Saturday, December 10, 2011

December 10, 2011 Year Seven

Her Highness, The Seven Year Old... who did not seem happy with it all. She had four changes of gowns and looked more tired and grumpy with each. Weeks of preparation go into this choosing of gowns, getting photographs, setting up the household inside and out and planning the food, the guests and the special, contributing guests. I imagine the child is worn out. She may recover by her 18th birthday. 
Her Serene Highness- wasn't that one of Princess Diana's titles? And some of her court. She had seven sets of attendants, and individual groups of seven to present her with seven roses, seven candles, seven special gifts, seven wishes, etc. .
Here are the seven candle sponsors, gathered around her and each offering special words.
The requisite dancers were the PILMES dance troupe, boys and girls from our Grade 6.

You can see the dancers in the background doing their second number. But these little guys were focused entirely on their game of marbles. They had gathered right on the dance floor and we held our breath when the dancers nearly ran them over. Parents came up and shooed them away and they just gathered again a few feet away. This happened repeatedly. All this quasi-grown up elegance going on around them and they are just being little boys. It was my favorite part of the party and I have several pictures of them in different spots on the floor.

He just wanted to see better so he climbed onto a chair and held on the tree.

December 10, 2011 Birthday Celebrations! Year One

I've gathered from reading, through the years, that there are significant birthdays in various cultures. Year one is big because in many cultures infant mortality is high so the baby is celebrated for having survived. I'm thinking age 7 is big because that has been considered the "age of reason", when a child becomes able to discern right from wrong and basic theology. Age 18 is big in many cultures because the child becomes an eligible (marriageable) adult. If anyone knows more or different I'd like to hear about it.
Anyway, here all three ages are significant and are celebrated specially. The child's birthday's in between are marked with a special merienda such as pansit or spaghetti.  Sometimes parents will send these snack foods to school to share with the whole class and the teachers.
It is the person having the birthday who provides the treat for friends. So instead of expecting others to take me to lunch, for instance, I will bring merienda for everyone to enjoy, and presents are not in evidence. This, of course, varies throughout the country, but this is the general and my experience. As anywhere, money influences the extent of the festivities. Sometimes sponsors will help pay for celebrations.  Sometimes families choose to celebrate quietly. Here is a one year birthday:
Little Miss Birthday Girl is the daughter of a teacher so much of our team left school and walked through town to attend. We stayed about an hour and then returned. 







The traditional delicacies. Pig's head and fruit salads and cake, along with others. Extended family helps pay for and prepare the feasts.








Great Grandma.
It was a Friday, judging by the uniform.
At my HF in Colo, our one year old, Mary May, had, along with the pig's head, a raw head of cabbage with skewers stuck all over in it on which were pieces of hot dog and little marshmallows. I've seen that several times. There are usually games for the children and lots of little packets of prizes, like toys that the children get. These parties last for many hours with people coming and going throughout the day.

Friday, December 9, 2011

December 8, 2011 Ala eh!

Ala eh! is a Batangas expression, similar to Uffda! in Minnesota. This festival celebrates towns and livelihoods in our region.
Dario was going for the day because provincial engineering staff was to be on duty to assure all went well, so Rachiel and I rode with him for the day. All provincial employees, and I do mean all, started with high mass during which an attendance sheet was passed for signatures. After mass the parade started and then the street-dancing competition. 
Attendance sheet during High Holy Mass of the Immaculate Conception.

Dario (white t), Rachiel (tan shorts), other coworkers and a few locals.















Spanish Colonial influence along with other island and Asian cultures.

Here is Ibaan, Amy's town,  which was celebrating mosquito netting for some reason I do not know, but because of that, these costumes are made of netting. Fun! Gorgeous! But heavy and hot! It is enough to sleep in one without having to wear it! My net is red, as in the under-petticoats here. Remember that for trivia.                      
San Jose, my town, known as the egg capitol of the Philippines. We supply most of the eggs to Manila, thank you very much! These are all chicken feathers, with eggs on the headdresses.


My personal favorite. The end. (of this blog)
ps. This evening I am going with Rachiel to her cousin's 18th birthday party. This is equivalent to a debutante ball or a quincenero. The young lady is the only daughter of a wealthy family. My camera is charging in anticipation.
12/10/11 pps. I found out today that Ibaan manufactures the mosquito nets.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

December 5, 2011 Pleasures- Spiritual, Aesthetic and Epicurian

There were eight of us in the car, including the host and hostess, Mario and Midz De Roxas. We drove from San Jose to Lucban for early mass and a climb up the mountain to the Shrine of The Hands of Christ- hundreds of tall steps. We lit candles and let our intentions drift up with the flames and smoke.

