Youth Leadership Summit and Moving In

I'm writing this on the bus headed home from one fun gathering of youth and friends. The youth summit was located in Dupax Del Norte in Nueva Viskaya, North of my site by four hours bus ride. The bus trip took me from the lowlands I live in, into the mountains I can only just see at the edge of the horizon when I'm home.

Before I left for the summit on Thursday afternoon, I had to move out of my host family's house and move into my new apartment. I was able to make the move completely by bike, I made about eight trips back and forth, filling my backpack and grabbing another piece of luggage each time. I left my all my stuff all over the downstairs, locked my bike up, and started out for my trip North.

At 3:17pm I was on the right bus. I was left with one spot in the back of the bus where the seats had broken into a form that forces all who want to use them to lounge-out. Thankfully the trip was fairly uneventful, it was exciting to see more new countryside and to climb out of the farm lands into the mountains. Some of the roads looked hairy, with one side of the roads hugging the face of mountainsides, with a steep drop off the other side. I made it to Dupax Del Norte by 7:10pm.

When I arrived I was greeted by a van full of friends and we immediately rode towards the place we'd be staying for the summit. What we arrived at was a resort, the kind of place no one had imagined we'd be staying. We were given clean and comfortable rooms, a small room allowance for food and drinks, and were even greeted by the owner of the resort. This gave me a chance to finally catch up with my friends who I only usually get to communicate with through Facebook or text. After a few hours, we were all tired from traveling (everyone else had arrived hours earlier than me) and settled into bed, looking forward to the next day's events at the youth summit.

The summit was prepared to host about 120 kids but when all was sorted, we had about 50 youths. The first day had the youths doing group work and allowed us PCVs to break the ice. The PCVs rotated groups facilitating different activities all revolving around leadership. After several hours of groups everyone was allowed to go home and told we would reconvene the next morning.

The Bus Home for the Youth

After most of the youth had left, in a huge truck, the PCVs settled into one of the most favored pastimes here in the Philippines, videoke. The PCVs tried their hands at singing but none of us could really muster the courage to really belt out songs into the mic, instead we opted to do choral versions of all the songs selected. Songs included TLC's Waterfalls and an N'Sync song I can't recall the name to. Be assured that it was artistically impressive.

The next day of the summit (Saturday) PCVs were split into two person teams and had one activity they needed to facilitate the whole day. The youth would rotate PCV teams and by the end of the day all participants would have completed each one. I was partnered with my friend Alex and our activity was based around “discipline.”

Our activity started bumpy to begin, Alex and I were trying to grasp the concept as we went along too. We were able to get a good handle and flow to the activity and by the mid-way point we were really in full stride.

The Longest Line. A killer game.

Even with the activity in a form we really liked, it was short in comparison to the other groups, we were left with figuring out something to fill the time in with. First, we added charades, it would last one round and was a moderate success in all. Second, we added a cultural exchange, a time where the youth could ask us any questions about the US and even about ourselves. This was really fun, the youth took awhile to get rolling with questions, but after they started they hammered us with questions. One of our favorite questions was “what was the best Christmas gift you've ever received?” Finally, the last group we were working with even burned through questions so I had to come up with games on the spot. I did two games, “everybody up”, and a game I'm most proud of, “Over, Under” my quick-thinking adaptation of another game “Over, Under, Through.”

After the activities had finished, the youth and PCVs were both allowed to enjoy some videoke action. The PCVs opened the singing with another rendition of a favored N'Sync song. The youth finally started singing shortly afterwards, and further illustrated some of the great singing talents I could seemingly trip over wherever I'm at here in the Philies. After a couple hours of singing and dinner, the PCVs decided to pack it in and head back to the resort. No one hung out that night as most of us fell asleep moments after hitting the bed.

The next morning was for wrapping up the summit which included a tree planting and election for members of a new committee of youths. Also, the PCVs were allowed a chance to feel like celebrities when the youths mobbed each of us for out signatures and photos. The election went by quickly and the members who were voted in were some of the most standout participants, the PCVs were pleased. In the end, the PCVs were presented with wicker-back-packs (which are awesome) and received several seated ovations.

