so full of Christmas spirit

December 19, 2011

You know when you eat too much and than you just feel like your going to be sick, but not really be sick? Where you are mostly percent sure you just feel sick and aren’t actually going to be sick, but that is that little percent that keeps you on edge? Well that is me. Still. I’ve basically been nauseous since Thursday night. I’m not sure what is up, but this is the wrong time of year to feel to the brink full.

After all, it is Christmas party time.

Just like last year we had a Christmas program. And it was just like last year. Kindergarten said their poem. First grade danced to ‘All I want for Christmas is You’. Second to ‘Jingle Bell Rock’. Each grade did the same things. It is just as cute to see new kids doing it, so I’m not complaining.

This year when it came time to have class parties my principal ushered me into the conference hall and told me to wait at a table with nine chairs. Not sure what was up, I listened and sat. Than she came back and some other staff, and one by one all these teachers brought us plates of food from their class parties. There was amazing lechon. Delicious adobo. Fried chicken. Lots and lots of rice. Boiled bananas. Puto. Pansit. So much food and they just stand there watching. So I spent the afternoon convincing my stomach I wasn’t actually going to be sick, it was just a feeling.

Than on to my classroom where there was another plate of food waiting for me. Tonight on to a party where there was more food.

Too much food, too little stomach.

all about the food

July 18, 2011

This past weekend we had big plans and they all revolved around food. The plans kind of all fell through, but the food was still there.

Recently in the mall a new kiosk opened with siomai and C and I went. We also finally tried the waffle kiosk. It was just recently we learned that hotdog wasn’t the only flavor.

spicy garlic, soy sauce, fresh kalamansi-win

We also took the idea of cucumber salad and turned it into an awesome meal. It has fresh cucumber, shallots, vinegar, rice, salt and pepper, and a Peace Corps splurge of olive oil. That was when we thought it was going to be picnic food. The picnic never happened so we upped the anti for dinner by adding Chooks Chicken-to-go, kalamansi, mango, and hot peppers. Amazing!

before the mango and chicken-win

Another something for the picnic was cookies. C has made them several times, but the stars have never aligned for me to eat them… until now. I had her add peanut butter and then was going to feel awful if they didn’t turn out. But they did and were amazing.

and a win for the toaster oven
I always liked food, and have always been able to eat my fair share, but I never knew just how food centric a person's thoughts could be. Probably 60 percent of my texting conversations are about food.

Such is life in the Peace Corps.

fiesta, forever!

June 17, 2011

The past couple of weeks have been fiesta, but the actual real deal even is on Sunday. For school today there were very few students so my teacher had the students write paragraphs to tell me about fiesta. I chose a few to kind of let you know what fiesta is all about. They’ve not been edited, straight from the students’ pens!

Clara In every town there are some people celebrating fiesta. This coming Sunday Alangalang will celebrate 202^nd town fiesta. Fiestas are important to the Filipinos to thank God for the blessing that we get every year. When fiesta comes in every town, people are busy preparing their foods. Some of their relatives from different town went to our own house to eat our prepared foods. Our foods that we have are from God that’s we have to show him some respect.

Den Vina Fiesta is fun. Whenever we starts fiesta’s here in alang, alang we are having first a program produced by our very own mayor, Mayor Entong Yu. In our town plaza we are having a pageant, search, singing contest and more. In plazza. There are so many barbecue bars, some peoples get drunk, buying barbecue’s, singing with the karaoke’s. Some peoples or vendors are selling flying balloons, 5 pesos worh pair of earing rings, 15 pesos worth necklace and some popcorn and manggo shake.

            When June 19 comes, It is our fiesta in alang, alang our families are busy cooking foods, to serve to our visitors, we serve: fried chicken, pork menudo, pork adobo, pancit (pansit), spaghettie, salad, manggo float, lechon and more.

            Sometimes we watch “Lingganay”in alang, alang because that is our festival here, the story about lingganay is about a big bell a golden bell, the bell rings louder, the bell ring up to kilometer place. Some people are so very jelous about the big golden bell when the jelous people try to get the bell the owner of the bell throw it away in the river so the bell cannot be seen by the jelous people in the river. So that is our story of “Lingganay” and why we have our happy fiesta.

Pamela Here in the Philippines one of the most  liveliest celebration is a fiesta. Every town has its own fiesta. People invite guests for the grand celebration. Rich or poor people can celebrate a fiesta. It is now time to tell you about the Philippine fiesta.

