On the High Seas (Part 2) - Like the Log Ride, Only Better

3.20.10

We had hoped to sleep in the following morning after our all-night cha cha fest, but after a mere three hours were summoned to eat a quick breakfast and load up into another dump truck for the Magellan’s Landing mass and celebration. If the first dump truck experience was the best thing we’ve done here so far, this second truck is probably one of the worst.

I was lucky enough to score a seat in the cab as a lady, but Brandon and Eric rode in the back, along with 30+ other people. Bodies flailed about in the bed and people held onto each other as they flew forward and back over the cracks in the road along steep terrain for more than an hour. The deep red earth of Homonhon caked the truck and more red dust whipped us as we rode. When we finally made it to the Landing site, everyone was exhausted and covered in a thick layer of red dirt.

On the way, we drove across the mid-section of the island, the interior where the mining has taken place. Here are some images of the mined landscape, not a pretty sight:



Mining operations have been shut down for a number of years, but we’ve heard the company has plans to reopen. Some levels of government here are opposed to it, but on the other hand, the people (and seemingly the most local level of government) hope the mine will reopen for the sake of their livelihoods. On Homonhon there are few alternatives for people to earn a basic living. It’s a story we’ve definitely heard before, and one that makes us think of home.

Magellan landed on the south side of the island, and just inland from where he came ashore there’s a monument known as Magellan’s Cross.


[where Magellan supposedly came ashore]

The festivities took place there at the monument site, with a mass and meal.


Each village had its own table, and as the only foreign guests we were invited to join the governor’s feast.

[no silverware or plate, just go for it. pansit, fresh seafood, rootcrops, and of course rice]

The entire celebration lasted a couple of hours and we returned to the other side of the island for a much needed shower and nap.

We slept most of the day but woke up for the big event – a concert, the first ‘real’ concert ever on the island, by two national celebrities. The mayor sponsored the event and shipped over the equipment for a professional show. A special stage was built in the town plaza and a troupe of dancers from Manila was brought in. Hundreds of people flocked the plaza that night to watch the concert, which was actually pretty entertaining. Plus, we were able to get seats in the back row and spend most of the evening unnoticed (a first for us!)


The next morning we woke early and secured a spot on the 9am boat back to the mainland. We ate a leisurely breakfast and headed to the dock at 8:45, only to see that our boat was already out to sea!

[What happened to waiting three hours for the boat to actually leave, like on the trip there??]

We returned to the house dejected and were told there would be no more boats. We would have to stay an extra day.

How to spend an entire day with no plans? We were invited to tour the island with the mayor, but because we’re non-political as volunteers and it’s election season, we declined and stayed in the Kapitana’s village. Plus they were taking the dump truck again, so… no thank you. We napped through the hot hours of the day, played cards and taught folks how to play Skip-Bo, then took the Kapitana’s granddaughter for a walk. This girl is quite the character and she and her friend were great companions for a trip to the beach.


[going for a stroll]
[typical beach village scene]

[lookin for shells]

The following morning we woke extra early to ensure that we’d make the boat, yet somehow we almost missed it AGAIN, even though we were two hours earlier than the day before. Lesson learned: there is NO schedule for these things; be prepared for anything!

When arriving at the dock, we saw the little boat from the trip there (the one we had mocked because it was barely afloat) and realized that THIS is what we’d be taking back. Oh, the irony.


So we loaded up, I donned my rain jacket (although others weren’t as lucky), and we spent the next three hours getting drenched by the waves. Unlike our first, large boat that rode above them, this small pumpboat cut right through the waves. We liked to joke that it was “kind of like the log ride, only better!” Although, it’s fun for about the first half hour, and then you realize that you have two hours more of being pounded by the water and riding the rollercoaster-like waves. It gets old.

