in times of war

Just as I'm about to turn the light off for a good nights sleep, I look up to survey the ceiling one last time. Its a nightly ritual And lo and behold, there's a cockroach poised just above my head. Great. So, Geoff whose many titles include cockroach annihilator, comes to take care of it so I can rest my head in piece. But what does he find? Not just one, but many. PLURAL cockroaches. And not just any kind but the gargantuan flying kind. So, as I am writing this, Geoff AND our friend Lucky are now killing cockroaches in our bedroom. It sounds like a war zone in there. Sigh. Almost home.

5 minutes of cacophony

When we first moved to the Philippines, I remember thinking it was incredibly "noisy" in our "out of the way" neighborhood. I've since gotten used to it. But, the other day, I was trying to take a nap, and I was reminded again of how the sounds wafting in are so different from one place to another. Like a sound sketch of that place. I decided to listen intentionally for 5 minutes to see what the Philippines sounds like. This is what I heard:

A little girl singing
someone hammering
pots and pans clattering
dogs barking
roosters crowing
goats bleating
ice cream vendor's bell ringing
cars driving
airplanes flying
stray cat meowing
gecko clucking
school bell dinging
distant thunder rolling

What does your window sound like?

the list is getting shorter

I got to mark one more thing off my "what I want to do before I die" list today. I need to make a longer list!

Just like the movies.

You know on TV when you see people at an exclusive resort & spa, and Asian women are twisting them, turning them, walking on them, and the person's like, "Oh! Ow! Arghh! Ahhh..." Well, I totally just had that experience! Geoff and I's date tonight was a Thai massage. One and half hours for $6 bucks. Painful and exhilirating all at the same time. Just like the movies. Can't do THAT in the States :)

the dance

Dancing happens a lot around here. Not the twirling kind to a thumping beat, but the subtle communication that happens between people. We often say that driving here is like doing a dance because relationships (whether between drivers on the road or friends in their homes) are maneuvered by discreet, round about, non-confrontational, obscure communication that skirts around the real meanings on a tip-toe.

Helen (our housekeeper) and I danced today. [Now, before you get distracted by the fact that we have a housekeeper (yeah, I know, its crazy!), realize that housekeeping here is like selling a house. It has to be SPOTLESS all the time. The ants will come in hordes to devour a crumb in minutes. The window screens (not just the windows, the screens!) have to be washed every week or they will be brown with gunk from the pollution. Even our shoes have to be washed regularly and stored in plastic bags so that roaches do not lay eggs in them. (Yuck, I have to look in my shoe every time I put it on, just in case). So, all of our financial support could go to me cleaning all day, or we could spend a little of it on a housekeeper, and I can do the things we came for.... Ok, enough of my soapbox....]

I have been wanting to take Ariel to the beach for the day just to relax and enjoy nature. But our friends haven't been able to join us. I've also been wanting to develop my relationship with Helen (which is quite complex culturally as it juggles the Filipino rules of class system, work, and friendship).

So, the day before I was planning to go, I asked Helen if she would like to join us and bring her kids. She laughed and said, "Oh that would be nice! But I don't have the money for that."
E: "Its OK, If I'm inviting you, I will take care of the cost. And besides, the place we're going is not expensive."
H: "OK, that would be nice! Maybe I can bring some snacks because my kids eat a lot when they're swimming."
E:" Yeah, sure, that sounds great."

OK, so we're set...right? I thought so. But the next morning, Helen texts me to say that she wants the day off to do her laundry. Huh?!

There could be multiple reasons as to why she did this. It could be that she didn't want to incur debt. If someone is overly giving to you, you become indebted to them and they sort of have a power of you. It could be that she was embarrassed that she didn't have the money to pay for herself. It could be that she or her kids didn't want to go. It could be that she wanted to check my sincerity by forcing me to offer again. It could also be because I said no (indirectly, of course!) to an invitation to her house earlier or because I didn't give her extra money this week when she hinted for it. Or, I could assume that she really wanted to do the laundry bad enough to not receive a day's pay!

Needless to say, Ariel and I did not go to the beach, and we have no idea why!

So, we continue on with the dance. :)

scenes from the weekend

Geoff is in Mongolia this month, so Ariel and I are doing what we can to fill our days with interesting things (so many of which are usually provided by Daddy himself!) I think we're managing well.

holy days

Today, I came home to dozens of motorcycles and vehicles lined up outside of our gate. Trying to figure out what was going on, I looked across the road to see a circle of people standing around a ring made of corrugated tin. It's a cockfight. Not your normal everyday neighborly activity in the U.S. Why is there a cockfight in front of my gate? Because its Fiesta week! Every neighborhood has its own identity. It has its own little mayor and its own fiesta. Fiestas are usually centered around a particular Saint and several masses are given in the local chapel. And when you're not going to church, you're betting on roosters :) Cockfighting is considered a national sport in the Philippines. Arenas range from the small setup in front of my gate to large expos (like a rodeo). I won't go into the details of the fighting, but apparently the real show is during the betting which happens live as one person, the Kristo, takes bets from the center ring with centuries old hand signals and somehow keeps them all straight. Interesting trivia, Kristo is also the word for Christ, the connection being the stretched out arms of the bet taker while he is taking bets.

