Sarah
Tulsa to Philippines

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I haven't been updating on a regular basis... but here's one more!

Things here have been going very well. It seems after 6 months here I am finally getting the hang of this!

The past month has been spent fairly low profile here in the Philippines. My main excitement was a tour with the seniors at my school. My math teachers mentioned a tour the 5th year engineers take to different plants near Manila, and through many combined efforts, I was able to join the tour! At first it was very intimidating because no one would talk to me and I didn't know anyone, but by the end of the tour I had many new friends and a better idea of real-life engineering application! We were a group of 65, divided pretty evenly into two buses. Mechanical Eng, and Electrical Eng had one itinerary, and the Computer Eng and Electronics-communication Eng had another. I spent the first half of the trip with the Mechanical engineers, then switched buses and befriended the rest of the group... it was a lot of fun!

School is going well. Turns out I am second in the class for my Geometry subject, and my grades are doing well. Volleyball is also getting easier... well, not easier, but I'm learning a lot faster now. We had a four hour practice on Friday (I'm still not sure why), but towards the end of practise I was playing up to par with the rest of the team! I was even able to pull a really nice spike!

Swimming,unfortunately is not going as well. I have been sick a lot because of commuting after practice, so i have decided to stop swimming- though it breaks me... I figure i should stay alive! Wakeboarding, also has been on hold due to health, but I'm itchin to get back on the board so I'm sure it won't be long now...!

I was due to change host families beginning of February, but for several reasons I will be staying here until march 1st. but that's just fine with me.. I really enjoy staying with my family! I made an "American" breakfast for them Saturday morning... eggs, toast, pancakes, and sausage. they really liked it, ha ha!

 

For my story this letter, I'd like to introduce a Pinoy term that i have recently heard quite a lot of...

"Your nose is bleeding!"

I absolutely love the people here. They are all really nice, and happy, and always smiling, but sometimes they are shy. Especially when it comes to speaking English. Although I know a little of the national language, everyone here speaks the local dialect, so the language situation is just really hard. Anyway, when people talk to me, everyone else always tells them their nose is bleeding.... At first I was confused and somewhat shocked, but then it was explained to me... They are thinking so hard to speak English that they start bleeding out their noses. However, I am happy to report that i have yet to really make anyone bleed out the nose!

Also, my English is worsening day to day. I told a story the other day, and my friend Jennifer commented on how broken my English is. She said I didn't use the word "the" more than twice... i talked for about 5 minutes. Oh no!

 

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day, and hope that all is well wherever this letter might find out!

 

Love always,

Sarah

Hello everyone...

the fact that i can't remember what I wrote in my last letter tells me that it has been WAY too long! Terribly sorry about that.. two main reasons. Early November was supposed to be a Rotex tour of the Northern region, but it was postponed to mid-november. Due to problems with legistics and transportantion, I stayed in a city 6 hours from home for 3 weeks, and the computer didn't work. The Tour was amazing and is summed up later on, and then we were hit by two typhoons back to back. Weeks without electricity are not very suitable for writting emails, but for everyone who wrote me, i appreciate your concern and am thankful for my safety.

     I'm apologizing now for the lack of funny stories, or accounts of my cultural shocks in this letter... i figured the typhoon and its effects would use the space better...

 

Ok, back to November.... I went up to Tanauan and stayed in a house with another Rotex. 7 of the 8 Roptexs here got to be guests on a national television show called Wowowee... it was awesome! One Brazilian girl won 10,000 pesos (= $200 US)!

Then, we had the tour north:

November 11th-18th I spent with the other 7 exchange students driving all over the "north"! I don't remember all the names and exact places, I have it all written down but am pretty much too lazy to go look everything up. Plus, I don't want to bore you with all the details, so here are the main bullet points of our trip:

- Pagsanjan Falls: took a 2 hour boat ride up the rapids... long philippines boats, like extra-long canoes, pushed by two men. one at the front, and one at the back. These men were amazing at conducting the boats up stream, and the whole trip was gorgeous. At the top of the rapids was a great waterfall. We then boarded a bamboo raft, and went straight under the falls!

-Subig: Zoobig- the zoo, that speacialized in tigers. We went through the zoo, and then took a caged Jeep into the pasture where the tigers live. I got about 6 inches away from a full grown "wild" tiger, with nothing but a flimsy mesh wire between us... and pet a baby tiger. There were also some AWESOME clubs in Subig!

-Hunred Islands- We drove all day, and i was extremly sick all day. I actually threw up out the van window, and nearly hit a tricycle... i bet that driver got a scare. We ended the day with a 2 hour boat ride to an island, where we spent the night. There was another group there, and we had lots of fun. I went to bed very early, but watched the stars and thanked God for everything! The next morning I woke up in paradise, spent the day on the beach, swam to a neighboring island, and -of course- got sunburt... :/

-Vigan- the area of the Philippines where the Spanish architechture is still in contact. We walked the streets and enjoyed the architechture! It was beautiful

-Rice Terraces in Banaue- considered an 8th wonder of the world. These terraces were dug into the sides of the mountains- and unlike the other world wonders they were not made with slave labor, but pure will to survive. We spent 4 hours hiking around, it was inexplicably amazing!

