So Long, Farewell...

I will be heading home tomorrow.  Life has been moving quickly these last couple of days...I honestly can't wait for my over-24hours of travel just so I have some time alone to process these things.

I want to thank you all for following my journey and for walking with me in my times of struggle and in my times of joy.  I am so grateful for you and for the blessing you've been to me!  Please believe me when I say that this internship would not have been possible without your help!  I'm glad that you had a part in God's work here :)  I can't thank you enough!

I hope to write you an adequate summary of some of the things I've learned...but I will need your patience because I am still in that state of "Wow, did this really happen?"  ...Perhaps I should continue to blog through my senior year.  It might be neat to see how things play out.  I'll let you know if I come to a decision.  Haha, blogging seems to be the new "thing" to do.

Right now, all I can see are the next couple of days ahead.  It seems that life won't pause for me.

I will be giving an oral presentation to the church leaders tomorrow and saying many goodbyes.  My flight takes off out of Manila at 9pm (So...Sunday 9am EST) and I'll be back home in Orlando by 12:30pm EST Monday (Tuesday 12:30AM - Philippines).  Yay!

By Thursday morning I'll be on my way back to Covenant (with thee other RAs:  two fellow cdv interns) for RA training and things just keep rolling onward from there.


Please pray for...
-Safe travels
-No luggage/other traveling issues
-Productive processing time and rest on the plane
-Good time of sharing and quality time with my family (I only have two days with them :(...)...that God would multiple that time
-Safe travels back to school
-That God would continue to prepare me for this upcoming year of being a student and being an RA and being a daughter and a sister and a friend and whatever other roles He gives me


Ending thoughts (for now...)
-I have LOVED the Philippines
-I have learned a lot about my weaknesses
-I have learned a lot about God's control and his power and greatness

When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with you above the storm.  Father, you are king over the flood; I will be still--know you are God.  ~"Still" Hillsong United

Putting It All Together

Ah, guys, I'm so sorry for being horrible about posting during my last week!  I started writing this post Monday, but now it's Friday...Things just keep happening so fast!  But at the same time...Sunday couldn't come sooner!  I can't wait to be on that plane home :)

THIS is Week 12.  Last week.  I have finally (almost) completed the internship I had been anticipating since my freshman year of college.  !!  Oh my goodness, I'm a senior.  Wow.  Okay.  I'll think about that one later.

Let me break down the week for you:

Oral Presentation (Sunday)

Things didn't go according to plan and I definitely got really nervous and had to keep reminding myself, "If this is happening, it's God's will so just go with the flow; go with the flow; it's okay, just do it..." etc, etc.  And...the presentation went really smoothly :)  People affirmed my research, which was encouraging because I had not really received any affirmation these past three months and I was starting to wonder if what I was doing really mattered to the congregation (I think most of them didn't really know what I was doing).  Thank you all for your prayers--they were heard and God granted!  If you could be praying for my second presentation this coming Sunday (yes, the day I leave) with just the leaders of the church that would be much appreciated :)

Despedida (Saturday--sorry I'm going backward...)

The young people at church threw me a surprise despedida (farewell party)!  And my goodness was I surprised!  I had been sitting at home all day writing letters and papers and suches and thinking and praying about my presentation--nothing leading up to this party screamed "surprise party."  Up until the moment they yelled "surprise!" I was still confused.  We played games, sang songs, watched a slideshow, ate food (of course) and I was quite in shock by it all and very touched by their thoughtfulness.  It definitely gave me courage in preparation for my oral presentation, knowing that they would be there.

St. Francis Square (Sunday--fast-forward)

After my presentation, lunch, and some afternoon activities at church, six of us piled into a car and drove to Manila to shop :D

Monday 
Blood test (pre-cautionary) - tested positive for typhoid - no symptoms - but I'm on antibiotics now... haha.  Got a hair cut...said goodbye and thank you to all the barangay captains...

Tuesday
Went to San Pablo to visit my translator's home and meet her parents.  We had a delicious meal of various rice cakes and fruit and then headed off to Liliw (the shoe capital of Luzon) yeah!!!  :D  And we ate at this tiny restaurant (everything in it is small :D) and visited a really old underground cemetery.