[fearfully boarding the boat]

Back on the mainland now, we’re returning to our regular work, thankful for the new connections we made and the new cultural experiences we had on Homonhon. We have many potential projects in the works. Here’s a brief list of what might be coming up:

Brandon:
-Education campaign against the non-sustainable practice of harvesting gravid (pregnant) crabs
-Writing a proposal to fund a marine protected area (MPA) project and working with the community to develop a management plan

Tori:
-Organizing village weaving associations for people who weave grass mats; the project would train weavers in new skills like dyeing and making higher value products
-Tourism development: creating a local accommodations and transportation guide for the tourist info center

Both:
-An Earth Day education event
-Ongoing climate change education
-Creating profiles of the coastal villages and training co-facilitators

April will be a busy month with Holy Week, a visit from 17 other PC volunteers, Brandon’s 28th birthday, Earth Day, and a trip to Central Visayas. We hope everyone’s enjoying the start of spring back home!

On the High Seas – Headed to the Big Island (Part 1)

3.18.2010

We returned this morning from a 4-day adventure to Homonhon Island – the most distant part of our site and location of Ferdinand Magellan’s landing in the Philippines. We traveled there for the annual celebration of Magellan’s Landing, this being the 489th anniversary. Our community prides itself on being a historical site, and this is one of the biggest celebrations of the year.

We planned to leave on Sunday morning, but we’ve learned to become very flexible with traveling and found out the boats wouldn’t be leaving until Monday. Monday morning we arrived at the dock at noon. We watched as everything was loaded – a motorcycle, an enormous generator, a massive sound system, food food food, about 40 people (including a cover band from Manila), a crate of iced coconut milk, etc – and left at 3:00.

[leaving the mainland]

We felt smug because we landed a spot on the larger, more comfortable boat. Although we were a bit cramped, the boat next to us looked like this, barely sticking out of the water:[‘man, those people are going to get soaked!’]

[on the way]

The trip took two hours on this large boat and as we had been warned many times, there were some big waves going to the island. Homonhon lies out in open sea, where the Pacific meets Leyte Gulf, and the waves are often too strong during rainy season to make the trip at all. We’ve actually heard that because the island has so few provisions and is so isolated during the wavy rainy season, they ran out of food completely one winter and it had to be brought in by helicopter to feed the hungry residents.

We disembarked to the greetings of a local marching band and our host, the wonderful Barangay Kapitana (village captain). The Kapitana is a close friend of our host mother and stays at our house often, so we know her well and stayed with her during the trip.

[arriving at the pier]

The dock was lined with palm trees and a nice beach that stretched along most of the kidney-bean shaped island. We walked through the sandy paths under the palms and into the main part of town – a very orderly, clean, simple village surrounding a small plaza.

[first views of Homonhon]

Homonhon is a massive island – much larger than the mainland area of our community. It is the only agricultural area around, with farms mostly producing root crops like cassava, camote, gabi, and palawan. The Kapitana has a farm where she grows these plus kalamansis (amazing little limes), small oranges, pineapples, jackfruit, and more.

[the Kapitana and her proud potato harvest]

There is no regular electricity or running water on the island, but the Kapitana purchased diesel to run a generator during the evenings for all her guests. Mining has historically been the major industry on Homonhon (and really the only one) – for about 10 years, a company actively strip-mined most of the interior for cromite. The local community has had no claim to the profits, other than a small school built by the mining company.

On the first night we ate dinner and prepared for the night’s festivities – a dance in a neighboring village. Because we can’t ride motorcycles (a strict PC policy), the Kapitana generously arranged for a dump truck to take us there. It is no exaggeration to say that this dump truck trip was probably the best thing we’ve done so far in the Philippines: We sat on plastic chairs in the truck bed as it climbed up a hill from the coast and we road along the hilltop with its massive, pitch black sky and stars as far as we could see. We said it felt like we were in Jurassic Park, because everything felt so untouched there, with such unique vegetation and, of course, the safari-like dump truck experience.

[our ride]

Along the way the truck made a sudden stop and the other passengers started yelling ‘sawa!’ – a word we were still unfamiliar with. We thought maybe the road was out, but when our eyes focused in the darkness on the dirt road in front of the truck, we saw a MASSIVE snake. And by massive, we mean this:



One of the other passengers jumped down and began beating it with a stick. We thought we’d then proceed with the trip, but he just grabbed the snake and hopped up into the bed with it. And us! So we rode the rest of the way (maybe 20 minutes) with what was perhaps an 8-foot python. When we arrived at the village, the man posed for this proud photo and put the snake in a plastic bag to take home for a future meal and medicinal purposes.

