World-Wise School Questions

Before I launch into the trip narrative, I thought I would share with you some of the questions asked by my World-Wise Schools partner class, a seventh-grade history class at the Hewitt School in New York. Those of you who are or have children or are or know teachers might want to participate in this wonderful program! I did answer the questions and if you’d like to know what I said (some topics I have already addressed here in other posts), email me, but the reason for posting them is not that I liked the answers so much but that I liked the questions! I hope to visit the class and meet the girls when I return!

- They want to know more about the kids of the Philippines and also what the food is like.
- And they want photos of your journey. They are very intrigued.
- Is it that the Filipinos are Catholic that makes access to family planning limited or poverty? Or does the government have Church-influenced birth control policies?
- Are there nice beaches? Do you go swimming?
- Are you bringing back any sorts of gifts? What kinds of local handicrafts are around to buy?
- What sort of work do you do there?
- Why is the nation called the Philippines? Is the Spanish influence still visible?
- What American or Western perceptions have you shed due to your Peace Corps work?
- How has this service changed you?
- Are there any Jewish Filipinos? (The teacher told them this would be extremely rare, but they wanted my answer.)
- Why are there no vegetables?
- How are arranged marriages, arranged?
- What are the main Filipino sports?
- How long are you staying there?
- Does it ever snow there?

I should also mention the political massacre in Mindanao – this has made international news. There are still powerful family clans here, and as an opposition family and its supporters went to register, the ruling family gunned them down and then backhoed them into a mass grave. There’s a lot of outrage, but election time here means a lot is at stake. I’ll be gone before the elections take place in the spring, but the volunteers here will be on alert. Mindanao is where most of the violence is and it is off-limits to us anyway, but it was quite a contrast to be reading and hearing about this while in the peaceful and beautiful mountains of the north….