Pinoy-isms

This is me hanging out with some first grade performers at a Buwan na Wika (National Language Month) celebration.

So I realized that a lot of this blog is just about things that I do and see, which is all well and good, but since you're not actually here with me in the Philippines you might be a bit curious about what it's like here, no? So, here is a list of some interesting tidbits about life here in the Philippines:

*The Philippines is one of the few Asian countries which is predominantly Christian. About eighty percent of Filipinos are Catholic.
*Basketball, not soccer, is the most popular sport here.
*Jeans and a polo T-shirt is considered formal wear, suitable for weddings, baptisms, meetings, etc.
*Food is eaten with a spoon in your right hand and a fork in your left.
*Kasama is the word in many Filipino languages for companion. Most Filipinos seem to prefer to have a kasama with them to attend public events and to travel. It's generally perceived as strange to prefer to do these things alone.
*Text messaging is huge in the Philippines, since it is much cheaper than making phone calls. Many Filipinos will get out their phones and play with them if they feel shy or awkward in a social situation.
*A large number of Philippine citizens are employed overseas and send their earnings home to their families. Many Filipinos dream of being able to work in America.
*Walking around the nearest mall, or "malling," is a popular activity on weekends for those seeking the comfort of aircon. Malls get packed on weekends.
*People lift their eyebrows in greeting and point with their lips to indicate which direction something is.

News in my life? Our school just opened up a new faculty room, which is spacious and wonderful even though the ceiling is still damaged from the typhoon. So now I have my own desk! It's really nice to have a place to leave my stuff once I'm done for the day.

Also, I've just started playing the game Go, a Chinese game also called Weiqi. Some would say it's comparable to chess. It's hard and fun, but I'm still really bad at it. Practice, practice, practice.

Photos From Home and School

The junior class's mass demonstration at our high school intramurals (three days of students playing basketball, badminton, volleyball, chess, and boxing. Yes, boxing!)

Me on the bus from Legazpi to my site. I go to Legazpi a lot, so it seemed fitting to document such an important part of my life.

Isabelle and Biboy, three and six years old respectively and two of my best companions.
Haha, we had a birthday party for a one-year-old, and I was thinking it would be no big deal, but then fifty kids, their families, and a clown showed up at our door. It was a fun time!Me with some students from my high school on a field trip we took last weekend.

Photos From Peñafrancia

These are from the Peñafrancia festival in Naga City that we went to about a month ago. Peñafrancia is the Bicol region's largest and most famous festival.

Wikipedia [cringe] says:
The city celebrates the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Patroness of the Bicol Region, starting second Friday of September each year. The start of the feast, which is the largest Marian devotion in the country, is signalled by a procession (called Traslacion) which transfers the centuries-old image of the Blessed Virgin Mary from its shrine at the Peñafrancia Basilica Minore to the 400-year old Naga Metropolitan Cathedral. Coinciding with nine days of novena prayer at the cathedral, the city celebrates with parades, pageants, street parties, singing contests, exhibits, concerts, and other activities. Finally, on the third Saturday of September, the image is returned shoulder-borne by so-called voyadores to the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia via the historic Naga River.

Myself and several other Volunteers enjoyed some fiesta food and socializing while we watched the excitement build and the statue go by on a boat at a host relative's house on the Naga river. We waited hours for the procession to go by - I can't imagine what it would be like to have to wait out on the water.

A cathedral in Naga:
I can't claim credit for the following land photo that A took, but it lets you see the statue a bit closer as well as the throngs of people doing everything they can to get close to it.

Cats!

This cat lives with me now at our house. He doesn't really have a name - we call him Ikos ("ee-koos") which means "cat" in Bicol. He keeps me good company and helps me relieve stress, unless he's trying to steal food off the table. He has half of a tail and meows a lot, all the time. My host family says that he says "ming ming ming." Isn't it great that animals say different things in different languages?



This is Bella. She is a very young kitten that some friends of mine discovered one day hanging out in their sewer. They already have two cats so they're trying to talk me into taking her sometime soon. I'm not sure if I can yet, but no doubt she and I are good friends!

I'm still trying to figure out where I can take Ikos, and maybe later Bella, to the vet. I might have to take them boxed-up on the bus with me for a long time to go to a place in Legazpi.

My host family thinks it's really funny that I want to take Ikos to the doctor - not exactly a common practice here in the Philippines. That's one thing that has jumped out at me every time I've been to Asia, that there are so many, so many, so many cats and dogs, and a lot of them in pretty sad shape. I can understand that when money is tight, providing medical care for animals doesn't rank high on one's priority list, but it still makes me sad.

Ikos and Bella are two lucky cats to have befriended the Kanos in their towns!