What a week!

Oh my, oh my. Get ready for some crazy new experiences everyone! It’s been a too long, and I have a few things to say.

Last Friday I was a guest on a local radio show. HAHA! For REAL! (There are pics below!) Of course, it was Uncle Vic’s idea, as he is the host of the radio show. And he is the director of the local station run by the Archdiocese…yup, it was only connections that got me on the airwaves, but it was fun to bask in the glow of my Uncle Vic’s celebrity for a while. He’s a superstar in Nueva Vizcaya! He asked me questions about my experiences here so far, what Holy Week was like for me, the poverty I’ve witnessed, my studies in social work, the differences between the Philippines and the USA. I am SUCH a dork. “Good morning, hehe” was the first thing I could utter, sounding like a 10 year old girl, but after a while it felt just fine, like a normal conversation between Uncle Vic and me. And then at the end I said “Salamat Po” and I sounded SO American. Haha, oh well, I guess that’s what I am!

That same day, returning to work after my mysterious illness (that was brought on by the 95 degree heat, I’ve decided, and not by a witch), I went to Baringin, a barrio of Bayombong. It’s so far from the central part of the town, and some of the homes are still nipa and bamboo. And when we got out of the car, I heard Gaddang being spoken all around me, so I interviewed some girls outside a sari sari store (little convenience store on the street). It’s pretty cool actually, to hear little kids and everyone around speaking Gaddang, because in the rest of the city it’s only a mix of Ilocano and Tagalog spoken by the younger people. I also spoke to a very nice man named Antolino, and I hate to say it, but when he smiled he looked just like Smeagal/Gollum from Lord of the Rings! Hahaha! I’d post a picture, but that’s too mean! But like I said…he was a very nice man.

Haha, anyway, I have another food story. Probably what you all will think is the “grossest” so far. But I did it! And it wasn’t terrible. In fact here, it’s a delicacy, available only once a year, after it rains, like the ant eggs. This special food is abal abal in Ilocano, afal in Gaddang (how fitting!), and BEETLE in English. S’right, I ate a bug. A big ol’ cockroach looking bug! I was getting revenge for the one that crawled onto my foot and got stuck on my slipper in the kitchen the other day. Auntie Essel had to teach me how to eat it; you grab the head and the body and separate them with your hands…dispose of the head! Then you squeeze some thick yellow stuff out of the body section of the critter. The outside is a crunchy shell, but (thankfully) you don’t eat that part! You suck out the yellow part, and after watching Auntie Essel scarf it, I took a deep breath and ate it up…chewed it just a little…and swallowed. At first I was pleasantly surprised; it tasted like egg! I said as much, and Auntie Norma goes “It IS egg!”

Whoa.

By then it didn’t matter, but I’m sure if I’d known that, it would have been harder for me to eat it!

So I’m chalking it up to another good experience; it’s weird to many of us Americanos, but it’s a treat to taste the local grub (no pun intended). Didn’t I say it before? When in the Philippines, do as the Filipinos do.

Another cool thing: I finished the interviewing portion of my project this week! Hurrayyyy!!! I have spoken with 77 people, 77 families, listened to 77 important perspectives and experiences. They were great, welcoming, and so obliging to a big tall American woman working on her thesis. I love the Philippines!

And yet…

I miss home! I do, I really do. I miss my family and my friends and yes, I miss my favorite foods. So that’s why I cooked a celebratory pasta lunch on Tuesday, to mark the completion of my interviews and to eat some noodles! I bought bowtie pasta (P58 for a big bag, or $1.16), some tomater paste, fresh french bread at Breads and Bites (wow!), olive oil, and some Magnolia brand manufactured cheese! I’m not really sure what the ingredients in that kind of cheese are. It’s like Velveeta, but actually tasted much better! Uncle Ted shredded it for me, while I pounded garlic for my simple sauce. But in the end, it all turned out great. The one thing though, that was both the worst part of the meal AND the best, was the garlic. I have never used so much garlic in a meal in my entire life, but I of course, loved it. It was almost too much, and yet, just right. Yum yum yum! I smelled like amfut for 2 days.

Another celebratory event: I’ve been shopping! Wahoo, I got pretty excited, let me tell you. I actually don’t shop that much, especially compared to how I used to be, in the Apt 202 days (right Ades?), but I’ve picked up a few things here, two of them borderline too short on my long torso. But ANYWAY, back to the real business. The other, more important shopping I did, was last Sunday, when Auntie Es, Uncle Ted, and I went to visit Uncle Vic at his new parish in Aritao. It’s a nice church, but during communion I got scared because the old Immaculata ladies seemed to be angry that I was trying to get to the front of the line before them. Aaaa, a bunch of little mad church ladies is scary! After mass we visited the St. Clare Monastery, where several nuns live lovely lives, mostly contemplative, I think. The sister who took us around was very sweet, and even though I can’t remember her name (oops!), I’m glad I met her. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nun! Haha, I don’t really think that’s in the cards (unless God has a surprise for us all!), but I so love the beauty of religious life. The place felt full of grace and peace, and Auntie Essel and I bought some souvenirs and pasalubong! Very cheap ones!

That’s really where my shopping spree began, and it ended today, several hundred pesos later, in Santiago. I could really talk a LOT about what I did just today, but this is already plenty long. And if I become boring in the next week, I’ll just recap today’s adventures.

Sister Gloriosa (who I met with today, the MSW who is acting as my mentor here through this whole experience), is also wonderful. Maybe this week was about appreciating nuns. Because I also saw Lola Deding today, Sister Isidore, and I love visiting her too. I love being surrounded by these strong, prayerful women. Yes, I feel the love!

So have a happy day everyone—I’m doing great, still enjoying every moment to the fullest, and missing home a little more each day…by the time June rolls around, I’ll be ready to come back!

Oh! One more cool thing. I attended a basketball game the other night! San Nicolas (the family barangay) against Bonfal, a nearby neighborhood. Oh man! I was cheering and so proud of the boys, who won by 12. They are actually all close to my age, but I still felt proud and glad to be here, glad to be Gaddang, and glad to be watching some good ball. They wore sneaks too, not the usual flip flops! (And one of them was a Gurat—it said so on the back of his jersey!)

Alrighty then, ingat everyone! Till next time, this is Aleah signing off from 90 Quezon St, San Nicolas, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Ha, I just gave you my address! What a lame dj. Catch you on the flip side~

Peace!