Closing Things Down

Today is my last full day in Ubay.  The church here that is associated with Icthus Christian Academy is celebrating its 28th anniversary today.  There will be a big fiesta with a roasted pig and everything else.  The school is closed as the celebration involves everyone. Also, much of the school's facilities will be used during the fiesta, so it is just not practical to have classes.  This will be a nice opportunity for me to mingle with the locals who will come to join in the celebration.  There will also be several pastors from churches throughout Bohol who will also be in attendance.  In all, it should be a promising event for me to meet and greet representatives from many of Bohol's churches.

One of the nicer restaurants in Ubay.

I walked the market today, probably for the last time this trip.  I've been there enough that I don't get as many awkward stares and "Hi Joe" comments.  Instead, I have people greeting me as someone they know -- even if they can't remember how to say my name.  I watched a game of checkers -- a little different than what we play, as it is played on a diagonal rather than on a standard checkerboard.  I had bought some cardboard boxes yesterday to store some extra clothes and supplies in -- things I won't be taking back to the US.  I had asked a lady where I might find some boxes and she directed me there. I saw her today and she immediately asked if I had found some boxes to use.  I can't say that I feel at home, as this is still very foreign in so many ways; but in a way, I do feel at home.

Teachers of ICA working on one of my assignments.

My comfort level with at least the town of Ubay has increased dramatically over the past week.  It seems wrong somehow to be leaving now that I have just become comfortable with the community.  Oh, there is much more to learn, I won't pretend to be any sort of expert.  But I would feel confident taking visitors around and getting them settled in for a short stay. I've visited a couple other hotels and pension houses in the area.  Only one has hot water showers -- and those rooms are up four flights of stairs, so that is one thing that would need to be taken into consideration when having visitors spend time here.  I know of several good restaurants as well as several . . . how can I say this tactfully . . . several "unique" restaurants which provide a variety of meals.  There is a hamburger place I want to visit today at lunch -- I've seen it several times in my walks but was always had some other objective in mind when I passed by.  I will give a report on that -- it isn't McDonalds or even Jolibees . . . I'll take a few pictures to explain.

So yes, I feel a little sad about leaving here.  I do have a few days in Carmen and Sierra Bullones to look forward to on my way back to Manila.  But Ubay has gained a special place in my heart.  Although it has a very rough exterior appearance, it is truly an enjoyable place to visit.  My itinerary on the way out includes the two nights in Carmen (with a side-trip to an out-of-the-way community), one night in Tagbilaran, leaving that next morning on a ZestAir flight to Manila.  Two nights in Manila (where I will do some gift shopping for family) and then catch my flight back to the US early on Wednesday morning.  My flight is scheduled to arrive mid-day on Thursday Dec 6th.

I still haven't captured the scene correctly, but this is a
little motorcycle repair shop across the street from ICA

I'm looking forward to coming home -- don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.  I've missed my family and the familiar things of home.  I won't miss the mosquitoes but they will miss me, I'm sure.  I'm not looking forward to the colder weather -- although it is certainly hot and humid here, I feel comfortable with that. The prospects of shoveling snow over the next few months is not one I look forward to.  I've learned a lot here and will need some time to process my observations.  Some ideas have changed, some have been reinforced.  New ideas have presented themselves.  In all, it was an excellent fact finding opportunity and I have a good perspective on future assignments.

Iwill be out of internet service while in Carmen, so this will be my last post for several days.  I will be back online Sunday night (here -- very early Sunday morning in the US) and will update everyone on my status.

Until then - please continue to pray for travel safety and good weather for my return to the US.

Salamat


Scott

Be Careful Of What You Say (Part 2)

I had not intended on a second volume to my last post, but there were a few more encounters that are just begging for discussion.  Now let me just clear something up from the beginning: not all communication here is a problem.  For instance, I had the opportunity to introduce the students here at Icthus Christian Academy to a new game.  Well, it's a new game to them -- actually it's been around for centuries.  The game is Nine Men Morris which hails from Medieval history and likely as far back as the Vikings.  I had made up a simple board using some poster board-like material and used some plastic bottle caps as the playing pieces.  I taught it to the faculty a few days earlier but had never gotten around to teaching any of the students.  I had a little time in between lunch and my next appointment and so I brought the game out to where some students were sitting and relaxing. I told them that I would teach them a new game and they all gathered around to see what I had to offer.  Now this is a simple game without too many rules, and most people can figure it out before ever finishing their first try.  These kids learned quick.  I don't think I was into the third or fourth move when they all started giving advice to my opponent.  I was pleased.  I think they were too -- even the security guard came over and started offering advice.  All in all, it was a good spontaneous activity and I think the students will probably continue to play the game long after I leave.

Nine Men Morris

One of the teachers is getting ready to start on her masters thesis.  She asked if I would look over some of her ideas and give my thoughts about what she is planning.  Now it's been a long time since I was in graduate school, so before I sat down with her I looked online to see if I could find any guidelines for graduate writing in the Philippines.  It didn't look much different than what I had done -- perhaps a little less controlling than American graduate school writing regarding format and such, but the requirements for the content seemed roughly the same.  Anyway, I had a very good discussion with her and I think that we understood each other.  I offered to proof read her writing when she gets to that point and she seemed eager to have me do that.  I look forward to reading her project.

So you see, not all communication there has problems.  Oh . . . I went to the barber shop today.  Before I came to the Philippines I had my hair cut fairly short, as I was anticipating hot and humid weather, exactly like what we have been having.  I don't know how the Filipino women do it, as many of them have very long hair -- it must be incredibly hot in the middle of the day.  Anyway -- the haircut was only going to be P40 ($1.00) so I hopped into the chair and described what I wanted done.  A couple of other barbers were listening in and nodded their heads in understanding.  My barber grabbed the appropriate gauge of guides for on his clippers and went to work . . .

The snarky Tony Bourdain getting his hair cut in Cambodia.

So, there's this No Reservations episode on the Travel Channel, where the host, Anthony Bourdain, is in Cambodia.  Somewhere along the line he decides to get a haircut at one of those street-side barber shops.  Well, it didn't take but a few seconds for Tony to realize that the barber had not truly understood  the instructions he had been given.  Too late.  The host was obviously unhappy -- the only thing left to do was to try to make it look neat.  Now we're talking about a television personality, whose looks, whose image, is considered critical to their show's ratings.  They even have it in their contract that they will maintain a certain hair style and so on.

 . . . and within seconds, I knew he had not truly understood the instructions he had been given.  Too late.  And much like my television counterpart, all that was left to do was to try to make it look neat.  Now I do not have a contract about my appearance, but I know when I go into school tomorrow I will have some explaining to do.  There will be laughs and giggles from the teachers.  Nemesio will probably be angry and want to go get my money back (I won't let him).  The students will probably neither notice nor care.  The lesson learned is that even though you think you have reached an understanding, it doesn't mean that you did.

