Spotty Internet....

.....has made it a bit difficult to post. I had wireless in our place in Quezon City, but here in Los Banos, it's much more provincial and I have had to trek my ass and laptop to a internet cafe and blah, blah, blah.

They've kept us super busy this whole time. I think my Tagalog is improving; my vocabulary is definitely growing. My cousins, Sheila, Ruth, and Kristel, took me out on Sunday night. They live about 20 minutes away in Kalawang so it's nice to know that I have family so close for the month that I am here. They were quizzing me all through lunch and dinner because I had a test on Monday. I think I did pretty well. I just messed up on some pronoun usage. Tagalog is hard, man.

I really love the language though. It feels natural in my mouth. It's weird to (re)learn a language I already know. Class triggers the funniest memories. The other day we went over some adjectives and when we went over the word, "matigas" meaning "hard," and I thought of my mother saying to me, "Matigas ang ulo mo" which means, "Your head is so hard" --calling me stubborn. Stuff like that happens about 12 times a day.

Other stuff we've been doing: Filipino History (the pre-Spanish indigenous history is SO interesting. We learned to write our names in baybayin which is a form of "Filipino" (in quotes, because the word and identity of "Filipino" didn't even exist yet) written script. It looks like indigenous hieroglyphics of some kind. Lots of curves, lots of symbols, etc. It's pretty intricate and tough to describe without drawing it. It's beautiful. I think I've found my tattoo. I think (when I get back to the States) I am going to get my last name (which I am keeping forever, no matter what), on my right foot/ankle (since that is the foot I step first with...get it? get it?).

Today was awesome. We went to the Philippines High School for the Arts. Think FAME, but instead of NYC, this school is for the whole country and on top of a gorgeous mountain. The kids were amazing. They are incredibly talented: 11 year olds playing classic concertos and dancing like professionals (The school is for kids from 11 to 16--college in the Philippines starts at like 17...it's a different system). I was in the group that visited the dance classes and we learned a Filipino folk dance called Sayaw sa Banka, which means the Dance on the Bench :). It was hard. You do a lot of intricate dancing and jumps on a tiny little bench. I'll try to post pics. Oh, the pics I had before with the Bird Dance were taught to us by an indigenous man, Dindo :) who was the sweetest man EVER, of the T'boli tribe.

Oh, back to the school. Imelda Marcos started the school. Susan, the program director, said it was probably the only good thing Imelda Marcos did for the country. Wiki Imelda if you don't know who she is. SHE is the Devil. Wearing Prada, actually. She became superfamous in the world for her insane and ridiculous shoe collection (like thousands and thousands of shoes), but she should be famous for being an extorter and despot. Her and her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, ensured the Philippines' status as a third world country.

And......

I am going to FUCKING MEET HER tomorrow.

She is going to be at concert at that school tomorrow. I feel kinda funny about it; even though she is an evil despot (Martial Law, thousands of Filipinos imprisoned, killed and tortured, etc, etc), I want a picture with her. I want to prove I met her. I almost need to know that she actually exists. I want to wear a People Power shirt when I meet her. But, I also don't want her to kill me (she still has a lot of influence here, which is even more disgusting). If you don't know what the hell I am talking about (People Power, Marcos, etc)--learn about it. I'm not teaching this summer.

J.K.

Oh. Also: they keep feeding us TOO WELL HERE. Before I came to the Philippines, I had this delusion that I may lose weight being here. Ha! If people give you food here (particularly if you are with family or if you're with a guest...well, actually, ANYTIME), you have to eat it. People are literally hungry and without food to eat, so you can't be a snobby Fil-Am on a diet who says no, can you? Absolutely not. And really, another reason you can't say no: everything is fucking delicious. AND you don't eat 3 times a day here. You eat: breakfast, miryenda, lunch, miryenda, dinner...and probs another miryenda. Granted the miryendas (this is spelled the Filipino way) are small, but still. Oh and white rice is served with EVERYTHING. So, the delusion is gone. I, at this point, only want to break even and not be FATTER going back to the States. So, I've been walk/running for 45 min to an hour every morning. Hopefully that will stem the fat tide.

What else? Oh, I am going to go hike up Mount Banahaw on Friday and Saturday. Should be awesome. It's so beautiful here. It's amazing to see tropical flowers and trees within mountainous, rugged terrain. I am used to mountains having different foliage.

Thing are going well. I am glad that I am here. I should probably go study.

Tagalog, Tagalog, Tagalog. I have yet to dream in it. I can't wait.