Hello readers - just to let you know what's new and in the works here on the blog:
- The Valentine's Day entry has been reposted with a few pictures (no incriminating ones, sorry)
- New entry on the local food and what I have been living on
- I'm working on a couple of posts about cultural observations, but they're not quite ready to go yet.
- More pictures. I was planning to head to a local hiking spot that's supposed to be really gorgeous this weekend, but life reared its ugly, demanding head and I had to stick around. I'll try to get those up in the next week or two.
That's all for now. Take care everyone!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
What's on the menu?
Greetings friends and family!
This post is dedicated to all things scrumptious and delectable. What, you might ask yourself, is Kelly actually eating while in the Philippines?
For those whose first question is actually “Why should Kelly’s food intake be something that I am wondering about?”, first let me draw a deep breath. Will someone start the stopwatch? I am a phenylketonuric; I have phenylketonuria (PKU), a heritable metabolic disorder. Normal human metabolisms convert excess amounts of phenylalanine (Phe), an amino acid naturally occurring in most proteins, into tyrosine. Phe is a neurotoxin in large concentrations, whereas tyrosine is not. My body lacks the mechanism by which this transformation is accomplished, so I must carefully monitor my diet to limit my intake of Phe. This means eating very little natural protein and relying on a medical dietary supplement to fill in the sizeable nutritional gaps. Categories of food that constitute “gaps” here are meat, fish, dairy products, most grains, nuts, beans (including soy), and some vegetables. Basically, anything about which your parents ever said, “Make sure to eat all of your ___or no dessert!” I was diagnosed nine days after birth, so I have never tasted any of these foods. Pizza, burgers, peanuts, you get the picture. I actually had dinner Friday night with my boss Andrey and a new friend of IJM’s who just happens to have gluten and lactose allergies. Between my diet and his, our waitress must have been sweating bullets.
So – I live on specialty foods, potato products, fruits, most vegetables, and some cereals. Other than making the grocery cashier look twice at the ridiculous contents of my shopping cart, it doesn’t really present a problem in the US. Here in Cebu, the food staples are a little different. Pork here in Cebu is pretty much everywhere and in everything. Walk down the street for about ten minutes, you should see at least two whole roasting pigs, called lechon. If there’s not pork in a meal, there will be chicken or seafood – fish, dried or not, shrimp, mussels, something. This is true even for the “vegetarian” dishes. The word vegetarian is understood in the Philippines much as it was in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Cebuanized: He doesn’t eat meat?! That’s okay, we’ll have pork!
Luckily, my Filipino friends and I have one staple in common – rice. I love rice, they love rice. Filipinos say that it’s not a meal if there’s no rice. It’s just not filling. Sure, I can dig it. That means any provided meal at some sort of social or work function will invariably have rice and I will be able to eat. Sweet. However, Filipinos also say that while it’s not a meal without rice, rice itself is no meal either. Kan-on, the cooked rice, just is not eaten without some form of sud-an, or meat/fish/seafood/noodle dish to eat with it. So picture the faces of the Filipinos as they watch this tall (oh, I’ll be sad to come back if only for that reason – I’m a giant here!) Westerner get in line for lunch. Delighted smiles greet me as I shovel a heap of rice on to my plate. They nod approvingly to one another – this is one whiteboy who at least eats properly! They eagerly watch me survey the sud-an options before me. “What of our food does he like?” they wonder. Surely the pancit (glass noodles) and, of course, a nice helping of lechon. Of course he will take the lechon, he’s probably still growing, the freak. Suddenly, their faces drop. Approval turns to confusion and then shifts to dismay as, having noted all the meat and fish in each option on the table, I return to my table and promptly begin attacking a pile of plain rice. Heathen!!
Seriously, I have had to repeat four and five times to the same people how and why I eat rice plain. When I explain the rest of my diet, I am often met with the shocked response, “…but you’re so tall! Yet you eat nothing!” Not the truest of statements, but certainly one of the most oft-repeated. I do eat other things here aside from rice. As I said before in a previous post, there are two western supermarkets within walking distance of my apartment, so I have access to a few of the foods I would eat at home. I also brought some specialty foods with me – little candies made of fake chocolate and a phe-deficient protein bar that also masquerades as chocolate. The candies, incidentally, perpetrate a much more convincing fraud. Seriously, the put cocoa butter in this bar and they think that makes it taste like chocolate. Ask me for a taste next time you see me, you can be the judge.
But I digress. My pantry is not chock full, but I get by rather well. Dry cereal for breakfast – at home, I would put liquid coffeemate on it, but no such product here. And just In case you were wondering, you cannot mix the powdered coffeemate with water and get the same effect. Been there, done that, not pretty. Anyway, dry cereal for breakfast. Lunch consists of a lunch-sized chips portion, non-chocolate bar, fake candies, a nice fruit cup, and applesauce. Sound like a lunch a third grader would bring to school in a plastic lunchbox? Maybe so. Does it do the job? Absolutely. Dinner here is a bit odd. I might steam up some rice, which provides dinners for the next two to three nights in addition just because it makes more sense to do it like that. Anyone looking for my immense cooking talents, in case you blinked, those were they. Operating my rice cooker is about as close to cooking as I get. I have a few spices and olive oil I put on the rice, but given the stickiness and consistency of rice-cooker rice, I might end up abandoning them. If I don’t have rice, new or old, I’ll have either Pringles (yes, twice in one day) or popcorn. I’ll often supplement with some juice and fruit, dried or otherwise. The fruit in Cebu is by and large delicious, especially the pineapple (pina) and the mangoes (mangga). Cebu is widely acknowledged as one of the foremost mango producers. Unfortunately for me, I’m not a huge fan of raw mango. Dried is pretty tasty, but not so much raw. I’m sure I’ll sing a different tune in a few months, but for now, no thanks. In fact, my tune about cooking in general might change drastically as I tire of these foods. No time like the present for a little kitchen wizardry experimentation, right?