Mare Bb and I .
Back in the car, we rolled slowly through lovely, little old towns, where the neighborhoods of antique houses with gracious kopis windows gave way to more recent buildings. I have a heart for the old ones, but the new ones are indication of economic optimism-  so I try to appreciate them. We wound our way over the mountains, through the dense and endless tropical forests. We would pass a bamboo hut here and a cluster of cement houses there, past a few bigger, colorful houses with some stone decoration on them and then a grouping of tiny bamboo huts further back off the road into the woods.
All along the way, wherever there is a house, you're apt to see people outside, men, women or children, moving in a relaxed yet purposeful way. Often the older children and the adults are caring for little ones. There are always children around and they're always being cared for. I have never seen a child being yelled at or treated harshly here. I have also only seen a child being petulant once and that was a wealthy, indulged child. I've heard babies crying and seen children melt down from tiredness but that is just life. The response to it is what I notice as so peaceful.
The company in the car was relaxed and peaceful too. We were all just enjoying the hours of visiting the churches on our tour, each selected for a certain reason. We went to Laguna, a beautiful Spanish-era town and caught the practice of an exceptionally good youth choir.
 
The rectangle in the foreground is a basketball hoop.
Can you see the vegetation on the facade of this church? Everything here is under siege of the tropical climate and growth. From every bit of every building to my eyeglass cases to my clothing- there is evidence of constant disintegration. What a challenge to keep things in good shape. Some materials, like bamboo, look clean and perky over time. Stone and cement, like this, look like the earth would reclaim them in about 20 years. Beautiful, poetic, haunting.
Bamboo ceiling:

After this church we went to the Shrine of Padre Pio, a famous healer and advocate of the poor and immigrants. That is mostly outdoors and it emanates serenity.  We took our time at every stop and we all seemed to drift back to the car at about the same time each place.
In the Philippine tradition, we ate merienda (snack) in the car. I've learned, here, that when food is presented I don't ask questions, I just say "Yes, please!". I taste just about everything, but don't eat a lot, that way, I'm always ready to eat the next time, which comes about 2 hours later. This time, however, I ate the delicious tuna salad with pineapple sandwich made for me and then had another urged on me. Just as I'm finishing I hear that we're approaching the special destination-restaurant. The restaurant is a type called Palaisdaan, or Fish Farm. It is comprised of individual eating huts, each separate and afloat, connected by walkways. Fish, mostly talapia and koi fill the water. The fish is caught and prepared immediately for serving. So the ambiance is a delight, the fish is delectable and then one more thing- the traditional way of eating with one's hands- "kamayan" is encouraged. I've used my fingers to eat fish since my first day in Dinalupihan; it is about impossible for me to separate the bones out with spoon and fork. But I usually use the silverware for most of the meal. This day I just set them aside and followed everyone else.
There were about seven ulan- main dishes- brought out and the table looked like a cover for Bon Apetit!. This was world class food and service. There was also a clear broth soup and, of course, rice. Oh! and one of my (many) favorites, buko shake, which is like a fresh-pineapple smoothie.  We served ourselves rice and then some of the main dishes. To eat neatly, you must mix a little of the ulan with the rice, mush them together a little until it is sticky and then you can pick it up and get it into your mouth without grains of rice falling onto the table or down your front. So I ate kamayan for the first time!
From the left: Mario and Midz De Roxas, Mare Bb, Ana, Merly, Jo-Anne and I.
Jo-anne and I tasting our first snails.
And, also a first, I ate snails! I've always heard how good they are and Carmen and Mui are enjoying the ones in France so I wanted to get in on this. I wasn't the only novice, so Mario, our host, taught both of us how to suck the bigger end to get the snail out. I knew they had to be good for so many people to be willing to do this to eat them. They are! Delicious! As the meal was ending Mario had the strolling musicians come to our table and play traditional songs. What lingers most from this wonderful day is the peace. 
I was thinking of you when I lit these, dear family and friends. Peace to you all, to all who will be missing and all who will be present with us this Christmas and New Year's.

