The Story of the Flood

Alright, I've finally gotten around to editing and revising my flood story, which was mostly written during the ordeal or in its immediate aftermath, and therefore captures the events and emotions quite accurately. I put more time into this than anything I've written thus far for this here blog. It's too long for a blog post, so I've published it via Google Docs and it's available for viewing here:

http://tinyurl.com/craigflood

Now a brief update [spoiler alert]:
- I have moved back into my house and things are, incredibly, more or less back to normal.
- The plane tickets that I was buying when the flood hit resulted in a great trip to the Bicol region of Southern Luzon. I got to visit some friends, climb some mudflows on Mount Mayon, and most awesomely, swim with enormous whale sharks.
- My camera wasn't fixable, so I have no photographs of either the flood or the trip, although I'm trying to get some from neighbors and friends.
- I have a little over 4 months left in the Peace Corps, and this feels weird to me.

Horrendous Flooding

Some may have already heard the news, but we had another flood, and it was way, way worse. This time I didn't make a funny video because my camera, stored about 7 feet high, was broken in the flood. I am ok, but my house is not. At least it's still standing -- lots of people lost their houses and a few lost their lives. I lack the time and energy to write the essay I want to write about this, and the experience isn't yet over, anyway. There's still mud to clean, 4 days later.

In the meantime, I urge you to read this news article if you want some more information:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090209-188325/Landslide-flood-kill-4-in-Negros-Or

I will write more in the coming week.

The "Easy" Ride

Waiting outside to go to the city,
No buses will stop; they show me no pity.

Time after time, they drive right on by,
I throw up my hands, yell swears, and ask, “Why?!”

Sadly resigned, I ride jeepney at last,
I am not amused; we're immediately passed.

The driver, it seems, is looking for riders,
He sees possible pesos in all standing road-siders.

In braking he's harsh, in traffic he lurches,
The Catholics cross themselves as we pass churches.

Knees knocking knees, a woman's breastfeeding,
I focus my eyes on the page that I'm reading.

A screaming young baby's disrupting my nap,
A rather large lady sits right on my lap.

I can't move my legs, or not bump my head,
Each minute riding this fills me with dread.

With tapping of coin, I at last disembark,
Time has passed slowly, it's now almost dark.

Fresh air and free legs, a new lease on life,
It’s great to be rid of the "easy ride" strife.

Next time, I resolve, I'll make the bus stop --
If not by my gestures, I guess I'll throw rocks.

-------

*Author's note: the smaller jeepneys in the area are called "easy rides." In other areas, they are known as multi-cabs, which is much less of a misnomer.

Whoah!

...It's almost the end of January.

Quick update: Malaysia was awesome. I will collect my thoughts on it sometime, but not here. But you can view pictures from the trip here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2366406&l=20ac2&id=10701003

While I was there, I met some folks who were teaching in Korea, and their various visitors. In the second week of January, 3 of them stopped by my site for a few days, which was really cool. They had a good time.

I've been delightfully busy lately. Creating dive tourism brochures, designing tickets, writing and editing a coastal resource management plan, relaunching recycled goods livelihood products (this one is fraught with the most missteps and setbacks), and setting up the municipal library. We have a small staff now, and we're hoping to open sometime in February.

Socially, I went to the Sinulog festival in Cebu City a couple weeks ago. It was pretty wild, and there were way too many people, but that's all part of the fun. I didn't really take any pictures, so I encourage you to check out www.sinulog.ph for more details. And then this past weekend I was up in Manila yet again for what is essentially a Peace Corps ASB meeting.

HEY, ARE YOU READING THIS? Cool, hi. I bet you have some books. Do you want to donate some of them to our library? Get in touch with me. Thanks!

Mamasko

Sadly, it seems that Christmas caroling in the US has been relegated to old-folks homes and shopping malls, but it is alive and well here in the Philippines. From November through January, bands of carolers roam the streets every night. (This is called mamasko, which is basically making "Christmas" into a verb.) Most of them are children with sweet voices and simple noisemakers - a stack of flattened metal bottle caps nailed to a piece of wood - who sing medleys. There are more professional bands that go around too, like groups of men with guitars or larger groups of teenagers with drums and other instruments. After playing for a minute or so, they will stop and then begin saying "maayong pasko... maayong pasko... pasko... pasko..." ("Merry Christmas.. Merry Christmas.." then more pathetically, "Christmas.. Christmas...") until you give them money or hide yourself deeply enough in your house that they eventually go away. If I'm at all visible during the performance, I feel compelled to give them money, but if I'm behind closed doors and can hardly hear them anyway, I usually just stay inside. Otherwise it would be like giving out candy at Halloween every night for a month.

I took a video of a group of younger kids singing their medley on my porch. I can be heard yelling "kanta!" (sing!) to a kid who is just mugging for the camera, thinking I'm taking a photograph instead of a video. It fades out, I give them money in the interim, and then they sing the thank you song.