I don’t eat out much, but when I eat out, I might get a salad (depending on the location, if it’s high quality enough to have washed the vegetables in filtered water), more plain rice, or French fries. Finding plain fries here is not easy. More often they are flavored somehow. Barbeque is particularly common, which is simply strange. Not too bad, though a bit strange. Other than that, my options out are a bit limited.
That’s pretty much it. To sum up: one of the first Cebuano phrases I learned was how to say “Plain rice only, nothing else please.” I won’t bother putting it here, only because somehow I don’t think you’ll get too much use out of it, should you come here. Hmmm, maybe I should write a PKU language phrasebook…
Anyway, take care everyone! You are all in my thoughts and prayers, and please keep the correspondence coming!
Peace,
Kelly
This post is dedicated to all things scrumptious and delectable. What, you might ask yourself, is Kelly actually eating while in the Philippines?
For those whose first question is actually “Why should Kelly’s food intake be something that I am wondering about?”, first let me draw a deep breath. Will someone start the stopwatch? I am a phenylketonuric; I have phenylketonuria (PKU), a heritable metabolic disorder. Normal human metabolisms convert excess amounts of phenylalanine (Phe), an amino acid naturally occurring in most proteins, into tyrosine. Phe is a neurotoxin in large concentrations, whereas tyrosine is not. My body lacks the mechanism by which this transformation is accomplished, so I must carefully monitor my diet to limit my intake of Phe. This means eating very little natural protein and relying on a medical dietary supplement to fill in the sizeable nutritional gaps. Categories of food that constitute “gaps” here are meat, fish, dairy products, most grains, nuts, beans (including soy), and some vegetables. Basically, anything about which your parents ever said, “Make sure to eat all of your ___or no dessert!” I was diagnosed nine days after birth, so I have never tasted any of these foods. Pizza, burgers, peanuts, you get the picture. I actually had dinner Friday night with my boss Andrey and a new friend of IJM’s who just happens to have gluten and lactose allergies. Between my diet and his, our waitress must have been sweating bullets.
So – I live on specialty foods, potato products, fruits, most vegetables, and some cereals. Other than making the grocery cashier look twice at the ridiculous contents of my shopping cart, it doesn’t really present a problem in the US. Here in Cebu, the food staples are a little different. Pork here in Cebu is pretty much everywhere and in everything. Walk down the street for about ten minutes, you should see at least two whole roasting pigs, called lechon. If there’s not pork in a meal, there will be chicken or seafood – fish, dried or not, shrimp, mussels, something. This is true even for the “vegetarian” dishes. The word vegetarian is understood in the Philippines much as it was in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Cebuanized: He doesn’t eat meat?! That’s okay, we’ll have pork!
Luckily, my Filipino friends and I have one staple in common – rice. I love rice, they love rice. Filipinos say that it’s not a meal if there’s no rice. It’s just not filling. Sure, I can dig it. That means any provided meal at some sort of social or work function will invariably have rice and I will be able to eat. Sweet. However, Filipinos also say that while it’s not a meal without rice, rice itself is no meal either. Kan-on, the cooked rice, just is not eaten without some form of sud-an, or meat/fish/seafood/noodle dish to eat with it. So picture the faces of the Filipinos as they watch this tall (oh, I’ll be sad to come back if only for that reason – I’m a giant here!) Westerner get in line for lunch. Delighted smiles greet me as I shovel a heap of rice on to my plate. They nod approvingly to one another – this is one whiteboy who at least eats properly! They eagerly watch me survey the sud-an options before me. “What of our food does he like?” they wonder. Surely the pancit (glass noodles) and, of course, a nice helping of lechon. Of course he will take the lechon, he’s probably still growing, the freak. Suddenly, their faces drop. Approval turns to confusion and then shifts to dismay as, having noted all the meat and fish in each option on the table, I return to my table and promptly begin attacking a pile of plain rice. Heathen!!
Seriously, I have had to repeat four and five times to the same people how and why I eat rice plain. When I explain the rest of my diet, I am often met with the shocked response, “…but you’re so tall! Yet you eat nothing!” Not the truest of statements, but certainly one of the most oft-repeated. I do eat other things here aside from rice. As I said before in a previous post, there are two western supermarkets within walking distance of my apartment, so I have access to a few of the foods I would eat at home. I also brought some specialty foods with me – little candies made of fake chocolate and a phe-deficient protein bar that also masquerades as chocolate. The candies, incidentally, perpetrate a much more convincing fraud. Seriously, the put cocoa butter in this bar and they think that makes it taste like chocolate. Ask me for a taste next time you see me, you can be the judge.
But I digress. My pantry is not chock full, but I get by rather well. Dry cereal for breakfast – at home, I would put liquid coffeemate on it, but no such product here. And just In case you were wondering, you cannot mix the powdered coffeemate with water and get the same effect. Been there, done that, not pretty. Anyway, dry cereal for breakfast. Lunch consists of a lunch-sized chips portion, non-chocolate bar, fake candies, a nice fruit cup, and applesauce. Sound like a lunch a third grader would bring to school in a plastic lunchbox? Maybe so. Does it do the job? Absolutely. Dinner here is a bit odd. I might steam up some rice, which provides dinners for the next two to three nights in addition just because it makes more sense to do it like that. Anyone looking for my immense cooking talents, in case you blinked, those were they. Operating my rice cooker is about as close to cooking as I get. I have a few spices and olive oil I put on the rice, but given the stickiness and consistency of rice-cooker rice, I might end up abandoning them. If I don’t have rice, new or old, I’ll have either Pringles (yes, twice in one day) or popcorn. I’ll often supplement with some juice and fruit, dried or otherwise. The fruit in Cebu is by and large delicious, especially the pineapple (pina) and the mangoes (mangga). Cebu is widely acknowledged as one of the foremost mango producers. Unfortunately for me, I’m not a huge fan of raw mango. Dried is pretty tasty, but not so much raw. I’m sure I’ll sing a different tune in a few months, but for now, no thanks. In fact, my tune about cooking in general might change drastically as I tire of these foods. No time like the present for a little kitchen wizardry experimentation, right?