I was able to eat lunch with my fellow friends after the close of the summit but had to leave immediately afterward. I gave hugs all around and was driven to the side of the road where I found this bus I'm in now, writing this. I had to leave so soon and fast because I have to get my new apartment in order. As it stands now, I won't have a bed to sleep on tonight but I might be able to clean the fridge if I get there soon. 

The Long Road Home

Sadly, the bus trip has been slow. I've been on the road for about three hours and I reckon I've got several more to go.

Later... It took almost five hours to get home, as compared to four the other direction. I was able to do a basic set-up of my apartment but I've got a lot of work to do. Here's my bed and how I built it. The best way to end a great trip.

Half my dinner. Canned Vienna sausages.

Question: Work and Theaters

Picture Unrelated: In my right hand is a tiny spoon.

 

I got my first set of questions thanks to Travis. Here goes.

What's the average day like for you? You seem to be doing a lot of varied things. Do you work on your own time or is there a rigid schedule?

There was a time, in training and the first two months at site, that my days could be prepared for. Training was a whirlwind of “go here, do this, that, and another”, throughout current PCVs would tell me things would slow down when I got to site. I did get to site and it kept up, for awhile.

I had meetings with politicians, bankers, agency heads, and even my new office mates. I was ferried to varied events: Children's Congress, Agency meetings, awards ceremonies, and one youth competition in Pampanga. I had to find my way around my new home city, finding where I could buy black beans, peanuts, and locating a laundromat. In the middle of that was the flood that pushed a mountain of responsibilities on my department's shoulders, consequently shoving important non-flood related projects off into the future.

Thankfully things have slowed down a bit. People mostly know who I am, I know my way around town, it's a down period for events, and most projects have been caught back up to speed. I've actually had little to do for the last couple weeks thanks to all of the above. This period will pass soon though as I can look forward to a few big events: A dozen Christmas parties I “HAVE TO ATTEND”, proposal of my volunteerism project with the PYAP youth, preparation for life-skills training for street educators, inquiring about setting up a library (I was asked this moments ago), moving out, leadership summit in Nueva Viskaya, Christmas vacation in Sagada, New Years Eve in Manila.

That's just December.

In a day, I can go from doing a lot, to almost nothing. I come in at 8am and leave at 5pm. After getting to work I sit in my patio-furniture-plastic chair at my desk, turn my laptop on, and begin my day.

I do research for projects, like my life-skills training for street educators. I found a perfect life-skills training that was written up by other PCVs and will probably use it for my group.

I make proposals for all sorts of things, mainly trainings, but recently my biggest proposal is for a PYAP volunteerism group. PYAP is already a collection of youth in Cabanatuan but it's still in the midst of being rebuilt, it's been defunct for years in Cabanatuan. The idea is to have interested youths volunteer their time (and mine) to hold council and discuss community issues they'd like to see improved/changed. They would gather, discuss, find an item that concerns them (ex. trash on the street), discuss solutions (preferably of the sustainable variety), plan, execute, assess the results, celebrate, and begin a new project. That's the hope, the dream is to have it wind up a self-sustaining organization under PYAP where I'm not needed.

I advise my coworkers on a number of topics. I've been pulled aside to help with choosing colors for a t-shirt logo, making a catch phrase, proofreading English documents, crunching numbers too, and mostly talking about why I don't eat rice/do eat black beans.

I act as a resource really. I'm the ideas guy who has some skills, connections, resources, and a whole bunch of time on my hands. I have access to a pool of Peace corps information that has almost all the answers/guides to the issues I might have at site.

I also have downtime where I sit at my laptop looking at Facebook, reading Gawker websites, and writing emails or blog posts. These hours have been more abundant recently.

So it goes:

Arrive at work

Sit at laptop

Lunch

Sit at laptop

(maybe go into field?)

Go home

That's the most basic of days. There is room for me to out of the office all day in the field, or in a meeting. There just aren't many average days.

Also I remember you mentioned the theater a while back. Did you ever go to one?

We have cinemas here, two as far I know. I haven't been to a movie yet here but from what I've heard, it's a different experience. The reports I've heard are that some Filipino movie goers don't mind showing up for a movie half way through and sitting through the first half of the second screening to catch the first half they missed.

