Turns out crow is pretty tasty

Bahala na

Tikbalang--a half man, half horse, all hung spirit

The site of some of the best fish ever cooked on god's green earth and plenty o msg

The trike--vehicle to the stars

Morning after a rain

My bahay 

Watchful eyes

Where it all goes down (and I mean all)

Pamilia adorabilia 

The houses of Acuzar

Joke lang 

My what was I thinking list was even more valid as a reason to come back to the side of the world I left. I'm so happy for my adventure and to be back with the people I LOVE so soon!

Sige, babay!

Whatever is new will one day be old

Like teeth, phones, group work, ants. 

We had a movie night "Metro Manila," which I would recommend if you'd like to take in some pathos and woe, and, as I was laying on the community room tile floor flicking the occasional ant off my arm, my tongue realized a corner chunk of my left molar had disappeared! I expect from a tasty pork bone. The next morning I was driven to a Manila alley dentist with a fellow trainer who was looking for lost luggage. He didn't find it and we mourned his dive knife on the way back. My lady dentist repaired my tooth handily and, a nice technique I'd like to see adopted in the states, showed me my before and after with a small hand mirror, telling me what she would be doing. So exciting to catch a glimpse of the world's news! We talked CNN on my way out the door: the Iran deal! the Greek debt shenanigans deal! the upcoming national and local elections here which here are a big, big deal. She thought the swing votes won't show up this year because it's the first of only online voting and they're requiring extensive paperwork. Jobs and livelihoods very much can depend on who won what--especially locally I understand.  

(A cistern with chunks of raw meat floating around in it? I thought it was bullfrogs but maybe chicken thighs? Why?)

I've been to the SM mall (3 floors of shiny) in Cavite four times in the last 12 days to fix my iPhone. I lovehate technology. And just plain hate the internet here. Along with all malls everywhere. Resourcefully hunched over a carpet counter with a saudering gun and tiny screwdrivers they've fixed the stuck power button, changed the battery, sold me a SIM card, a hotspot, a data load and I'm still not sure how and if any of it works. Grandma it's past your bedtime. 

Group work I'm going to just place this right here and back away.

Not that anyone is so unbearable. It's just that my soul has a max load of 1 a day. Five a day will not stand. I will survive. But...at...what...cost?

(Compound goats with a raw-necked and viciously growling dog tied underneath. Dogs are wretched here.) 

There are at least 5 kinds of ants (and 3 kinds of bananas) around. Microscopic ones that run the tables in language class, type USA black ants that run on road curbs and clotheslines in infinite trails, big, slow loners on the bathroom floor or up a wall, spindly ginger ants grooming their antennae. Everywhere. So used to it already. 

What else is slowly becoming understood? Bucket laundry and the joy of a line in the sun; bone skinny dogs with momma tits rolling in the dirt; the smell of burning trash; three kinds of meat for every meal and it isn't a meal without rice; curly hair, fast growing fingernails, dirty feet, the daily exhilaration of finding the fleeting internet and seeing my man's face or hearing his voice. 

I've been without spinach salads for a week and am pooping like a champ, without an elliptical and I have new muscles sore from jogging and calisthenics, without any control over my day and forcing the realization that it's ok, take a deep breath, enjoy the happening.

Tomorrow we finish Initial Orientation and bus to the baranguay of Atilano Ricardo in the municipality of Bagac province of Bataan where we meet the families who will host us and give us our first hint of authentic Filipino life. Tabo. Tabo? Tabo. Peace Corps camp is over. 

There's a first time for everything...

The first time I've...

