365 Days At Site, 365 Days To Go

Today marks the one year anniversary of my arrival at site. I wish that could be enough said. Its implication carries so much meaning and gravity for me but I cannot count of it my readership reading between those lines, so to speak. Maybe it's not something I can articulate and it may not be something I want to articulate in its fullest capacity. It feels like a personal victory and something I want to keep close to my heart.

But I am not blogging to explain how I don't really want to describe what this milestone means to me. Today I dropped some Aquino's (500 peso bills) and bought the teachers some ice cream to celebrate. One distinction I would like to make is that in Philippines culture, the celebrant is charged with throwing the party, a bit of a reversal of what we do in the US. So I bought ice cream for the teachers as a twofer, my anniversary today, Monday the 9th, and my birthday on Saturday. I am hoping this one-two punch will excuse any big purchases that might be expected the Friday before my bday.

We all had a nice time having a chika, or chit-chat and the teachers couldn't even believe I have been here for a year already! I must say, neither can I.

Time as a measurement (as opposed to a mechanism) expands and contracts when considering different lengths at a time. 365 days into the future seems long though 365 days into the past seems like no time at all, and here I am on the razor's edge in between and in the pocket. Today feels like a magical day: an advent and an ending, and advantage and a blending.

Hot Springs

I joined my host mom and some of her friends today to go to a day-after wedding lunch party in a town nearby. The trip was interesting, however, when we left the party and stopped at a mainit, or hot springs about 20 minutes from out house. I had no idea these springs existed, but it's nice now to know they are there in case any visitors ever feel like a hike. The springs wreaked of sulfur but the smell became less overpowering as my nose became more habituated to it. Anyway, here are some pictures of the springs.

The caretakers of the springs also had a pet monkey with which I was quite enamored.

The Barber of Santa Cruz

I went to get my monthly haircut today, at the same place, by the same person. The only difference was that there were two other guys in the salon and I'm usually the only one in there. As the barber began prepping his clippers, comb and razor blade (yes, they use a razor blade to trim the edges and it's awesome!), the two guys came over and just stared at my head. Before this would have just made me uncomfortable or angry but it's all part of the package deal here. Anyway, as the barber started clipping my hair, the two guys just stood in amazement, slack-jawed, staring at my falling hair. I can't even begin to guess at what was going through their heads, if anything at all, but there they were. The barber, totally unfazed by my being there because I'm a regular, told them to have a seat. They backed away slowly, mesmerized by the back of my head. As the barber finished up, the one sitting nearest to me started pointing out spots the barber had missed and the barber graciously went back over those spots. I then paid my 50 pesos (about $1) and left.

I learned today that a haircut can be a communal effort and that I have grown more at ease living the absurdity that is "the fish bowl." In a bizarre way, I think I may miss all the attention when I get back home and become just another white dude.

Happy Halloween - Some Scary Stuff

It's been a weird couple days. Some kind of crazy things have happened that I wouldn't necessarily like to get into on this public forum. That said, I spent most of today laying in bed thinking about what's been going on. The fact that it's Halloween doesn't help much, it's the holiday that gets the holiday season (including me and my brother's birthdays) rolling and it's going to be really hard to be away from home.

I've spent today thinking that I might not be able to muster whatever it is that needs mustering to make it through another year. Come November 10th (or so), we will have been at site for one year, a total of 15 months in-country. I know my blog is typically optimistic, but looking at another year sometimes feels like looking down the barrel of a gun (to be dramatic about it). There are days that are too lonely to describe, days that seem like friends are too hard to come by, days when the weather is too hot and humid, days when it won't stop raining. There are days I don't want to speak the language, eat the food, or even be outside. There are days, like today, I sit in my room waiting for the sun to go down just so it can come up again, sleep and malaria medicine-induced dreams breaking up the monotony. I never realized before that both boredom and homesickness can inflict a physical kind of sting.

But then again, there are days when my coteacher, Sir Erwin, the students, the principle, my host family and others really make me smile, and when they make me smile, it feels like my mind is being hugged. I'm certain I will stick it out, but on days like today, when I'm feeling less than invincible, it's at least a little liberating to entertain the thought.

Again I have been thinking about grad school. Frankly I am so terrified of the GRE that I won't even want to attempt it, but then again, I have lived in a foreign country with cockroaches the size of matchbox cars; what is a standardized test going to do to me? I'm still looking at the University of Denver at the International Communication program, emphasis in international journalism in new media. Seems neat.

I think I should stay in the States a while at least. Since 2007 I have spent appx. 12 months in the States and I'm getting a little road weary. It could be one possibility of what's causing my slump. But in the end, Peace Corps is not about the adventure or excitement. It's a job, plain and simple. I have duties and responsibilities here; it's just like any other 9-5, except in the developing world.

I miss Halloween in the States. I miss Halloween with Brian, Kari, Aaron, Jay and Malena, I miss the Cider House. I miss watching Nightmare Before Christmas and going to the pumpkin patch (no matter how old I got) with the moms. The holiday season is a tough one and I don't think it's going to be any easier this year.

Happy Halloween.

Red Cross Donations

So today I collected the donations contributed by the local government unit and my high school for the victims of the recent natural calamities here in the Philippines. All together the two agencies donated 751 pesos or $15.98 U.S. This may seem like a meager sum however the tough economic times has been felt world-wide and my community is no exception. In fact, the economic crisis has arguably hit the developing world exponentially harder, affecting those living on humble monthly budgets far harder than those in the developed world. That said, I am extremely proud of my community banding together to support their kababayan, or countrymen, up north. I sent the money as a direct donation to the Philippines Red Cross this afternoon.