Today I spent the morning hunting for medicinal herbs with papa. I had no idea exactly what we were trying to capture, but we made it home in time for lunch with some nit-nit, good for joint and muscle pain. Papa plans to learn how to grow his own. Then I spend another hour in the afternoon helping him peel the skin off peanuts. He explained to me he would have become a seaman had he not forgotten a piece of paperwork when he went to Manila 20 years ago to find work. And he explained “homesick versus the dollar” to me. There are so many overseas workers who barely know their spouses and children because they are elsewhere trying to make ends meet. Or buy an SUV.
And then there was yesterday. Peace Corps decided to give us the day off, kind of. We were taken to the Bohol Museum, a former home of the 4th president of The Philippines. ‘Twas a hodgepodge museum. Stuffed birds, old maps, foreign currency, General Macarthur’s cane, and an old toilet with a please don’t sit here sign were on display. But the strangest thing was a certificate of honor presented to a man who refused to denounce his allegiance to the United States during the Japanese occupation of The Philippines during WWII. For this loyalty, he was beheaded. I just can’t conceive of pledging loyalty to an ousted colonist with my life on the line.
From the museum we drove 18 kilometers to Mag-Aso Falls, a pristine example of the beauty of unpolluted waters. Jumping off the waterfall provided quite a rush. Twice. I have pictures to prove it, but please just take my word for it until next week. (As per the request of my sister, I’ll post photos more often as time permits.)
Tomorrow twelve of us trainees will head north fifty-some kilometers to Tubigon where we’ll spend three days helping the community identify their resources and prioritize improvements they can make to their community. I am particularly interested, because this will likely be the town where I'll end up spending two years. So yes, I plan to shave and wear a nice shirt. First impressions are clutch here.
Posted by dbs at February 24, 2004 10:29 AM