Cried that hard in an airport

Been on a plane that big for that long

Seen  a floor toilet

Gotten through customs (in a lei, with 87 other trainees)
Thrown my used toilet paper in the trash
Taken a bucket shower
Ridden in a jeepney
Exchanged dollars for another currency
Seen a bug swarm so thick that I couldn't see the ground

Eaten lechon, a chicken head, balout, dorian

That bug swarm though! Last night after our trip to the mall (powdered milk, tape, laundry detergent, hangerhook thing for drying clothes, extra toilet paper, padlock, basically I could have brought almost nothing and I would have been fine) there was a huge mass of tiny, fingernail-size bugs riding each other in a huge orgy outside my room door. A couple of fat frogs and a gecko were sitting there eating slowly while some of the freaked out trainees ran through the swarm. This morning there are no bodies left on the bugs that got into our room because the ants ate them overnight. Their wings look like brown petals on the bathroom floor.

I'm really, really (really) enjoying myself so far. We spend long days in trainings and group activities (where I normally want to stab my brains out but haven't even been painful so far) in comfortable rooms with old fans and struggling AC's. But on breaks when I step outside it's shockingly, satisfyingly exotic. Surprise downpours, rubbery leaves, bright flowers on the sidewalks, weird big bugs and a temple on the grounds. There's a big swimming pool! That I can jump in after a jog! It's rained all afternoon today but the typhoons are hitting up North so we really shouldn't complain.  

I really like my fellow fresh meat. No one is too cool for school. My energetic roommate is cracking me up. And most of the rest of them seem smart, kind, and genuine about either their interest in trying something new in their life and/or making a difference in other people's. And they all speak English!

We start our language and sector training classes tomorrow. Eventually they'll let us out of here for more than a 3 hour trip to the mall. I'm in Cavite now at a big, clean, old compound. We'll travel to the province of Bataan after next week (where typhoons may become much more real). I'm so excited to be here and to get to do this. I miss my man very, very much. But I'm sure this was the right thing for me right now.

Rain and rain and rain

Chicken head!

Balout (there's a big part with the texture of an eraser that made me gag)

Map of compound outside my door (seriously, though, the bugs were at least an inch and a half thick on the ground) 

Beautiful compound

"Traveling is one of the saddest pleasures of life."

- Madame de Stael

I'm getting on a big plane from CMH tomorrow and from LAX on the 4th. And d-r-e-a-d-i-n-g all the changes that are coming.

What am I doing? Why am I changing my lucky life? I love my bed and the person in it, my steady supply of spinach salads, the cybex arc trainer at planet fitness. It's a great time ovah heyah!

"Just get on the plane," the alums tell me, "It's all down hill from there."

Despite steady progress and all the work and time I've already invested into this idea, part of me thought this day would never happen. It reminds me that, one day, my last will surprise me too. 

To me, that's freeing. One day today will be a blip in a lifespan. One action taken. One decision made. It's a reason to take leaps and quit nice jobs and leave beautiful people. It's a good reason to try now. When I calm my monkey mind and trust myself I'm not afraid. It's going to be groovy. 

Lately, though, I've just been freaking out. I'm tired of anticipating and thinking about the unknowns. I want a couple more weeks in Ohio at least, with the people I love, but at the same time I'm determined to make this happen, so let it happen. 

America, you've been damn good to me. But, despite recent improvements (USA! USA!), you've got some growing up to do. 

I've got some growing to do too. I expect to come back bolder, badder, with a bigger idea of the world, a little less rigid, a lot more wrinkled (like a raisin from the ocean, suckas) and hopefully a little wiser. 

So let it be written, so let it be done. 
Thanks for giving a rat's arse. See you in a while crocodile.

The list to end all lists

I learned about planning from my Mom. And perhaps ooooover planning. We like to meet our own needs at all times thank you very much. Trying to plan for two years in a conservative (covered shoulders, below the knee) tropical archipelago when you've never substantially left the country before is about impossible. I've read a lot of a lot of packing lists over the past couple months. My contribution to the genre I humbly present, below.