All I can say is, "two out of three ain't bad."

Be Careful Of What You Say

The little darling sound asleep.

The dog whined and barked and whimpered all night long.  And I do mean ALL night long.  They had it in a kennel out on the porch.  I saw it there the day before, so I knew exactly where the little fellow was when I heard him that night.  In the US, some might consider keeping him caged like that as cruel and neglectful.  I don't know why they caged him, but I assume that it was a new puppy and they didn't trust it not to run out into the street.  I'm not going to get into an animal cruelty discussion here -- I already had a heated discussion over that on Facebook last week -- that was enough.  Anyway, I didn't get much sleep and when I got up on Sunday morning I must have looked terrible, as my host family told me I should go back to bed.  The funny thing is, when I got back to the hotel, I could see that little dog in his kennel - fast asleep.   Oh well.  That's how my day started.  I grabbed a few hours of sleep before hearing the pup once again start its whining and such.  It was time to get out and do something anyway.

So one of the lessons I've learned here in the Philippines is to be mindful of what you say to people.  I had one experience when I was here in February that should have served as a warning, but I didn't get the message.  I won't go into details, but I had mentioned that I was thinking about doing something, some "project" for one of the churches here.  I have news for you . . . to say that you're thinking about doing something is the same as saying you're going to do it. Now I'm fortunate that my host family understands this phenomenon and is able to figure out when I'm thinking about something versus when I am actually planning on doing something.

Haggling over the price of eel at the market in Carmen.

Communication here is a little peculiar too. I'm still struggling with how communication works here.  I'm trying to decide if it's just the personalities of the people I've been dealing with or is this a cultural characteristic.  Let me just put it this way . . . interpersonal communication here stinks.  I'd blame it on a language barrier, but most of the people here have a decent command of the English language, so I don't think that's the issue.  More likely it's some cultural norm about sharing information. I always feel like I don't have quite all of the story.  There's either a "back" story that I'm missing in the discussion (and it's assumed that I already know it) or it's a control issue and I'm being kept in the dark on purpose.  It's not like someone is trying to do harm or anything -- they just aren't being clear in communicating plans and ideas.

Now I'll be the first to acknowledge that I need to be checking my own communication skills.  Maybe I'm not listening.  But I did spend two years of graduate school in speech communication and I taught interpersonal communication for several semesters as a graduate teaching assistant.  So it's not like I am unaware of how to communicate.  No, I genuinely think something is amiss, but I can't exactly identify the problem. Suffice it to say that this is one of my "projects" when I get home -- to have some discussions with people who are more experienced than I am in cross-cultural communication.

This isn't just a mild aggravation.  It has actually impacted some of my primary activities here.  I won't go in to detail at this point, but the failure to share information has caused some aspects of my assignment to fall short of the mark.  I'm chalking this up to experience.  As much as I have intended this visit to be about accomplishing some specific tasks, it has also always been an opportunity to learn more about the people here and their needs.  Just like it's been valuable to learn that there are only three towns in all of Bohol where I can get money from an ATM, it's been equally important to learn about interacting with people here and trying to understand their quirks and cultural mores.

Unlike with the dog from the story above, I haven't lost any sleep over it; however, I am hugely aware of the necessity for clear communication -- never assuming anything and being terribly explicit in my conversations has become standard practice.  Every day is a learning opportunity.  Just like last night, when I happened to bump into the owner of the hotel.  He asked how I was doing and if I was enjoying my stay.  I could have complained about the cold water "shower", but that's just part of the culture here and is not likely to change any time soon. I told him that I have been very comfortable, which is essentially the truth.  I did joke about the dog keeping me up all night.  We both laughed about it, and I acknowledged to him that it was surely not the hotel's fault.  Strangely enough, the night has been very quiet.  I haven't heard a single noise coming from the house across the street.  Was it something I said?

A Little Christmas

Christmas decorations at J&N Lodge

I think it's like anywhere that Christmas is celebrated -- some people put out a few token decorations while others go "all-out" in adorning their home or business.  I was up at 6:00 AM and out the door to the market within 15 minutes.  I stopped at the hotel canteen on the way out and grabbed a cup of 3-in-1 coffee.  Now for my fellow Americans who don't tolerate instant coffee, I have to tell you that this stuff is not that bad.  It reminds me of the so-called international instant coffees that used to come in a small tin and cost a fortune.  My cup of  "joe" cost P5 ($0.13) and is satisfying enough to get me started.  Anyway, I noted that the hotel had decorated a little more than Peter's Restaurant and used some interesting ornaments so I snapped a few pictures.  Then I was off to the market to see what there was to see.

Aggressive sales lady turned shy as soon as my
 camera came out.

Saturdays are busier than most days for the same reasons as in America: schools are closed, offices are usually closed and so on.  Being that I was there real early, I think I avoided the larger crowds of people.  Being the only foreigner around (I don't  think Ubay gets too  many foreign visitors just because of it's off-the-beaten-trail location), I was greeted eagerly by nearly every stall owner in the market.  They would point to something (usually an expensive 'something' I noted after a while) and encourage me to buy.  Now what am I going to do with a fresh pig's head in my hotel room -- really!  Of course I was always as polite as I could be as I brushed off their offers.  One lady tried to sell me some t-shirts.  They were nice t-shirts and she promised me that they had sizes that would fit me.  I had this experience before -- 3XL does not mean American 3XL and all this woman had to offer was XL . . . I allowed her to try, but as I held the shirt up to my chest it was obvious to all of the onlookers (half a dozen at least) that there was no way that shirt would fit.  I smiled, said "thank you" and started to move on. I felt bad as the woman really did try hard to find a shirt that would fit me.  Then I noticed some Christmas decorations.  I decided to let her show me some of those as well.  There were some interesting ones, but the one that caught my eye the most was actually just made out of plastic drinking straws and a length of garland.  For P35 ($0.87) I couldn't refuse.  I told her that it would cost her -- she had to let me take her picture.  Immediately the somewhat pushy sales woman turned into a shy little girl. I snapped my pictures as she placed my ornament in a plastic bag (everything gets put in a plastic bag, regardless of whether it needs it or not).  She quickly recovered her composure and offered to sell me a Christmas tree.  When I declined, she turned and pointed to her two companions sitting nearby and informed me that they both needed boyfriends.  I wished them good luck in their search and  moved on.

Selection of dried fish at Ubay market.

