Baby powder: Not just for babies anymore

I’ve never been a big fan of using baby powder as an adult.  I know many people enjoy applying a dash or two after showering or before bedtime, but I’ve never seen the utility.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I loved it as a baby – preventing diaper rash after I pottied in my diaper, giving my skin that “baby fresh” scent that’s the trademark of babies everywhere.  But nowadays?  It’s messy, it gets all over your black clothes even when you’re not wearing black clothes, it gives you that “baby fresh” scent that no adult anywhere should be known for, and it gives your skin that pasty, “I’m going for the undead look” color.

But ever since coming to the Philippines I’ve noticed baby powder everywhere.  People are putting it on while buying R2 Cola at the market, or while sitting on the jeepney, or while in Jollibee eating their fried chicken and spaghetti.  And it’s not just the traditional Johnson & Johnson baby powder that smells like, well, baby powder.  There’s the “cooling” powder (green bottle with a refreshing scent), the “nourishing” powder (blue bottle with a sweeter scent), the “moisturizing” powder (orange bottle with a floral scent), and the “relaxing” powder (purple bottle with a lavender scent).  And I’m pretty sure there are a few I’ve forgotten, and more being released every day. You can’t find a store that doesn’t stock baby powder.  From the side-of-the-road sari-sari stores to the mega-sized CSI Department Stores, you’re sure to find multiple shelves containing multiple scents in multiple sizes (yes, there is the small, fits-perfectly-in-the-purse size).

So, given my disdain for adult usage of baby powder, I found this whole industry rather comical.  I’d see those people in the jeepney with the telltale white powder residue on their shirt collars and laugh to myself.  Silly people, buying into that silly trend.  I’m willing to bet Johnson & Johnson could stay in business solely from their Philippine baby powder sales.

And then one day I was sitting at my desk and I saw one of my Peace Corps friends…with baby powder…putting some down the back of her shirt!!  I snickered at her and made some clever comment like, “DUDE, I can’t believe you’re using baby powder!! What a scam!”  And she said, “Um, have you tried it? It’s a life saver!”  So against my better judgment, I gave it a shot.  The result: I am now the proud owner of one large “cooling” powder (for home use) and one purse-sized “nourishing” powder (for my on-the-go powder needs).  Because when your arms start sweating (not joking) in this 85+ degree heat, a little nourishing powder goes a long way.  Is your face shining like you ran a 5K, even though you just stepped out of the house 10 feet ago?  Some powder will matte that right up for you.  Is sweat dripping down your back, and likely your front as well?  A little powder will prevent your shirt from looking like you ran through a sprinkler.

It’s a fine line, of course.  If you’re sweating too profusely, adding powder will just form a type of powdery sweat paste that compounds the problem.  And if you’re not sweating enough, well, you’ll get the undead look I referred to above. (Though in the Philippines this latter problem is rare.  If you’re not sweating enough then you’re probably dead, which makes the undead look rather appropriate.)

So I’ll end by saying that I am a baby powder convert.  My name is Britt, and I am an adult user of baby powder.  I sincerely apologize to any powder users whom I previously laughed at, mocked, or beat up.  I realize now I was wrong.  I freely admit that I use my cooling powder in the morning after I shower, and I use my nourishing powder multiple times throughout the day.  And you’re darn right I use my cooling powder again before getting into bed at night.  Baby powder should be applied often and liberally.  Anyone who says different is wrong.

My first typhoon day...

In South Dakota kids hope for snow days.  Here, they're typhoon days.  Though to compare typhoon days and snow days isn't exactly an equal comparison because, well, typhoons are destructive.  Really destructive.  Typhoon Juan (which is the Philippine name, Megi to everyone else) reportedly killed anywhere from 11-20 people, depending on your source, and caused around Php 5 billion (USD 115.5 million) worth of damage to crops and structures in the central Luzon area.  The province of Tarlac, a primary supplier of rice for all of the Philippines, reportedly lost its entire crop.  The prices of vegetables at the market here in Subic have increased to four times what they were 3 days ago. And it's not done yet...the most recent reports I've read say that it's now picking up speed in the South China Sea and will soon make landfall in China. 

