Hello and Happy New Year to you all!!! I have just returned to my site after a wonderful vacation in Palawan and a very long holiday break. I hope you all stayed warm if you are in the US, and that you had a very happy holiday.
So Christmas in the Philippines is, as I have said before, a lengthy celebration beginning many months before December 25th (and actually ending with Three Kings Day today, January 6). About 2 weeks before Christmas things start to get very festive, with parties, gift exchanges, and lots of food. I was lucky enough to involved in a few gift exchanges with my school and my center, and I discovered that typical Christmas presents are towels, dishes, and bedding. Quite different from the purse and picture frame I purchased.... cultural whoops! Christmas lights are everywhere, but not like in the States. Bright colorful homemade lanterns in the shape of stars with wooden frames and colored plastic exteriors decorate the streets and houses, and often one sees electric lanterns flashing as well. Weeks before Christmas, people start wishing each other a "Maligayang Pasko" or Merry Christmas. Then comes Christmas. I had no idea what I would be doing to celebrate, as my "host sister" was visiting her family and my little brother was also going elsewhere. Frankly it didn't matter too much to me where or what I did since I do not celebrate the holiday myself. But I did not want to be stuck alone missing out on one of the biggest days in this country! At the last minute I received a call from a man who has been a donor to my center, though I had yet to meet, inviting me to join him and his family for Christmas Eve dinner. So, seeing a bit of an adventure in the works, I accepted, despite never having met the family or the man. In the US, we might call this stranger danger, and be very wary. But in the Philippines, it is simply called Filipino hospitality. Keeping that in mind, I pushed my hesitation aside and took the jeepney to Pasig (PAH-sig) near Manila. The only way I can describe the experience is to say it felt like home. Good conversation and delicious, warm food from the oven (oven's are a rarity here, the typical cooking method is a gas or firewood stove top), a little wine, a car ride (don't do too many of those either!) to see Christmas lights, and a bike ride in the morning were very much welcome activities for my first FIlipino Christmas. I left the next day with a real Peace-On-Earth kind of feeling.
Skip ahead a few days to almost New Years. I left for Palawan (pa-LAH-wan) last week a few days before the holiday. Traveled with another PCV and her boyfriend and met up with a few other PCVs of my batch who are living in Palawan. Our main destination was the northern town of El Nido, where the main activity to do there is island hopping. Two days of island hopping were filled with snorkeling, exploring small caves, and relaxing a bit on the white sand beaches of the islands of the Bacuit Archipelago. El Nido is known for its tall, sharp, limestone cliffs, and around many of them are some of the best reefs for snorkeling in the country. From brain coral to table coral, barracudas to angel fish, puffers, and clown fish, it was the most beautiful snorkeling I have ever done. Unfortunately words do it no justice (fortunately, I will have photos on facebook ASAP). One cave was inside a small lagoon, with a high high ceiling and a large opening, thus rightfully called Cathedral Cave. It almost felt spiritual being inside. Another, called Secret Beach, was accessed only by swimming through a small channel, after which there was tremendous coral and fish and a small beach, surrounded by limestone walls on all sides. Yet another island was home to a cave with only a small opening as the entrance, so we had to crawl through. Mantiloc island housed a church (a gazebo) and had a terrific view of the ocean from up high. A crystal colored lagoon near Helicopter Island, a lunch of barbequed fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and of course rice, and then a final swim with the creatures of the ocean before riding the bangka (or fishing boat also used for tours) back to El Nido.
Despite the firecrackers set off by kids on every street with a giggle and a BANG as you walk past, the fire juggler and mass of tourist drinking on the beach, and the display of fireworks over the bay at midnight, this New Years was still one of the most relaxing I have spent in a number of years Typically, it is all about a big party, and indeed it was still for most people in El Nido. But come 12:00 when we went for a midnight swim underneath the fireworks, there was a feeling of peace and tranquility that can only be found in the ocean.
The next night brought an interesting experience. Sitting at dinner with the other PCVs, we can't help but be disturbed by a rowdy group drinking nearby. The women are clearly drunk, stumbling and shouting to each other and the men. A white man sits with them, offering shots and flirting with the ladies. One girl is only dressed in her bra and shorts, while other wears shorts and revealing shirts. One woman takes off her top and goes into the water, though she can barely walk from the alcohol. I have only one thought about the situation, especially after recent training for CYF. And when we overhear the word "Sex!" shouted by the white man, my thoughts are solidified. An hour or so later, the women walk off in small groups with the men. It is a slap back to reality and we go to bed that night quite a bit grumpier than we woke up.
Then it is back home. The drive from northern El Nido back down to TayTay, Roxas, and then capital city Purto Princessa takes at least 7 hours on an open-air (no air conditioner-- or air-con as they say here, just open windows) bus packed to breaking point. The bus is so full they even carry at least a dozen passengers on the top, "top-load." I sat on a stool near the door of the bus, almost comfortable until a half dozen women and their dozen children are crammed onto the bus, to stand in the entrance. Children throw up into their mothers laps, dust fills the air along the dirt roads, and it is difficult to catch any sleep (though fatigue wins eventually). All one can see along the way are a few nipa huts scattered along road, mountains and trees turned a brownish color from the dust, and an endless road. As much of a tourist spot El Nido may be, the rest of Palawan certainly lived up to it's name as the "Last Frontier" of the Philippines.
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