Indonesia: Diving in the Bali Sea

August 31, 2018August 30, 2018 | Chelsea

“Your dives will be 1.6 million rupiah” the secretary at Gecko Dive Center doesn’t bat an eyelash as she rattles off this jarring number.

The mere suggestion of a million of anything is enough to make my stomach drop. That’s insane! ONE MILLION?!

Of course, 1 USD is equivalent to about 14,000 IDR so in fact the prices were quite reasonable. We double checked the conversions and shelled out the rupiah to dive in the Bali sea off of Penida island between Bali and Lombok. And it was worth. Every. Last. Rupiah…

We met our dive guide Maid (pronounced: Maddy) at 8am and enjoyed the island time as we slowly got our gear together and headed out for the day. When we took off I found the ride rather rough, but Maid assured me that it was a nice day and the ride wasn’t bad at all!

When we neared Penida island we approached a few other boats that were casually smoking cigarettes as they guarded a capsized boat with it’s props in the air. None of the Indonesians on our boat really give it much thought, we later asked Maid about the boat and we had to remind him.

‘You know, that boat we saw this morning that was flipped over?’

He says with a big ole smile, with no signs of concern in his voice, that it must have capsized this morning. Dani and I just shrugged it off and checked out our dive gear.

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We arrived at our dive site, Manta Point. The dive site was below a sharp cliff, and the water was choppy as it bounced off the land and back towards the dozens of boats floating in the area. Manta Point is a cleaning station for reef manta rays of the Bali Sea. Manta rays are a migratory species so while some can get up to 5.5 meters (18 feet) in width, and up to 1.4 tons (2,800 pounds) (arkive.org), they can be hard to spot unless you know which reefs they visit.

The manta rays come to Manta Point to be cleaned by the reef fish. They glide over the reef, and the fish come out of the crevices and rocks to pick parasites off of the manta’s body. This is a symbiotic relationship because both the manta ray and the reef fish benefit. The manta rays get rid of potentially harmful parasites, while the reef fish get a meal delivered to their doorstep for free! This makes manta point a hot spot for diving, which was clear by the number of boats bobbing up and down in the water.

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We jumped in the water and hung out near a small seamount, where the reef fish sat waiting for their daily doorstop service. We could feel the swells of the ocean’s surface up above as we bobbed up and down in the water column. We also sat eagerly awaiting, for a second I wondered if this is how the reef fish felt.

Suddenly a manta appeared from behind the seamount! It sailed over the divers with such ease. As I followed the one with my eyes, I turned back to the start to find one swimming directly at me. With thoughtless effort the ray rose just above me, just missing the top of my head. Manta rays flap their triangular pectoral ‘wings’ to propel themselves forward, and they have little mouthparts that protrude forward, called cephalic lobes. They appear to fly through the water column flapping their wings lazily and drift to the deep like a bird that has caught a steady updraft. They’re playful animals and as they approach one another they seem to dance around. Two smaller mantas encircle a larger one like children running at an adult’s feet. As they swam around they playfully tossed their cephalic lobes back and forth as if to simply entertain themselves, like an elephant playing with it’s trunk. Unlike other animals commonly spotted during a dive, their presence lost no novelty as the minutes ticked by.

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We swam along the reef and spotted several smaller rays on the reef as well. These rays however move by undulating their pectoral fins. In other words, the mantas look like they’re flying underwater, while these smaller rays look like the edges of their body are creating waves that circulate around their entire body. When we surfaced we were absolutely ecstatic unable to even count how many manta rays we saw.

When we returned to land we were coaxed into doing a night dive at Blue Lagoon.

Night dives can be a little eerie. As you sink below the surface of the water, the reef that was seemingly playful during the day, is run by entirely different group at night. Swimming through the dark, you begin to realize what a scary place the ocean can be at night. You see the fish from the day hidden in the crevices of the rocks and corals. In the back of your mind you wonder…should I be hiding from what they’re hiding from?!