Wednesday
Traveled to Quezon City to visit Samaritana (a ministry to women who have left the life of prostitution) and then shopped at SM Fairview...hm.  Lots of shopping this week..

Thursday
Met a friend and we out for pedicures.  Nice.  :)  Went to her favorite coffee shop; she graded tests and I wrote a paper.  Attended my last SVCF fellowship large group meeting.  The group surprised me with a nice card signed by all, prayed for me, and then a number of them walked me home :)

I'll post again before Sunday :)

And Rain and Rain and Rain (No, not the Korean pop star)

Hi friends!

I know...I've been bad about blogging recently.  Sorry about that.  In my defense, the internet has been up and down a lot.  1) Because of the rain and 2) Because people keep cutting our telephone/internet wires (the wire can be sold for a good amount of money).  I think, since I've been here, the wire has already been cut at least 3 times.  Wires are also often cut when there is a brownout (no power, perfect time to cut and steal telephone lines) and there are plenty of brownouts when it rains this much.  Anyway, it seems that all things are connected to each other.  I also see myself using the term "brownout" when I return to the US.  People will think I'm crazy. "You mean 'blackout'?" they inquire thoughtfully.  "No.  I mean 'brownout'."

Anyway.  I'm nearing the end of my 11th week (speaking of which, I have yet to write my weekly log...) and time couldn't move any more slowly or any more quickly!  Yeah, it's weird.  I feel it.

Last night I finally cranked out my written final report!  Whoohoo!  and just about 5 minutes ago I cranked out my notes for my oral presentation!  Yay!  By Sunday I will be officially "done" will my internship.

So...it's currently raining (go figure, right?) and I'm afraid we're going to have a brownout so I'm just going to end this blog with important prayer requests--because I need a lot of prayer.

Requests before the throne:

• For continued wisdom and humility in editing my final everythings (papers, reports, etc.)
• For good understanding and communication during my oral presentation this Sunday before the entire church (man...intimidating!)
• That I would say and do everything in love
• For God's grace to be on me as I say my goodbyes next week.  I hate goodbyes.  They make me cringe and run away...but I can't do that...that's irresponsible.
• I feel that the enemy is really attacking me right now...making me doubt things that I know...making me turn inward...making me a nervous anxious wreck (especially before this presentation)...so for protection and guidance from the Lord
• I have a cold--I would like for it to leave me alone
• For the other CDV interns around the world as they also wrap up their internships and return home

Grace and peace to you from God our Father!! :)

"Your Visa is Expired"

First, I have finally learned to put my contacts in without using a mirror!  Yeah, like five years after getting contacts.

Now, onto my Visa adventures...

My supervisor and I had been speaking about my visa since my arrival in the Philippines (because you're allowed a maximum of 59 days and I'm here for 85 days).  Previous interns just sent their passport through an agency for renewal--so we figured I could do that too.  We noted that my visa expired on July 26th, so my host asked me to remind her about it after she returned from Rwanda the first week of July.  Well.  That I did.  We started hunting for agencies, but apparently, after asking about 3 agencies, we found that they do not offer those services anymore.  So my supervisor and I began planning our trip to Manila to the Bureau of Immigration.  Then my host couldn't come with me anymore and asked me to ask my translator to accompany me.  My translator and I prepared for our trip to Manila.  She had not made this trip before either, so both of us knew absolutely nothing (except, well, she knew the language).  "Take the LRT bus all the way to the end and then take a jeep to Pier and get off in front of the post office.  The post office is really big and American looking.  You can't miss it.   And then the immigration office is green and it's next to the post office and there's a starbucks there" "If it rains, take the train."  "The train?"  "The MRT train to central station and then walk."  "Okay..."  "Actually, just take the train."  "Even if it's not raining?"  "Yes, take the train."  "Jessica, you're not allowed to talk, it's dangerous and people may try to cause trouble if they know you're a foreigner"  [And then we forgot to ask directions for how to come home....]. 

