The Wild Things...

One of the best things about being somewhere different is the variety of new and different animals we have encountered. Our first couple of days I was fascinated with the small lizards who we spied climbing on and in the hotel we were staying at. I soon learned that these are "butiki" and they really live everywhere here; I see two or three anytime I look at the wall in our home. The teachers at my school couldn't believe that we don't have butiki in Vermont. Steve has seen the most unique animals during our four months here, including a monkey (which was someone's pet, but was likely wild at some time) and a sea turtle. I decided to post a few of the pictures we've taken of local wildlife (and domestic life) to show you some of the animals we've come across in recent months.

This is not a butiki, but a slightly larger lizard we came across while visiting a historical site in Bataan.

This is the largest spider I think we have ever seen. She was bigger than my fist.
The dikya (aka jellyfish). We did not see a lot of marine life in our training site, but there were a lot of dikya.
The ugliest dog I think I've ever seen. He was mean too.

One of my favorite animals, the carabaw (water buffalo). There are so strong and gentle. People use them in the rice fields and pulling carts.A big slimy snail. These guys came out at night at the hotel we were staying at in Manila during our Swearing In.
Ants, there are SO many here! They are our constant companions.
Its hard to see, but that little dot is a lice egg. Ipis (cockroach) this one lives in our bedroom. He's about the size of my big toe.

Running in Circles

I've spent the last twelve days "working" (there are many reasons that the word working is italicized here). For example I spent yesterday from 7am-930pm "working". However if you analyze the work day there is usually less than 10% devoted to actually accomplishing a task. There are just an unbelievable difference between an American and a Filipino perception of work. At this point I just feel dizzy from it all and can't recognize much reward from it all. Despite all the headache associated with that aspect of Peace Corps life there are many rewards in the day to day things. Our host family is incredibly generous. The two kids ages 10 and 8 are hilarious and their two cousins are always around also. They've become less shy in the past couple months and now interact with us but there are few words. I came to the realization a couple weeks ago that they own a total of about five toys between the four kids. It was while I was trying to figure out the rules to the game they were playing that I finally noticed there wasn't a toy chest in the house instead they were playing with rubber bands. At this point I've identified five different games they've created with just rubber bands. The amount of respect that people have for each other here is amazing and especially the kids. Rebeka's students always identify their parents as their hero's because of the sacrifices they make for the family. I'm always addressed as sir and Rebeka is addressed as mam by younger kids. I believe after two years here the hardest thing about adjusting back to American culture will be the lack of respect present in our society.
I have a great story about the export of American culture. One day I was walking back from town and was greeted by a young kid probably about 8 or 9 waving his middle finger at me and saying "whats up". The interesting thing is he had a smile from ear to ear and wasn't trying to offend me at all but was simply showing me his understanding of America and trying to greet me in an American way. You may be thinking right about now Americans don't greet each other like that however to the eight year old Filipino boy all he knows of America is from what he has watched on MTV and in the movies. Since those are his resources for studying American culture it makes perfect sense that flipping someone off is a way to make a connection. I wish I had the Tagalog vocabulary to tell him that most people in America aren't like what you see in the movies, that we aren't all rich, we don't drink constantly, and we don't flip each other off regularly or as a greeting but even if I could I feel that the years of movies and TV will serve as a more prominent educational tool. Therefore as I passed him I smiled and waved because I didn't want to be rude.

*In response to Uncle Matt
There is wildlife here but most of it is insects, reptiles and amphibians. The population of birds has been wiped out due to the use of banned pesticides and habitat destruction. The best wildlife here is the marine life. There are dolphins, whale sharks, sea turtles, hundreds of fish species, lobsters etc. I saw my first sea turtle last week and have identified probably close to sixty fish species. However everyday that goes by there is more habitat destruction so the sooner you get here the better chance of seeing wildlife. So snorkeling is the best activity. Did you go on the top thrill dragster???

Amidst the Mangroves

So there we were in a stew of water and trash, it reached my knees and Rebeka's waist. We were making our way home along the coast after a day out. High tide was approaching and we had to get through one last obstacle, the mangrove forest. For all of you out there that haven't had the chance to see a mangrove forest just think of mud, lots of critters, and a knot of trees. So we started making our way through the forest with relative ease as the incoming water pushed us deeper and deeper into the forest. Then we got to the muddy stuff and every step took more planning to avoid losing a leg. Then just as things were getting a little ridiculous we saw the light at the end of the tunnel (literally). So we pushed forward and just as I crouched down to fit underneath a branch I heard what sounded like a WWII aircraft flying next to my left ear, as I went to swipe it away it bit or stung me in the neck. Just about then I started to recall if I remember hearing about any poisonous insects in the Philippines. It was about then that the pain set in and the walk home was a little less enjoyable than I had imagined. Despite the unusual amount of pain that bite caused it didn't swell abnormally or cause discoloration, so to say the least it was a missed photo opportunity.