Halfway There...ish

“Whooooaaaa we’re halfway there, ohhh livin’ on a prayer” (I never thought I’d quote Bon Jovi…ever.)

The time has come for a progress report, so here it goes:

I’ve already been here for five weeks and I can’t believe it! While I feel completely at home here, comfortable in my environment and settled in, at the same time I feel like I’ve just arrived. Although not what I expected or planned for, my time here in the Philippines has been well used and most enjoyed. Upon arrival I began working at the SPED Santo Nino Elementary School in downtown Tacloban, but I quickly realized that working with elementary-aged children was not my forte…nor was the oral oriented education, something that has always struck me as wrong. My students were taught to use their voices, taught by a teacher who barely knew sign language or how to effectively communicate, and she wanted me to do the same. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t, and I will never practice oral based education with the Deaf. All around the world the Deaf have their own unique language, so why not use it?

Luckily, the mindset of many, is flexible and easy-going, and I received a transfer to another volunteer placement. I am now currently working at Leyte National High School, which is also in downtown Tacloban. Downtown is about 4 km away from Bliss (my home) and I walk everyday. Along the way I’ve made friends who I talk to daily. People seem to remember the lone white girl who walks along Real Street twice a day, everyday, and that doesn’t bother me. I have the privildge of meeting and conversing with great minds whom you might never give a second look.

At Leyte High, my work is both fulfilling and frustrating. Mondays through Wednesdays I interpret for third year hearing impaired high school students. But ‘interpret’ also means teach in my case. Often times my students do not understand what their teachers are saying, the words they use, or the formulas they expect the students to already know. Therefore, I spend a majority of my time re-teaching my students what their teachers have said and I tend to spend more time explaining words and ideas, something their teachers won’t do. I’ve noticed a trend within the class and not just with my students, cheating is ‘allowed’ and passing is almost a given. A majority of my class cheats blatantly and the teachers do nothing. After a quiz or test the teacher may sometimes read out all of the students scores (which I think could be a bit humiliating) and having a student get more than a 50% is rare and almost never happens. Yet, most of the students move on to the next grade…the public education system here needs work. My task becomes more difficult when there is a lack of books or studying material. When a student here goes to public school, it means anything besides the school building is not a given. Families pay for uniforms, shoes, paper, pens, teacher fees, transportation to and from school, and xerox copies of the books they should have. School is expensive and a privilege here, not a right, like it should be.

Despite the disadvantages with the given environment/system, I love my placement. To see students get excited to learn is so fulfilling. When they figure something out, its like Christmas, and I’m one of Santa’s elves. My students and I have even become friends, allowing me access to the Deaf world here in Leyte, which is more than I could have asked for. As something I’ll reflect on later, the Deaf community here is not much different than my own back in the US. I’ve found a place here and I know I’m ready to visit again, God willing.

However, my time here in the Philippines is not just spent at my placement, I also have the privilege of living within the Filipino community, in a homestay within a neighborhood called Bliss. And blissful it is. I love my family and I love my neighbors. I’ve become close with my family here as well as the extended family and all of the friends I’ve made. Having such comfort like that makes living halfway around the world that much easier. Life here is different, but not in a bad way. I’ve learned that what we consider ‘necesities’ in the US are actually just wants, machines and inventions we use to make our lives easier but are not necessary. Something else I’ve learned already is that having money here is only important for survival, and for nothing else. When money is sparse, friends and family are bountiful, and that’s all that one needs. People here have taken care of me like I am one of their own. The world could learn a lot from Filipino people.