Update

Read about me HERE!

Transitioning and What's to Come

Before I share about my transitioning from my Peace Corps Service back to home, I'm currently  participating in one of my last projects here in the Philippines. What is it you ask?

I'm so lucky to have been one of four volunteers chosen to participate in a project called Padayon Mindanao.  Here's a descriptions with some pictures:

 

It's a three-year USAID funded and Peace Corps’ continuing effort to promote peace building in the Philippines. At the core of this education initiative is cross-cultural learning among literacy teachers and peer educators across conflict affected areas in Mindanao and other Peace Corps sites in the Philippines. Through this project, PC volunteers and their local counterparts will take an expanded role in improving youth literacy and life skills by means of Alternative Learning System.

There's two part ,including a Literacy Summit and a Youth Leadership Camp.

Literacy Summit is a seven-day intensive training which aims to develop competence of literacy teachers to meet the education needs of vulnerable youth through Alternative Learning System by: raising awareness on situations of vulnerable youth in education settings; promoting innovations in teaching strategies and learning assessments as applied to ALS core modules; and, upholding mutual learning among participants and exchange of ALS initiatives across regions.

 

Youth Camp is a seven-day youth exchange training which aims the following for the youth:

·         increase life skills and livelihood skills

·         increase understanding of civic engagement

·         develop/enhance leadership skills

·         strengthen linkages & understanding among them

·         promote cultural exchanges

So I'm currently in the second part, the youth camp, here in Cebu City. We are having so much fun and I've really enjoyed my experience here. It's kind of been the cherry on top for the ending of my service that is fast approaching now.
After this project ends the start of the Close of Service (COS) conference, with all my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers that are leaving, starts.


It is soooo crazy how much time has flown and super weird to think that I’m leaving this place, that I have made my home, so soon. Completely in denial and procrastinating on thinking about how I will feel when the time comes to say good bye, is how I’m handling the situation.

COS has always seemed so far away for most of my Peace Corps experience. Up until recently I didn’t really worry about how much it’s going to hurt to leave my work and my friends, both Filipino and fellow Peace Corps Volunteers.  It’s almost like when I first left for the Philippines; it’s been more than two years since I left everything back in the states to start a new part of my life.

Again I will leave my support network and go into more uncharted territory. Yes I’ll be going back home and physically it will mostly be the same as when I first left. Maybe there will be small changes in the landscape, but the bigger difference is me. I am not the same. My inhibitions, my dreams, my outlook on life are different. I will mentally leave my found normal here and venture into the unknown again. That is what is on my mind the most as time gets closer, of course I am excited to see my friends and family back home again but I’m worried about the disconnect that may occur.

I mean no one will understand my jokes, because all of my humor is adapted from Filipino culture or Peace Corps related. hehe, biro lang (just kidding)! I will survive, but am nostalgic.


As my for my future, my next year will be focused on traveling... I 'm going on a month long journey to Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. And then when I get back home to the states.... applying to graduate school is my mission along with road tripping around the great states since I know other PCVs from other states now.

Even though I have mixed feelings now, I am excited and ready to start the next part of my life and whatever comes my way along the way.

Then and Now

Yes it’s been an even longer amount of time since my last blog now, so this one’s going to be jammed packed with information. Maybe I'll make it into two, Actually I have been pretty busy compared to my stagnant update I posted over four months ago. So I’ll let you know about what’s been up in the past four months and what’s going on now. I'll save the 'what’s to come' for a later time.

Since my last post I have been busy traveling and working in between, of course. Getting to see as much of the Philippines as I possibly can, has been my major goal in this second year of my service.  Recently my trips with some of my friends are in the islands of the region of the Visayas here in the Philippines. This is the region is located south of the largest island Luzon, where my site is located. If you look at a map of the Philippines these islands are in the middle of the two larger islands.

The Visayas, Luzon, and Mindanao are the three parts of the Philippines. Unfortunately as a Peace Corps volunteer, I am not allowed to travel to Mindanao due to safety reasons. But I’m trying to explore the parts I can go as much as I can.

 

To get to specific islands in the Visayas there are bus and ferry routes, but this can take days of traveling on bus/boat hell. So I have opted out to take 9 hour bus rides to Manila and then fly to major cities. It’s more expensive, but airlines here offer promos for flights at certain times. On average if I can time it out and keep my eyes online for promos, round trip flights here can average around $30.

