Magandang hapon America!

Well it's about time...my first post from the exotic land of the Philippines! After almost a full day of flying and an hour and a half bus ride through the crowded, windy streets, I finally reached my first Filipino destination (the IIRR compound south of Manila) approx. 12:30 am Monday...12:30 pm Sunday for those of you on the east coast. After a brief snack, I settled into my single bed for a solid 5 hour snooze.  The adventure has begun!

Touched down!

Where to begin on this roller coaster week. Staging (basically 5 hours of PC overviews, paperwork, and ice breakers) took place in San Francisco, CA, my new favorite city. Finally got to experience an in-n-out burger and fisherman's wharf before meeting up with the 69 other volunteers in batch 271. A truly incredible group of people. Putting a group together that share a common purpose/goal is a great way to meet others that share your beliefs and passions. Although we are all unique and come from all over the country (Massachusetts, Florida, Kansas, Montana, and Washington to name a few), all of us have been able to find common ground in one another and mesh extremely well. It's sad to think we will all be splitting up next week as we depart for our training sites...but I will get to that later.

I have now finished initial orientation (IO) and have begun my language and technical training. IO basically consisted of more paperwork and pertinent background information on the Peace Corps and the Philippines (medical issues, safety and security, diversity, language, etc.). I have now been learning  the national language, Tagalog (or Filipino) for 2 days. After a bit more studying today, I have officially dubbed myself malaking gwapo (the big handsome)! Maybe it'll catch on with the Filipinos! I certainly stick out like a sore thumb here...we took a jeepney (old US military jeeps left over from WWII that are frequently painted and decorated) to the mall yesterday, and being a 6'8" white American in a country where the average height is ~ 5'2" - 5'4" caught me a lot of attention.

Home for the first two weeks: IIRR in Silang, Cavite

A jeepney: one of the biggest modes of transportation in the Philippines

The heat here hasn't been too bad, but that could be because I am still enjoying the luxury of air conditioning and working showers (soon I will be resorting to a bucket, or so I am told). The humidity is very intense and it often feels like I am trying to penetrate a wall. I can't say I've seen anything like the rain storms here though. We are currently in the beginning of the rainy season, which typically lasts into December. I thought Charleston was bad in terms of pop-up thunderstorms, but when it rains here, it POURS! And there doesn't seem to be a pattern to them...just 60% chance of rain in the forecast every single day.

Although this week has certainly been an adjustment, from getting over jetlag to starting the weekly malaria pills to the 6 am wake up calls and 10 pm bedtimes, I already had some unique and amazing times. We have a pool on site and a dip here and there hits the spot especially in this heat. There is also a basketball court where we've been fortunate to get a few games in (I've also learned that basketball is the primary sport in the Philippines and that every town, in addition to the town hall and church, has a basketball court!). Wednesday night we had an epic dance party organized by the one and only Magic Zac! Awesome to see ~ 40 volunteers, including some of the older folk, rocking out to "Teach Me How To Dougie" (in Tagalog) and "The Macarena." I also saw a massive black spider the size of my hand as I was walking around the IIRR grounds. When it rains, the footpaths literally come to life as insects, beetles, etc. try and find shelter. More on tap for this week, including fellow Charlestonian and PCV Laura and I working on a "Rec Room trivia night" for our batch.

This "little" guy was surprisingly hard to spot

Lots more to fill you in on but I'll save more for future posts! Next Sunday I will be leaving for my training site in Sabang, Morong, apparently right on the beach. I will try and post again before leaving since I've been told there isn't wifi there (although possibly an internet cafe nearby). I also plan on uploading some photos soon so keep an eye out here and on facebook.

Ingat ka! Paalam!