I Heart my Site.

(from Wednesday, October 1)

There were a ton of emotions leading up to my site visit today, and I guess they are all right, Peace Corps is a rollercoaster. I was so nervous to meet my new co-workers and see my new workplace for the next two years. On top of it all, I gained a horrific cold while doing Supervisor’s Training, so my nose is either stuffed up beyond belief or is uncontrollably dripping fluids at any given moment. I will not complain, though, because this cold is the direct result of spending three days in a beautiful, air-conned hotel. I actually found myself regretting not packing a sweater. And this has nothing to do with my cold, but the food was amazing-amazing (In Cebuano, if you want to really emphasize a word, you can say it twice).

So back to my site visit…my supervisor and I flew to my new city and were picked up immediately at the airport by the director of the program, amongst others. We were nicely whisked to my new center (for the next two years) to eat lunch and to have an orientation. During my orientation, I was able to meet other staff members and discuss Peace Corps’ requirements of a host agency. We also watched a video about the organization—so amazing. Then, I took a tour of all the homes. This place is so great. They operate on a family-based model, so instead of having a ton of children within one center, they have families set up with individual homes. These families are heading by Nanays (mothers) who have dedicated their lives to this work. Basically, instead of having house parents that rotate in and out of a center every 24 hours, these women become the children’s actual mothers—for life. Each family has between nine and eleven children, and they never split up siblings.

After resting a bit, I went to see the youth home that the organization also runs. This is for teenage boys who are busy transitioning to independent living—basically, for high school and college boys. They are almost done with the basketball court, so I can’t wait to show off my mad skills. We then attended a ceremony celebrating the Month of the Rosary (October, which is also Children’s Month). Although the organization is not faith-based, the majority of the children are Catholic (being in the Philippines and all). Afterwards, I just hung out with my supervisor and her daughter in their home (also on the grounds). I cannot begin to tell you how comfortable I really felt there. Well, I mean, I have felt so comfortable all day, but we just kicked back and watched some television and hung out. It was pretty cool.

Afterwards, the kids (all 140 of them, plus the staff) presented a program for me. Behind the stage, it was decorated with, “….family Welcomes Lynn Debilzen”. I truly am a member of the family, which is so cool. The program lasted for about an hour, complete with singing and dancing. It was so awesome, knowing that all this effort was put in just because I was there. How cool. So overall, I am extremely happy so far with everything my site has to offer and how I feel about it. We still have a few days, and hopefully they go just as well.

Oh yeah, and P.S. I saw the President of the Philippines today…getting out of her private jet. You know, that’s how I roll.