Day before going to Manila:
I'm sitting in a coffee shop writing papers and my host calls and says, "I was doing my quiet time and the Lord really prodded me to call the Immigration office and it's a good thing because I found out that there are a list of things you need to have with you when you go to the office"  So, I worked a couple more hours, walked home, got my papers, and walked back out to meet my translator in the same coffee shop...she and I went to take passport pictures (which had to have the proper shade of blue background and be the right size and I had to be wearing a collared shirt and I couldn't smile with my teeth and I had to take off my earrings) and photo copy my visa/passport and exchange money (I needed 3,500 pesos - almost $100) and buy an umbrella (mine broke).  After much wandering around town, we parted ways...both praying about our trip...  My host mother said over dinner, "Perhaps if you are lucky and finished early you and Kaygee can do some shopping."  Good idea!  I'll bring some extra money.  

Manila day:
Woke up at 4:45am  My host parents drove me to meet up with my translator and then took the both of us to the bus stop by 5:20am.  My host mother said to me, "Before Pastor Benjie woke me up I had been dreaming that you and me were walking to meet Kaygee (my translator) and then suddenly the sky became dark and I said, 'Jessica!  We need to hurry!  There's a brownout!'"  hahaha the sky ran out of power!  Anyway, she kissed us both goodbye and wished us well.  We waited for the correct bus to come by (there are a number of buses that stop at this stop) and got on.  Things went smoothly.  The bus was freezing...so it was good that it was really full and I was squished between people who kept me warm.  When we got off the bus, we walked to the train station (think subway, but not underground....so like the L in Chicago).  We bought our tickets to Central Station.  Missed the first two trains because it was rush hour and we didn't push hard enough.  Not a big problem seeing as it was only 7:30 and we didn't need to be at the office until 8 and it's only a 5min walk from the station.  We got on the third train, got off at Central Station and then realized that we didn't know which direction to walk, but it was only 7:50.  There were no uniformed people for us to ask directions from so we just started walking.  We were supposed to walk to the left, which we did, but instead of continuing left, we started to turn (following the road)...we ended up walking in a big circle.  We thought, "Well, let's head toward the big buildings!"  And remember, I wasn't allowed to talk.  We walked forward toward City Hall--figuring the big post office would be close to City Hall.  As we walked, we saw a big building, "That must be the post office!" we thought.  We walked and walked and then found that we had to cross the street (which has all these gates and fences, etc so it's complicated to cross).  We finally saw a security guard, so we asked "How do we get to that building?"  He told us to walk back the way we came and to go through the underpass to cross the road.  We thanked him and headed back.  We crossed the underpass...but then what?  Well, let's just walk toward the building then!  We get to the building...turns out...it's a history museum!  Ahh!  Where are we going?  This is NOT a 5 minute walk!  But the police man pointed this direction...  We kept walking forward toward another big building.  (Also not the post office).  Finally, a couple blocks later, we found another police man.  We asked, "Where is the post office?" and he pointed the direction we had came!  So then we got smart and asked, "Where is the Bureau of Immigration?" and he pointed straight in front of us.  Relieved, we thanked him and continued on our way.  By this point we didn't trust our own sense of direction so we stopped every guard we saw (probably 6 total) and asked where the Immigration office was.  Sometimes they gave us mixed signals - "Straight to the Cathedral then turn left" "Straight passed the Cathedral then turn right"  Hm.  We kept walking.  Passed the Cathedral.  Saw a Starbucks!!  Saw a green building next to it!  Oh JOY!  "Bureau of Immigration"!!!  We headed in right away (it was 8:30)...still wondering where in the world this giant-hard-to-miss post office was.

When I walked in, they had me show them my passport and visa stamp.  The man said "You have an overstay fine" and I'm thinking "What?"  I look at my Visa stamp (the one that marks my entry into the country) and the date on there says 6/5/2010 - ...what's that date supposed to mean?  I couldn't have only been allowed to stay until June... I had never looked at this date before now.  "Oh well, there must be some kind of mistake" I thought.

