to PST host families – wish me luck!

Also, P.S. I got a cell phone today…obviously…so if you want my number, just send me an email and perhaps, just perhaps, I will give it to you. Ciao.

Pictures? Nooooo.....

Like I said earlier today, I'm in Manila. There's honestly not too much to write about because we've been in training, training, training. Oh yeah, and dipping our feet in the pool, checking out the waterfall, hanging out, giving urine samples, filling out forms, eating fresh fruit, eating fish with scales, etc. etc. etc. But really, we got here last night, ate dinner, settled in, put on a movie, and were sleeping within 20 minutes.

The battle with jetlag has not been too bad honestly, except that this afternoon I got really tired. A nap was needed, and I'm trying to hold off at least until tonight. This morning, I awoke at 4 AM unknowingly and was wondering why it was so darn dark still, thinking that it was about 7 AM. No, no. So I've been a bit off, but it's nothing like flying west to east, which is a good thing.

There's not much to say quite yet, really. So, I'm off. Wednesday we find out where out training sites will be and where we'll be for the next three months, and then Thursday we'll head out to the sites, via aeroplano or bus.

...

Here, here, here.

Hello everyone! After many, many hours on an airplane yesterday, we finally made it! Jet lag wasn't so bad, and I had a great night of sleep in the hotel. I'm here, happy, and safe. I'll write later. Much, much love!

Staging

Yesterday, I officially became a PCT – Peace Corps Trainee, that is. I walked through the long, long line (and by walked through, I don’t mean that I budged…see previous posts about my feelings on budgers) and ultimately made it into the room where an icebreaker was happening.

For those of you who don’t know, icebreakers are those undoubtedly silly games that are played in groups of people who don’t know each other very much. It is supposed to be a social lubricant (but much more fun than drinking) that helps people get to know each other. Well, my opinion on icebreakers is that I L.O.V.E. them – I could really do them for all three months of training and be totally fine. It would be so great. This is because you can never stop learning about other people, and although in a few weeks it’ll seem like each other is all we have (the volunteers), we really won’t know each other all that well. In a short time, we’ll know more about each others’ bowel movements than we have had a desire for, but we won’t necessarily know each others’ favorite foods, what our families are like, or where we grew up. That’s just how it works—it all comes later. And that, my friends, is why I love icebreakers so much. It gives you a chance to learn a little bit about someone that you didn’t know before.

Anyways, so our first day of training is over, and it was both great and exhausting. I didn’t have the chance to eat lunch yesterday (or much of a breakfast, for that matter, due to the nerves in my stomach being so lively), so my body was living off of apple juice and an apple granola bar that I had on the plane. My body was not happy with this, because it is never happy with apples in general. So, my stomach was pretty angry last night until I finally got some food in it at about 9:30. Yikes. But the beds were comfortable and I got a great night’s sleep. Well, I had a great sleep until about 4 AM, when I was awoken by a strange quiet alarm that seemed to be coming out of my bags. What was the source of the noise? I didn’t know. I tried to ignore it, hoping that my roommate wouldn’t hear it, but I finally realized I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. So, here I am in my hotel room, trying to find my headlamp in the dark and trying not to be too loud. Well, that failed when I needed to unzzzziiiiiiippp and unveeeeellllllcrroooooo the suitcase to get to the alarm. The source? My speakers for my iPod. Apparently the alarm button got hit somewhere along the way. Interesting. Oh well – I turned it off and got two more really great hours of sleep – Thank you, Crowne Plaza LAX for the sweet dreams.

Packed.

Just a short update as the minutes lead up to the date of departure. In the past few days, I have packed and unpacked and re-packed about seven times, each time trying to take out things I don't see as necessary right away. For instance, I'll have my tent mailed later since I probably won't be able to use it much during training anyways. And it is still heavy, heavy. And I've been going back and forth on taking a small duffel bag as my second bag or a small wheeled suitcase. Oh, the decisions. The big backpack is a given, of course. And PS remind me in a few years to buy a smaller pack. 5500 cubic inches just is not necessary for a girl of my size. Plus, I think it may be bad for my back. That is, unless I gain oodles of weight from amazing Filipino food...then perhaps a big, big backpack will just balance me out. Anyways, I'm on a tangent.

So, the feelings right now? Well, I am definitely a 10-point level of excited on a 10-point scale. I'm just trying not to let that be overshadowed too much by the stress, worry, and nervousness that have also been trying to bubble up. Most of it comes with packing. I think it may definitely be one of my least favorite activities, ever. It's the worst. So, how to relax tomorrow? I'm not quite sure. I know I need to get the car washed. Also, I need to clean the house and make it seem as if I haven't lived here like a bum for the last few months. And I need to hang out with my dog. And just try to get settled. Yikes, this doesn't sound relaxing at all. Wish me luck.

