Greetings to you all. I have had an interesting week since my last update. Where to begin?
Last week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I accompanied other members of the faculty, staff, and student body on a series of recruiting trips to supporting churches in the area that had eligible students interested in attending Aparri Bible Seminary. You may or may not know that Aparri is on the northern coast of the island of Luzon, that is pertinent information because on Wednesday we traveled east along the coast to areas called Santa Anna and Gonzaga. We also went to a few places that were inland along that route, although I don't remember specific names. One of my fellow faculty members was from this area and it seemed like every time he introduced me to someone it was his cousin. The rest of the week I asked everyone I met if they happened to be a cousin of Sir Alex. On Wednesday I also ate seaweed.
Thursday was probably my favorite trip in terms of scenery. We went west along the coast to Lasam, Claveria, and Santa Praxedes. Claveria is the name of a larger area as well as a town and the area was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Mountains that extend all the way to wonderful beaches. We stopped at a place called the North Shore resort in Claveria and I got a chance to dip my toes in the South China Sea. My medical advisors told me not to even wade in fresh water due to risk of parasites, so the ocean is the only real chance I get to cool off. The ocean directly around Aparri isn't something I'd really wish to wade in anyway, so I was happy to get the chance to walk in the water a little.
Friday was a trip to Tuguegarao City which is in the southern part of the province of Cagayan (which is where Aparri is). When I came into Aparri the first time I came in from Tug. City, but it was dark and I was asleep for some of it as well, so it was the first time I saw a lot of the landscape in that direction. Topographically speaking the Philippines is a very interesting country to me. A lot of variety. I enjoyed this trip as well. I tried pansit (I think that is how it is spelled) for the first time on this trip which is a dish with noodles, vegetables, and meat similar to a casserole. It was topped with hard boiled quail eggs, and was quite good. I have officially eaten quail eggs, I guess it's time to cross that off the list.
Sunday was another interesting day. First, that afternoon I joined a "gym" for roughly $3.50 American and proceeded to lift for an hour with my new friends Kit and Jay. Kit is the son of the President of the board that oversees Aparri Bible Seminary and the mission organization that it is a part of. Jay is the son of one of my fellow faculty members here. The "gym" is practically a sweat box because even when you aren't doing anything, you're sweating. Most of the equipment is pretty old and the place is kind of trashy, but it's not like I paid premium for a membership or anything, so I'm not really worried about it. It has enough things for me stay busy, and that's all that matters.
I mentioned in a previous post that I had been invited to preach at Aparri Church of Christ, and Sunday night was my opportunity to do that. By all accounts it went fairly well. There were a few light hearted moments, like when I assured the minister that I would preach 25 minutes, 30 minutes maximum and then proceeded to preach 45 minutes. Or when I turned a page in my notes and nearly knocked a flower arrangement off the pulpit. I thought the message went ok, it could have been a bit more streamlined, a little bit smoother, other than that it was ok. I received several compliments, which I appreciated. As a thank you for preaching I also received some watermelons, which I also appreciated. If nothing else I think it was a good experience, and I'm glad that I jumped at the chance to preach soon after I arrived. I also appreciated the fact that the students that I live with were there to support me. I very excited about the fellowship that God is building there.
I also now have a book to help me learn to speak Ilokano. I learn languages better when I can read what's going on in addition to hearing it, so it should help quite a bit. I'm anxious for classes to start, I'd really like to settle into a routine here. So far it has been wonderful and I've been very lucky and very blessed.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers,
Nick
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Continuing Adjustments and Cool (figurative) Experiences
One of my main gripes so far (luckily there haven't been many) was that I wasn't getting much of an opportunity to exercise. Last night (Monday night) and this morning I finally got a chance to walk around Aparri with my body guards. Some of the students of the Seminary are here over the summer working for the school in various capacities. A few of them live with me and are thus tasked with making sure I'm safe, so I needed an entourage when I wanted to take a walk and they are affectionately referred to as my body guards. So, we took a walk last night to a park nearby and around the town also. It is a lot easier to get your bearings when you are walking as opposed to riding on the back of a small motorcycle. Anyway, it was a great fellowship opportunity to just walk and talk with these guys. We topped it off by coming back the house and singing some choruses. It was really cool evening that I hope is repeated many times.
This morning I also got a chance to take a walk to the sea shore here. It is a neat area where the South China Sea and the Cagayan River meet. The smell of drying shrimp and fish is a constant presence there though. Said scent can be a little gamey.
