Monday, April 23, 2012

Things Coming Together (For Now)

They say in the Peace Corps it normally takes at least six months to really get things started, a year isn’t uncommon. What happens in all this time? Getting used to the people, the people getting used to you, trial and error, building reputation, taking a week here or there for a Peace Corps training which works as half training, half a chance to catch up with the people you got to know during training and swap stories (and realize that almost all your issues at site are shared by dozens of others). Probably the biggest thing for me was figuring out what exactly I wanted to do for my community, based on their wishes, and what I can provide. I think I’m starting to get a handle.

As for pictures, I’ll save those for when I get up into the far-flung, mountain barangays again. At least, if I can get up there sometime this week or in May.

Three Things I’ve Done

PSK Training

I started my informal training with the Provincial Sanguniang Kabataan (the youth government). Although my site is only one of the 15 municipalities of the province, this project is covering a much larger area, or at least has the potential too. This was the Saturday before Easter (prompting me to cancel my Easter plans). We met in a small restaurant. There was the Provincial SK Chairman, and three others of the 15 municipalities. Four out of sixteen isn’t a lot, but it’s a good start.

I started with learning more about them, their current and previous projects. I also explained who I was, and what my job entailed. We then discussed critical thinking and its importance along with a few exercises such as describing objects without mentioning any physical characteristics. Next we talked about how to determine what project you want to do based on what the target community wants. Finished it off with discussing different leadership roles such as facilitator, mediator, teacher, advocate, etc.

For the coup d’grace, I gave them a task to find one or two community leaders who are not politicians or have anything to do with the local government. Just regular citizens who are helping the community in some way. Hopefully we can build a network of these people to help build a more sustainable support system for the youth leaders.

PACA

Participatory Analysis for Community Action. In English, it means activities that can generate more ideas and more accurate information for community projects than simply asking “What’s the problem?” One of the things my host agency asked for was stress management. It’s not my forte, nor am I particularly good at reducing my own stress when it matters (though getting better), but I don’t need to be an expert to at least run some activities to get a better idea of what the causes of stress are.

At our Monday flag ceremony, I told all the municipal workers about wanting to run an activity. I told them I’d put the signup sheet next to the place we all sign in and out. I did it all in Ilokano (save for the word “2nd ” which I forgot [it’s maikaduwa]). I was planning on having it done the next afternoon. The next morning came and no signatures.

I was thoroughly annoyed, but decided to keep at it. I wrote on the signup sheet that I’d buy their meryenda (snacks) and that if I didn’t get any volunteers, I’d be sad, trying to egg on their hospitality. Something worked and I got enough volunteers. I moved it to Wednesday afternoon since I only got the signatures Tuesday. The next day came and I found out it was only a half day due to Holy Week. Crap.

So the following Tuesday (we had Monday off too), I finally got it done. I had four groups (women and men, single and married with each) write a normal 24 hour schedule, and write a yearly calendar with all the important seasons and events to them. The hope is to see if there are differences amongst the four groups, and if anything clearly shows why people are stressed in the office.

These activities work for other things as well other than stress.

Language Camp

This was an optional, not-quite-a-week, language training to give us a chance to learn a bit more specific to what we need at site (for example, I needed to learn how to describe critical thinking in Ilokano), and for the Peace Corps to gauge how our language is coming along. It was a regional event with only fifteen of the volunteers doing the northern dialect of Ilokano, or the more common Tagalog you can find around Manila and as a secondary dialect in most places. We had it in La Trinidad where I trained, and it was good to see some of the volunteers again, my old host family from training, and my language trainer, Ester. I also shopped for a blender, and a coffee maker (drinking 3 in 1 can’t be good for my health), but alas I think it’s cheaper in my province.

The highlight of it was getting the chance to talk to several of the volunteers in smaller groups, or even one on one. When all 50 or so of us in the batch get together, we form up in groups of eight and more. Although it’s nice to see everyone, I also relish the chance to talk to people and get to see how they’re doing more personally.

