Jeepney Journal

Log 8: Chilly weather...in the Philippines!?!?

Bracing ourselves on a hillside with strong winds barreling down from the South China Sea, we were convinced that the previous things we’d read about Batanes were true.  
 
This looks nothing like the typical Philippines.  The scenery looks more like the photos we’ve seen of Scotland or Ireland – rugged coastline, rolling green hills of pastures, and overcast grey skies.  The fresh cool wind that forced us to wear long pants and light jackets was such a refreshing change from the heat and humidity of Manila.  This vacation away from the hustle and bustle of our lives in Manila was exactly what we needed.

Batanes, a group of three islands located on the northernmost oceanic border of the Philippines, are halfway between the large Philippines island of Luzon (where Manila is found) and Taiwan.  As you can imagine, the small islands’ population of 16,000 is quite isolated and remote from just about everything.  The capital of Batanes, Basco, is more like a small town with no traffic lights and little in the way of tourism arrangements.  This is off the beaten track for most travelers; however with daily flights from Manila that started this past year and infrastructure improvements, its isolation may dissipate in the years to come.

One of the main highlights from the trip was where we stayed.  The Fundacion Pacita Nature Lodge (www.fundacionpacita.ph) was the former residence of Philippines artist, Pacita Abad.  From what we learned about Pacita during our stay, she traveled the world and incorporated vibrant colors in everything that inspired her modern artistic styles.  Both Charles and I were inspired by her life story and how she seemed to make the most out of life by exploring and experiencing different cultures.  In 2001 at the age of 55, she was diagnosed with lung cancer.  For the next three years she continued pursuing her passion for art in Singapore, Batanes and Manila amidst ongoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments.  The main house of the Lodge was a studio/home she had built in 2002.  Following her death in 2004, the land and home were donated to her family’s foundation.  Proceeds from the hotel support local Ivatan (the name of the indigenous people in Batanes) artists and the construction of traditional Ivatan houses.  If you want to read more about Pacita, I encourage you to explore www.pacitaabad.com/about.asp. 

The setting of the lodge was equally as inspiring as Pacita’s life.  We spent many hours on our room’s balcony, taking in the scene of the main house/studio overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a bay  surrounded by small cliffs with waves crashing on the shore.  What a relaxing spot for morning coffee and afternoon beers with a cigar.  In the evenings we were so ecstatic about only hearing two things– the fairly constant breeze and the waves from the shore below our temporary abode.  With the cool temperatures and a warm comforter on the bed, we were in heaven.  I haven’t slept that well in ages.  Quite different from the white noise of our A/C unit in Manila or the noisy streets of Chengdu!  During our first afternoon at Fundacion Pacita, we hiked down to a small stone beach and enjoyed a coastline that reminded us of the Pacific Northwest,
the setting of our wedding five years ago.  I even took a brief nap while lying on these stones and listening to the sea.  The setting of this hotel was by far one of the best places I’ve ever stayed in…and I’ve been to many a hotel around the world.

A co-worker of mine set us up with a tour guide, Romy who toured us around on his three-wheeled motorcycle, aka tuk-tuk in other places.  Seeing Batan Island on his motorcycle was a great way to explore and get to know it.  Romy would frequently stop and have us walk out across pastures to cliff sides to fully appreciate the views.  One of our
favorite spots was Marlboro Hills, located just to the south of Fundacion Pacita.  As you might suspect, the name is derived from someone seeing this place and it reminding them of a Marlboro advertisement.  Despite the somewhat cheesy name, the Hills were gorgeous and the view of the bay with the extinct volcano of Mt. Iraya in the background was a wonderful spot to take in for about an hour.  Romy also called this spot the “Sound of Music” hills.  Charles and I had recently watched this movie to introduce it to our Italian friends who’d never seen it, and we had to laugh when Romy mentioned it.  This was in fact the third spot we’d been to in two days that reminded us of where Fraulein Maria twirled and sang.  I ask you, does it get any better than a place that reminds me of the best movie of all time?  I can see my brothers’ shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads after that last sentence.

As we traveled around the southern coast of the island, we stopped at the Honesty Café.  As the name implies, this small store that sells bottled drinks, snacks, Nescafe, and a few souvenirs runs on the  honor system – people list what they purchase and deposit the appropriate amount in a locked money box.  Best to have exact change!  There are no store keepers to attend to customers.  What a great concept, although it wouldn’t work in most places.  But we also noticed that people wouldn’t lock their bicycles so I guess with such a small community where everyone knows everybody, there is sufficient trust among its citizens and the occasional tourist.

By this time, the sun was out and it remained fairly sunny for the next few days.  Romy told us that we were incredibly fortunate to have this type of weather as December can be quite wet.  I really enjoyed the low speed of the motorcycle and the chance to take in views either from sitting behind Romy or in the small compartment attached to the right side of the bike.  While this small compartment offered limited views, it was an interesting perspective of the streets and villages we passed through.  I really liked the back seat though, especially to take in views of coconut lined streets or overlooking the cliffs and rock formations just off the coast.  Charles and I were both reminded of Tonga and Samoa in terms of isolated, coastal villages situated by themselves in small bays and connected to other populated areas by a narrow road that has been carved out of the rocky cliffs that jut against the ocean.

