Playing Tour Guide :)

While I have been completely neglectful of my blog as of late, and you probably do not need any more apologies, I have good reason. Last week, my dad and stepmom arrived here in the Philippines for seven very full days of exploring where I live and work (and I will not be dishonest, full days of vacationing as well). It was great for me for a few reasons. First, I had not seen them in a year and a half, besides through weekly Skype conversations, so it was good to be in the presence of family again. Second, I really am glad that they were able to see at least a small amount of my family and work life here in the Philippines. And third, having to explain a place and culture that is so familiar and known to me, but so different, confusing, and sometimes frustrating for them, helped to remind me of how far I have come and how much I have changed. More than anything, I finally have realized that time is short, and I need to cherish every day and every experience that I am able to have here. I really am lucky…

Since my blog is not supposed to be about traveling, but rather about my time in the Peace Corps as a Volunteer, I do not want to write about MY vacation. Rather, I asked my dad to write about THEIR experience here, and he kindly obliged. So, following is a short account of what we did, what they saw, and what he felt about their experience. Enjoy.

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Hi, this is Lynn’s Dad writing to relate Janet’s and my experiences from our brief, but busy vacation time with her. We arrived at the Cebu airport on Tuesday night around 11:30 p.m. and as we walked off the plane felt like we were walking into a greenhouse with the humidity level set on “high”. We had left 20 degree weather in Wisconsin so the heat and humidity, while welcome, was quite a shock. It was wonderful to see and hug Lynn after all this time. Somehow, a weekly Skype “date” isn’t the same as getting to see and hold your daughter in person. I’m so glad to report that she looks good and healthy!

From the airport we went to our resort and finally collapsed into bed around 2:30 a.m.. After the many hours of flying and basically no sleep, we were exhausted. When we awoke on Wednesday we could appreciate the beautiful setting and atmosphere encompassed by this resort. We spent the day relaxing and enjoying the sun, water and gorgeous temps. For the evening we headed to meet Lynn’s host family. What a treat to be able to finally meet all the wonderful family members that Lynn has grown so close to and has spoken so kindly about. Mama and Papa and their children (and extended family) made us feel extremely comfortable and welcome. After a delicious meal, we gathered in the living room to sing videoke which we bravely jumped into. Fortunately, Lynn’s host family will still allow her to live with them after I sang, so they must be very forgiving. We enjoyed our time this evening and feel blessed that Lynn has such a great “home away from home”.

Before I go any further, I need to tell you about our fun encounters with transportation (which is very different than what we are used to). Our trip to Lynn’s host family’s home was our first experience with a cab. Oh my goodness! I don’t know that I can describe the experience, but I’ll try. Imagine narrow, bumpy streets that are extremely crowded with taxis, autos, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, jeepneys, trikes (motorized and people powered), and pedestrians. Add in a lack of intersection controls and seemingly willy nilly stopping and starting. What does this all add up to when I took my first taxi ride? White knuckles, closed eyes and repeated looks of disbelief. After further reflection it causes me to recant my previous belief that Southern California has the worst traffic I’ve experienced. Subsequent taxi rides did not seem so frightening, probably because I knew what to expect.

Thursday afternoon we traveled to downtown Cebu to visit Lynn’s office and met her co-workers. While their office space is limited and not luxurious, it is obvious that the Program Director and the rest of the staff have a passion to help the children, teenagers and families that benefit from their efforts. We thank them and volunteers like them around the globe for their vision, dedication and service!

We then got to partake in our first jeepney ride! Since Lynn has previously described this experience I won’t be redundant, but I will say it was quite an experience. I may just start a jeepney enterprise in the States. This concept seems tailor made for Madison, Wisconsin, doesn’t it?

Friday morning we were up really early to catch the 6:00 a.m. ferry to Bohol, a neighboring island known for its beauty. After a nice trip, we arrived at our resort, the Bohol Bee Farm, known for its organic food and good cooking. Our first day included a tour that included the Chocolate Hills, a butterfly garden as well as a dinner cruise with entertainment. This truly is a beautiful island! As we were traveling we saw rice harvesting in progress and someone plowing their field with a caribow, which I mistook for a water buffalo. Our evening meal was served family style and included flower salad, red rice, herb pasta, roast chicken and grilled marlin, complete with mango iced tea. Yummmm!

The next morning we had a 5:30 a.m. date with a boat to go dolphin watching. We got to see a beautiful sunrise and the sea was relatively calm. After a long trip we spotted dolphins and what a show they put on! These were melon-headed dolphins and we estimate that we saw about 100. What a great experience. Around 9 a.m. we went to an island where we enjoyed a breakfast in a nipa hut just off the beach. We then had a couple of hours to enjoy the beach before we ate a delicious lunch of native green salad, rice and fish. After arriving back at the resort we had relaxing full body massages and later another terrific meal.

After a leisurely and tasty breakfast the next morning we took the ferry back “home” and eventually made our way back to the resort for the rest of our stay. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the facilities.

Monday morning brought a new experience as we used a motorized tricycle to transport us to visit two of the early childhood centers operated by the organization that Lynn supports. The children were beautiful, well behaved and most important, displayed a good grasp of letters, spelling, counting and other facts. I did observe in action what is apparently a universal “law”; that is, girls seem to excel in classrooms around the world while the boys struggled. The teachers, parents and children made us all feel so welcome and were thankful for all the things that Lynn has done to help.

Back at the resort, Lynn’s friend Angela came to join us for the day. Angela is also a Peace Corps Volunteer and is a very nice young woman. Angela is from Chicago but any trepidation about this day passed when she professed not to be a Chicago Bears fan. She did admit to being a Cubs fan, which is okay. Later in the day we headed downtown with Angela to meet six of Lynn’s other friends for pizza and refreshments. This was a diverse group hailing from Australia and the states of California, North Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, and Colorado. For being so young, they have traveled far more than I probably ever will. It was a fun, interesting and relaxing evening.

On our final full day here, we went to meet Lynn’s host family for supper at one of their favorite restaurants. While it was a fun evening I was saddened to think that we had to say goodbye to Mama, Papa, and Lynn’s sisters and brother. It was with all sincerity that I offered a toast to Lynn’s “other” family and for all the things they do for her. It is so comforting to know that Lynn has such a good support structure to come home to while she lives here.

We will leave the Philippines tomorrow morning with much sadness. While we had a thoroughly enjoyable vacation, it went way too fast. While it will be hard to say goodbye to Lynn, I know she is happy and doing what she wants to do. She also has many dreams yet to be fulfilled and this is another step on her road to achieve those dreams. Thank you Lynn for being a wonderful tour guide this last week, but more importantly for being such a wonderful daughter. We’re so proud of you!