So yes, I experienced by first typhoon day in the Philippines (in all it was actually about 3 days), but it wasn't as fun as the snow days of old I remember while growing up in South Dakota.  It's true that we all got a couple days off from teaching at our school, but in the end, given all the destruction, it really wasn't worth it (and that's something I've never said about a snow day). I've never experienced such battering winds or driving rain.  At times the thunder claps were so loud that I thought the earth had cracked open.  And we were only at a Signal 2 here in Subic.  There are a total of 4 signals: 1 being the lowest and 4 being, well, I'm honestly not sure what happens at 4, but I think it's something like what happens in the movie The Day After Tomorrow when the wall of water overtakes the island of Manhattan and the Statute of Liberty floats away.  Typhoon Juan reached Super Typhoon status (you know it's bad when you need the adjective "super" to precede "typhoon") and much of northern Luzon was at Signals 3 and 4 during this time.  Here in Subic we were without electricity or water for a full 24 hours and experienced intermittent brown-outs for days leading up to and following that time.  The American military was reportedly in Luzon, including in Ilwas, the Subic barangay bordering mine, handing out food and water.  It's amazing how a matter of 50 yards can make the difference between being in a relatively dry area versus an area of devastating flooding.

And we've recently learned that a new typhoon has formed and is heading for us again.  The Philippine name is Katring, which will hopefully not in any way resemble the Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans in 2005.  She is expected to make landfall on Sunday or Monday.  We're already getting some pretty fierce rain, but hopefully it won't come to more than that. Typhoon season certainly makes living and working in the Philippines interesting.  Think good thoughts for all of us here in the Philippines!  I promise my next post will focus on something a little more light-hearted, like mango trees that don't actually produce mangoes.  Which raises the question: can it truly be called a mango tree if it never produces a single mango?  Philosophize on that for awhile.  I'm going to get home before the rain begins again.  And I thought NYC got a lot of rain...

Where will you be spending the next two years?

Because I'll be in the town of Sual in the province of Pangasinan!



It's a town on the western edge of central Luzon on the Lingayen Gulf and is a 6 hour bus ride north of Manila.  The high school where I'll be teaching has around 1,700 students (quite small by Philippine standards), and the town itself has a population of just under 30,000 people.  At this point I don't know much more than that. BUT...tomorrow morning (which will be tonight for you folks back in the States) I'll be making that 6-hour bus trip north to Sual for my site visit!  I'll be staying there for the next 3 days with my new host family and get an opportunity to see my school, meet my fellow teachers, and generally get the lay of the land.  Unfortunately I don't get to stay there - on Sunday I have to return to my training site to finish out my last 6 weeks of training.  Interestingly, the language I've been learning - Tagalog - is not the language spoken in Sual.  While Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines (along with English), and is therefore taught in the schools and understood my most everyone, the native language of the people of Sual is Ilokano. So it sounds like I may be learning a second Filipino language once I get to Sual in November.  Yikes! Guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

But for now I'm just excited to know where I'm going and get an opportunity to visit before moving there for good in November.  Wish me luck.  I'll take lots of pictures and post when I get back!

As promised, my exposé on the secret underworld of Philippine videoke...

Okay, now that I've got your attention and you've been sucked into reading my blog I'll admit that 1) this is a blog post, not an expose...this ain't the NY Times, folks; and 2) the world of Philippine videoke is not secret, has never been secret, nor will ever be secret as long as videoke machine rentals cost Php 500 for 24 hours of non-stop singing enjoyment.  For those who don't know, videoke is karaoke, but the machine comes on a big stand with a TV so that the words (and often a strange background having nothing to do with the song) can be seen by everyone at the party.

Videoke is huge here. Huge. HUGE.  Birthdays, christenings, funerals (reportedly, though I've never witnessed this)...they all have videoke.  Your baby turns one year old?  Darn right there's videoke.  And let me tell you, there are a lot of birthdays/christenings/other-reasons-for-renting-a-videoke-machine here.  And do Filipinos enjoy making American Peace Corps Trainees sing videoke? You betcha.  I've been invited to birthday parties solely because they want to hear me sing videoke.  In the 5 weeks I've been here I've sung videoke 17 times.  Yes, I keep track.  Soon after I realized that I was the new videoke singer on the block, I developed a defense mechanism.  No, I don't change color to blend into my environment.  I found my go-to song.  The necessity of a go-to song is apparent nearly immediately.  People want you to sing and present you with a HUGE book filled with a GAZILLION songs and want you to pick one.  Yet despite having a GAZILLION songs to choose from, you find yourself unable to choose.  Can I sing this?  Is it too high? Is it too low? Do Eric Clapton and I really have the same range?  You want me to sing in Tagalog?  So to avoid this nervous-breakdown-inducing process, you find your go-to song.