The following day Romy took us to the island of Sabtang, a 30-minute boat ride away from the southern coast of Batan Island.  The nickname for the type of boat that we rode is “pumpboat”.  It is called this because one of the 5-man crew is constantly pumping out the ballast (the water that collects at the bottom of the boat).  Sabtang is a smaller island and the Ivatan culture and stone house architecture is more intact there than on the main island.  We traveled by van to go from one end of the island to the other – probably a total distance of 20 miles or so.  On one end, we walked around the small village of Chavayan where the oldest man in Batanes lives.  We went to his house and talked with him and his family for a few minutes.  He’s 103 years-old and seems to be in good health.  The secret to his lon gevity?  His family mentioned his main diet of fish and vegetables and that he only drinks coconut juice and never drinks water or alcohol.  Note to self – drink more coconut juice.

This town is also the location of the Sabtang Weavers Association.  Two adorable old ladies showed us around their home and small store front before Charles tried on and purchased the traditional rain/sun hat that Ivatan women wear.  With green mountains rising just behind this coastal town, the old stone houses of Chavayan provided us with a pleasant place for a stroll before hopping back in the van and heading to the other side of the island. 

Our next destination included lunch by a beach – lobster, grilled fish and seaweed soup!  The beach was beautiful with a natural rock arch located right on the shore.  The only problem with this idyllic setting was that oil blobs were scattered around the beach from a ship that had sunk nearby earlier this year.  And it was supposedly a tiny ship…can’t imagine what folks in the Gulf of Mexico had to deal with   the oil spill earlier this year.  As you can see in the photo, the beach still looked nice; you just had to be careful where you stepped. 

After returning to the main island we stopped at a cove called the Blue Lagoon for a swim; no Brooke Shields though.  The water clarity was amazing… so clear.  Maybe too clear as the first thing I saw after entering the water was a sea snake.  The snake and I agreed to keep a very healthy distance from each other.  The water was cold though.  Charles and I never really warmed up so the swim didn’t last too long. 

We got back to Fundacion Pacita to enjoy our last afternoon/evening.  The sunset was beautiful followed by a nearly full moon. 
The dining room served us a really tasty and filling sinagang, which is a typical Filipino tangy soup made from tamarind.  Our last breakfast the next day was an egg over rice with fried flying fish.  Yum!  After nearly four years in Asia, I can’t imagine most meals without rice!

Our plane was delayed on the way back, which gave us some extra time to take in the sunny but not hot weather.  We went back to a lighthouse located just outside of town and soaked in the views one last time.  Although we had only left Manila three days earlier, it felt like it had been much longer.  The slow pace of these tranquil islands and the frequent opportunities to just sit and stare at nature resulted in a perfect vacation.  Batanes is just another example of all the wonderful places in the Philippines for us to explore.  I wonder where we’re headed next?

Log 7: From Bank Equity to Equilateral Triangles

My business-oriented career since 1992 took a dramatic turn to something totally different since moving to Manila.  My first recollections of wanting to pursue a business career began way back in high school.  I really liked the two business classes I took, and I felt like I had the right skills and mindset that these subjects required.  While my studies led to fairly straightforward business undergrad and graduate degrees, I’m proud that I pursued some atypical career choices; namely Peace Corps and USAID, to focus on applying my business skills to promote social and environment development projects in some fascinating settings around the world.  

While I enjoyed this work and initially loved all the travel associated with it, I’ve always kept teaching in my peripheral vision.  One of my favorite classes of all time was a Children’s Literature class at UVa.  I remember being inspired by the professor and her passion to develop kids’ interests, experiences and skills.  Her passion was contagious, and I feel like wherever I’ve been during the last 20 years (Connecticut, Chicago, Washington, Samoa, Panama, and China), I’ve carried a small piece of that passion with me and pursued teaching opportunities, mostly as a volunteer outside of the office.  Along the way, several people, including teachers at a public school that I volunteered at in Chicago and Peace Corps colleagues and volunteers, have told me that they thought I would be a great teacher.  As Charles and I prepared for the transition from China to the Philippines, we agreed that this was the right time and place to dip my feet in the waters of a teaching career and see if it could be a second calling for me. 

It’s the end of the school year’s first term, so it seems like a fitting time to reflect on how my experience as a teacher is going thus far.  For those who may not know, I started teaching at a private middle school in Manila in late July.  I’m the reserve teacher, which means I’m the ‘sub’ when teachers aren’t there, and when all of the teachers are at school, I help out with their lessons.  

My school, which is part of the International Baccalaureate network (www.ibo.org), is the perfect place for me.  The administration has provided me with training on lesson planning, curriculum development and classroom discussion management.  The class sizes are limited to 20 students, so with two sections for each grade 6-8, there are only 120 kids in the school!  The small class sizes help a lot – I can’t imagine how teachers in China manage classes of 60+ students!  

The Board of Directors and Founders of the school are all Filipinos.  They established the school ten years ago to provide a high quality education option for their kids to counter the international schools that cater to ex-pat kids.  About 95% of the kids are Filipino, predominantly from upper middle to upper class families.  There are a few kids on scholarship too.  

One of the advantages of being at school every day is that I’m getting to know these kids pretty well and vice-versa, so when I lead their classes, they know it’s not time to pull the standard pranks on substitute teachers (not that I ever did anything like that when I was their age!).  Despite being at the tricky age of 11-13 years-old, these kids seem eager to learn and there are no major behavioral or discipline issues.  They also don’t exude much in the way of attitude that I expected given their socio-economic status.  

My colleagues are an amazingly fun and talented group of folks.  Quite the hard act to follow after the Peace Corps China staff, but these teachers are dedicated to their profession and they make sure there is plenty of laughter and fun in the process.  Already I see their sense of humor and positive outlook as a means to stay sane and upbeat throughout the teaching challenges they face. 

