My New Home

Dear Rylan,
     I am living with my host family in Mabayuan outside of Olongapo City. My pasalubong (gifts for the family) went over well.  (The fish that grow bigger in water finally expanded beyond reason, and Ia has been carrying the little tank around with her for two days waiting for the result!) There are many of them, but I think you would like Ia best.  She reminds me a lot of you.  She, too, is a princess.  But she's very shy around me, even though I hear from others that she is very excited to have Tita Mags (Aunt Mags) here.
     I live on Nieves Street with Tess Atayan.  Her brother Boyett lives here with his children. Ariel is the oldest--15 and very wise for her years.  Rinz (I don't know how to spell the names, so if they see this, I hope they'll just laugh at my stupidity, which happens often around here anyway!) is 14 and loves video games.  He is also quite the comedian.  Iza is the youngest--around 12 or so, I think.  Iza is shy, too.  Overseeing everyone's lives is Mama Nitz.  She is the matriarch of the family and does the cooking.  She also runs a Sari Sari store, which is a room with a few items in it that people in the neighborhood can come over and purchase so they won't have to go into town.  Sari Sari stores are everywhere here.
     Yesterday the rains were very heavy.  The Philippines can get 20+ typhoons a year (hurricanes, we call them).  My PC cluster mates and I traveled with our language and culture trainers to the palengke (market), which is an open-air bazaar where almost anything can be purchased.  There are lots of vendors, selling everything from fresh fish to vegetables and fruits (I saw a rambuton, and I might try one later when I have some time to visit the palengke without being rushed.) to rainboots, which is what we all needed to purchase.
     Olongapo is the city near this neighborhood.  It's only about a ten-minute Jeepney ride, and the fare is 7 pesos each way.  Many people cram onto the Jeepney, and when you give your fare to the driver, you say, "Bayad po."  If you are passing someone else's fare up to the front, you say, "Bayah do" (I think).  In Olongapo, the streets are very crowded.  There are many, many shops and stores and vendors, and the hubbub reminds me of a busy American city.
     Ariel is determined to teach me Tagalog.  She and Tess instruct me often, but I am so dense!  I am trying.  Yesterday I made it a point to greet a few people with "Mangandang umaga po" (Good morning) and even asked a few people "Anong pangalan po?" (What is your name?) and told them "Ako po si Margaret" (My name is Margaret.).  "Kain tayo" means "let's eat," and Filipinos love to eat--often.  I know how to say "Pass the ___": "Pakit abot ___." And "masarap" means "very delicious." I am much indebted to this family for putting up with me, and I have to often tell them "Maraming salamat po," which means "Thank you very much."  "Walang anuman" means "you're welcome."
     My cluster classes begin in earnest tomorrow.  At 7 a.m.  Which is fine because I can't sleep late here anyway.  At night, the war of the barking dogs is being waged, and in the morning, the war of the crowing roosters takes over.  In between, I get a little sleep.
     I hope I will get to explore the outside world a little more sooner rather than later. Ariel has informed me that I can take the red Jeepney to the Gate, which is what the entry to the old naval base here is called, and inside I can take a free shuttle to the Royal, a market that has American goods.  Many Americans still live in the Subic Bay area, and I saw many of "my kind" when we stopped at the Royal on the way to the neighborhood.  Ariel also tells me about Seafront, which I assume is a waterfront area, with shops and restaurants.  It's where she and her friends like to hang out.  Maybe my friends and I will hang out there--if we are ever allowed to leave the neighborhood.  The Peace Corps is very strict about our traveling.  We cannot travel alone (except within a two-block area from our host home), and we must report to our trainer if we ever go anywhere other than just the main street, which is one block from my house.  I must go up to the laundry today. I left my clothes there and paid to have someone else wash them because I had too many to wash by hand.  I must wash my own clothes from now on, though. I am, after all, only a poor Peace Corps volunteer.
     I think the most challenging thing for me has been the bathroom situation.  Here in the Philippines, locals don't use toilet paper.  Instead, they use a bucket and dipper to wash off after they do their business.  We foreigners are taught to keep TP with us at all times, along with a little plastic bag because the TP can't be flushed.  Most host families also take bucket baths.  No hot water.  Yesterday, I took two bucket baths because I got so hot during the day.
     We are told in PC not to drink the local water.  Our host families are supposed to provide mineral water or filtered water.  However, my first day here, I became thirsty and asked Mama Nitz for some water.  Apparently, I drank the local tubiq.  I wasn't terribly ill afterward, but I did feel a little seasick!  Tess panicked, and then we laughed.  She also thought it was funny when I flushed the commode with the water from the bucket.  We had been led to believe that this was the way things were done.  Seems their commode flushes, and Tess had a good laugh at my expense with that one!
     Rylan, it is very hard to learn to live in a new culture.  Things are very different here; however, things are also very much the same.  EVERYONE here has a cell phone, and the terms pasa load and e-load are clearly understood by everyone.  Filipinos are also very connected with surrounding countries.  People here seem to be multi-lingual--English, Tagalog, Korean, Japanese, Chinese.  They jump from one to the other without blinking.  I am having a hard time remembering that baso is the Tagalog word for glass.
     Time is different here, too.  Everything goes very slowly.  I am sure there are only 24 hours in a day here, too, but I feel as if an hour takes 5 hours of American time.  I am not used to this slow pace of life, and so I feel very overwhelmed with the mind-numbing nothingness that is my life. Maybe once our training begins, I will be busy and feel useful again.
     Of course, seeing you and your mommy and daddy on Skype today helped to lift my spirits.  I know that I could not do this if I could not stay connected with you back home.  Mumma loves and misses you and everyone else very much.  Hugs and kisses to all.
    