Don't be fooled...finding your go-to song is a long, deliberate process involving much soul searching and a little trial and error.  (Hopefully not too much error because you will be laughed at...a lot.)  But when you find that go-to song, well, it makes your life a whole lot easier.  It's a song you can sing.  It's a song that's a crowd-pleaser.  It's a song that can be found in the memory banks of every videoke machine.  What's my go-to song, you ask?  I'd like to thank Journey for their little ditty entitled Don't Stop Believin'.  Can I sing it? Check.  Is it a crowd-pleaser?  Double check! Is it in the memory banks of every videoke machine?  So far so good!  And it keeps me from having to sing in Tagalog, which makes everyone happy ('cause let's be honest...Filipinos don't want to hear me slaughter their language in song anymore than I want to do it).  The only problem is if someone else has the same go-to song.  But I've got a plan if that ever happens.  It involves tackling and gagging the would-be singer, but I probably shouldn't reveal any more than that.

So if any of you ever come to visit me in the Philippines, beware.  The only thing Filipinos like better than listening to a Peace Corps Trainee sing is listening to a Peace Corps Trainee's friends/family sing.  It may be best to choose your go-to song in advance.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

1 month down, 26 to go...

This coming Monday will mark the one month anniversary of my arrival in the Philippines.  In some ways it feels like I've been here one year rather than one month, but in other ways it feels like I just arrived.  In less than two months I'll be moving to my permanent site, but, more importantly at the moment, in two weeks I'll be finding out where my permanent site is.  This is a big deal for us Peace Corps Trainees because it signifies a light at the end of very long Pre-Service Training tunnel.  Not that I haven't been enjoying training.  I've met some great people and had some memorable times, but it's been filled with lots of frustrations and difficulties, many of which are ongoing.  It's a period of transition and adaptation, and knowing where we all will be spending the next two years of our lives makes it feel worth it.  I had my Site Placement Interview (SPI) last night with a Peace Corps Sector Manager (for EDU) and a Regional Manager (for the Luzon region) and I think it went well.  The point (I think) was to get a sense of what we as volunteers are looking for in a site placement - rural or urban, small or big school, mountains or beach - and also to assess our skills as both teachers and, on a larger level, successful volunteers.  I lobbied strongly for a more rural island site near/on the beach, and I think that my case was bolstered because I'm a certified scuba diver.  They seemed to take special note of this, so (fingers crossed!) I may end up living on a beach in the Philippines after all!  At this point I'm just so excited to know where I'll end up...the next 2 weeks of waiting will be torturous!

It's hard to sum up my first month in the Philippines.  Good and bad, fun and boring, hot and hotter...it's truly a roller coaster of emotions unlike anything I've experienced before.  Even though I've traveled quite a bit throughout my life, this is the longest period I've been abroad...and at this point it's hard to believe I'll be here for 26 months more!  Sometimes I think it hasn't yet sunk in that I'm a resident of the Philippines, not just a tourist.  This is my country for 26 more months!  Wow.  I sure do hope I get that rural island site on the beach...

To eat or not to eat...

THAT is the real question.  A major facet of Filipino life is food (and videoke, but we'll save that for another post).  If you're not eating, then you're talking about eating, or preparing to eat, or traveling somewhere to eat.  Truthfully, the most useful aspect of my language training thus far has been learning the vocabulary regarding food. In addition to the standard three meals/day, Filipinos also have a merienda (snack) twice per day - once in the morning, once in the afternoon.  You, as Americans, may think of a snack as a banana or a bag of M&Ms.  Here, the merienda can consist of (and these are foods I've actually eaten for my merienda): spaghetti with meat sauce; a ham sandwich, fruit, and chips (yes, that's all for one merienda); a whole fish; or two pieces of toasted bread covered in Cheese Whiz (which is smothered on everything here).  I eat breakfast around 7, my first merienda around 9:30, lunch at 12:00, my second merienda at 2:30, sometimes a third merienda when I get home from class at 5:00 because my host family doesn't realize I've already had my afternoon merienda, and dinner at 7:00.  And that's not counting all the ChocoMuchos I buy for myself at the sari-sari store. (They are candy bars with caramel, a rice krispy-type topping, and, as the name suggests, mucho chocolate!  I'm already thinking how much I'll miss them when I leave the Philippines.  Yes, they're THAT good.)