So what have been some of my favorite moments thus far?  Well, my first day as a sub was funny in that I had to step in for the Filipino (Tagalog) language teacher!  The teacher realized that I couldn’t teach these kids the language, being a new student to the language myself, so the day with the kids was fairly straightforward in terms of managing their small group work.  I was surprised when some of the kids asked me questions about how to say something in Filipino and I actually knew the answers!  Come to find out that most rich, urban Filipino families only speak English at home.  

Continuing with languages, I’ve taught Mandarin several times, which has been fun in terms of putting to use some of the Chinese that I learned for the past few years.  I have covered science at all three grade levels, and while I’ve never been a huge fan of science, I really got into it, especially with the 6^th grade as they were learning the basics of the scientific method.  And it was fun to see the kids interested and responding well to the lessons.  For English classes, I’ve covered short stories related to crushes/love and science fiction, as well as The Outsiders…come on, you all remember the line, “Stay gold, Ponyboy.”  One of the most rewarding experiences was my recent team teaching experience in humanities for an ancient Greece unit, where I designed a geography activity and then an assessment task that involved the kids writing to each other as Spartan and Athenian kids comparing various aspects of their societies. 

While subbing for the drama teacher for four classes, I had the kids write a personal response to the 1968 version of Romeo & Juliet and incorporate some of what they are learning about themes from their English class.  In case you were wondering, the kids did not see the nude scene from that movie; they have a hard enough time with kissing scenes! 

All in all, I feel like teaching really suits me.  Days fly by (for the most part) and that’s always a good sign.  But it’s more than that.  Being around the kids and helping them learn new things, such as the realities of water scarcity issues in the Philippines, or the significance of when Meg holds Calvin’s hand in Chapter 6 of A Wrinkle in Time, or how Chinese geography has affected its history, or the basic principles of Buddhism – all these activities leave me with a great deal of satisfaction at the end of the day that I’m helping these kids develop their knowledge and skills as they transition into their teenage years.  It’s a great rush and it certainly helps that the most of these kids are keen to learn.  There are some challenging kids too, but that makes it even more interesting.  

The job is exhausting though, especially because I find myself taking on extra tasks too, like  coordinating the first activities of the 8^th grade interdisciplinary project, being a house advisor and co-hosting Filipino language week’s talent show (in Filipino, mind you).  At the end of school days, I’m pooped and drained, but exhilarated and excited about what I’m doing at the same time.  I still have a lot, I mean A LOT, to learn in terms of developing and honing my teaching skills.  I hope to be a subject teacher next year to focus and plan an entire year with the kids in one subject area.  After that, I also realize that I feel a calling to be in a school for kids with less privileged circumstances.  First things first though.  I want to be a much better teacher before I take that on.  The good thing from my perspective is that I’m on the right path towards this possibly becoming a second career, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have the chance to do this at the ripe old age of 40.  Thanks to Charles for bringing home the big bucks while I bring home a pittance of a beginning teacher’s salary!

Log 6: Fil-Am

The last three months have felt both very long and very short.  Time is funny like that.  Before the 144 Peace Corps trainees arrived in late August, we were neck deep in preparations and I worried that this pre-service training event would never end, yet here we are, days away from their swearing-in ceremony and I’m wondering at how quickly the weeks have flown by.

Regardless of what’s going on though, it pretty much goes without saying that I will have to explain myself to someone at least once a week, and sometimes up to four or five times a week depending on the week’s calendar of events.  When I say “explain myself” I’m referring to how often I have to explain that I’m Filipino-American or “Fil-Am” as they commonly say here.  You can imagine how often I am misidentified as a local here and correspondingly how often I have to explain that; “while I was born in the Philippines, my parents moved to California when I was less than a year old, and unfortunately they didn’t teach me any Tagalog or Ilocano because they were afraid that it would affect my English……”

Actually, it really isn’t until I open my mouth and start talking that people realize “ah…… not slow, just American.”  But even then it sometimes isn’t completely obvious to people because I’ve picked up enough random Filipino words, which when combined with context and the relatively large amount of English that is sprinkled in casual conversation here, I can often accurately guess at what people are saying.  My responses in English don’t seem to clue them in, and it really isn’t until I look at them with my “um…… yeah…..couldn’t figure that last sentence out” look that they realize that I’m not really “one of them.”

Or am I?

A few weeks ago we held two Supervisor’s conferences during which our Trainees met their supervisors for the first time.   These events are sometimes difficult for me, a full-borne introvert who finds being “on” for sustained periods of time to be completely exhausting.  On top of that there are so many new names and faces at these events that I can’t even begin to remember all of them, which can be a little stressful.  However, every evening after dinner, I would set aside time to spend talking to the Filipino supervisors-- getting to know more about them as individuals, and more about their site (from their perspective) where we are planning to place the new Volunteers.

I’ll say right now that the ones that I’ve had a chance to talk to have all been great; hard working, passionate about what they do, and real believers in the power and potential of volunteerism.  It was on one of these evenings, while talking to supervisors from the far eastern island of Samar that the most amazing, inspiring and humbling thing that I have ever experienced so far in the Philippines, happened to me.

