I'm On a Boat

Wednesday night was epic. All of the trainees got together for an intense dance party. We had about 50 people sweating profusely within about five minutes. It was so much fun, we have made a motion for this to be a regular occurrence. Everyone here is so incredibly accepting, even some of the older volunteers were breaking it down.

We started taking our language classes this week. I cannot wait to start using it with the locals. In addition to language we have been meeting within our sector groups learning about the current situation we will face while partnering with NGO’s and social service agencies. So many of their professionals end up working jobs overseas which leaves certain agencies completely over capacity. One agency that serves mentally disabled children has a ratio of 1 staff member for every 100 clients. It’s numbers like these that make me grateful to be here because they obviously have a great need for trained social workers.

My supervisor shared his very personal story of growing up on the streets here, selling plastic bags by age five, looking through the sewer for stray coins and living in a shack with 13 other siblings. He could recall every kind word from social workers who outreached him as a kid and eventually convinced him to come live in a shelter. They gave him hope and made him feel like someone cared so he worked his way through school and when it came time to choose what to study in college he chose social work. Hearing his story made me feel so confirmed in being here and I am so grateful to have this opportunity. He believes the Peace Corps is the best of America we were all very flattered and inspired.

One day after training we took a Jeepney to the mall, and we fit 21 people in it! The mall was a really strange experience. They had KFC, Burger King and most notably Starbucks! So of course I went in and told the baristas that I was from Seattle. It’s weird spending money here because one dollar is 41 pesos so it always feels like you’re spending a ridiculous amount of money but for the most part everything is super cheap. On the way home I couldn’t resist riding in the back of the Jeepney next to the open doorway it was nice to see out but the exhaust was so intense it was making my eyes burn. 

The other night I had a little jam session with one of the other volunteers so the word has gotten out that I'm a singer. There will definitely be more jam sessions to come. 

Today we all piled into buses and drove to the beach for water safety training. We took turns climbing into little boats and jumping into the ocean with our Peace Corps issued life jackets. The best part of hanging out at the beach was getting in on some Filipino karaoke. Some fellow PCV’s and I did “Bye Bye Bye” by N’SYNC and I think there is a 99% it will end up on YouTube because all the locals were holding up the cell phones to film us. One more week here before we move in with our host families for community training.