Lucky ducks and unlucky ducks

Every Monday, we gather here in front of the Philippine flag and we do five things:
1) We pray to our Lord

2) We sing the National Anthem
3) We raise the Philippine Flag
4) We recite the pledge of office
5) We have kind words spoken to begin our week

Each administrative office lines up in single file as a team.  You can see that in the pics.  Today, was a special day!  For one, a Catholic mass immediately followed the flag raising (this happens on the first Monday of every month).  Second, the Mayor was in attendance and he stood to announce that Year End Performance Based Bonuses were on their way for all permanent employees!  Cheers went up in the crowd (not caught on video).  While good news for some, others appeared sad....  remember that there is a cadre of 'employee' here who loyally come to work daily but who don't get paid.  They are the "contract" employees (vs. the permanent employee).  For them, the money ran out at the end of August.  So, they stay on... with no better options...  knowing that in January there will be a new budget.   And so it goes....

and this just in....

Here's some news I bet hasn't made it to your shores...

Brisbane, Australia got smashed with a surprise rogue storm yesterday that has caused hundreds of mllions of dollars in damages.  Winds over 90mi/hr have left nearly 100,000 without power.  Massive hail falling from the sky causing extensive damage....

Also in Australia... earlier this week a professional cricketeer was actually KILLED on the pitch by a ball!  Cricket is a rugged sport you know... In cricket, the pitcher (called a baller) is allowed to hit the batter.  Its a part of the game.  So, the baller threw at the batters head... the ball came smashing into his neck and the man died on the spot!  Australians are mourning the world over!

In other news... guess who is going to Caramoan next week?  I just got notice from our Administrator that there is a disaster conference in Caramoan and Carlos and I are to attend!  How exciting!  Caramoan is about 2 hours away by bus or boat and is wonderfully remote and wild.  In fact, two US and at least 2 French versions of the show Survivor have been shot on location there.  I have been dying to go.. and now I will be going for free, courtesy of Lagonoy!!!  Of course, we might just have to stay an extra night so we can get some island hopping in the itinerary! Looks like we will be leaving on Wednesday, conference Thurs thru mid day Saturday, stay over Saturday night and back to Lagonoy on Sunday

heres a link that explains why I am so excited:  www.caramoan.ph

Yipp!

not quite the homestretch

I'm not much of a TV guy back home.  I mean, I watch TV - but mostly just channel surf.  I haven't dug into any good TV programming in years.  Well, anywhere you go here in the Philippines it is easy to come across merchants who sell bootleg movies and TV programs.  They sell this stuff for a song.  So, I gave it a whirl.. I bought the entire first seasons of both  "Game of Thrones" and "House of Cards" for about $2.25.  I've enjoyed both so much that I went and found Season 2 of each show.  Good entertainment on those nights that I have no access to the internet.  Recommended, if you haven't given them a watch...

Well, as you might imagine, I've been feeling rather solitary here, given that my loved ones are gathering today in Thanksgiving.  Last night, I ate by candlelight like I do every night.  I cooked a chicken breast, coated with coconut.  Corn on the side with rice.  Mango, pineapple, coconut and banana salad for dessert.  In bed by 8.  30 days to Palawan, 72 days to Close of Service (COS), and 74 sleeps until I meet up with Jean in Bangkok!

I guess you could say that I've rounded the bend in this adventure.  I figure Ive completed as much work as Im going to do on the Municipal Disaster Plan and am well into developing a template for a local Barangay Disaster Plan.  Whatever the powers that be want to do with these documents is really beyond my concern.  Even if I were to leave tomorrow, I feel that I have successfully executed the tasks that I have been assigned.

At least two fellow PCRVs who I started with in August are COSing early - a surprise since the duration of the service is so short.  Ive spoken with both and like me, they feel that they've completed everything that they were assigned to do... so why stay?  I was actually given to option of an early COS (in January instead of Feb) by the Peace Corps admin whenever I was having administrative trouble with my vacation plans, but I declined.   I just felt that an early COS did not represent me, or the Peace Corps, in a good light - especially given the fact that Im often asked to stay on longer.  I know there is great potential for another PC assignment here, but in typical fashion, the wheels are spinning very slowly toward that end.  

Oh... everything is back to normal with Katherine, in case you were wondering.  Its as if nothing ever happened.  Too bad about that pendant... she'll probably never wear it and it was a nice one!  Oh well.  I'll just make another one when I get back home.  I do miss my torch time!