While walking back to my room, three supervisors (all women, all school principals) from Samar approached me and asked, “Sir, may we ask where your parents are from?”  This is a very common question in the Philippines, where regionalism and clanship play such an important role in the society and culture.  Earlier in the week I had already introduced myself to the over 140 people in attendance as being a "Fil-Am" so they already knew this much about me.  I was about to launch into my rote “my dad is from Apayao and my mom is from Cagayan” spiel, but before I could get into it they said, “Your family name is ‘Enciso’…… there are many Encisos in Samar and you have ‘the look’ of a Samar Enciso.”  This was different, but not too unexpected.  I had actually just visited Samar and was in a town where the former mayor had been an Enciso.   So we talked a little bit about my dad’s family, and I shared with them that I had learned, only since coming here to work for the Peace Corps, that my dad’s father’s side of the family actually originally came from Bicol province, not too far from Samar.  It was likely that the Encisos in Samar were very distant relatives.

After a very pleasant conversation I was startled when one of the women, the oldest of the three and the obvious matriarch of the group said, “sir…… we are very proud of you.”

You could imagine my confusion.

“They’re proud of me?” I wondered?  But they’ve only just met me.  How could they know me well enough to be proud of me or of anything that I’ve done?  “They’re proud that I’m an Enciso?  No…… that doesn’t really make any sense”……. And then it hit me……. Like a ton of bricks…….. they were proud of me because I’m Filipino.  And not just that…… I’m Filipino and I’m a manager in an organization that they respect and admire.  The “Am” in “Fil-Am” was inconsequential to them.  I was one of them who had “made it”, and for this they were very proud.

It is hard to adequately explain the tsunami of emotions that washed over me in that moment.  In fact I started to tear-up a little as I processed their statement.  It is one thing for your parents to tell you that they’re proud of you, or your partner, or your siblings and friends.  It is an entirely different thing altogether to be a source of pride for people that you don’t know, or don’t know very well.  I later shared this story with my staff and learned that in the almost 50 year history of the Peace Corps in the Philippines, I am the FIRST Fil-Am to serve as a senior staff member here.  I think this is unfortunate, but I’m also not surprised.  I know that there aren’t many people of color in these positions, and I may be one of a very small (count them on one hand?) number of Asian-Americans, and probably the only Filipino-American.  The odds were not in my favor, yet here I am.

I’ve thought about those three women often since that conversation.  I carry the weight of their pride and their expectations with extreme care.  I will not let them down.  And on those particularly trying, particularly frustrating, or particularly exhausting days (of which there have been many lately), I think of their expectations and am buoyed by them. 

I’m proud of me too.

 

 

Log 5: Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Now that we’re living in the Philippines, we plan to take full advantage of all the beautiful and interesting places to visit far and away from the metropolis of Manila. Before this year, we traveled here several times to visit Charles’ folks and I came a few times for USAID work. The furthest we’d ever been away from either Manila or where Charles’ folks live in Batangas (2 ½ hours south of Manila by car) was a ferry ride from Batangas to the island of Mindoro for a few days. While Mindoro had some good snorkeling and some nice countryside to see, we’re ready to explore so much more that this country has to offer.

Before I go any further, a few notes on Philippines geography are necessary. Even though I’m a geography geek, I admit that I didn’t know a lot about this country of some 7,000 islands. There are four main parts or island groups of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan. Luzon is the largest island and Manila is located in the central west coast of this island. Northern Luzon is where Charles’ parents are from. Their hometowns are probably a two-day journey from Manila by car/bus. To the south of Luzon is the Visayan region of the Philippines, which includes islands such as Cebu, known for having the best mangos, and Boracay, a well-known tourist destination with beautiful white sand beaches and a party, nightlife scene.

Continuing southward, one reaches the island of Mindanao, which is supposed to be beautiful too, but there are occasional security concerns that flare up in the south due to a militant Muslim-based minority group that often comes in conflict with the central government based out of Manila. Don't worry - we won't be going there while we're in the Philippines.  It’s interesting to note that many Filipinos respect Mindanao as it has always been somewhat independent and strong – they resisted Spanish and Catholic influences throughout the 300 years of Spanish occupation. Last, but certainly not least, is Palawan. If you look at a map of the Philippines, Palawan is a large island that looks like a slash “/” located to the southwest of Manila. Palawan is known for its diving and beautiful rock formations along its coast that create scenic coves and beaches.

Charles’ job with Peace Corps will entail lots of travel opportunities. He’s already been to the Visayan region a few times and the very southern portion of Luzon, where next year we plan to go swimming with whale sharks! When work required him to go to the capital city of Palawan, Puerto Princesa, in May, I just had to tag along especially because the trip coincided with my birthday.

We arrived in Palawan on a Wednesday. While Charles worked for the next few days, I was able to explore and get to know the area a bit. The first afternoon there I joined a small tourist group that explored the city of Puerto Princesa and some of the interesting sights nearby. A highlight from the trip was the visit to a crocodile farm, where one can hold a cute baby croc and then later on see what happens when the little guys grow up… seeing 50 some crocodiles in a confined area with meat being dropped down reminded me of scenes from those old black-and-white Tarzan movies.

The next stop on the tour was a visit to a prison that doesn’t have any walls. Hmmm. The prison, located in a fairly isolated place, was set up for prisoners who are well on their way to reform. It is completely self-sufficient as everyone has to earn their keep. In addition to growing their own food they make handicrafts to generate income. Supposedly, the inhabitants don’t feel the need to escape as they are content to serve their remaining time in jail in this environment. Some don’t even want to leave when they’re done serving their sentences. Interesting concept but I’m not sure if that would work in many other parts of the world, especially after reading a recent Economist article about the high U.S. prison population.