I don’t eat out much, but when I eat out, I might get a salad (depending on the location, if it’s high quality enough to have washed the vegetables in filtered water), more plain rice, or French fries. Finding plain fries here is not easy. More often they are flavored somehow. Barbeque is particularly common, which is simply strange. Not too bad, though a bit strange. Other than that, my options out are a bit limited.
That’s pretty much it. To sum up: one of the first Cebuano phrases I learned was how to say “Plain rice only, nothing else please.” I won’t bother putting it here, only because somehow I don’t think you’ll get too much use out of it, should you come here. Hmmm, maybe I should write a PKU language phrasebook…
Anyway, take care everyone! You are all in my thoughts and prayers, and please keep the correspondence coming!
Peace,
Kelly
Monday, February 18, 2008
Pictures of Things
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Cupid Comes Out to Play
Greetings faithful readers! I apologize again for my silence. I am still trying to work out my internet access. I have in mind a few entries for the blog, so time permitting, I will make up for my lack of communication soon.
First update: what’s been going on. To my great surprise I’ve been here a month, and I’m still settling in. I’m trying to establish some sort of rhythm in my life. Between work, the gym, church, young adults group, and choir practice, most of my time is pretty well scheduled out. To fit in this time mundane on-your-own tasks like grocery shopping, laundry, dishes and the like, not to mention actually seeing Cebu, finding a volunteer opportunity, playing my cheap new guitar, finding a place to play basketball, and, I don’t know, making friends – it’s no easy thing. As I attempt to create some semblance of regularity and routine in my life, I am blessed to have co-workers who are looking out for me. In their own way…
Since my last update Valentine’s Day has come and gone. One thing cannot be made clear enough: here in the Philippines, Valentine’s Day has the ring of Open Season. The number of people I have shocked by telling them that I am 23 and single (usual response: so OLD, and still not married?!) cannot be properly tallied, and not just because I don’t have enough fingers and toes – though that does play into things a little. So as heavy as the emphasis on family raising and early marriage is, Valentine’s Day takes on a different sort of appearance from the Hallmark holiday it is in the US. Literally, for the two weeks before Valentine’s Day, my pastor went out of his way to spend twenty minutes or so assuring the single folks in the congregation not to be overly depressed, they will be married and have 15 kids before too long. Here, you don’t people cards, you get them dates. Not for any casual “No one should spend valentine’s day alone” sort of date, but a real “She’s single and he’s single, so they should obviously get married” sort of date. This, unfortunately, was not something I was told beforehand, but that I learned as I went.
The week before Valentine’s Day Ate Bing approached and invited me to a pre-Valentine’s Day party being hosted by the alumni association of her university here in Cebu. A few other of our colleagues were going to attend, so I figured it would be a potentially fun setting in which to get to know my coworkers a little more. I knew there could be some sort of mischief afoot, but I figured it would be harmless and maybe a little fun, so I went along. After work ended on Friday, a few of us stuck around before heading to the party. As we were preparing to go, Ate Bing mentioned in passing that the party would involve a few rounds of the Dating Game. Alright, that should be entertaining, I think. Glad I’m not one of the poor saps who has to go on stage, but it should be funny for those of us in the audience.
As is probably abundantly clear at this point, I was not able to enjoy the merriment from the location I had anticipated. Upon arrival at the party (i.e. once my ability to escape was at its lowest) Ate Bing revealed to me that I would be unable to watch the Dating Game, as I in fact be involved in the Dating Game. Alright, I’m here in a new place, doing new things and meeting new people. Besides, I assure myself, it’s not like I will see any of these people again, since they wouldn’t try and match me with a co-workers. So what if I answer a few questions, see if I can’t provide a little entertainment while I’m at it. My sense of impending embarrassment thus assuaged, I bring my attention to the other games that the night includes.
All are themed for Valentine’s Day, of course, which means they are all designed to put a single guy and a single girl as physically close is decorum will allow. Take, for example, the first game we played: the Paper Dance. Sounds benign enough, doesn’t it? A dancing game that doesn’t actually involve moving with rhythm – I should be stoked, right? Riiiight. So the game is a bit like musical chairs; each guy pairs with a girl and they dance around a piece of newspaper. When the music stops, both the guy and the girl have to be standing entirely on the newspaper. Each couple who fails to do so is eliminated. That’s all well and good, except that after each round the newspaper is folded up, going until the square of newspaper is about 2” by 2”. As you can no doubt imagine, this can present all sort of …spacing issues… between the two perfect strangers that are bound to stand on said newspaper. While I was playing the game, I learned very quickly that I was not being viewed as just any other competitor. Whether at Ate Bing’s urging or not, the judges were intentionally passing my partner and me through to the final rounds despite repeated and obvious failures to actually remain on the newspaper. It was a set-up! Other games progressed in a similar fashion, and I begun to wonder what was actually going on. Ate Bing later played her last card – yes, I was targeted by the powers that be to try and fix me up with a date. Yes, I would be playing the Dating Game. However, I would be the only bachelor on stage; she had entered me in the male-seeking-female game, not the female-seeking-male game. The party organizers blind-folded me, led me away, and pulled three random girls from the audience. She had succeeded in getting me a date without my knowledge. She had been promising to do something like this despite my insistence that as I was only here in Cebu for a little while, I appreciated the thought but wasn’t really interested.
