It’s been 2 months!!!QUICK RECAP!

Today Makes 2 MONTHS!!

The Teacher I hope to be....

Big Events:

I FOUND OUT WHERE I WILL BE LIVING FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS!!!!

SAN MIGUEL, 40 minutes from Iloilo City, and 25 mintues from my current Host Family! It’s a rural place, much more rural than I expected, but at least the city is close by. The benefit of being in a rural location means there is not as much pollution.  Surrounded by rice patty fields, the town is quaint yet extremely friendly.

FUNNY  STORY OF THE MONTH:

At my new host house I took my first shower. Just as my body was soapy a coackroach flies into the shower and landed on my back.  After flinging it off, I didn’t know what to do, I had nothing to kill it with. And it was HUGE!!! And I was naked!! My first reaction—put back on all my clothes. Yes, I felt incredibly violated by the cockroach. I then opened the door. My host family saw that I was soapy and wet, and looked confused. Then I started screaming!! It was my breaking point. I screamed so much, they started screaming. Then finally everyone was chasing the cockroach and then it started to head to my room. I started screaming more!!! Then my Nanay took cockroach spray…and sprayed it for about 3 minutes…its still didn’t die, but it slowed it down enough to catch it. Then when I could breathe again and I stopped screaming…I started to laugh. Then we all started to laugh. And laughed and laughed and laughed. Cockroaches—bringing families together one scare at a time.

Sugarland Supervisors Conference

 I met my supervisor, the principle of my school! We talked about what my role at my new school would be like, I will be teaching 1^st year Remedial English, and then have the opportunity to work in the English Department rotating with different teachers.

Site Visit

My New School:

One of the best experiences I have ever had, because I felt like I was exactly in the right place. Anytime I feel like going home or quitting or even that this is too much for me, I will remember that day. I felt needed and valued, and that I really will make a difference.

The welcome banner when I came to the school

The teachers welcomed me by singing, “Welcome To the Family, I’m Glad that You have Come to Share your life with Us.” The Mayor, the Principle, and my counterpart each gave endearing speeches about what they hoped I would bring to the school. My favorite line was from my counterpart Mam Norms. She said, “Lysette is from California, and she has heard the saying ‘Leave your Heart in San Fransico’, over the next two years I hope it changes, and that Lysette ‘Leaves her heart in San Miguel.’” Then everyone cheered!! I spoke with almost all the teachers, and had a good chat with the mayor. I feel like they will really use me, and I’m happy to be used!!

My New Host Family Make Up 

Here I am with my new host family, these are the helpers in the House

Nanay/Mom- Adit, really happy to have me, she has never had children and is excited to count me as her child

Tatay/Dad- He is a seaman, I have never met him, but when I return in November he will be living there

Tita/Auntie- She is 87, and has dementia, she lives in the front house. She enjoys kissing me!! Haha!

Helpers:

There are 3 helpers…one is taking a break from College, one has a child (niki) and the other is in 4^th year at the school I work at. My current host house doesn’t have helpers, so I’m not sure of their role exactly, but they help cook/clean and take care of Tita.

Hospital Visit

I had a doctors appointment the Monday I returned from my new site, and suddenly the doctor said, “you are being admitted to the hospital for 1-4 days.” It shocked me, I felt awful, yet was genuinely surprised when I was admitted. For the first 2 days they didn’t know what was wrong with me. It was scary and upsetting, and I was stressing out my friends and family. On the third day they told me pneumonia. Finally I had an answer, and I felt better about my situation. Hospitals are very different then America, you have to bring your own water, toilet paper and Kleenex and someone has to go get your medicines and run your labs for you. Jaron was my kasama, and he took very good care of me. We spent 3days in the same room and still weren’t sick of each other.  They have brown outs with no back up generator. The room had TV (they have a karaoke channel haha) and AirCon, but for 7 hours we sat and sweated because there was a long brown out and the room was so hot!! Finally day 5 came and I was released!! I am much better now! Went to the doctors on Friday, and I am completely healthy now!!

Masskara

This last weekend I went to the “City of Smiles” where I watched amazing performances, dances and saw costumes that were beyond anything I could have imagined. The amount of talent such young people possess was inspiring and refreshing.

Jaron and I about to board the boat to Bacolod

We didn’t find out we could go until the Thursday afternoon before we left. Usually PCT’s are not allowed to spend the night in another city, however the opportunity the Department of Education offered us was quite spectacular. They had main stage, where over 30 of us watched the performances, with a front and center view.