Here are some place that I have visited recently:

In April I traveled to the city of Iloilo and then made a long journey (about 6 hours by bus) across the island of Panay to where a hot spot for tourist is, called Boracay. This felt like a vk you would take to get away from work and just relax. It wasn’t the most beautiful beach I have seen in the Philippines, but it definitely was the most modern. My friends and I spent our time eating, drinking, sun bathing, and being merry for Easter.

 

Then I also visited the cities of Dumagete of the Island Negros in May and most recently for my Birthday I went to Tacloban in Leyte. I actually didn't take many pictures, but just spent time hanging out with other Peace Corps Volunteers and enjoying the cities.

 

Beside Visayas traveling I have also been enjoying visiting places at my site of Bicol.

It truly is a gem for traveling to pristine beaches. There's not much tourism going on from international visitors, more just from local Filipinos and Filipinos from different regions.

So here are some of my favorites, including the most beautiful beach I've ever been to:

islands of Matnog, including Subic (the pink sand beach), in the province of Sorsogon,

 

 

Sangay beach chilling in my province of Camarines Sur,

 

 

and last but not least, the gorgeous island of Calaguas in the province of Camarines Norte.

Liked it so much, it was so nice that I went twice!

 

 

 

But of course there's still been work too.

So right now I have a little less than three months left in my service.  I have a couple bigger projects coming up that I will explain in a later blog (promise), but currently I'm focusing on just finishing up a grant project that I started with my counterpart over a year ago. The funding for this project came from an organization called World Connect. They help fund Peace Corps Volunteer projects all over the world; here's their website. where you can read more about the project:
http://worldconnect-us.org/projects/parent-leader-capacity-building-training/

I talked about this project in previous blog posts and it is still not quite completed.  Parts of this project has been postponed so much due to weather and schedule conflicts. Also after the initial project was completed in January there were funds that still needed to be used. 

This month two follow up activities were completed at a local school involving teambuilding activities with elementary school students that are also beneficiaries of the program 4Ps, to which I am assigned. Along with teambuilding the children and their parents were given sessions on the Rights of a Child under the guidelines of the United Nations. The parents were also given sessions on positive parenting.

So there is one more activity of the same nature that will be finished within the next month. yaya! I will explain more work stuff later, but I hope you enjoyed seeing and hearing about my travels. I'll post again soon :)

 

A stagnant update

The title feels like an appropriate one for how I’m feeling, as well as some of my other Peace Corps volunteers. There’s only about seven months left in my service here in the Philippines.  It’s still a lot of time left, yet at the same time it’s not very much. Especially compared to the amount of time I’ve already been here.

It’s been awhile since my last post in this blog though and to be honest it’s mostly because I’m lazy. But it’s also because most of the time I’m just living and not sure if it’s very interesting to others.

Now here, this is my new normal. I no longer feel home sick like I did when I first arrived and through my first year of service.  I have work, which lately involves more independent paperwork, office time, and a project here and there if they don’t get canceled or postponed.   

Then in my free time I hang out with friends, read, and binge watch TV shows or movies. Of course there’s traveling too.  I have been doing a lot more traveling since my time in the Philippines is growing short now.  I want to see as much of this amazing country as I can....

I had an amazing time on a trip that I got to share with my family to Bohol last month!!!  

Most Recent trip to Cantanduanes, passed by the gorgeous Mt. Mayon (active volcano)

   

That's my normal

Being a volunteer gives you more independence and free time versus a regular job, which can be a blessing or a curse depending who you are. I’m adaptable but I do miss having a really routine schedule…. Well sometimes, but mostly I enjoy my relaxed and laid back lifestyle. When I do have productive work I try to work really hard and appreciate it while I’m doing it.

My most recent project was a capacity building training for the beneficiary parent leaders in the organization I work in.  The project idea was developed by my main counterpart (the coworker I’ve been working with most since I’ve been here) and I last March. I submitted a grant for it last April and due to weather (you may have heard a little about typhoons) it had to be postponed from its original date in July all the way to December and then again to January.