We walked up to a table that was marked "Visa extensions"  ...the man at the table was busy with his computer and it took him a couple minutes to realize we were standing there.  After a bit of chatting, he gave me a form to fill out and told me to go to window 23.  Kaygee and I sat down in front of window 23 to fill out my form.  Two things I didn't know - my address here and my flight number.  Good thing my host was at home and I was able to text her to find the information.  Problem solved.  We went up to the window with the form and photocopies of my passport.  The man said they made a mistake on my passport because I was given a 59 day visa but they only marked me down for 21 days (so that's where the 6/5/2010 came from).  "You need to go up to the third floor to the ___ office (I can't remember the name anymore) and tell them you need an amendment"  So we walk up the three flights of stairs and then...we saw an elevator.  Oh well.  Good exercise.  Oh right, we hadn't had breakfast yet either.

We go to the office...stare blankly until someone noticed us.  They resolve the issue, but I found out that although there was a mistake, my visa still expired 7/13/2010 (a week ago.  poo.).  You should know that the date they mark on your visa for expiration is not when the visa expires and you have to get it renewed, but rather the last day you can enter the country with that visa.  Yeah.  I didn't know that.  Oh well, what could I do now?  So the amendment was made in my passport and we go back downstairs.  We hand in the paperwork and corrected passport.  The lady writes me a receipt and I go to the cashier counter to pay.  The total came out to 8,300some pesos.  Whoaaaaaaaa!  That's almost triple my anticipated price!  (No, it's not because of the late penalty fee--that was only 1000 pesos I think?)  There was some added fee - $50 equivalent.  Anyway...I didn't have that much money with me even though I brought all my money (good thing I was anticipating shopping).  Anyway...all my money together was only about 7000pesos [and we had to make sure we had enough money our fare home].  Then Kaygee remembered that she had not deposited the last paycheck I gave her!  Thank God!  Then...we couldn't find that either...so then...we didn't have enough money AND she couldn't find her pay check :(  After some more rummaging, she found 2000 pesos in one of her wallet pockets because she had not had time to deposit it yet.  I borrowed 1,500 from her and we were able to pay for my visa extension.  The lady asked us to come back in an hour.  We walked out of the office, originally planning to celebrate our long walk this morning with Starbucks but ...now we were broke.  We went to a convenient store and bought some bread for breakfast, laughing the entire time we ate.  That's when we realized we didn't know how to get home.  haha.  We texted my host for directions and she also called her mom.  Her mom said, "why don't you explore the city some more?" and we said "...well...we don't have any money left to explore the city."  So after much more laughing we decided to head back to the Bureau.  We presented my receipt and the man at the counter gave me my passport, papers, and an ID card (cool!  I hope I get to keep it after all the trouble we went through to get it...).  We finished my visa process by 10:30am.

We walked (the short way) back to the train station.  After about 5 minutes of walking, we saw this ginormous building.  Yes, the post office.  But it wasn't very noticeable because well...all the buildings were big and...it wasn't "right next" to the immigration office...it was quite a ways away.  We should've just asked for Starbucks.  haha.  At least we got a tour of historical Manila for free!  :)  and we got my Visa and only waited for an hour!  And it didn't rain!  (two biggest worries before the trip was 1) waiting in line and 2) that it would rain and therefore, flood)

We bought our train passes...and then the ticket thingies wouldn't read them.  We had to get a security guard to let us through.  Then we waited for the train...almost got on the first one, but then we were too slow again.  Good thing though!!  because we realized that we were in line for the wrong direction.  Hah.  So we walked down the stairs and up the stairs on the other side.  We got onto the train.  Got off on the wrong stop.  Got back on the train.  Got off at the right stop.  Looked for the bus station.  Found the bus station.  Got on the bus.  Went home.  Exhausted.  And it was only 12pm.

It was not at all the adventure we had anticipated, but we could not deny that God was with us the entire way :)

All men are like grass...the grass withers and the flowers fall...

I have just officially completed week 9 of my internship (I had to re-count the weeks because it's unreal how quickly this week went!)

Many of you know by now (and I'm sure many of you don't) that there was a typhoon this past Tuesday night through Wednesday morning.