So, there's a cultural lesson for you. I thought about putting a picture of a cockfight up, but know of a few friends in particular who would not appreciate that :) So, I'm opting for Ariel and I checking out a row of "Cocks" waiting to play the game (and no, she did not witness the fighting!):



By the way, our neighborhood is "Holy Trinity Village," and I don't know who our neighborhood Saint is. I guess I should find out.

the essentials

Absolute Essentials for an American woman's purse:

• Car Keys
• Large Wallet
• Brush
• Compact Mirror
• Lip Gloss
• Cell Phone

Absolute Essentials for a Filipina woman's purse:

• No car keys
• Coins for the public transportation
• Fold out fan for the heat
• Hankie to cover the nose in traffic
• Umbrella for afternoon showers
• Brush
• Compact Mirror
• Cell Phone

dog meat

Well, I thought I was going to have a great story to post today. I went to a birthday party where on the table was a barbecued animal that looked suspiciously like a dog. Knowing the rumors of dog eating in this country, I wasn't too surprised but actually a little excited to be "living on the edge" and eating something I would never dream of trying in a normal life. The host of the party went on to explain that they actually raise dogs on farms for this purpose. So, with courage, I cut off a sliver and stuck it in my mouth. It actually tasted quite good! But I wasn't going back for seconds.

However, I soon found out it was just a joke and my dreams of telling my great grandkids about eating Filipino mutt died away. It was a goat. Haha! Its amazing how this little bit of information changed my willingness to go back for seconds :)

So, there you have it. My story about not eating dog in the Philippines.

street scenes

Street scenes from Manila...

During a very long taxi trip, we pulled up behind a truck of chickens. Most were not moving. The boy is a street kid who climbed up while the truck was stopped to poke at the chickens. The other man is a hawker who walks between the cars selling random goods (some of the things I saw were drinks, bird eggs, folding tables, dusting mops...)


Row of bicycles waiting to take passengers
Slum community along the river

The jeepneys are covered with wild and random paint jobs...this one is sporting the profiles of Kurt Cobain, Bon Jovi, Axl Rose, and Bob Marley, among others.
When the jeepney is full, you just hop on the back. It was hard to get a picture of, but there were also a lot of kids just playing on the sidewalks in the middle of heavy traffic.

Ho Ho Ho and Maayong Pasko!

meaning Merry Christmas (or literally, Good Christmas)

I was just directed toward this You Tube clip. One of the recording guys in it is a recording engineer for Heart Sounds (my organization). I found it very funny for many reasons, but one being that it is a jolly version of how we feel trying to learn the rules of this culture. They're always changing. Enjoy :)

balut

You may of heard about Balut, a Filipino delicacy. Ever wondered what it looks like?


That would be an unborn duck, cooked, peeled, and ready to eat. Yumm! I bet you're ready to hop on a plane now!

rubber ducky

I think I turned a corner today. At least I hope I did. I had a revelation while I was the only white girl riding in a jeepney packed full of Filipinos looking at me through the corner of their eyes. I will NEVER fit in. EVER.

In the missions classes, they teach you to learn the culture and do your best to "when in Rome, live as the Romans do." In fact, the folks who are successful at it get this sort of "you're my hero!" respect as the ultimate of ultimate missionary. So, I went into this thinking, "yeah! I'm going to be the best of the best. The one who really learns the language, really delves into the culture, dresses like them, acts like them, rides the public transportation, totally blends in, and who the natives call one of their own."

But it's been more than a year, and I still feel like this:

(Except all the ducks are craning their heads backward to look at me!)

It's been a lot of pressure to try to fit in. And it makes going out in public frustrating because as hard as I try, I am still the plump white woman with a blond haired, blue eyed little girl in my arms, looking slightly bewildered under a mask of, "yeah, I'm cool. I buy things that I'm afraid to eat!"

So, to have my revelation of myself as a pink duck in a yellow duck world, is a bit of a relief. Experience has taught me that the glorification of the invisible missionary is a little over rated and misleading. Why don't I stop trying to hide and start learning to live. Yes, I am different. I will never be a Filipino. And instead of having a chip on my shoulder because everyone stares at me, perhaps I should celebrate the differences, smile, and say hello.

I'm hoping this is not just a fleeting good idea. I hope that it has roots that sink deep into my psyche. Because I need to move on. I need to make the most of this life. And I need to take the risk of loving people despite my own discomfort.

God help me.

comic relief

I actually have a few very serious topics that I've been musing over and want to blog about, but I just couldn't pass this up. Every time we go out, we see signs ranging from the hilarious to the mysterious. We want to start a running list of all the strange things around here that make us laugh. So, I figured I'd make my first installment.