It's really interesting the way the students interact with me. When they first meet me they are very quiet and they'll only speak when spoken to. I've been told that this is because they are shy about their English abilities. As we spend more time together and they warm up to me, they become more talkative, asking me about myself and joking with me. It's really funny because whenever a new student shows up and is afraid to talk to me, all the others make fun of him, even though they were doing the same thing 3 days ago.
Another interesting pattern keeps showing up, and I think it is because of similar religious backgrounds. There have been several connections as far as names go, and I think it's because of good Catholic naming traditions. The administrative assistant and accountant here at the office is named Maria-Therese , which happens to be my mother's name. A gentleman who refers to himself as my English student and who is on the board for the school here is named Marion, a very special name to me because it was my paternal Grandfather's middle name, the name he most often answered to when he wasn't answering to "Pappaw." Filipinos place a lot of emphasis on family and familial connections, and these connections have been really interesting to me.
How about some updates on customs? I received several lessons here at the office yesterday. One was on how to wash bread. Filipinos like to dip their bread in their coffee, and when a previous American witnessed this, he thought they were washing their bread before they ate it. He was then aghast when the Filipino he was watching proceeded to drink the coffee. It's hilarious to hear them tell the story, and since they were telling me my friend Marion decided we needed some bread so I could learn how to "wash bread."
Another thing they taught me yesterday was how to eat a mango without a knife. The mango is similar in shape to a pear, but it's flesh reminds me of a more tart peach. It is very tasty, but there is a large seed in the middle of the fruit and typically it is served sliced so that it is easier to eat. Anyway they showed me how to peel and eat a mango, and it was a mess because the flesh is also moist like a peach. It is pretty easy to eat until you get to the fruit around the seed. You have to work for it and it is very slippery. It was pretty funny up to this point because they love to give me things to eat and not tell me how to eat them; then they the make fun of me for eating it wrong. But my friend Marion then informed me that removing the last of the mango flesh from the seed is how Filipinas practice kissing and then proceeded to demonstrate: "It is how they practice for tongue! Ha ha ha!"My co-workers in the office here keep insisting that Marion is a shy man. I haven't seen much evidence of that.
So far I'm doing very well. I'm preaching next Sunday evening at Aparri Church of Christ and looking forward to the opportunity. Pray that it goes well and that my speaking tempo doesn't get too fast or too slow. It needs to be slow enough that older folks can follow, but not so slow that it is insulting. Older Filipinos are less familiar with English, so it takes them a little while longer to understand, but younger Filipinos are very familiar with the language; so I need to find that balance.
Nick
This morning I also got a chance to take a walk to the sea shore here. It is a neat area where the South China Sea and the Cagayan River meet. The smell of drying shrimp and fish is a constant presence there though. Said scent can be a little gamey.
It's really interesting the way the students interact with me. When they first meet me they are very quiet and they'll only speak when spoken to. I've been told that this is because they are shy about their English abilities. As we spend more time together and they warm up to me, they become more talkative, asking me about myself and joking with me. It's really funny because whenever a new student shows up and is afraid to talk to me, all the others make fun of him, even though they were doing the same thing 3 days ago.
Another interesting pattern keeps showing up, and I think it is because of similar religious backgrounds. There have been several connections as far as names go, and I think it's because of good Catholic naming traditions. The administrative assistant and accountant here at the office is named Maria-Therese , which happens to be my mother's name. A gentleman who refers to himself as my English student and who is on the board for the school here is named Marion, a very special name to me because it was my paternal Grandfather's middle name, the name he most often answered to when he wasn't answering to "Pappaw." Filipinos place a lot of emphasis on family and familial connections, and these connections have been really interesting to me.
How about some updates on customs? I received several lessons here at the office yesterday. One was on how to wash bread. Filipinos like to dip their bread in their coffee, and when a previous American witnessed this, he thought they were washing their bread before they ate it. He was then aghast when the Filipino he was watching proceeded to drink the coffee. It's hilarious to hear them tell the story, and since they were telling me my friend Marion decided we needed some bread so I could learn how to "wash bread."