Before the typhoon came I was going to post about my weekend...but then the typhoon came and I was left speechless for a while.  I can't even remember what I was going to say about my weekend--probably something about suddenly becoming culturally exhausted but how it's all part of the process (I had been processing a lot of cultural communication things--it was really fun, fascinating and frustrating at the same time...these will have to wait till another time).  How am I feeling now?  Well the typhoon seems to have knocked out all my frustrations and actually, I feel as if my entire brain was turned upside down.  ...especially since I've spent the last two months researching all-things-typhoon.

But before I speak of the typhoon...here's a brief summary of some of the things I've been able to do these past two weeks
-Visited CCT (Center for Community Transformation) in Manila [a really big cdv NGO in the Philippines with all different ministries; hosted two Covenant interns in the past; was one of my potential internship hosts]
-Shopped at Divisoria in Manila - huge shopping...place...  it seemed to me like two or three streets of shops/malls...but market like (both indoor and outdoor market).  Bargain prices!  I bargained in Chinese.  It was fun :)  Bought lots of gifts.  Keep your eyes on your bags and money.
-I have been attending SVCF large group meetings (StateVarsity - otherwise known as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) at UP (University of the Philippines) Thursday nights.  I've really been enjoying the fellowship of my brothers and sisters there :)
-Visited various coffee shops - did a lot of coding, analysis and writing this week.  I feel as if my head might fall off...but I am SO blessed to have the translator that I have.  She is beyond wonderful.  I feel as if I have a partner in my research.  I think I need to write an entry devoted to her.  Perhaps next week.


Typhoon
The typhoon this past week was a bit emotionally traumatic for me.  I am doing much better now, but my heart is still heavy and my head is full of unanswered questions.  It's strange for me to experience a little of what I've been researching--but at the same time, not experience it at all (we'll get to this point later).

I'm going to apologize in advance if I say anything that sounds offensive--that's not my intention.  Please also note that these are just some of my personal, raw thoughts.  I've chewed on them for a couple of days and my jaw is starting to hurt.  There are a lot of things I don't know and there may be facts I have gotten wrong.

This was the first time I've faced a natural disaster and actually worried about people.  That sounds a bit insensitive...but hear me out.  Usually when I've face natural disasters (like hurricanes or tornadoes) no one I know is in great danger:  we all have sturdy homes, friends with sturdy homes, food, water, candles, flashlights, cars, and emergency shelters.  I know that there are people who are not as fortunate as I, but because I did not know any personally, I didn't worry.  I prayed, but I didn't really sweat over those prayers.  I meant those prayers, but those prayers did not come from someone shaking or being challenged in her own faith as she prayed. 

I couldn't sleep the night of the storm--not because I was afraid, but because I knew there were others who could not sleep.  Others I knew.  They were the people I spent the past two months interviewing (about their previous typhoon experiences, their fears, their anticipation of the upcoming typhoon season).  They were my brothers and sisters from church.  I knew they would be up all night cleaning their homes from the flood, elevating things, or wondering if their houses were going to last until morning.  I knew their foundations were shaking--literally.  I tossed and turned and prayed and prayed.  My mind continually turned to scripture that stated that our God is the Solid Rock, the Strong Tower, the Light in the darkness.  Storms in life never seemed more real. 

I woke up in the morning--restless--but the sky was no longer black and the wind no longer roaring.  It was kind of a surreal experience after 7+ hours of stormy weather.  There were many fallen trees, destroyed crops, and muddy streets in our neighborhood.  Some church members' homes had flooded and were covered in mud.  There were some reports of deaths from neighboring barangays.  A member of a sister church drowned.  There were power outages throughout the entire island of Luzon.  A group of people were struck by lightning during the storm and also died.  There were a number of shipwrecks on the coasts (many deaths).  Much of Manila is still without power. 

This was a category 1 storm.  Category 1.  I just can't get over the differences in my experience of a category 1 storm in the Philippines and category 1 storms in Florida (I don't even know which storms were category 1...I only paid attention when hurricanes were category 3 or higher...that's when they actually "matter").  Therefore, I have decided that although scientific categories are important, damages anticipated have less to do with the scientific category and more to do with the physical state of the people where the calamity is taking place.

