Sunday, October 21, 2012

September 22, 2012 Babies are born!

Dario's first sight of the babies. Fathers are not allowed in the labor and delivery rooms. He waited in this hall for hours while Mam Rachiel underwent a CSection. 

Dario helping Rachiel through the first days of pain. The babies were cared for in the nursery and never brought to the parents. 
Just a few close friends and family.
Teachers of the PILMES, Grade 6 team; Mam Cristy, me, Mam  Rachiel,  Mam  Glorydee and Mam Maureen.
Alice Kathlyn 3.3# and Alleyna Kathryn 4# 
Bibeh (Mare) and Jawie are sisters and first cousins of Mam Rachiel.
Jawie, me and Dario's sister Patrine giving each other massages.

Putting baby powder on her back.  There are electric fans and a big window that opened for fresh air. No air conditioning. Cleaning and hygiene care is provided by the "kasamas" (person or persons that stay with the patient).




Pare and Mare getting their first look at the babies.





Miguel seeing his little sisters.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

PILMES Sports Camp May 15-18, 2012

PCV Trevor Mooney and I worked together on a sports camp. It taught American Football and soccer and lasted for 4 whole days. Here is the pamphlet I made with a lot of help from Mam Arlene, a fellow teacher at PILMES.
 Two major goals of the camp were that girls as well as boys be involved and that no child had to pay any fee for anything. Both those goals were met. 
For most of these children, this was the first time they'd ever handled a football.  The pop bottle is marking a boundary, since the rain erased the yard-lines. Note the cow in the background. We had goats on our field, too. 
Trevor in the gray, a youth coach on the left, and look at those girls play!

This is after the closing ceremony of the camp. The governor paid for the t shirts with our logo on them.  They are holding the certificates, signed by Education officials from the local school all the way to the Head of the Division. This has an impact on their grades in school.  
I had a follow-up meeting with Governor Vilma Santos-Recto, in which I gave her a thank-you and  a copy of the picture above, of the athletes in their t-shirts. I also discussed my ongoing project of developing a type of library. We had a nice talk and she agreed to donate materials. 

Sunday, July 29, 2012

April 12, 2012 Himamawo again, then plowing with water buffalo.



Halo-Halo on our way to Himamawo.  Halo-Halo means mix-mix , and is the name of this treat because  it is a spoonful of this and a spoonful of that (mostly fruits), shaved ice packed over that and sweetened milk poured over it all, then the recipient mixes it herself. This treat has become a tradition on our way to Himamawo. 
One of the many springs which trickle and run all over the banks around Himamawo. The water is clear and pure and we drank it straight from the ground.
Bamboo is a plant, not a tree, and is amazing for its multitude of uses, from when it is young and  it is eaten as a vegetable, all the way to its maturity when it can be used as you see above, split and serving as a conduit. 

My beloved, lovely Himamawo.
I'm  "Water Monster Who Torments Tubers"
Pare and Mare
Lunchtime! Our rice, wrapped in banana leaves which adds flavor and can serve as a plate.


Dario cutting bamboo to use as platform for the food and also as dishes.


Plate- boring. Food-delicious. Clockwise from rice: salted egg salad, pancit and pork adobo......

 
This is very different from driving a horse. For instance, you  pull when you want  to go forward.  I was very poor at it and the farmer, in the blue shirt, was probably very glad to get control again. But I fulfilled one of my preeminent goals while here, I got to drive! I really would like to ride one and also drive a cart. I'll be looking for some hapless farmer. It's not just Pennsylvania, Idaho and Minnesota farmers I'll have bothered before I'm through...

Rice.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

July 3, 2012 Anniversary of Arrival in Philippines

Happy Anniversary to all of us Batch 270s who arrived in the Philippines 1 year ago today!
Hello, everyone. I'm back. I have been very busy. Gone 3 weeks our of May: Language Camp, Sports Camp and HIV/AIDS Training. Then I had my friendly Filipino "digestive complain" that visited me from something I ate or drank in Manila and this time it lasted 4 weeks. On top of which my computer crashed and that took several weeks to resolve. Furthermore, school began again with a lot of turmoil. Many of us teachers didn't even know what grade we'd be teaching for sure until after school started. It took weeks to readjust. Mam Rachiel and I are together and in the same positions and I've been assigned a (new) permanent room that we've been refurbishing for the Reading Resource Room. Amidst all this, Amy and I managed an awesome vacation to a remote and idyllic island. Then back to our towns and our work. So I'm back on track biologically, professionally, technologically and now blogilogically. I'll be posting soon.

Friday, April 13, 2012

April 14, 2012 Quirky English- Please share your own sightings from anywhere in the world.

While visiting Olangapo during training, I saw an ad for pizza that proclaimed,
"Richly Decked with Sausage!" 
What in the world does this mean?
How inviting! Let's all go!
Two things my mother abhored.

Then you might need to use the restroom...
And just in case they don't heed this...


































One Child One Sports?
 

This is a T-Shirt Mam Rachiel gave to me. These were made for the teachers who helped their journalist pupils at a Press Con(ference) Competition. It does not carry the inuendo that it would in the States, but I just could not bring myself to wear it.
Amy caught this for me: "Only two persons are allowed for the ocular inspection."
And I always smile when I see the signs in stores requesting you, "Fall In Line". 

April 11, 2012 Himamawo- Tagalog for Bliss! (not really but it ought to be).

My komares (parents of my godchild) Mare and Pare,  picked me up for an adventure. Pare drove us far back into the countryside, to Himamawo. 

We hiked down.

Looking up.
Just past the falls...
Down the stairs and here we are. The only sounds were of forest and water, this is kilometers away from population. Filipinos say, "Masarap!" at something like this- yes, "Delicious!"  Just us 3 at this spot of the world!
The water from the springs.
Aaaaahhhhhhh....
Mare.
After a while these boys walked down the steps. They were local and had walked kilometers to get here. They were such fun to be among. They flipped and cavorted like little tadpoles.

I loved watching them.
They thought it was so funny that a "cana" (Americana) was in the water.
I was very focused on trying to get the boy diving mid-air. I didn't realize til I looked at this picture what had happened, then I remembered hearing the boys laughing about one having lost his pants.
My komares treated me to halo-halo afterwards, which means mix-mix because it is a combination of so many fruits and goodies together, shaved ice packed over that, evaporated milk poured over that and then it's your job to mix-mix it. I used to think I didn't like it. I love this woman's concoction! I was ready to hire a tricycle today and go the many kilometers for it. It's the best!