One of the more popular items in the Philippines is dried fish.  They are generally salted to preserve them, although I don't know how long they last before going bad.  I've had dried fish several times now, and as someone who really enjoys seafood I can appreciate their flavor -- albeit quite salty.  You wouldn't want to eat too much of these dried fish, but as a supplement and source of some protein, they would be fine.  And of course, as I pulled out my camera, the saleswoman immediately became shy and started babbling on to her coworker something that I didn't understand, but I assume was a complaint about tourists with cameras.  I snapped some pictures anyway.  I didn't buy any fish, so maybe that was a part of her complaint as well.  I thanked her and moved on.  I enjoyed a second cup of 3-in-1 at Peter's Restaurant and watched as people piled on and off of buses, Jeepneys and E-vans.  The town was truly coming to life, and as much as I wanted to hang around and observe, I knew I needed to get back "home" and do some writing.

I stopped at my little favorite eatery for a little breakfast: a couple little pieces of pork, a cup of rice and a glass of filtered water. I had some good conversation with the owner and her family while finishing my meal.  I paid for my meal (P15 - $0.45) and returned to the hotel.  I'm not sure what the rest of today (Saturday) will hold for me.  My only scheduled event is dinner at 6:30 with my "host" family.  I will have to close up my laptop and go find some lunch in a few hours, so who knows what I will discover. I do think I will try to find someplace different for lunch -- and maybe I'll find a few more camera-shy Filipinos to take some photos of to share with my readers.

Until then.

Thanksgiving - Something to Smile About

I am a little disappointed that I don't have any great photos to show of the Thanksgiving festivities in the Philippines. That's entirely because it's an uniquely American holiday -- most Filipinos are totally unaware of Thanksgiving or only know of it casually from some television program or Hollywood film.   That said, my "host" family put together a very nice rendition of a holiday feast -- Filipino chicken (in place of the turkey), some roast beef, mashed potatoes (the potatoes are somehow different but still good), gravy, vegetables, and some type of "cake" with a super-sweet syrup on top.  There were some rolls and butter (maple flavored butter, at that), Sprite and Coke -- I probably left something out, but that's about it.  All in all, it was a very good meal and  I confess I haven't been that full since departing the US nearly three weeks ago.

Christmas decorations at Peter's Restaurant

I woke up early on Friday morning to the sound of my phone ringing -- my family from in the US was calling to wish a happy Thanksgiving.  They had just finished eating there celebration feast and were calling the far-off traveler to offer him good wishes and expressions of how much they missed him.  I fell back asleep and enjoyed a quiet morning.  I've not slept-in much here, so this was a holiday treat for me.  At the time of this writing, Thursday in the US has passed and is now moving on to another American holiday . . . Black Friday.  This is also unheard of here in the Philippines.  I haven't seen much in the way of Christmas-themed shopping except in the big mall in Tagbilaran.  They had a Christmas decorations store set up  in one of those open areas in the central concourse.  It was interesting to see what types of decorations they had to offer.  But . . .  I have yet to see any signs of big holiday sales.  Maybe closer to Christmas, but so far, it seems like business as usual.

It is rather humorous to hear Christmas music blaring at all times of the day and  night.  Many of the little shops and sari-sari stores have music playing.  The motorcycle repair shops and the tire shops (seems to be a popular business) all have music playing.  Many of the Jeepneys passing by have music playing.  So its rather an interesting auditory experience.  Oh. . . . and in the Philippines, just be prepared to hear  your neighbor's music.  They play it loud and are in no way concerned if it bothers you.  Deal with it.

I did see an interesting sight last night coming home from my Thanksgiving feast.  One of the motorcycle shops had a single strand of Christmas lights festooning its little repair bay and a couple of partially disassembled tricycles were parked in front of it.  I didn't have my camera or else you'd have that picture in front of you right now.  Maybe when I come home from dinner tonight it will still be lit up and still be as curiously interesting as it was last night.  It brought a smile to my face.

Filipino schoolgirls in their uniforms.

Speaking of smiles, I had gone into the market to buy a soda . . . just an excursion to get out into the culture. I visited Peter's Restaurant again and ordered a 7 Up and a piece of what they call Choco-German bread.  Nothing chocolate about it and nothing German about it either -- who knows.  They had the store decorated with some rather gaudy giant Christmas ornaments along the one window.  That's it.  Rather amusing I thought, but it is what it is.  Again, the Filipinos make the best of whatever situation they have.  Oh . . . I was talking about smiles.  On the way back I took a slightly different route.  Instead of walking along the main road like I have always done, I opted to take a residential street just off the market place.  I had figured that it intersected with the road my favorite little eatery is on and so would be a more peaceful walk.  The main road is full of traffic all the time and you really need to mind what is coming at you from all directions.  This other road did not have that.  No . . . it had something else.  I had paid no attention to the time, but school was just letting out, and I as walked home down this new road, I suddenly found myself going the wrong way against a sea of school girls.  Hundreds of school girls.  I don't know where the boys all went, but there were very few mixed in the with girls.  Anyway, I've already had the experience of getting "comments" from the school girls passing by.   They smile, say hello or , one even told me that she loved me ( I think she was 12).  But it has always been just groups of 2 or 3 -- not hundreds in a mad press to leave school for the weekend.  It's not that I'm some handsome hunk -- it's just that I'm a foreigner and they like foreigners.  That's all it takes to get their admiration.  And so, here I was, for about ten minutes, the target of countless quips, a few cat calls (yep - cat calls), and literally hundreds of smiles.    I will have no problem taking that same route again, but I do think I will check my watch the next time to avoid school letting out.  I just don't need that kind of attention.

Well that's it for today.   Hoping for a photo of that motorcycle repair shop for tomorrow's article.

I Feel It The Most Right Down The Middle Of My Back

Yes, that's where I feel it -- right down the middle of my back.  It starts at the shoulders and ends just above my waist.  I feel it every morning shortly after waking up.  A friend of mine told me to get used to it -- that in time I would appreciate it.  I don't know, Sam . . . are you sure?  It's that bucket of cold water that I dip my tabo in each morning and then poor over my head.  It feels good on the legs and arms and even my chest, but that cold shock down my back is still something I don't yet "appreciate".  "It's soothing and enjoyable," she said.  She had read my blog about culture shock and my complaints about taking a cold "bucket shower", and sent a few comments to me on Facebook about it.  I suppose when you've lived with something all of your life, you just accept it -- you don't even think about it.  I'll try Sam . . . I'll try.

A bicycle for hire - very handy for short trips around town.

Sam has also given me some ideas about a struggle that I have been facing lately:  the disparity between  life in the U.S. and life in the Philippines.  The differences between the haves and the have-nots.  As I noted yesterday, the Filipinos are very good at taking a little and making the best of it . . . there's something to be said for that.  But the frustration I feel is when I think about how wasteful we are in America -- we should be ashamed of ourselves, but we're not.  We just go on wasting and then complain because we don't have something else that we want (but don't really need).  I see people every day here who are struggling just to make ends meet.  I can't do much, but I do what I can.  I hire a bicycle to take me some where for 10 pesos  (25 cents) even though I know I could walk there easily enough. I have started to buy my breakfast and lunch at one of those little stands along the side of the road.  I'm not saying that the larger establishments don't need my business, but I just feel better giving my business to the "little guy" -- and it's cheaper anyway, so sort of a win-win situation.

