Last week we had our first practicum for Coastal Resource Management – mangrove assessment. Our training group traveled to a mangrove site by boat (about a 45 minute trip). The boats here can seat 8-10 people sitting on the sides of the boat with a small motor inside. We rode along the coast and then up a river to the mangrove site.
Working in groups of four, we studied 100 sq. meter plots in mid-calf-deep, super slippery mud. The trees were very thick (think of a swamp and briar patch combined). We identified several species, took measurements and samples, and made observations about the health of the area. We emerged from the mangrove stand with lots of scratches and eagerly climbed back into the boats, covered in muck, vowing never to do a mangrove assessment again, if we can help it!
[Boat trip to mangrove site]The technical side of CRM (studying mangroves, seagrass, corals, etc) is very foreign to us both but we’re glad to be learning all sorts of new things. The community side of things (asset mapping, resource planning, environmental education, and organizing) is much more familiar terrain!
[Fishing village in our barangay]This weekend we took our first trip to the nearest city, Tacloban. Whether our permanent site is on Leyte or Samar, it is likely that Tacloban will be our hub for purchasing items we can’t find in rural areas, the occasional American meal, and meeting up with other volunteers. The small city boasts a large seaside market, many thrift stores (known as ukay-ukay) containing American cast-off treasures, and the beloved Filipino shopping mall, “Robinson’s.”
We’ve made some good progress with the Waray-Waray language – we can now put together simple sentences, ask questions, and generally survive at the market with basic haggling skills. Our favorite Waray word of the week: kikilat (lightening).
[Language class]One last quick story about cross-cultural miscommunication: We were eating breakfast the other day when a family member turns the TV to the show “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.” (The one where the bald guy travels the world eating the nastiest stuff he can find). The family is very excited because, look, it’s American TV!
They’ve been wondering what to cook for the Americans, so our Nanay calls her helpers into the living room to watch and learn what to make. We try to explain that Andrew is in Russia, not America, and that bear burgers, borscht, and boiled lamprey are NOT typical American dishes in broken English/Waray. The one time the Travel Channel has failed us!
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