Fish Balls, Quail Eggs, and S'Mores...Oh my!

A few weeks ago I mentioned s'mores to my host family, and they had never heard of them! I spent quite some time describing the amazing deliciousness of s'mores, and their ability to bring people together over many camp/bonfires. Last night we made them! The road to doing so wasn't easy, but with some hard work and determination, we pulled off the feat!

Around 6pm, my host sister and I departed on our mission. We visited two sari-sari stores before finding one that had graham crackers and chocolate. The chocolate was a bit different from the typical Hershey bars that are typically found in the chocolatey-gooey delight. They were the size of mini-Reeses cups. But, I told her, it would get the job done. We continued on to search for marshmallows. It took us four more sari-sari stores until we did it! They were rainbow colored, which ended up being pretty awesome because the s'mores looked SUPER cool!

On our journey, we passed by a shop that:
1. gave massages
2. gave haircuts
3. sold (and cooked) fish balls and quail eggs

My host sister asked me if I had ever had either, and when I said I hadn't, we immediately stopped and ordered some (sans massages or haircuts). While we waited for them to cook, we watched the news--all in Tagolog-- with a few other people, none of who looked like they were getting massages or haircuts either. Once they were cooked, we put different sauces on them; sweet, spicy, sour, what have you... Let me tell you, they weren't bad! I didn't mind them one bit.

The next store we went to had marshmallows, so we ran home with breathless anticipation! My host sister was concerned that we didn't have special BBQ sticks, and I told her that we actually DO just use twigs and branches from outside. I don't know if she believed me or not, but we ended up using forks and toasting the mini (about 1/2 the size of regular marshmallows) 'mallows over our gas-burning stove. It was pretty efficient, as we were able to put two on each fork and two of us toasted while my host sister was the s'more technician, as Subway would put it. (They're the ones who legitimately call their employees "sandwich technicians," right?)

The result was RAINBOW DELICIOUSNESS! I was happy to share some of America's finest cuisine with my Filipino family :)

Typhoons Build Character

This morning I woke up at 3:30 because my friends and I were running a 12K in Baguio: http://pusongpinoy.org/

Jeff- Be jealous, because we ran it during a TYPHOON and it was insane. They actually had to change the course the night before; it ended up being a 10K but we were fine with that. It was AWESOME. My friend Erika did the 3K, and my friend Jenny and I ran the 10K. I've never seen rain like this before. I guess it was long awaited, because we have had really nice, sunshiny weather for a long time lately. But whatever. It was a blast. Afterwards there was a traditional Benguet celebration performance by seven men and women dressed in authentic garb. It was SO cool! Google image the men's G-string and women's tapis. Love it. Then a modern dance group from the University of Baguio did a dance, as well. They were fun to watch, and surprised us with their fly moves!

Anyways the race was supposed to start at 5:30 because they weren't closing off the roads, and wanted us to finish before traffic got heavy... instead we started at 6, but people weren't driving for the most part, except for jeepneys and taxis. I hope they put pictures up on the organization's website, because once we finished, we were basically celebrities. We were super excited because we told the woman with the mic to give a shout-out to Peace Corps and it was nice to be known as more than tourists. I think 100 people must have come up to us for a picture. Then the race photographers were all about it, as well. It sounds silly, but the three of us were just as happy to meet all of them and hear their stories! After an hour or so of post-race demonstrations and celebrations, we took a jeepney home, soaking! I was soooo cold, so I boiled a pot of water and used it to take my dipper "bath." Luxurious.

We finished our co-teaching at BNHS on Friday, so this week we will be working hard on our community project, which I will explain later. In addition, this is the home stretch leading up to our Language Proficiency Interviews, in which they test us on how our Ilokano is. So, it will be another busy busy week! I'm doing my best to keep up with emails; feel free to drop me a line if you're bored~ I'll never get tired of USA life updates! I might be halfway around the world but I'm still thinking of you all!

Agannad ka!

European Sparrows and English Affixes

Language class was hilarious today. We were learning parts of the body and how to say if you were sick or if a certain part hurts, etc. Basically we let our imaginations run wild and it was a blast. It was a nice change of pace from the usual lessons. So funny. At one point, Monty Python and the Holy Grail came up (The part where the knight gets his arms and legs chopped off- "Come over 'ere, I'll bite your legs off!"), and I turned to my friend Julia and said we should translate the classic line with the man at the toll bridge.