 

Here is one group preforming!!

 

One of the dancers let me try on her mask!!

Note to anyone who goes in the future: Every group dances to the same exact song. Meaning we heard….“ooooo…Masskara” about 50 times in a row. No joke.

Night life 

 

My friends and Cluster Mates out in city for Masskara!!!

 

Yay I finally had a night life!!! Haha!! Jk!! But it did feel really great to be with so many Americans! The streets where very crowded, but I still found room to dance with little kids! The club music was not the same, it included drum beats…but nothing Shakira couldn’t handle!! Haha! The nine trainees stayed in a pension house, and that in itself was exciting. We felt like Madeline, all lined up in our bunks!!  I feel so blessed to be by so many wonderful people!!

Sara is the PCV who lives on my compund!! She showed us how to properly Masskara!! haha! and we purchased the same mask in different colors even though we didn't buy them at the same time!

Mandurrio National High School

Sadly, I had my last class today!!! I LOVE WORKING at the HS. My co-teacher and I have become really good friends, and I have never met sweeter kids!!

Accomplishments/Blessings of the Month:

1. Making Mexican food for my host family, them liking it…and then making it on their own!! Cultural Immersion/Cross Cultural Sharing in full effect!!
2. Getting Healthy!! Surviving the hospital and taking care of my body!
3. Finding an amazing person, Jaron, and starting a new relationship

Jaron and my first "couple" picture at sugarland hehe!!

4. Teaching my last class at Mandurrio!! I really loved the experience, and I’m very grateful to my students and my co-teacher!

My last day in the classroom!! Teaching Prepositions to 1st year HS students!

1. Surviving Month 2!!

 

I am now 2/27ths of the way done!!

Thanks for reading,

Lysette

5 Days in the Hospital and A Saturday Smile

5 days in the Hospital and a A Saturday Smile

The sun and fresh air, the simple things that we experience everyday yet completely forget to appreciate. Today, I never thought I saw such a beautiful rainy day. The way the damp air smelled, and cool breeze felt across my face, I found a new appreciation for something I never thought twice about. So after you read this, look out the window and take a deep breathe, because if we don’t we might miss out on the amazing things right in front of us.

HOW THINGS WENT DOWN:

After returning from my new site ( I will have to back track and write a blog when I get the chance) on Sunday, I was exhausted, but nothing out of the ordinary. I spent the majority of my host visit sleeping because they were very worried about my health.  I went over to Jarons host house to compare stories about our new sites. My mom will be very pleased to know it was as though she was in the talking to me about how I need to care for my health and myself. Jaron told me that he had been frustrated with me for a month, that I clearly have been sick and I need to be more forceful about it and encouraged me to be more direct to PC about how I was really feeling.

That night, I listened to my body and Jarons advice, I texted PCMO (peace corp doctors) told them that my second dose of anti-botics had no effect and that I was still not sleeping from coughing through the night. They made a doctors appointment for Monday morning.

I went to the doctors, and before I knew it I was being admitted to the hospital. The whole thing happened really quickly. I didn’t realize how sick I was. Hearing, “You will be in the hospital for 1-4 days” definitely was a shock!

HOW DID I NOT KNOW I WAS THAT SICK?

This whole peace corp thing is not my element. I am not as tough as the others. I’m not used to being outdoors or sweating or being dirty. I knew that I was feeling sick, but I was the only one not feeling well, so I just needed to suck it up. When I made my doctors appointment my teachers didn’t even think I was sick. I tried to offset my sickness with my attitude. I didn’t want to complain, adapting is tough and maybe it was just tougher for me. So now I learned my lesson. I know that when you read this, it might not make sense. And when I look back at how sick I was, I can’t believe I was able to ignore it for so long. I just wanted so badly to adapt and fit into this new element.

HOSPITAL STAY

They didn’t have a bed for me until around 3pm on Monday, they admitted me around noon.  The room was painted baby blue, with a darker blue strip wrapped around the room. It had a single bed, a cot like bench and three chairs. Hospitals don’t include toilet paper, Kleenex, nor soap. You have to bring everything with you. Typical of hospitals, the bed was quite uncomfortable, but never in my life have I felt such an awful pillow. On the plus side, the sheets were pretty! The room also had a small TV and Air CON. They had some cable channels, but the cable was mostly a grey speckle screen. Hospitals are not the same as in America, and you have to have someone stay with you to get you your medicine and run the labs back and forth. Its called a Kasama, and luckily for me I had the best one a girl could possibly ask for, Jaron. It would be hard to write about my hospital experience and not make the whole thing about him, he saved me in so many ways. Just know that for any of you who were worried about me, I have someone here who really truly cares about my well being, and takes very good care of me.