So after spending an entire night absolutely beet-red with embarrassment and spending twenty excruciating minutes in the Dating Game, I walked away with a gift certificate for a full-body massage only redeemable when paired with the other massage certificate given to Karla, the bachelorette I chose. Of course, with my luck, I chose the one girl on stage who actually has a serious boyfriend and is set to be married next year. So all the answers to the Dating Game questions I weighed so carefully (eenie meenie meinie moe, anyone?) were thrown right out the window. I was set to go to the spa with a complete stranger, a friend of Karla’s. It ended up working out pretty well. I met Karla’s friend for lunch before our spa date. She turned out to be the unfortunate girl who played my part in the female-seeking-male Dating Game. It seemed like she was the real winner of the evening – two valentines found for her and gift certificates to enjoy, not too shabby for one night’s work. Anyway, we had a good time, and met up again that night to attend her church’s worship service and meet some of her friends. We all went out to dinner afterwards – all in all, a very solid Saturday. While I hope I can hang out with these people again, dating isn’t really something I’m looking to do over here. I met a nice group of friends, still, and had a good time. Kelly 1, Ate Bing, 0. Somehow, I don’t think the game is over yet….
So that’s a glimpse into life since the last blog entry. I’ll try and put some pictures up pretty soon, if I can figure out how. I'll also get a post up about the food, plus some cultural musings, perhaps. I hope this post finds all of you well, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Much love and many blessings,
Kelly
Proof:
First update: what’s been going on. To my great surprise I’ve been here a month, and I’m still settling in. I’m trying to establish some sort of rhythm in my life. Between work, the gym, church, young adults group, and choir practice, most of my time is pretty well scheduled out. To fit in this time mundane on-your-own tasks like grocery shopping, laundry, dishes and the like, not to mention actually seeing Cebu, finding a volunteer opportunity, playing my cheap new guitar, finding a place to play basketball, and, I don’t know, making friends – it’s no easy thing. As I attempt to create some semblance of regularity and routine in my life, I am blessed to have co-workers who are looking out for me. In their own way…
Since my last update Valentine’s Day has come and gone. One thing cannot be made clear enough: here in the Philippines, Valentine’s Day has the ring of Open Season. The number of people I have shocked by telling them that I am 23 and single (usual response: so OLD, and still not married?!) cannot be properly tallied, and not just because I don’t have enough fingers and toes – though that does play into things a little. So as heavy as the emphasis on family raising and early marriage is, Valentine’s Day takes on a different sort of appearance from the Hallmark holiday it is in the US. Literally, for the two weeks before Valentine’s Day, my pastor went out of his way to spend twenty minutes or so assuring the single folks in the congregation not to be overly depressed, they will be married and have 15 kids before too long. Here, you don’t people cards, you get them dates. Not for any casual “No one should spend valentine’s day alone” sort of date, but a real “She’s single and he’s single, so they should obviously get married” sort of date. This, unfortunately, was not something I was told beforehand, but that I learned as I went.
The week before Valentine’s Day Ate Bing approached and invited me to a pre-Valentine’s Day party being hosted by the alumni association of her university here in Cebu. A few other of our colleagues were going to attend, so I figured it would be a potentially fun setting in which to get to know my coworkers a little more. I knew there could be some sort of mischief afoot, but I figured it would be harmless and maybe a little fun, so I went along. After work ended on Friday, a few of us stuck around before heading to the party. As we were preparing to go, Ate Bing mentioned in passing that the party would involve a few rounds of the Dating Game. Alright, that should be entertaining, I think. Glad I’m not one of the poor saps who has to go on stage, but it should be funny for those of us in the audience.
As is probably abundantly clear at this point, I was not able to enjoy the merriment from the location I had anticipated. Upon arrival at the party (i.e. once my ability to escape was at its lowest) Ate Bing revealed to me that I would be unable to watch the Dating Game, as I in fact be involved in the Dating Game. Alright, I’m here in a new place, doing new things and meeting new people. Besides, I assure myself, it’s not like I will see any of these people again, since they wouldn’t try and match me with a co-workers. So what if I answer a few questions, see if I can’t provide a little entertainment while I’m at it. My sense of impending embarrassment thus assuaged, I bring my attention to the other games that the night includes.
All are themed for Valentine’s Day, of course, which means they are all designed to put a single guy and a single girl as physically close is decorum will allow. Take, for example, the first game we played: the Paper Dance. Sounds benign enough, doesn’t it? A dancing game that doesn’t actually involve moving with rhythm – I should be stoked, right? Riiiight. So the game is a bit like musical chairs; each guy pairs with a girl and they dance around a piece of newspaper. When the music stops, both the guy and the girl have to be standing entirely on the newspaper. Each couple who fails to do so is eliminated. That’s all well and good, except that after each round the newspaper is folded up, going until the square of newspaper is about 2” by 2”. As you can no doubt imagine, this can present all sort of …spacing issues… between the two perfect strangers that are bound to stand on said newspaper. While I was playing the game, I learned very quickly that I was not being viewed as just any other competitor. Whether at Ate Bing’s urging or not, the judges were intentionally passing my partner and me through to the final rounds despite repeated and obvious failures to actually remain on the newspaper. It was a set-up! Other games progressed in a similar fashion, and I begun to wonder what was actually going on. Ate Bing later played her last card – yes, I was targeted by the powers that be to try and fix me up with a date. Yes, I would be playing the Dating Game. However, I would be the only bachelor on stage; she had entered me in the male-seeking-female game, not the female-seeking-male game. The party organizers blind-folded me, led me away, and pulled three random girls from the audience. She had succeeded in getting me a date without my knowledge. She had been promising to do something like this despite my insistence that as I was only here in Cebu for a little while, I appreciated the thought but wasn’t really interested.
