Settling in Cebu

My new host family consists of my host mom, host grandmother and a two year old. They also have a full time nanny, a full time cook and yet another maid. I am a lot more independent here, my room even has a separate entrance to the house which has its advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes I am invited to have meals with the family and other times they will just deliver a tray to my room. Although my host mom speaks perfect English, I am really hoping that when I learn the language I can begin to build relationships with all the staff here, because I see them more than anyone else. 

Despite what this may sound like I am no longer spoiled in the realm of clothes washing unless I want to cough up 100 pesos every week. For all you PCV’s reading you're probably rolling your eyes but I only just recently experienced washing my clothes by hand here in Cebu. It’s an interesting process consisting of many different buckets. You’ve got your soapy water bucket, your rinse bucket, then your second rinse bucket. Then they have a spinner you put the clothes in for only a few minutes to get the excess water out then you simply hang your clothes in the sun to dry. Sounds easy enough but by the end of the process (two hours later) I was completely exhausted and dripping in sweat. I had put my old dirty soapy water into the bucket in the bathroom trying to conserve water and thinking it would get used to flush the toilet (we use this bucket to shower as well as to flush the toilet) but then no one went to the bathroom and I was awkwardly waiting around for someone to go to the bathroom and empty the bucket. Then I was trying to decide if I could acceptably use one of the laundry buckets for showering. By the end of the day I had successfully showered from a clean bucket and only one of my shirts fell off the clothes line into the mud.

I have already met up with some other Peace Corps Volunteers living in Cebu. We went to “the IT” for dinner, an area where there are tons of outsourcing companies. Many young Filipinos with money live there. I felt like I was walking around in California because it was so well developed, with lots of really new restaurants and huge office and apartment buildings. Although Cebu has pretty much anything an American could ever need including multiple Starbucks, living here on the Peace Corps allowance I will have to budget very wisely. I haven't been able to do this city justice as far as exploring goes but I will get some more photos up eventually. 

My first week at work was pretty laid back. I made some flashcards in Cebuano and the girls are already helping me learn the language. I was able to make my first courtesy call by visiting a napping barangay captain and introducing myself. I helped collect items for a garage sale for the center. I was able to attend a quarterly human trafficking meeting with all the stake holders in the community; unfortunately it was in Cebuano so there was little I could understand. I did however get to participate in the pre-meeting prayer, where we all stood up and sang along to a youtube video about Jesus, a staple here in the Philippines. I also attended a really interesting meeting with a representative from the Visayan Forum, the agency that is currently being sued by USAID. He came to establish a partnership with our agency and explained that the Visayan Forum plans to prove their innocence in court. More info here: http://philippines.usaid.gov/newsroom/us-sues-top-ngo-execs 

By Thursday I had my first experience with Filipino health care. After having a bad cough for the last three weeks and having a fever for two days I decided it was time to get checked out and boy did I miss the American healthcare system. Not sure how much of it actually had to do with the Filipino system or the Peace Corps credit system or the combination of the two but I was at the hospital from 10am-4pm waiting around for the doctor, then waiting to get my tests and prescriptions authorized by the medical office then I had to wait forever for my tests and to get my prescriptions filled. Thankfully my counterpart Arianne was there to help me through it all. The next few days were rough. The meds they prescribed me made me really sleepy and the first day on the meds I had a migraine that lasted for 6 hours. The next day I was feeling better but my body was still really aching so my host mom suggested one of the maids give me an oil massage for 50 p. After the massage they told me that I needed to get very sweaty and wait until the late afternoon to take a bath so I sat around covered in oil for hours feeling really sweaty and gross hoping they knew what they were talking about. By 4pm something miraculous happened... I was actually feeling hungry, my appetite had returned! There is a method to the madness.

This is the church I walk past everyday on my way to work.

Swearing In Ceremony and Arrival in Cebu City

Goodbye Aningway

Our last week in Aningway was bitter sweet. Although we are relieved to finish training and finally begin our 27 months of service it was hard to say goodbye to our host families who have shown us such great hospitality, love and friendship.  I feel so grateful to have had this opportunity to live in such an incredibly beautiful place and be completely accepted into the community with open arms.