Hope you are all enjoying your day!  Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for your continued interest in my experiences...

A faux pas

It's 5:11am and Ive been up since 1.

I mentioned that the woman who owns my property is in Manila.  Well, she has a small army of (what can only be called) servants and whoever was supposed to take care of the dog (yeah, that dog) apparently forgot to untie him because he is outside my window wailing in the rain.  He's been out there crying for hours.  There's nothing I can do to help the dog and the rain is just coming down!  

So, we've got the dog barking and the rain falling hard on my tin roof.  Oh, and it is pretty obvious that someone down the street was lucky enough to get their Christmas present a month early!  Yep, the Videoke machine has been in full swing for the past two nights - all night long.  I just heard a pretty bad version of Mandy, by Barry Manilow!  How could anyone sleep through this?  And, of course, since it's past 5a the roosters are doing their thing so there is no chance of slumber now...

About my faux pas...  two days ago in the mayor's office a few folks were joking around with Katherine, one of the gals who works there.  Everyone kept wishing her "Happy Birthday", and then everyone would laugh.  Not sure what the joke was about, but of course, I wanted to get in on the fun, so at some point, I say, "Happy Birthday!" and she tells me that actually her birthday is on December 26.  She went on to say that she would be happy to receive a gift from me, however!  Ok.. so yesterday, I arrive at work and Katherine comes right up to me and jokes, "So, where's my present?!"  Well, I thought we were all joking, but (as it turns out) I have been looking for an excuse to give someone one of the glass pendants that I made.  I packed around 10 of them in the hopes of passing them out.  So, I tell her to wait a few minutes and I ran back to my abode to fetch a pendant.

Well, I get back to the office and proudly give Katherine my pendant - "For your Birthday, a month early!  And I made it myself!"  Well, I think Katherine took it the wrong way... I'm not sure... but I think she took it as some sign of affection and she immediately looked embarrassed and clammed up for the rest of the day.  I asked her if she liked my gift and all she would say was, "Im too busy right now to look at it".  Odd behavior, particularly since she ASKED for a gift!  I suppose she didnt really expect to get anything... or else jewelry is some kind of taboo gift, reserved for those in love???  Or perhaps its because I gave her something I had made?  I have no idea.  Sometimes culture is so confusing.  Anyway, I hope today is better and we can get this past us because I DO like Katherine.. but of course, not in any kind of romantic way.  So, I guess I get to bring the rest of my pendants back home with me, because Im  not going through THAT again!!!

See thats the thing about being an americano male over here... it creates strange relationships with the other gender.  I somehow think, at least from this perspective, its easier to assimilate being an american female here, than a male.  The fact is, many american men come to the Philippines to find a wife.  It's more than cliche'. You don't see it as much the other way around.  That is, you don't see many american females marrying filipino men. Everyone here understands this and it is accepted.   I never anticipated it being a problem even though the issue was mentioned in PC training back in Manila.  Frustrating!

Anyway...    I wanted to clear something up... I am not writing a "book" book.  I am merely collecting these posts and assembling them into a journal along with some nice photos Ive been lucky enough to capture.  I think it will make a nice keepsake! 

A Break In!

So, I think in an earlier post I noted that the light in my bathroom hasn't gone completely off in weeks.  Well, yesterday things got worse.  The way it was, when the switch was off, there remained a soft glow.  When the switch was on - full light.  Now, when the switch is on, I hear a crackle and smell burning wire....  Not good.  Worse, the woman who owns the place is off to Manila for who knows how long.  I told someone about it in the mayors office so hopefully I can get the switch replaced today.

Yesterday was an odd day overall.  I definitely wasn't feeling myself and then I came home to the strangest thing...  The dog (a lucky dog) who lives next door and who barks incessantly all day long somehow found a way into the "outside" part of my domain.  The area is completely enclosed by a bamboo fence, the gate padlocked and I have no idea how it could have happened.... unless, someone had a key and let him in. A bit unnerving.  When I got through the gate, he looked plenty scared before I coaxed him out into the street.  Of course, the dog had been there awhile and I found a big pool of pee right where I cook.  Of course, its a porous concrete floor so I needed to splash buckets and buckets of water over the area, then get down on hands and knees and scrub scrub scrub until the smell went away.  Very strange, but I am reminded more than ever to keep the locks closed to my area... for whatever good that will do!

