Happy New Year sa tanan!! (Everyone) Ryan and I had an amazing New Year's! We met up with several other Peace Corps Volunteers on the island of Bohol. We stayed on Alona Beach on Panglao Island, which is attached to Bohol. It was so much fun!! It was so nice getting to see everyone, hang out, and eat some incredible food! Some friends and I took a tour one day, where we saw the Chocolate hills, tarsiers, and went down the Loboc River Cruise. We also visited the Bee Farm, went snorkeling, and got to be beach bums for a couple of days. Needless to say it was fantastic! It really made all the past hard days worth it! Who knows when are next big adventure will be, but it was great while it lasted.
Being a beach bum on Alona Beach
So on our way home it was raining and the rain did not stop. It made our boat ride pretty interesting, and cold, which is rare in the Philippines, but yes we were cold, because we had gotten soaked trying to get on the boat. Then add the wind and 40-foot waves (aka 2-foot waves) and you get some pretty cold people. Once we arrived in Hilongos it was still raining. Since we were already wet we just walked to get a tryke to go to our house. We finally got to our house, got dry and warm, and settled in for the night. The rain still did not stop and we started getting texts about flooding happening and to stay alert in case we had to evacuate. This got us kinda worried. Where would we go, what do we do, all of that. We have been through floods before, but in a foreign country its a little different. Luckily we stayed high and dry, but as for our road, barangay, and surrounding neighborhoods, they were not so lucky. Our road was completely wiped out and several houses along the highway were in at least 1-2 feet of water. It was weird riding to work seeing all the animals, that I usually never see because they are tied up back in the tress out of sight, right along the highway so they could stay safe. It hasn't rained so far today and I hope it doesn't. I feel very bad for the families with their houses underwater and I hope they catch a break so they can have their houses back. I don't want to worry anyone with this story. We are fine and perfectly safe. We had people in contact with us the whole time to make sure we were ok, so please don't worry. I just wanted to share with you what I experienced today, to let you have a little peek in to why there are again no classes today, lol!!! Oh the Philippines! :)
So Christmas is over and it was weird. We had a good Christmas Eve with Ryan's counterpart's family. We had a lot of fun with them and got to see how a Filipino celebrated Christmas. Then we had a lot of rest, which was nice, but it allowed me to think of home often, which made me sad. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and had some joy. It was hard for me, but I made it and now things will get easier. Now onto New Year's, which will be amazing. We are meeting up with some friends on Bohol, where we will have lots of fun. I can't wait!!!!
I just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who has sent us things! We have REALLY appreciated it!!! All the cards and packages have meant A LOT to us and we THANK YOU!!!
Special thanks to: Dana and Terry, Tamra, Tammy and Mike, Grammy and Grandpa, Grandma Ohio and Roy, and Karen. THANK YOU!!!! :)
Hello everyone. I changed some settings on my profile and you should now be able to leave comments. Please leave comments; they are nice to read!! Love you all, miss everyone- you have no idea, and hope everyone has an amazing Christmas!!!
We won't have much internet access the next few days/weeks, so please be patient with us.
On a good note- we will be moving into our new home on Jan. 5th! We are very excited, but sad to leave Papang. We are having to move out early, because she has some things she has to take care of in Australia and will be there for 5-6 months. I will take pictures, of course, and hopefully be able to post them soon after we move in. Also, cross your fingers, we will try and get internet in our house so we would have a more reliable way of communicating with everyone.
Again everyone have a great holiday. We will be thinking of you ALL from the Philippines!!!!!
Love, love, love
~Trisha
Hello everyone. So since Canigao Island, Ryan and I have been to Ormoc and Tacloban, two other bigger towns in Leyte. We have been visiting close towns, to see what's available there and to also have a break from Hilongos. It has been nice seeing the other places, but for the next couple of weeks we will be staying home and just chillin. So Ormoc was nice, they have a big grocery store which has some imported items, like White Grape Juice!!!! But other than that there is not much to do there.
This past weekend we went to Tacloban, which was cool. We got to see and meet some other PCVs. We also went and saw the new Narnia movie, which was really good. Funny story. So we got in line early to see the movie and finally got to go in and sit down. Then all of a sudden everyone stands up and the national anthem starts playing on the sound system. So we stand up (and this whole time I'm trying VERY hard not to laugh b/c this was so random), people start singing and when it's over everyone sat down. It was a very different experience! Then announcements came on about not recording in the theater and the movie started, no previews, which was kinda nice.
School. Well I have had one full week of observing actual classes, which was really nice. But now there is a provincial meet (athletics meet) at my school so no classes today or tomorrow. Then later this week we will have Christmas parties and then school will be out for two weeks. It will be fun. I will read and watch a lot of movies.