When I happened past a crowd in front of the theater in one of the local malls, I was surprised at the size of the mob. Thankfully I didn't need to get past everyone because it was wall to wall people in the lobby in a way that seemed to indicate the doors to the theater would be opening soon.

I've been offered a few opportunities to visit a theater but the selection of movies have yet to pique my interest. Of the three screens at the Pacific Mall nearby, two are often reserved for Tagalog movie (I don't know if they play with subtitles, I would assume not) and the last is English. Having only one screen available for English makes for tough competition for what get the spot. Breaking Dawn has that spot currently.

Natalie Leaves

 I just got home from saying goodbye to my friend. Natalie and I trained in Olongapo together but in separate clusters, we saw each other from time to time but rarely collaborated. When I found out where my site was going to be I checked to see who would be the closest to me from my batch, and that was Natalie. My first response was, “really? Natalie?”, I was unenthusiastic. I did know that I had little trouble or complaints regarding Natalie from training, I complained about others in excess, so I figured she couldn't be bad. Correct.

Sometimes your “feelings” are on the mark. While Natalie and I saw no reason to be friends before site, we made an effort to change that when we got to site. Our friendship immediately took off, we met on weekends, talked shop, and were even planning a vacation to Sagada, one of the coldest places in the Philippines, come Christmas.

I had prepped myself into declaring Natalie as my main emotional support, she was a friend, from my batch, and nearby so we could hand and process our Peace Corps experience together. Sadly, today that idea will be a dream from here on. Natalie opted to Early Terminate (ET) her service.

Why did she decide to ET so suddenly? I won't talk details, as she has confided in me and I'm still very much a friend of hers, but it was a sudden decision that she was more forced into making.

When I first heard the news of her possibly Eting I was unconcerned. As the days progressed and the final choice came to be ET, I still found myself unaffected. I reminded myself she would be fine and focused on the positive (oh me!). I'd been texting Natalie and she told me she'd be back in her city today and would leave tomorrow morning, today was my last chance to say goodbye. I said “see you later, “ and left directly from work to see my friend for the last time.

After an hour's ride in a bumpy jeepney, and a quick trike ride, I was finally with Natalie. We hugged, talked briefly and set out to find some food under a time limit. As I'm an hour's ride away, there aren't many jeeps back after a certain time, and that time was an hour after I arrived in her city, we had so little time.

She was upset over her decision but was at grips with it. She said she was so excited to see her dog again and have a real Thanksgiving. We went in search of a restaurant and gave up when no interesting candidates were found. I treated her to a supermarket banquet of cookies, peanut butter, and a drink.

We sat outside the mall, talking, drinking, laughing, encouraging, apologizing, eating, and even snapping a photo for memories. We noticed a group gathering where the jeeps park and figured that was my group (I had only one shot at getting a ride home at that hour). We made our way over that way and when a jeep barker announced the arrival of the last jeep to Cabanatuan City, we had to wrap our goodbyes up.

We hugged a good long time and wished each other luck. I ran off to the jeep and she walked towards a trike. That's how a new friendship was cut short.

I wrote a long time ago about the emotional support network here. It's mainly built of PCVs for me as I'm finding. If you imagine the game Jenga, where you remove a block (a friend?) from the middle of the structure and place the block on top of the tower, that about sums up this experience. A block was removed from my base and over the weakness is now more pressure, creating instability.

Don't worry though, I'm not teetering on the edge yet, I'm alright. The departure of Natalie came with hurt and it'll weigh on my mind for awhile. I still have my local PCV friends Emily and Caitlyn, they're wonderful people. I'm trying to turn this serious downer into encouragement, something to that makes me achieve more in my site.

We'll see.

Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Celebration

Some guy sleeping on me as I started out.

Oh boy. I've just returned (as I write this) from a four day excursion in Manila. The reason I went to Manila was to celebrate Peace Corps 50^th anniversary and to see my friends.

Fresh PCVs, like myself, have waiting period after swearing in where they can't take annual leave. Since the 50^th fell on a Friday, we were allowed a special exception to take annual leave in our waiting period, and a good number of PCVs from my batch seized the opportunity.