So after spending an entire night absolutely beet-red with embarrassment and spending twenty excruciating minutes in the Dating Game, I walked away with a gift certificate for a full-body massage only redeemable when paired with the other massage certificate given to Karla, the bachelorette I chose. Of course, with my luck, I chose the one girl on stage who actually has a serious boyfriend and is set to be married next year. So all the answers to the Dating Game questions I weighed so carefully (eenie meenie meinie moe, anyone?) were thrown right out the window. I was set to go to the spa with a complete stranger, a friend of Karla’s. It ended up working out pretty well. I met Karla’s friend for lunch before our spa date. She turned out to be the unfortunate girl who played my part in the female-seeking-male Dating Game. It seemed like she was the real winner of the evening – two valentines found for her and gift certificates to enjoy, not too shabby for one night’s work. Anyway, we had a good time, and met up again that night to attend her church’s worship service and meet some of her friends. We all went out to dinner afterwards – all in all, a very solid Saturday. While I hope I can hang out with these people again, dating isn’t really something I’m looking to do over here. I met a nice group of friends, still, and had a good time. Kelly 1, Ate Bing, 0. Somehow, I don’t think the game is over yet….
So that’s a glimpse into life since the last blog entry. I’ll try and put some pictures up pretty soon, if I can figure out how. I'll also get a post up about the food, plus some cultural musings, perhaps. I hope this post finds all of you well, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Much love and many blessings,
Kelly
Proof:
The benign beginning of the Paper Dance.
The not so benign end. Look at how small that paper is!
Yours truly being incredibly awkward and wishing the judges would finally DQ him for losing (for the fifth time).
Me with my new friends having dinner after the worship service last saturday night.
Proof that even I can be considered quite tall, providing I go to the right country.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Finally!
This has taken me a week to post, due to a dearth of internet access in my apartment, the mall, and the office. If I can find a consistent way online, I'll try and get another post up soon.
Without further ado -Greetings all!
Due to internet access issues, I am composing this blog entry in MS Word, then finding an internet café somewhere to upload it. As such, I do not have access to all the wonderful e-mails you have sent me or comments you have posted on my blog. Thank you so much for the communication; they really are bright spots in my days. However, I was going to respond to a few questions that a number of people raised, but now I am left with only those that have been caught by my porous memory. Please bear with me.
Major Developments of the week: Still no signs of the immense culture shock that I’m sure is to come. However, earlier in the week I was really hit hard by a sort of “moral shock.” Intellectually and academically, I knew about the absolute evil that IJM works against here. Now having seen some of this nastiness with my own eyes, I find coming from a very comfortable life in suburban America to a place where evil is raw, bold, and out in the open a difficult transition to make. My faith and the support and fellowship of others have helped me stave off anger, discouragement, and despair, but I feel that this will be an ongoing struggle while I am here, so I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers on that matter.
In other news – I have moved into my own apartment! In the middle of this past week, I moved out of my boss’s place and lugged all my junk to a new apartment. Furnished, air conditioned (when I turn on the AC, which I must in order to store my medicine – that’ll be a bummer of a power bill!), phone, TV, cable – quite a find. I only lack internet. My landlady has been such a blessing, too. She has spent a good deal of time in the states and understands quite well all the difficulties I am facing as an American expat. She is really going out of her way to help, so I am very grateful to her. Most of my free time in the past week has been spent preparing for the move, moving, unpacking, and then making random shopping trips to fill gaps in my possessions – you know, little things I didn’t have, like bedsheets or towels.
My building is in walking distance of one of the two major malls of the city, in which can be found the church I will regularly attend while I am here, a movie theater, two grocery stores, a bookstore or two, a department store, and the gym I have just joined. . There is also a coffee shop in the mall where there is free wireless internet with any purchase. Their internet has been down lately, however, hence my “write now, upload later” plan. Also within walking distance are my language tutor and the only ATM in the city that consistently allows me to withdraw money. My only concern with this place (aside from the sing-alongs that happen with regularity every other night in the apartment above me from 8-10 every night) is that everything I really need is so close to me that I will wrap this mini comfort zone around myself and not get out and explore the city and engage the Cebuano culture and people.
I hope my language lessons help me in that effort. I went to my first language session with my tutor Anita on Friday. I will meet with her once a week in an effort to diminish my level of linguistic idiocy with regards to Cebuano. The language is unlike any language I’ve studied in its structure, though Spanish words do pop up every now and again. I have a few hours of homework each week, but I find the material incredibly interesting and look forward to the day when I can actually communicate semi-intelligibly in Cebuano. If I had to guess the date of that day, it will probably happen July 25th, the day I come home, but still. One of my assignments this week was to use the Cebuano phrases I was taught to learn fifteen new words from Cebuanos. After I got over my initial shyness about asking someone, I found the guard at the front desk of my building more than happy to help me. It was actually somewhat touching – earnestness written all across his features, he kept repeatedly saying to me as I tried to think of words to ask him about, “Now now, try to think of things that will use every day, things you will need to be able to know. How about –“ then pointing to something I really would need to know, like antipara, glasses, or yawi, key. I was only assigned to get 15 words, but I found he was so eager to help I ended up with closer to thirty!
