In The Beginning...
Very similiar to how a single conversation can be so uplifting I am surprised by exactly how excited I can get at the sight of tofu and spices. Today for breakfast I had something called “Congee” which is essentially rice pudding/soup with a few blocks of tofu, some ginger, garlic & green onions mixed in. It’s the 1st time I felt totally satisfied with a meal. I’m currently still eating vegetarian. From talking to another volunteer, Michael, who has been in the Philippines with the Peace Corps before, it is possible if difficult to remain vegetarian here. I still wonder if I really want to make that a priority or not. I lean towards no, but for the time being its definitely possible.
The flight was exactly what can be expected for such endeavors. Door to door it took us a touch over 24 hours to make it to our beds. We had a quick layover outside Tokyo but other than that it was mostly spent on a plane. Exciting, I can assure you. We are staying at an “Island Resort and Leisure Park” outside of Manila. I suppose it’s a nice way of beginning to adjust to the new culture but its definitely mitigates the feeling of actually being in country. All of our training sessions are in the compound and I’ve only managed to venture out twice now by Jeepney to the mall for some email access. Jeepneys are pretty cool though. They are old US military vehicles that have turned into the main form of public transportation here and are all decked out in individual style with bright colors and pictures. It reminded me quite a bit of the buses from Acapulco if you are familiar with them. We will be staying here through Sunday as a large group getting the overall orientation to PCP. Its nice to start digging in, but once again part of me is definitely excited to move on. Next we break down into four groups and start our Community Based Training. CBT is centered around four Hub Sites where we will meet for a few days every 7-10 days as a group for some technical training and other sessions. The rest of the time we are in small Clusters of 3-5 volunteers and our Language and Culture Facilitator in Home Stays in small communities around the Hub Site. Here is where we get to truly dig into what our life will be like for the next two years.
I had my cite placement interview with Joe today. Joe is the Host Country National who is overall in charge of my program. He interview was short and sweet mainly dealing with my technical skills (can you do plumbing? Have you mixed concrete?), how remote of a location I would like (very remote!) and my ability to handle alcohol and peer pressure to drink. I felt that it went well and I get the impression that I’ll probably be dealing first hand with the male gin drinking circles that are mentioned in much of the literature as social gatherings. It was definitely a very short interview but I’m not all that worried about where I am placed. It was a good first meeting with Joe and I look forward to working with him more in the future. He also told me, because all of the Wat/San people will be there, that our Hub Site will be in Northern Luzon, in the mountains! That also pegs my language as Ilokono. From talking to the few volunteers who are just completing their service and are helping out it sounds like a great place with a lot of indigenous culture still intacted. I am definitely excited. The only concern I voiced to Joe was my age, specifically how young I look. Joe’s response was that I look very mature for my age which was a nice compliment and helped a little on that front. (Re-enforced by the fellow volunteer who thought I was 24-25!!) I fell great so far and nothing but good things to come.
The flight was exactly what can be expected for such endeavors. Door to door it took us a touch over 24 hours to make it to our beds. We had a quick layover outside Tokyo but other than that it was mostly spent on a plane. Exciting, I can assure you. We are staying at an “Island Resort and Leisure Park” outside of Manila. I suppose it’s a nice way of beginning to adjust to the new culture but its definitely mitigates the feeling of actually being in country. All of our training sessions are in the compound and I’ve only managed to venture out twice now by Jeepney to the mall for some email access. Jeepneys are pretty cool though. They are old US military vehicles that have turned into the main form of public transportation here and are all decked out in individual style with bright colors and pictures. It reminded me quite a bit of the buses from Acapulco if you are familiar with them. We will be staying here through Sunday as a large group getting the overall orientation to PCP. Its nice to start digging in, but once again part of me is definitely excited to move on. Next we break down into four groups and start our Community Based Training. CBT is centered around four Hub Sites where we will meet for a few days every 7-10 days as a group for some technical training and other sessions. The rest of the time we are in small Clusters of 3-5 volunteers and our Language and Culture Facilitator in Home Stays in small communities around the Hub Site. Here is where we get to truly dig into what our life will be like for the next two years.
I had my cite placement interview with Joe today. Joe is the Host Country National who is overall in charge of my program. He interview was short and sweet mainly dealing with my technical skills (can you do plumbing? Have you mixed concrete?), how remote of a location I would like (very remote!) and my ability to handle alcohol and peer pressure to drink. I felt that it went well and I get the impression that I’ll probably be dealing first hand with the male gin drinking circles that are mentioned in much of the literature as social gatherings. It was definitely a very short interview but I’m not all that worried about where I am placed. It was a good first meeting with Joe and I look forward to working with him more in the future. He also told me, because all of the Wat/San people will be there, that our Hub Site will be in Northern Luzon, in the mountains! That also pegs my language as Ilokono. From talking to the few volunteers who are just completing their service and are helping out it sounds like a great place with a lot of indigenous culture still intacted. I am definitely excited. The only concern I voiced to Joe was my age, specifically how young I look. Joe’s response was that I look very mature for my age which was a nice compliment and helped a little on that front. (Re-enforced by the fellow volunteer who thought I was 24-25!!) I fell great so far and nothing but good things to come.
posted by george at 10:11 AM
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