World Tour

So I just finished up my internship with Charity First. I spent the past week relaxing in Manila with my friends, including Jude. The past two days I've spent in Pampanga with my family and Mary Ann, with whom I'll be traveling around the Philippines for the next two weeks until I fly back on the 24th.

On Wednesday I conducted my final presentation for Charity First, evaluating its programs and my experience. Altogether it went well, even though I wish there were more of the members there. All in all it was a good experience. I enjoyed the people I worked with, particularly the people that the organization is serving. The members of the organization were mostly well-off Filipino Chinese businessmen. For the most part their intentions are good, in helping keep this organization running to serve the impoverished sectors of society in the Philippines. However, throughout my internship I've sensed some of them to be pretty patronizing and self-righteous in the way they think and do their work. I think I really felt the most comfortable and connected to my hosts Chris and Aya, their friends, Charity First's actual staff, and the people and communities charity first was serving for their passion, genuineness, and generosity.

Wednesday, I went out with my friends Chris, Aya, Grace, Al, and Simye to Fort Bonifacio to a restaurant with a live band. They were pretty cool with the band, so Al went up on stage while I played the cajon : )

Thursday I went to the Mall of Asia, picked up some Basil Valdez cds for my mom, and later hung out with Jude, Darlene, Joey, Jasmine, and Mark, who I worked with at Charity First. We went around UP, ate, and hung out at Tomas Morato.

Friday was my last day with my host family and their friends. During the day I stayed in and watched Warlords with Jet Li. It was good, but pretty sad. After that Jude, Chris, Aya, Al, Sumiye, Grace, Tin and I did karaoke and ate at Greenbelt after. Jude slept over. It was a good end to my stay with my Chris and Aya and the World Tour with Jude pt. 1.

Saturday, Mary Ann came over and then we headed to Minalin, Pampanga after my Tito Pang and Tita Mye picked me up. We arrived at my Lola Saryang's house where they also stayed, and after choppin it up with her, took a nap. After that we went to the Fontana Leisure resort where we stayed for the night with most of my fam from minalin and my cousins, sorta like a mini-family reunion.

Today (Sunday), I woke up to find my cousins Kyle and Ian at the house. We played basketball then swam at the waterpark. After we came back to Minalin, we went to mass. After that just dinner, and chillin at the house. Tomorrow we head back to Manila to stay with Mary Ann's fam and go to Star City (Manila's version of Great America?).

These past two days have been good. It's been good to see my family again. Over here we get fed 5 times a day. Breakfast, Merienda, Lunch, Merienda, Dinner. Jude told me I've gained weight since I've gotten here. I think my cousins in particular have started to warm up to me more. Though my family has made me feel very welcome, some of them also do a good job of making me feel as if I'm not kapampangan enough. It seems as if they think I made a conscious decision to not learn kapampangan and that the problem is that our families (my aunts, uncles, cousins, Lola) don't see each other enough both in the states and in the PI. I just hope they understand that I want to be here and that even though I'm from the states, that hasn't made me any less Kapampangan. It's something that I've always been recognized with the help of my family, and have always been proud to be. It's frustrating but I understand that it comes out of love and that they just want me to be at home here. I've become more adjusted, and I'm slowly but surely learning more Tagalog and Kapampangan, which I hope to continue to learn in the states.

Anyways, I'm going to miss my family here in Pampanga, but I'm excited to meet Mary Ann's fam. Apparently they already know about me : / I'm looking forward to these next two week, traveling around the PI, visiting Tagaytay, Cavite, Bacolod, Victorias, Visayas, Bohol, and Cebu. I still miss u all, especially the fambam and the squirrelly, so keep in touch. I've been starting to think of all the things I'm going to do when I get back to the states. But I'll save that for next blog. Peace!