Nifty cultural experience of the week: So really this was last week, but it was Friday, so I’m fudging a little. Anyway, that Friday afternoon I was to meet up with my boss after his language session with Anita so I could meet her and see if we could set something up for me. I left work a little early, allowing for traffic so I could arrive just at the end of his session with her. Lo and behold, the seas of traffic were parted and I arrived a half-hour earlier than intended. Luckily, this was the weekend I was taking the office guitar home to learn a few worship songs for our weekly devotional meeting Monday, so I had my entertainment slung across my back. I just sat down on the steps of the bank and, after asking the VERY heavily armed security guards if it was okay with them, proceeded to play and sing to pass the time. After a few minutes, five or six ten year olds came up to me and started dancing and clapping around me, just sort of enjoying the music. They would put in requests for songs I had never heard of, they would sing along with the song whether they knew it or not, and they were all absolutely sick on the air guitar. After a while they calmed down a bit and just sat down next to me, talking amongst themselves and using me as a soundtrack. They would direct questions at me every now and again, but once it became I didn’t know the songs they wanted me to play, they more or less ignored me. I enjoyed it immensely and they seemed to, as well. I was planning on buying a cheap, cheap guitar anyway for purposes of decompression and de-stressing, and this was right near my new place, so I might just wander down there every now and again and see if they come back. Who knows?
Anticipated next week: Maybe a little sight-seeing next weekend. Guitar purchase, with a potential trip to a factory to make said purchase. Blog on the compatibility of the food here (meant to address that in this post, but I am running out of time, sadly). Who knows? I’ll try and put pictures of my new place up at some point, but I have to solve my internet access issues first. Alright, I must stop my rambles and shut it down, as I have grocery shopping yet to do before I head to my church’s young adults group (I will know exactly one person. Yikes!) So thanks again for your e-mails and comments and I look forward to continued correspondence!
Take Care Everyone,
Kelly
Without further ado -Greetings all!
Due to internet access issues, I am composing this blog entry in MS Word, then finding an internet café somewhere to upload it. As such, I do not have access to all the wonderful e-mails you have sent me or comments you have posted on my blog. Thank you so much for the communication; they really are bright spots in my days. However, I was going to respond to a few questions that a number of people raised, but now I am left with only those that have been caught by my porous memory. Please bear with me.
Major Developments of the week: Still no signs of the immense culture shock that I’m sure is to come. However, earlier in the week I was really hit hard by a sort of “moral shock.” Intellectually and academically, I knew about the absolute evil that IJM works against here. Now having seen some of this nastiness with my own eyes, I find coming from a very comfortable life in suburban America to a place where evil is raw, bold, and out in the open a difficult transition to make. My faith and the support and fellowship of others have helped me stave off anger, discouragement, and despair, but I feel that this will be an ongoing struggle while I am here, so I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers on that matter.
In other news – I have moved into my own apartment! In the middle of this past week, I moved out of my boss’s place and lugged all my junk to a new apartment. Furnished, air conditioned (when I turn on the AC, which I must in order to store my medicine – that’ll be a bummer of a power bill!), phone, TV, cable – quite a find. I only lack internet. My landlady has been such a blessing, too. She has spent a good deal of time in the states and understands quite well all the difficulties I am facing as an American expat. She is really going out of her way to help, so I am very grateful to her. Most of my free time in the past week has been spent preparing for the move, moving, unpacking, and then making random shopping trips to fill gaps in my possessions – you know, little things I didn’t have, like bedsheets or towels.
My building is in walking distance of one of the two major malls of the city, in which can be found the church I will regularly attend while I am here, a movie theater, two grocery stores, a bookstore or two, a department store, and the gym I have just joined. . There is also a coffee shop in the mall where there is free wireless internet with any purchase. Their internet has been down lately, however, hence my “write now, upload later” plan. Also within walking distance are my language tutor and the only ATM in the city that consistently allows me to withdraw money. My only concern with this place (aside from the sing-alongs that happen with regularity every other night in the apartment above me from 8-10 every night) is that everything I really need is so close to me that I will wrap this mini comfort zone around myself and not get out and explore the city and engage the Cebuano culture and people.
I hope my language lessons help me in that effort. I went to my first language session with my tutor Anita on Friday. I will meet with her once a week in an effort to diminish my level of linguistic idiocy with regards to Cebuano. The language is unlike any language I’ve studied in its structure, though Spanish words do pop up every now and again. I have a few hours of homework each week, but I find the material incredibly interesting and look forward to the day when I can actually communicate semi-intelligibly in Cebuano. If I had to guess the date of that day, it will probably happen July 25th, the day I come home, but still. One of my assignments this week was to use the Cebuano phrases I was taught to learn fifteen new words from Cebuanos. After I got over my initial shyness about asking someone, I found the guard at the front desk of my building more than happy to help me. It was actually somewhat touching – earnestness written all across his features, he kept repeatedly saying to me as I tried to think of words to ask him about, “Now now, try to think of things that will use every day, things you will need to be able to know. How about –“ then pointing to something I really would need to know, like antipara, glasses, or yawi, key. I was only assigned to get 15 words, but I found he was so eager to help I ended up with closer to thirty!
Nifty cultural experience of the week: So really this was last week, but it was Friday, so I’m fudging a little. Anyway, that Friday afternoon I was to meet up with my boss after his language session with Anita so I could meet her and see if we could set something up for me. I left work a little early, allowing for traffic so I could arrive just at the end of his session with her. Lo and behold, the seas of traffic were parted and I arrived a half-hour earlier than intended. Luckily, this was the weekend I was taking the office guitar home to learn a few worship songs for our weekly devotional meeting Monday, so I had my entertainment slung across my back. I just sat down on the steps of the bank and, after asking the VERY heavily armed security guards if it was okay with them, proceeded to play and sing to pass the time. After a few minutes, five or six ten year olds came up to me and started dancing and clapping around me, just sort of enjoying the music. They would put in requests for songs I had never heard of, they would sing along with the song whether they knew it or not, and they were all absolutely sick on the air guitar. After a while they calmed down a bit and just sat down next to me, talking amongst themselves and using me as a soundtrack. They would direct questions at me every now and again, but once it became I didn’t know the songs they wanted me to play, they more or less ignored me. I enjoyed it immensely and they seemed to, as well. I was planning on buying a cheap, cheap guitar anyway for purposes of decompression and de-stressing, and this was right near my new place, so I might just wander down there every now and again and see if they come back. Who knows?