I packed up and headed that way on Thursday afternoon, the 3^rd, as my ride I was supposed to have on Friday morning had fallen through. I met up with fellow PCVs Caitlyn, Emily, and Natalie in a nearby town and we hopped on the first bus that would have us.

Two-ish hours later, plus a ride on the light rail system, we arrived at Pension Natividad; the hostel PCVs use the most in Manila. We didn't have a lot of time to prepare for a fancy dinner later that night and before I knew it I was in a taxi headed for some highfaluting hotel.

I was under dressed in a sea of three piece suits, Barong Tagalogs, flowing dresses, and belts. I forgot to put a belt on. Thankfully no one was turned away and we were all allowed to mingle with the crowd of RPCVs, Peace Corps Staff, USAID staff, and politicians.

I met some interesting people at the dinner:

• I met a guy who was a member of the first(!) batch in the Philippines.
• A guy from a batch in 1969. Very interesting gent who lives in the Philippines and dresses as Santa in the holiday season. He did in fact look like Santa in plain clothes.
• USAID staff
• The Peace Corps Director
  
  
  
  
  

That last one listed is pretty cool. Aaron Williams doesn't just swing by at random, he's usually found in DC. Since the Philippines have been a part of Peace Corps for almost all of Peace Corps' existence, he came out to show some love. He was a nice guy but I spoke with him for a minute.

The food at the gathering was FANTASTIC. I've got a diet but I abandoned it the moment finger-food-everything was wheeled out. I ate roughly 20 miniature mocha eclairs and 30 chicken skewers. There was also wine.

The next day was the actual celebration at Mall of Asia (MOA). With a group of friends I arrived at 9:50am, prepared for a day of standing, shopping, and eating. All of which I did in excess.

The events were interesting enough but they were more aimed at the public. I ambled through the displays and demonstrations, watched my friends perform on stage, watched speeches, and walked in a “parade.” The parade was just walking behind a marching band, they played very well.

After the speeches and parade the celebration shifting into info booth shows and I began the impossible task of exploring all of MoA. That mall is so big that I don't know how much of it I saw. I walked a good distance and saw a number of storefronts, but the directories kept showing more.

After a fantastic burger lunch at Wham! Burger, expensive coffee at The Coffee Bean, and several hours waiting, the flash-mob kicked off.

Flash-mobs are defined as an event that is organized within a large number of people (like PCVs and PC staff) and is enacted in a surprising fashion in a public place where bystanders are none the wiser. Our flash-mob was a choreographed dance of almost seven minutes long that was near the end of the entire program. It went very well, even without my help. Here's the video of the dance, if you have amazing eyes you can see me walking out of the crowd on the left of the screen after a couple minutes. I didn't know the dance.

On Saturday, I went to a farmers market in Makati that reminded me of the ones back home. Makati is one of the more wealthy areas in Manila and the prices at the market reflected on the products. Quality was thankfully part of the bargain.

After the market a few friends and I decided to visit a tourist-y place in Manila and decided on Intramuros. What I know about Intramuros is still limited but from what I recall it's a place that was here before the spanish showed up, and they built onto it. It resembles a walled city, the wall being twenty feet high and thirty feet wide, allowing space to walk along its surface. Within the walled area was one ancient cathedral, built in the 1570s. The belfry was impressive with its massive bells. I couldn't tell if they actually rung them as there was a gift shop in the same room as the giant bells.

Sadly our sightseeing trip in Intramuros was cut short by the rain. Typical rain. My friends, Munya, Natalie, and Deborah, and I hadn't brought any rain gear and we hustled under a recessed portion of the ancient wall. The area we had chosen looked like a jail and lead out onto a bridge that spanned a shallow moat. Beyond the moat was what looked like a nice park to visit sans rainfall. 

We were trapped by the heavy rain but were willing to just wait it out. As it would turn out we would be forced to leave thanks to flooding.

Deborah and Natalie, trapped

The floor of the dungeon like area was dry when we entered and was for several minutes after the rain started up. This dry state was finite and my friends and I watched as a small puddle pushed it's way in from outdoors. This puddle crept across the floor at a healthy pace and within three minutes I, with my suede Nikes, couldn't put my feet on the ground without being soaked. A few minutes later pushed the water level to ankle depth and the water showed no intention of abating with the rain still hamming the ground.