AND SO IT BEGINS

Dear Rylan,
     I am here in the Philippines on this crazy adventure for the Peace Corps.  I miss you very much, but I do think I can be back when you are 5, as you have requested.  Two more birthdays for you and I should be on my way.  Meanwhile, continue to check my mail and take care of my house.
     I am so glad we live in the age of Skype.  Seeing your ballet dance and hearing you sing the other night was a real treat for this grandmother!  You are a sweet, beautiful child, and I am so proud of you.
     I know you're too young yet to understand, but someday you may want to look back at what my life was like in the Peace Corps.  My own parents had many experiences they never shared with me, and I don't want to let the moment pass without sharing along the way.  Even after one week, so much has happened that I am beginning to forget some things, so be patient with me as I work on telling the tale.
     As you know, I flew out of Bham on August 19.  Remember?  You and your daddy and mommy and Uncle Caleb had dinner with me and then your daddy took me to the hotel near the airport so I could be sure to make the flight.  We jumped on the beds and I spun you in the chair and we laughed and had a blast!  But then, you all had to leave.
     I flew to Philly for a one-day meeting and became a Peace Corps trainee!  Then the other trainees and I began the long trek to Manila.  Of course, as those who know me can attest, my life never goes down the ordinary path, so it is no surprise what happened next.
     In Japan, where we were to change planes, we learned that one of the trainees had gotten sick on the flight.  As no one from PC was with our group of 80, someone had to stay with her overnight in Japan.  I volunteered because I knew that she and I were close in age, and I figured I could offer more support since I am also experienced in the mother/grandmother/teacher/chaperon department. We spent quite a bit of time being shuttled from pillar to post at the Tokyo/Narita airport. Our last stop before going to the hotel?  Quarantine!  Good thing she wasn't contagious since we'd been in almost every section of the airport by that point. So, we spent the night in Japan, where I learned that it is possible to be politely rude, and that the dollar's value is inferior to the yen.  When we reached Manila, of course, we were behind one day in orientation, and we have been playing catch up ever since.
     Here are a few things I want to tell you about the week:
1.  the food has been great, but rice for breakfast is a little odd
2.  I haven't felt warm water on my skin since I left Japan, but I have learned that blow drying my body after a cold morning shower can be quite invigorating
3.  Manila Bay is pretty nasty, but putting on a life vest, jumping out of a pump boat, and pretending to drown/rescue each other was pretty fun
4.  Filipinos LOVE videoke, we have been told, so some of us participated in a little of it at the water safety training site, and I am pleased to report that I led the group in "Sweet Home Alabama," which is a great song and was your daddy's "batter up" song in college
5.  we all must take anti-malarial drugs once per week the whole time we're here (we affectionately call this Malaria Monday)
6.  I got to ride in a Jeepney and visit a local mall.  Man!  The Filipinos love their malls.  This place was in a pretty chaotic, dirty little town, but inside (after we passed through mall security, mind you) we found a plethora of stores covering 4 floors.  Pretty snazzy.
7.  I learned today that I, along with some very nice new friends of mine, will be learning Tagalog in Olangapo, where I will also be preparing to teach at the college level.

Ry, I want you to know that others say what I am doing is admirable and noble, but I cannot lie to you.  This decision has been one of the most selfish I have ever made.  I am getting to travel, meet people, learn a new language, challenge myself, and do it all in one of the most beautiful (and disaster-prone, too) countries in the world, a country where I will never have to deal with snow and cold and ice storms.  So honestly, I think I have been blessed all along the way with everything that has happened to me since I decided to join the Peace Corps.

I love you and everyone else back at home.  I will continue to write to you, and I will certainly be looking for you on Skype, sweetie.

Love,
Mumma