I’VE SEEN BETTER DAYS

Being in the hospital was a scary experience. It made me sad, thinking back to everything my dad had just been through. It made me miss home in ways that you can’t imagine. I wanted the comfort of letting everyone know that I was okay. I hate stressing people out, and I couldn’t even communicate what exactly what was wrong with me because no one knew. I also just wanted to know what the heck was wrong with me! It was definitely the lowest I have felt since being here, because I felt helpless. I wasn’t feeling any better, and staying one day was turning into several. I was on so many medications and I didn’t exactly understand what they were for. Nurses come in every two hours to check your vitals, and to give me more medicines. Day 4 was the turn around day for me!! My lungs felt better!! They also confirmed that it was pneumonia. Knowing what I was sick with made me feel more comfortable about being in the hospital.

FOOD AND FRIENDS

I am in awe of how kind my new friends have come to be of value in my life. I even made friends with the nurses. I told one of them my favorite show was Glee and she offered to bring me a copy of the season!!!  The hospital food was horrible, way way way worse than anything in America. Jaron and I split the meals. He is over 6 feet tall, sleeping on a cot like bench for a 5ft tall person for 3 days with some gross vegetarian food to nibble from. He didn’t ever leave to go get food, but luckily we had reinforcements!!

My host family, Sir Seth, Sol, Grace and Vince all came to visit. They brought yogurts, grapes, bread and peanut butter!!!! Sir Seth came almost every day, and checked the room making sure everything was clean and that the nurses knew to take good care of me.

Hanna, Amari, Sara, Nelphie, Kelcey, Denise, Andrew, Sean and Leanna came to visit me!! Even the other host families came to keep me company. Denise, Sean, and Andrew came with funny and amusing foods, such as hazelnut blueberry Pringles!! Haha!! The flavors of food here and very interesting! Andrew brought his SmartBro and I was able to make a quick status update, and also see that some of you had emailed me…so THANK YOU!!! It really made a difference.  They also brought JELLY!!! So finally Jaron and I were happy! Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhiches!!!

One day we were so hungry!! For breakfast they had given a small piece of cheese on a slice of bread. We got so excited!! Jaron asked the nurses station for more cheese, and they brought back toasted bread. TOASTED BREAD!!! So we ate our cheese on the toasted bread, and then we laughed for an hour about how happy we were.

The next few days are a blur of medicines, checking vitals, lack of comfort and amazing conversations that helped time pass. They started pumping me with steroids to help my immune system and lungs. It was so painful! The nurses tried to be gentle, but it was tough. I have a new respect for my dad, and what a good sport he was. IV’s are just awful.

CHECK OUT

Finally Saturday came, they pulled out the IV and I wanted to literally jump for joy. I think it was the biggest I have smiled in my whole life, well my whole life in the Philippines. Then Jaron went down to billing to take care of the bill!! Thank goodness Peace Corp pays for it!!! I was discharged at 9:30 am, but we didn’t get out of there until 1pm. There were complications and eventually our teachers had to come help us figure out how to get my take home medicines. I am now on 13 medications still…but I have a check up next Friday and hopefully I will be off of everything!!

HIGHLIGHTS

Besides feeling better and appreciating fresh air in a new way, something truly beautiful came out of my stay.

WHY AM I HERE??

Today, I appreciate my health in a whole new way. I never want to go to the hospital again, but I am really happy that all the medications and doctors helped. I had a lot to think about, am I putting my health at risk by being here?? Every nurse wanted to know why I was in the Peace Corp, and  what the Peace Corp does. They asked about my fears, if I missed my family? How i was adapting? Every hard question a person needed to be asked, I was asked with pure intentions from strangers. And every time someone asked I had a better answer. The hospital healed in way a way that I didn’t expect it to, it helped refine my purpose for being here. It made me realize that I need to be here. That these challenges I am facing, they are going to make me exactly the person I want to be, the truest form of myself.