Natalie, Munya, Deborah, and I were trapped in a watery dungeon. At least we were until a group of entrepreneurial petty-cab (BMX bike with sidecar) drivers assessed our situation and rolled in to lend a hand and a lift. For Php20 a piece my friends and I loaded into a single petty-cab, where the water was now over the floorboards, and began our short journey. The bike was half peddled, half pushed, by a large group of gentlemen that even included children playing along. There was a foot drop of a lip to climb out of the dungeon and this was the toughest part. With the water licking at our boots our new rescuers strained their bodies and wills (maybe?) to pop our chariot into the flooded street. Thankfully the guys who helped us out also flagged a taxi for us and we padded through the lightly flooded street from the petty-cab's interior into the waiting taxi. Those guys got paid well for a grand service.

That about highlights my trip to Manila. I was able to see some friends who are in sites far away and I even made some new friends. I ate great food at high prices. I had a good time. 

In-Country Friends

Kaiti and I

At the end of Pre-Service Training (PST) I had to say goodbye to my newly made friends as we all left for our sites. My batch of trainees was broken up pretty well and the friends who I'd made in Initial Orientation in different sectors or regions were also spread far and wide.

I had met my closest neighbor PCV, Emily, right after I knew I was going to Cab-City. Thankfully we've made fast friends already and that's a great thing. Near Emily is another PCV Caitlyn who I've not spent all that much time with but thankfully what time I have spent has been pleasant.

Natalie, me, and Lucy back in training

Another PCV is a little further off, Natalie, in Tarlac City and she's great. She's the closest PCV that trained in Olongapo like I did, so we've got a shared experience. We didn't know each other well before we got to our sites but we've hung out several times and are even trying to pull together forces for a xmas vacation up North. I'm lucky to have PCVs nearby and I don't ignore the fact.

To stay in contact with my friends who aren't so close I have to text. Texting here is done almost strictly on a pre-paid system and I can usually expect to burn through 100 pesos of load, load being the name of the money on the phone. Their all worth it though

All these people come together as a support group for each other and myself. It's a great thing to have some bros.

My group when we did immersion in Manila

Speaking of which, I'll be seeing a big bundle of the far flung PCVs at this Friday's Peace Corps 50^th Anniversary Celebration. I'll write more on this after the event, I might even get to meet the Peace Corps Director!

Sightseeing In Town

Recently I'd been asking my co-workers about places I could visit in town that are pretty, places to take photos of. I received a surprising number of “you have to leave Cabanatuan to see pretty things” but I wasn't sure my idea of pretty was the same as theirs. So, one day, I just rode off on my bike to see what I could find.

It didn't take a great deal searching to find this bridge or the wild sun-cloud combo behind it. The bridge is on the edge of the busier area of town and is incredibly long. The whole structure is concrete set on pylons 30 feet up and the whole structure shakes so much it's visible. Every truck that rumbled past would bounce me.

This turned out to be just the kind of area I was talking about as well. It had views of the surrounding area and even a nice portion of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range to the East of my province. Too bad I can't travel there (Peace Corps Black Area), it looks nice.

I've Updated With Photos

If you look around a little bit you'll see that I've added some pictures. I've added quite a few actually and you should look around. There are even some from allllll the way back to when I flew into country. Anyway, I thought you should know.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions for me or requests(?) let me know. I have some free time as of late.

Here's Me at Events I Don't Know Much About

I co-MC'd an event for Day Care Workers

I led a fundraising walk with my boss, left of me.

Walking with the best of them.

Posing with one of my CPs and PYAP, beneficiaries of the walk.

Children's Congress Dance

Sometimes the dancers get upset.

Just outside is some great beauty.

Inside, the kids and parents have varied experiences.

Angry Birds

I Rode My Bike Home In a Thunderstorm

I couldn't actually hear the thunder but the lightening was visible and striking. I had just finished my workout at my gym on the other side of town when I stepped outside to see heavy rain.