And despite this constant food intake, I'm still hungry!  I rarely sit down to a meal thinking, "wow, I'm too full to eat anything." I've had a discussion about this phenomenon with the other Peace Corps Trainees, and it's the same with every one of them. (Thank god I'm not alone in this!)  I've decided to dub this the Filipino Food Phenomenon (FFP), which is very much like the similarly titled Chinese Food Phenomenon (CFP) that everyone with a love of Chinese food has experienced at some point.  For those who are unaware of the CFP, it states that Chinese food keeps you full for a maximum of 30 minutes post-meal, no matter how much you eat.  No one is exactly sure why this is, but it's universally accepted to be true (like gravity...or the fact that the Earth is the center of the universe).  The FFP is the same concept, though I'd extend the post-meal fullness period to a full 60 minutes. Thus, Filipinos need their morning and afternoon meriendas to offset the effects of the FFP.  It's all very scientific and I plan to write a thesis on this topic upon my return to the States.

If you're wondering whether I now weigh 400 lbs...surprisingly, no.  This is the second part of the FFP.  Despite the constant intake of food, you don't gain weight.  This is easily proven by looking at any petite, slim Filipino. Filipinos are not obese people.  Again, no one knows the reason, but the theory is, as I've said, universally accepted.  One caveat: the effect gluttonous ChocoMucho consumption has on this theory is as yet untested, so I'll get back to you on that.  I'm afraid the staying slim aspect of the FFP may be destroyed by my ChocoMucho obsession.

Next time...the Filipino love of videoke!

To my devoted followers:

Sorry for my absence.  I know you've all been anxiously awaiting my next post, unable to move from your computers for fear you'll have missed the moment I post it.  Haha...joke lang! (Just joking in Tagalog.)  I'm sure you've been getting along with your lives just fine, but I wanted to let you know another post is in the works.  I've been really busy since arriving in Subic, which has made the transition much easier but the blogging more difficult.  That, combined with infrequent access to the internet, has made me shirk my blogging duties.  But don't despair, I'll be back and better than ever in the coming days. Thanks for your comments (yes, even the insulting ones, dad) - I really enjoy reading them.  Ingat! (Take care!)

Lots happening...and more to come!

Normally ideas for blog posts come to me frequently and I immediately start jotting down what I want to say (and how to make the posts funny so my blog circulation doesn't drop - watch out NY Times!!).  Which reminds me - I spoke to my parents the other day on Skype and my dad informed me, "Until I read your blog I didn't realize you were funny!"  Thanks, dad!

Anyway, as I was saying, I usually have plenty of blog ideas.  But since I've arrived in the Philippines I've been at a loss.  Not because nothing has happened, but because everything has happened.  My thoughts are completely disorganized.  There's been so much information in such a short time period that it's all floating around haphazardly in my brain.  But not to worry, friends.  Where better to organize my thoughts than on my blog?!  Thus, I'd like to give a shout-out to David Letterman and introduce my "Top Ten Most Memorable Moments (So Far) Since Leaving the U.S." list.

10.  Watching the man who was seated behind me on the plane to Tokyo take a nasty fall because he was drunk off of complimentary airplane beer.  Don't worry, he was fine, though I did spend the rest of the flight hoping he wouldn't puke on me.

9.  Arriving in Manila.  Nothing particularly exciting happened, but it was memorable watching all the future PCVs struggle with 80-100 pounds of luggage (yes, I'm included in this, and as we know...my luggage is closer to the 100 lb mark).  And it was also a relief that after 35 hours of total travel time, we were finally in the country we'll be serving.

8.  Watching a cultural show put on by a dance troupe from a local university.  The dances ranged from Spanish-inspired to native regional Philippine.

7.  Playing beach volleyball on a Philippine beach.  Again, nothing too exciting about beach volleyball in itself, but c'mon...I played it on a Philippine beach.  Enough said.

6.  Being introduced to the Filipinos who will be our language, cultural, and technical instructors over the next 3 months.  Really amazing people, and I'm excited to get to know a few of them very well in the near future.

5.  Driving from our (really nice) resort to the beach for water safety training.  Lots of rice patties and lots of poverty.  It was a stark reminder why we are here.

4.  Eating my meals in a island pagoda surrounded by water which can only be reached by a bridge.  That doesn't happen in the U.S.

3.  My first jeepney ride.  Jeepneys are large jeeps left by the Americans after WWII that are one of the main modes of mass transit in the Philippines.  They can fit around 25 people (I should say 25 Filipinos, probably only about 15 Britt-sized people) and are all outrageously decorated.  Not a bad deal for 8 pesos (about 18 cents American). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney

2.  My first Philippine mall experience.  This was my first journey out into the "real" Philippines, i.e., away from the resort, and it was similar to what I expected.  A big group of us traveling together attracts a lot of attention, even in the city.  I definitely got a few stares, particularly from kids.  The mall was considered "small" for the Philippines, even though it was four stories and contained a movie theater!  I wonder what they'd think of the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City...