The next day I worked in our hotel room for half the day on some USAID stuff related to the work I did in Indonesia. It was nice to not feel completely guilty as Charles worked and I played on this trip. The hotel we stayed in was great; nothing fancy, but we especially loved the restaurant where we had breakfast in the mornings and beers in the afternoons a few times. What a great view of the harbor and beautiful sunsets to enjoy with a cold San Miguel.

Scuba-diving was my final solo activity before Charles was also free to play on the weekend. It had been awhile for me to go diving, so I was happy that I went with an instructor and his wife. We went through a bit of a refresher before jumping into the water, which was definitely necessary in terms of reviewing the equipment, hand signals, etc. I really love the experience of being underwater. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be among the fish and corrals and not have to worry about coming up for air like you do with snorkeling. The two diving sites were easy-going (i.e. no crazy currents) with good varieties of coral and fish. One new sighting was of a frog fish – interesting that its front fins are designed so it can hold on the ocean floor. The one I saw was a brilliant lime green – quite suitable for its name.

Apart from dinners with Charles’ colleagues for several nights in which we ordered lots of tasty fish and I got to know the friendly people who Charles works with, we ventured off by ourselves one night for my birthday meal. We found this great place far away from everything. The
restaurant is uniquely located over the water at the end of a long pier surrounded on three sides by   mangroves. What a beautiful setting and great seafood. Not a bad place to celebrate turning 40!

During the weekend, it was finally time for Charles to join in the fun. He and I took one trip by jeepney to visit a place that makes placements, bags and other items from locally available natural materials, such as dry grasses/straw, bamboo, coconut leaves/shells, etc. We enjoyed being able to see how their weaving process works and they were kind enough to allow us to have a turn. A weaver, I am not...hopefully they’ll be able to fix the little work that I did. (play video below)

 

We then ventured on a day-trip to the other side of the island with Charles’ colleagues. The main destination was the underground river tour, but on the way, we stopped at Sabang Beach. We arrived at this beach by 10am and had the place to ourselves for about an hour before other tour groups came through for a lunch stop. What a beautiful white, sandy beach along the South China Sea. The scene was picturesque with the coconut trees lining the beach and green mountains in the background. Now this is one of the main reasons to live in the Philippines!

On the way to the underground river by boat, we caught a glimpse of sea turtle. And then once we got to the area next to the cave entrance, we saw some more interesting wildlife, including a few monkeys and a monitor (think big lizard if you don’t know what that is). The river tour was cool. After all of us piled into one boat with hard hats and lifejackets, the water level seemed a little high but we managed to stay dry. The river extends 8km into the cave and is said to be the longest underground navigable river in the world. What amazing caverns, rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites to see in this place. One area had a ceiling that was over 200 meters tall. Of course there were tons of bats and swallows in and around the cave… hence the tour guide warned us not to have our mouths open in wonder when we looked up.

On the last day in Palawan, we took a small boat tour around Honda Bay. In case you’re wondering, the name of the bay has nothing to do with Japanese cars. Honda comes from the Spanish word that means deep. We visited a few islands and enjoyed snorkeling in each spot – one was good for coral while the other spot had better water clarity and fish variety. In this second spot, on “Snake Island” (named for the shape of the island and not its inhabitants), it is customary to feed bread to the fish. So we joined the crowd and had fun feeding the fish – the deeper you go with the bread, the bigger the fish! Some nibbled on Charles a bit, so he was happy to take over camera duties as I fed the fish.

Speaking of crowds, Charles and I both commented that if this place were in China, the number of people there would be times 100. The population of the Philippines is around 100 million, compared to China’s 1.4 billion, so we are still enjoying the less crowded atmosphere of our new home. Before heading back to town and then catch our flight back to Manila, we had a great lunch on the beach with freshly grilled squid served in an adobo (soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, pepper) sauce. Delicious!

Palawan was a great first destination for us to visit and we’re excited to see many other places that we’ve heard about from our friends. Domestic air travel is much cheaper here than in China, so the only thing stopping us is getting time away from work. We’ll figure it out though with weekend trips or tacking on vacation days to Charles’ work trips, etc. As we did in China, we’re all about enjoying and taking advantage of where we live and not being workaholics. Anybody up for swimming with whale sharks in February – April?  Come join us!

Log 4: Happy Birthday Mom!!!

This is the closest that I’ve lived to my folks since 1994.  When I left San Diego for the Peace Corps, I moved to Tonga, all the way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  After a brief month in San Diego in 1997, when I returned from Peace Corps and from traveling around the world, I moved to Washington DC.  In 2000 my dad retired and my folks moved to the Philippines.  We moved a little closer to them in 2008 when Chris and I relocated to Chengdu, China (and when I say “a little closer” I’m talking about a six hour flight), but last year we finally moved back into the same timezone when I started working here in the Philippines, and now we’re only a 2.5 hour drive apart!

When Chris and I were making the decision on whether or not to come to the Philippines, “proximity to the folks” was one of the top reasons that we listed in the “pro” column of our pro/con list.  We knew that we wouldn’t be living in the same city as them, but the relatively short drive would allow us to see them more than the average “every couple of years” that had been our pattern in the past.  It’s funny to think that how when you’re young, one of your biggest priorities is to get away and to get out from under the parental wing.  I think that over time, as we get older, we start to shift to the other side of the spectrum. 

