It's been awhile since I've been able to write. There's been a lot going on.

The CNN version: I moved into the dorm at the Montessori school. I went on a trip to the beach for 3 days with 60 kids. My laundry got stolen and then I got it back :) I was given a woven skirt worth about a months income (local levels) from a woman I met and talked to for about half an hour... I still trying to figure out what I'm doing here.

And a few stories

So I met a soldier -

So last week I worked late with Remy (supervisor) and Marina (co-worker) and so we were trying to hire a tricycle (motorcycle w/ sidecar) to get home, kind of tough after dark. So we're hanging out at the side of the road trying to haggle to get a ride and this soldier comes along on his motorcycle. He's drunk and swinging his rifle around. So he asks what's going on and we explain we're trying to get out to Nambaran. So he flags down a driver for us and gets us a good price, we start to step in and then find out he's directed the driver to go to Dagupan, his destination for a night of drinking. So we explain we're not going with him, we're going home to Nambaran. Then he flags another driver down, points his gun at him and tries to negotiate the price we had been asking for. no go. He drives off. The next driver to agrees to our price and we go home.

Work?

It's still a mystery to me how anything gets done here. I still don't have a "full" schedule. I think it will change soon. I spent two days this week in workshops with participants in a community development project that I am working with. My duties officially start this sunday when my co-worker goes on mat leave. I'll be taking over her some of her duties. Up til now I have been accompanying Geraldine and attending meetings with her. The project covers a lot of different elements: enviro, peace, gender issues, organic farming/gardening, health and sanitation and animal husbandry. It's a joint project with an international NGO called Heifer International, the name of the project is Passing on the Gifts. And of course that's an acronym. Google it for more info.
So my contribution will be leading several workshops and monitoring a savings and loan group. This project runs in two different communities, Dilag and Nambaran.

About the communities:
Dilag has no irrigation system so they are dependent on rainfall to support their rice farming. Most residents are illiterate and have less than grade 4 education. There are numerous basic and preventable health problems here due to poor sanitation, shallow, unmanaged latrines etc and poverty ie they can't afford soap. They are very eager for change and participatory, but resistant to including the women in the community in the decision making.
In Nambaran, the income level is higher but their participation is lower. It is much more difficult to meet with them, ie I spent 6 hrs there yesterday, four hrs finding ppl and 2 hrs meeting. Most have finished elementary school and some have gone on to complete high school and some college. There are more women involved in this community, but it's a long way to equitable participation. These two communities have had tribal wars in recent years so they can get a bit competitive with each other so I have to be careful what information I reveal about each communities progress etc. A key issue right now is participation, I'd love to hear your feedback about the issue of participation and especially ideas for connecting with women who are used to being sidelined when it comes to community decision making. Also, any tips about cultural interpretations of participation and suspending my western concept of it. So this work covers about 2 days per week, leaving 4 days where I work at the school/dorm supervision. The dorm supervision duties are still getting developed as school just began this week. My supervisor has been away since Sunday so I have been catching up on paper work and an assignment for my professor. Not too exciting.

I'm now the only foreign volunteer. I get more invites for dinner :) Also in the past week I've had a number of conversations that really filled in some gaps about the culture here. Just when I think I'm getting it things become more complex. This week I learned alot about the tribal wars and how they have effected these communities. It's intense. When a tribal war is going on people take leaves from work, take their children out of school, even leave the hospital to return to their village for safety. They can't go out at night. Men are the main targets. There is also an elaborate peace process specific to each tribe. They elect a peace pact negotiatior - a bodong holder. He or she brokers deals, these meetings involve giving gifts of livestock and money.A little update, I mentioned earlier that a settlement was in process for a Tulgao tribe member who had attempted to kill a member of another tribe, the payment was 56,000 pesos.

A few facts about Kalinga
48 tribes
304 types of Indigenous rice grown here
Childbirth is the most common cause of death for women here
Philippines in general
Most corrupt country in south east Asia
Highest birthrate in SE Asia
Population 80 million

Currently reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Can't wait for your feedback!

Miriam

Saska-ma-toon!

Two posts in one day? Wow, maybe the Living Room Blog is turning around! After the initial excitement of the best group concept web-log ever I think we lost the passion... but onto other things.

I'm here sharing some photos from my trip to Saskatoon where I went to do a presentation. I almost can't believe I'm posting some of these since I'm not in anyway fond of having my picture taken, or of having people seeing those pictures that have been taken of me. But I'll hold my breath and it will be ok.


This is me with a fellow Ottawan student algonside 2 from McGill. We're in the Agriculture building, which is probably one of the sweetest buildings on the U of S campus. There's a fountain and a glass-back elevator and like a rainforest worth of indoor plant-life everywhere. I'm not surprised though, considering the amount of farm-life associated with a university in the middle of the praries.


This is me answering a question asked right after my presentation. That's enough about that picture.... man I'm pasty.


A happy little Ottawa bunch (although I'm the only native English speaker, which is not a uncommon occurence in my life as of late). The girls wanted to see "a prarie", and I told them that its more something you don't see. But the sky is pretty cool.


And then there was Wanuskewan! It was a national park which is protected First Nation's land that had a big settlement way back when. This is in the information building where we watched a movie about the history and got to meet many friendly buffalo.


Woah! There's a buffalo now? We had a long discussion on whether there was a different between a buffalo and a bison. I think they're different since you have buffalo wings but a bison burger.



This is me doing the thinker pose, but the sky actually looks cool.


Here Keren and I are getting up close and personal with this woman we found standing outside the discovery centre. (If you look carefully you can see that I am deeply engaged in some riveting conversation at the moment the picture was taken.) Poor lady, I think she has circulation problems because her hands were really cold.

And just to finish off:


More buffalo!!!

Thus was my exciting (not so much) trip in Saskatoon. I have pictures from the trek to Santa Barbara, but they're not developed yet, and not on a digital camera (which I'm sure you may have been able to deduce).

Random old small photos

I'm cleaning out my camera phone -- check em out.







This is a bonus picture for the math geeks (what a random thing to put on a pickup truck):