-Baguio- the coldest part of the Philippines, in the mountains. We toured the city, went to a stawberry farm (there are no strawberries in the Philippines except for Baguio). At night we went clubbing and had a great time!!!

-Manila- the capital of the Philippines, was our last stop. We didn't have much time, but we saw a play (Broadway... Our Way, a compilation of greatest hits) and then had a nice end-of-trip dinner.

 

      Back to Naga city and school, got back into the swing of things, and then we were hit by a typhoon. It was called typhoon Reming, and like any large storms given names, it was significantly strong. A "super" typhoon actually. Winds were up to 250 km/hr and it went on for a good 13 hours straight.

    Nothing i say can even begin to describe the destruction and fear this strom wreaked through this country... I was lucky to be in a house made of cement, and not bamboo, but there was still significant damage. We lost part of the roof, most of the plants, and the chandeliers shook dangerously because the wind was so strong. I watched the metal roof of the shed being peeled back by the wind, and later the whole shed was picked up by the wind and carried out of the yard (by shed, i mean car-port sized structure). Driving through Naga two days later, there were places where houses had completely disappeared, churches missing roofs and two walls, houses with metal rooves ripped halfway off... although i witnessed it in person, I still cannot believe the destruction i witnessed. And we were not hit the worst.

    About two hours down the highway, a town called Legazpi was hit by the eye of the storm. This town is found at the base of the Mayon Volcano- the one that was errupting earlier this year, and there was an 8 ft deep landslide. There were over 1,000 who died, and the town was pretty much taken off the map. I, here in the middle of all this action, cannot wrap my mind around all the damage that was done and all the lives that were effected. One thing i have learned thought, is to appreciate all that you have becasue tomorrow it may be gone... most loiterally.

      I hope that everyone passed a wonderful Holiday season, and that the new year is seen as an opportunity for improvement and appreciation!

God Bless and Take care!  

-Sarah Ketcham

Hello everyone!

     Well, i have just finished up my second week here, and I am beginning to adjust to the way of life.

     School is going well, the basketball team won intramurals and I am settling into my classes. I was also voted President of the Inbounds for my region, so I am arranging everyone's stay here for Fiesta.. a huge Catholic celebration that is here in Naga it lasts a week!

     I'm adjusting to the food, and Jennifer (the other exchange student here) and I cooked an "American" meal for the Rotarians. Peanut butter and celery, peanut butter and banana, Pb and J fingers, and salsa were out appetisers. French Toast and a western omelet (prepared real time during the meeting) were the "main course"... with peach cobbler for dessert. Except we didn't have an oven, so Jen in all her amazingness made it in a wok! It was fun...

     I am planning to take Tagalog lessons from a Peace Corps lady I met, and everyone at school is helping me learn.

     From here on I will probably not be able to respond to emails as frequently as before. I am limiting myself to time on the computer, to spend time with my host family and such, so I apologise if I am not able to answer all messages sent... however, i really enjoy getting them. The updates from home and little notes from others are encouraging and very very much appreciated!

     So, beside short updates like the ones above, i've decided to write stories, funny happenings from my stay. I have two for you today..

 

First off, the first phrase I was taught when I arrived, through interesting circumstances was "Gusto mo musungtok?" which means "would you like a punch?", as in a knuckle sandwich. Anyway, my host mom likes that and has me tell the people I meet.. but once instead of "mo" I said "co"... co = me / I. Meaning I said "I would like a punch"... yeah took me a couple days to live that one down.

The second event was at Rotary meeting. It was an induction 2 hours away, meaning it was super fancy and lots of clubs were there. My club was a guest so we were all at a table together. I have been here about 3 days at this point, and still didn't know all the Rotaians. My host bro Dex and I get our food, and for dessert he hands me this cup of green jello in a milky sauce. I asked what it was and he said "buko pandan." Yeah... like i knew what that meant... so anyway, I finish dinner and get ready for this random jello stuff. Unlike America, their green jello does not taste like limes, it was unflavoured, and the milk stuff was pretty good. So i am halfway through my dessert and I pick up my spoon. There was a noodle hanging off of it and I started laughing to myself. I got Dex's attention and said "Hey Dex! There's noodles!" I was truly amused at the fact that they put noodles, or rice, into EVERYTHING. Then, the Rotarian next to Dex turns to my host mom and asks "Has she never had coconut before?"

... um, yeah. It was a shred of coconut... and then they ordered me "buko" juice. (in case you didn't pick it up, "buko" is coconut.. although i still didn't know this) I asked my host mom what it was and she answered "noodle juice." I thought that sounded odd, until she smiled and i saw the coconut in the glass they brought me... it was juice made from a young coconut.

 

      So, there are my adventures for the past 2 weeks, hopefully I'll get another update out in 2-3 more weeks. Thanks again to anyone who contributed to my passage here, and thank you also to everyone at home sending me updates and little notes of encouragement. This is def a life changing experience and I am so thankful to all who made it possible, and all supporting me!

 

Ingat.. Take care!

-Sarah Ketcham