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During the day, I like to turn away from the reef and look out into the ocean. It’s a deep blue color and looks like it goes on forever. At night it’s black, even with an almost full moon, the sea remains black. During a night dive you have a torch, and while flashlights on land can light up an entire area, underwater torches only light up one spot. The lamp creates a well-defined circle in the sand, and the edges of the light are met by immediate darkness. I shine my light out into the sea beyond the reef, into the blackness, to see what I can see. Thousands of little organisms’ eyes reflect off of the light and they scatter as I follow them with the lamp. I turn my back to the darkness and avoid thinking about the large predators out there somewhere hidden in the darkness of the ocean at night. I direct my light back to the reef, and see a whole new community of organisms, wide awake.

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While many fish are asleep, the draw of a night dive is that you see an entirely new group of marine organisms that hide during the day. My favorite creatures we saw on this dive were the small cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are a type of cephalopod. This means they’re related to octopus. Cuttlefish have chromatophores in their skin that allow them to change colors. They use this ability for camouflage during the day. One can swim completely by a well-disguised cuttlefish that looks like just another rock. At night, they use this ability to lure their prey close. The flashes of black and white run down the length of it’s body and it’s tentacles pulse the colors as well. Once it’s prey wanders close enough to it’s beak, it snatches it’s prey out of the water with all of it’s tentacles like a lizard’s tongue! Luckily they can’t hunt humans because I was completely mesmerized by the cuttlefish and followed them for much of the dive. Other active predators during a night dive include sharks and octopus.

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As we swam along we came across a small coral catshark that darted in and out of rocks and corals looking for dinner. We also saw a whitetip reef shark swiftly swimming close to the reef trying to spot an easy catch. There were a few other species we still haven’t been able to identify!

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We came up to the surface absolutely thrilled once again, and I decided it was the best day of diving I had ever done. Little did I know that in a few days time we would get luck enough to hop on a day trip to Sipadan island in Malaysian Borneo, a spot that has been recognized as THE best dive site in the world….but more on that later! 😉

P.S. check out the videos on my Facebook post, they completely surpass the photos! (WordPress won’t allow me to share videos without a premium account)

Indonesia: Island Hopping in Komodo

August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 | Chelsea

Indonesia is the largest island nation in the world with over 13,000 islands. This is just about +6,000 more than found in the Philippines. So no matter how much of Indonesia we could squeeze into our short trip, we would only see a handful of islands.

To give you an overview of our travels, we started off on Java, to Flores, to Kelor island, Padar island, Komodo island, Gili Laba, and Moyo Island, to Lombok, and finally to Bali. While we hopped around quite a bit we only visited 11 of the +13,000 islands! The beginning of our trip was island hopping with Wanua adventure for 4 days. During these 4 days our schedule was hike and snorkel, read and nap, eat, and repeat.

The most exciting of the islands was Komodo island.

As the name implies, Komodo is home to the Komodo dragon. These are the largest, and heaviest, reptiles in the world. The biggest Komodo dragon ever caught was 3.63 meters (10.3 feet) long, weighing 166 kilograms (366 pounds). They use their tongue to smell the air and hunt prey. After the Komodo dragon ambushes it’s prey it only needs to bite it once. Even if the animal escapes anyways, the venom in it’s saliva will kill the animal in about 4 days. The Komodo dragon can smell rotting flesh from 4 kilometers away (2.5 miles), so after the animal dies, the Komodo dragon only needs to get there before the other Komodo dragons to secure it’s meal. (Smithsonian National Zoo). Komodo dragons are endemic to only a few Indonesian islands. With Wanua adventure, we got to visit one of these islands.

Upon arrival we already spotted one Komodo dragon lazily sitting on the beach, basking in the sun. Since they are cold blooded animals, they have to sit in the sun to aide their digestion. Otherwise, their meal ends up rotting in their stomach and can cause a lethal infection. We met our guides and our group was led into the forest. As we’re walking and looking around Dani notices the three guides are distributed through-out the group and they’re carrying long forked wooden walking sticks.

Dani: “What do you think those sticks are for?”

Me: “I’m pretty sure those are for the Komodo dragons”

Shout out to Dani for the amazing close ups!

We walked into a clearing and saw the infamous Komodo dragon, lazily laying in the sun, not the slightest bit concerned with his visitors. We walked down one of the pathways and saw another Komodo dragon, not far from the first laying across the pathway. Suddenly the first one got up from it’s comfortable sunny spot and walked after us down the pathway. Finding ourselves between the two Komodo dragons, I determined that there were enough of us that I probably wouldn’t end up as Komodo dragon lunch.

