Amoeba

I've promised myself that this will be the last blog entry about being sick. I've been in Manila all week, pooping in lots of different cups and getting lots of needles stuck in my veins. And the final conclusion is....Amoeba. So, more meds and lots of speeches on avoiding foods that have been sitting out, not drinking tap water, and washing my hands after i use the bathroom. What am I, three? When you are sick in the PC, they put you up at a hostel in a nice part of Manila called Malate. This is the part of town that is filled with tourists, nice stores, good restaurants of any cuisine you could want, and lots of coffee shops. I'm talking real coffee, not the instant kind they drink everywhere else here. Of course, coffee is not on my rice/banana/gatorade diet, but it smelled good when i walked by. The days are filled with waiting around for test results or for doctors to see you. Manila is a really cool city, like an Asian Manhattan (ok, maybe not quite as cool as Manhattan), but when you are sick and here by yourself, it's pretty boring and lonely. So yesterday, armed with Imodium and my water bottle filled with rehydration salts, I decided to check out the Mall of Asia. Apparently it's the biggest mall in Asia. I'm not a huge mall fan, but here, malling is a sport. And yes, mall is a verb. When you leave any mall here there is a big sign over the exit that says "thank you for malling". Mall, mall mall.
What a monstrosity. There is an ice skating rink inside it. What Filipinos know how to ice skate? The only ice they've ever seen is the ice that comes out of the freezer. And judging by the kids out there giving it a go, it was indeed a novel sport. Watching this spectacle was a great way to pass the time, though. I can't understand who shops there. The stores are high end, by American standards. But it looked like there were lots of tourists there. People travel here to mall? Unbelievable.
So, that's been my week. Tomorrow I go back to site, where my new washer awaits. I cant wait to try it. Despite all these new and bizarre ailments I've been experiencing, this is still the coolest experience ever. I guess that says a lot for the program I am part of and the country I am in. I am still in love with this adventure.

weekend trips

Over the weekend I went to visit my friends Kate and Pat in Nueva Ecija, which is a Provence about 3 hours notheast of me. For a week and a half we were talking about it, what kind of American food we would cook, what movies we would watch, what songs we would sing when we went out for videoke. Its so crazy how much you look forward to things like this. Just sitting around, talking and laughing, having a beer with friends. Nothing special. Its just so relaxing to not have to struggle through a tagalog conversation and have someone understand and reciprocate sarcasm.
Today is a Filipino holiday so its a day off. Ive decided that the mosquito situation is getting out of control, so i bought a few meters of screen and some duct tape. While I was hoisted on my washtub, which was on top of my coffee table, to tape up the screens, i saw that in my back "yard"there is nothing but standing water and trash. I guess that explains the swarms. Yeah, duct tape and screens. It looks pretty ghetto. But here its all about functionality. Nevermind whether or not its aesthetically pleasing (which its not. it looks like a six year old did it). I will still use my net and take my malaria pills, but now i dont have to cover myself in deet everyday. That cant be healthy.
When I was visiting Kate and Pat, i saw that they had bought a washer. Ive decided to do the same. I feel like this western-comfort splurge is a bit indulgent, but my stinky clothes would beg to differ. When you handwash, you hang things up that are soaking wet since you cant spin the water out. So on average it takes about 3 days for them to dry, longer if its raining, which it usually is. With the spinner it only takes a day so your clothes dry before they have a chance to get mildewy. I cant wait to take a shower and dry off with a towel that doesnt smell like wet dog.
Speaking of dog, I tried it last weekend. Its not too bad if its cooked adobo style. I mean i wont be making it for myself or anything, but I didnt gag while eating it.