THE GOOD PART-

 I’m not really sure how appropriate it is to announce a new relationship via a blog, but it seems that I can’t really be honest with this blog and not mention the best part about my hospital stay. Jaron has been mentioned in several of my blogs, he is a member of my cluster and quickly became my best friend here.  I have never experienced two people connecting so quickly, its quite indescribable. I heard before that if you can go on a road trip with someone you can make it. Well, Jaron and I spent 72 straight hours in a small room with no fresh air, or entertainment but our conversations. People who know me, know how I am a social butterfly and rarely hang out with people for numerous days in a row. I’m still not sick of him. The only gross part is he has seen me at my absolute worst (ie, carrying my mucus, cough, sweat, stink, etc) and still looked at me like I wasn’t the blob of sickness I felt. New relationships (1 week old) do not usually entail such extreme conditions, I can’t describe to you how gross I looked or felt (ps there are pictures to come) and for someone to put up with all that, and not even make a big deal about it was the best part of my whole experience. I feel really valued for who I am. And I think I’m learning to value my interior in new ways, because here in the Philippines, you can’t value how you look. Its all about what you do, and why you do it.  So to all my friends and family, I have an amazing boyfriend, and his name is Jaron. And I wish you could meet him and see how completely amazing he is. And the hospital stay wasn’t all bad, because I had great company. I’m actually healthy, and happy. And I don’t think things can get much better than that. So there is my big news.  

Thank you for all your prayers, thoughts and kind wishes. I really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading,

Lysette

NANANA BATMAN!!!!

Nanana BATMAN!!!!!!

Dear Twilight, Dark Night, and Lost Boys Directors,

You did not properly equip my knowledge of what a bat cave would be like based on your movie. There was no Christian Bale, nor super hot abs, nor mysterious hot cars. In fact, it may have been the scariest thing I have ever done. As the group of 20+ trecked our way through the cave I realized I had a lot to be grateful for.

 Grateful example #1- movies have not developed the 4D smell, because let me tell you I have never smelled anything worse in my life.

When I was young about 3-6 my parents took me on an excursion to a place that had a crack to the center of the earth. My mom told me that is what hell smelled like (sulfur) and I can promise you I was a very good child the rest of the day. If my mom could have shown me the bat cave (that reeked of bat crap that seriously people  spend a lavish amount of money on to beautify their face-gross gross gross) I think I would have been a good kid my whole life. Nothing smells that bad.

I will try and post a video so that you can hear the flaps and screeches of their bat wings. The dark caves were lit only by our flashlights and headlamps. When we felt drops on our heads we weren’t sure if they were coming from the cave ceiling or if maybe a bat was sprinkling us with their pee!!

Our native leaders were able to point out red tarantulas, spiders bigger than my head, and of course scorpions. What really scared me was simply that any of this creepy crawlies could be anywhere, but there was only enough light to place one foot in front of the other.

Before we entered the cave, I knew I would fall. I did not however, plan to fall on such a lush bat crap location. There was a small tunnel that we had to straddle, and unfortunately I tumbled in. I don’t think I will ever be the same.  Getting out of the bat cave and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel really gave the phrase a whole new meaning.

Overall I’m really glad I experienced something so scary, so unknown. However I have absolutely no desire to do it again.

Climbing Caves

We went through some more caves and came to a 30-40 foot steep cave wall. Our guides said that could be a way out. One by one we attempted to climb the wall with only our body strength. I always imagined that I would climb cave walls, but I also imagined the security of a bungee cord or something. As I made my way half up the wall, I made the mistake of looking down. There was nothing there to catch me, just sharp rocks to break my fall. There was no choice but to go up. I was stuck for a few moments deciding where to place my hands and feet, afraid to touch cobwebs and other dirty things, but I had no choice. Suddenly I was at the top. And I guess that was another example about life, sometimes you get to a point and you can’t get back down, you pushed yourself too high. You have to reach out to things around you, things you are afraid to touch or trust; but soon enough if you trust yourself you can make it to the top.

As we climbed out of the last caves, it started to pour. I wish I could have captured the beauty of the tropical forest. Even the spiders in the trees seemed more peaceful in the rain. The site will be something I remember for the rest of my life.

By the end of the day I had seen the infamous penis cave, creepy crawlers, dogs violating each other over and over, bats, caves, very sharp rocks, burial grounds, ladders that reminded me of Indiana Jones Adventure and the most beautiful purity of life, nature.

Who knows, maybe one day I will actually learn to like this stuff; It could happen

Thanks for reading,

Lysette