Rain in the Philies is intense. In the NW I've seen some rain and know the general idea but here the rain goes a step further. The time it takes you to go from dry to absolutely soaked is less than thirty seconds. That's exactly what happened to me.

After surveying the rain and seeing the locals clinging to the edges of the building I was in, I asked a restaurant staff for a trash bag. I put all of my belongings that were loose in the bag and did a quick tie off, putting it back into my pack. With my things protected and my helmet on, I stepped into the road and into the rain.

Moments later I was drenched. The rain was so bad that I had to remove my glasses as rain just steamed across my vision. Even without my glasses I could barely see as rain pelted my eyeballs, I was squinting my very best.

The ride started slow, as I couldn't see much, but I still passed people in vehicles. I'd slow down for flooded streets and some were so bad that at the bottom of every pedal my feet would be submerged. This didn't amount to too much trouble except on the roads with potholes, that was where I'd drop into water at my ankles while trying to right myself from the surprise.

Overall the ride was fun but it did come at a cost. I hadn't realized I had my laptop charger in my backpack and I found it at the bottom of my bag in a pool of water(my backpack actually held water). I almost knew for certain it was a goner but tried to dry it as best I could, swinging it to get water water out and hanging it to dry. Just today I bought its replacement, RIP.

That's biking in the storm for you.

I Got a Bike!

I finally bought a bike. Do you know how much I like bikes? Check these points out:

• My main form of transportation from 2005-2007 was a 1980's era BMX bike.
• I only a vehicle for a year and a half.
• Through University I only had a bike (and my roommate's truck from time to time(Thanks Hunter)).

I have a long history with bikes, one of my lesser known passions.

In the Peace Corps you're allowed Php12000 for a bike and Php1600 for a helmet. After getting to site here in Cabanatuan City I put my request in for my allowance. My Region Manager said he'd look into it but asked me to make sure I needed/really wanted on. After several more inquiring texts my RM knew I wasn't going to be satisfied til I had a ride of my own.

I wanted a bike for several reasons:

• Trike rides are the main form of transport here and it's expensive and more of a punishment. Php20-30 for an angry guy to begrudgingly haul you (slowly) to you destination.
• Walking is slow
• Expanded ability to explore surrounding areas without dropping excessive Php.

The first thing I needed to do was find a place to buy a bike. I went downtown with one of my counterparts to see what the local selection would yield. There are two more traditional bike shops and their selection spanned from wildly cheap to fakes. It was the fakes that blinded my briefly, I was staring at an S-Works frame that could be built up into a Php15000 bike, cheap for me. I did some simple research online and realized there was no way those frames were legit and therefor might not be as reliable. I was on a mission for a quality ride.

After a few days I found that there was a shop North of me in Guimba. After a few texts I figured out this was going to be where I'd buy my bike. I had my eyes on some for of Specialized HardRock.

A few weeks later I had my allowance in hand plus some extra (total of Php20000), headed to Guimba for bike buying. I walked into the shop and started rattling off specifications I wanted and was walked to and fro through the shop looking at various bikes. I originally wanted a Specialized but sound their selection was seriously lacking. I was directed to a few different brands and was left to weigh the costs of each. After a little bit of deliberation I settled for the 2012 Giant Revel 3.

I rolled out of the shop with a new bike and a sack of extras: helmet, tire pump, toe clips, bike lock, and tire fenders.

The bike is nice but very basic. It looks pretty fancy but actually has very basic some cheap parts on it. It's also incredibly heavy. I want to build into a Single-Speed bike but that's a ways off as I'll need some more capital. I've already sunk a lot of my personal PC money into it. I'm rich in bike, poor in Php.

So far I'd say it's great to have a bike. There are downsides though:

• Traffic is tight and aggressive. You have to be careful when on the roads.
• Constant comments like “when you leave can I have your bike?”
• I think people think I'm better off than I really am, thanks to my flashy bike.

I've had my bike for a week now and it's been great, even with the few downsides. I even have a spreadsheet that I input my rides into and calculate the money I save. One of these days It'll pay for itself. In about 160 rides, no time really.

Ants

I still have ants in my home. I may live in a pretty nice house but that does not exclude me from having a small highway run through my room. I've decided to let them pass.

