Friday March 31, 2006
Well…Erin and I are both extremely excited because we are very close to finding out where our final placement will be. Our large group of 77 Peace Corps Trainees split into their respective “hub” sites this morning. Our hub site is referred to as the “Western Visayas.” Currently, we are on the island of Panay, just outside the city of Iloilo (pronounced, “Eeelo Eeelo”), and are very excited to continue with our training. Here’s what happened:
The 15 of us who were shipped to Western Visayas are pretty diverse; our ages, abilities and actual jobs vary, but we are all very excited. The Philippines is a deceptive country. On the surface, a lot of the amenities of western culture are widely available. There is an Ace Hardware in the shopping mall near our training center and NBA basketball is very popular here. However, while we may feel comfortable initially, we knew that we were in for a little change in culture once we left the training center early this morning..
Now, as per the American Way, almost all of us recruits decided to bring many aspects of America with us thousands of miles across the world to the Philippines, including a few who decided to smuggle what felt like actual kitchen sinks in their bags. Getting the bags on the bus and the ensuing bus ride to the airport from our training center was pretty easy-peasy…a lot of luggage, sure, but we got to ride in a large, modern, air-conditioned bus, complete with a short showing of some pretty funny Mr. Bean skits on the DVD player. However, once we got off the bus, we had to all take all of our bags past security 2 times before we could check them—no problem. We boarded our jet and the flight to Iloilo City was quick and efficient. The scenery gliding past under our windows was absolutely magnificent. Beautiful blue expanses of the Pacific intermingled with islands large and small. As we approached Iloilo City, the rolling, high mountains in the middle of the large island of Panay took our breath away. Upon landing, instead of the modern conveniences of jet ways and air-conditioned terminals afforded to us in Manila, we stepped off our plane directly onto the tarmac. After getting all 239,429,387 of our bags, instead of a bus, we took what is called a “jeepney” to our destination. In case you are not sure what exactly a jeepney is, picture a brightly painted old-time American military jeep with an extended, covered bed. The bed can fit about 10 Filipinos with knees drawn under chin, but Filipinos are generally a bit shorter than Americans, so imagine the love that exists in our group when we squeezed 15 Americans. We had so much stuff with us that we actually had to commadere 2 jeepneys—one for the people and one for the luggage. Along the route to our new training center, there were signs that remind drivers to “Please obey local traffic laws,” and after making the hair-raising journey, I would be interested to know exactly what those laws may be. The nipa huts and colorful stands selling everything possible under the sun whizzed by in a blur of motor bike fumes and sharp gasps as we passed and were passed by many vehicles. We did arrive safely, though, and scarffed down a hasty lunch of rice, chicken, beans and the juiciest, freshest fruit you could wrap your tongue around. Everything is justso gorgeous. Currently we are staying at a training center across the street from the aqua blue coast of the Sulu Sea. (Of course Erin and I already went swimming shortly after arriving). We begin our language lessons this week. There are three languages being taught in our region. The two of us will be learning Kinaray-a. By the end of the week will be moving in with our first host family. Keep us in your prayers; we love all you very much!

After a quick 20-some hour jaunt across the world, we have arrived safely in Manila and are awaiting our placement. We are staying in a resort just outside of the city and leave this Friday to a regional hub-site where we begin to learn a local language. Thank you for your prayers. We love you all so much!
-Erin and Scott

Why am I joining the Peace Corps?

I think that on this, the night before our Peace Corps adventure begins, it is important I write down and share the reasons I am doing this. I hope this answers some of your questions; also, I might soon forget, and this way, I can be reminded of why we are doing this, too! So as I search my heart for answers to why we decided to join the Peace Corps, here is the list:

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1John2:6

*I want to step out of Western, comfortable, American Christianity for a while and just try (try being the key word!) to live a little closer to the way Jesus did
*Deep in my heart I still hold onto a naive, but incredibly sincere, passion to contribute to humanity--to make the world a better place
*I have been given so much and lived such a wonderful, comfortable life - I want to give some of that away to someone else; someone a world away from that life
*I want to learn about the world, to open my eyes and my heart to another culture
*I don't want to just talk about helping people, or about what I think we could or should do. I want to stop for a moment and really try and live it
*There is a part of me that longs for adventure
*I simply love to travel, I love languages, other cultures, the sights, sounds, everything!
* This is the perfect time in my life to pick up and go, there is nothing holding me back and I am able to share this experience with my best friend
*I don't want to look back on my life with regrets and "I wish I would haves." I want to take advantage of the opportunities before me
*I want to make friends that are different from me, to really enter into the lives of people a world away from what I know
*I want a challenge, to step outside my comfort zone and hopefully expand it
*Most of all I want to learn about love, about faith, and about humanity
Thank you for supporting me in living out this dream!
Erin

There are new pictures posted of our trip back east in "the picture floaty thingy" (Erin) to the right.

Passing the Continental Divide in the wonderfully unpopulated state of Wyoming, Erin and I decided something...driving east across the country is not very much fun at all. The story of this drive east actually started a few years ago.
Our first drive across the country started when we packed up my 1993 Dodge Intrepid in August of 2004 and drove out of Michigan and into the sunset, with nothing but adventure and excitement ahead of us. There was a thrilling uncertainty of what we were doing...driving west, both of us fresh out of college, life was ours to grab by the horns. Erin was moving west to volunteer for a year in inner city Oakland, and I was...well...I didn't know exactly what I was going to do, but it was going to be in California, that was for sure. The drive west proved to be nothing less than adventurous. We camped under the stars in the Badlands of South Dakota, broke down on the side of a mountain near Buffalo, Wyoming, battled bears in Yellowstone National Park and finally arrived in California, dirty, tired, but still smiling and eager for more.
Our second trip across this great land began in September of 2005. Our "honeymoon" (I use that term loosely--Erin still insists that I owe her a week on a beach somewhere with free drinks and a tropical atmosphere.) consisted of our moving across the country again; even though there was more certainty to what we would be doing, it was still an adventure. We were going west to Oakland to move into our first apartment together as a married couple. Our first stop in Wisconsin at an inn with a huge, 13-foot-statue of a bull standing guard outside proved that this was not the Caribbean honeymoon Erin had imagined. Our adventure west just kept getting better as Rocky Mountain National Park took our breath away, Utah's majesty overwhelmed our senses and Lake Tahoe topped off our whole trip.
As fun as those trips west were, this trip in February of 2006 does not feel like an adventure in any sense of the word. So far we've stayed at a string of Best Western's in towns that elicited hardly a yawn from either of us. Moving west had a certain mystique that continued to envelop us with each mile we drove. Then, we felt like 19th century pioneers, battling our way across the vast plains and over massive canyons until we reached the end of the country and our goal of California. Now, all that awaits us is Michigan. Michigan is certain to us. We love it and the people there dearly, but it is not the same pioneering spirit luring us on. The canyons are not so spectacular. The plains are vast (or maybe better put, boring). Our car is packed so tight we can't move. We lose an hour with every time zone we conquer, and in order to see any sunsets, we have to look in our rearview mirror. In order to stay sane (and in order to stay on talking terms with each other), we stopped at Erin's Aunt's house near Colorado Springs for a welcome, wonderful rest of this despicable trip eastward. We know that once we arrive in Michigan, our friends and family will be well worth the travel, and that more spectacular adventures await us just around the corner. However, this drive has proven to be difficult thus far, and we are only half-way there. We continue to plug on and will hopefully conquer Nebraska on Saturday.
Score so far:
Drive East 7
Erin and Scott 1