It’s a really good example of project progress can go here in the Peace Corps. But thankfully it finally happened and everyone here was really excited about it.

But otherwise work is indeed stagnant at the moment and on my really boring days sometimes it can be hard to remember why I wanted to do this to be here. I’m not always sure about my productivity level and I definitely feel like I’m getting more out of this experience than I’m putting into it. Maybe, I’m hoping, later more towards the end of service I get a glimpse of the impact I’m actually making.

Just like anywhere, in life, in meeting and interacting with other people, a person really has no idea what kind of influence that is being made. In the back of my mind I try to remember that as I talk to my neighbors, as I bond with my coworkers, and as I practice language with my host family and boyfriend.

The only hope I can really have, the most important part about being here I think isn’t about the amount of productive work I do (no matter how much I get frustrated with the pace of work sometimes), it’s about the positive relationships I develop. Which includes after leaving here, in my future and in anyone’s life everywhere, not just in Peace Corps.

If I am remembered after I leave my community in seven months, my only hope is it is in a positive light about Americans and about the kindness I have tried to show while working.

WOO OOO WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!!

Soooo....
There's been another long gap from my last post and a lot has been going on

My one year anniversary has come and gone now, both one year being in the Philippines and one year being a Peace Corps Volunteer.  THAT'S RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So at this point I am over half way done and taking the time to reflect and update those who still read this blog.  Which means keep reading if you want to know how I'm actually feeling, what I have been doing and what I have planned for my next year of service here in this beautiful country. Prepare for me to get deep mamaya (later)

Work wise....

I had a crazy month of work in July that ended with both my counterpart and I becoming sick.  We had an extra amount of meetings and then there was Typhoon Glenda that hit my area directly and my community had a lot of damage with no power for almost two weeks.

Path of Typhoon Glenda

Besides my burning out because of work at that time, I also had a great opportunity to help with a Special Olympics event near me.  A bunch of volunteers came together to help support this project that took so much effort and hard work done by some friends of mine in the province of Albay.  Here's a link to their facebook page to see some pictures...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Special-Olympics-Albay/256499864559786?ref=br_tf


It was a two day event, which unfortunately had to be canceled on the second day because of the same typhoon that I mentioned above.

Bicol University

Also, a training I was planning for my organization at my site also had to be canceled because the venue of the training was destroyed.  So I hope to be able to reschedule the training in October because I was already awarded a grant for this specific training my counterpart and I had been planning since April.  No one in my community was harmed thankfully, but so many homes were destroyed. It was stressful month to say the least, but a distant memory now as it is September.

Presently, 

I am just getting back into things here at my site because I had a one month absence, so I really feel like I have to reintegrate back into my community and work.  Planning my training and hopefully a youth camp in my community is in my future hopefully!!! 

Why that month gone you ask? 

In the middle of August I was very fortunate to be picked as a resource volunteer for the new batch of volunteers that arrived in July.  So I traveled back to where I started training, in the lovely province of Bataan to meet all the brand new Children Youth and Family (CYF) trainees.  It was crazy to think that I was in their same position this time last year.  Meeting them and working with them during training really got me re-energized and thinking about the reason to why I joined the Peace Corps and to remember what my goals are during my service here.

They worked so hard and I felt so lucky that I was able to meet such great people that are now a part of the Peace Corps Philippines family.  So if any of you 273 CYFers are reading this thank you for letting me join you and I wish you all the best in your service here :) I have all the confidence in the world that you will do great things here. I'm sending love and peace your way :)

AMERICA

is where I spent the other part of my month absence.   I was so happy that I  returned home to see my wonderful family and friends.  While there I stuffed my face and just enjoyed the pleasantries of a first world country again, hot showers, air conditioning and flushing toilets included.  Time in America, time spent with the new volunteers and time I am spending reintegrating back into my Philippines home now has really let me reflect about this last year and what I want in the next year.

So many FEELINGS.....

When joining the Peace Corps in the beginning over a year ago I could not have imagined how much and what I would learn. I did not think about the personal relationships I would be sacrificing and changing back home.  But being back home has reminded me about the really amazing people that are truly there for me in my life and the people I have found in my service here that continue to inspire me everyday.  So overall I am thankful for this opportunity I  decided to take. Even though my work isn't exactly what I would have imagined it would be, my sanity has sometimes been pushed to its limits more than multiple times while here, and I have lost someone who I believed I would not loose, I am happy. I am happy because those are just blessings in disguise and the things I have gained in return far out way those hardships.