Still not concerned with the people at all the one began slowly walking towards the second. They are extremely territorial animals and so the larger first one chased the second one away from the path and back into the woods. After that we walked through the rest of the park without much other excitement. A few deer, who would probably later become Komodo food, and some time on the beach.

After our 4 days of boating were over, we arrived in Lombok and traveled 7 hours to our next destination, Bali.

THE Close of Service Trip

August 29, 2018August 29, 2018 | Chelsea

The long awaited, the PCV daydream, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the close of service (COS) trip.

PCVs spend the tougher days of service dreaming about the day PCV turns to RPCV and they finally get a little bit of cash to discover the region they’ve lived in for +2 years. So, upon finishing a scavenger hunt of paperwork to close out my volunteer contract with a few of my batchmates, the daydream was slowly becoming a reality. We got ready to ring the COS bell, a Peace Corps Philippines tradition, but for some reason the excitement of the future was somewhat dulled by the realization that we were all now finding ourselves unemployed and without health insurance…. After the final checks were made, and we all turned into RPCVs we sat in Peace Corps office, wondering what we were supposed to do next.

And after being coxed to leave the IRC by the air con turning off at 5, we wandered back to our hostel and in each other’s company, we pretended we were not freshly unemployed and played volunteer for a while.

But now, almost two weeks since ringing the bell, the dust has settled and I’ve realized that COS trip is a amalgamation of backpacking, job hunting, sightseeing, and attempting to have it all on a shoestring budget (and by have it all, I mean a COS trip, student loan payments, and life starting money for the states). Going from dollars to pesos was exciting! The return is a little nerve-wracking. However, for now I’ve got a few more conversions before I finally find U.S. Dollars in my wallet. My first step, the Indonesian Rupiah.

We had a quick trip in Indonesia, but as with any new place there’s so much to talk about! So, I’ve divided my time in Indonesia into 3 different stories. Island Hopping in Komodo, Diving in Penida, and Temples in Bali, all of which I’ll post through-out the week. Next week I’ll get to this weeks adventures in Malaysia, including diving in Sipadan, renowned as the best dive spot in the world!

Mount Bulusan: The Place Where The River Flows

August 10, 2018 | Chelsea

Living near volcanoes is not something I had ever experienced before living in the Philippines. When I arrived at my site, I found my Municipality snugly tucked between two sleeping giants; Mount Mayon and Mount Bulusan. Both of these volcanoes have been active during my service. Mount Bulusan was raised to Alert level 2 when I first arrived and I could see smoke pouring from the crater from my house. Mount Mayon has only just recently calmed down from her activity earlier this year. Mount Mayon was raised all the way to Alert Level 4 and I could see the crater glowing from the Casiguran pier.

But with both the giants subdued, I can sit peacefully on the pier in the early morning and gaze at the volcanoes on either side of me. I can only see Mount Mayon on clear days. The iconic cone peaks above the Sorsogon Mountains from across the Sorsogon Bay. Mount Bulusan is hard to miss. Directly opposite of Mount Mayon, inland, Mount Bulusan towers over my little Municipality. Unlike Mayon’s perfect cone, Bulusan is far from perfect with it’s flat, slightly lopsided, top.

In Bicol, Bulusan means the place where the river flows (Gintong Aral). This name couldn’t be more accurate. Mount Bulusan feeds a number of freshwater springs, lakes, and waterfalls, that run into 4 different municipalities. If there’s one thing I’ll miss, it’s an impromptu day of discovering the hidden uniqueness to each spring and waterfall running down the sides of Mount Bulusan.

Coincidentally, most of these spring hopping adventures have the same beginning. Me and my sitemate, sitting drinking coffee or tea with our friend Kenny. During a lull in conversation, he would ask:

‘Have you ever been to Masacrot Springs?’

or Bayugin Falls, or Nagsipit Falls, or Buklad River, all places that would one day take the place of Masacrot.

Most times Perri and I would reply ‘not yet!’

‘Well,’ Kenny would start,

‘We should go there! Let’s go there now!’

And just like that we would be in a jeepney, tryke, or car, off to see some part of Mount Bulusan we had never seen before. Although they all have the same source, each spring and waterfall in Sorsogon is unique in some way.

