May: New Home, New Semester

Sorry that this monthly update is a little late. I feel that every day here is full of happenings and emotions and I had difficulty trying to summarize everything in a (somewhat...) concise manner.

making some goat friends in a rice field in Masbate

So I've been in the Philippines for 5 months. Thus far this is the longest period of time that I've been away from home (I would still go home in between quarters during my time at UCSB and my study abroad semester in Botswana was about 4.5 months). The days here go by oddly fast, yet I can't believe so much has happened since moving here in January. I do admit that there's still the more difficult days where I'm more homesick than others. I'm unsure if the homesicknesses will ever go away entirely because of how challenging life is and because of how I miss family and friends back at home.

At the beginning of the month, during our one week semester break, my MATUL classmates Erika, Sajira, and I trekked to Masbate, a province on another island in the PI for a village project assignment, whilst also enjoying some time away from the craziness of Manila. It was really nice to get out of the city and enjoy some peace and quiet, as well as some non-polluted air. Fiesta (celebrations typically held to honor particular saints) was occurring during our stay so it wasn't as quiet as we had hoped, but overall the beach provided us with some rest and peace of mind. We also got to attend a family reunion for Sajira's mom's side of the family, and there were so many people there!  It was really neat seeing how big, extended families stay connected with one another. The 17-hour bus ride back to Manila was quite rough and not a whole lot of sleeping was had, but it was definitely an adventure.

The biggest change that happened this past month was my move to a new home stay. Although I really loved my previous host family and miss them dearly, I felt that the stress from the lack of personal space was too unhealthy for me in the long run. I was blessed with an opportunity to move a couple weeks ago. I'm currently living in a community in Payatas (still in Quezon City in Metro Manila), which does have its pros (more space, no flooding, a bit cooler) and cons (longer commute, more mosquitos, garbage dump smells), but right now I'm just trying to focus on the positive. I do my best to take things day by day and see where they go from there.

some views from my bedroom window

I felt that I really wanted to share this since it really encouraged me. After grabbing dinner with some classmates one evening a few weeks ago, a little boy who was probably about 6 or 7 years old came up to us asking for money. My friend told him to wait and she bought him a meal and some bottled waters at a local eatery. The way that the boy's eyes lit up and how big his smile got after she handed him the meal and water really got to me. My classmate asked the little boy for his name and told him to take care. When was the last time that someone showed compassion for him and loved him as a child of God? I'm sure that sometimes people threw a few pesos his way (we're usually advised not to give money-that's a different story), but how often do people stop and take the time out of their day in order to love someone who was asking for help? I was reminded of how powerful small gestures of kindness are.

It reminded me of this Mother Teresa quote: We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. 

My first time doing laundry at the new house! it was kind of exciting...

And to briefly summarize other updates for May:
-It was difficult hearing about the shootings at Isla Vista/UCSB. It felt really surreal because it was my home for the last four years. You never think something like that will happen so close to home. I was really touched by how the UCSB community and other universities were in solidarity with one another. -Tagalog language lessons at the school are still going well. It can be overwhelming sometimes since I feel that there is so much I have yet to learn, but I still love going to the language school every day.
-I started my Community Economics internship with MMP, and it's been really interesting to learn more about micro-finance loans through the internship as well as through my course readings. Although they do have some flaws, micro-finance programs offer people an opportunity to improve their businesses since they often don't have access to banks due to lack of collateral.
-I'm really thankful for God's sustenance- how He strengthens me, gives me peace, protects me, and continues to reveal His heart to me on daily basis.

And as always thank you for all your wonderful support, snail mail, skype dates, emails, and prayers. Don't hesitate to send me a message or email if want to ask me anything : )