A nice place to eat breakfast or lunch.  They were very happy to know
that I'd be coming back again.  

But why the huge difference between the two cultures.  I guess I'm less bothered by the fact that the Filipinos are in general so much poorer then we Americans are, and more bothered by the fact that Americans are either clueless about how most of the world lives or are too insensitive to care.  I relayed this frustration to Sam and she offered a thought -- the story of Jesus healing a man blind from birth - John 9: 2-3.  From the NIV it says: "His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."  And then Jesus proceeded to heal the man's sight.

Now I'm not a great Bible scholar, but I get what she means.  The disparity exists so that Christians have the opportunity to show others the love of Christ.  It's a hard saying.  For those of us who have compassion for the disadvantaged, this kind of situation really pulls hard on the heart. Here is the chance for Christians to make a difference, not only in the lives of people who are living in poverty or who are in some state of distress, but also for those who are living in excess who have yet to discover what they might be able to use their excess resources to accomplish.  I get the gist of the idea but still need to "flesh it out".  More to come.

Sam, a Filipino friend and fellow freelance writer who has offered great
insight regarding life in the Philippines.

So . . . thank you, Sam. Your insight has been helpful.  And as a word of explanation ... Sam, or Samaritana, is a fellow freelance writer I met while working on a project online before even coming to the Philippines.  I've never met her in person, but she has been a wonderful "guide" for questions I might have about Filipino culture as well as simple things like how to transfer "load" from my cell phone to my broadband internet drive so that I can continue working online while here in the Philippines.  Additionally, her Christian ethic and perspective have been very helpful several times now as I struggle with the challenges I face here in the Philippines.  So, salamat, anak! (thank you, daughter!)   I appreciate your youthful wisdom and advice -- but the cold bucket of water is still a shock first thing in the morning.

When The Shock Wears Off

My last entry was one of those truly spur-of-the-moment projects.  I had some ideas of what I wanted to say but didn't really know until it was already down on paper.  But the sentiments I expressed were absolutely, 100 percent accurate. A Filipino friend (one of my adopted daughters -- I think I'm up to three now) read my blog and agreed that the picture I had painted was both accurate and factual -- I was neither over-reacting nor dramatizing the situation.  In my own opinion, I thought the article was well-written.  Maybe in a month I'll read it and disagree.  Which leaves me with the question of what do I write about  next.

Paths through the jungle can become overgrown quickly

On the way "home" from Tubigon today, a new and interesting thought came to mind.  I was taking that ubiquitous express van from Tubigon to Talibon (not to be confused with the Islamic fundamentalist group Taliban), and I had the benefit of sitting in the front seat -- giving me a distinct observational vantage point.  Along the way it hit me.  Now that the first culture shock was over,  and the second wave had been identified and addressed, I realized I was no long looking at those more obvious differences between my world and the culture of the Philippines.  Instead I was starting to recognize some of the smaller cultural tidbits.  For instance, I had learned when I was in Carmen the previous weekend that people often lived back away from the roadway.  The unobservant person (which I think I had been) would probably not see the slightly worn footpath leading back through the overgrowth and to a house our compound of several houses.  I noticed school kids walking along the road and then suddenly they were gone.  Where did they go?  Then I saw the paths.  With the way things grow in the tropics, a well-used foot path can be hidden by new growth rather quickly, so the path doesn't always look used.  But by scanning the roadside I soon began to see them. Now that the "shock" had worn off, I was now able to notice more of the detail.  With that realization I found myself hunting for all of the details I have missed up to this point.

It also dawned on me today that the Filipino people are very creative problem solvers. Given their lack of resources, I guess that's just a part of their every day life.  I think Americans used to be that way, but now that we have access to so many resources we can just pick and chose the things we need.  The second part of my trip -- the leg from Talibon to Ubay -- was via Jeepney.  Now I've ridden Jeepneys before but only on short trips from one place in town to another.  People come and go, much like a bus line in a U.S. city.  This was a little different.  The Jeepney itself is an indication of the Filipino's ingenuity and creativity.  Each one is slightly different than the next. The number of passengers they can hold is strictly a function of their individual design.  Or is it?  On the trip to Ubay, I had the chance to see that creativity first-hand.  I think if I was still in culture shock-mode I probably would not have looked at it in the same light.  The Jeepney I was in today would probably seat 14 people comfortably.  Now realize that I'm basing this on some concept of American comfort.  I'm sure that if someone tried this in the US, even at 14 people some passengers would complain that it was too crowded.  But this has nothing to do with comfort -- it is strictly about economy of movement. When I approached the vehicle I saw that it was already crowded.  I also had an overnight bag and a computer bag.  I thought, "Gee, there really isn't any room left for this big "kano" and his stuff."  And so I hesitated.  The driver's assistant encouraged me to get on and that they would make room for me.  At that point I counted 16 people.

A Jeepney loaded with passengers - there's still room for more!

What I observed over the next 30 minutes absolutely amazed me.  They kept loading people. Jeepneys are generally set up so that you sit on long benches that are sideways in the back portion of the vehicle. You sit with your back to the side of the vehicle and face the people opposite you.  I figured we were done once we had 10 people on each side.  How could you fit more?  But they did. Out of nowhere (I think they were on the luggage rack on the roof of the Jeepney) came some small benches that they placed on the walkway between the passenger benches -- they were big enough for one person to sit on . . . which means in the Philippines you can fit two.  Three of those benches appeared, which allowed for six more passengers.  I thought the driver's helper would sit in the front seat with the driver.  Wrong!  More passengers were loaded into the front seat.  The driver's helper stood on the rear bumper of the Jeepney and hung on to the ladder which went up to the luggage rack. We were ready to go!  The driver cranked over the engine and turned on the radio -- as loud as he could crank it up. Down the road we went.  I was glad to finally be on the road.  I studied the way in which we had been jammed onto the Jeepney and realized that I had discovered another one of the Filipino cultural gems.  They take what they have, what ever they have, and make the maximum use of it.  Oh . .  by the way, we weren't done picking up passengers. I really don't know how they managed, but I lost count at 38.  They were hanging on the back end, they were riding on the luggage rack on top, and we were stuffed into the passenger compartment tighter than college students in a phone booth.  I smiled the whole time.  I'm sure my fellow passengers thought I was loony, but I just found their ingenuity amazing.

