Weekend of Weekends

I pretty much had such an amazing weekend that I cannot not write about it, so you’re in for a treat. Basically, I have discovered that I am living the life here in the Philippines. It was a day of awakening, where I realized that yes, I am here and yes, I love it and yes, this is my life. This journey started yesterday, when two others and I ventured into the “big city” (we are more country-folk here) to run all of our errands. Of course the first errand consisted of pizza. A meal without rice you ask? I know what you’re thinking—people cannot live without rice. How could there be such a thing as a meal without rice? Well, our margherita and garlic pizzas proved that it can be done. And happily. They were definitely the most amazing pizzas that I will eat in the Philippines, and so a return trip must be scheduled. After pizza, we ventured to the National Bookstore, which is amazing because of the AirCon (short for air conditioning…which may leave you wondering, why not shorten it more to AC?). I made a huge purchase of a roll of masking tape, which now allows me to proudly hang my map of the Philippines in my room. So great, so great. And the tape is so sticky that it does stick to the concrete. Not to give you a play-by-play, but we headed to the internet café, where we discovered online that another group was at a different internet café, and so we were able to meet up, after much online discussion. I was finally able to have my first San Miguel, which was very refreshing after a drought of three weeks. Our San Miguels were also accompanied by one of the local-foreign very, very old men that live here, dating/marrying young local women. Please, men in my life that are reading this, do not move to a developing country in the hopes of finding a wife that is one-third your age on whom you can shower your money. I may discommunicate you. Thank you in advance for honoring this request. I will say no more.

But I will say more about my amazing weekend. After our afternoon venture, we skidattled back to the countryside, and I played some great games of cards with my brother and sister. They are so fun.

Today, we went to…you guessed it…the beach!! Our group was actually beginning to doubt that beaches existed in the Philippines because we live so far inland. We had only seen dirty water from the city, and we wondered where these paradises were. Well, we found paradise today. We visited a PCV that is living just up the road, and she had a great beach party at her house. Yes, she is living right on the beach. She pretty much goes snorkeling every day of her existence, which is amazing. As we enjoyed the sun, the cool breeze, the salty water, and the food, it was so great to just hang out with other volunteers and some of the locals as well. We could just sort of relax…not that we haven’t been, but training and living with a family is hard work, darn it. As I snorkeled around the many coral reefs that were just off the shore, I realized that this is my life. I’m not on vacation. If I want to go to the beach, I can go. Amazing. The fish and the coral was so beautiful, and I could have stayed out there all day. Well, I practically did whenever I had the opportunity to use the mask and snorkel. Those are definitely on my list of things to buy. Along with fins, of course.

Ironically, I saw a jellyfish (others saw barracudas, so I figured a jelly fish wasn’t so bad) and I called out to warn the guy I was snorkeling with. About five minutes later, I was definitely the one who was stung by the jellyfish. The stinging started out very small but escalated. Fortunately, it never reached the excruciating level, but maybe I have a high pain tolerance. I don’t know. A nice rash formed around my right ankle, and I had to take it easy for a while. One natural cure for jellyfish sting pain is to have another person urinate on the sting area (refer to Friends episode). Luckily, it did not come down to that, but I had a few offers so it is great to know that I am in good hands. Ha.

This weekend, I’ve also had the chance to visit a lot with Grace, who is the student living with my family. She is amazing. She wants to learn better English, and I want to learn better Cebuano (obviously), so this will be a great exchange. Also, finally she let me help her the other night! I was able to help with dishes! You may be surprised at my excitement, but when you’re staying with a family that has so kindly taken you in, sometimes you just want to help! And she let me! So we did a lot of talking, and tonight we did as well. She invited me to visit her church with her in a few weeks and also to come visit her family, who live in the next town over. I really hope I can go. She is such a nice girl, and she was embarrassed when she told me, “ I am worried when you come to my house, Ate Lynn…it is not a concrete house like this. My family has a poor house.” I responded that I have been in many houses that are made out of bamboo or reeds, and that each home is special because of the people in it. I hope that she knows I meant that! One thing about being an American in a foreign land is that all Americans are seen as being rich, no matter what. When I explain that there are many poor people in America as well, people cannot believe it.

Anyways, I got a bit off track, but I am so grateful for this weekend and so much more excited for what lies ahead. Although I may not have a house directly on the beach, I know I will make solid relationships and truly learn the culture. That’s what I am so excited for.