By around 3pm this afternoon, my blog was in danger of reading, “AM – unravelled some string. PM – went into Subic which was shut. Came home.” Then things picked up a bit.
A group of us went into the town to see what was going on for Good Friday. Earlier in the week, we’d passed a blindfolded man who was flagellating himself. Some of the managers at the home told us that there would be others doing similar things today and I was keen to see how the Filipinos marked the day. During the morning various people called by the house complaining about how they were being held up in all the traffic around Subic. It seemed that lots was going on in the local market, but by the time we got down there it had all come to a halt. We comforted our wasted journey with a stop off at Chowking for a desert called Halo Halo and a journey back in a jeepney.
On the way back Rachel passed us in her car. She pulled over and asked whether we wanted to join her on a tour of some of the local communities. We bundled into an already packed vehicle with Ian having to make do with a seat on the floor.
One of our stops was in a shanty village just next to the fish market. Rachel’s husband Ric is the project’s youth pastor and they used to hold bible lessons for some of the fishermen’s children in an alleyway between some of the houses. Now the children are asked to go to a monthly event called ‘Shine’, which involves kids from a wider area and takes place in a church. Today they went into the village to make sure the kids knew that tomorrow’s event was on, despite the Easter break.
The houses weren’t as run-down as I’d expected. There was the familiar mend-and-make-do feel to the place, but most of the houses were built out of well-laid concrete slabs. We walked right through the village, past a group of men crouching round a card game and – further in – another huddle of people playing bingo with tatty coloured cards and small stones to cover up the numbers. Behind the houses was a small patch of sand where around 50 children were running around. When they saw our group, they excitedly gathered round, asking questions over the top of each other and pulling faces at our cameras. One tiny girl whose face was already covered in mud found it all too much and burst into tears. Her ever-so-slightly bigger sister tried to carry her off to clean her in the sea but only succeeded in making things worse by carrying her around the neck.
Ric waited for the children to calm down a little before telling them about tomorrow’s event. I asked Rachel how educated these children were likely to be. She told me I’d probably be surprised. Those that she knew not only went to school but also had excellent memories. She said they’d give them 20 memory verses to learn and within a short amount of time they’d be able to repeat them all word for word.
After our trip, we returned to the house to discover that dinner was being served a bit later than usual. Although I’d already been caught out by Subic’s lack of Easter activity, I’d heard that there was a parade planned, so I suggested that we head back down the hill to see what was going on. After a fashion, they all agreed and this time, I wasn’t disappointed.
Hundreds of people had come out to take part in the walk, which was punctuated by luminous floats of Jesus, Mary and the Saints. Most were carrying candles cupped in small cardboard cases to catch the drips. You could see that many had been made using old cigarette boxes, as ‘Marlboro’ and ‘Camel’ were lit up in the candlelight. I walked from one end of the parade to the other with Saskia and Becky. It took us right into the centre of the town.
By the time we got there, both girls had become fed up of the comments and stares from the people we passed. Both decided that they wanted to get back to the house as quickly as they could. On the way back, they raced ahead of the rest of the group, prompting Becky’s grandmother Valarie to worry that they were too far in front without male assistance. John and I caught up with them but they were still determined to head straight back. Saskia walked in silence all the way back.
If it’s home that she’s missing, I’m not too far behind. It was difficult getting out of bed this morning and even though there’s work to do and the children’s enthusiasm and attention never waivers. But this morning, I needed a time out. I sat at the breakfast table untangling a big pile of string thinking how selfish I was being but knowing that I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. I’ve also started checking the internet on my mobile, to see what’s going on back in my normal world. Just a week ago, it was quite nice being out of the loop. Now another week without information seems a bit scary.
But I need to remember that I’m not here for long. Tomorrow I need to spend a bit more time concentrating on the project I’ve travelled a third of the way around the world to help.
A group of us went into the town to see what was going on for Good Friday. Earlier in the week, we’d passed a blindfolded man who was flagellating himself. Some of the managers at the home told us that there would be others doing similar things today and I was keen to see how the Filipinos marked the day. During the morning various people called by the house complaining about how they were being held up in all the traffic around Subic. It seemed that lots was going on in the local market, but by the time we got down there it had all come to a halt. We comforted our wasted journey with a stop off at Chowking for a desert called Halo Halo and a journey back in a jeepney.On the way back Rachel passed us in her car. She pulled over and asked whether we wanted to join her on a tour of some of the local communities. We bundled into an already packed vehicle with Ian having to make do with a seat on the floor.
One of our stops was in a shanty village just next to the fish market. Rachel’s husband Ric is the project’s youth pastor and they used to hold bible lessons for some of the fishermen’s children in an alleyway between some of the houses. Now the children are asked to go to a monthly event called ‘Shine’, which involves kids from a wider area and takes place in a church. Today they went into the village to make sure the kids knew that tomorrow’s event was on, despite the Easter break.
The houses weren’t as run-down as I’d expected. There was the familiar mend-and-make-do feel to the place, but most of the houses were built out of well-laid concrete slabs. We walked right through the village, past a group of men crouching round a card game and – further in – another huddle of people playing bingo with tatty coloured cards and small stones to cover up the numbers. Behind the houses was a small patch of sand where around 50 children were running around. When they saw our group, they excitedly gathered round, asking questions over the top of each other and pulling faces at our cameras. One tiny girl whose face was already covered in mud found it all too much and burst into tears. Her ever-so-slightly bigger sister tried to carry her off to clean her in the sea but only succeeded in making things worse by carrying her around the neck.Ric waited for the children to calm down a little before telling them about tomorrow’s event. I asked Rachel how educated these children were likely to be. She told me I’d probably be surprised. Those that she knew not only went to school but also had excellent memories. She said they’d give them 20 memory verses to learn and within a short amount of time they’d be able to repeat them all word for word.
After our trip, we returned to the house to discover that dinner was being served a bit later than usual. Although I’d already been caught out by Subic’s lack of Easter activity, I’d heard that there was a parade planned, so I suggested that we head back down the hill to see what was going on. After a fashion, they all agreed and this time, I wasn’t disappointed.
Hundreds of people had come out to take part in the walk, which was punctuated by luminous floats of Jesus, Mary and the Saints. Most were carrying candles cupped in small cardboard cases to catch the drips. You could see that many had been made using old cigarette boxes, as ‘Marlboro’ and ‘Camel’ were lit up in the candlelight. I walked from one end of the parade to the other with Saskia and Becky. It took us right into the centre of the town.By the time we got there, both girls had become fed up of the comments and stares from the people we passed. Both decided that they wanted to get back to the house as quickly as they could. On the way back, they raced ahead of the rest of the group, prompting Becky’s grandmother Valarie to worry that they were too far in front without male assistance. John and I caught up with them but they were still determined to head straight back. Saskia walked in silence all the way back.
If it’s home that she’s missing, I’m not too far behind. It was difficult getting out of bed this morning and even though there’s work to do and the children’s enthusiasm and attention never waivers. But this morning, I needed a time out. I sat at the breakfast table untangling a big pile of string thinking how selfish I was being but knowing that I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. I’ve also started checking the internet on my mobile, to see what’s going on back in my normal world. Just a week ago, it was quite nice being out of the loop. Now another week without information seems a bit scary.
But I need to remember that I’m not here for long. Tomorrow I need to spend a bit more time concentrating on the project I’ve travelled a third of the way around the world to help.
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