Ubay market

I found a new little "eatery" in Ubay that I  like.  I had to buy more "load" for my prepaid cell phone, so I wandered down to the market.  After buying my load at the Globe dealer, I decided I should get something to eat.  I spied a reasonably nice looking place called Peter's Bakery and Restaurant. I gave it a try.  The fried calamari was good -- nothing to brag about, but it was reasonably well prepared. The rice was rice.  The 7-Up was the same as anywhere.  But the view into the market area gave me another interesting vantage point. I ended up ordering a mango shake, not because I needed anything else to eat or drink but because I wanted to justify taking up one of their tables so that I could watch the world go by.  What I observed was that the Filipino people are extremely hard working and industrious people.  Using motorcycles for  nearly everything, they are able to haul cases of water (dozens of cases), bags of rice (75 pounds or so), people (three and four at a time), and countless other products.  They deliver to all of the little eateries and shops along the market place.  Mothers and their children hire motorcycle drivers to haul them home after shopping  -- they just hop onto the back of the motorcycle and off they go.  All of the seemingly meaningless hustle and bustle I had observed before was starting to make sense.  What had previously looked like random running about turned out to actually be productive and reasonably efficient efforts to get things done.  I was again impressed. I was also very pleased by my new understanding of the things going on around me.

I think the culture shock issue of the previous day was one of those growth moments.  I'm sure for anyone who has plunged themselves into a culture that is vastly different than there own that this is a rather common experience.  This was the first time I had really recognized it for what it was.  I have a lot more to learn, but I think that this past week was a real good example of how we never can know too much and how we need to stay observant and thoughtful -- to avoid taking things for granted or making assumptions about the world around us.  Now I am looking forward to tomorrow . . . to the next detail that comes my way.

Culture Shock

When I hear the phrase "culture shock" I tend to think of what happens when someone first arrives in a strange place.  It's that in-your-face moment when you see, hear and smell things that are truly foreign to your senses.  Well that definition surely does have its place, but there is another version of culture shock which is a little less obvious -- in fact it's down right sneaky!

I've been here for just a little over two weeks now. Not very long in the grand scheme of things, but in the past 24 hours I was hit with a second wave of culture shock.  At first it seemed like a bout of depression or anxiety.  I've had experience with this in the past, so I have a rather good idea of when depression is rearing its ugly head.  I also thought perhaps it was a touch of home-sickness, which could actually be an element of culture shock.  Let me explain how this all came about.

Chicken adobo

I went to bed on Wednesday night at a reasonable time -- I had worked online finishing up one of my writing assignments for my personal employment.  I set the alarm for 6:00 AM and fell right to sleep.  I woke up just before the alarm, which tells me that I've gotten acclimated to the 15 hour difference in time between here and Albuquerque.  When I woke up I was exhausted.  Even though I had slept the whole night, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. I pushed through the day, working with the kids and teachers at Ichtus Christian Academy.  I went back "home" to my hotel and took a power nap.  I joined my "host" family for dinner at 6:00 PM, which was a wonderfully prepared chicken adobo.  I learned a secret about cooking adobo -- I might share it, I might not.  Anyway, as I am eating this wonderful food, all I could think of was, "what I'd really like to have is a heaping helping of mashed potatoes and gravy!"  You know, the kind of serving you have at Thanksgiving when the diet is thrown out the window and you just enjoy yourself.

My humble bathroom --  the shower doesn't
work, as there isn't enough water pressure.

I went to bed that night with thoughts of traveling from Ubay to Tagbilaran.  I will be visiting Pastor Jul Castellano for church on Sunday in Tubigon, which is about an hour from Tagbilaran.  I had some immigration business to attend to before my visa expired, and the only office on Bohol is in Tagbilaran.   So I decided to combine my trip and take care of both visits in the same journey.  Anyway, I woke up that morning feeling terrible. I wasn't sick as in having the flu or anything like that, but I sure didn't feel well.  I drug myself out of bed and forced myself into the bathroom where I shaved and got ready for my "shower".  If I've explained this before, forgive me as I repeat myself.  My shower here consists of a bucket of cold water and a long handled dipper, called a "tabo".  You just pour the water over your self and enjoy a fresh, invigorating wake-up.  This morning's shower was anything but invigorating.  In fact, it was down right miserable!  I hated it. I have entertained thoughts in the past about maybe living part time in the Philippines -- not that it will ever happen, but, you know, just saying.  My thoughts this morning sounded like,"if I ever move here I WILL have a hot water shower, and not this stupid bucket of cold water!"

A typical express van

I forced myself to get ready for my 2.5 hour ride to Tagbilaran.  The ride there is in an air conditioned 11 passenger van.  That doesn't sound too bad until you realize that they pack 16 or more people in there, depending on how they can squeeze them in. Children sit on parents laps, and the chicken-in-a-box (yes, it's alive) sits on the floor at someone's feet.  I was one of the first people in the van, so you know I got smashed against the wall with four other people in a seat designed for two.  Did I mention it was air conditioned?  Well it is, and it works fine going down hill, but when going up a grade or anytime the engine is having to strain, that wonderful "air con", as they call it, starts blowing hot, humid, outside air: smoke, exhaust, and anything else that might be in the air comes rushing in.

You thought I was joking - ha!

So in the midst of this I send  my wife a text message back in the States, telling her about  how I feel and that I might be battling a renewed case of clinical depression.  Of course, part way through our discussion, my prepaid cell phone runs out of prepaid "load" and I am cut off from the outside world.  My wife has no idea whether I'm okay or if I'm "wigging out".  And everyone in the van is talking in Cebuano, which I only understand a fraction of -- I had a good chat with the chicken though, as its clucking was much more understandable than the chatter of those around me.  And of course, an hour into the trip, people start falling asleep and my shoulder becomes the head rest for some lady whom I have never  met before and probably will never meet again.

I can't paint the picture for you well enough about the van ride itself.  I've told people about how vehicles have to dodge chickens that are crossing the road, and of course they always go to the "why did the chicken cross the road" joke . . .  but really, they are everywhere, darting back and forth across the road at every opportunity.  Add to that dogs, kids, adults, caraboa (water buffalo - okay, they don't dart), motorcycles and motorized vehicles of all sorts. All are vying for the same patch of asphalt.  The center line painted on the road is only a mere suggestion -- most vehicles have at least a third of their chassis straddling it.  The van driver is honking his horn -- not as in an angry tirade, but as in "I'm coming and you're stupid if you don't get out of my way".  I've determined that there are no stupid dogs in the Philippines.  If they aren't smart enough to get out of the way, than they will be dispatched rather swiftly and with little regard by the vehicle doing the dispatching.  I know that sounds cruel, but that's life in the third world -- just get over it.