I was asked to write a summary of Pre-Service Training that would make everyone laugh and cry. The result was six pages of memories which I shared aloud at our last technical session. Here I would like to share the descriptions I wrote about my cluster mates so you can have an idea of my support system over the last 10 weeks.

There is Donna who never ceases to amaze me with her dedication in walking 10,000 steps every a day. Despite her struggling with the language she remains positive and isn’t afraid to laugh at herself. And even though her host family is not ideal she manages to stick with it, spending time with the kids and lending a compassionate ear to her host mother. I know it’s hard for her to be away from her husband but I have so much respect for her and the many years of experience and wisdom she brings to the table.

Melissa who is arguably the most selfless person in the world; volunteers for everything, regardless of how monotonous or time consuming the assignment. I envy her drive, her focus and her attention to detail. Not to mention her ability to integrate into the community. Every time we have an event I see here holding somebody’s kid or getting her chika chika on with the locals.

Thank god for Candice who without her generosity our cluster would have suffered many snack less meriendas. Candice also has common sense that grounds us and keeps us on task. I don’t know where we would be without her because her work ethic and facilitation skills are incredible. Not to mention she’s also getting her MSW… I hope I can be like her when I grow up.

Oh Christina. What I love about her most is probably her laugh because it’s more genuine that anyone one person I have ever met. I am also very impressed by her resiliency and her ability to take control of her own situation. Peace Corps said jump, and Christina said how high? What I also love about Christina is she has no problem singing show tunes with me at the top of her lungs. This is a rare quality to find in a person.

Ben has got to be one of the happiest people I have ever met. I kept waiting for him to get pissed off about something but nothing provokes this guy. I really admire Ben for the professional experience he brings to the table and the positivity that he shares because we all benefit from it.

What I admire about Justin is that he is not afraid to laugh at himself but when it comes down to it he takes this job seriously and always delivers a quality product. This is why some day when we are all mopping floors or making coffee at Starbucks Justin will be working at the State Department.

Ashley and I didn’t really talk much until we lived across the street from each other. This is when I realized that she is not only an independent woman who is not afraid to voice her opinions but simultaneously she is one of the most accepting people I have ever met. We also share a deep love for eating, anything and everything that crosses our path.

Sam’s not only the master of Tagalog. He’s also got really impressive dance moves. And once I got to know him I found out he can quote any movie or show with incredible accuracy. He also does great impressions. Thank god I have someone who can understand my obscure movie references.

Tam’s greatest gift is her ability to level with you. I found great camaraderie with Tam because not only does she tell it like it is. She will also tell you the most logistically sound way to get it done and makes it look easy. I love her ability to take control of a situation and the end result is always beautiful.

I think Jeff is some kind of Puerto Rican Buddha. He is a really reflective and insightful person. Sometimes he is so positive and optimistic about everything he makes me feel inferior because I wish I could be like him. When I work up enough courage I think I might ask him to be my guru. 

Supervisor’s Conference and Street Immersion

The first day of Supervisor’s Conference was filled with great anticipation as we waited for our site placements to be announced. They announced the volunteers by region. We were all at the edge of our seats listening to which volunteers would go where trying to guess how far away we would be from our friends. Each name was carefully announced by the sector managers. Volunteers walked up to the stage where they took their picture and placed it onto a map of the Philippines, then they were handed a binder filled with information about their site placement. When my turn came my sector manager said, ‘Working in Cebu City doing prostitution outreach and sex trafficking prevention will be Amelia Kent.” I was so excited I almost jumped out of my chair. As I walked across the stage my mind flooded with images of what my service experience might be like. 

