at laaaaaast

I am finally all caught up!
So far I have seen ZERO spiders. Before coming I did some research on local arachnid life and there are extreeemely nasty monsters lurking about! There are bird eating spiders which are pomeranian size and huntsman spiders which are face size and very fast and absolutely hideous, as well as other varieties. When I asked my family about big spiders, they assumed I referred to poisonous kinds which might venomize me. I had to explain that no, the real danger is not their bite, but their largeness and proximity because SPIDERS ARE EVIL INCARNATE AND I KNOW IN MY HEART THAT IF ONE TOUCHES ME I WILL DIE. In other news, I might start an internship at the school tomorrow, helping with various graphic design projects. (: Also, we eat sweet potatoes every day. (:

oh and one more thing. I thought my blog title, "sa ng pilipínas" meant "in the philippines". It actually means, "in of philippines" which makes less sense.. but I don't really feel like changing it as that would disrupt the balance of my banner.. haa. oh well. For pointing that out Tito Dennis, Salamat po. 

in my jose rizal shirt!

fish heads fish heads

Yesterday, Tito Zandro and Ate Danielle showed me around Naga. We caught a tricycle to the Naga City outdoor market, the largest market in Southeast Asia. Lolo Riz gave me pesos to pick up dried fish for him. The stench of the fish was almost unbearable, but I did manage to capture these lovelyy photographs of them. Tito Paul, Tita Mitzi, and I went to dinner at Graccini's, the local Italian restaurant. In addition to having amazing food, for dessert they have a million different popsicle flavors to choose from! My first hazelnut popsicle. Yum. Alos, Graccini's is owned by Chef Johnny, a member of Sovereign Grace Christian Fellowship where I will be attending during my stay here. Pastor Hofmaier from Moonwalk Community Bible Church in Manila told me about this church in Naga and it is also nearby my relatives' homes. Tito Paul has had a bible study with the church, but they have never been to a service. Hopefully they will attend with me sometime while I am here.

roma roma ma Naga ooh la la

Staring out the window as the plane descended, I felt another wave of culture shock. Naga City is in the jungle! Vibrant, tropical jungle! My Tita Ann and Tito Zandro picked me up at the airport. We stopped at the world renowned CWC- Camsur Watersports Complex, a waterpark for wakeboarding and other water sports. It is also a host of the Iron Man competition. Next stop: Naga College Foundation! Driving into the parking lot of the school founded by my grand lolo was completely surreal. I've been told about it my whole life and now I am actually here. Tita Ann gave me a tour of the school (the main building was designed by our family architect, my Grandpa Mel!) and I was introduced to more of my family! The president of the school is my Tita Mitzi and I am staying at her house with her parents, my Lola Emi and Lolo Juni, her husband, Tito Paul (who is Australian), and brother, Tito Michael, for all of this week. Tito Michael is the typhoon expert in the Bicol region. He has been passionate about weather since he was five years old. Every day, he would record the weather report while he was at school and then review it and type it out. Today, those typed reports are being used by scientists to study weather in the Philippines chronologically from the 80s. A few years ago, a typhoon was forming in the Pacific heading toward China, but Tito Michael was tracking the typhoon from home and could see that it was turning back toward Naga. He called the local typhoon station, but they refused to put out an alert, because a typhoon had never made a turn like that before. However the mayor believed him and the city prepared for a deadly typhoon. Just as he predicted, the typhoon changed direction and devastated the Bicol region as one of the worst typhoons ever recorded. While the damage was substantial, hundreds of lives were saved due to Tito Michael's forecast. Today, he has his own website for local typhoon information and the radio stations call him for the weather report. He is known as "Mr. Typhoon". ...I think they need to make a movie about him. The day after my arrival in Naga was the graduation of NCF's kindergarten, elementary, and high school. In the Philippines there is no jr. high, so students graduate at fifteen or sixteen and then start college. My twelve-year-old cousin, Gillian, graduated elementary school as valedictorian! She gave a wonderfully written and articulate speech (all in english, so I understood every word!). I cannot even express how gracious and loving all of my family has been. I've never met any of them and yet I feel like I have known them my whole life. I am in a foreign country, but they have made me feel at home.

Gillian!

moonwalking

Catholicism is intertwined throughout filipino culture. Of my grandpa's seven siblings, only he and two others are no longer Catholic. However, the Christian community here is growing and in the small city of Naga, there are two Reformed Baptist churches and several other Protestant churches! Due to some very handy church connections, (Thank you Hammermasters!!) I was able to get in touch with Pastor Hofmaier and his church in Manila. Providentially, Moonwalk Community Bible Church sits only ten minutes away from my Lolo's house! My Lolo, Lola, and little cousin, Luigi, attended the morning service my first Sunday. Pastor Hofmaier was preaching at another church in Manila, but I was able to meet Mrs. Hofmaier, his daughter, Ate Becky, ("Ate" is a title given to women who are older, but of your same generation; my younger cousins refer to me as "Ate Kelsey") and other members of the congregation. The sermon was mostly in Tagalog, but enough was in English for me to understand the message. My notes consist of everything that was said in English and are brief enough for me to copy them here. 

John 1: 4-8

True life can only be found in Jesus. True life is eternal. However, we should not think of our eternal life as only being about time, it is about a real relationship with Christ that will last forever. The Word is light. How can we live without light? It saves us from potential evil and guides us to safety. Light exposes evil deeds. Men love darkness, because they love their sin. Hell is a pit of darkness. The real danger that men face is the darkness of sin that leads to Hell. Jesus' light conquers sin. We must be reflectors of Christ's light in this dark world.

I am a sinner redeemed by God's free, sovereign, and beautiful grace though I have done everything not to deserve it. My blessings are innumerable and I am so so thankful to have this opportunity to be here in the Philippines and to fellowship with believers on the opposite side of the globe. Thank you for your prayers.

pinoy pride

Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines. Born to a wealthy filipino family during the Spanish occupation, Rizal earned his bachelor's degree at the university in Manila. Due to Spanish tyranny, most filipinos were prevented from being taught to read or write. Rizal went on to continue his education, eventually earning degrees from the universities in Madrid, Paris, and Heidelberg. After returning home, Rizal started La Liga Filipina, a group encouraging filipinos to become involved in peaceful, legal social reform. He also wrote several social commentaries criticizing Spain's colonization of the Philippines. Spanish authorities accused him of inciting revolution and Rizal was imprisoned, tried, and sentenced to death by firing squad. On the eve of his execution, he wrote "Mi Ultimo Adiós", a final farewell to his beloved country and hid it in a lamp in his cell. Jose Rizal was martyred on December 30, 1896. His death sparked the Philippine Revolution. 
My first day Lolo Riz (my grandpa's brother) (He was named after Jose Rizal) and Tito Zaldi (Lolo's son) (Also named after Jose Rizal!) took me to Fort Santiago, the site of Jose Rizal's execution. In World War II, hundreds of filipinos, including two of my uncles, were also killed in Fort Santiago. The Japanese confined the civilians in a dungeon underground. When the Americans landed in Manila Bay, Japanese soldiers set fire to the dungeon leaving no survivors. 
Needless to say, I had an incredibly moving and unforgettable first day in the Philippines.

Mi Ultimo Adios (translation)

Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,
It is the same if asked by home and Country.

I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show
And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,
Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity!

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,
For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see you own redemption.

And when my grave by all is no more remembered,
With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:
Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.

My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, harken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,
Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.