This is common on every street in the Philippines

Somewhere along the way I put two and two together and realized that my biggest problem was a second wind of culture shock.  It isn't any one event or observation.  Each by itself is simple and easily dealt with.  It's when you have 50 or 60 rather peculiar occurrences all striking repeatedly -- over and over and over -- that the senses go into overload and the brain starts to manufacture all sorts of chemicals in an effort to cope with the signals that the senses are sending -- not that much different (and maybe no different) then when the brain is coping with stressors that cause depression in otherwise healthy human beings.

By the time I reached Tagbilaran I had regained control of my wits and was feeling reasonably "normal" again.  The lady beside me woke up and began apologizing profusely for having fallen asleep on the "kano's" shoulder, and the chicken had finally clucked itself to death or something as I didn't hear from it for quite a while (it revived as we pulled into Tagbilaran).  I found my hotel, which has a hot water shower and not a tabo or bucket of water in sight. I reloaded my cell phone and sent an explanatory message home.  I made it to the immigration office and within 30 minutes had secured my visa extension.  I visited a coffee shop which is run by an American and is the hang out for foreign "expats" (ex-patriots -- foreigners who now live in the Philippines) and had a good cup of coffee and some good conversation with a Joe from parts unknown.  I did some shopping for gifts to come home with (the women folk are taken care of, but the men and boys haven't garnered a thing yet) at the nearby mall, and then came back to my hotel for a meal and to just relax.

Cup of Jo restaurant -- the owner is second from left.

Okay, when I started this I didn't think I'd write quite this much.  But I hope somewhere in the story that someone reading this will have an appreciation of what probably all missionaries go through as they venture into foreign lands. Unlike a vacation, where the average person goes to enjoy some exotic location and is catered to at every step of the way, being thrown into living like the locals, at least in large part, is an experience that needs to be . . .well . . . experienced.  I'm not sure how else to say it.  I can write about it ad nauseam and still not capture the true essence of what it is like to live here -- but hopefully this has given you some sense or flavor of what it is like.  I hope I haven't put you off about thoughts of taking a trip like this.  Instead, I hope I've done something to help prepare you for it.  It's not all fun and games -- but as long as you are smart enough to get out of the middle of the road, I think you can survive it quite successfully and have some reward in the end.

So, until the next time -- Pag ayo-ayo!

Got Books?

The book case!

When I visited the Icthus Christian Academy in February of this year, I learned that one of the needs the school has is for a library.  I talked with the administrator there and learned that there was a plan for an actual library space, but the availability of books was severely limited.  So upon my return to the States I set out on a  mission to gather books and ship them to Bohol.

A lot has happened since then, but even more needs to happen before the library project is on track.  I've gathered books from people at church, from my own meager selection, from friends and family.  I was allowed to set up a table a the Idalia Road Marketplace in Rio Rancho for a few weeks to gather more books from the general public.  The response has been very positive.  Since beginning this project in June, I  have been able to send two Balikbayan boxes of books to Bohol.  A third box is filled and ready for shipment.  It takes a while for these boxes to make it half way around the world.  The first box arrived last month, and the second box should arrive some time in November.  I'm looking forward to being here when the second box arrives -- I think it will be rather fun to see the box leave my home and then to be in Bohol when it arrives!

The library has a very nice space - just needs books

The library space has also been taking shape.  The school also has hired a librarian to maintain the library and help students who are using it.  The only real problem at this point is the lack of bookshelves for the books to be put on.  The book case they have (the only one they have) was made for them by a local carpenter -- that's about the only way to get something like that made.  There is no "furniture row" to visit and select from a wide range of options -- it just isn't available.  If I heard the price correctly, the book case they have (see picture) cost them P5,000 which is about $125 USD.  I will verify the price later tonight at dinner, but if this is an accurate price, there is no reason not to be able to get a second or third book case added to the library.    If anyone is interested in providing some shelves to put library books on, just send me  an email, contact my family, give me a call (Zella can give you my number).

Students using the library.

Well I'm off to Tagbilaran in the morning, riding the E-Van (express van) from Ubay.  I need to get an extension on my visa so that I don't run into immigration problems when I leave in early December.  After that, I will travel to Tubigon to visit pastor Jul Castellano and his church there (First Christian Church of Albuquerque sent money for school supplies here).  I currently plan to return to Ubay on Sunnday, November 18, if the everything goes as planned at the immigration office.  I can return to Tagbilaran on Monday if need be, but at this point I can't see where there will be any problem.

That's all for now - my next note should be from Tagbilaran City.  Pag ayo-ayo!

Water Water Everywhere . . .

Carmen's emergency water source

 . . . but  nary a drop to drink.  When Samuel Taylor Coleridge penned the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, I don't think he had life in the Philippine islands in mind.  But it's interesting to find that there are times when fresh water is a problem here.  I was a little shocked when I found out how much it would cost me to stay in "drinking water" here if I continued to buy bottled water like we get at the convenience stores in the US.  Those 500 ml bottles of water are a mere P20 to 30 each - or $.50 to .75 -- better than in the US, for sure. But I ran into a problem the other day when I realized I was not feeling well because I had allowed myself to become dehydrated. If I consume as much water as I am supposed to, those cheap bottles of water will end up costing me a couple hundred by the end of my stay.  So, I bought one of those 5 gallon size containers - which is refillable for that same P20 to 30 (depending on where you are on the island).  That certainly solved that problem, and my "host" family is always checking to make sure I have enough water to drink.

Cocoa wrapped in bags to keep bugs out as "fruit" matures

That said, I was rather surprised when I was visiting in Carmen that sometimes they run out of water in their wells.  During the dry season, or El Nino, their water wells dry up completely, leaving them without water for cooking, washing, etc.  Even the municipal water sources dry up.  However, there is a cave not far from where I stayed in Carmen that has a natural spring running into it.  It is the only place where there is water, and so it becomes the community resource.  People use it for drinking water, for washing clothes, for bathing  . . . yes, all from the same little pond.  And the town sends a truck in that sucks water out of the cave and hauls it back to town.

I visited that cave with Pastor David last weekend.  Before they had a baptistry there in the church they used the cave for baptisms.  It was a little bit of a walk and there was only a dirt path -- if you didn't know where it was  you'd be hard pressed to find it.  On the way back I noticed some kind of fruit on a tree that was wrapped in plastic bags while still on the tree.  It was cocoa!  In fact I had some fresh cocoa this morning on my breakfast of sticky rice accompanied by a banana or two. Was interesting to see that along the way.  There are so many things that we see only in the store, I feel rather "stupid" when I walk around asking "what's that" and "what's this" and so on.  But it's part of the learning process, and it gives me things to talk about here in my blog and when I return home.

Tomorrow . . . I don't know the topic, but I will be traveling to Tagbilaran on Friday to visit immigration - need to get my visa extended.  It will be my first official encounter with Filipino bureaucracy outside of the airport.

The Old Guitar Maker

The old guitar maker and one of his jackfruit wood instruments.