I’ve realized over the years that there’s something really cool about living near your family as an adult.  For anyone whose family has undergone a similar dispersal, you might know what I’m referring to.  I originally came to this realization when Mary, my younger sister, moved to Washington DC to work for the Peace Corps.  The last time that we had lived together was back in the early 90s.  We were all in the family house then, where family habits governed our behavior and our interaction.  Fast forward to 2003 when Mary moved to DC and it was an entirely different situation.  I had already long established myself in the city.  She was trying to establish herself and relied on me and Chris to help her out in the first few months.  We were siblings who had been apart for a pretty long time and we became reacquainted as adults.  I remember thinking how strange it was to have friends who were the same people and to go to the same bars.  It was nice and I look forward to the day that we’re all back in San Diego with my older sister Gloria.

For now though, it is really nice to be close to my parents.  We’re in that age bracket where more and more of my close friends are losing their parents to old age and the various complications that come with it.  I’ve been blessed (knocking on wood), and my folks are in great shape for their ages.  We’re taking advantage of the proximity and seeing them as much as we can.  They don’t like the drive up to Manila so more often than not we make the drive to see them.

This weekend was my mom’s 69^th birthday.  On Saturday morning we packed the car with dog and birthday cake and drove the 2.5 hours through Cavite and Tagaytay to get to their town of Balayan in Batangas.  As soon as we arrived we ate, and then after a few rounds of the card game “Tong-it” we ate some more.  Of course the Filipino dish “pancit” was part of the menu because Filipinos have a tradition that says that you should eat something long on your birthday to help ensure a long life.

Chris purchased a “sans rival” (yes, that’s the name of the cake) cake, which is an amazing Filipino cake made of layers of sweet wafers and butter-cream.  We sang happy birthday, ate cake and started another round of card playing that lasted into the night.  It was a really great weekend, and highlights yet one more reason why I’m glad to be working for the Peace Corps here in the Philippines.  When the folks moved here in 2000 I never would have imagined that I would be joining them here 10 years later!  Happy Birthday Mom!

Log 3: What's in a name?

It took us a while to get this Philippines blog started, especially compared to our China blog which we had up and running by the end of our first week in country.  Our standard excuse is that we were busy, but in reality we weren’t so busy that we couldn’t set aside enough time to do this.  The real delay was in finding a name that we were both happy with.  The former “Chengdu Chronicles” immediately emerged as appropriate for the first blog.  We liked the alliteration, the fact that it identified both where we were and the purpose of the blog, which was to chronicle our experiences in China.

The name of our Philippines blog didn’t come as naturally.  We even asked for help from our Facebook community of friends and while some of their suggestions had potential (we liked Joyce’s “Pinoy Ponderings”), none were exactly what we were looking for.  Chris’ best effort was “Filipino Filaments”….. yes, Filipino Filaments.  He explained the use of the term “filaments”, but I’ve forgotten it now.  In any case, I didn’t like it much.  My alternative was “The Philippines Philes”, which like Chris’ title had the alliteration that we liked, but “philes” was a double entendre:  a synonym that means both “a place where writings are kept”, but also “to like something a lot” (a la “stereophile”, or “anglophile”).  It didn’t really roll off of the tongue though, and in the end, neither name really felt right.

The name “Jeepney Journal” presented itself through a publication of the US Embassy.  They publish a monthly newsletter entitled “The Jeepney Journal” and we liked the name a lot.  It met our alliteration fix, and it highlighted the Jeepney, an iconic symbol of the Philippines.  We debated the morality and legality of using the name for our blog and determined that because this blog doesn’t generate even a teeny-tiny bit of revenue, we would be fine.  Plus, this blog acknowledges the source so we’re covered.  If they have problems with it we’ll add an “e” to the end of “journale” and make it fancy-French.

If you aren’t Filipino, or haven’t been to the Philippines you may not be familiar with the Jeepney so let me take this opportunity to give you a little bit of the back-story of this very cool, and very quintessentially Filipino mode of transportation.  Jeepneys originally came about as a result of the American presence in the Philippines back during World War II.  At the end of the war, millions of surplus jeeps were sold or given to Filipinos.  Thus the Jeepney, a modified form of the American military jeeps that were here to support all of the military bases, was born.  It is the all-purpose vehicle of choice here and is a form of public transportation that is still prevalent throughout the country; from downtown Manila to the most far flung outer islands.  Urban jeepneys are predominantly commuter vehicles, but the ones out in the Provinces are also major utility vehicles.  It isn’t uncommon to see them piled high with goods, people, and livestock as they traverse the country roads. 

The powerful Jeepney engines were designed back in a time when car engines were built to last and most Jeepneys on the road today still use their original (albeit rebuilt) 1940s engines.  It helps that they’re also very simple engines, requiring little more than a screwdriver and a wrench to fix in the event of a breakdown.  They’re not necessarily the cleanest burning engines, in fact they probably contribute most to the awful ground level pollution here in Manila, commonly belching huge clouds of black smoke when their drivers try to accelerate.

In general appearance, the classic jeep front remains, but it is attached to a covered stainless steel long-bed, with benches that are placed lengthwise running down each side, and with an open entrance in the back to quickly let passengers on and off in the busy Manila traffic.  Payment is simple if you know what you’re doing.  After climbing in the back, you state where you’re going.  You figure out how much that will cost if you don’t already know, and then you pass your money (via the other passengers) up to the driver.  If you need change the driver counts it out (while driving mind you) and passes it back to you. 