Masacrot Spring is shaded by giant crawling jungle trees, the water is a deep blue-green that compliments the sandy colored stones that line the pool. The name Masacrot Spring is after the water found there. The water is ‘masacrot’ which means acrid. The water tastes as if it’s been carbonated. I asked Kenny why it was like this and he said “it’s because of the mineral content of the water. It’s a soda spring, so the dissolved solids make the water taste that way.”

At Nagsipit falls, just above Urok cold spring, the green layers of moss, leaves, and vines crawl forward as the falls erode backwards sinking further into the forest. It makes the place look like the perfect watering hole to spot water sprites taking in the dewy breeze rushing out of the narrow cove.

San Mateo Hot Spring has water so hot you can’t help but respect the sleeping giant looming above you as your muscles melt to mush. Kenny told us his favorite time to visit the hot spring is when it’s raining. It happened to be raining when we visited, and I realized exactly what he meant. As the pool elevates your body temperature, you can feel the refreshing but sharp contrast of each individual rain drop hitting your face.

Bayugin Falls is back in the middle of the jungle. Before arriving at the waterfall, there is a long metal bridge that passes over a canyon that has grown deep into the earth. The canyon meanders through the forest and leads to a waterfall. The water of this waterfall doesn’t all fall down, it seems to spray in all different directions. The jagged boulders at the bottom of the falls have not yet smoothed. So the water falls downward, but is then launched into the air by the jagged rock. The water flows down to a pool that is bordered by a tall wall of green. At the top of the wall giant trees appear to float on air as their branches grow away from the crowded jungle out over the edge of the wall.

Buklad River, the perfect spot for an early morning walk, the sunlight streams into the crystal clear water and the rocks that peak out of the water just a bit are the perfect height for sitting and combing your mermaid hair.

These are only the few falls, rivers, and springs , I’ve been able to visit while here. There are so many others I won’t get to explore, this time around. I’ve always been a salt water girl, but fresh water is alright…as long as it’s in Sorsogon, of course.

20 Bicol and Tagalog Words I Love

August 1, 2018January 9, 2022 | Chelsea

“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.”
– Flora Lewis

After my most recent Language Proficiency Interview, I started thinking about words in Bicol and Tagalog I’ve come to love. I like these words for a variety of reasons, I like how they relate to Filipino culture, I like that some of them have no direct English translation, and others have become such a part of my vocabulary I use them with Filipinos and Peace Corps Volunteers alike.

1. Mahal

Pronounced: Ma-hal

This means expensive and it’s probably the tagalog word most commonly used between Peace Corps Volunteers. No one knows when it started, but now it has become synonymous with expensive.

Example: I looked into that hostel but it’s mahal so I need to find a different option.

2. Lang

Pronounced: La-ng

Lang means only or just but it’s used after the subject. So if something is only 20 pesos, it would be ‘20 pesos lang’. It’s a super easy word to just tack on to every day speech and it’s an easy way to ask for clarification.

Example:

You: Tag-pira ang pamasahae? (how much is the fare)

Me: 30 pesos

You: 30 pesos lang?

Me: Oo (yes)

3. Kilig

Pronounced Kee-li-g

This word doesn’t directly translate in English. It’s used to describe the light in your stomach, racing heart feeling. Most people have explained it to me as the way you feel when you see your crush, and I think the closest English translation would be what we call ‘having butterflies in your stomach’. Learning a new language, I’ve realized how much a language says about it’s associated culture and I believe this word is a perfect example. The Philippines loves love, and they have a lot of words to describe feelings of love that we don’t have in English.

4. Masiram/Masarap

Pronounced Ma-si-ram / Ma-sa-ra-p

The first (masiram) is Bicol and the second (masarap) is Tagalog, they both directly translate to delicious. While these words are directly used to describe the taste of food, I love these words because they’re often used to describe things other than food. They’re also used to describe when something is particularly refreshing. When a strong, cool breeze blows through on a hot day, it can be described as masarap or ‘sarap.

