The
last few weeks have been slow at work. I finally got a camp on the
list of things to-do but nothing else has come of it. The preparation
for the camp has been put on the back burner thanks to current
scheduling and me to some degree.
I
had proposed a camp off-hand several times and my superiors finally
made me put up something of substance. I handed in a thorough
proposal to my division boss and made it clear that the proposal will
need cleaning up, to make it feasible. This was moments before a week
long build up to and a week long celebration of Araw Ng Kabanatuan
(Day of Cabanatuan), my city's festival. So, here's what I did
instead:
Went to
Pantabangan (pahn-tah-bahn-ahn), Nueva Ecija
One
of the first things I did when I hit the dirt in Nueva Ecija was
start asking “what's there to see here?” The responses were not
encouraging, no one seemed to know of anything in my new province
that was noteworthy. I took to the internet and after awhile of
staring at a satellite image of my province, I saw that we (Nueva
Ecijans) have a massive lake/reservoir North of my city. I did some
reading and decided Pantabangan and it's lake was a must see.
Fast-forward
a couple months and factor in a lazy weekend looming, I proposed the
trip to my friend Emily and we made it a plan. The ride there was
uneventful, even though we overshot the town due to it's small size.
We took a trike to the lakeside and finally made it to our
destination.
I
should note that the town is a strangely long distance from the
lakeside. The trike ride was about five minutes and the road we took
just turned into a boat ramp, leading straight into the water.
The
lakeside is underdeveloped. There wasn't even a small homeowned
sari-sari in sight. There was a foundation of a house that the house
had rotted away from. All of this in the face of a stunning lake. The
air was fresh and the breeze strong. I don't know why you wouldn't
want to live on the water's edge, it's obviously beautiful.
(there
may be variation in water level so that may have something to do with
it. There were some houses down there though, so who knows.)
One
interesting note about Pantabangan is: there's a sunken city from the
60's that was flooded with the completion of the Pantabangan dam. I
don't know if it's still there to see but but would it be cool to
swim down to see.
Went back to
Olongapo and Subic on a trip with co-workers
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| Radio Tower in Subic |
I was offered a seat in a car headed to my old stomping grounds from
training and happily accepted. The reason for the trip was two-fold,
1. My office mates wanted to see the new fiance of one of my
co-workers (and to poke fun at her incessantly throughout) and 2.
Have some fun on a quasi vacation.
This trip was great. We visited the fiance's home and had breakfast
and an early lunch before we left to see the Subic base in all it's
glory.
 |
| Co-worker |
On the way into Olongapo I had us stop over at my old host family's
place so I could get a big bag of black beans I left there. While
there I was greeted by an old friend, AJ!
 |
| He didn't recognize me, or so it seemed. |
My stay there was very brief. The way my old host family treated me
while I was there really melted my heart though, love all throughout.
We continued on and began a proper tour of the old military base in
Subic. I didn't do this while I was in training and was surprised at
how massive the base really was. During the tour we were treated to
such interesting sights as massive fruit-bats sleeping the midday
away in trees, massive mangroves, sights of old bomb shelters, the
detonation sight for bombs to be disposed of, and even an aquatic
center.
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| Massive Mangrove |
 |
| West Philippines Sea/South China Sea |
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| In front of the West Philippines Sea |
We wrapped the whole show up with dinner at my favorite pizza place
in the Philippines. What a good time!
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| My Supervisor hard at work at the pizza place |
Celebrated a
friend's birthday in Manila
 |
| I ate a large amount of this cake |
My
technical trainer from training got a hold of me on Facebook and
invited me out to his place to celebrate his birthday in Manila.
After a few days of thinking it over, I figured it might be a good
time.
I've
been to very few birthday parties here, and this one turned out to be
a text-book good time. I was treated to chicken feet, chicken wings,
pancit, cake, ice cream, videoke, introductions to new friends, and
all the while in the middle of a busy street/alley in Manila.
I
was welcomed in with gusto and the friendly spirit was kept up
throughout the evening. At some point I was bold enough to take hold
of the videoke mic in a solo rendition of “Dust in the Wind”,
after an introduction trial through a duet of “Gold” by Spandue
Ballet alongside my friend.
I
was ferried away the next morning, only spending the one night in
Manila. I had a great time experiencing a Filipino birthday party
done right.
 |
| My Friend and his daughter singing |
I went surfing
This
last weekend I had the great pleasure to go North to San Juan, La
Union. I stayed with PCV friends in Caba and on the morning of
Saturday I rode to San Juan with a married couple of PCVs. There was
a surfing competition in San Juan and we got there in time to see it
kick off. To be honest though, a long-boarding competition is a
little unexciting.
My
friend Tom invited me out into the water for some surfing lessons and
I accepted, praying not to drown (I can't swim very well). He hit me
with the basics and got me out there and set me up with some nice
beginner swells. I was able to get up three times and it was a blast
the whole time.
I
spent the rest of the day lounging around with more PCV friends,
there were a ton f us, and even met a fascinating returned PCV (RPCV)
from Bulgaria.
That's
what I've been up to these last few weeks. I have some exciting
events coming up, even a vacation to Bicol, so I'll keep you posted.