Also, I want to do a big shout out and thank you to all of my family and friends who have been supportive of me up until now in so many ways--sending good luck notes or "How are you?" cards, attending going away parties, checking in and seeing how I am, and just being there to listen while I go on endlessly about how excited I am or I rant about how stressed I am. It is all wonderful to have, and nothing is more valuable than the other. Emotionally, I need it all. So thank you.

Jenna

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Camping weather and Tagalog progress

So, I've dried out from camping and for about six minutes was actually very angry with the weatherman for failing to predict storms rolling through on Wednesday. The forecast on Monday said that there would be a chance of storms Tuesday and the rest of the week would be all clear. Well, since no storms showed up on Tuesday (not even a breeze, making the biting flies on the beach pretty unbearable), I was hoping to have perfect weather. No such luck. BUT, Therese and Samantha did come visit me at the campsite on Wednesday afternoon, making camping alone not so lonely anymore. After having a nice lunch and sitting around the campfire, we headed to the beach to play some Frisbee. Thanks to the breeze, the flies weren't quite so bad as the day before (meaning one could only see about four flies on their body at one time, versus an estimated twenty flies at one time on Tuesday - serious! I killed three flies with one swat on Tuesday, they were that bad!!). Anyways, we played some Frisbee in Lake Michigan under the beautiful, beautiful blue sky. And then, the clouds rolled in. And boy did they ever! We decided to get out of the water (well, mainly me, because I have a slight fear of thunderstorms) and headed back to the campsite. The rain began with a slight drizzle, so we decided to go to the Lodge to get ice cream. Because really, what is camping without ice cream treats? As soon as we arrived in the parking lot (we drove for fear of being absolutely soaked...GOOD decision), God and/or the weatherman started pouring buckets and buckets of water down on us. We sat in the truck and watched the rain for awhile until it let up enough to run inside. Needless to say, everything was wet! But it's nothing a little Elephant Tracks in a Waffle Cone can't cure! It was a great time - thanks, Therese and Guppy, for coming to visit!

Today, I also hit a fabulous moment in my pre-departure preparations. Yes, Rosetta Stone clicked over fourty hours! That means I'm done! Well, I'm done learning about clowns and getting dressed and throwing shovels and baskets or boxes of apples and boys crouching under airplanes and women reading. Fantastic! This means that I'm fluent. It's true. Thanks, Rosetta Stone for everything you've done for me. I hope I can discuss with my host family how much I love horses. Wait, I still don't know how to say "I"...I can tell them that the woman kisses the horse, and maybe they will understand that the woman is me and that I love horses. But, it's all a wash because I don't really love horses. Shh, don't tell. And then they will offer me a glass of water, and I will say, "Thank you." But I won't, because I don't know how to say "Thank you" in Tagalog either. But I can say "glass of water"...or "glass" and "water"....what's the word for "of" again? Ayayay.

I'm in need of a Lynn Retreat

So the time has come for another Lynn Retreat. Why, you ask? Well, I've been doing a whole lot of nothing as of late. Last night, I cleaned out Jenna so that she can be sold for the lousy few dollars she is worth. No more Volkswagens for me. I have everything that I am bringing to the Philippines all in one area and laid out for the final packing, but I am not quite ready to tackle it yet. I have been working on the Tagalog, and I am glad to say it is almost done. Lately, it has not been so much for my language enrichment as it has been just to see that "40 hours" tick onto the timer. I am a little over an hour and a half away, thank goodness. Evyerone else works during the day and are equally busy during the evening, so my hopes of being somewhat social this summer are a bit shattered. Also, my phone hasn't rung in about two days. Just kidding...my clinic called me yesterday and left an automated message letting me know that I am due for a physical. So, the other day I was biking through a campground, and I said to myself, "Hm, that looks peaceful." So, with my days dwindling away, what better thing to do than take a Lynn Retreat? Call me if you want to join or stop out, and I may reveal my location. I'm outta here - see ya'll soon.

Address o' Lynn

Just a note to say I added my address as a trainee to the side of the blog, just in case you ever feel like sending a letter or a care package! For larger items, such as the shiny new car that I know you want to purchase for me and send me (not Jenna, please), please wait until after I settle into my site in Novemberish. Then, I will have to do less lugging around! Muchas gracias...or, in Tagalog, "Thank you", because I have not learned how to say thank you yet. Or hello or goodbye or bathroom or anything useful, for that matter. But I did learn how to say, "The man throws the shovel to the boy", "The clown itches his forehead", and "Two people ride on the bicycle while one person walks." Very useful, I know. And by "learned" I mean, I don't remember any of it.

Lynn Debilzen, PCT
U.S. Peace Corps
PO Box 7013
Airmail Distribution Center
NAIA
Pasay City, Philippines
1301