I spent this past weekend in Carmen, which is in the central mountains of Bohol.  Although it was really a beautiful and quiet place to be, it was also out of broadband range, so I was "cut off" from the rest of the internet world.  I really did have a wonderful time there and met some incredibly wonderful people.  They live such simple lives that I feel really ashamed of all that I have.

For instance, I met an old guitar maker and his wife.  Now I have to tell you, I have a garage full of wood working tools.  My wife has been rearranging all of them while I am gone, but I've been assured they will all be there when I return.  Anyway, this man's outdoor workshop is very simple, and the collection of tools that he uses to build guitars with would fit in just one of  my tool boxes; however, his guitars are incredibly beautiful.  Perhaps the finish is a little rougher than you might find in a fine luthier's shop, but the wood is delightful and the tone quality of the instruments are wonderful.   He makes them out of jackfruit wood.  Now if you don't know what jackfruit is, you're missing an Asian culinary delight -- well at least in my opinion.  It's a rather aromatic fruit, so if you have a sensitive nose you may want to avoid it.  But the wood is beautiful as you can see in the photo above.

His meager collection of tools.

I visited with him and his wife for about an hour on Saturday afternoon along with the Pastor David Salingay of the church in Carmen.  They live in the middle of the jungle in a tiny one room bamboo house that sits up on stilts and has a ramp like you might see on a chicken coop. Bernardo Macabudbod and his wife, Felly, have been living there since 1958 when the couple bought the property to raise rice and other crops.  His wife made coffee for us on her little wood fired stove, which quickly filled the small house with smoke, as there is no chimney or vent for the smoke to exit through.  They also grow a variety of foods in there small garden plot, including sugar cane and papaya. Later that evening he and his wife came over the house where I was staying and he played some old hymns for us.  Pastor David and some others joined in the singing -- hopefully the video below will capture a little of the evening's music.  Oh, and ignore the dog barking in the background and people cutting in front of the camera -- that's life when shooting live, unrehearsed video.They stayed for a couple of hours and  made for a very enjoyable evening.  They came to church on Sunday and sang a special for us -- wish I had been prepared to catch their performance on video, as it was as charming and delightful as they are. Here is the YouTube link:  http://youtu.be/WXZ8KVwthBI

Felly at the door to her bamboo house.

 I wish I had some way of shipping one of his guitars home with me -- he was only asking P 2500, which is about $65 US.  They are too big to fit in a Balikbayan box and I can't justify paying the extra baggage for bringing it on the airplane with me on the flight home.  I'll check into it -- maybe I can have him build a custom guitar for me when I return, and by then I will have come up with a solution for bringing it home.  I haven't played guitar for many years, but I strummed a few chords on one of his masterpieces -- it was easy for me to play, so I imagine someone with some talent would really enjoy playing one.

I will introduce you to a couple more people tomorrow.  I hope you enjoy meeting them as much as I did!

A Little Of This, A Little Of That

Today was the first full day in the "office".  I met with the teachers this morning for a while to discuss why I was at the school and what they can expect from  me.  I will have my first assignment for them on Friday morning -- a combination of lessons for them, some related to school and some more personal.  I've been asked to conduct a spiritual gifts class for the teachers as one of the staff development activities, so I have prepared some materials for them to take home over the weekend.  The other project is a multiple intelligences test which helps to identify how people learn.  It's an activity for their students to do, but I want the teachers to complete the questions as well so that they have a better understanding of the assignment.  Nothing difficult, but a good place to start.

Love, victorious after wrestling her first car tire!

This morning at breakfast a comment was made about Nemesio's vehicle . . . apparently one of the tires had something protruding out of the tread -- never a good sign.  While they were talking, Nemesio's youngest daughter said she had never changed a tire before and would like to try it.  So sometime in the middle of the morning, Love changed from her office attire (she's both office manager and book keeper) to some work clothes and proceeded to get a lesson in changing a tire.  She was happy to have had the experience, but said she would rather not change careers and start working at the local tire repair shop.  

It rained last night -- all night -- and this morning as well.  I was grateful that I had brought an umbrella from home, as I would have been drenched on my short walk to the school.  It's only a block or so between the hotel and the school, but torrential rain only needs to have you exposed for less than a minute to get you thoroughly soaked!  As I was walking through rain, I thought about how people in New Mexico would be so happy to have a rain like we were having -- what I've always referred to as an "all-day-soaker".  Of course, with the rain came 100 percent humidity.  I sat in front of the fan in my office and tried to dry out while working at my computer . . . but I'm still wet and probably will be for the rest of the day.  I have laundry being done today, so I will have dry clothes to wear this evening.

The kids here are usually in good spirits and quick to wave or smile as thy pass by my "office". They peak through the window slats and either say "hi" or just giggle and run down the hall.  Yesterday was their casual day, so they all were wearing their P.E. uniforms.  I have some video of their morning ceremony and will post some here when I get better at editing the footage.  

I will go visit one of the other churches this afternoon.  When I was there in February, they had just a tree in the middle of a field where they usually held services.  World Mission Builders was there in October and built a permanent structure for them, similar to the one I helped build in Sierra Bullones. 

Well that's all for  now.  I expect the next couple of weeks here will be filled with the more mundane activities of my project, but I will try to find some interesting bits of information to pass on, as well as the much promised video clips.  Until tomorrow, or whenever. . . 

Settling Into Home

After several days of travel and a short stop over in Camiguin, I've arrived at my primary destination.  I was actually here nearly two days ago, but I found that I did not have an internet connection.  Yesterday (Tuesday, Nov 6) I traveled with Nemesio and his wife Terry to Tagbilaran on the other end of Bohol (about a three hour drive).  There are some store here in Ubay, but none of them carry much of a selection of office equipment or supplies, so we had to go to the "big city" on the other end of the island.  Tagbilaran has around 500,000 people and supports to malls and a large market area.  I went shopping for a printer/copier/scanner as this is something that the school doesn't have.  I found an inexpensive model for just at $100.  The ink was reasonably priced at around $10 per cartridge for either black or color.  I also purchased what in the US we call an "air card", or a device that uses cell phone technology to connect to the internet.   So I now have a prepaid 4G internet connection that I can use anywhere in the Philippines.  The price was quite reasonable compared to what I would have had to pay for a US plan.  I'm not sure if we have prepaid air cards in the US or  not . . . if  someone knows, please leave a comment.  Neither of these purchases were in the "budget" but are necessary things for me to accomplish my work here.

The view of the school (green roof) from my hotel room

We returned to Ubay last evening.  I had some writing I needed to finish, so I declined an offer to go to a birthday dinner and returned to my room.  I was greeted by a container of chicken  and rice, sent ahead to my room by Rachel and Love from ICA -- they had already heard that I wouldn't be eating dinner with them and were concerned that I'd starve to death.  I appreciate their wonderful hospitality, but I'm a big boy now. I do understand that they are just trying to make sure I'm taken care of and it is greatly appreciated.