Before the fiesta or desperas as filipinos call it, people prepare and start decorating flowers, bells and other decorations. On the stadium, workers in the municipal hall prepare for programs and presentations. All people cook food so that they can serve buffets for the guests. At night the fun doesn’t stops yet, the presentations of the desperas still keep on going like Ms. Teen, Mr Teen and etc.

The main event has come, the fiesta has begun people pray at the church early in the morning, a marching band has parade on the way, music is everywhere visitors from other places has arrived. All the people are very busy & crowded, people walking back and forth everywhere. The noise doesn’t stops. Everyone is happy for the fiesta has begun. Everyone sings and dance until night has come.

After the fiesta or tapos some people still celebrate. Parties and presentation happens during a tapos. That’s why endless fun never stops.

Philippines is not only known for its people and landscapes. We also have traditions like fiesta that keeps us alive. That’s why I am proud to be Pilipino.

June 20, 2011

Fiesta was really great. I invited all my volunteers to come, but sadly only M could make it. I showed up the town and we talked to everyone about fiesta and refused lots of tuba offers. Then we ate some food at my house. Sat and talked for a while then headed over to the next house. The next house was D’s, but she was sick in Tacloban. Her host family was afraid we wouldn’t come with out her and were so glad we came. We ate a-whole-nother meal and sat and talked. Then we were informed that M should head home before the drivers got to drunk. Oh fiesta!

            

tales of an island hopping beach bum

May 6, 2011

Oh Borocay, how I have mixed feelings about you. You were extremely beautiful yes and I had an amazing time, but I don’t know it just wasn’t me.

As much as the mountains had us feeling like we weren’t in Kansas any more Boracay had that feeling in a very different way. To be fair, a lot of it is timing. I’m not the kind of person that enjoys tourist destinations in the peak of their tourists’ season. Boracay is a hard-core tourist destination. There are people that go straight there off the plane, turn around get on the plane and leave the Philippines not seeing anything else of this country. Those people choose to do that this time of year. So it wasn’t so much Borocay that I didn’t like but the feeling like a tourist I had while there. Here is how wonderful Borocay can be though.

Beach Getaway: Monday we flew ourselves there got there just after sunset, found our room and then had some good food.

Island Hopping: On Tuesday H set us up on an island hopping snorkeling tour. We slathered on the sunscreen and hopped in the boat. The first place was a little choppy which made for not as fun snorkeling but there was lots of fish still the same. Even puffer fish spottings. The next stop was much calmer. We got to see more fish, and some corals. After this spot we went to lunch on a gorgeous beach with very few people (much more my scene). Then we went back to the water one more time. This time when we went snorkeling H was very surprised to see sea snakes. After calming her down we all got in. This place had manmade frames to help promote coral growth (most of the corals we saw were very much dead), more fish, starfish, and those snakes. We were actually kind of lucky to see the snakes, they are very skittish. We got back just in time for the gorgeous sunset then went to dinner. A very good day.

Beach Bumming: On Wednesday we did nothing. Which is what one does on a white sand beach right? It was nice, we set up on some beach chairs and lazed the day away. The water is so clear in Borocay. We walked out to our shoulders in water and could still see our toes. Which is amazing considering how many people visit Boracay. We hung out there all day. Grabbed food when we wanted, laughed, read, slept, everything you do at a beach.

Going Home: We took our time waking up, went to the airport and sat around and waited. That is the Reader’s Digest version. You can read more details in another blog post, keeping this one on the shorter side!

Love the Philippines!

heroes and villains

March 13, 2011

Sometimes when I give kids writing assignments I myself will do it, or at least think long and hard about it. I found out earlier this week that my teacher had a meeting and I would be watching the kids. Found out just as class was starting, so I said hokay and then came up with something I thought might be interesting to them, this way it is fun and they are working. I asked them what super hero power they would choose. Most kids picked invisibility. Mine has nothing to do with saving the world, and we’ll see if I can even explain it. My super hero power would be to make my first shot when shooting hoops. I’m not asking to make every shot, because that would be straight up cheating. What I’m talking about is the first time you pick up the ball you swoosh. Take an old ball to a new hoop, swoosh. The first time you attempt the shot in the shooting session was just beautiful and made that perfect swoosh sound.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned my plans to run a half marathon in October around a volcano, but that is the plan. At this point if things don’t change I’m going to hate life come October. I’m out of shape something sore. I’m blaming the rain, the rats, the roosters, the fact that that 5:00 comes awfully early, and whatever else makes it look not so bad that I’m not running. My diet is hit and miss. I feel like I’m either ravenous or not hungry in the least. I also feel like there is a correlation between who cooks and how hungry I am. If it is my Auntie I get full pretty soon. I’ve started to take strides into being more self-sufficient (slowly swallowing that guilt like M suggested). And then there are the times when we convince ourselves we can’t live with out McDos (McDonalds). Who doesn’t need French fries? And today I needed a lot… and a lot of chicken nuggets, and an apple pie, and a Green Apple Float. I also needed to go to a birthday party and have some fried chicken, a Coke float, and an ice cream dessert. I also needed to do this in roughly a two-hour time frame. To be fair we did have vegetables last night.

