Back to Normal?

It was quieter this week at work than it has been since the flood. The disaster response proposal was being gussied up by the Board, so I worked on developing a list of corporations to send it to. I revised the appeals letters I had been sending earlier to include the floods and therefore create more urgency, and worked on building the email lists for those. I find myself smiling at the diversity of the names of American cities and towns, so I’m having fun (and listening to baseball playoffs and podcasts while I work).

Another low-pressure system (unnamed for most of the week, but today named Ramil here, Lupit internationally) meant heavy rain in the Eastern Visayas – where I just was – and the forecast was for more flooding this week; it is expected to escalate into a typhoon and hit North Luzon next week. I read in the paper over the weekend that two more big typhoons are expected this month, two next month, and one in December. I read in Culture Shock: Philippines that the fatalistic attitude of Catholicism helps people here cope with the frequent disasters. I guess things are returning to normal.

Life goes on, and Habitat goes on after the death of the president last week. He had a heart attack the Monday after the floods and things got worse from there. He was still working on the disaster response from the hospital; he had a chance to see his family. People at work loved him; there’s sadness and there’s confusion as to what’s next. Members of the Board have been in a lot anyway because of Ondoy/Ketsana – they’ve been in even more, working on keeping things going and on finding a successor. I work more or less independently so I don’t know if I will be directly affected by the change, but I do sense the mood. Julie and I went to the wake on Tuesday with my supervisor, the Peace Corps Country Director, and the Peace Corps Response Coordinator. It was nice to be able to pay my respects.

I worked from home on Wednesday – last week was the first week I was in the office all five days. I like working from home one or two days a week. I hope I can find a way to keep doing that! Wednesday was a rainy day – a good day to stay in. And it was cool! I didn’t think it would get cool at all! It’s back to hot now. The building where I live houses a bank, and people have been lined up all week to get calamity loans – it’s sad to see all the people in line, but it’s another reminder that people do what they have to do to keep going.

I made dinner – I hadn’t even cooked eggs since the refrigerator stopped working, opting for peanut-butter-and-apple breakfasts, mangoes and mall food. I couldn’t take it anymore. I bought some eggplant (Filipino eggplants are long and thin) and some pumpkin (that is, kalabasa squash) and some onions and garlic and made a pasta sauce (that also included some spices, tomato sauce and, for old times’ sake, Laughing Cow cheese). It was great! I am going to make it again and again until I am tired of it or until those vegetables go out of season. Maybe I’ll branch out and cook other things too – I still feel limited by logistics (not to mention time) but it is worth it!

Another thing that has been going on involves a job interview back in the States. I’ll spare you the details other than to say that although the interview did not come through, it made me realize how in the moment I have become, especially with the disaster response, and that maybe it was a hint that the search for what’s next might need some attention. I say that I am here for six months, but I am also here for 26 weeks, and this is week 12 – in other words, I’m almost halfway through. I had a hard time looking for a job last fall because I was so focused on finishing up my service in Morocco, and I promised myself that I would start looking while here. After all, it was only a few months ago that I was in job-hunting mode. It seems far away, but I know I have to do it! I’ll see what I can do to add that in to the routine…(and I want to get back to language too – haven’t done much of that since Julie arrived).

Other news – I went to the movies tonight! “Julie and Julia.” Fun to go to a movie theatre! Nice that they have almost-first-run movies here. Also, I’m continuing with World-Wise Schools, partnering with the same class at my nieces’ school that I had in Morocco. I sent a handwritten letter from Morocco every month but I wonder how many letters really got there; I didn’t hear much from them. This time I decided to email and they are asking some insightful and thought-provoking questions! I’ll list them in another post.