So anyways that catches you up on what we have been doing. Were getting used to our town and living here in the Philippines. Were very excited for people to come visit us so we can show them around and so they can better understand where we live and work. Some days are lonely and kinda sad, but others are really great and full of great things. We almost always meet someone new that is really nice and interested in why we are here.
Hope everyone is doing well and ready for Christmas! We miss you all. Take care!
Oh, I also posted new pics of Flicker, so click on the flicker tab on the left to check them out!!!
~Love, Trisha
So I have already been at my site for going on three weeks now and we are in the middle of week 15! CRAZY! Time is going by fast, but slow at the same time. It has been pretty slow for me at my school, because there have been several competitions being held at my school. The first week I was here I was able to sit-in on my classes and introduce myself to them, which was fun, but made me homesick at the same time because they asked me all kinds of questions about home that I was not prepared to talk about. Also during the first week we had the Press Conference Meet at our school. What that means is that several different schools came to our school to compete in different competitions in journalism. What was very different about this competition (and every school competition) compared to the states is that the contestants stay overnight at the school, therefore the school hosting, my school, has to spend several days before hand preparing for their visitors, cleaning the room and such. So that competition ended on a Saturday and the next week we hosted another event, the STEP competition. This competition had students at all levels competing in their various technical skills, such as welding, dress-making, cosmetology, etc. It was pretty cool to walk around and see the different events going on. And that brings us to this week. Let me start with the weekend first. On Saturday we met up with Ryan’s LCF and another PCV. We went and visited Anna’s college and then went to her hometown, Maasin. It was really nice getting to spend time with them, seeing new sites, and traveling within Leyte. Then Sunday we met up with Ryan’s counterpart and went to Canigao Island. It was really nice. The island is very small, but beautiful. And what’s cool is that it is very close. To get to the island from our house would maybe take an hour tops. It was a beautiful day, a nice trip, but I ended up getting pretty sunburned, not fun! Anyways Monday was a holiday so we just hung out. Then yesterday my school had an English month culmination program, which the closest thing I can relate this to would be a pep-rally. We had a program, dancing, singing, and presentations celebrating speaking English, and of course I gave a speech as well ☺ What I thought was really cool is that it was a program to celebrate learning, instead of sports like U.S. pep-rallies. Don’t get me wrong I loved pep-rallies, but I thought the meaning of this one was pretty cool and very different. So that catches you up with what I have been doing. By the way I am feeling a lot better and not so homesick. I am getting used to Hilongos, and I really like it here. Until next time take care…
Yes it has hit me... homesickness. I knew I would have it eventually. I'm not really sure why I am homesick because things are going great here. Everyone is really nice to me, my living situation is great, etc. I guess it's because it is the Holiday season back home, I'm having to adjust to new place and it's kinda like starting over at square one, and you know it's that time; I have to admit it I am feeling homesick! So I thought something that would help me feel better would to make some lists. LOL. I know I'm a nerd, but it does make me feel better. So here are my lists and you won't hurt my feelings if you skip this post!
Things I miss back home:
*Yogilicious *Izze's *Living with Kristy *My entire family *Cool/cold weather *Sweatshirts *Being comfortable with what I am doing at work *My new mattress *Kung Pao Chicken *A/C *Everyone speaking English
Things I DON'T miss back home:
*Driving *Wal-Mart *Commuting to/from work for 45 mins everyday *Paying a lot of money for our apt. *Reality T.V. *Obsession with material things
Things I like/love about the Philippines
*How hospitable the people are *MANGOES *Exotic fruits *Living in the countryside *Loverboy *"Good morning/afternoon ma'am" from every student *Beautiful beaches *Curious people *Pan de sal *Not being afraid of ever getting lost b/c someone will always help you out *Trykes *Seeing how many people can fit into a jeepney *Aggressive driving with NO wrecks *Pigs *Roosters *Smiles when I speak Cebuano *Internet access *Cold showers-really helps you cool off *Many more to come
So you see even though I am homesick I couldn't imagine leaving. I haven't been able to do anything yet, and once I do I think I will love it even more. Right now I am observing and getting to know the community which is nice, but makes for long days. But I understand why I am doing this and I need it, because it will help me in the long run with building relationships and helping me integrate into the community. I guess I have realized that I don't really enjoy being the new person all the time, although I do like change I also like having that normalcy. In a couple weeks things will become normal for me and I will begin to fit in fine, because I already am fitting in, it's just getting into the swing of things. So thanks for listening and until next time :)
Hello everyone. I have updated my packages and wish list pages at the top of this blog. I have put up our new address and made a wish list of things we would love to have. :) We have made it to Hilongos, safe and sound. We are having fun adjusting to our new place and getting to know our "bagong lungsod" (new town). Miss everyone. Take care and until next time! Love y'all :)