Three Things I Will Be Doing

Lecture at the Universtiy

If you recall, one of the potential projects that fell through in January was working with the nearby college of Nueva Viscaya State University (NVSU). I talked to Carlo, my contact point with the school, a few times on and off. I even visited the school and watched part of a day of presentations about the environment, where we talked some more. The plan was to have me present to X amount of students sometime early June. I discovered this last weekend that I will be giving a lecture to two different classes of education students, each about 75 in number, this Thursday. It’s a pleasant surprise to see something happen earlier than I expected.

Think I’ll cover critical thinking. More on this below.

Seminar on how to give a good Presentation

Poor PowerPoints, long lectures, and technical difficulties have been common themes here in the Philippines. It’s kind of like America in that way. I’ve taken the initiative to start helping people learn better ways to present. It’s set for this Friday for any municipal worker who is interested.

Child-Friendly Municipality

There is a country -wide push for places to be “child-friendly”. This hits its peak in October which is “Child-Friendly Month”, where there is a contest all across the Philippines. It’s a great idea, but the goals are very broad, generalized, and offer little direction. I’m hoping to work with my local SK to create some specific and measureable goals in a couple weeks when we have a small town fiesta. Not sure what the fiesta is for yet.

The Answers are Out There

The more I explore the web, and the more I talk to people in my community, I can see answers to our problems left and right. I’ve started watching a show called Earthrise. I see that the people her in Dupax are very aware and hold the same concerns that I do. I see the projects of other volunteers in the Philippines and abroad.

So why are things still bad?

Well first, consider that we have upped the bar on what’s acceptable and not in recent generations.

Second, think about how there are over 7 billion people now, each with their own set of problems on top of those issues shared amongst us.

This new theory of mine is actually hopeful. I feel now that I don’t have to worry about coming up with the answers to too many things in site, and for my work after Peace Corps. I just have to find out who already has it figured out and learn from them.

So What do I Want to Accomplish?

There are a few common themes I’ve seen that I’d like to help with. One of the big ones is critical thinking. I’ve discuss this with other volunteers, and it seems a pretty common situation where critical thinking just isn’t emphasized. I can get a youth to tell me information, but getting them to apply it, to use it in a different context, to conceptualize new ideas, I hit a wall. I’ve become pretty good at simplifying these things into Ilokano, and I’ve seen a little improvement in the responses. Critical thinking is something I’ll probably incorporate into almost everything I do from now on.

“Ningascigon” is a Tagalog word that describes it when people get excited to do something, but are nowhere to be found when it comes to do get it done. See? The Filipinos are more than aware of this cultural trait, they have their own word for it. This is something else I plan to address again, and again, and again, to try to change minds to make ningascigon as bad a word as I can.

In the Philippines there are a lot of out-of-school youth. It accepted, if not liked, for a child or teen to drop out. Starting with the Child-Friendly movement, and working with community partners, I want to establish a town culture that actively tries to minimize the number of dropouts, putting an effort into it that currently is not there.

Finally, PREPARATION! Cannot emphasize how much I want to push for more preparation.

A Final Story to Share

After language camp, I took a van ride through a winding road back to my province. Had a nice conversation with a bank manager who travels back and forth between home and work. It was dark by the time we got to where my stop was, and I got out… too early.

As the van pulled away, I picked up my bags to see that I didn’t know where I was. I knew we had passed the last town area before my stop, and I knew which direction to keep walking, but wasn’t sure on how far this walk was going to take. My first concern was since it was dark, traffic wouldn’t be able to see me. My second concern was that I was an American carrying a couple bags all by myself.

After five minutes I began cursing my stupidity.

After ten, a friendly young man offered a ride on his motorcycle (riding a motorcycle is a big no-no in the Peace Corps) which I declined.

After fifteen minutes, and realizing the next stretch of road I thought was my destination was not, I decided to call my supervisor and see if he knew how far I was as I told him what was around me.

After twenty minutes, and finishing the phone call, I knew where I was. It only took a few more minutes to get to the junction points where I could ride a trike the rest of the way back.

Lesson learned: Always be aware of my surroundings.

There are still bad days, but they have been becoming more infrequent. Health is up, and my daily routine of working out is getting close to what I want.

Keep you all updated.