Now that I have been at site for about two months I feel like I am falling into a rhythm, which is really nice and helps with the feelings of normalcy. So I thought I might share my schedule with you! For any future volunteers this might be helpful for you in understanding what the first few months at site are like!
This workday schedule is up to change based off of the weather of the day and the activities that are scheduled.
Work Day
7:50 – 8: 15 Aga na?!
Begrudgingly wake up, dinosaur stretch, shower if I’m feeling extra sticky and sweaty. Eat breakfast and head out to work.
8:15/8:30 – You Better Work!
My office is super close like 200 meters away from my house and I walk really fast so it takes maybe 5 minutes to get to work. It is not helpful for increasing my daily step count. On the way to work I pass the same people every time so we have gotten to know each others faces. So I wave and say “Morning po!” or “Maray na aga po!” to just about everyone I see. I dart away from jeepneys and trikes and make my way to the main road.
Once I make it to the main road I pass a chicken feed trading shop full of the friendliest guys out there. I pass them at least 4 times a day and every time I do theres lots of waiting and “HI PERRI!” “HELLO PERRI!” “You’re so beautiful today!” “You’re so early!” and they’re the best (though one of them already asked me for my number… had to shut that one down. Dear Peace Corps, thank you for letting me blame it on you!)
After that encounter I continue the walk down the block and pass the trike stand. These guys I also see 4 times a day and always exchange pleasantries and head nods. One of the guys always says to me “Hello Best Friend!” its very nice.
Then I take a turn to the left and I am inside the Municipio compound! Huzzah I have made it to work.
8:30 – 10 Language (Wednesday)
My fantastic language tutor comes to try and teach me how to effectively communicate with the world. She is a 3rd year Secondary Education Student majoring in English at Bicol University. We go over grammar, speak in Gubatnon then we chat and converse about the differences between Filipino and American Culture. Once she’s gone I work from home until lunch.
8:30 – 11:30 Work work work work work (Sung to Rihana’s song by the same name)
My office is a typical office but no cubicles! It has an open floor plan with desks and tables where people sit. My first month here I spent this time reading books or the news or just staring and observing the office. Now I have some more projects that I try and get work done on (But this has only really started this week). I was going CRAZY not having a typical work schedule of constant stream of projects and assignments, but its actually kind of nice not to do anything and to just observe the office space, try and interact and read. Additionally, depending on projects we have going on we’ll have meetings.
Once 10 am rolls around people break out the snacks! Apparently the AM Merienda is not called Merienda and is in fact called Snack. This was very specifically pointed out to me. They take their snacks seriously here.
11:30/11:45 – Walk home for lunch
I just discovered a soft serve ice cream spot that has chocolate dipping in it. I think that I will become a frequent customer. Bye bye pesos, hello increasing waist band!
12:00-1:15 Lunch and Tiger Snooze!
The best part of anyone’s day! I come home, kick off my shoes, dump my stuff in my room and putz around the house just trying to move my body after sitting for so long! I play with the puppies, chat with my Nanay and house helper (here now called Ate… I don’t want to use their names so I will use the formal prefix for any girl, it means older sister but she’s actually younger then me.) Once I hear the call “Perri, kaon na!” I know its time for lunch. So off I go to sit down with Nanay, Tatay (when he’s not on the ship) and Broski while Ate sits in her room refusing to eat with us (she’s a weird chick). Nanay and I chat, Nanay and Broski chat, Broski and I smile at each other. Broski refuses to eat his veggies, Nanay scoops more food and rice on his plate and deboned fish and tells him to eat his veggies. It’s a nice family scene. Eventually Broski Irish Goodbyes and just gets up to go. I usually wait until Nanay is done eating; “Busog na!” and then I head to my room to nap.
I love napping. 20 minutes and I am good! Then I head back to work. Sometimes though… it’s later… like an hour later… but here time is enjoyed. There is a different sense of timeliness, one that has been quite the cultural shock to get over.
1:15 – Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work I go!
1:20-4:30 Work work work work work
So, I made it back to work! I wasn’t swept away by a Bagyo (typhoon) or stolen by an Asawan (witch)! This can be called a successful day. Up until this week I spent my afternoons the same way I spent my mornings; reading, observing the office, hesitantly trying to integrate, nervously trying to talk with people. Man it was EXHAUSTING and not encouraging. However, now I have projects! AND I feel more comfortable in my office. So now I work on those and procrastinate (of course, seeing as there is no real deadline or sense of urgency in my office), have meetings and chat and hang out with peeps in my office.
Once 3 O’clock rolls around its Merienda time! This is my time to politely decline whatever is being offered to me… however sometimes I don’t have a choice.
4:30-5:30 Exercise!
So my office mates have been exclaiming how “Sexy Sexy” I am (which means fit) and ask how they can look like me. My boss/tita always says how she wants a big butt like mine (I don’t have that big of a butt). At first it was a little jarring because people DO NOT talk like that in the work place back home in the states. But it’s just their way of complimenting you and asking how can I get healthy too! Americans ask each other the same sentiment, just phrased a little less aggressively. Usually like, “Wow you’re arms are so fit! What’s your gym routine?” So this past week, fed up with not being feeling like I was connecting with the girls at my office and increasingly feeling awkward about people commenting on my body I suggested we exercise together after work! At first they were hesitant and didn’t want to come to my house to do so because they were shy around my family. “No bother!” I say, “We can exercise here!” (MWAHAHA cant escape me now ladies!)