I cannot believe that the people here face about 20 typhoons a year!  Meaning, some people are forced to hit the restart button on their lives 20 times a year.  At the same time, there are many people who are virtually unaffected by the storm (like our neighborhood--we only had a 24 hour brownout [power outage] and fallen trees--and most people near and on UP campus).  I went to a college fellowship group the next night and no one spoke of the storm.  I asked my host about it later; she suggested that because they are students, they are unlikely to have heard any news updates of the storm.  I was also surprised to find out that many Filipinos didn't have their first experience of a flood until living many years in the Philippines.  The devastating effects of the storms are generally pinpointed on the poor who cannot afford structurally sound hosing or be choosy on the location of their homes.

So, yes, now I have an experience of a typhoon in the Philippines...but at the same time, I don't have any experience.  My experience has been nothing like those whose homes flooded, like those whose homes collapsed, or like those who lost loved ones.  I am struggling to understand and piece these seemingly contradictory things together.  How can things be so similar and yet, so different?  How can people be so close to calamity and know nothing of it?  How can I have experienced a typhoon and yet, understand so little about the lives of those I have been interviewing--or, perhaps, this thought just occurred to me--I really am understanding more.  I'm understanding how little I understand.

I have been very encouraged these past couple of days with the e-mails I've received from my friends back home.  I am blessed to have friends who bear my burdens and share the heaviness of my heart.  Every time someone shared, "My heart is heavy for you and for the Filipino people," I felt my own burden lighten.  Thank you :)

One friend pointed me to one of her favorite passages - Isaiah 40.  It has been very helpful to me and I've resonated with it very much.  Things are seemingly hopeless and yet, they are not because our Lord is the Lord of all Creation!

I started this entry with "All men are like grass..." and I want to end it by saying:

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. ...  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Adventures, Langgam, Feelings, and Pictures

[langgam = ants]

I'm in my 8th week now.  Unbelievable :)  It's a strange feeling to know that my internship is more "complete" than "incomplete"  

Work
I'm not any further along in coding or analysis because I'm still waiting on my translator.  In the meantime I've been reading and journaling and enjoying the company of my host family.  And I wrote some papers!

Life
I love having my supervisor back!  She's such a joy to be around!  Some of our family adventures in the last two days include:  
Operation Food:  I got to cook dinner again :)  This time my host mother helped me (because she's home from Rwanda) and it cut cooking time in half!!  
Operation Medicine Cabinet:  My host parents and I visited hardware stores to find a medicine cabinet for the downstairs bathroom and looked at mugs and African art and pretty lights and admired shower heads and bathroom tiles and...then I stuck my hands in a model urinal and pretended to wash them because I thought it was a model sink.  Yeah.  It was funny.
Operation Get Dinner:  drove through the pouring rain (through many flooded areas...the motorcyclists were wading through the water...it was really very eye opening for me...I think it had only been raining for an hour) stopped at the grocery store and bought food to cook for dinner...and it rained and rained and rained.
Mission Ant:  Pastor Benjie bought a new vacuum specifically for this purpose.  We're waging war.  Today we vacuumed ants. 

Other adventures of the weekend include:
-Two coffee dates.
-Awesome realization of our "small world" and evidence that God knows what he's doing!
-Met two new friends!  (One who is a soil scientist at IRRI [which I'm actually nervous mentioning because I now know about the IRRI blog filter and newsletter secret!  but since I've decided to mention it anyway...Hello!  I think the work you guys are doing at IRRI is really fantastic!] and one who is a student at Wheaton College, interning in Manila with an organization I'm planning to visit in the next two weeks!  Crazy right?)
-Ate delicious blueberry coffee cake (provided by my new friends).  Yum.  It made me miss my roommate.  We like blueberry everything :)
-Walking in the rain and not being splashed by passing vehicles!  All the drivers are so considerate!  Or maybe I was lucky? 


