Volunteering While I Volunteer

Before I left for the Philippines, I was working on www.sweptashore.blogspot.com, a site that my sister started. I did a beach cleanup every day and posted a picture, searched for and posted links, and in general became more familiar with beach and other cleanups and with non-profit organizations in New York and on Long Island’s East End. This turned out to be a good project for me – more than anything else, it was nice to do something for and with my sister, but I also gained some knowledge and received psychic reward.

One of the links I found was for the Ocean Conservancy, which sponsors International Coastal Cleanup Day; this year it falls on September 19. Featured on its web site the day I found it was Manila Bay – coincidence? This week I signed up for the Manila Bay cleanup – and I hope to recruit other Peace Corps Philippines volunteers as well. There are plenty of cleanups in the United States, too (sadly, I don’t see any in Morocco, but you can propose one…) – go to oceanconservancy.org (in spite of its name, there are Great Lakes cleanups too!) and join me!

I’ve also seen ads for some runs here (there was a 5K for Habitat for Humanity the week before I got here – too bad!) but the ones I’ve seen aren’t easy to get to via public transportation, and they’re either at 5:30 n.u. or 7:00 n.g. I may find one that I can do – or find a way to do one – but I’m still somewhat wary of running in the heat and humidity so maybe it’s just as well.

I received some mail this week! Mail! I had sent out change-of-address cards but didn’t really expect anything, and it was a nice surprise to get some letters! I also received the package I had sent myself on July 17 – opened, but apparently intact. Really, electronic media makes so much more sense, so this isn’t a hint, but the mail did lift my spirits.

Not that they needed lifting – I have moments, of course (for example, the jeepney ride is turning a daily low – as opposed to the bus ride, which on Monday morning had a James Bond movie playing - and I am more than ready to get out of Metro Manila this weekend and go to the beach), but I’m basically content and happy to be here. I like the work, which again gives me the hope that I might find work I like in the future – and I do feel I am not only helping Habitat for Humanity Philippines but also increasing my skills set and getting valuable experience. This week I researched fraternal/service organizations and social media, contacted USAID and the American Chamber of Commerce to try to set up meetings, made a list of materials that Habitat for Humanity Philippines might have or need which could be helpful in my effort, and continued the building of my prospect lists. I still have lots of ideas!

Today I went to Manila City Hall, where Sir Tony and Ritchie had a meeting with the mayor’s chief of staff. City Hall is an elegant old building; the reception hall has a beautiful historic mural. The meeting room had walls made of bamboo and translucent capiz shells; these were used in windows in the old houses. After the meeting we had lunch in Chinatown, where I discovered my new favorite food – a mango shake. I must have one every day! We drove around Intramuros, the walled city that was the original Spanish settlement (most of it was destroyed in the war, but the walls remain – it merits further exploration) and then went out to Habitat’s resource center in Taguig City, where I was supposed to live. The living arrangements, I have to admit, are not bad – a separate bedroom and then shared living/dining/bathroom space, all inside, on an entire floor. The neighborhood is more suburban than where I live, that’s for sure, but I am happy with my location – I am going to do what I can to stay where I am when the next Peace Corps Response volunteer arrives; she’ll be doing impact assessment of the community next door to the center.

August 21 is a national holiday for Ninoy Aquino day, commemorating the day in 1983 that Aquino was returning from exile, escorted off the plane, and shot in the head. I remember that – I was much less conscious of world events then, but somehow I remember it. It got me thinking, though – what if America’s national holidays commemorated assassinations rather than birthdays? Lincoln was assassinated on Good Friday, and many people already have that day off (not to mention that his February birthday, combined with Washington’s February birthday, made President’s Day what it is)…Martin Luther King was assassinated on June 4, and that’s too close to Memorial Day and/or the end of the school year…. So from a timing standpoint it’s probably just as well we celebrate their birthdays. The school year here runs from June through March; March through May is called summer here (solstices and equinoxes notwithstanding!). Are there any deaths that Americans commemorate? The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Elvis’s and John Lennon’s…

I should also mention that this week Peace Corps suspended its program in Mauritania due to continuing safety and security concerns. Once again, I feel lucky to have served in a program that didn’t evacuate or suspend while I was there, and I feel fortunate now to be in a country where interruption of service is extremely unlikely.