I bought some clothes hangers (not enough in my closet), a pitcher for my water along with a plastic cup, and some good old peanut butter and jelly.  Although my intention is to eat as much Filipino food as I can encounter, I felt compelled to have some comfort food on hand just in case.  On M onday evening Nemesio and I had gone to the market and bought a 20 liter bottle of filtered water to keep in my hotel room.  The water here is just too contaminated with "critters" to drink - even the locals avoid it at all costs.  So I purchased the pitcher and cup to facilitate getting a drink.  I could buy the smaller bottles of water which are handier, but the price difference is ridiculous.  I bought a 500 ml bottle of water for 30 pesos ($ 0.75) earlier in the day.  The 20 liter bottle cost 150 pesos ($3. 75) -- that includes the container cost.  Refilling the 20 liters will cost the same 30 pesos as I paid for the small bottle.

From my hotel room, I have a great view of the school a block away -- well, I can see the unfinished upper floor, anyway.  I know they really would like to get that project finished soon, but the world economy has been working against them.  Just a few years back the exchange rate was over 50 php (Philippine peso) to the dollar.  It is now 40 php to the dollar, or a 20 percent reduction in value.  As much of their support comes from the US, their purchasing power has been cut severely.  This not only affects their ability to work on the building, but also teacher salaries and school materials.  Most of us would not even consider working full time for the wages their teachers get paid.  They would truly like to pay more, but it isn't in the budget.

Well that's it for now.  It's 3:00 in the morning - adapting to the time here still alludes me -- I will work for an hour or two, sleep for an hour or two, and then get ready for "work" at the school.

Camiguin: Simple Paradise

My intentions were to post yesterday to my blog, but unfortunately the internet here at my "resort" was down for more than 24 hours.  A storm had moved through the area and apparently interfered with the WiFi.  But that's life here in paradise.  In my last post I wrote that I was up very early in the morning. Around 7:00 that morning the storm came through. I still had electricity but the internet connection was gone.  So I worked for a while on one of my writing assignments and enjoyed the morning shower.  I had already taken a quick dip in the swimming pool.  The water was at just the right temperature -- warm enough to be relaxing but cool enough to keep you moving.  I met Nemesio for breakfast -- rice (of course), scrambled eggs with some sauteed tomato,  a slice of ham, and bottomless coffee.

The view of Camiguin from the side of Hibok-Hibok volcano

From there we headed out to the port where we dropped off Nemesio's two daughters, Rachel and Love, who were headed back to Ubay on Bohol to get the school ready to open on Monday.  We picked up the co-pastor of the church here in Camiguin along with his wife and proceeded on a "praying" tour of the island.  Every Saturday, the two pastors and their wives drive around the island.  They stop at each of the five towns here and pray for the people and for guidance from God as they plan on establishing a church in each of those towns.  We would just park along the roadside, sing a song or two and then pray around for the community we were in.  (I don't think we've done that in Albuquerque lately - hmmm.)

We visited some of the more popular tourist sites, including an old church and its cemetery which were damaged in the eruption of one of the islands five volcanoes back in the 18th century.  The grounds changed so much in the process that the cemetery is now submerged, with only a large cross visible as it protrudes up from the water.  We did not venture out to White Island, which is just a large sand bar at the northern end of Camiguin -- the weather remained  questionable all day, with periods of rain and strong winds.  We went up to the government offices which monitor the volcanoes for possible eruption.  One in particular was active in the late 1990s and could start up again at any time.

One of the tourist sites on Camiguin

As we drove around the island, my travel companions chatted on about the island and its history.  I had my nose out the window, just soaking in all of the views along the way and waving at some of the locals who were curious about the 'kano' who was visiting their island.  We stopped at a local "eatery" for lunch -- fish and rice, along with a few other meaty products (pork mostly) along with a soup with vegetables and pig "parts" -- kind of like the US military's "don't ask don't tell" program.  It was all very good and I was full and satisfied.  The meal for five people came to 230 pesos (less than $8.00).

Typical house of bamboo walls and metal roof

In general, Camiguin is a very poor island.  There are a few foreigners and some well-to-do Filipinos who have built some large and impressive homes here, but most people live in either simple bamboo houses with galvanized steel roofs or in concrete block houses also with corrugated steel roofing material.  The doors to most of the houses were standing wide open, even in the rain and wind.  Clothes remained on the clothesline to dry -- again. Dogs roamed around the streets where chickens and roosters were tethered to stakes to keep them from going onto the road.  Motorcycles, tricycles, vans and jeepneys eased back and forth along the roadways.  Being a weekend, school children were out playing along the roadsides or at the local basketball court.  Others were in town hanging around the marketplace, visiting with their friends or just watching the world go by.  Many of the adults were doing the same thing.  Some were working, some were not.  I saw people swimming in the sea, gathering various sea foods, either to sell or for their own consumption.  A group of men were harvesting coconuts.  Others were busy tending to the whims of some tourists who were willing to venture out in boats or jet skies.

Harvesting coconuts

What I was taken with mostly with the general peacefulness of the island.  Unlike my visit in Manila, life here in Camiguin was decidedly slower.  Although some people have obvious goals or destinations for the day, the  frantic pace noted in Manila was quite absent.  If there was a line for something (which seemed rare), everyone just remained calm and patient.  The same with traffic on the roads.  Several tree branches had come down in the storm that had passed through earlier.  While I was surprised that no one took the initiative to clear the roadside (the branches were  not that big), they just took turns going around the obstacles.

Volcano observatory on Camiguin

I was back to my room by 4:00 in the afternoon -- the internet was still not up, so I did the most sensible thing I could think of . . . I took a nap.  I had dinner at Nemesio's house around 6:00 and visited for an hour or so before returning "home".  Dinner was rice, a dish with cooked vegetables and some pork, and a piece of dried fish.  The fish was prepared more for me to sample than as an integral part of the meal.  I have heard that most Americans don't handle it too well . . . even the smell is a little strong.  For me it was just fine -- a little salty, but then I've reduced my salt intake significantly as part of a healthy-heart diet, so anything with salt is "salty" to me.  The internet was still off when I return to my room, so I prepared a few notes on my lesson for church the next morning and the quickly fell asleep.  At 5:00 this morning I woke and checked the internet -- two bars!

I have some video of Camuguin that I need to "process" as well as some footage from Manila. I hope to work with that on Monday afternoon (Philippines time) and post it as soon as I can.  I also intend on taking a few more photos of Camguin today (Sunday) and get them posted as well.  Time for a dip in the pool and then breakfast at the "open" restaurant.

Tomorrow -- Camiguin, part 2?  It all depends on what tomorrow brings.