Feelings
I'm finally beginning to feel at home here and now there's only a month left.  It's a weird mix of anticipation and unwillingness.  I can't wait to go home and hug my mommy, daddy, and little brother (little brother who's not so little anymore!  wah.  He's going to Calvin College this fall...maybe my parents will pick me up on their way to drop him off so that I can participate in his send off; that'd be fun!  Mommy, any comments on this?) and being in our home and sleeping in my bed and driving my car and eating cereal and oatmeal and oranges and using chopsticks and suches.  I'm looking forward to being back at Covenant with my good friends and taking classes and studying in the library and spending time with the crazy wonderful girls on my hall.  But I really like the pace of life here.  I like taking it easy.  I like the sense of humor.  I like the fresh fruit and yummy desserts!  And I like my new friends!  And I'm not looking forward to graduating!  I like college.  I like Covenant College.

I'm really learning a lot more than I write about.  I feel bad that my blogs don't do justice to that learning for you.  I don't think I will be able to process all that I'm taking in until I've gone back to the US because I'm sure there are many things I will not see until I'm in the future looking back.  Also...75% of what I'm learning has nothing to do with my research.  I think I'm mostly learning about God's faithfulness and providence; His love and provision for his people.  And my heart?  It's so much less anxious because of it.

Other:
If this van does not remove itself from my window now I might pass out from inhaling carbon monoxide.  Please.  Leave.

Also, my first batch of pictures are up (from the first two weeks or so of my internship):  Click Here

Cleaning, Travels, and Volcanoes

Well!  I'm halfway through week 7.  Goodness!  It's all downhill from here, I suppose.  It's been difficult being finished with data collection because now I feel really really useless and unproductive again.  I'm waiting for my translator to finish translating our last 45 interviews so that I can start coding and analyzing...Here's what I've been up to these last couple of days...

Thursday
Did a lot of cleaning and celebrating the completion of my data collection in the morning (celebrating, meaning, not writing).  But I had to get my bottom back to work after the morning because I had a number of assignments due.  Went with Pastor to visit his extended family (they live about 2 hours away in the province of Batangas) in the afternoon.  I did quite a bit of writing on the road.  Got home around 11pm.

Friday
Again, a day devoted to writing.  Wrote an informal interim report for Dr. Mask (translation: a really really long e-mail), edited a whole bunch of interview transcripts, completed my weekly log, and finally finished my expanded fieldnotes :D!  I'm actually tempted not to write any more fieldnotes because Dr. Mask said he accepts interview transcripts as fieldnotes... whoohoo!!  But I feel kind of guilty not writing anymore fieldnotes.  I'm not sure if it's false guilt though.  Help? 

Saturday
Went to the home of the two sisters and their family again.  Painted the gate with the boys.  Got sunburned for the first time in my life.  Ouch.  I am now able to empathize with others in the pain of burning skin.  Washed a lot of dishes (I don't know why this chore I previous despised brings me so much comfort now) and did a lot of baby holding (oh so much joy!).  I learned that I also really like jack-fruit!  It's fun to eat!  oh and masarap! (very delicious!)  But it has a super strong smell.  Oh well!  Small price to pay.  Walked home and spent some time just lounging around and reading in the one a/c room in the house.  Played the keyboard.  Got frustrated.  Went back to reading. 

Sunday
Church :)!  It's great worshiping with Christians across the ocean and it's been a huge blessing to be able to worship in a language I understand.  I had not really thought about it before, but it really is comforting to sing songs I know (especially the first couple of weeks here).  Though, I get really excited on the weeks when we sing Tagalog songs!  Those are the real jewels, in my opinion.  But it's a blessing to sing in English nonetheless.  The rest of the service is in Tagalog though, so I can only guess what's being said.  The sermon is the most difficult part.  I try really hard to put puzzle pieces together based on the bits of English I hear mixed with the minimal Tagalog I've picked up and the Bible passage I have in front of me.  But what I get is really basic.  Same goes for Sunday school.  Although it's good to be reminded of the basics week to week, I realized that I've been missing my regular feedings!  So for the past three weeks I've been downloading sermons from New City Fellowship to listen to on my own, which have brought me lots and lots of joy!!  Thank you internet!  And thank you people who faithfully record and upload sermons!