Riding in a jeepney isn’t very comfortable.  Jeepney drivers tend to weave and dart all over the streets, trying to outmaneuver each other for the next potential fare, and serving to continuously jostle the riders.  While they’re covered on top, the majority also have open windows along the sides, thus passengers are crammed into the tight, confined, hot space, and are forced to breath the aforementioned pollution from their own jeepney and from the countless others on the road as well.  They’re also a haven for pick-pockets.  That said, they’re without a doubt the best cross-town transportation deal in the city, costing no more than 15 pesos to get all the way across town.  That’s equivalent to 30 cents, so is it any wonder that despite all of the drawbacks of riding a jeepney, they’re always full to the gills with daily commuters?!?

The best thing about jeepneys, and the reason why everyone loves them so much, is that each one is unique in appearance.  It is rare to see one that hasn’t been given a special personalized “touch” by its driver.  This usually manifests itself in the way they’re painted, though some go as far as adding special touches like crushed red-velvet curtains, flashing fog-lights that ring the top of the jeepney, or (my personal favorite) 18-inch tall Virgin Mary hood adornments.  Many of them are named too; after wives, daughters, mothers, or girlfriends usually.  The names are often painted on a big visor that is attached above the windshield.  Many will have catch-phrases painted on them as well.  There are religious themed phrases:  “God bless our trip”, regional pride phrases “Pride of Pangasinan”, and lots of random, makes-no-sense-to-anyone-but-the-owner phrases.  A few have gone the austere route.  Rather than being painted multiple colors, they’ve opted for plating the whole thing in shiny chrome.  These are the worse ones to be behind on a bright and sunny day here in the Philippines (and most of the days here are bright and sunny!).

Over the next couple of years, we’re going to try to capture and share as many images of Filipino jeepneys as we can.  In our relatively short time here we’ve seen some really cool ones, beautiful ones, and ones that make us laugh out loud.  Unfortunately we almost NEVER have a camera on us when we see them!!

Times are changing for the Jeepneys in the Philippines though.  Corporate owned Jeepneys lack the beauty and individualism of the individually owned ones, and new electronic jeepneys (aka “e-jeepneys”), while better for the environment, lack the panache of their older counterparts.  Who knows if jeepneys will even be around after another 10 years?  We do know that Jeepneys and their drivers will be around long enough to drive us crazy on the roads during our time in the Philippines and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Soooooo keep an eye on these pages for more updates and stories from our new adventures here in the Philippines!

 

Log 2: Getting to Know Where We Live

Our apartments and neighborhoods in Chengdu and Manila could not be more different. In Chengdu, our place had a great view of the river; it was convenient to school/work; and we could walk to a big grocery store and shopping mall as well as several good restaurants, including our favorite “alley” restaurant, Yuan Yuan. The apartment was in a middle class neighborhood without other expats around. In our first overseas experience together, this place was perfect for us to experience Chinese culture and its people.

In contrast, our apartment in Manila is in Makati – the famous financial center of the city. In fact, the Manila Stock Exchange is a short three blocks away. Apart from high rise commercial buildings and the five star hotels Shangri-La, The Peninsula and the Mandarin Oriental, residential high rises cater mainly to upper class Filipinos and foreign expatriates. I probably saw more expats during my first day in Makati than I did in two years at our old place on Sanguantang Street in Chengdu!

Makati is also renowned for its numerous shopping malls. These malls with names such as Greenbelt 1, Greenbelt 2… Greenbelt 5, Glorietta 1… Glorietta 4, are massive, taking up several city blocks, and one can walk from one mall to the next via elevated walkways thus avoiding crazy traffic below. Evidently, Filipinos love to shop, and these malls are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the shopping options in Manila, e.g., the Mall of Asia near Charles’ office, which boasts to be the largest mall on the continent.

One pleasant surprise about one of the Makati malls, and Makati in general, is its green space. The Greenbelt Malls were built on either side of an existing park and church. The result is an amazing shopping environment, especially for the multitude of ground-level restaurants with outdoor seating that line both sides the park. The restaurants offer everything under the sun – so many more options than Chengdu! We’ve already been to many and they’ve all been wonderful. One of two nearby museums is also located by Greenbelt. Apart from a Filipino historical exhibit that I found very informative, the museum appears to have interesting Filipino art exhibits that come through on a regular basis. The museums in the area are also notable for their modern design, their unique structures really standing out in contrast to the more traditional office buildings.

Speaking of parks in Makati – across the street from our place is Velasquez Park. Velasquez Park is small, only the size of a small city block. Dogs aren’t allowed inside this park, which is understandable as this park is very well used by families and folks walking/jogging around a concrete sidewalk that forms a circuit around the park. In fact, people can be seen exercising before the sun comes up and well after the sun goes down – sort of necessary not only in terms of work schedules but also in terms of a bearable temperature for outdoor activities. This park is also host to a Saturday farmers market that is even better than the weekend market that we had in Takoma Park! Apart from fresh veggies, fruits, and seafood for sale, we can get delicious prepared food at the market, including all the Filipino specialties as well as many western options.

Ayala Triangle Park is right next to the stock exchange and this large park is dog-friendly. Marley likes to stroll around this park early in the morning before it gets too hot. Both parks have beautiful old trees – flame trees, acacia and narra trees that must be many decades old. The flame trees have been in full bloom since Easter. Like dogwoods, they bloom just before the new leaves appear, covering the trees in masses of stunningly brilliant orange flowers. We have three of these trees right outside of our bedroom window!