Now around this time of day (depending on work load and amount of visitors to the office) I run them through a body weight only work out! It is so much fun and it kind of feels like a little sports team. We all do the counts together; we all do the same moves and groan and moan at the same time from exhausted and sore muscles. Its great!
I really think that this has helped my integration in my office, its given me a common ground with the girls in my office and forming a sense of unity against the common enemy of muscle soreness and belly fat!
5:30 Home again, home again jiggidy jig
5:35 In for the Night
Once I get home I dump my stuff in my room and collapse onto my bed and read some news, facebook updates and or my book! This is a nice time for me to recharge after being around a lot of people for 4 hours.
6/6:15 Exercise Part Deux
So this is the time I get my exercise on! I had a little workout crew in the first month I was here, my friend would join but she has gotten fairly busy now so her yoga mats been empty. Even if she doesn’t come its Nanay and Me! We’ve been doing insanity for a month but it got super boring. So now we do some zumba dance classes and I supplement with Pilates, physical therapy and the workout bench that we got!
7:30 OMNOMNOM DINNER
Now we have arrived to dinner. Dinner is like lunch. Usually we eat fish of some kind and soup. There is always rice. I never eat it.
8:30- 13:30 am… The Night Is Mine
I made it to the end of the day! Hurray! One day down, many many more to go. Usually at this point I shower. Sometimes I treat myself and have Ate boil me water and I take a hot bath. Then I scrub, scrub, scrub away the grime of the day. I head off into my room to watch Netflix, read my book, read the news and think of all the hobbies I could learn while in PC.
Eventually Spencer calls and we chat about our days and compare PC stories and joke around. Its very nice, its like he’s right there with me! I always talk right through my bedtime and ask for 5-minute talk extensions. Eventually it gets too late and Spencer says “Perri…. Its past your bed time! You’re going to be a wreak tomorrow! I’m hanging up. Go to sleep! And don’t stay up on your phone all night!” We hang up, then I spend another 30 minutes on the internet until I fall asleep with my laptop open. Sorry Spencer. (This is a habit I need to change, it is not Nanay nor Mom approved)
Weekend
6:00-9:00 Surfs Up!
I drag my lazy butt out of bed and with pep in my step, hail a trike to the beach and go surfing! This place is BEAUTIFUL and full of the kindest most welcoming people. I try and go at least every Saturday and Sunday or at least once a weekend. I’m lucky to have this place I think they have really helped with my integration and without it there would be literally nothing to do on the weekends.
9:00-10:00 De-Saltify
I am sticky, salty, sweaty and sandy. The 4 S’s of a great day! Its time to shower, wash off the sand and put my yucky clothes on the line to dry.
10:00-12:00 Video Chat With the Familia sa America (Saturdays)
Seeing as America is 12 hours behind it makes video chatting with the family difficult during the workweek. However, weekends are prime video chat time.
10:00-11:30 Language Tutoring (Sundays)
My super awesome language tutor comes and teaches me how to chat with my community members. He is a 4th year Elementary Education student at the University in our town. He is super helpful, super nice and super patient. Also one more collected friend (this is a big deal, everyone needs friends).
12:00 Lunch Time
Time for this hungry chick to get her grub on!
1:00-4:00 Tiger SNOOZE
This is not the best time to do so because it affects my nighttime sleep… but… usually I PTFO because I am so exhausted from surfing and the amount of sun I am exposed to.
4:00-6:00 Putz Around the House and Clean My Room
I usually clean my room around this time. It’s my least favorite activity and I often tell myself I’m going to clean my room and end putzing around the house or playing with the puppies, reading or laying in the hammock.
6:00-7:00 Exercise time
Time to get my Exercise on!
7:00-8:00 Dinner
Usually fish and soup
8:00 – The Night is Mine
It’s a repeat of what I do during the workweek.
Rinse and repeat for another tomorrow fun filled day!
Take Aways:
Honestly, the lack of activity on the weekend or in the evening can drive me a little stir crazy. Back home in the states my weeknights are packed with activities, Brazilian JiuJitsu, GMAT class or Commuting. The weekends are usually packed with adventures, trips, chores and doggy outings. So going from 100 KPH to 0 has been driving me a little sagin (banana in Tagolog). To combat this, I’ve been trying to fill up my time with activities and living on a schedule the best I can. I will continue to add weekend activities as I meet more people and become more comfortable in town. Perhaps I should start taking Ginger out on walks! Dear Future Volunteer, I suggest you do the same!
The stir craziness is further stoked due to the new volunteer travel placed on us during our first three months at site. I can’t really travel anywhere except for Sorsogon City. This travel ban is put in place so that we can fully integrate into our communities and not be gallivanting through the Philippines any chance we can get. That being said, as soon as that travel ban is up I am going on as many weekend trips as I can afford!
At any rate I am very happy and there is nowhere else I would rather be right meow (A pun I can’t stop making and no one here gets it!! I need to do some Super Trouper Edu-ma-cating!)
A Mermaid in the Philippines 