Jeepnies, chicken feet, and cheese ice cream...

I am HERE!!!!

Wow... for any of you adventurous folks planning to make a trip to the Philippines any time soon... please be prepared for a couple of days for some very long flights. Leaving Calvin college at four thirty or some other early hour last monday that I can't exactly recall, Nicole and I headed out to the airport. From Grand Rapids, we flew to Minneapolis, Seattle, Tokyo, and then Manila, the Philippines. What with the 12 hour time change and some stop overs that were a few hours long, it was two days of travelling once we met up with the three others from the Philippines team at the airport (because Nicole and I were late additions, we couldn't get the same flight as the others, but we only arrived an hour or so apart). Once we were all cleared with health forms without any swine flu, it was almost clear sailing getting into the country. Unfortunately, I think Nicole and I were subjected to pay a few more American dollars for our last minute VISA than should have been, but.... well, at least we're here :)

The first two nights were spent at a university dorm guest house in Los Banyos. We arrived there by 2 am, so our first thoughts in the country were only of sleep. The next morning, however, we were introduced to some true humid weather of the Philippines. To put it simply, it is very hot, and very humid here... my hair never dries but goes from washed wet to greasy dry... not my favourite, but I think I'll survive. After a bit of touring of the town, playing some ulitmate frisbee with some of the locals, we got to ride a jeepnie....

Now... what is a jeepnie exactly? It's one of the main modes of transportation here, and its kind of like a mini bus with bench seats along the inside, and you just squeeze as many people as you possibly can into it and hold onto very dear life. What with the constant crazy traffic of bikes, people, and jeepnies, such is only necessary. The other way to get around is by a motor tricycle. It's a motor bike with a side car... with a very low roof. And for those who don't know, Filipino people are much smaller... much smaller... than the above average dutch female like myself. If my white skin and blonde hair did not attract attention enough, my height only adds to it.

Now all 5 of the members are living with separate host families from the different CRC churches in the area. (the majority of the Phil. is Roman Catholic, but there are about 5 or 6 or so CRC churches in this particular area... which is Laguna) I am near San Pablo, living with Trisha, a 16 year old who lived in the USA for 3 years, but came back to live with her aunt and uncle in the Phil. recently because she can finish school quicker here... where you start university at age 16. Nearly everyone hear can understand and speak fairly good english, especially Trisha, because they must learn it in school. However, the language in this area is Tagalog, and many are a little nervous to speak English to someone who speaks it better. In fact, it's a regular joke that if someone's English is too good or too fast to understand, they say "Oh, my nose is bleeding, my nose is bleeding!"... Needless to say, I've caused many a bloody nose since my arrival.

Here, when you meet people who are older than you, you give them a formal name. All females are "Ate...", and all males "kuya..." For example, I call Trisha's aunt "Ate Tess". It actually means "sister Tess", and this is the way that you always refer to people unless you are older than them, or the same age. Living with Trish is her aunt and uncle, her grandmother, and her three cousins... alll under age 6, and they're absolutely adorable. I'm so glad I still get the chance to spend some time with children. The family is extremely kind, and they do whatever they can to care for me, even with their simple housing facilities. They do not have internet at their house, but I am at an internet cafe here in town, and hopefully I can get a chance to come here once a week or so.

And now, for the food....
I have many things to try, and have tried many delicious (or not) new things so far, but here's a list of some...
- fresh FRESH pineapple sold from street vendors (ok, it's not a new thing, but it's soooo sweet, and they cut and peel it right there...)
- cheese and vanilla twist ice cream... yep, that's right. Many of you know my ice cream love affair... and this has topped it all. Even in Quebec with over 40 flavours of soft ice cream, I have NEVER seen cheese with vanilla.... (and yes, I took a picture.!)
-rice, rice, and more rice. Once again, this is not new, but to have it at all meals IS new :)
- buko pie... it's a pie with the meat of green coconut, and VERY good
- and, of course... chicken FEET! very... interesting. They boil it, then marinate it in spicy vinegar and cook it over the fire on a stick. You bit the toes than spit out the bones... and yes, you can still tell that you're eating a foot. It was quite an experience, I'll telll you....
- I'm still not sure if I can eat balot or not, but we'll see.... (by the way, balot = baby duck still in egg....)

Some other observations about the Philippines since being here:
- EVERYONE texts... even the beggars on the streets have cell phones, they are so cheap. Most houses don't have internet or a land line phone, but cell phones are practically given away
- America was here... KFC and Macdonald's abounds, but there's also JollyBee's, a Filipino fast food chain, that makes some very interesting and sweet-tasting spaghetti.
- once again, the traffic, is CRAZY... it's just all jeepnies and tricycles. Most people don't have cars and never learn to drive unless they do so for public transportation
- Filipino people are extremely kind and hospitable. Of course, it doesn't seem so nice when people always stare at the colour of my skin, but they are just curious... it just takes some getting used to. Everyone here has beautiful jet black hair and various degrees of tan skin... some more Asian, some more Indian, some more native.
- here, there is no such thing as a "sporty girl" We had a sportsfest playing tug of war, volleyball, sack races and the like with all the churches, and I think that my Canadian team mates and I were the only firls who did not carry a mirror and comb with us at all times. Then again, for us the sweating never stops, so such grooming doesn't seem worth it.
- I will always appreciate North AMerican bathrooms. Here, no sink, no flush, no bath. A Filipinop bath means a dipper bath. You just pour a dipper of water over you to rinse, and the water just goes down the drain. Same dipper to flush the toilet, and unfortunately, usually not tp... (yeah, pocket kleenex!) Of course, it's just a matter of getting used to it, and everything they do here is more than efficient for what needs to be done. Besides, dipper baths are much nicer because the cold water cools you down after a long, hot day :)

Anyway, that's just some thoughts about this wonderful country of 7000 plus islands... my team was supposed to begin work today, going to highschools and informing them about HIV/AIDS (it's not bad like in Africa, but it's getting worse, and many people don't understand it), but because of the H1N1 scare, which is a big deal here, we must wait until we have been in the country for 10 days before entering the public schools. We had information training with Filipino youth from our churches on Saturday, but this week we'll just have to keep busy with our make-up-as-you-g0 schedule with some touring and practicing for our talks.

Oh yes, and yesterday I attended my first church serivice in the Philippines. In San Pablo, the songs were in English, but unfortunately, the sermon was not. I still enjoyed the relaxed, yet passionate atmosphere... even with only a few fans for cooling.

And thus far the annals of my Philippine learning adventure. Some days are harder than others, not knowing the language (though I'm trying to learn what I can), trying to travel from place to place, and not knowing what we're doing each day... but it's all in the making!

Can't wait to see what God can do with me and teach me on this trip....