Practical Matters

Almost all of this is from the Peace Corps Philippines Welcome Book.... When I get a mailing address I’ll send it along; PCVs regularly use the Philippine postal system without problems to send mail to friends and family in the United States. That’s good to know! Cell phone use is common – I wonder if I can use my Morocco phone with a new sim card. Direct-dial calls from the U.S. to the Philippines are much less expensive than calls from the Philippines to the U.S. The country code for the Philippines is 63, and then there’s a city code and a seven-digit number. Then again, I’ve now become a fan of skype, though I didn’t use it much in Morocco. Maybe I can use it more here, with a time difference of 12 or 13 hours to the East Coast (and no daylight savings time). The electricity is 220 V – I hear that my U.S. two-prong plugs will work but I will definitely need to buy a surge protector when I get there!

The Welcome Book cautions that laptops are subject to humidity, fluctuating current and the risk of theft. I think the Morocco Welcome Book mentioned dust and heat. So far this laptop is holding out, but I’m ever mindful to back it up!

Transportation in cities consists of buses, minibuses, “jeepneys” (colorfully decorated converted WWII jeeps), vans, motorized tricycles and pedicabs. Transportation among islands consists of airplanes, ferries or small motorboats. As in any Peace Corps country, I must take public transportation and cannot drive a car or ride on a motorcycle.

Malaria, amebic dysentery and other gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory and skin infections (including fungal infections, heat rash and heat exhaustion) are common problems. In addition, there are occasional outbreaks of dengue fever and typhoid fever. I have some immunizations to get before I leave and I am guessing I that medical will be part of my Peace Corps orientation when I get there – I wonder how much of this is only rural. I looked at the contents of the medical kit listed in the Welcome Book and it looks like the exact same stuff I had in Morocco. Except there’s Imodium in this one as opposed to Pepto-Bismol there.

There is harassment/unwanted attention – it will be interesting to see how much this is a topic for the PCVs, after all the focus it got in Morocco. Possible issues for female volunteers include finding the Filipino society chauvinistic, having Filipinos assume American women are promiscuous, having them not understand why single women are away from their family, and encouragement to get married (all of that – been there). We are encouraged to dress conservatively (may as well wear the same long skirts! Maybe get one more, since I jettisoned one in Rabat).

I will get the same living allowance and readjustment allowance as the regular PCVs (pro-rated to six months, that is. Hm, that’s also another story for another blog…). I’ll suspend my Corps Care (Peace Corps equivalent of COBRA) and be covered while I am gone and then sign back up for Corps Care when I get back. My non-competitive eligibility for federal jobs, good for a year after service, will still end after a year, but if there’s a position for which it might make a difference, Peace Corps will write a letter explaining the situation. I’ll get a round-trip ticket – no opportunity for cash-in-lieu of a return ticket, as I had in Morocco, but I can change the return with no penalties since it’s a full-fare government ticket.

I’ll save the Welcome Book packing list recommendations for when I get closer to doing my own packing.