Greetings from Dumaguete

It's been an amazing year so far, it's hard to believe 2014 is already here! We have been in the Philippines for 6 months now, having a wonderful time, and can't wait to see what this next year brings. We were able to go on our first vacation with other Peace Corps volunteers since being here. We spent two days snorkeling off of Apo Island and Siquijor Island. Some of the best corals can be found here along with sea turtles, colorful fish and Nemo!! Everything was absolutely breathtaking from the white beaches to the the rocky cliffs of the islands. Lauren was stung on the lips by a jellyfish and it made her mas Jolie'esque.

We have also spent some time in Dumaguete city, an international hub. We have found an Italian restaurant that has real cheese!! Lauren is in heaven to say the least. The city is by the ocean with a stunning view on the nearby mountains. For new years eve we spent it on a roof top with fireworks going off all around us. What a great way to end one year and begin another. It's been a great vacation!!

We wish everyone a happy new year and all the best in the new year.

Fish Homes

We were able to go out last week and watch new fish homes be deployed in our MPA (Marine Protected Area).  These were built in the mangroves and were taken out by raft (it took over an hour to get out there).  These 'homes' are made out of bamboo with Nipa fawns added to the top.  Fish like to congregate in these for safety.  The goal is to have fish move into the MPA and have a safe place to be able to reach full size.  So many fish are taken out of the ocean not in a mature state.  MPA's are no fish areas and have heaving fines/jail time for fishing inside them.

Part of what Lauren is trying to teach the fisherfolk is the importance of leaving the younger fish in the ocean in order for them to be able to grow to full size.  It's a difficult task as most are fishing to eat for the day and/or are selling in the market to support their family for that one day.  Putting anything back into the ocean decreases income but in the long run does so much more harm.  For without adult fish, spawning starts to infinitely decrease leading to less fish in general for the future.

To say the least it has felt like a whirl wind the past couple of weeks. It has been difficult to come back to our communities after the typhoon for aide is needed but at the same time everything else must go on as normal. World Vision (the organization Alan is partnered with) has now switched over to an aide organization from an development organization. There have been a lot of growing pains with this. Alan has been tasked to survey all of the schools to see what kind of damages has been down. Some schools are missing parts of their roofs, walls have been demolished, etc. School is in session but it's a chaotic environment and certainly not conducive to learning. Lauren, being partnered with the LGU (Local Government Unit) has been busy with the most recent elected government officials. This includes a 3 hour church/blessing service, swearing in ceremony and a 2 day introduction conference. She will be focusing her efforts with the officials in the coastal areas. She is also working on a project proposal to help the women of the community get back on their feet after the typhoon. This includes anything from micro financing, mental health after a traumatic event, emergency preparedness plans, etc.




With Alan traveling to all of the schools he has been able to take in some of the country side. The choice of animal to be used here for blowing is Carabao. They are so fun to watch when they are cooling off in the water/mud pits (for those who don't know, carabao don't have sweat glands so every few hours thay have to take a 'bath' so they don't overheat). Most have black hair but there are a few that have white hair. As you can see, the white haired carabaos look like they are sunburned, we are pretty much relating this to ourselves. Being white in the Philippines means that you will pretty much always be sunburned:)




FYI - we are still without electricity so please be patient as we cannot update the blog as recent as we would like. We have to take an hour long bus ride to get into the city for internet.

Finally heading back to site

Thank you everyone for the wonderful wishes. Lauren and I celebrated our anniversary early last night and also celebrated our release to go back to site today. We are very thankful for the ability to get to continue work in this wonderful place.

Our hearts go out to all the Filipino people and all the volunteers who had to leave there sites and friends.

Please note we will have no power so therefor no internet. We have plenty to do and will update when we have the ability to get back to the city.

Something Good

So what do you do when your site has no power or steady water source? You haul 50 KG bags or rice. You scoop rice into smaller bags then add in cans of sardines and water. Then you load up trucks to head out to deliver to sites in need of aid. Lauren and I have been staying busy, along with the other volunteers here in Iloilo City. We‘ve been busy working in the provincial capital building, which is the beautiful modern flagship of the province. We are just in a wait and see point, but we find the work is fun. Meow