You fill in the blank.

signs of greatness

"A great man
shows his greatness
by how he treats little men."

Geoff and I were making the 10 hour trip back to Davao along winding roads, mountains, and coastlines. We had been driving all day when we came up behind an 18wheeler with messages printed on its mud flaps. Behind the right tires, this statement was printed in large multicolored English. Please...read it again...just to humor me!

"A great man
shows his greatness
by how he treats little men."

My jaw literally dropped and I busted out laughing saying, "Does that...say...what I think...it says?" The other mud flaps were labeled with bible verses about the fruit of the spirit. Wow, I'm hoping something was lost in translation because if this guy really means what he's saying, then he has really missed the point.

hiding place

We are hiding out in our house today. Right now there is a crudely made sign slapped up on our front door that reads:

The Logans
are
NOT AVAILABLE
today.
Texting only!

Here in the Philippines, you are rarely formally invited over to someone's house. It is expected that you will "drop by" anytime. We probably have a minimum of 3 "guests" at different times on our days off, not to mention during the week when practices and meetings are at our house (or the fact that we live in a compound with 10 other people). And it wouldn't be so bad except that it is polite to then invite them to sit down, stay awhile, eat your food, etc. So, yesterday, after this happened and our day off was suddenly turned upside down into a string of impromptu meetings, Geoff and I found ourselves frustrated and arguing. No good. Jesting, Geoff said, "I'm going to put up a sign. People should know better than to bother Americans on their day off!" And up the sign went :) We haven't had a single knock since.

rain

Ahhh... welcome rainy season. Although it was hard to capture on the photo, today it is raining a heavy fat slow rain. Thunder rolls in the distance, but it usually doesn't intrude too loudly on the peaceful sound of big rain drops soaking the earth. The rainy season has officially begun, and it will last until November. At that point, it supposedly transitions to the "cold" season which basically means mild and humid. Until then, our laundry will hang underneath the shed smelling of mildew by the time it is dry, and we will enjoy evenings under the shed with the laundry soaking in the cool air.

kaleidoscope

This week I took Ariel to see the Kadayawan street dancers. Kadayawan is a festival that showcases the arts, crafts, and foods of the tribes living on our island. The street dancing featured dance troupes from each of the tribes competing on a parade route through the city. It was a whirlwind of color, movement, and sound. Absolutely mesmerizing.



You can see more pictures on our photo page at "www.flickr.com/photos/theloganfamily" or just click on the LIFE MOMENTS slideshow on the left of this page.

too much of a good thing

Too much of a good thing is usually bad, right? Take mayonnaise for example. Add a nice thin layer to your BLT, and you've got a tasty treat. Mayonnaise is one of those things that is often necessary, but a little goes a long way. However, the restaurants here seem to ascribe to a different philosophy of condimentation. If you bite into a KFC chicken sandwich, you suddenly find your fingers drenched while your sandwich excretes massive amounts of mayo. Think I'm overexaggerating? The picture is proof. It's supposed to be a club sandwich. But it was more like a mayo pie. Yuck! Condiments are way out of control in Davao. Even Pizza Hut serves up its pizza pie with Thousand Island dressing squirted on top.

“I like big…and I cannot lie!”

It all started with my saying, "My butt is tired," after having spent hours in front of the computer. It just so happened that it was Tuesday. The day of our language lesson and therefore a day filled with all of the language practice that we didn't do the rest of the week. So, naturally, since we had just learned the word for "tired" (kapoy), Geoff asked a Filipino friend for the word "butt" so that he could translate my statement (which, by the way, is "Kapoy ang akong laput.") Later that evening, Geoff and our friends Manny and Michael were traveling back from Agdao, a slum community where they had been hanging out with the teenagers. Geoff being Geoff, he began practicing his new words with Michael, also a teenager. Now knowing "butt" in Cebuano, it is naturally assumed that good practicing would include previous vocabulary such as "white" or "round" and ownership words such as "my" and "his". You can put the pieces together. Here's where it gets funny. The whole time they are in the taxi cracking up about Geoff's word combinations, Manny is watching the taxi driver whose face does not move a muscle. Absolutely no reaction at all. In fact, it is the lack of reaction that caught Manny's attention. Eventually, Geoff and Michael are let out, and Manny is alone in the car. The taxi driver turns to him and says seriously, "that American white guy…he is a missionary?!...What he is saying…that is not nice. He is naughty!" (Should note here that Geoff was also wearing a doo rag and his black utilikilt. You know, the normal Geoff attire.) Manny, being quick on his feet says, "Oh no, he is not a missionary! He has a band here. And for Americans, it's okay to talk that way." Taxi driver: "Are YOU a missionary?" Manny: "Yes, I am the missionary." HA! So now, somewhere in Davao is a devout Taxi driver who is earnestly praying for Manny to have the strength and wisdom to evangelize his friend, Geoff J And needless to say, Geoff has learned where NOT to say "butt".