“‘sarap ang hangin”

Or when jumping into a cold pool on a hot day, the water can also be described as ‘masarap’

“Masarap ang tubig”

5. Ate, Kuya, Nanay

Pronounced: Ah-tay, Koo-yah, and Nah-n-aye

These words mean older sister, older brother, and mother respectively, but they’re not reserved only for those people. Ate and Kuya apply to everyone and anyone. The kids in my community call me Ate Chelsea, I call tryke drivers and jeep conductors ‘kuya’. It’s used a term to get someone’s attention but it’s more informal than ‘ma’am’. I would say the term ‘nanay’ is used more as a term of endearment. When an elder woman is getting off a jeep and has to walk crouched over to the exit, the jeep conductor might tell her ‘luway luway nanay’ (slowly, slowly, nanay). I like the use of these words because it reflects the closeness of community here. I know I will miss being called Ate Chelsea.

6. Salamat sa Dios

Pronounced: Sa-la-ma-t sah Di-o-s

The first time I heard the direct translation of this phrase was after I first met my counterpart. We took a taxi from our hotel to the bus station to go to my site for the first time. When we arrived safely at the bus station, she turned to me and said ‘Thanks God’. Since then, I’ve heard the tagalog phrase used whenever something favorable happens. For example, when the fans have been off all day because of a power outage and everyone is sweaty and uncomfortable. When the power suddenly flips back on and the fans come to life, people will sigh and say ‘Salamat sa Dios’

7. Butiki

Prounounced: Boo-ti-kee

This is a small house lizard that I can say with confidence inhabits every home of the Philippines. They skitter across the walls chasing one another and the bugs. They are welcome house guests keeping away the mosquitos and cockroaches. Sometimes they fight with one another and make loud territorial clicking noises. When I still lived at my host family’s house, our cat had a bunch of kittens and when they were big enough they started pouncing on the butiki that skittered across the floor. One time, one of the kittens caught one by the tail and the lizard quickly detached it’s tail and took off. The tail kept wriggling and kept the kitten entertained while the butiki was able to escape! Evolution, one point; Kitten, zero.

I once accidentally confused binuton (a glutinous rice snack) with butiki and my host family still won’t let me live it down because it sounded like I said I wanted to eat lizards.

8. Palay, Bigas, Kanin, Tipo

Prounounced: Pal-aye, Bee-gas, Ka-nin, Tee-po

The Philippines has a bunch of different words for different types and conditions for rice! I like these words because it’s a reflection of how important rice is here. Are there any English words that behave this way? Something Americans use different words to describe different details or conditions of one subject that other languages would just use one word to describe? If you think of one, leave it in the comments!

Palay is unmilled rice

Bigas is milled rice

Kain is cooked rice

Tipo is burnt rice

9. Niyog, Buko, Copra, Nata de coco, Gata, Lambanog

Pronounced: Nee-y-og, Boo-ko, Ko-pra, Na-ta de ko-ko, Gaa-ta, Lam-ba-nog

What do all these words have in common? They’re all words for coconut!

Niyog is a mature coconut.

Buko is green coconut that is not yet fully ripened. At this stage the coconut contains coconut water, or buko juice. Sometimes entire coconuts are sold on the side of the road. A kuya will cut off the top so you can drink all of the buko juice. When you’re finished with the juice, they’ll cut it in half for you and fashion a spoon out of the piece they cut off the top earlier. Then you use the coconut spoon to scrape the sides of the middle for the buko meat. Buko and buko juice is one of the food items I will absolutely miss the most. The coconut water in the USA just CANNOT compare with juice from a fresh coconut!

Copra is dried coconut. Whenever things need drying they’re laid out on the sides of the road in the Philippine sun. So, it’s not uncommon to pass sections of the street covered in copra (usually there is still a narrow lane for vehicles) drying out. You can usually smell these areas before you see them because they have a pungent, somewhat sour, smell. When the copra is done drying the meat is used for coconut oil.

Nata de coco- fermented coconut water (Wikipedia) the coconut water gels together when fermented and creates a jelly that is used in buko salad, a filipino dessert.

Gata is coconut milk which you can get fresh at any filipino market, however it may not come how you expect it to. The inside of the ripe coconut is shredded and put into a bag. You use this to make coconut milk by pouring hot water over it and squeezing the pulp with your hands. Then you drain the milk from the pulp, and viola you have gata!