Another thing they taught me yesterday was how to eat a mango without a knife. The mango is similar in shape to a pear, but it's flesh reminds me of a more tart peach. It is very tasty, but there is a large seed in the middle of the fruit and typically it is served sliced so that it is easier to eat. Anyway they showed me how to peel and eat a mango, and it was a mess because the flesh is also moist like a peach. It is pretty easy to eat until you get to the fruit around the seed. You have to work for it and it is very slippery. It was pretty funny up to this point because they love to give me things to eat and not tell me how to eat them; then they the make fun of me for eating it wrong. But my friend Marion then informed me that removing the last of the mango flesh from the seed is how Filipinas practice kissing and then proceeded to demonstrate: "It is how they practice for tongue! Ha ha ha!"My co-workers in the office here keep insisting that Marion is a shy man. I haven't seen much evidence of that.
So far I'm doing very well. I'm preaching next Sunday evening at Aparri Church of Christ and looking forward to the opportunity. Pray that it goes well and that my speaking tempo doesn't get too fast or too slow. It needs to be slow enough that older folks can follow, but not so slow that it is insulting. Older Filipinos are less familiar with English, so it takes them a little while longer to understand, but younger Filipinos are very familiar with the language; so I need to find that balance.
Nick
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Old Foe Greek, the New Foe Heat
I must admit a few things right off the bat. God has been amazing to me on this excursion so far. In saying this I will probably ensure that I have some soon, but thus far I've had no stomach issues which is a tremendous blessing. It is much easier to get adjusted to life in a new place when you aren't running to the "comfort room" as it is called here every 10 minutes. Food so far has been pretty good. A lot of rice. A lot. Of rice. In fact I eat mostly rice because I'm unsure about other things, but so far it seems to mostly be small amounts of fried meats like corned beef or pork mixed with boiled vegetables. Also a lot of fish in various forms. The mangoes have probably been my favorite thus far. Very tasty. I'm a little worries about my calcium intake though, I'll have to ask around and see what is available. If nothing else I can just chew tums I suppose.
I had no idea what to expect regarding my quarters, but I am living in the mission house here at Aparri Bible Seminary, and it is a lovely little house that I'm very pleased with and I feel very blessed to have such a nice place to stay. It even has a window air conditioner if I want to turn it on, but I've felt worse after the two nights I used it, so I don't know if I'll be using it much or not.
It is very warm here. Pretty much 90 Fahrenheit everyday and humid like the Ohio valley, so I should be used to it, I think it just caught me a little early this year. But it feels like late August in Cincy every day here. Just found out that there is a typhoon messing around in the Pacific reasonably close to the Philippines, it not supposed to get real bad here, maybe some much needed rain. The rainy season is supposed to start next month, as I understand it we're not quite far enough north to be heavily involved in the monsoon, but it mostly gets cloudy and rains more often.
I spoke with Manang (term of respect for a woman older than you) Leolinda Columna who teaches many things here at ABS, and we agreed that I would teach Greek 1 for the upcoming semester. I've started my preparation for this class and I'm looking forward to it. Also I will probably teach an exegetical course on some New Testament epistles and a class called intro to Bible study this first semester. Definitely looking forward to teaching these courses.
I have been truly blessed thus far. There have been many situations where I was unsure of what I needed to do or how things would turn out, but I've had a lot of practice praying "As you will and as you know; Lord have mercy." or "Lord, I'm worried; Please take care of this." Of course God has been doing just that and it's been wonderful to see.
If you wish to pray for me, please pray that my understanding of the culture and the local dialect, Illokano, would increase. I listened to an entire sermon in Illokano last night and I have a long way to go. Also, please pray for my continued health. Well begun is half done as they say, hopefully that is the case.
Thank you so much to those of you who made a donation or will make a donation in the future. It has enabled what appears to be a mutually beneficial relationship for both myself and the school.
Nick
Sunday, May 8, 2011
New Beginnings
After approximately 37 total hours of travel I finally arrived here in Aparri. Piranha in a feeding frenzy have nothing on the Manila airport pickup area. Despite some challenges I have been pleasantly surprised time and again.
I have a new last name that I am introduced with: "still single." The fact that I am 28 and single is a great source of mirth for Filipinos and Filipinas. Everyone I've met has been wonderful to me thus far and it seems that having a genuine smile goes a long way even if you don't understand all the ins and outs of the culture. I decided not to take a rest this afternoon after the mid-day meal, I'm sure there will be jokes about that all evening.
Starting tomorrow the school is having a junior camp for 9-13 year olds to introduce them to the Seminary etc. I'll be on the edges observing and hopefully I have a good idea or two for games.
Please continue prayig for me.
Nick
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