A Few of My Favorite Things...

In my 23 years, I have come to consider being a Missionary Kid, or a missionary of any kind for that matter, as being synonymous with flexibility. That the bends and twists that are required of such a lifestyle extract any need for stability, any difficulty with adaptation, any unrealistic expectations. That being said, 'flexible' ought to be my middle name… But nope. My middle name is Kay, and I’m still learning.
My journey has not been without progress, though. I have learned to tame those expectations, to assume instability, and have patience in adapting. And now that I have been here one month, I thought it a good time to evaluate my learning curve and make an assessment of my familiarization with life in the Philippines.

Here are the things I had no trouble falling in love with:
The People: Filipinos are a beautiful people, warm, friendly, smiling, and so eager to practice their English with us, ‘Americanos.’ Poverty is evidenced in the most basic everyday needs, but their faces are radiant with joy despite their struggles. Their homes are simple, holding just a couple faded pictures and maybe an advertisement poster on the wall as decoration. They will undoubtedly offer a ‘merienda’ (snack) of crackers and coke to any passing guest, which you will gladly accept, even if it’s your fifth of the day! Children fill the streets, finding delight in playing with a stick and a tire or with a nearby kitten who has gotten lost again. Soon, they will put on their matching uniforms and make their way to school, piling onto triceys 5 or 6 at a time.

1) Gerlene (our Filipina Midwife) & Jhun (her husband & our "Midnight Rider" for births)
2) Cecille (another Filipina Midwife) & her family
3) Nelly & Reuben (our landlords)

The Transportation: Triceys and Jeepneys. Colorful. Noisy. Cheap. Exhilarating. You can stand at any corner of any street and flag down a passing Tricey (approx. 1-4 passengers comfortably). With its cloud of exhaust and rumbling motor, it will carry you to buy groceries for 40¢ or to the outdoor market for just 20¢. Or, you can take a Jeepney (approx. 1-15 passengers, comfortably) to the mall for 18¢. The driving can be unpredictable, and I have still just seen one traffic sign: it was a regular STOP sign with the word ‘full’ added above for emphasis.

The Food: Even though we cook each night for ourselves, we’ve gotten to taste some of the

most delicious Filipino specialties, which include Adobo (a savory meat & vegetable dish with rice), Pancit (a noodle dish), Buko Pie (a delicious coconut pie made with flaky crust and pieces of young, tender coconut meat), Mango Shakes (my all-time favorite), and an occasional pig's head, just to name a few.

Footwear: Wearing flip-flops every single day. Does it get any better?

Eating Outside: Our kitchen is outside to keep the heat from coming into the house. We have a lovely patio that is covered with a tin roof and it makes the most wonderful pitter-patter noises each time it rains. Our dining table is outside, too, with a globe lamp that hangs from the clothesline and a couple candles for ambience. I love it.

Some things that took some extra effort to get used to:

Unwelcome Creatures: They come in all shapes and sizes, from all directions, at all times, with all sorts of intentions. Mosquitoes and ants are a given; both are ravenous for our ever-replenishing, ever-fresh blood supply. Though there’s no real way to avoid their bite, my new night-time routine involves brushing my teeth, washing my face, putting on my PJs and lathering up with OFF. It seems to help. We have one, big, black, hideous rat that has taken up residence close-by and makes his ugly appearance every night while dinner is on the stove. A small mouse who likes to nibble away at any stray crumb, but makes sure to leave his evidence behind for us to clean up. Cockroaches (did you know that they can fly?), lizards, geckos, a gypsy moth… But what happened last week was the biggest surprise of all. I was taking a shower: place of cool refuge, of peace, of tranquility. I had a tune in my head and a lather in my hair, when out of the drain popped out a snake. Yes. It was a snake. Not a worm. A snake. Granted, it was small – maybe a bit longer than my own foot, but it had a diamond-shaped head, a slithering body, and was most unwelcome. While it curled up our shampoo rack, I finished showering. As soon as I was done, our brave hero, Sarah Ann, grabbed it in a bag and beat it with a wooden beam. I think a screen over the shower drain is in order.

The Fumes: One might think that covering my nose and mouth with a rag in public as a means of life-preservation would be rude. That it would communicate an ‘imperialistic white-skin’ attitude to my Filipino neighbours. It’s true that I had an aversion to the thought of it when I first arrived, wanting to adapt as quickly and as well as I could. But, after a single ride in a tricey (as fun as it is), with my nostrils perfectly angled to inhale every puff of exhaust in the hot, congested traffic, I realized there is really nothing else to do. Better yet, the locals do it, too. They even sell special ‘face cloths’ in the stores as a multi-purpose wipe-your-sweaty-face-protect-your-lungs sort of rag. It’s nice when adapting to the culture involves ones natural reflexes.

The CR: The CR is an abbreviation for Comfort Room, what we know as Rest Room, Bathroom, Water Closet, Toilet, etc. I’m a bit curious about the ‘comfort’ part, but still very grateful that there is running water – a luxury here. It is a ‘wet room.’ In other words, the toilet and showerhead are less than 2 feet apart, so that if you really wanted, you could actually sit on the toilet while taking your shower! The single shower knob shows the all-familiar ‘H’ for Hot, but of course, there is no hot water… we wouldn’t have it any other way, though; a cold shower is the highlight of any day.
The hardest part to embrace in this particular experience is our strict ban on throwing our toilet paper (any kind of toilet paper) into the toilet. It would clog it up. This makes a trashcan an indispensable addition to any CR, as well as the most unpleasant house chore.

Things I’m not quite used to… yet (as a precursor, I am working on shortening this list, but it would be dishonest not to include it):

The heat: It sometimes feels unbearable, making it hard to concentrate on studies or feel 100% in general.

Schedule: Finding time to do everything I need to do (prenatals, postapartums visits, unpredictable births, two 24 hr rotation/week at the clinic, a statistics course, microbiology, reading & writing 20 book reports, finishing course modules, home visits, and let’s not forget eating & sleeping…)
Cheese & Coffee: cheese prices are exorbitant; so is Decaf coffee. The only affordable cheese is similar to Kraft squares, which was one area I had already failed to adapt to while in America. But, they have U.H.T milk (my favorite), so I won't be too hard on them :)

Overall, I am still completely excited to be here. Each birth is a classroom where I am learning new skills, new approaches, new management. Each buntis (pregnant woman) provides not only a chance to practice the little bit of Tagalog I've learned, but also a great chance to pray, to encourage, to build relationships. I want to be flexible. I want to adapt. I want to understand, to relate, to encourage, to minister. I want flexible to grow into incarnational.