Hoy! Buhay pa ako (I’m still alive)! Just 5 months left here so enjoy this re-cap of the happenings the past couple of months… I started off the New Year with my family, after almost 18 months of being apart; it was so amazing seeing them again. We spent our time together in Palawan, island-hopping …
Tag: Peace Corps
filipino food trip
FOOD. Its something that is unique to every culture, and I haven't shared much about the food here so I thought I'd dedicate a post to it. Here, everything (literally) revolves around food, when you will eat, what you eat, where you eat, who you eat with...if someone by you is eating (even if its a …
failures + successes
Currently, I'm sitting with some grade 2 students. Its 11:30, which means is igma rin (lunchtime). We're chatting in the local language kinaray-a and sharing lots of laughs and smiles. Since coming back from my MST (mid-service training) in October, I've been trying to live in the moment everyday here and appreciate the little moments like these that happen …
building bridges
understand that there is a difference between knowing and understanding I recently had the opportunity to be involved with a program called Padayon Mindanao. Padayon Mindanao is a USAID initiative aiming to train ALS (alternative-learning-system) teachers and OSY (out of school youth) through cross-cultural collaboration and friendship building. Peace Corps is helping this initiative by …
one year na!
It's my one year mark in service! I can't believe I've been living in the Philippines for one whole year, it feels like I just left home. This year has sure been a memorable one, lots of new experiences, friendships and memories were made, but along with those it was also filled with some less-so-happy moments …
planes, trains and automobiles
While this post isn't about your favorite Thanksgiving movie, we're talking all about transportation and how to get around in this island-filled country. In the Philippines, the most popular forms of transportation are motorbikes, tricycles and jeepneys. Motorbikes are bawal for Peace Corps Volunteers, but many locals own bikes to get around. If you are living …
summer adventures
Here in the Philippines there are two seasons, dry & rainy season. Dry season (or summer) lasts between the months of March-May and rainy season is June through February. While it is hot all the time here, summer brings a new kind of humidity, heat and more sweat. Even as I am writing this blog post, at 4 in …
fire, fiesta & fun
Kumusta kayo? It's been a while since my last post, but since returning to site from training there were a whirlwind of events and activities, so now its time to play catch up! February We celebrated my municipality's local religious festival, Udyakan. Spanning over 4 days, with a mardi-gras theme, there were fire dancing performances …
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 …
pasko na!
Here in the Philippines, the Christmas and holiday season officially kicks off in September with the beginning of the 'ber' months. If you thought America went into holiday mode early, the Philippines beats it by dedicating four whole months to Christmas! Every night on the television, there is a daily countdown until Pasko (Christmas). I remember back in …
Nina Around the Globe 