sick...again

It's not a promising track record. In four months, Ive been hospitalized three times. So at the end of 27 months, I'll have only been in the hospital 21 times! It's always the same thing....an intestinal infection due to bacteria. The doctors say, "Be very careful of what you eat!". Right. Thanks. Like I'm walking around eating garbage off the street. Nothing is more miserable than being sick and dehydrated when you are this far from home. I am vigilant about the food and water that I prepare. The problem is, this is a country that likes to feed visitors. It's how they show their love and hospitatlity. They make you eat. Its impolite to refuse. So, I dont always know how long that mystery meat has been sitting out. Many people here cant afford refrigerators, some just have foam coolers, so oftentimes things are left out. You just cover it up with this ingenious contraption that I refer to as a "fly-keeper-outer"....I dont know what its called but its like a mesh plastic basket that keeps the flies off and the mice out. I'm not sure how much it prevents the bacteria from festering though...
At any rate, I am home and feeling better. I think I have sufficiently worried my mother into a state of panic and I am half expecting her to show up on my doorstep any day now.

new crib

I'm in! Saturday I moved out of my host family's place and into my apartment. It's not too far from my family's house, a little closer to the town proper of Magalang and a little further from work. I can still ride my bike though, it's not too far. It kind of reminds me of that exhilirating freedom you feel when you first go off to college. Independence is not something that's encouraged or valued in this culture, so I've had a hard time explaining this move to my host family (and most of my Filipino friends, for that matter). Why would I want to live alone when I can live with 15 other people and share one bathroom with no running water? I will be lonely! I will be scared! I won't be able to cook for myself, do my own laundry, clean up my own messes, do my own market shopping...
They love to take care of you, these wonderful people. They don't want you to have to do anything for yourself. It's been a big adjustment for me to let them help me, to not get frustrated and scream "LABAS!" when they all gather around to watch me hand wash my clothes, repeatedly telling me that I'm not doing it right and giggling to one another. As my patience reserve started to become depleted, I spent more and more time apartment-hunting. I think I left at just the right time.
My new place is very basic but there is running water and my landlords are awesome. They've already invited me to spend Christmas with them. I also have some new pets, in the forms of frogs, house lizards, and mice. They are helpful in keeping the bug population that also resides with me under control. There are windows in the front and back so there is a great cross-breeze that keeps it surprisingly cool. This was the most relaxing Sunday morning I've had in four months. I woke up, made coffee, read, fell back asleep, read some more....and stayed in bed as long as I wanted. There were no knocks at the door at 7 am wanting to know what I was doing and if I wanted breakfast; no kids peering in through my window and yelling my name in the hopes that I would get up and come play with them. aahhh...

recipes gone wrong

We can't figure it out. They have all the right ingredients. The produce here is beautiful. But somehow, it ends up with things it shouldnt. Avacodo cubes with condensed milk and sugar. Spaghetti with hot dog pieces and sugar. "Garlic bread", to go with the spaghetti, with butter, garlic, and sugar. A poached egg floating in your chicken noodle soup. Mayo on carrot cake. A hot dog wrapped in a waffle. Banana ketchup. Relish and ketchup as salad dressing. Gelatin cubes in pasta. Sugar in ALL bread products. Fish as a chaser when doing shots. The list goes on...
So avacado is, after all, a fruit. I can kind of see how they came up with that. They add milk, sugar, and ice, and make a milkshake. We do the same with other fruits. Ok, fine. But mayo on carrot cake? Where did that come from? And what's with all the sugar? Its out of control. It's no wonder diabetes is such an epidemic here. This is, as my friend Owen says, a county full of hummingbirds. The fact that i drink my coffee (which is instant coffee, so I have a hard time even calling it coffee) black is big news around here. Black coffee? You crazy, girl.
But I guess in a nation whose best-known food is halo-halo, it should come as no surprise. "Halo- halo" translates to "mix-mix". Thats because its a desert with a bunch of stuff floating in the bottom of it. Wanna know whats in it?Beans. Banana slices. Coconut slices. Red gelatin cubes. Corn. Green gelatin cubes. Ube (a purple root crop). Put some shaved ice top of it all, then (what else) top it off with some condensed milk and sugar, and enjoy!