Work and Life in the Philippines

It’s been a busy week of work, and it's only half over! I have evaluations scheduled every hour from 8am to 4pm, but luckily they don’t last an hour, especially since I have no standardized tests. So many of the children are still at such a basic level that it doesn’t take long to figure out what they need. Teacher Evelyn hopes that the parents will be more receptive to suggestions from me, as an outsider. She says that no matter how many times they tell the parents of the concerns they should have, the parents don’t listen. Well, they say they agree, but then do not follow through. This is especially true with the number of families who don’t sign with their deaf children. It’s interesting that each time I have suspected that there is no sign in the home, the parents have confirmed it. I’ve seen so many kids already, and more and more keep coming. One mother brought in her 27 year old daughter who has speech difficulties (I suspect a sub cleft palate), and admitted that the cause was a medication she took during pregnancy to try to abort her daughter. Whoa! From my impression, parents seem very open to suggestions and many of them want to know how to help their children. Some are just looking for their nonverbal children to speak and they hear nothing else, but I hope I can make them see otherwise. Communication is a little difficult with the parents, with their limited English and my nonexistent Tagalog. But mostly we get through fine, and Evelyn or other parents are always there to interpret if needed. There are usually many parents around, very helpful for me!



So life in the Philippines - food is fun! Haha. I’ve tried a few Filipino dishes that were vegetables only, or I picked out the meat (to make people happy, mostly), but all I’ve tasted is fish in every bite! Ick! Of course, they then tell me, it was soaked in fish sauce, or was made with dried shrimp and fish. Haha.... I then tell them that since I haven’t eaten meat or fish for so long, I don’t think my body can handle it, and that seems to work pretty well. But I do try! Especially when people tell me it’s vegetarian, then I have to. I did receive gifts of fruit from two people today, so maybe they’re starting to understand that all I eat are fruit and vegetables:)

Another funny thing is that people both at home and school thought that I didn’t like rice, since I didn’t eat it at EVERY meal. So I’ve started to eat it more, since apparently there is much disappointment if I don’t . No matter how many times I explain that I do like it, but I don’t need any at the moment….it just doesn’t make sense for Filipino meals.
I think I’m ready to visit a province, where I can breath fresh air! So are the people here, as so many of them cover their mouths to not breathe in the heavy smog. The bus and jeepney rides are quite fun though, despite the smell of diesel. Everything is so animated outside the windows, and so many markets! Miles and miles and miles!


After work, I collapse for a bit, cook my dinner, spend some time reading, knitting, writing, doing crossword puzzles. It’s so nice to have time to relax:) Maybe walk around sometimes or get some food at the market. Yesterday I visited the spa for the first time and had a fabulous, $6/hour massage. Can’t beat that!

Baby chicks! All the baby chicks that I wanted to raise are right outside, with their mother hen. I get my baby chicks after all, and now don’t have to keep, or kill, all of the roosters when they grow. They’ll do it:) How exciting! There are two hens, and the other is still sitting on her 10 or so eggs. So soon…!

I’ve never had so many people so exited that I’m Catholic! My response to, “What religion do you follow?” has resulted in a lively cheer every time, without fail. Very amusing:)  At least I have the right answer!
This weekend will be busy so I’ll take part of Friday for myself. There’s a camp for children with special needs from around Metro Manila. I’ll attend Saturday-Sunday with the other SPED teachers and students from Commonwealth Elem. It’s the weekend, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless! I’ll just have to bring my own food, and rice;)