After morning service and Sunday school (guys, I totally memorized the wrong verses for homework...ahh!!  so I crammed the correct memory verses into my head 5 minutes before Sunday school in fear that I would be required to stand in the back of the classroom for the following hour.  I was beating myself over the head about my carelessness, but I managed to memorize it so...now I have double the verses memorized!  yay!) I went with four other youth to one of the church members' home for lunch.  We ate and sat around watching TV (Filipinos REALLY like to sing.  Like...really.  Even their TV shows capture people singing!  We watched 2 hours of singing.  How?  Haha) until it was time for us to go back to church for the afternoon service...about 3:30pm.  Rehearsed music for the afternoon service, attended the afternoon service, went to the market with Pastor to buy fruit (yay!  But it's not a good idea to walk around the market in heels...Note to self:  carry flip-flops in your bag because you never know what's coming next), went home, showered, watched a movie on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ate dinner, went to bed. 

Monday
Cleaned and read.  Home alone most of the day.  I watched an episode of Glee on TV and a game from the world cup!  Finally!  Korea and Uruguay.  The TV was fuzzy and it's not as fun to watch football alone, but I was very content.  Then in the afternoon I read the newspaper.  One article on the world cup...was informed that the game I watched that morning was a replay and that the US was already out of the running.  Lots of articles concerning the swearing in of the new president "Noynoy" Aquino.   

Tuesday
Went with Pastor and Jairus and Hapi to pick up Ate Malu from the Manila airport.  An event that began at 2pm and ended at 2am.  Crazy Manila traffic.  Went to Starbucks!  [Starbucks looks the same across the ocean]  Ordered a non-fat, no-whip, caramel macchiato...yum.  The familiarity of the sights, sounds, and smells reminded me of being back in the US...aroma of coffee-yes, but the smell of cigarettes-not so much.  Visited the National Book Store--largest bookstore chain in the Philippines.  Oh I really like books.  I had to keep reminding myself that I cannot/should not buy books--too heavy for my luggage.  P.s.  It's great to have my supervisor back! 

Wednesday
Holiday!  (Because the president was sworn in).  So we, as a family, went to Tagaytay!  To see the smallest active volcano in the world!  We couldn't go to close though because it's currently really really active.  Took lots of pictures!  My eyes hurt because I was so tired from the day before so...pictures of me--not so great.  I kept praying that my energy levels would stay up so that I could enjoy my first touristy type thing, but it was quite a struggle since I couldn't keep my eyes open (they stung).  I really wanted to rip my contacts out, but I don't think that would've helped.  I need to buy sunglasses.  We were all pretty exhausted.  It was very beautiful though.  There were fresh fruits and flowers everywhere!  Slept the whole way home (2 hours) and slept when I got home (another 2 hours), went to the prayer  meeting, had dinner, and could not fall asleep even though I was exhausted! 

Thursday (Today!)
Still tired, but couldn't sleep in if I tried.  Got up, ate breakfast, and cleaned in the morning (wow, apparently I really like to clean).  I was able to catch up on returning some e-mails, blogged...  Going to meet one of my new friends at a coffee shop for a study date in an hour!  Going to walk there!  45-minute walk here I come!  Friends, coffee, studying, date, walking...such good good things.

Oh wow.  The week is almost over.  I'm working on posting pictures, but facebook is making me frustrated.  But I promise, by the end of this week. 

Other Noteable Notes
-We've had vegetables at my last 6 meals!  I. Am. So. Happy!!  But now when my host parents say, "You finish this."  I feel that I must finish it for their sake.  I am much more content finishing a whole papaya or vegetable dish than another chicken leg though :)
-It's rained everyday for the past four days.  Cool air - such a blessing.
-Exchanged money by myself for the second time (first time was in the airport).  Pastor came with me and walked up to the window and then turned around and told me he would wait for me in the car.  I nodded and walked up to the counter:  "Okay, you're just exchanging money.  You watched Ate Malu do this.  You can do it by yourself.  And if you get confused, just start speaking in English and they'll get the idea that you only know English."  Exchanged my money.  Went to the car.  Pastor said, "The lady in front of you in line was one of my college classmates, that's why I left."  Hahahahaha.

Grace and Peace!