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!