ANIA ti nagan mo?
ANIA ti paboritom nga kolor?
ANIA ti air velocity nga European sparrow?

There you go! That's your Ilokano quote of the day. Anyways, after that, we had an "English blackout" session, which is when you cannot speak any English; only Ilokano. The four of us and our teacher hopped on a jeepney and went to Baguio to go to the market! We were on a mission for... well, actually, I can't say. There are PCT's from other clusters who might see this blog post, and I'm sworn to secrecy. Here's the thing: for our swearing-in ceremony in September, each cluster will be doing a presentation of some sort about their training site or something Philippines related. Ours is AWESOME. But unfortunately, my friends, it's top secret until it will be unveiled. At that time there will be some awesome photos to post.

The market was great; we got what we needed and then had lunch at Chow King, which is my new favorite fast food (but not really fast food) place. The funny thing about fast food places, ice cream shops, etc here is that the employees bus all of your trays, plates, cups, and all! Everytime I go somewhere to bring my things over to the garbage bin, I am stopped by an employee, "Yes, ma'am!" (smile), who takes it from me. It seems very strange to me, because my automatic reaction to eating anywhere is to just take it all from the table and throw it away myself, but not here. I definitely feel uncomfortable leaving my trash there, but it's normal to do so. I guess that's just one of the cultural differences to get used to.

Yesterday I had the best time at school! My counterpart was absent, so I taught the entire class! Soooo fun! I had already planned ahead with her, and I did prep work outside of class, so being able to execute the whole thing on my own was awesome. It was a third year English class, so 14-15 year olds. We did prefixes and suffixes, which let me tell you, was a blast. Seriously. It was so fun. I'd like to think they enjoyed it too. They were all really engaged, and everyone was paying attention for the most part, compared to what they're usually like... Ohmygosh it was so fun. I wish I could do it again tomorrow and Friday, because those are our last two days co-teaching here. But even if it doesn't happen, I'll always have that day to remember!

My host dad was reading the local newspaper today and I realized how devoid I am of reality back in the States. I have no idea what is going on with anything. Pretty bad of me to not keep up, however I have a feeling that not much has changed. People are probably still criticizing our President, children are still going missing, lawsuits are happening left and right, big companies are still corrupt, and Lindsay Lohan is back in rehab for the ump-teenth time. I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I think one reason I've been avoiding the news is because it always seems to be bad news. And I'm a big fan of positive energy, so it tends to cramp my style. If something great happens, let me know. Until then, I'm going to continue being happily oblivious.

"When You See A Man at the Top of A Mountain...

...Remember, he didn't fall there."

The same goes for my friend Jenny and I this morning. Woke up at 6am (which is nothing unusual for me these days- shocker) and went over to her place a few minutes down the road. We walked past the elementary school and turned left onto a HILL. For those of you who know my running regimen at all, I do NOT run hills! I was apprehensive yesterday when she asked me if I wanted to join. So anyways we started running. It was TOUGH. Actually, I change my mind. This was no hill. This was ACTUALLY a mountain. We have climbed it in vans three times before, and it is even steep for them. Jenny and I were sweating in no time, even that early in the morning. Could hardly breathe, but as we got higher the air got clearer and easier to take in. LaTrinidad has a lot of congestion on the road from all the trucks and jeepneys, so even though the run up this hill was beyond challenging, it was better than running through that. Plus, the road up the hill was paved and when you look over the side you could see the whole city and valley and all. It was beautiful.

This week I think I started to come around with my language. My vocabulary is still lacking, but I can speak general phrases and communicate a little with my host family. I kind of realized that I just needed to get over my insecurities about not being a perfectionist with my speaking Ilokano, and just say whatever I can- even if I sound dumb. So that's my new mantra. I'm getting there. Today my host siblings and I are going into Baguio to see the botanical gardens and whatnot; should be nice. And tomorrow at 4AM, my friends and I are leaving to go hiking again, on a different mountain. We're leaving super early so that we can see the sunrise! I'm so excited, and I really hope we can get ourselves in gear to get there in time. That would just be so cool. A whole bunch of us will be able to go tomorrow too, instead of just us three last weekend. Love it.

Thursday night I watched 'Forrest Gump' with my host siblings. Although I am not particularly intelligent or well-versed in American history, I felt really smart while watching it! I was able to explain all of the historical events that happen throughout the movie. The three of them seemed very impressed and interested in what I had to say, so I felt helpful and special. I was able to share a lot about our country that any American would consider general knowledge, so it was pretty cool to see their reaction to learning brand new information. Opened up some thoughts of possibly teaching history. I don't know- there are a lot of things here that have given me ideas for teaching in the future.

