week 2

Real training has begun. I'm a week into learning Cebuano. The vocabulary is the easy part; grammar is a whole other story. I feel like the weakest link in my cluster, but I will catch up in time. My host family speaks English much of the time (even amongst themselves), but are very supportive and push me to use my Cebuano around the house. My diction is not great. My Minnesota accent is really kicking me in the butt. No long O's here! My cluster and I study together often to work on exercises over some good old American peanut butter sandwiches. :)

Technical training has been fun, but very disturbing the learn more about the gravity of the problems youth face here. From the treatment of CICL (children in conflict with the law) to exploitation of child laborers to the impoverished street children. We watched a handful of documentaries which gave a clearer picture of the population(s) we may be working with.

Today it was fun to do a development activity with a group of youth at LCP (Little Children of the Philippines). LCP is my practicum site for the next 10 weeks. This afternoon another volunteer and I spoke to a group of about fifty young college students about what led us to the Peace Corps. What was supposed to last an hour turned into two. They had very insightful questions for us (ie “what is your purpose in life?” and “do you feel your life has been successful?”). It was great to share our tips on how to work toward goals and prioritize. I felt like my work is beginning. I look forward to the days we will be at LCP.

I am starting to feel more comfortable in my barangay. I can say “hello” and make short conversation with the locals without feeling awkward or uncomfortable. My presence is noticed and rather than stare at each other, we talk. I am learning to laugh at my mistakes and make the best of the language assets I have.

My schedule is so different here. It was a good time to switch; 5:30AM alarm and 9:30PM bedtime. Some mornings I go running with another volunteer up the road or (try to) do Pilates/yoga in my room. I do a fair amount of walking each day, rushing from one end of the barangay to another for training and outings. The heat takes a lot out of me. I hardly feel like I have much time to decompress. A busy day until five followed by studying and catching up with my host family. Luckily I have the other trainees to lean on during this time because in three months I'll be off on my own. Last night a group of us ordered pizza and watched a movie on a projector at my TCF's house. It was a great way to relax and enjoy each others company even more.

I can get used to this life though. Bucket showers and constant sweating. It makes me think about how insignificant so many other luxuries are in the US. We stress about some very mundane things. I am learning to deal with the uncomfortable aspects of my new life while focusing more so on what is important.

Babay!