Lambanog has been explained to me as coconut wine, but I believe it’s closer to a spirit than a wine (EDIT: Lambanog is a distilled coconut spirit, Thanks Kenny!). It’s made of fermented sap from coconut flowers or palms and it is a strong but cheap alcohol, commonly drank in tagay circles on the beach.

10. Tagay

Pronounced: Ta-guy

This is a style of drinking where people sit in a circle with a bottle of alcohol, wine, or beer, in the middle. They then pass around one cup. The person who has the cup pours a little into the cup, finishes it, and passes it to the next person who repeats the process. In the Philippines this is primarily used to describe this method of drinking, but between my batchmates and I we use it to describe consuming almost anything in this, one serving-pass it on, fashion.

Example: Wanna tagay the last slice of pizza?

What’s your favorite word (in any language!) and why? Post it in the comments below!

Thanksgiving, the American ‘Fiesta’

November 23, 2017November 24, 2017 | Chelsea

Your alarm goes off and you peel your eyes open to be partially blinded by your phone’s screen. The time reads 5:30am and you sit up straight and begin to stretch. Out in the kitchen you make yourself a cup of coffee and rest before beginning to prepare the biggest feast of the year. The menu is the same every year, but you still find yourself meticulously going over each recipe to make sure you didn’t forget any ingredients. No one wants to run to the neighbor’s house today to ask for a forgotten can of cream, or half cup of sugar.

After you contend that you have everything you could possibly need you begin to prepare the traditional dishes. Slowly and steadily the table begins to fill. The rest of the house wakes up to the sweet aroma of cooking foods. The family is immediately hungry and eager for the feast to come. You take a short break to watch the parade, and get ready to welcome family and old friends to share in the spirit of….

Thanksgiving? Fiesta? The end of that sentence is entirely up to you, Bahala ka.

On the surface these events seem very different, but the purpose of these celebrations is rooted in values that know no cultural bounds. Family, food, and cultural pride.

Christmas has begun

Family.

Fiesta, or Thanksgiving, family travels far and wide to come home and celebrate with their loved ones. The house is brought to life by warm hugs and conversations of life in the year (or years) past.

Food.

These holidays are nothing without the food! Buko salad, lechon, pansit, fried chicken, macaroni salad, fruit salad, among others grace the table during fiesta as stuffing, turkey, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry sauce do during Thanksgiving.

Cultural Pride.

Both of these celebrations have parades that go along with them that highlight distinctive traits of their respective cultures. It had never occurred to me how deeply cultural the Thanksgiving day parade was until I saw the fiesta parades of the Philippines.

To me, the fiesta parades illustrated cultural value, history, and folklore. The dancers describe historical happenings, and the floats are designed to highlight important foods and exports. The Thanksgiving day parade is no different. The Thanksgiving day parade highlights foods that are typically used in it’s celebration, turkey, pumpkins, apples. We also dress in costume that is meant to be a tribute to the history of the holiday (the accuracy of this costume and version of history is another story). Many of it’s floats and acts are unique to the United States, whether they feature TV cartoon characters, a scene from a new Broadway show, or well-known celebrities.

It’s a fascinating experience to take a step back, and analyze my own culture on a larger scale. Describing the culture of the United States to people who have never experienced it, is a very difficult task. People want generalizations.

What do Americans eat?

What do Americans wear?

What sort of things do Americans do?

I always find it impossible to answer questions that generalize about the United States, because we are a country of such vast cultural diversity. Of course not EVERYONE in The United States celebrates Thanksgiving the same, but it’s one of the few generalizations I feel comfortable making.

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, it holds a different meaning for different people. For my family it’s the epitome of autumn celebrations. Thanksgiving signifies the end of fall and the beginning of the Christmas season. It’s a time for family and to be thankful. Usually at my home we celebrate by cooking up all of the traditional foods, and a few of our own specialties (chocolate chocolate cake, cheesecake by mistake, to name a few of my mom’s famous dishes). We eat far too much and end up watching the movie ‘Elf’ in our sleepy, stuffed, stupor to officially start the Christmas season.

