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.