day in the life

I’m approaching my sixth month here at site (!!!), so I’ve begun to adapt to a ~somewhat~ normal/daily schedule here.  A lot of times I feel like I’m riding on this up and down rollercoaster, each day can and usually is different from the next and I’m never quite sure whats ahead.  It is nice however to have some routine things to look forward to everyday, and it makes it easier to adjust to my life here.

5:15-5:30 // The time I wake up to get some exercise in.  If you want to exercise while its still (a little) cool outside then its best to rise before the sun.  My walk to school is very short, its just up the road from where I live so there’s not much opportunity for me to get some steps in during the day.  Every morning I walk around our plaza which is tabok sa balay ko (across from my house), or I’ll try to go for a jog then I’ll do some bodyweight exercises.  I also recently purchased a bike so I’m excited to get some riding in! There are some fellow community members that exercise and play basketball in the mornings who always greet me with friendly smiles and waves.  I also enjoy getting up early as I am able to see the sun rise everyday before I get ready for my day.

6:30 // After my hour workout I head home and get ready for school.  After taking a quick bath I’ll have pamahaw (breakfast) which usually consists of some oatmeal and fresh fruit – lots and lots of kapapaya (papaya)! Some of the teachers & friends here know that papaya is my favorite fruit so they’ve been bringing me lots of it to eat!

7:30 // Maagto ako sa eskwelahan. I’m headed to school on my short commute (177 steps away, the curiosity got away to me and I counted one day) and arrive just as the flag ceremony is ending.  Most mornings my school has their flag ceremony where the students say the national anthem, prayer and school pledge. I get greeted with good mornings from the students and I’ll chika-chika with my fellow teachers before classes begin.

8:00-11:00 // Work time/Reading Groups!  One of the things that my school wanted me to start was a remedial reading program.  So I started with Grade 3 last November and have been working with about 20 students who are in pre-primer and primer groups.  In the pre-primer groups we are working on alphabet recognition and letter sounds, for the primer group we focus on sight words and beginning reading.  I’ve been working with them for a while so I have been able to see a lot of progress with them, it has also been a nice way to practice my language!

11:30 // Mauli ako.  Here in the Philippines, schools have a hour lunch break everyday where most students return home for lunch everyday.  So I take my short walk back home and eat igma which consists of a vegetable dish made from some local veggies such as okra, string beans, eggplant, carrots, calabasa (squash) or my favorite mungo beans or puso ni saging (banana heart).

1:30  // After resting at home I head back to the school and am now greeted with mayad nga hapon Ma’am  or good afternoon Miss Nina. In the afternoons I’ll help my counterpart with her classes, or I’ll work on my secondary projects or sometimes there will be a staff meeting or other preparations for events that are coming up.

4-4:30 // Mauna ako, which means I’ll go ahead, another saying for when you’re leaving a place before or going home.  Once I’m home I’ll chat with my nanay for a bit about how our days went, then I head to my room to get some rest or yoga in before dinner.

6:00 // Kaon na! Its time to eat yapon or dinner. My host family has been very accommodating with my vegetarian diet so I’ll usually eat leftover veggies from lunch or a local dish such as pinakbet or chop suey.  I eat dinner with my family while I overhear their conversations trying to pick out bits and pieces of the language that I can understand and we usually watch the news at this time as well.

8-10:00 // Since I start my days early, I am usually exhausted my 8:00 and retreat to my room.  If I’m up for it I’ll watch a show on my hard drive (currently trying to finish Lost) or catch up on some reading or chat with family back home as they are just waking up.  Then its time to get some shut eye & rest!

Weekends

Saturdays. On Saturdays I still like to get up early, sometimes I’ll go walking with another woman who lives in my barangay.  We walk to further places like the baybay (beach) or by the mountainous barangays.  The sights are always so beautiful and if we make it out early enough we are able to catch the sunrise over the ocean.  With the recent purchase of my bike I’m excited to go on some longer rides on the weekends.  Saturdays & Wednesdays are also the market days in my municipality so sometimes I’ll head to the market with Lyn.  My house is centrally located in the barangay so its just a short walk to the tindahan (market).  At the market we’ll buy foods such as isda (fish), laswa (vegetables) and prutas (fruits), its best to go early where the food is freshest and not over-picked.  There are always a lot of people at the market so I usually get lots of heys, hellos and some stares.  Many of the students and community members recognize me as well with warm smiles. I usually meet up with my site mates as well, I’ll take a 30-40 minute jeepney ride into our province capital where we meet up at a cafe and grab some lunch then head to the mall and lagaw-lagaw and talk about how our weeks went.

Sundays. Rest Day! I like to sleep in (meaning til 7 or 8) then its time for laundry.  Having a washer is very rare here as everyone washing their clothes by hand, so I am very thankful that my host family has a washer.  I still wash some of my clothes by hand and it usually takes me an hour or so, so I turn on some tunes and get washing.  After laundry I’ll FaceTime with family back home, do some reading, or watch a movie or just hang around the house. My site mate Sarah lives about 10 minutes away and by the ocean so sometimes we’ll spend the afternoons by the beach.

So there you have it! A typical day in my life here in the Philippines.  I’m just coming back to site from our IST (in-service training) and our fiesta is approaching this weekend so I’ll be sure to update with all the activities!

Kita kits,

Nina