Life

Hi everyone! Haven't writte on this for a long time i know. its hard cos when i go to the computer lab i always feel rushed and its hard to get things flowing.
Life is going well here. I am having my ups and downs. The good thing is that I absolutely have the best host family. My two siblings that are at the house are great. Bimbol is 13 i think. He is really funny. And Mae is still in college - 18 - doing nursing and she comes home on the weekends. Usually we hang out on the weekends the three of us with their cousin gay - 26. Last week we had a birthday party on wednesday for a two year old cousin. Saturday was the birthday of my host mom - 50 so i invited jill and adam to stay the weekend with me. This is the third weekend jill has come. she loves them too! they are always asking me to have people over and my house is turning into the meeting/hang out spot. V cool.
work is still hard. i am still working out the kinks. its hard to focus on my job. sometimes i feel like ive wasted so much time with nothing to show for it....its a slow process.
We are getting some help from the municipal governement tho. I made a request letter for supplies and funds and sent it to the mayor and the barangay capitans. Last wednesday i went to the governors bday party - big community event in lagawe and our language trainer paul works for him. The mayor was there and said he would help us. What a relief to have his support. i dont know how long it will take to get the supplies but its a start. after we talked he came back later and asked me to dance. we danced in the middle of the whole group of people to some random karaoke song. imagine a big picnic area, cemented clearing, people seated around, food tables, and open in the middle for people to dance, but it was too hot so it was mostly us. it was hilarious.....
hmmmm what else.......ive talked with a lot of you on the phone. thats been so great. id like to keep in touch because then the conversations we have are more than just what ive been doing...and there isnt so much catching up to do. i just talked with mom on saturday and she wanted me to put in some things here about the culture....hard to get started but ill try.
first of all, my routine, every day i get up around 530 - hard to sleep any later and i am trying to get in the habit of walking or running in the morning. my school is directly across the street so i dont get much exercise. i eat with my mom and host brother...usually a fried egg, meat, rice, sometimes fried banana or fruit. ive snuck in my secret stash of oatmeal on occasion and sometimes there is bread and jam. then i take my "shower' bucket and dipper bath, get ready, and go to the school. they have a flag ceremony every morning at 730. all the teachers and kids go out to the field and they raise the flag, sing the anthem, and a pledge. then back to our class. my class is in a small building with open windows - two rooms in the building - ours and the principals office. the kids have been coming around 8 and leave after merienda at 1015. then i usually fiddle around and go home for lunch at 1115. Bimbol comes home for lunch and we usually eat together. the mom eats in shifts cos she has to watch the shop. sometimes i go back in the afternoon. on mondays i started language lessons. i found a tutor and its at the college where there is internet :). in the evening i just hang out, chat with family at the store, hide out in my room to journal, read, text my friends, whatever. we eat around 8 - pretty late cos by the time im done im ready to shower again and go to bed. thats about it, with some variation. pretty basic. not all that different from what i was doing in the states except different setting.
a note about the culture....sorry this entry isnt that fluid.....ive been thinking lately about my own patriotism and what it means to be american. and i was telling mom that i am more patriotic now that i have come here because i really see the great things america has to offer and the values we have. before when ive studied abroad i was almost embarassed to be called american but coming here i realize that it is much of who i am. and we really do have great values at the foundation of our country. its an amazing thing. sad that those values arent being represented by our government, but what the majority of people stand for is great. on the other side, the filipino culture is an amazing thing. the people here are so hospitable. ive never seen anything like it. they would feed the whole block if they had the food and they were hungry. they take care of their own, always looking out for their family and friends. they invite in strangers to their homes and feed them. they always take the time for people. they dont rush meetings or gatherings. they put people before work. if you are invited to sit, you sit down, and most of the time you will be offered a snack or a meal. im just amazed at all of this. whats most remarkable to me is that i have a family that has accepted me as their own for the next two years. they feed me well, the mom buys me things at the market, they just got me a new fan to save me space in my room, they worry about my safety, and make sure i always have company. they didnt know me before and they didnt really know the peace corps. they just opened their home to me because they new i needed a place to stay. and they opened their lives to me. i am going to be spending 2 years with them, watching family members grow up, change. i see it as a risk they are taking. opening their lives to me just to have me leave in two years and maybe never see them again. i feel very lucky and greatly appreciative for the chance to be part of this.
okay, i hope i am making sense. ive never been eloquent but i hope this gives you all an idea of what its like here.
i miss you all everyday. some days are good. the days i am tired and its hot i get a little down and homesick. and its hard work too. but i didnt do this cos i thought it would be easy!!
i love the calls - and emails too! love you all!
eva