Feeling like Home to Me

Welcome to the historical province of Bataan, my home for (only?!) 9 more weeks. Bataan is located in southern Luzon, about 3 hours drive from the capital city of Manila. Although history and politics are rare conversation topics among those I have interacted with, I will entertain you with a little basic history of the region. Bataan is a quiet representation of freedom, of the Filipinos and Americans who made the treacherous journey to Japanese POW camps during World War II. The picture to the top left is of the First Line of Defense monument, in Dinalupihan, Bataan. Some estimate that as many as 20,000 of the prisoners lost their lives during the Bataan Death March. This statistic is quite plausible, considering the fact that human remains are still being found in the rice fields just minutes away from my barangay. A local American in my region stated that the police authorities were initially contacted when skeletons were uncovered, however the prying and accusatory questions that followed led to a sort of mums-the-word response. Now, the bodies are merely covered in the field. Or so the rumor goes.


Which leads me to a new and exciting Filipino concept, that of chika-chika. Chika-chika refers to gossip, and describes an interesting method of communication in my barangay. An example goes as follows. A volunteer does not eat much rice, and buys lots of fruits of vegetables at the market for health reasons. A day later, my Nanay exclaims to me in casual conversation, "She has spent all of her money, she buys fruits everyday and has no money left!" Or, perhaps one volunteer broke her sandal walking in the mud. By the afternoon, the neighbors all know about this piece of news. Anything and everything is passed by word of mouth.


And speaking of passing from person to person, due to nearly a week of steady rains and the resulting flood waters, Peace Corps evacuated the 10 Peace Corps Trainees in my barangay to a nearby town. Certainly this is understandable once I post pictures of the floods. Sewage and drainage systems here are limited to say the least, and once the Puroks filled with knee-to-waist deep waters, the Peace Corps Medical Office became worried about the spread of disease (see, that's the connection I subtly made here, of diseases passing from person to person, through poopy-water filled streets, "flying saucers" or dirty diapers flung from porches into the fields... sorry for that obscure connection but it made sense in my mind). Classes were cancelled due to the absurd amount of water, thus I spent a very slow day secluded to my house with Nanay, Tatay, Ate (sister) Wang and my little nephew. Indeed, after 500 games of Go Fish, about the same numbers of snacks offered to me, and a family viewing of Slumdog Millionaire (I had to put that in after I realized that "Role Models" is entirely inappropriate for a 7 year old), I was somewhat relieved (though caught by surprise) to hear that we would be evac-ed to a hotel for "two days." The irony did hit me of course, of the Peace Corps Volunteers leaving the community behind, however it was a decision based on safety, so is understandable. Any who, as my Technical Trainer says, rain or shine, flood or heat, any day is just another day in the Philippines. Two days turned into five, as easily happens in life, and I have come to enjoy this mini vacation as a wonderful bonding experience with the other CYF trainees from my barangay.

Below are before and after pictures of my street during the flood!

We have officially entered the "ber" or "brrrrr" months, i.e. September through December. Not only is it rainy in most of these months, it's officially the "cold" season. Indeed it does not seem to be as hot as it was two weeks ago, but... it's no Connecticut snow (thank goodness). The real marker of the "ber" season however, is the playing of Christmas songs! I have heard Jingle Bell rock so far, and saw one Christmas tree in the University we stayed at. Take that American Christmas season! We got two more months on you!

3 weeks after touching down in the Philippines, I have absorbed so much (information, rice, water and humidity and salt, sugar-- lots of sugar in every food item from candy to pizza), and am excited for language learning, getting to know my neighbors and the 14 kids that live next door, for working at our Practicum Site and conducting more development assessments, and for the thrill I experience anytime I visit a new center, or learn about a new CYF population.