And the #1 moment is... (drumroll) ...

1. Finding out that I'll be spending the next three months in Subic, Zambales and learning to speak Tagalog! Subic is a city in the province of Zambales and is a 6 hour bus ride northwest of Manila on the island of Luzon. They speak Tagalog, which is one of the two national languages of the Philippines (the other being English).  I'll be at this location for my three months of training only; after that I could possibly go anywhere on the island of Luzon (or even a few of the small surrounding islands).  This is a huge area and I may end up in the mountains, on the beach, urban, or rural.  So if you're thinking, "All the mystery of her Peace Corps experience is gone, why should I bother to read her blog anymore," well, you're wrong!  The biggest mystery has yet to be uncovered, so keep checking back for more updates!

Success!! And the journey begins...

It's 1:00 a.m. Sunday in Manila, quite warm for the middle of the night, and also quite humid...and I know that because I'm HERE!  My 27 months in the Philippines has officially started.  It's been a crazy day - or two days, since we skipped August 21st.  I guess 2010 contains only 364 days for me now.  There was lots of flying, not a lot of sleep, and lots of pictures. (I've made a resolution to take pictures of every step of this process, and so far I have pictures of buses and airplanes.  Not too exciting so far, but I have a feeling it'll get better.)

Tomorrow we need to be up for breakfast and pictures by around 9:00 a.m., so my hopes of being left alone to sleep until noon were short-lived.  Which I guess is okay.  I'm in the Philippines...who needs sleep?!

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia...

...except when it isn't.  Like today.  But I made it here in one piece, so I'll forgive the clouds for making it a less-than-perfect entry into my Peace Corps service.  My day got off to a good start this morning when the United agent didn't charge me a fee for my overweight bag due to my superior negotiating skills. 

United agent: "Miss, this bag is 13 pounds overweight."
Me:  "Yes, sir, I know.  But you see, sir, I'm going into the Peace Corps and I had to try to pack for two years abroad and I already left a ton of stuff at home and I really couldn't leave anything else and I honestly tried to make it weigh less..." [Trails off, mumbling incoherently.] 
United agent: [Gazing at me suspiciously.] "Well, do you have proof you're flying internationally within the next 20 days?"
Me:  "Ummmmm..." [Scrolling madly through my emails trying to find something that says "flying to Manila" on it.]
United agent: [After about five minutes of my mad scrolling.] "Nevermind, go ahead on up to the gate."

Yep, that's right folks...I went to law school.  Eloquent arguments like that take three years of law school to master.

So I made it to the gate and onto the plane.  And then the pilot comes onto the intercom and says, "Sorry, everyone.  We noticed a substance dripping from the tail of the plane.  We determined it's gasoline and there's a really big puddle pooling on the ground, so you'll need to deplane while we figure out where it's coming from."  One hour later, after numerous attempts to find the mechanic (who presumably was in fact found), the plane is certified ready for take-off.  It occurred to me then that dying in a gasoline-fueled fireball at 30,000 feet is number three on my 'Least Favorite Ways To Die' list, but I got back on the plane anyway.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  Once I got into Philly I realized that two other Peace Corps newbies were sitting a couple seats away from me on the plane.  We decided to catch the free hotel shuttle, stood around for 45 minutes waiting for the free hotel shuttle, discovered there was no free hotel shuttle, and finally found a non-free hotel shuttle to take us where we needed to go.  The shuttle driver should audition to become a NYC cabbie - sharp turns, quick acceleration, even quicker stops, incessant honking - it was deja vu all over again!

It was a crazy day, but I'm happy to report that it ended with me meeting a bunch of really great people.  I'm excited to embark on this adventure with some new friends!

Would you like fries with that? Yes I would!

At first it was unconsciously done.  An extra helping of potato salad here.  A second Pillsbury buttermilk biscuit there.  Maybe even a bigger-than-normal scoop of my favorite strawberry ice cream.  Standard food portions were leaving me unsatisfied, hungering for more.  A meal didn't feel complete until I'd had dessert.  I started to get annoyed with the uncontrollable need to shovel food into my mouth.  But then it hit me - the message my stomach had been trying to tell my brain for the past couple weeks: I won't be eating my favorite American junk foods for over TWO YEARS.  A soft shell from Taco John's? Nope.  Perkins' pancakes?  Sorry. Molten chocolate cake?  Banana cream pie?  Strawberry shortcake?  No, no, and NO.  So now I'm consciously eating as much as my stomach will hold.  Dessert with every meal?  You betcha!  And honestly - when my hotel includes cherry pie on the breakfast buffet, it would be wrong not to eat it.

