October

So here I go again…..It’s October now….I have just about 8 months left of my service. Funny how every blog starts with my count down but I can’t seem to help it. The idea of this finally being over is so appealing. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying myself and working really hard. It’s just that I can’t wait to have freedom to choose what I want to do, where I want to go, and what work I want to pursue. Let alone, being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want – and be able to hang out with my friends….I’d better stop before I get too excited.
Anyways, the past month was packed and went by so fast that I can’t believe it’s only been a few weeks and so much has happened. Last week in Baguio, I was talking to a friend about our remaining 8 months. As I’ve said before, we tend to spend a lot of our mental energy on planning our future…whether it ‘s trips during our service, projects we’d like to finish here, going home, our future life – job, house, location, etc. The thing is, is that so much can happen in 8 months. In the past eight months I’ve had stitches, visited the US, my best friend had a baby, I became single, I decided to pursue a nursing degree, started a library program, conducted a youth camp, and started teaching English. I know 8 months ago I was planning how things would go for the rest of my service and the reality is far from what I had imagined. The point I am getting at is that we spend so much time planning things that are going to change anyways, and things that are out of our control. So lately, when I start going control freak on myself trying to organize my life and figure things out, I remind myself to relax and just enjoy myself, focus on the journey. I gotta say I’m not quite to that point but I’m working on living more in the present. Another part to “living in the present” is to quit thinking I’m missing out on things. I think a lot about what other volunteers are doing and I get jealous if they are out having fun and I’m just hanging out at site. It really is quite ridiculous that I do that - I should be making my own adventures and be thinking about what I am doing in my life. And seriously, if I am so concerned about what other people are doing then I am not doing a very good job at fulfilling myself and Id better do something to change that.
One more thing, mom you might find this funny, but I have this relationship here with my host mom that is somewhat love/hate. It’s hard to describe but I’m gonna try. I really do care a lot about her. She takes care of me, offers to wash my clothes, cleans my room when I am away, tries to cook foods that I like, asks me about work and my problems, etc. In general, she treats me like I am a spoiled 14 year old. I get fed on a regular schedule, I don’t have household chores, and if she buys something that she knows I like, she will make it off limits to everyone else. The conflict comes from my need for independence and the need to make decisions on my own. I feel like I am back in that pre adolescent stage again – trying to push my boundaries. It has been ongoing since I’ve been here but I noticed more recently that I can have quite an attitude towards my Mama Z. I get frustrated, avoid conversation with her, and don’t explain things when she doesn’t quite understand. I have a tendency to walk around with an attitude of indifference, I don’t joke with her - she can drive me nuts. This woman is amazing and we are close, but sometimes…..the attitude comes from my side alone – she definitely never shows that she is stressed out by me (which I am sure she is a lot of the time). What I am trying to do now is just relax, be more like myself and joke around with her and stop this tension.
So you might be wondering what I’ve been up to…..two weeks ago Jill, Dustin, John, and I had a youth camp in a far barangay in Kiangan (Jill’s site). We prepared for it for a couple of weeks and got together once at my house and then again in Kiangan. The camp location itself was 1 ½ hours hike from the road, all along the rice terraces and a river. It wasn’t a difficult hike but it was long and we had to carry all of our gear with us. Of course we stopped to rest along the way and were not without complaints….then we realized that all the locals do it every time they want to go any place. If they go to the market, they hike out and hike back in carrying all of their food. I can’t imagine what they do when they buy things like furniture.
The camp was great. It lasted for two days and two nights. We had 42 participants ages 12-18. We had sessions covering environmental awareness, composting, nutrition and exercise, HIV/AIDS, peer pressure, leadership, business, journal writing, meditation, and character building. The kids seemed to love it. We did a condom demonstration and had a question box for the HIV/AIDS/Relationships session. On the second night, we went into their room and let them ask us questions about our lives and living in the US. It was a really rewarding experience. It only took us 3 weeks to plan, organize, and implement it. It was so great to have a project be completed that quickly and we were able to see the result of it. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and we learned a lot about teaching youth and organizing small events like this. I am going to try and echo it here in Lamut. I just need to find an organization willing to give us a budget.
Oh, and on Saturday our regional manager came out to see us at the camp. He hiked the whole way after spending the night in the car with the PC driver after they were stopped by a mudslide along the way. Still, without sleep or anything substantial to eat, they hiked the 1 ½ hours in the rain and then back again the same day. It was our RMs first time in Ifugao and first time to see the rice terraces. I am sure he got more than he planned but definitely enjoyed the adventure.
After the camp, I headed to Baguio to visit 2 SPED centers with my principal and counterpart. I went ahead on Monday because I wanted to hang out for awhile with some friends and get some errands done. They followed me on Tuesday night. I spent the week shopping, getting my fill of great food, and hanging out with other volunteers. I had a really good time just relaxing and talking with some people I hadn’t seen in awhile. The town was a bit depressing – it rained all week and I always tend to feel lonely in big cities – so many people and no one to talk to! But I was busy most of the time – Baguio area has 8 PC volunteers! I also met some Australia volunteers and hung out with them all week. One night I headed with some friends to another volunteer’s site for a homemade Mexican dinner and watched a band afterwards. When Madam Cora and Liza came, we went to the SPED classes in the mornings and in the afternoons we hung out at the mall, eating ice cream, window shopping, and going to the cinema. We enjoyed ourselves and it was fun spending time together outside of the classroom. I am not sure how much this visit is going to change the way our classroom is run, but at least I tried.
Friday I went back to Saytan and had a long lunch with Nanang. It was nice being back. I hadn’t visited since last February –the same weekend that I fainted and was stitched up. I didn’t feel like I was gone at all that long. It felt just like home. I saw all my old friends and even visited with my old host mom, Mercy. Jill came that night and after singing videoke, eating bar food (this time chicken feet and blood blocks) we went and picked her up at the bus stop. Saturday we had plans to go to the beach and collect mussels but there was a typhoon and it was raining all day. Nonetheless, we cooked all morning and instead headed to a swimming pool resort. Only in the Philippines would we pay to go swim in the rain. It was fun still – we had a feast and were set up in our own nipa hut equipped with our own videoke machine.
Saturday night I headed back to Baguio and went to a small party at my Aussie friend’s house. We watched the Australian/Canada rugby match and went out later for some drinks. Sunday Jill and I ran around town finishing up shopping and errands. We met friends for dinner and then headed back on the bus for Ifugao.
Now I’m catching up on sleep and making up for being gone a week.
Overall, I’ve been feeling pretty good. Holly had a birthday last week - 25 – and some of you might laugh but I had a moment where I felt a little old – so long college party days and being irresponsible – not like I’m living that life here – and we all know Holly definitely isn’t but still….. And I think I’m getting wrinkles here! Aaaahhhhh! The suns and stress is turning me into an old woman. Any one want to send me some face cream J ?
Plans for this month? I’m starting a pen pal program. I was connected with a teacher back in Colorado. I plan to start this week. The library project is going so well and without much of my help. We are in the middle of fundraising – the principal’s office is full of old clothes for sale and we have donation canisters all over town. I submitted my first grant proposal last week and just found out yesterday that it’s been approved!!!! All that hard work paid off! And the best part is that I am in charge of the grant money so I get to make all the purchases and make sure nothing is wasted or goes into someone’s pocket.
I’ve been trying to cook up some vacation plan for the end of the month. We have 1 week off for semester break and I don’t want to waste it here. I think I might head down to the Visayas for a festival and hopefully some snorkeling or diving. I might tag on a seminar at a fellow PCVs site – he works at a sped center.

Hope you are all well. Gotta run. Love and miss you all.
Eva