The dance was like many others we’ve attended here – a mix of amenudo/kuratsa (the traditional dance of the Waray region) and cha cha.


[Politicians perform the amenudos and people throw money at them in the center of the dance floor, and this serves as a fundraiser for the occasion (in this case, the money goes to the village that hosted the party; if it’s a wedding, the money goes to the couple, etc).]

We were falling asleep at our front row table, yet we were pulled out onto the dance floor for several cha chas. We watched dance after dance after dance until 4:30 in the morning, finally returning by dump truck and getting to bed at the respectable hour of 5am.

Retro

We've just arrived back at site after spending two weeks at PC conferences in Manila. While there, staff gave us the long-awaited pics from swearing in (since we weren't allowed to take our personal cameras with us). So here are some of the images of Secretary Clinton leading us in the oath back in November:

[three powerful ladies - our PC country director, the US Ambassador to the Philippines, and Secretary Clinton]

[Secretary Clinton's address]



[oath - we're about four rows back]



[full view of the embassy ballroom]

[batch 268]

More recent updates to come once things slow down a bit!

In Motion

2.2.09

As anticipated, the new year has brought new projects and work is finally moving. Our first major project is to help our community create Coastal Environmental Profiles – reports that outline the socioeconomic and habitat condition in coastal villages. To do this, we are training community leaders in how to hold community meetings that include resource mapping, community walks, and other tools. We’re also training fisherfolk and our work counterparts in how to conduct participatory habitat assessments for mangrove forests, sea grass beds, coral reefs, and fish surveys.

[our work team at our first education event]

We gave our first presentation on climate change here (the basics of what it is and what we can do) to over 120 village council members. Although the Philippines is one of the countries most acutely affected by climate change impacts, people here, even those well-educated, know very little about the causes. For many nations, climate change can perhaps be ignored because the threats don’t seem so immediate. But here in the Philippines, more devastating typhoons and rising sea level are daily realities.

It has been difficult for us to develop education strategies, particularly about behavior shifts, because much of the burden of climate change has originated in more developed nations – how do you explain to a family whose house has one light bulb and who ride pedicabs everywhere that too much fossil fuel use is threatening their livelihood as fisherfolk? Is it fair to ask these people to cut back on using the little resources they have access to when people elsewhere show no restraint? And so, how do we empower people to be part of a solution?

We have found some answers and are exploring others, but for now we’re focusing on preventing logging, supporting reforestation, and proper waste management as ways locals can be involved in their daily lives. We are emphasizing proactive coastal resource management strategies as well (like healthy mangroves) to defend against climate change impacts. After all, many impacts are already in motion, and people living in coastal communities should be educated and prepared.

[we had 120 attendees for our first 'Orientation on Coastal Resource Management for Barangay Leaders']

On the work front, our next few months will consist of conducting these community trainings, hopefully visiting the islands in our municipality because rainy season is coming to an end, and attending the last of our major Peace Corps trainings in Manila.

We had our first visitors at site last month - our nearest volunteer neighbors, a couple who live an hour and a half away. We explored Calicoan Island, the big potential tourist area in our community, with our workmates as tour guides. We had a great day exploring the Pacific side of the peninsula and hiked up to a ‘yoga camp’ on the ridge overlooking the island.

[on the Pacific at 'Officer's Country' - the site of a US naval base during WWII; now a mostly pristine stretch of coast]

[at the yoga camp with Eric, our sitemate]

[view of Calicoan from the top of the yoga camp]

[our coworkers during the picnic; this tricycle held 7 people + the driver and also served as our table]

[on the way to the yoga camp; the climb took us through the 'jungles of the visayas' and up some treacherous stairs along cave formations]


On the cultural side of things, we’ve done some new things like:
- Eating ice cream on white bread – when there’s no spoon, this Filipino method can be effective

[flavors include: cheese, peanut, and cookies and cream ice cream + sweet white bread]

- Attended some major “circle of life” events, including a wedding, a first birthday party, and several funerals. Wedding receptions are very similar to the US, including the awkward garter/bouquet throwing (although those who catch these then have to pretend to get married, stuff each other’s faces with cake, and kiss). Family and friends mourn the loss of a loved one with a nine-day wake, with the body in the home. After the funeral mass, attendees walk behind the hearse to the cemetery in a solemn procession.