Monday, December 5, 2011

December 3, 2011 Umpe Alice and my Inaanak, Milka

I have been given the honor of being asked to be a Confirmation Sponsor for one of my students, Milka. Her mother, Bibe, explained to me that that means I am now a part of their family forever. I am Milka's Umpe Alice (Godmother Alice) and she is my Inaanak, which means "child". Her parents call me Mare Ali and I call them Mare Bibe and Pare Buda which means co-parents. We are all spiritual parents of Milka. She was confirmed last Saturday and her celebration was on Sunday where I met other family members, some of whom are also my mares and pares. Maybe some day she will meet my other Godchildren, Gustave and Amelia. God bless them all.
Bibe brought her two girls, Yunica (left) and Milka over to my house along with Rachiel, our mutual friend and my constant cultural guide. This was the family visit to ask me, in the presence of my family, if I would be Milka's sponsor.

Friday, December 2, 2011

December 2, 2011 Christmas Decorating at PILMES

Early September was when Christmas decorations and music appeared. But last week we really got excited and decorated the school! The principal had said she wanted to see more decorations and everyone got involved, parents, pupils and teachers. Classrooms, buildings and grounds all got treatment.

 Hanging pineapples outside my classroom. Wouldn't OSHA love this?
Ma'am Rachiel's door.











Our beautiful school, all dressed up!  We're already in the thick of secret gift exchanges. We exchanged names and last week we gave something heavy. I found a bag on my desk with a pumpkin in it! Then Monday I found some candy with an even sweeter note attached. Today we exchanged something wet. I can't tell what I gave but I can say I received a can of pineapple juice. I drank that immediately! These gifts continue until the final parties when we give a bigger present. I am feeling jolly!

Merry Christmas! God bless us, every one!

December 2, 2011 Meeting of 6-1 and parents at PILMES

Imagine this in the US: A Principal thinks the highest achievers are not giving all they can academically and morally, so she calls a meeting of all parents and has all students stand assembled for an hour and a half lecture.
 There is so much emphasis on education, so much riding on the future of each Filipino child. The well-being of families, communities and the nation is affected. The principal, from what I understand, was admonishing the pupils to live up to their responsibilities as highly capable scholars and at the same time telling parents to be sensitive to this pressure their children are under. Parents were attentive and quiet throughout. Toward the end I looked over and all the pupils had silently sunk down to the floor, tired from standing but still quiet and respectful.
 
 Only a few of the parents had questions or comments, this father being one of them.
His daughter is an excellent student and is away at academic and extracurricular competitions. He wondered if the added challenges are being taken into consideration when pupils return to the classroom. He was assured that they are.

The knife he is holding is called a bolo, at least as common as a penknife in the States, but obviously more apparent! (They are so handy I bought one for myself. It will be good for chipping kindling.) Check out the next blog (Christmas Decorating) to see why he had it with him.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

November 30, 2011 Laundry (gotta share it, big part of life here for me)

Here I am washing. There is a sink with running water to my left. Ate Belin took this picture from the upstairs porch where we hang our clothes to dry. 
Hung up, swaying in the breeze that is almost always gently blowing. That's why my room is as comfortable as can be in this climate. The laundry and I share the same part of the house.
The porch is covered, so we never have to worry about rain except to move the clothes toward the center if the winds are very high.
From this angle you are seeing my bedroom window. The clothes and I share the delicious breeze.That is how Filipinos express it, too: delicious breeze: "masarap ng hangin!"
Since the beginning of our training Peace Corps has been urging us to dress up a little more. Filipinos dress very nicely, often in what PC calls "smart casual". We're apt to see those words on any invitations or instructions from PC.
Teachers wear uniforms, and they are very neat and tailored and made out of polyester. They are also very hot and the climate is a challenge for us anyway. (One of my cluster-mates has a sweating disorder and I admire his good attitude about it all.) I had three outfits made that are cooler but still easy to wash. I am wearing them as uniforms, which keeps cost and care easy. I think they will last for the 2 years.
I bought more clothes, too, to keep up with the Filipinos. These clothes require ironing. As it is absolutely necessary to wash every garment after every single wearing, ironing has reentered my life in a big way. I haven't ironed this much since we were little and ironing the bushel baskets of cotton clothing. Mama always made the setting pleasant for the big ironings- in front of the TV or on the porch.
Here we are really lucky to have a pleasant place too.
The hot iron rests on this bed of leaves which for some reason don't burn, but when hot smell good.