So after all this brain overloading information I would like to end this blog with a post by one of my fellow volunteers, who I will not name.  She is doing some pretty awesome things and someone I really admire.  I'm posting it for the sole purpose of giving people around the world food for thought and as a reminder to me that my time here has been quite a journey, but am so happy I have this opportunity to continue to learn and grow as a person....


 "I've come to the conclusion that Peace Corps isn't always an ideal situation. There is this certain glamor to it, yes, but putting the great, Facebook posting days aside, we are extremely vulnerable here. We talked about the past year and day to day risks we are exposed to, the constant staring and scrutiny, the days when you feel like you are loosing your mind, the days where you feel so misunderstood, the constant questioning of ethics, the struggle to find meaningful work, the risks of being a lone woman, the expectations of gender roles- and not fitting into them. I had to pause and think, this can be dangerous stuff. Between the torrents of nature, to misunderstanding others, language barriers, being alone in our communities, stereotypes of Americans, mysterious sicknesses, and some malintent .... It broke my heart to remember that my fellow volunteers have been hurt, violated (some in some very dangerous and serious ways), taken advantage of, and used. Many have been broken; many have left. With a year left to go, I just wanted to take a moment and recognize my batch-mates. You have sacrificed so much to be here, fulfilling a dream of helping others. To you I give my respect, my love. Hugs to you all." -

Tut tut, looks like rain!

So it is already June and with it comes the almost end of the hot season. Thank goodness! 

Since my last blog post, which was when this said hot summer season was just starting, I have been sweating away here in the Pines. When I say hot I mean sit and do nothing and your whole body is still sweating all over hot, can’t live without electric fan hot, spend all my money on Gatorade to stay hydrated and sit in the 711 air con hot, and travel an hour away to the city to sit in air con for the day multiple times a week hot.  Some days have reached up to 106 F, which is bad in itself, and then there’s brownouts too.   

Brownouts are when the power turns off because the electric company is trying to save money.  I have experienced brownouts here before this summer, but now is when they really seem unbearable because you think life without air con is bad back in the states try to do life without even an electric fan in 106 degree heat.

So now as the rain comes, I get so excited because this is a sign to the end of this heat that no one could have prepared me for.

Sili(Pepper) Ice Cream to stay cool

With June also comes with the nearing of my one year anniversary. So I have been looking back and thinking about the things that have been going on in this year of my life here. So this is the list I came up with...

About Philippines

Words can not express how wonderful and hospitable the people are here in the Philippines. I have never met such caring and generous people even when they are going through some really traumatic experiences. And they are always telling me to eat..

Mango/fruit Cocktail Frost

Host family

I am still currently living with my host family and enjoy the support I receive from them outside of work.  It is nice to be able to come home and practice language or just be together.  Even though it would be nice to live on my own, I miss my independence a little, availability of housing prevents me from that.  I do happily accept this though! They have taught me a lot about the foods in my region and showed me a lot more catholic practices. Here's just a few pics of some of the tasty things I get to eat!

Grilled Tilapia

 

Mercedes de Braso

Bicol Express

Planned activities

Next month I am planning a training for the parent leaders in my organization of 4Ps at the DSWD.  The training will help to form a support group for 4Ps member after their 5 year benefits of the program, so that when they graduate from the program they will still have resource people to go to, the parent leaders, if they were having a problem or issue.  

In the mean time my usual tasks at work include co-facilitating Family Development Sessions, team building days for staff of 4Ps, and most recently as scholars orientation for beneficiary children of the program. It's nice to feel like I have my place :)

Lessons learned

In the first year of service I can say that it definitely has been a rollercoaster of emotions.  From going through my first holiday season away from my family to adjusting into my site, especially my job, there have been a lot of ups and downs.  My biggest things I am proud about myself is that I was patient and made it through the hardest part I think.I definitely have learned to be patient.  I wanted to find my niche right away, which was pretty much impossible to do in the beginning.  With time to get to know my community, this is when I can start projects and focusing in on what would be good for my community.