Don't think I tried to be gone with them early. I hit several arteries with the spray bottle of 30% deet and watched them never go that way again. A half day later I'd see a new lane with the same usual high density. I'm not even sure what they're after.

I haven't seen them on my food or in the kitchen. They like the bathroom and they treat my room as a throughway to the bathroom.

One night they actually got onto my towel somehow, and unbeknownst to me. I finished up a shower and was half through drying myself before I started feeling small pin-pricks here and there. A moment later I'm plucking ant bits of my soggy self. Nice.

No problem, I just don't want them on my bed.

Typhoon & Flood

On September 27^th I had my first intense Typhoon experience. Shorty after boarding a trike to gather my laundry I received a text from a co-worker that said to get to work immediately and bring a disaster kit. As it's my second week at site, I had no idea that a “disaster kit” was or what might be in it. As my co-worker explained it's just a bag packed with clothes and toiletries for an overnight stay in the office. I was actually informed not to bring anything as I live so close to the office. I followed these instructions as I left for work, bringing nothing extra.

The day began slow enough at work. People were milling around, there was a new white board set up outside with Barangays listed, and my supervisor speaking into her cell phone. As co-workers flowed in, it seemed as they weren't alarmed by the situation, so I wasn't worried either. I was assigned to follow my Counter Part, Vanessa, to a few Barangays and inquire to see if any families had been displaced by the typhoon. Off we went, rain slanted by the wind, to check it out.

Some of the Barangays we visited indicated having displaced families, one had 40ish, another 25. We handed the Captains a grid paper to fill out that would detail each of the families. One of the last Barangays was rural and close to the river running through Cabanatuan City. It's one road going in was closely surrounded by raising water, but it wasn't quite over the edge. At the time it seemed as though the water had stopped rising, we came and went and no change could be told. As we returned to the office the roads were still being rained on but there was no sign of any flooding.

After getting back to the office I helped unload a truck full of emergency rations. We piled the boxes high into our office and then moved them once more to stage for repacking of rations. The wind at this point had picked up and had knocked out the power. The office was a cave with the boxes blocking the light from door. The repacking operation of rations had been at a stand-still at this point after staging as we were still without rice. A pile of half-ways prepared rations were awaiting the next step.

After about a half hour wait, one truck arrived with the rice. This was one full-sized dump-truck full of sacks of rice. Each sack weighing at 50 Kilos, the offloading never seemed to end. As soon as the first sack hit the staging area, and the string pulled from the sack, scoop after scoop were beginning to be poured. I settled into the production line, putting coffee and Milo (a chocolate mix, like Ovaltine), tying sacks, and stacking sacks. For two hours I sat in a sea of plastic wrappers and rice, tossing, tying, and moving. 

Soon enough it was five in the afternoon and I thought I could chance a trip home. I hadn't packed any change of clothes or any toiletries, and I wanted a nap, so it made sense at the time. Just as I packed my supervisor Came upon me and wanted to know where I was going. I told her home and she began saying it wasn't possible, the roads were far too gone. All I could remember from earlier was clear but rainy roads. I insisted that I go home and my supervisor gave in with a compromise, I could go home but only if I get a ride from a City Hall vehicle. She told me to wait for my co-worker Janet, as she had to leave shorty to distribute rations in a local Barangay. I said that was fine and sat at my desk.

After waiting in the office for Janet I finally asked her when we might be leaving. She told me it'd be another half hour wait. I doubted this immediately as what's on time in an emergency situation? As it turned out the truck arrived two hours later. As Janet collected me to hop on the truck I didn't know what was about to greet me in the parking lot. 

As I approached our dump-truck chariot, I finally saw what the typhoon had brought us, an all out flood. The steps surrounding the City Hall were now the banks of the local river. As I hadn't prepared in the least for the flood I was also not dressed correctly, I had pants and shoes. I had dressed like I was going to work, not like I was going to do some wading. Thankfully a friendly worker carried me to the passenger door of the truck, saving me a soggy fate.

