From the Philippines - Sacha's November

I can't believe it's coming on four months since I arrived here. Right after I last updated you was the world's most evil RYLA. The other exchange student from my city and I went to Manila two days before the RYLA so we could get to the venue quite easily. We stayed in the condo of her host mother who of course accompanied us. The night before the RYLA we both became horribly ill and spent the evening exchanging places in front of the toilet to puke. So the next morning we arrived at the RYLA and proceeded to involve ourselves while not throwing up. We were sleeping in tents on top of a mountain and the first night it rained. When it rains here, it RAINS. So the whole campsite became a quagmire. My sandals broke in the mud and I gave up to walking around barefoot. The showers were pipes protruding from the walls and about 5 inches of flooded water at the bottom at all times. Toilets, were non flushing. We laugh about it now but I can remember waking up three mornings in a row very angry. After that was a fantastic trip to a resort about an hour from Manila. It's theme is Native Filipino and so we spent a day and night sitting in a hot tub or going around the grounds. We returned home around the 25th of October to find that the christmas tree had been put up already which is really quite regular. Some businesses have been playing christmas music since september. Second semester started around the first week of November so I chose my classes which are: Chemistry, Filipino Literature, Logic, Values Formation and Peace Education, Personality Development and Love, Courtship and Marriage. So a really ecclectic mix of classes and I've really yet to attend most of them! Three of my classes fall on saturdays and my club or family often has activities on saturdays. Then on the 17th of November I left with my Tita and Tito to go to Manila. On the 18th we, and 22 other rotarians/rotarian affiliates, flew to Bangkok. What a beautiful city. From the the ideas that one usually gathers of Bangkok it would seem to be a city of sin, poverty and lots of transvestites. Only the last one is true! The city has drugs and prostitution absolutly, but like any city its only there is you are looking for it. Compared to Canada there are obviously areas poorer and dirtier in Bangkok but as compared to Manila is a much cleaner and modern city. I felt like i was back in Canada there, which is strange because it's still thousands of kilometers away. The other student I was with agreed with me that we really got what we asked for when we went to the Philippines if we feel at home in Bangkok. We had both asked for a country which was nothing like our own and would give us a huge culture shock. The temples of Thailand are gorgeous and the people are so friendly. If you take out a map people will come within seconds to ask if they can help you get to where you want. Now I'm back at home and going to school. I've had to adjust to my new schedule because this semester my weekday classes are all 2 PM and later. So now that my morning's are free I have to find a different schedule. It's been hard to keep track of friends from school after semester change because if your schedules don't coincide at all you will really not see them. Now it's time for the current geographical updates. The big island here(Luzon) was hit hard in the North by a class 4 typhoon (bagyo) This is the poorest area of the country with many people still living in traditional ways or at least heavily agrarian and in poverty. Thousands of people were homeless afterwards. As the maids in the house said, "If there is a typhoon we will have no more houses. They will be FLAT!" at which point they clap their hands and laugh because it's happened to all of them before. Every Filipino knows that after a bagyo you just pick yourself up and fix what's left or build it again. There was an earthquake in late October which is really rare for this area. It was a 6 which is still quite strong and very exciting. Lots of things were going *thunk thunk* and my mattress was sliding around on my bed with me on top. Right now, about three hours away, a volcano is erupting plumes of ash but shows no signs of doing anything more. My club might be going down to distribute masks to the citizens of the city at the foot of the volcano because they are a poor community and are experiencing health problems from the ash. If they do plan on going I will be right there too! December will be dry season so there's no more typhoons or rain for a few months. It doesnt feel much like christmas or winter here. Apparently it's cold now but if I can still sweat in a t-shirt and shorts it's not THAT cold. I don't envy you though. One year of perma-summer is just heaven. I think that's all the news for now. Ingat. take care and talk to you soon.