A small herd of goats
A small man to lead them 

Duct tape

Tic Tacs
2 Terabytes of storage space/photos/music/movies
Kindle
Asus notebook
Shortwave radio
Ipod
Iphone
Ipod speaker
Clock/another ipod speaker
Salad Tupperware with collapsible fork/knife and a built in cooling pack
Battery charger
Rechargeable batteries
Surge protector
Power strip
Extension cord

Clothespins

Safety pins
Bose sound cancelling headphones (Biz Markie take me away)
Pasalubong (gifts for my host families): Dum dums, Uno, Playing Cards, Chocolate
Eye drops
Bottle brush
Sewing kit
Head lamp
A big, nice, orange dry box
Kelvin toolkit
Scrubba washa bag (with an inflatable hanger, pfft)
Mac light
Knee bands
Ankle supports
Jump rope
Workout gloves
Yoga mat
"Your Body is Your Barbell"
"Great One Liners" (I looked up my family tree and found out I'm the sap wa wa wa)
A small purse with a large strap
Bicycle bag
Wallet with neck strap and RFID thing
Dry bags (tiny, small, large/extra rubbery)
Jerky
Instant coffee
Edamame 
3 quick dry towels
Hand fan
3 hole adapter
Kershaw knife
Swiss army knife
Nose plugs
Snorkel mask and mouth device (I have never snorkeled)
Plastic playing cards
Buckeye facts playing cards
Poncho
Umbrella
Cooling bead neck wraps
Handkerchiefs

Sweatbands
Water bottles (including a Klean Kanteen--fancy!)
Sun hat
Baseball cap
55L backpack
Pack duffel
Gingersnaps
Bicycle helmet, lights, lock
3 running shoes (I ain't going to be overpronating for two years)
Flip flops
Chacos
Tevas
Crocs
Goodwill good sandals
Ziploc gallon 2.5 gallon and pint size bags
Cleaning gloves
Ohio-themed outdoor thermometer
100 ft of rope
2 kitchen knives
2 forks
Knife sharpener
Can opener
100 pair ear plugs
Burt's Bees Miracle Salve
3 eye masks
Freezable/heatable back wrap
Eno hammock with bug net (so fancy!)
Overnight toiletry bag with all the tiny toiletries
Razors

Bobby pins
Calcium
Vitamin C
Melatonin
Sleepytime tea (so much sleepytime tea)
Tummymint tea
Sleeping pills
Dove, Neutrogena bars
8 deodorants
Foot pumice

Same old eye liner & mascarrra 
Rock On Matte Clay (it is the goods)
4 toothbrushes/toothpaste
Whitening strips
Floss
Bandaids
Activated charcoal
Azo pills (I'm sad these made someone's list. I don't WANT a UTI)
Foot brush
Shampoo/conditioner
Lotions
Diva Cup
Washable panty liners
Prep H
3 short running shorts
4 knee length exercise pants
Rain coat
3 belts (that aren't leather--it will mold)
3 scarf wraps
Bandelettes
Jog bras
2 flat sheets and pillowcases
4 linen pants
2 jeans
1 black pants
3 capris
Sweatshirt
20 pairs of socks
40 pairs of underpants
12 over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders
4 skirts
2 dresses
1 sarong
5 tank tops
9 cotton shirts
6 quick dry shirts (that's too many shirts but I must have them)
Rash guard shirt
Tiny tiny shorts

Bikini

Two piece that covers more
2 board shorts 
Pillow (from my Grandparent's house! Sigh)
Mini set of watercolors
Oil paints
Brushes
Pastels
2 boxes of tiny point sharpies
Pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners
Pastel paper/wc paper/oil paper/palette paper
Cutting mat & implements

Journals
Pictures of my people
Particularly amazing drawings from my nephew and niece
A map of the world and a map of the United States of America. I WILL point you out.
Balik bayan box (a huge box with no weight limit that ships by ship from Chuchay's Market in Reynoldsburg) for all the stuff that's a squirrel's winter nuts and too heavy to lug around for the first 3 months.


That's quite enough.


I thought about getting a solar charger for all the brownouts but I'm too cheap. And maybe I should try and deal with it, like everybody else.


