trainee

There are certain experiences we’ve all had as Peace Corps Volunteers serving in the Philippines.

As I celebrate with my batch mates the closing of our two years of service, I wonder what sort of things we will forget about as we move on to the next chapter of our lives. What are those little things we’ve gotten so used to these past two years? What habits will we find hard to leave behind as we return home?

So here it is, my best approximation of what experiences we’ve all had through-out our time in the Philippines. This isn’t a static list so comment below and tell me what’s one thing you think all volunteers have experienced!

Happy early COS Batch Family!

10. You know FAR too much about your fellow batchmates’ bodily functions.

I don’t think this one qualifies as ‘something you didn’t notice you did here’ because it’s very obvious that we know way too much about each other’s medical history. At home you don’t really know about someone’s medical ailments unless it’s a cold or a flu you’re worried about catching. No one makes casual water cooler talk about the tapeworm they just passed, or the dengue fever they just got over. But here, sitting around a table at Pension, talking about the last time you pooped your pants or passed a parasite is pretty basic conversation, it practically comes right after asking how site is.

PCV 1: How’s site?

PCV 2: Good, did you pass that worm yet?

PCV 1: Yeah! Wanna see a picture?!

PCV 2: YES

9. You can identify a fellow PCV based solely on their water bottle.

PCV1: Did the guys from Leyte arrive yet?

PCV2: yeah I saw their water bottles in the lobby.

8. The couch in the Information Resources Center at the Peace Corps Office is the comfiest couch you’ve ever touched.

I don’t know where this couch came from, it’s probably so comfortable thanks to the generations of Peace Corps Volunteers who have napped on it before us. But it is so very comfortable and you can’t help but fall asleep a little whenever you sink back into it’s soft lumpy cushions.

7. You’re never further than an hour from a jaw-dropping gorgeous once in a lifetime paradise getaway spot…

…but because you’re a Peace Corps Volunteer and you live here, you’ve used the word ‘okay’ to describe this location.

Tourist: The sunsets here are AMAZING!

Jaded PCV: Yeah, tonight’s is okay.

6. You haven’t completely realized how much tagalog has infiltrated your regular speech until you have your first non-PCV visitor.

You: It’s bawal

Them: It’s…what?

5. The amount of acronyms you passively understand is a little disturbing.

CR, PCMO, VICA, CD, PNB, AL, PM, CRM, CYF, EDU, LBC, CP, MST, IST, PST, IO, COS, PNVSCA, CBT, DPT, LPI, PDM, PCT, PCV, USPC, PC, CIC, SM, RIICE, WeUp, IRC, VAC, RM, SM, PA, TCF, LCF, RPCV, PCRV, PCT, HCA, LGU, MRE, VRF, LPA, C2 to name a few…

4. Your proudest Peace Corps accomplishment is your impeccable budots form

Budots is a Filipino dance craze and as a Philippines PCV it is your duty to master the art of budots before you close your service.

3. You’ll never get sick of the double take tryke drivers do when you’re vacationing and you hit them with the local language.

PCV: Magkano ang pamasahe, Kuya?

Them: MAROON ANG (insert local language here)?!

2. The kindness of the Filipino people is some of the most generous kindness you’ve ever experienced.

Whether it’s your host mom sending you with 2 bushels of bananas and 5 avocados for baon, or a stranger offering you their umbrella to shade you from the sun, the generosity here is overflowing and genuine.

And Finally…

1. Whether it’s a tryke, jeepney, or a PCV vacation…

There’s ALWAYS room for one more!

The moment I received the email inviting me to join the Peace Corps as a Coastal Resource Management Volunteer I knew I was going to say yes. But replying to an email is easy, just a few keystrokes and clicks. There was no way of truly envisioning what I was signing myself up for. All I knew was that I had to find out. Finally, 4 months later, I am beginning to do just that.

I’m finding out that it’s waking up at 6am to enjoy the crisp fresh air before the heat of morning kicks in. It’s embracing that sweaty is no longer something that happens on hot summer days or after a tough work-out, it’s a chronic condition. It’s having merienda at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. And it’s tiny red ants marching in and out of everything you own. It’s videoke, it’s Jolibees, and it’s only just beginning.

Peace Corps Philippines has three different sectors: CYF (Children, Youth and Family), Education, and CRM (Coastal Resource Management). Right now we are all together at initial orientation getting acquainted with each other and the Philippines. This includes dancing at Disco Disco night, and learning Pinoy games and pastimes, including videoke.

Of all the Pinoy games and pastimes, videoke has to be my favorite (so far). Videoke is very different from its American counterpart, karaoke. Videoke actually has absolutely nothing to do with being a good singer, or knowing the lyrics, or even knowing the tune! It is all about your ability to put on a show with confidence. There are thousands of songs to be performed in English, Tag-lish, and Tagalog. We learned a song called Picha Pie (here is the link for your videoke-ing enjoyment). Picha is not a tagalog word, the –za sound in pizza is just difficult for Filipinos to pronounce. So Picha Pie is a song about Pizza and it is sung to the tune of ‘I will Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor. I’m not quite sure why this didn’t make it back in America but it is truly a work of art (see full translation here). Also quite different from American karaoke, videoke is not something you just do at parties, or bars. Videoke is a part of the Filipino way of life and almost every household comes equipped with its very own! Family gatherings, office parties, solo, even in department stores, videoke is EVERYWHERE. So I’m looking forward to all of the videoke-ing I will get to partake in over these next 27 months.

Merienda: mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks

Aside from videoke we have started our Tagalog studies, begun learning about the Philippine environment, and internalizing what it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. On top of the formal seminars and meetings, every day in this beautiful country is full of learning and full of surprise. I am never quite sure what Filipino habit or daily ritual will emerge in my routine and force me to experience the world in a new way. Whether it is greeting strangers on the sidewalk with ‘Maganadang umaga po’ or growing antsy for mid-morning merienda at 9:45am. My world is changing and it’s only the beginning.

Stay tuned!

Chelsea Fowler

10 Things All Peace Corps Philippines Volunteers Know to be True