That night I met my supervisor a Nun named Sister Tonet. She is very kind, friendly and really inspiring. She brought me a beautiful folder with photos of the agency as well as my future host family. It was filled with information on Cebu as well as a letter from my counterpart a 25 year old Social Worker. Sister Tonet also spoiled me with pasalubong (gifts) from Cebu, a necklace (shown below), some cookies and dried mangos. I felt so incredibly lucky to have her as a supervisor and I really feel like I will be well taken care of. We spent the next few days attending trainings together and getting to know each other a little bit I am really looking forward to working with her.

On September 30th we drove to Manila for our CYF Street Immersion. We stayed at an amazing organization called Bahay Tulan where all of the staff are youth enrolled in a job training program that gives them the skills necessary navigate a highly competitive job market . The organization also trains youth leaders to do outreach with street children and does advocacy for children’s rights. 

For lunch we went to the mall and observed mall prostitution which is commonplace here. Although our sector manager gave them the option of how to respond, many of the male volunteers were approached by women and played along as though they were interested customers. Only afterward was the morality of this act questioned, but once the point was made I felt more or less ashamed for not taking this point into consideration beforehand. As usual our training was rushed and we didn’t have enough time to ask the important questions that should have been brought to the table before, during and after our exposures.

Afterward we went out for a two hour outreach session with street children. Our sector manager broke us into groups and sent us to different neighborhoods. He challenged us to use the training we had thus far to engage the children without having time for a planning session beforehand. We played games, sang songs and acted out some skits. It was completely improvised and the result was beautiful, the kids had a great time and asked when we would be back. 

We spent the next morning visiting Smokey Mountain, a garbage dump that people have been living on for three generations. The people live in extreme poverty, scavenging the trash for things they can sell and burning it to make charcoal, as result many of the people are very sick. The reality of the situation was unbelievable and the smell along with the flies made me feel sick. Some agencies had gotten involved. There was a health clinic providing prenatal care. A Christian organization built a basketball court and there was some basic infrastructure in place. All of the children seemed oblivious to the fact that anything was wrong with this picture, many of them walking around barefoot in a black muck that clung to our shoes. As I walked around with this huge group of Americans I thought about what our impact or lack of impact was on this community. I felt ashamed to have visited them in the same way people visit a zoo. I felt an overwhelming concern for the moral capacity of humanity.

Once again there was no time to process as we went directly back into the streets for our second day of outreach. I went into it feeling exhausted but was surprised by how much energy I got from working with the kids. I was so impressed  by their resiliency and dreams for a better future. I asked many of them what they want to be when they grow up and heard SEAMAN! ENGINEER! DOCTOR! PILOT! When it comes down to the things that matter… kids are all the same they all want to be loved and encouraged to follow their dreams.

After dinner we met up with some outreach workers and got an opportunity to go serve coffee to some people working on the street. We walked to a bridge that was a well known spot for prostitution and I was able to have a conversation in Tagalog with a female pimp. She told me that the girls make 400 pesos an hour and she complained that lately the police have been more of a problem for them; keeping customers away. She had a family to support as well as two siblings who lived close by. I didn’t catch how many girls she had working for her but I was surprised at how openly she shared her life with me. I also was surprised at myself. Instead of feeling anger or disgust at this woman’s chosen profession, I only felt sorry for her wishing that she had more options in life than to resort to this.

Next I was introduced to a woman who had been living on the street for many years in front of restaurant, and had recently obtained a job there. She had her first child when she was only 13 years old. Her first two children she put up for adoption, the next two were currently living in a shelter and her fifth child was nine year old Casey. Casey was a shy but friendly little girl who clung to her mother’s side. In the gleam of the street lights Casey and her mother were both doing homework. I asked Casey in Tagalog what she wanted to be when she grew up and she told me she wanted to be a nurse so that she could help people.

It felt really great for me to get this exposure because it gave me a real taste of the work I have ahead of me as well as the importance of language in facilitating a conversation. I was reminded of all the people I worked with on the streets of Seattle and I felt relieved to be reentering that world. There are few people who want to work with this population but everyone should.  Throughout the night I kept thinking about how growing up, there were always people in my life to remind me of what I deserved as a woman. How I deserved to be educated, treated well, treated fairly. I hope I can remind some of these women that they deserve the same.