Christmas has begun

1 Thanksgiving dinner later…

Post Thanksgiving Food Coma

This year I taught my host nieces how to make hand turkeys, baked apple pie and stuffing. Tonight I’ll feel a little homesick while I video chat with my family, and I’ll make them turn the camera towards the television so I can watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

As the ‘firsts’ turn into ‘lasts’ this year, I can’t help but wonder maybe next year I’ll be experiencing similar feelings as I force feed my family in the United States buko salad to celebrate fiesta…

Get Ready, Get Set, BOODLE FIGHT: Tips and tricks to surviving a boodle fight

May 19, 2017January 9, 2022 | Chelsea

Boodle fighting is serious business.

Joke lang.

Similar many other traditions in filipino culture, this is a fun and light-hearted activity that takes place at many family reunions, and fiestas.

The Boodle Fight is a style of eating. As a Philippine Military Academy tradition, cadets would gather around a long table of foods arranged on top of banana leaves and eat together ‘kamayan’ or with your hands. This tradition is said to perpetuate oneness, and equality, as soldiers of different ranks would partake in one boodle fight. Haphazardly, a boodle fight is also every person for themselves as the food is ‘fought’ over until not a grain of rice remains!

So how does one survive a boodle fight? Having participated in three this past week, consider me your personal spirit guide on all things boodle fight related.

First things first, battle field preparation

The table arrangement is very important. The table must be long enough to accommodate an entire platoon of family and friends, but also must be wide enough to hold plenty of rice, ulam (main dish), soups, sauces, and fruits.

Once you are content with your table arrangement, all of the tables must be dressed with banana leaves. Don’t worry about not having enough to cover the table, there’s always a nearby banana tree with some leaves to spare if you’re running short.

Second, What’s a Boodle Fight Without Food?

Of course you MUST have food. Be sure to cook plenty of rice as this will run down the table in two thick lines. Have plenty of rice on reserve to replenish throughout the boodle.

Most of the boodle fight food is prepared on a grill over charcoal. The grill requires two Ates. While one person grills, the other fans the coals and the chefs because the Philippine summer is MAINIT-ON (the hottest). Of course not all of the ulams are prepared over the grill, a stew or two is usually on the table as well. Be sure to have plenty of ulam options, but also be wary of your table’s carrying capacity.

FINALLY, THE SET-UP

Each ‘section’ of the boodle fight table must have equal reachability to all the different types of ulam. This gets particularly tricky when you have to fit 6 different ulams, as well as sauces and fruits, all within the reachability margin. But don’t despair, it is possible. It may take a few rounds of rearranging, but it is possible to fit various ulams, soups, sauces, and fruits between the two rows of rice.

TIPS: BOODLE FIGHT ETIQUETTE

There are a few ‘do’s and don’ts’ that go along with boodle fighting.

First, do not start early.

The food may look delicious, but you must not start a second before the person in charge says so. Keep those hands ‘taas-on an kamay!’ (hands up high!)

Second, do not switch spots.

This is highly frowned upon (and why it’s so important that all the different ulams are equally reachable from every spot).

Third, when you’re finished clear out!

Move out the way for the next round of hungry fighters!

Finally, have fun and stuff your face!

No one leaves a boodle fight ‘gutom’ (hungry).

To my Filipino readers, post in the comments section any steps, tips, or tricks, I may have missed!

Filipino Palengke

August 22, 2016January 9, 2022 | Chelsea

PEACE CORPS CBT: A WALK THROUGH THE PALENGKE

Walking through a Filipino Palengke for the first time is an explosion of sensory experiences. The warehouse is open on all sides and the aisles are lit only with ambient light from the city outside. It takes a second for our eyes to adjust from the strong Philippines’ sunlight to the dimly lit market aisles. The pungent smell of fish, meat, and produce, sourly climbs up our noses, but our brains are so busy with our other senses the smell seems to fade. The cracked, chipped and discolored white tile counters are filled with fish of every color and size. Each vendor has their own small bare florescent light bulb illuminating their counter.

We shimmy around one another in the crowded aisles and are sprayed from either side by fish scales and salt water. The Tilapia vendor lets close to 30 fish flop across his counter. In an attempt to escape, one throws itself on to the concrete floor of the market. I scoop him up and my stomach turns a little as I return him to the counter, where he waits to be de-scaled and gutted alive. The other fish lay dead in humongous piles on the tile. Almost every fish you could possibly imagine has passed through this market.