If you see something I missed feel free to immediately buy and pay a pirate's ransom to get to the address in the post previous to this. Or wag your finger at me in a postcard that costs $1.20? Yikes.

If you contributed goods or services to make my mountain of amenities possible I bend at the waist in a bow of thanks. If there's any justice there's a new star in your crown. 

Just the facts

First the rumors:

• Women run the show.
• Going south will get your white butt kidnapped (says the first Filipino I actively sought out to ask about the country!).
• There's little trash service so if you bring and use tampons your host family may have to burn them in front of you.
• Underwear dissolves from all the hand-washed scrubbing. 
• Ants get in to everything.
• They eat dog as a delicacy.
• The sound of animals is deafening.

 

And some facts?


I'll be working in the Children, Youth and Families program of the Youth in Development sector. My sector manager writes that the work I'll be doing is considered to be very challenging, physically tiring, and emotionally draining. But equally fulfilling. (Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point)

 I don't know what or where and won't until a while after I get there. I could be assigned to a short or long term residential facility, a community-based program that targets rural and extremely poor communities, street community-based programs targeting urban areas, or some combination of those.

The Philippines is on the other side of the world. So when it's Saturday for you it will be Sunday for me. I'll be 12 hours ahead of EST.

Most Filipinos are Roman Catholic and I have to wear skirts below my knee.



Americans occupied Manila during the Spanish-American War and during World War II.  

1 Philippine Peso is equal to $0.022 of a U.S. dollar.

There are 87 native languages there. English is a second language to nearly half the population. I have to learn Tagalog and may have to learn another language at my permanent site.

There are 7,100 islands that make up the Philippines and about 2,000 of them are inhabited. 

The average temperature is 80 degrees and there are about 15 typhoons every year between July and October. The dry season is from January to June. 

Malaria, dysentery, GI funkiness, fungal infections, heat rash/exhaustion are common foreigner ailments. And sometimes dengue and typhoid fever. 

I can get mail! Send me a postcard and mash some USA all over it:

Nora Balduff, PCT

US Peace Corps

PO Box 7013

N.A.I.A.

Pasay City, Philippines

1301

 

What was I thinking?

I was drinking an ice cold Blatz with my friend Skunky. I think we were talking about the twists and turns life takes and how you're a damn fool if you think your life is going to proceed as planned. I said that when I was younger, I'd wanted to join the PC but hadn't, because I stayed to live with and eventually marry my ex.

Skunky turns to me, "You know, you can join the PC now." In my memory the moment becomes instantly bright, like a big spotlight got turned on over our heads...and here I am. Skunky, meanwhile, has already spent a year in Swaziland.


I think it's probably wise to write down why I'm going now, so that when I freak out later I'll have this to refer to.


1. It was time to leave my old job--despite the generosity of mission, impact, salary/benefits, challenge, support--because, right now, I need less time around the powerful and the privileged and more with the real people so many programs are developed to support, with the poor, old, and vulnerable. 


2. I am healthy, childless, homeless, dogless, debtless. It's crazy, right? Who could plan that?

4. Uh, a snorkel was in the suggested items I bring with me. Which means beaches, which means heat and sun and sand. A Central Ohioan's day dream.


5. There's no time like the present to become disentangled from my definition of myself. I want to do things that are really fun or really important.

What will I cry over when I'm gone? Probably not a Blatz. More likely it will be for:


1. The moments of purity I'll be missing in my nephews and niece's childhood, watching the evening news with my parents, euchre with my sisters, brother and lucky in-laws.

2. The kindest man I ever met, who over the past couple of years has shared so many really fun times with me I can't stand it.


3. Kickball! And the commissioner of kickball especially! And all of the weird nerds I've met in cbus.

4. My kind, strong, competitive, funny, smart (and smart ass) colleagues working to provide the bedrock of a civil society and the fuel for social justice.


4. Not being noticed, air conditioning in bedrooms, massive spinach salads, steady electricity? I have no idea.

Onward!