[attending a first birthday party at the home of our original host family in Tanauan, Leyte - our first trip back and they welcomed us like members of the family]

- Started to love babies! We are godparents (ninang/ninong) to a wonderful little lady named Dana, who’s about 4 months old now and lives in our home. We’re looking forward to her baptism in April.

What Comes to Mind

Our dear old friend Lisa asked me in a facebook chat the other day, "So what's so nice about being there?" which got me thinking... here are a few of the things that came to mind right away:

+ it's beautiful, that's for sure
+ the pace is super slow
+ people don't stress over stupid things
+ family (and people in general) is really important - folks seem to have their priorities in check
+ we ride bicycle taxis everywhere, so we're feeling somewhat smug about carbon emissions:)

I like this activity in appreciation. So what are the best things about where you are right now?

Maupay Nga Pasko

1.6.10

We’ve just spent our first holiday season here in the Philippines and it was packed with events, new traditions, and our first mini-vacation. The Christmas season (known as Pasko) is filled with holiday parties. Our office party was supposed to have games and dancing, but turned into a campaign stop for politicians due to the upcoming elections in May. So, our coworkers, needing to celebrate in the traditional Filipino fashion, held several days of unofficial parties in the office afterwards! We ate, drank wine, danced the cha cha, and sang carols for many hours.


[yes, you can fit eight people in a broom closet office, even when four of them are doing the cha cha...]

[notice a theme? well this is how it feels. nonstop chacha-ing]


We spent Christmas with our host family and celebrated in the traditional Filipino way, with a large meal at midnight. All day on Christmas Eve we prepared foods like pansit (traditional noodle dish), gulaman (seaweed gelatin with fruit), and fruit salad (which here contains a Velveeta-like ‘cheese’). A brownout started around 5pm and went through mid-Christmas day, so we spent our second Christmas by candlelight (after the legendary Ohio ice storm).

[our first pansit - pretty successful]

['cheese' does not belong in fruit salad...]

After midnight we exchanged gifts with our small family and had a cha cha dance party. We tried to stay up until 4am, when we are told the baby Jesus was born, but only made it to about 2:30. Christmas Day was very relaxed – we opened our excellent package and felt the Christmas spirit from home and continued to eat the foods from our Christmas Eve buffet. In the end, we ate desserts for three days straight, without any other meals. We love this country.

[Christmas Eve (and three days beyond) table]

For New Year’s, we took our first trip to Northern Samar, where eight of our fellow volunteers are working. Ten of us stayed at a small beach resort to ring in the New Year. (The term ‘resort’ applies to any accommodations here – for this, think more like glorified camping on the beach in huts). We swam, snorkeled, and videoked a little, but mostly just relaxed and enjoyed the company of our friends.

[view of the resort. a cool, windy trip, but we wore pants!]

[ringing in the New Year, 13 hours ahead of you! don't worry, we celebrated US Eastern time as well:)]

[four super-comfortable treehouse-like nights]


Ten years ago, we were ringing in Y2K in a basement full of tin foil, canned food, and crazy teenagers. One year ago, we spent New Year’s Day exploring a Philippine reef exhibit in Chicago, hoping we’d have the chance to come here. And now, this is our reality and we feel so blessed to be here.

January is a big month back home – we have to give a shoutout to our parents, all of whom are having birthdays this month. And for one, it’s a very big 50th bday. We wish we could be there to celebrate these and all the other milestones you all are having. We can’t wait to hear about all the things 2010 will hold for all of you – keep in touch and if anyone is making vacation plans, try to come our way!

[Welcome 2010!]