Barracudas, that must have been equivalent to the length of the vessel they came into port on, tuna heads bigger than my own head, beautiful watercolored Parrotfish the size of dinner platters. Cross sections of Morray eel’s whom, when they were whole, must have resembled the sea serpent that slithered through your childhood nightmares. Hundreds of lapu-lapu (grouper) bright red with metallic blue flecks concentrated at their heads and scattered across their bodies. As we walked through the market I realized I had never seen most of these fish out of the water and how many of them seemed significantly bigger here, than they did under the sea.

Fruits, vegetables, leaves, roots, and spices hang, drape and pile on every open surface.

As we walk deeper into the warehouse past the fish vendors we come upon the the prutas at gulay (fruits and vegetables) stands. Their stands have many tiers. Fruits, vegetables, leaves, roots, and spices hang, drape and pile on every open surface. The fruits are strange, and one vendor rip open red fuzzy fruits for us to try. The flesh is white and so sweet we decide to buy a kilo, 90P lang. Collecting new fruits and vegetables along the way we walk even further to the carne vendors. These stands are far from the ambient light of the city but they still glow bright red and I get that eerily feeling that we’re walking into a horror movie. Every part of the animal hangs from giant silver hooks or is set out on silver platters. The vendors wear a white apron stained pink by their work and swing a giant cleaver to chop up kilos of meat.

We approached the smiling vendors and watched as their eyes widened when we said ‘Magkano ito’ (how much is this)

We approached the smiling vendors and watched as their eyes widened when we said ‘Magkano ito’ (how much is this). They laughed ‘You speak Tagalog?!’. ‘Konti lang, konti lang’ (just a little, just a little). It went on like this for a few hours before we walked back into the Philippines’ sun to leave the market. Our brains were tired and our stomach’s growled at the ingredients in our arms. We made our way back to our small, quiet, peaceful Barangay with arms full of ingredients to make fish tacos (we’re all experiencing a bit of a Mexican food withdrawal). As we cooked up our tortillas and fish, we snacked on the weird little red fruits and decided there is nothing quite like a Filipino Palengke.

Magandang Umaga Po

August 4, 2016January 9, 2022 | Chelsea

PEACE CORPS CBT: DAY TO DAY

That is the sentence that starts my every day. I wake up to roosters and motorcycle engines outside my window. I sit down to a breakfast of rice and tortong talong. My host sister and brothers leave for school and I walk down the dusty paved road toward the Peace Corps staff house for class. On my walk I greet everyone: “Magandang Umaga Po!”. Curious eyes watch as I walk around kal-asos and trykes, or as I squish to the side of the road as a large truck comes through. Mornings are usually language sessions and during breaks, we walk less than 100 paces to stand on the seashore. We stretch our legs, stand in the surf, and breathe in the salty air. We break at lunch and I head home where Kuya greets me. He makes me food for lunch, usually chicken (manok), and of course, rice. Little Job is usually home from Kinder-one by then and he hides behind my chair and pokes me while I eat. The afternoon rolls in and I accept the slow melting feeling that will loom over me for the rest of the day.

The afternoons are usually technical sessions. The past two weeks have consisted of learning to perform coral seagrass and mangrove assessments, learning fish coral seagrass and mangrove identification, in both English and Tagalog, and learning to perform a participatory coastal resource assessment. To say it’s been a busy couple of weeks is an understatement. But sitting on the edge of a pump boat at 7am waiting to jump into the water and assess coral is a pretty great way to start the work week.

To say it’s been a busy couple of weeks is an understatement.

When I come home at night I am greeted by ‘Ate Chelsea, Ate Chelsea!’ And hugs from little Job and Denise. I live with an Ate and Kuya. They have a daughter and two sons, but several cousins live close by so there are always kids around. The kids and I enjoy coloring, countless games of monkey monkey (go fish), and reading. At night everyone watches television and does their homework. We eat dinner, and I go to bed to the sound of videoke, kal-asos, and my fan turned on its highest setting.

…each day brings unique unexpected moments of being present.

Aside from my daily schedule each day brings unique unexpected moments of being present. Whether it’s drinking the best buko juice I’ve ever had from freshly cut coconuts on a beachside goat farm (and subsequently getting that coconut stolen by a goat), or dancing with the Ates at a birthday party while singing videoke. I’m amazed at the world of the Philippines as it unfolds before me.

Chelsea Fowler

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