8/30/09
I have done dinners with my children, friends, a wedding, passport renewal, the public library, applying for a Seniors bus pass, surfing the Internet, pacing the floor, looking out windows, Netflix, cycling, recycling, sleeping with a down comforter, watching endless hours of Ted Kennedy's funeral or health care reform babel, driving miles for a bar of soap, read countless back magazine issues on "How to...", and rejected the notion of buying a boat to sail the seven seas. In other words, I have previewed my future.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
First Reflections Upon Arrival
8/28/09
The fog of jet lag clouds my mind about where do I fit after Peace Corps. The way of life I originally had before Peace Corps seems trite compared to the last two years. Already cold winds blow in Minnesota as I try to reacquaint myself with my native culture. What made sense before appears stupid to me now. But this rejection upon returning is not uniquely mine, for I have heard it from other returning Peace Corps and the foreign exchange students who have lived with us. The hardship of fitting into a Samoan lifestyle needs to be repeated one more time.This is not a pleasant time for me and probably for those around me.
What is pleasant is my Samoan health projects have "legs". A Brown University professor who has done similar studies in Samoa wants to talk. Peace Corps Samoa wants to stay in contact as they develop a new program centered on education and health in rural villages. I have no idea where all this may lead, but it is nice to think past efforts may have some sustainability.
In the meantime, I organize the many photos for CDs and prints to be sent back to those people left behind. I look at their faces. I wonder what they are doing. What will happen to them.
The fog of jet lag clouds my mind about where do I fit after Peace Corps. The way of life I originally had before Peace Corps seems trite compared to the last two years. Already cold winds blow in Minnesota as I try to reacquaint myself with my native culture. What made sense before appears stupid to me now. But this rejection upon returning is not uniquely mine, for I have heard it from other returning Peace Corps and the foreign exchange students who have lived with us. The hardship of fitting into a Samoan lifestyle needs to be repeated one more time.This is not a pleasant time for me and probably for those around me.
What is pleasant is my Samoan health projects have "legs". A Brown University professor who has done similar studies in Samoa wants to talk. Peace Corps Samoa wants to stay in contact as they develop a new program centered on education and health in rural villages. I have no idea where all this may lead, but it is nice to think past efforts may have some sustainability.
In the meantime, I organize the many photos for CDs and prints to be sent back to those people left behind. I look at their faces. I wonder what they are doing. What will happen to them.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Welcome Back
8/23/09
On the three legs of my return flights from the Philippines, my whole being begged for someone to ask, to understand, to recognize what an incredible Peace Corps adventure I just experienced. I listened to a Japanese businessman talk about his difficulties in consulting with Americans about advances the rest of the world made made over the past 40 years on nuclear power plant construction. I sat next to numerous travelers absorbed in their own electronic worlds. At the Seattle airport, the immigration officer asked me the routine questions about where I had been and what I was doing. As he stamped my passport for re-entry, he quietly said "Welcome Back". He knew. He had been in a similar situation, maybe as a solider. I almost cried.
On the three legs of my return flights from the Philippines, my whole being begged for someone to ask, to understand, to recognize what an incredible Peace Corps adventure I just experienced. I listened to a Japanese businessman talk about his difficulties in consulting with Americans about advances the rest of the world made made over the past 40 years on nuclear power plant construction. I sat next to numerous travelers absorbed in their own electronic worlds. At the Seattle airport, the immigration officer asked me the routine questions about where I had been and what I was doing. As he stamped my passport for re-entry, he quietly said "Welcome Back". He knew. He had been in a similar situation, maybe as a solider. I almost cried.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Philippines: World's Most Exotic Food
08/14-23/09
They wanted to know if I wanted to eat what "Cuisine Magazine" calls the "World's Most Exotic Food". Of course, I did. It is Bulat.
Bulat is a 10-14 day old fertilized duck egg. Yummy.
They wanted to know if I wanted to eat what "Cuisine Magazine" calls the "World's Most Exotic Food". Of course, I did. It is Bulat.
Bulat is a 10-14 day old fertilized duck egg. Yummy.The Philippines: Fiesta Day 2
08/14-23/09
Day 2, Sunday, is devoted to eating and fun. Hundreds of people fill the streets going house-to-house of relatives, friends, neighbors, or passersby where they enjoy some of the many dishes prepared over the preceding week.
Day 2, Sunday, is devoted to eating and fun. Hundreds of people fill the streets going house-to-house of relatives, friends, neighbors, or passersby where they enjoy some of the many dishes prepared over the preceding week.
Cleaning chickens.
Making spring rolls.
Table set for a king with some mystery foods, others not so mysterious.
Dancing at someone's house.
Nothing like a Colt 45 to liven a party. The Philippines: Fiesta Day 1
08/14-23/09
Each town has a Catholic Church. Each Catholic Church has a patron saint. Each patron saint has a day during which a two-day celebration occurs. Day 1 has a parade of high school drum, glockenspiel, and dance corps; groups of teachers, senior citizens, and civil employees; and the military with live machine guns. There then follows competition between the high school groups on the main plaza. The night has a dance on the plaza where seated at paid tables around the plaza sit the gentry as hundreds of spectators watch the politicians throw money in the air as they dance to the Curcha Mayor. Occasionally the band plays a cha-cha or tango as other couples strut their stuff while fireworks light the night sky. I left at 1:00 am, as the night was just beginning for many.
Each town has a Catholic Church. Each Catholic Church has a patron saint. Each patron saint has a day during which a two-day celebration occurs. Day 1 has a parade of high school drum, glockenspiel, and dance corps; groups of teachers, senior citizens, and civil employees; and the military with live machine guns. There then follows competition between the high school groups on the main plaza. The night has a dance on the plaza where seated at paid tables around the plaza sit the gentry as hundreds of spectators watch the politicians throw money in the air as they dance to the Curcha Mayor. Occasionally the band plays a cha-cha or tango as other couples strut their stuff while fireworks light the night sky. I left at 1:00 am, as the night was just beginning for many.
A high school group lead by Number One, followed by a the main corps.
Marchers do a step with a limp, not an easy way to walk.
Groups stop along the way to perform their numbers. Girls all wear heavy makeup no matter what the age.
A group performing before the judges on the town plaza.
"The White House", Delores City Hall.
The Philippines: Transportation
08/14-23/09
Jeepneys are a uniquely Filipino mode of transportation. Each one decorated differently. They originally were old jeeps converted into buses. Now they are everywhere. You just hop on and keep your head down. These are in Manila.
Jeepney in the town of Delores.
Girl on left is AFS French exchange student. On the right is former AFS student with whose family I stayed.
Three wheeled motorcycles are the next step down. I liken them to bumper cars at an amusement park. There seems to be no limit as to how many people and goods they can carry.
Pedicabs are the cheapest way to get around.
A water taxi
Jeepneys are a uniquely Filipino mode of transportation. Each one decorated differently. They originally were old jeeps converted into buses. Now they are everywhere. You just hop on and keep your head down. These are in Manila.
Jeepney in the town of Delores.Girl on left is AFS French exchange student. On the right is former AFS student with whose family I stayed.
Three wheeled motorcycles are the next step down. I liken them to bumper cars at an amusement park. There seems to be no limit as to how many people and goods they can carry.
Pedicabs are the cheapest way to get around.
A water taxi
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