So hopefully I'll still be able to fit into my new conservative, Philippines-approved wardrobe when my gorging is finally done.   Regardless, that handful of Hershey's kisses I inhaled earlier today was totally worth it!  And I have a feeling the onion rings I'm planning to eat tomorrow will be too!

Who says I procrastinate?

After my previous post I got to thinking...I really need to figure out if all my stuff will fit into two pieces of checked luggage (one piece for each year I'm abroad...seems kind of skimpy, no?).  As anyone who's lived with me can tell you, I'm not an overly tidy person.  It's not like I leave food and dirty dishes sitting around, but I do often share my bed with a pile of clothes bigger than me.  Sometimes, however, I go into Super Organization Mode.  SOM is rare, I admit, but when it happens...well...I'll let the picture speak for itself.

That's right, folks - my entire wardrobe for the next 27 months is packed!  Mostly.  Now I know you may be thinking, "but Britt, your bags look full! Where will you put everything else not clothing-related?!"  That's a good question, my friends, and it's something I'll address in my next post entitled 'How much money will it cost my mom to ship everything else not clothing-related?' Plus that green suitcase can expand like nobody's business, so I'm still hopeful.  For now I'm focusing on the positive.  One big hurdle has been cleared...I'll deal with the next one at some point...

Procrastinate?? Me?! Never!

From Philly to Phili!

I just got news that I'm leaving for Philadelphia, PA on August 18th for PC Staging (aka, orientation). Due to the large number of people in my group (145 apparently), the education PCVs are leaving from Philly and the youth and coastal resource management PCVs from Detroit. We'll all arrive within minutes of each other in Manila after a couple of very long flights. Turns out staging is a one-day event, starting at noon on the 19th. We leave the next morning at 5:00 a.m. (yep...that's 5 in the morning...) to travel to JFK for our flight. I didn't think I'd be back in NYC again so soon. Too bad it's only at the airport!!

I'm excited to finally meet my fellow volunteers and get to know some of the people with whom I'll be spending the next 27 months.  This has been such a long process - over a year from application to departure - but of course it now seems like I don't have enough time to get everything done.  Luckily I've resolved my clothing issues (thanks to the current Philippines PCVs for that!!), so the next step is fitting it all in my luggage.  Oh boy...

Clothes! Clothes? Clothes!?!

Well, I don't have any additional Philippines news since I last posted in May, but I feel the need to comment on trying to pack for two years abroad. I've recently begun considering what clothes I need to bring...and am having one heck of a time deciding on anything! All the Peace Corps literature says that women in the Philippines need to dress more conservatively than is customary in the U.S., and this is throwing me for a loop. Don't get me wrong - it's not like I normally dress like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (pre-Rodeo Drive shopping spree), but I've started questioning the clothes I would normally wear for a day at the office. Is that v-neck too deep? Skirt too short? What about sleeveless shirts? I don't want to set off an international incident here! And it's going to be hot...I can't wear long sleeves when it's hot!

Of course my indecision over what to bring hasn't stopped me from buying new clothes left and right - most of which probably aren't appropriate for teaching, but which are cute warm weather clothing. And I'll need cute warm weather clothing, right?! I assume there'll be times when I need a nice summer dress. And when that time comes, I'll have...a few!

I've always prided myself on being an excellent packer, but after this experience I may have to rethink that. Luckily I still have two months to get through this clothing crisis and emerge on the other side a better, more conservatively-dressed person. Wish me luck! :)

Peace Corps in the Philippines!

Hello friends!

I finally got the news I'll be serving in the Philippines as a Teacher of English Language Fluency (once I find out exactly what that means, I'll get back to you). I leave August 19 for orientation in some U.S. city and then it's off to Manila for three months of training! My permanent location is currently a mystery, but I'm hoping for a coastal region near the water (which I assume in a nation of islands is a pretty safe bet!).

So welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy it! Unfortunately I won't have anything to write about until I leave in mid-August, so bookmark this baby and check back then. Hopefully I'll end up in a location with internet access so I can post often, but if not I'll keep track of funny/awkward moments (of which I'm sure there'll be many) and post when I can.

For now, paalam (good bye)!