Anticipated next week: Maybe a little sight-seeing next weekend. Guitar purchase, with a potential trip to a factory to make said purchase. Blog on the compatibility of the food here (meant to address that in this post, but I am running out of time, sadly). Who knows? I’ll try and put pictures of my new place up at some point, but I have to solve my internet access issues first. Alright, I must stop my rambles and shut it down, as I have grocery shopping yet to do before I head to my church’s young adults group (I will know exactly one person. Yikes!) So thanks again for your e-mails and comments and I look forward to continued correspondence!
Take Care Everyone,
Kelly
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Apologies
My apologies to everyone for not updating very frequently. I have just moved into a new residence (sans internet) and the local internet facilities are failing me, so I will have to write my blog on my laptop and bring it via flash drive to work on Monday. As I have already received one demand for a new post, I thought I would put up this interim post. I have already written my update, but the computers in the local internet cafés don't seem to like my flash drive, so I cannot post it. It will be up tomorrow for your reading pleasure and my relief from my impatient readers ::cough Alec cough:: Again, sorry for the delay, and please stay tuned!
Peace,
Kelly
Peace,
Kelly
Saturday, January 26, 2008
I am here in Cebu!
...and have been for 1.5 weeks. Sorry for the long silence, but things have been pretty crazy in terms of settling in and find my way around, not to mention finding anything close to reliable internet. Enjoy those pictures to the left, because those have taken hours to get up here - you might not see too many more of those unless I find a new internet source.
Quick (riiiight) review of the my time since I arrived: My dad took some vacation time to come with me initially, so we both arrived in Cebu after some thirty hours of travel time, DC to LA to Manila via Guam, then on to the Queen's City of the South, Cebu! In two multi-hour delays, we were able to witness something that I'm sure I will encounter constantly - Filipino time (not dissimilar from Bolivian Standard Time, for those familiar with it). The Filipinos have a phrase here - Bahala na. Literally, it means "Leave it to God," and is basically the cultural response to any question beginning with the word "when." Except, that is, for the question, "when do we eat?" The answer to that one, in the local language of Cebuano, is always "karon!"- now! Honestly, a very common Filipino greeting is translated, not as "Hi" or "How are you?", but "Have you eaten?"
My dad and I got off the plane to be met by a group of Filipinos dancing, clapping, and handing out colorful necklaces. I checked our tickets to make sure we had not accidentally gone to Hawaii (what a misfortune that would have been!). Last weekend was in fact the largest religious festival of the year in Cebu, the Sinulog festival, which celebrates Santo Niño, the patron saint of the city. I almost wish it had been this weekend, so I could have been conscious and actually seen more than just glimpses. We were met at the airport by my boss's assistant Maribel, aka Ate (older sister) Bing, and one of the office's drivers. The office drivers, by the way, deserve to be recognized with something not too far shy of the Congressional Medal of Honor. In this city, traffic lines and lane guides might as well be a child's chalked hopscotch grid for the all the attention drivers pay them. Drivers just go wherever they need to and use their horns like most Americans would use turn signals. The only thing that saves this city from being a ghost-town due to to traffic fatalities, ironically, is the sheer number of people driving so ridiculously frenetically. The traffic is such that it is incredibly rare to see a vehicle go above 40 km/hr, which makes all the braking and course corrections and honking much easier and safer - quite thankfully for all those who need to brave the roads.
Anyway, The first three or four days were sort of an Ambien/jet-lag induced blur, but we looked at the Western Supermarkets, had lunch with my boss Andrey, attended church and met Andrey's wife Jen. On Monday the mental haze cleared a little. My dad and I were taken on a tour of Cebu City by Ate Bing, an investigator, and one of the departmental assistants, Dimples. Additionally, we looked at a few places to live, and that very day found the one I will be moving into on Wednesday! A process that I thought would take at least a month will end up taking just over a week - an absolute answer to prayer. The ease of the process is thanks in large part to Ate Bing, who has really taken me under her wing.
After my dad left Monday, I moved in with Andrey and Jen. As much as I owe Ate Bing, I owe Andrey and Jen more. Aside from the very obvious act of allowing me to stay at their place, they have been a great comfort to me. I have not met many expats at all, so Andrey and Jen have been a wonderful steadying influence as I adjust to life in Cebu. They have been so gracious and welcoming, it is difficult to think of a way in which I can repay them. Perhaps it's all an underhanded plot by Andrey to create this relationship of indebtedness so I will feel compelled to work hard...
The work itself is pretty good, though probably wholly uninteresting to those not doing it -research, reports, stakeholder needs assessments, grant paperwork. YAHOO! The staff are mostly Filipino (4 expats in an office of 27), and I have found them warm, friendly, and welcoming. Though English is the educational and commercial language of the Philippines, and widely spoken (to some degree), I am making efforts to learn bits and pieces of Cebuano, which my co-workers find endearing like they would an infant trying to lift his father's briefcase to go to work - I am way outmatched. This has created a few embarrassing situations where co-workers will give me words to learn, then later quiz me...by using the word in a full Cebuano sentence spoken at what must seem to them to be an incredibly slow pace, but in reality is just short of Mach 2. This will invariably happen after Ate Bing or someone else tells a co-worker, "He's learning Cebuano, and he's sooo good!" I proceed to stare blankly at the comment that is supposed to prove my linguistic prowess, then blush madly as they realize that I, in fact, still know nothing of their language. It is still enjoyable, though, and means they are taking an interest in me, which I appreciate. I am going to Andrey's Cebuano tutor at the end of this week to see if I can meet with her regularly and actually make sense of this language before I leave.