Bad News: After carefully ironing and hanging my clothes for the next day, they absorb the humidity and this is what they look like:
 Good News: Because of the humidity a quick press results in this smart casual, Philippines-ready look!
From what I hear from around the world, we Americans are quite relaxed in our clothing. It is a puzzle to both sides of the issue. Our exchange student from Hong Kong finally felt he had figured out why people in Minneapolis dressed so "sloppy". He said it was because Minneapolis is only a small farm town, unlike Hong Kong, where you wouldn't leave your house looking like that. 

November 28, 2011 Lizard in my water carafe!

It's evening, I relaxing, getting ready to settle in bed to read. I reach to fill my glass with water and here's what I see:
This little bugger got in through the small spout-hole and apparently couldn't get out. Maybe it's the same one that pooped on me yesterday!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

November 28, 2011 Pooped on by a lizard!

Last night as I was reading in bed, I felt something wet drop onto my upper arm. "Funny", I thought, "It's not raining!" and I looked up and there was a lizard. I have been defecated upon by the likes of tiny frogs, kittens, puppies and babies, but this was a new one for me!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

November 17, 2011 My classroom.

I began teaching yesterday. Ma'am Rachiel teaches 6 sections of Grade 6. Each of the classes is from 50 to 60 pupils. We are dividing each class in half and she is teaching English Reading and Writing and I'm teaching Speaking and Listening. The first two days have gone well. Just having such reduced class size is a boost to teaching.
Classes in the Philippines are homogenous, placing children in levels according to their performance. Therefore, there is a marked difference from one "level" to the next. Although I present the same basic lesson 6 times, I amend it continuously to adjust to their abilities. For instance, Level 1 played the 'Mystery Bag' game where we sat in a circle and passed my backpack, from which a pupil pulled an object out and told something about it, blending it in with the ongoing story. They did that all in English. That is very good for 6th grade English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. On the other hand, with some of the groups, I abandoned the lesson plan and used simple games to teach directions, such as Hokey-Pokey to teach them left and right.
I could not tell you which pupils I prefer to work with. I enjoy the engagement and intellect of Level 1 and 2, but I love working with children who've been discouraged or frustrated. I love seeing their intelligence.  And I love learning with the children, like I did in homeschooling. I'll be learning a lot more than the subject matter in these classes. Every day here is self discovery.
Rachiel has made this as easy and encouraging as possible. She arranged for this spare room to be my classroom and she got the room cleaned (I was sick the day it got cleaned.) Now we just do our work and watch what happens.
My classroom and my little cleaning elves.





Tuesday, November 15, 2011

November 15, 2011 A few of my favorite things- Jeepneys

Don't they look like they are hanging out with pals and at midnight they will come to life and start playing together? 
We call them Jeepneys but Filipinos call them Jeeps. They are ubiquitous. All you do if you want a ride in any town is wait along the side of the street and they pull right up for you. The drivers are finely tuned to the body language and can tell if someone wants a ride.   

Go Vikings! Filipinos really like America and many have relatives in the States  who are commemorated in style!
This is a tough job. The crocheted fringes usually ask God's help. I read that they count on God because the jeeps are in bad shape and the tires are bald.The white flowers hanging from the yellow altar here are some I bought from a vendor outside church. I laid them on the seat and the driver picked them up and hung them. This is what they are for; they're little devotional wreaths. My host sister, Marjery, watching over my shoulder as I type this, tells me they are Sampaguita. They smell really sweet, like gardenias.                           
In the driver's hand is pesos. They are constantly collecting and making change while driving which they pass back over their shoulder to the nearest passenger, who hands it down the line to the correct recipient. When you are ready to get off, you just say, "Para po!", and they pull off for you.





There's a story here. This is from my vantage point at the front of the benches, overlooking the driver's area. We teachers were packing in to go to a sporting event. There were 25 of us in the back and 2 up front to the right of the driver, but we wanted Sir Arjay to ride with us so the driver just scooted over a little and Arjay sat to the driver's left- beside the bald tire. So countem' folks! That makes 29 counting the driver! 





This was a Wednesday, you can tell by the color of the uniform.
 At PILMES, waiting for pupils after school.


Mahal kong Inay means "I love my mother"
At a region-wide sporting event in Batangas City.

I'm signing out, now, but I wanted to mention that tomorrow is special to me. I will teach in my own classroom for the first time.
Good night, everyone!