No mo trainin

Hey folks, how is everyone? I am back in Baguio and I think I have adjusted to the weather here because I am starting to get cold, very cold, I need pj's and multiple blankets at night. So whats new here - I finished my community activity which was to paint a community map of the barangay and to paint the speed bumps. For the map we got the help of 2 community members, the rest of the work was put in by us 4 peace corps people there. It actually turned out really well including all 258 family households and their locations and the barangay council seems to be proud of it, also with the speed bumps, we originally asked them if they would like us to paint the speed bumps thinking it would be a joke because they always see us trip on them at night. To our surprise, they were really for the idea and I think the whole community was happy to have us stay there just so that they could have their speed bumps painted. So what kind of work did you do in the Philippines? ... After we presented the map to the council, we had a despedida (goodbye party). Spaghetti was served and that was the highlight of the night, we're still talking about that spaghetti which is actually comparable to Shaky's spaghetti. There was a dance party later in the night which just doesnt exist in typical Pinoy Barrio setting in North Luzon. We, the PC trainees, had been complaining about how no one dances here at all the bars and kareokes yet they're always packed with drunkards. The next day I had to say goodbye to my host family. Now I knew that I was getting close to my host mom, we had been having good late night talks about meaning of love and religion but I didnt realize until I was saying bye how much I really did enjoy having her around - she really did become like a mom to me. We were both crying in our speeches about eachother during the despedida and i got really emotional which I was not expecting. She is moving to Chicago permanently in 3 weeks and my older bnrother George is moving to Dubai for work. I feel like an orphan all over again, thank god I have a host family in Banaue who is just as excited to have me. Today and tomorrow is the Supervisor's Conference where the supervisor and the volunteer clarify their roles and expectations of eachother and come up with a 3mo action plan. So far her expectations of me are to completely immerse myself in the culture, create a working relationship with the farmer leaders, to understand the culture and to believe in and get others to believe in the vision of the NGO. No problem right? All my expectations of me are to be conversational in the local dialect, create some friendships and not screw up my surveying duties. Tomorrow night the 13 of us here in North Luzon are catching a midnight bus to Laguna and arriving at 7am for the swearing-in conf. Then on June 3/4 I go to Banaue to begin weeding the mountainside, digging irrigation canals and plugging rat holes with rat poison. And a typhoon is supposed to hit my first week there. OK this is very long I will go now. Claire I got your package it is a dream come true - GO METAMUCIL!! Now just call me back because u never called back last time. Good to hear ur commments and hear whats going on in your life's also - I do care. OK miss yall, -Adam