In other news, it has been raining all week.  Not constant rain, but off and on strong showers that do their best to keep me grounded.  I haven't been to Goa in about 5 days which, on the plus side, curtails my spending.  On the downside, I find myself being as bored as ever a lot of the time away from work.  I've begun planning for my trip to Palawan.  Given my travel style, I like to keep my options open, but I felt as if it would be prudent to book a room in advance for at least part of my stay there.  Looking carefully at the map, the "Lonely Planet" travel guide, and the calendar, Ive got a pretty good itinerary that should place me in el Nido on New Years Eve until 1/2.  So I booked what looks to be an inexpensive (<$30/night), safe and clean place that is on the beach.  Definitely looking forward to that adventure!

Christmas is coming...

There is a joke here in the Philippines that Christmas starts an the end of August. Well,, I am a certain witness to that!  Today is November 24 - one month until Christmas Eve and while decorations have been up in the mayors office for months and Christmas songs (traditional american and filipino both) play over the internet all day every day... I came to work today to realize that these gestures were just preliminary to the big show... they are pulling out the big guns today!   There are lights everywhere in the lobby and I am excited to see how the whole thing ends up.

Actually, the whole Xmas thing bothers me much less here than it does back home.  Because here... it seems to be done in the spirit of true celebration, without all the commercialism and pressure to buy buy buy.  You don't see Santa Claus here a whole lot.   In the packing I did before I left, I included a few gifts for the friends who I knew I would meet here.  I had initially planned on passing them out early, as a sort of gesture.  But, I have resisted until I could determine how to best use them.  I mean, they are little things... a childs dress, a tshirt, playing cards, crayons and coloring book, that sort of stuff.  I even carried across two plates decorated with popular american sayings like "home is where the heart is".  I want pass these out to the people (mostly children) whom have become the most friendly to me.  But there are so many here in that category... I now have another dilemma....   how to give to some, and not to all. All told I think I have about 7 gifts... so, I need to save a few pesos and do a little Christmas shopping!   I mean, thats half the number of children alone who acknowledge me daily, with their smiles and giggles and high fives and "hey americano!" comments.  Then there's adults I have gotten to know who I feel the need to share gifts at this time of year.   The budget squeezed quite tight right now!

Speaking of budget, since Ive been talking to a few PCVs and RCRVs lately, Ive come to understand that quite a few frequently supplement their PC budget as they feel the need.  Truth be told, I have done this as well:  All airplane tickets and hotel purchases since my arrival have been paid for with either US money I brought with me, or put on credit.   Beyond that, I use willpower to not exceed my PC allowance.  Some of this is stubbornness on my part, but most of it is because I know my lovely wife is having her own PC experience in Ahwatukee, AZ, living as she does on such a extremely tight budget!

Oh... I have a correction to make:  In a previous post I described my experience eating balut with Steve Balut... but I made a mistake! Balut is not a chicken, but a duck!  So, I ate a partially formed duck out of its egg! Had to make that clear!

making history

Ok.. so Steve has convinced me that I should make a book of my experience here.  What consumes my time now is creating this book - and you would be surprised at how easy it is these days, thanks to technology!  So far, it looks to be over 100 pages.. perhaps approaching 200, we shall see.

Anyway, today was marked by my travels to Goa, where I sang Kareoke over the radio to the citizens of Cam Sur.   Poor them!  This time, I chose '3 Little Birds' by Bob Marley.. I mean, we all need to recall sometimes that, " every little thing, is going to be alright!"  Especially given the sour mood of the US  government at this time...

The US government as a whole is acting poorly.   Without casting blame, can we get together and unite so that we can once again act as a guiding force toward the progress of humanity?  Right now, I see that we stand as an embarrassment on the world stage.   I want to cast blame for this situation aside so that we can reconcile these differences and begin to accomplish growth, safety and development throughout the world.  Is there anyone out there who appreciates this?

For example, the arguments of immigration reform have been going on for decades.  If you care to do the research you will recognize that the positions advanced by the current administration mirror the positions advanced by the Bush administration.  Don't take my conclusion... research it for yourself.  But be sure to research it in a way that ensures a fair and unbiased assessment.  That means, I am afraid, looking at both sides of the argument... and coming up with conclusions all on your own.  Frightening, for some, I am sure.