After I got into the crowded cab of the truck, six crammed inside, we began our journey. It was slow going, just to get to the front gate of City Hall. To get to my home, you go left from the City Hall parking lot, that wasn't possible that night. The water was already three feet high, my hopes for a nights rest on my bed, a ten minute walk away from work normally, were dashed. I decided to continue on with my co-workers in their task for distributing rations at two Barangays.

The truck plowed through the water at a slow clip, the engine now partially submerged, throwing out a low wake. I couldn't believe how deep it was, it got to three and a half feet deep for huge stretches of road. Plowing through the water with us were other smaller SUVs and the occasional brave trike. The streets edges were lined with people clinging to trikes and store fronts, the water past their knees. Some store fronts were flooded, Jollibee and McDonalds were also effected. We had to make it out to two Barangays that were, as I found out, far away. Our slow paddle boat action made the trip drag on. It would have been boring but for the flood all around us.

We made it to both the Barangays with little trouble, just slow going. The trip back was around one in the morning, I was hoping to curl up on a couch in the office once we got back. Another change of course occurred when we made it back to the final stretch of road before City Hall. This was the same area that we had started in and was also one of the deepest. As we approached, the driver decided it wasn't a prudent idea to try. Another truck of the same make was deserted in the water on the same stretch, facing the same direction.

Right about this time I checked out. I was tired and I was having a hard time sitting in the cramped back. I was able to lay down behind the front seats and make myself comfortable. After maybe an hour the truck's engines finally went quiet as everyone in the cab settled into sleep. There I was, only a five minute walk from my work, sleeping in the back of a dump-truck, in flood water.

We finally reached the City Hall the next morning, even though the water didn't look any lower. We had to change dump-trucks, our first one was ready for a shift change. The cab for the second dump-truck was already full when we flagged it down from the street. I had to clamber into the actual bed of the truck alongside a rescue team and their inflatable raft (called “rubber boat” here, this bothers me). The ride was quick and triumphant. I was so happy to finally be back on dry land.

As it stands right now, the water is receding. I've been back home and thankfully none of my belongings were destroyed. My house had flooded and it was substantial, knee height in the living room, mid calf in my room. I never saw water in my house though, it was my Host Family that had to deal with the whole mess. They told me they moved everything they could up off the floor and then just waited. They had to sit on the backs of seats as the seat portion of chairs were covered by an inch or so of water. All night they sat there and the following morning they watched the water slowly recede. As soon as they had a chance they began cleaning. I never saw the full mess, with dirt up the walls and all over the floor, as my family takes serious pride in their house. The house looked almost better than I'd left it, although none of the sockets work now, or the fridge. The night I spent back in my bed was great, I was knocked out by nine.

It's day three now, 9/29/11 here. I was able to walk to work with no problems. The river nearby is still very high, only a foot below the bridge that crosses it. The roads are covered in rocks that were pushed there by the floodwater. A displaced water tank can be seen hanging into the road. I think we're on the recovery side of this event.

Cabanatuan City

Leaving Island Cove in Cavite I knew things were changing fast. I had just said goodbye to my friends who I'd got to know over training and I was now speeding away from to a whole new city I'd never been to. This was the final cut that separated all of us from Americans we'd see everyday. We all knew it was coming but it was still a little jarring.

I found myself in a better situation for travel to site than some of my friends who had to catch a bus from manila. I was with my CP and supervisor being driven in a City Hall vehicle headed straight to Cabanatuan City. The driver was scary in how he handled the vehicle in the rain, speeding, passing, he drove like an impatient maniac.

It took about four hours to get into Cabanatuan from Cavite, my white knuckles wished we had arrived later. The surrounding scenery is flat and continues far off into the distance, fields of grass at about chest height. That all ends when the city starts, Cabanatuan is a grand series of streets and buildings, little nature is about the city. It looks like a city from the states except with trikes everywhere.

There are two malls and there will be a high-end grocery store (PureGold) that will be opening in a couple months. There are two cinemas, I hear one of which is far superior to the other, I don't know which that is though. There are two open air markets that cover any fresh food needs. It's a full service city.

As it stands today, I don't have any complaints. I've had a little time to explore and gather my bearings about the city. I now can navigate downtown with minimal confusion. I even found a few bike shops!

Anyway, that's Cab-City.