Our apartment is specifically located in the Makati neighborhood known as Salcedo Village. Salcedo has restaurants and coffee shops (including at least three Starbucks within a two-block radius of our apartment) all over the place. There are also plenty of street vendors around with tasty and cheap food to sell throughout the day. We have a great Korean grocery store a block from our apartment; which, though tiny, contains the necessities and then some. The supermarkets are a bit further away and require either a car, taxi, or jeepney to get there, but that reminds me of a HUGE difference in our lifestyle in Manila vs. Chengdu – we have a car! Yep, we bought a used Toyota Rav-4 from Charles’ predecessor and it is great to have, especially for Charles’ commute and for getting out of the city on weekends. Riding bicycles is just not an option that I ever want to try in Manila… bikes are not as common a form of daily transportation here as they are in China. A few brave (or crazy) people do it, but walking and driving are already crazy enough!

Fortunately the ground floor apartment that we found is spacious enough to store the bicycles and the many things we have picked up over the years. The place is probably twice the size of our apartment in Chengdu. With three bedrooms and four bathrooms between two floors, we are more than ready for guests. One of our favorite features of the apartment is the patio, which is a rarity to find in Manila. Although it is a concrete patio, we have already spent considerable time and energy in setting up a relaxing outdoor space for us with several potted tropical plants. We’ve added a big grill, a small fountain and an outdoor table for al-fresco dining. In the evenings the patio is a wonderful place to relax with a glass of wine or a G&T in hand. It’s a great place for cigars too!

We had a few rooms painted in the apartment to give the place some character. Most important was the terra cotta color for the kitchen, which makes it a warmer space. We also covered up the kitchen window, which has a not-so-lovely view of the garage, with antique Filipino traditional capiz windows that we recently purchased. The windows were taken from a 1920’s Filipino house that had been demolished. Capiz is a thin translucent shell that was formerly very common in the tropical waters around the Philippines. Before glass was readily available, these shells were sandwiched within wooden lattice frames and used to create sliding windows and doors for upper-class houses of the period. The wall behind our spiral staircase is a deep olive green and our bedroom now has sky blue walls with one deep brown accent wall behind the bed. The colors, in addition to having our ‘stuff’ from China and our many other travels out on the walls and on shelves, really make the apartment feel cozy. More than anything, the place feels like our home and we’re already very comfortable here. And I almost forgot, our building has a small pool too… it’s not big enough for laps but great to cool down after yoga or the end of busy day of work.

In a nutshell, that’s where we live. We hope to host many visitors in the next two years. Our apartment is a great launching pad to reach the many beautiful destinations that the Philippines has to offer and it’s a good location from which to explore what Manila has to offer as well.

Log 1: G&Ts on Day One in the tropics...does it get any better?

After the long transition between Chengdu and Manila, we were both finally living together in Manila as of mid March 2010. Thank god. Neither of us wants that long of a period apart again. As a Peace Corps friend of mine put it bluntly, “The time apart just plain sucks.” When I arrived, our good friend Irwin was in town visiting his parents. Irwin and Charles picked me up at the airport after I had just spent a wonderful week in Australia with Edith. It was great to have them there to greet me as I got through immigration and customs. Now, let’s get to our new home and have a drink!

Charles and I had both stocked up on Tanqueray gin be cause when I was in Manila in December, we couldn’t find any on the shelves. Everyone seems to sell that Bombay Sapphire crap. Fortunately, we have since discovered a place that sells Tanqueray… thank God! But, we didn’t know that at first, so we agreed to stock up on duty-free gin on the way to Manila. With five bottles of stock in hand, we enjoyed our first G&Ts on the patio soon after arriving at our apartment. What a great way to christen the patio. G&Ts in a tropical environment certainly are a “good thing” as Martha Stewart would say.

That night we went out to Malate, which I would describe as the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Manila. For those not familiar with DC, Adams Morgan has a lot of bars and restaurants and is one of the main places to go out in Washington. Unfortunately, the Malate neighborhood has become a bit more seedy and run-down since I first saw it back in 2004. Locals will blame some of the foreign, mostly Korean landlords who have opened some questionable establishments, but it seems like there is a sizeable demand for businesses with many “services” to offer.

Malate also has an area of gay bars, which we were curious to see. Before hitting the scene, we had dinner at The Aristocrat restaurant, which is right on the main drag of Roxas Boulevard, which runs along Manila Bay. The Aristocrat has been around for ages and serves classic Filipino cuisine. From what we could gather, this restaurant was the place to come to for special occasions, like birthday parties or in one case what looked like a successful gymnastics or synchronized swimming competition. Picture teenage girls wearing lots of colorful makeup and hair slicked back.

After a satisfactory meal of garlic fried rice, lechon (pork), and pansit (noodles), we headed to the O Bar. Not sure why it’s called that, but there wasn’t much happening at the bar around 10pm. Apparently the scene kicks in a bit later. We still had a nice time sipping San Miguel beers in the outdoor seating, aka the place to be seen and to see everyone else walking by. We went back to the O Bar with Irwin a few weeks later and timed it with a later arrival… still not that impressive in terms of a lively scene. We were more impressed with our visit to The Hobbit House bar that same evening. Since all of the bar staff are little people, this is a must-see for any visitors. And to think that The Hobbit House started out as a Peace Corps project in the 1960s for a small (no pun intended) disadvantaged group!

On that note and in the interest of getting this blog posted, we’re happy to finally have the blog up and running. Sorry it took awhile. And we’re also happy that we are feeling very settled into our new environs. Our home is ready for visitors… come one, come all! Mabuhay! (Welcome!)