I’ve started to stroll around this town in hopes it can start the habits towards running. Now that the rain is gone I can go out and about. I want to get to know the community. I’ve had issues with feeling like I just work and commute. With the rain gone (and by gone I mean it stops once or twice a week) I don’t hate leaving my house. I love how friendly the people are and how tight it just seems. Reminds me of one those places I call home and how you can just walk across the street and spend a couple hours with your neighbors. Tonight I really needed that walk, see food consumed earlier, and it was a good one: a lap of each side of the high way.

However, it did trouble me when after my walk my Auntie told me not to look at people who try to talk to me. “Um, Auntie, that is kind of the whole point of me here doing this thing.” Joke la. I didn’t really say that. What I did say was, “Kay ano, atay?”

“Because there are mga bad people, that is why I never look at them.”

“That is why people think you are stuck up.” I didn’t really say that either, but over Christmas at a party her family joked and said she was the stuck up one, but not really she just looked that way. So again just joking. What I did say was that I’d be ok. I guess my super hero power wouldn’t help me fight all the many bad people in town either. For those of you who are now worried about me, know I wield an umbrella when I walk and the people are in fact nice.

I texted this conversation to my site mate and she said, ‘She’s coo koo.’ This time I’m not joking, she really did say that. I love that D! But she’s been here a year and has had no incident and people tell me over and over again how safe it is. But I guess not safe enough for me to live on my own.

Now, back to that seemingly superfluous super hero power of mine. This town is riddled with basketball hoops. How awesome would it be if every time I passed a game I took my stance, clapped my hands, said ‘Pwede ka?’ with a lip pointed head nod to the rim, got passed the ball, drained it, and then walked off an Americano legend?  Went to the next court and did it all over again. Pretty sweet, right? I haven’t drained any shots yet, but tonight I did catch a tennis ball that came flying out of nowhere at me, and kids did think I was some what awesome for it. Win!

we don't party hardly, we just party hard

September 8, 2010
The Philippines are catholic and so therefore their traditions are at times catholic. This week was one of those cases where my group got to participate in part of these traditions.
My nanay’s husband passed away 9 years ago this week. In the Catholic Church you say a pray on the day he passed to help ensure entry to heaven, but for the first 9 years you say the pray and have an anniversary celebration (a very big celebration). We were invited to be part of this.
The prayer was at 11:00 and lunch followed around 12:00. The spread, oh the spread! There was rice, and pork adobo, and pansit (noodles and a personal favorite of mine), and chicken, and fried shrimp, and a pork and cabbage type stir-fry, and some more chicken, and some more pork, and another kind of pork pâté kind of thing, and amazing pineapple, and fruit salad, and fish, and gabi, then the amazing lychee flan (I ate way more than my share of that). Then they brought out the beers and we got practice our turn down the brew skills, what with us sitting across from a teachers, and with having class in 30 minutes, and the fact I don’t drink. When we went to class they told us to come back for meryenda and then come back after class.
After class we walked around a bit and did some visiting at a cluster mates house. Then I went home and the party was in full force. I had some studying to do so I hid away in my room for a bit. Then at about 7:30 a cluster mate of mine stopped by. We were ushered to the back yard for some tuba (a type of wine made from the bark of the coconut tree, they drink it with Coke) and more beers and some videoke. Which was fine for my cluster mate, him being a male that drinks and all. However I was the only one in the back yard without a drink and without a y chromosome. My house sister brought me some tang and more flan and stayed out for a couple songs then came inside to play card games with the kids. A couple hours later my cluster mate went home and I proceeded to bed.
Luckily I had my earplugs in because they were videoke-ing well into the morning. This morning was the first morning I was up before everyone in the family, and we even decided to go on a later run. My cluster mate who is also one of my running mates was there, but not in top form.
Talking at breakfast just now they said they had 200 plates and it was not enough. They have already started the clean up and knowing the way people use their time here it should be all clear by the time I get back for lunch.
What a day, the celebration went from 11:00 am to 2:00 am. This is the last year they well have an anniversary celebration for him. In so many days they will pray for him, and then in so many days later pray again. After that they will just go to mass on the anniversary of his death.