Alright it's time to go to language class. Yes, on Saturday. It's good though. Only a couple hours. Bye Bye!

Fast Times at Benguet High

I cannot believe how fast this time is going by. It seems like I just arrived here, but now we've only got three weeks left in LaTrinidad! Everything has been great, my host family couldn't be nicer, and Ilokano is (very) slowly but surely coming along.

My cluster-mates and I have been doing fun activities every weekend; trying to soak up as much culture as we can! Last weekend we took a hike up one of the mountains in town, and the views were absolutely stunning. From the top, we could see three of the contiguous provinces; Nueva Vizcayas, Mountain Province, and my future home, Ifugao!

Last week we had our Supervisor's Conference back in Cavite, where we met the principals of the schools we will be teaching at for the next two years. My principal's name is Gina, and she is very warm and genuine. She was so funny; instead of Becky she decided, on her own, to call me Becks. I didn't correct her or tell her the only people who call me that are my closest friends, because hey, we're going to have to be BFFs for a while anyways. The conference lasted three days, and it was so awesome to get to see our whole batch again! I didn't realize how much I missed everyone until we were all together!

Anyhow, we learned where our permanent sites will be, and I will be teaching at the Ifugao Provincial Science High School in Lamut, Ifugao. Now I know what you're thinking: Why in the WORLD are you going to teach at a SCIENCE high school? You barely made it through Biology. Well, a science high school here is one in which each student has two science classes each day and two math classes each day. Mom- be jealous. The students must take a test to qualify for admission into the school, so I suppose you could consider it like a private school in the States. The school really aims to have its students on a superior track to college. I'm sure once I'm there I will have a better description for y'all, but that's the basic idea.

I'm so excited because the whole school has 150 students and 9 teachers (I will be the 10th!), and my counterpart is the only English teacher. The reason that's sweet is because she teaches every grade, so I will be able to know every student! And from my past experiences with teaching and coaching, I know that I enjoy it more and am a more effective teacher when I can know each of my kiddos! So I'm crazy excited! My host family has six children, two are at boarding high schools and the others are 11, 9, 6, and 5. I'll be able to make good use of those Dora books I came over with! My host mother is a teacher at my school, and a current Peace Corps Volunteer will be living a few blocks away! She has been teaching at the university in town for almost one year now, so it will be nice to have a friendly face close by. She helped out at our orientation, so we have already gotten to know each other. I've been texting her all these questions and she has been very helpful!

So yes, my friends, more for you to Google: Lamut (LAH-moot), Ifugao. Should be a blast.

Oh EXCELLENT news! I can't remember if I wrote this in my older post, but there are roosters that live right next door and on the connecting streets. They were the bane of my existence, until about a week ago, when either 1. they all dropped dead from kharma or 2. I've gotten used to their 4:30am crowing. As much as I had wished for their demise, I'd prefer to think that I have just become accustomed to the noise. It was really really horrible at first. But it's all good now. On the other hand, there are CONSTANTLY dogs fighting in the streets until the middle of the night. They don't bother me at all; I only worry about them! Poor pups! I have a feeling that Lu and Tess wouldn't be able to handle the streets of LaTrinidad. The wild dogs are ruthless. Just keep them in cozy Scituate, k? Good.

This Friday my friends and I are going into Baguio to register for a run! It's August 28th and they have a 3k, 7k, and 12k. Obviously I'm doing the 12k, despite the fact that I have run twice since arriving in the Philippines. Oh well. Sounds about right, how I've typically prepared for races in the past, right family? We're all super excited! There are going to be a bunch of us doing it~ it's called a "heroes race," so I want to dress as Quail Man ('Doug' reference, anyone?), and my friends are probably going to follow suit or think of other ideas. I'm so pumped! After that we're going to go do go around the city, perform some videoke, and unwind. Saturday my host family and I are going to the Botanical Gardens there, and possibly ride some bikes around the park. Sunday our group is HOPING to have another crazy hike. We are crossing our fingers that it works out, because it would be insane. I'd tell you about it now, but I don't want to jinx it. Just look for a post coming soon.

We have ethernet internet in my house now, so I will be able to get on more frequently and keep you updated. Thanks for following me and posting comments! It means so much to me to hear from everyone at home! Agannad ka!