And here's a photo of an older, more intense group:


And a serious guitar band last year during Christmas:


This also seems like a good place to mention my favorite Pinoy Christmas decorations, which are these awesome stars. It depends on the size and material, but here is the making of one with bamboo and plastic. Then lights are put inside. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures yet of this big green one lit up.



But here are some smaller ones, so you get the idea. They look great in trees!


This will do it for this blog for 2008. I'll be back in January with an update on my trip to Malaysia, which I'm leaving for tonight. Happy holidays to everybody!

Mag-ambahan ta!

Without really realizing what I was doing, I entered a choir contest with my co-workers for the Local Government Unit Christmas party. There were 8 contingents, with each contingent singing a song of their choosing and a Visayan song called Mag-ambahan, which means "coming together to do something". Our group sang The First Noel as our second song. It was way more serious than I expected (quick background for those who don't know me well - I have no musical training at all) and we had harmonies, vocal warmups, and all. I sang bass and didn't embarass myself too terribly.

Here are the lyrics:

Mag-ambahan

Issignit ta ang kalipay'g hudyaka
Kay pasko karon sa pagmaya

Mag-ambahan ta ning pasko sa kalipay
Ang kagul-anan ta ato nga isalikway
Ug duyog ning awit sa malipayong dughan
Issignit ta ang kalipay'g hudyaka
Kay pasko karon sa pagmaya

Wad-on ta ang mga kayugot
Isalikway ta ang pagdumot
Ang pagpasaylo mao'y angay buhaton ta
Ning adlaw sa manunubos

(Repeat Mag-ambahan stanza)

Issignit ta ang kalipay'g hudyaka
Kay pasko karon sa pagmaya

My rough, unofficial translation is below. Of course, it loses all its poetry in translation...


We're shouting in happy merriment
Because it's Christmas, time of joy

We're coming together this Christmas time of happiness
We're putting aside our troubles
And joining together in song of happy chest*
We're shouting in happy merriment
Because it's Christmas, time of joy

We're getting rid of our anger
And setting aside our hatred
Forgiveness is the right thing to do
This day of our Savior

We're shouting in happy merriment
Because it's Christmas, time of joy


*"happy chest" is the literal translation, I think it's more of an expression that you're walking around filled up with joy and happiness.

We didn't win the contest, or get top three. Funnily enough, I nailed the lyrics to the Visayan song, but had a little trouble with the 3rd and 4th verses of The First Noel.

If you'd like to see the performance, I've embedded a video below. Please be aware that the friend I gave my camera to was more drunk than I realized, and it's extremely shaky. Once you glance and get the idea of how we looked, you may just want to switch to another tab and let the sweet sounds of our voices fill your computer speakers. And ignore the talking that sometimes drowns out our voices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPao8FBYJiI

A Pinoy Pageant

[This may be the first in a series of Christmas-related posts]

I hear that the high school is doing its raffle drawing today. (Last weekend some students came by selling tickets at 2 pesos a pop, so I bought ten.) I head over to the school 45 minutes after the official start time and try to enter inconspicuously, but as usual, I am unable to do this and dragged to a chair onstage. The teachers are finishing up the parade of top students this grading period to the stage. Two raffle prizes - a sack of rice, and a lechonon - a live pig that is just ripe to be lechon'ed - are given away. (I win neither.)

The pageant begins. I leave the stage and go stand facing it to get a better view. It is introduced with specific references to the scriptures on which it is based. We are at a public high school, but there is no separation of church and state. The Washington State Capitol Holiday Sign Argument Extravaganza would not occur here. The pageant is mostly traditional, except that the piped-in musical accompaniment is more techno-based than the typical pageant. The three wise men bring their gifts wrapped in festive wrapping paper with Santa designs. Mary and Joseph are addressed as "ma'am-sir" by the innkeeper. And immediately after Herod has given his orders to seek out the babe in swaddling clothes lying in manger, the stage clears and 20 girls in Santa hats, short red skirts, and tall white boots come out and do a dance to an instrumental version of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. (It's at least 80 degrees, but with a strong breeze, admittedly almost-chilly weather here.)

The 2nd-prize pig is roused from its sleep across the field and dragged squealing on stage for a photo-op. It arrives mostly by being dragged on a leash attached to its hoof, but is whisked up the steps with a firm grip with one hand on an ear and another on the tail. I realize that I'm being introduced by the emcee, and jog up to the stage to select the winner of the raffle. I spin the drum with gusto, open the lid, and select a name, hoping that I don't pick my own name. It ends up being a construction worker who's right next door helping to construct a new school building. I am photographed with him, the school principal, and a teacher, handing over the small two-range burner with natural gas tank that is the 1st prize. In her final remarks, the principal urges all male students to make sure they get haircuts over the break. With that, the event is over and the crowd disperses. It has been exactly an hour since I left. I return back to my office.