Alright, the internet is working again now, which means I should probably take advantage and post this. I will see if I can't make this a once a week deal, depending of course on internet availability. Next week: maybe more pictures, more on the new apartment, local food (mine vs. theirs) and whatever else befalls me in that time. Take care everyone!
Kelly
PS - If anyone knows how to use google Picasa software to upload pictures, please help! It keeps eating my photos and not posting them, so I can't put up an album on the blog as I would like to. Let me know if you can help. Thanks!
Quick (riiiight) review of the my time since I arrived: My dad took some vacation time to come with me initially, so we both arrived in Cebu after some thirty hours of travel time, DC to LA to Manila via Guam, then on to the Queen's City of the South, Cebu! In two multi-hour delays, we were able to witness something that I'm sure I will encounter constantly - Filipino time (not dissimilar from Bolivian Standard Time, for those familiar with it). The Filipinos have a phrase here - Bahala na. Literally, it means "Leave it to God," and is basically the cultural response to any question beginning with the word "when." Except, that is, for the question, "when do we eat?" The answer to that one, in the local language of Cebuano, is always "karon!"- now! Honestly, a very common Filipino greeting is translated, not as "Hi" or "How are you?", but "Have you eaten?"
My dad and I got off the plane to be met by a group of Filipinos dancing, clapping, and handing out colorful necklaces. I checked our tickets to make sure we had not accidentally gone to Hawaii (what a misfortune that would have been!). Last weekend was in fact the largest religious festival of the year in Cebu, the Sinulog festival, which celebrates Santo Niño, the patron saint of the city. I almost wish it had been this weekend, so I could have been conscious and actually seen more than just glimpses. We were met at the airport by my boss's assistant Maribel, aka Ate (older sister) Bing, and one of the office's drivers. The office drivers, by the way, deserve to be recognized with something not too far shy of the Congressional Medal of Honor. In this city, traffic lines and lane guides might as well be a child's chalked hopscotch grid for the all the attention drivers pay them. Drivers just go wherever they need to and use their horns like most Americans would use turn signals. The only thing that saves this city from being a ghost-town due to to traffic fatalities, ironically, is the sheer number of people driving so ridiculously frenetically. The traffic is such that it is incredibly rare to see a vehicle go above 40 km/hr, which makes all the braking and course corrections and honking much easier and safer - quite thankfully for all those who need to brave the roads.
Anyway, The first three or four days were sort of an Ambien/jet-lag induced blur, but we looked at the Western Supermarkets, had lunch with my boss Andrey, attended church and met Andrey's wife Jen. On Monday the mental haze cleared a little. My dad and I were taken on a tour of Cebu City by Ate Bing, an investigator, and one of the departmental assistants, Dimples. Additionally, we looked at a few places to live, and that very day found the one I will be moving into on Wednesday! A process that I thought would take at least a month will end up taking just over a week - an absolute answer to prayer. The ease of the process is thanks in large part to Ate Bing, who has really taken me under her wing.
After my dad left Monday, I moved in with Andrey and Jen. As much as I owe Ate Bing, I owe Andrey and Jen more. Aside from the very obvious act of allowing me to stay at their place, they have been a great comfort to me. I have not met many expats at all, so Andrey and Jen have been a wonderful steadying influence as I adjust to life in Cebu. They have been so gracious and welcoming, it is difficult to think of a way in which I can repay them. Perhaps it's all an underhanded plot by Andrey to create this relationship of indebtedness so I will feel compelled to work hard...
The work itself is pretty good, though probably wholly uninteresting to those not doing it -research, reports, stakeholder needs assessments, grant paperwork. YAHOO! The staff are mostly Filipino (4 expats in an office of 27), and I have found them warm, friendly, and welcoming. Though English is the educational and commercial language of the Philippines, and widely spoken (to some degree), I am making efforts to learn bits and pieces of Cebuano, which my co-workers find endearing like they would an infant trying to lift his father's briefcase to go to work - I am way outmatched. This has created a few embarrassing situations where co-workers will give me words to learn, then later quiz me...by using the word in a full Cebuano sentence spoken at what must seem to them to be an incredibly slow pace, but in reality is just short of Mach 2. This will invariably happen after Ate Bing or someone else tells a co-worker, "He's learning Cebuano, and he's sooo good!" I proceed to stare blankly at the comment that is supposed to prove my linguistic prowess, then blush madly as they realize that I, in fact, still know nothing of their language. It is still enjoyable, though, and means they are taking an interest in me, which I appreciate. I am going to Andrey's Cebuano tutor at the end of this week to see if I can meet with her regularly and actually make sense of this language before I leave.
Alright, the internet is working again now, which means I should probably take advantage and post this. I will see if I can't make this a once a week deal, depending of course on internet availability. Next week: maybe more pictures, more on the new apartment, local food (mine vs. theirs) and whatever else befalls me in that time. Take care everyone!
Kelly
PS - If anyone knows how to use google Picasa software to upload pictures, please help! It keeps eating my photos and not posting them, so I can't put up an album on the blog as I would like to. Let me know if you can help. Thanks!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome everyone to my blog! I'll use this virtual space to post stories, photos, and thoughts about my experience in Cebu City, the Philippines...once I've figured out how the blog works, exactly. This will be my primary means of updating friends and family at home and overseas. I also hope you all will keep in touch by e-mail, but if not, don't you fret - most of my travel experiences will be discussed here. This will hopefully keep me from sending out those rambling e-mails-from-abroad that are immensely meaningful to the author but more of an annoyance to the reader. Thanks to you all for your support, prayers, and well-wishes, you honestly make this possible. I'd love to hear from all of you over the next six months, so please respond to my posts, send me e-mails, write letters, send smoke signals, invest in a carrier pigeon or two - don't be a stranger!
Much love and many blessings,
Kelly
Much love and many blessings,
Kelly
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