our portraits

I had almost forgotten how tiring it can be to sit still for a longer period of time and to keep you eyes focused on the same general area – that is until yesterday.

To backtrack for a minute, about a week ago I had a phone call from a friend at the University of the Philippines in Manila. Some alumni had formed a painting group and would it be alright to bring the 15-member group to the house so they could paint our landscape. We’d get copies of their work – all in exchange for serving lunch to the group. Sounded like a good deal.

When they arrived, they toured the house and garden and took lots of pictures. They then proceeded to set up their easels and paint paraphernalia in the dining room. I was sort of puzzled – why in the dining room if they wanted garden scenes? Turned out they had changed their minds and wanted to do portraits.

In the morning, they painted two female friends of ours, dressed in native garb. It was our, Noel and I, turn after lunch. That’s when I found out that sitting still can be very tiring and that, after an hour or so, you develop itches all over.

As for the garden scenes, they said they’d use the pictures to do their paintings.

Recognize either one of us?

Ask not ... huwag nang itanong

Fifty years ago, 12 October 1961, 128 Americans landed at Manila International Airport [MIA at that time, but since renamed to honor the memory of Ninoy Aquino] as the first group of Peace Corps volunteers to serve in the Philippines. After airport welcoming ceremonies, they were taken in LTB busses to the World Jamboree site on the U.P. Los Baños campus for some 6 weeks of in-country training, prior to service assignments as ‘educational aides’ in Bicol and Negros Occidental. Since then, more than 150 groups, totaling over 8,000 volunteers, have followed in their footsteps.

This book makes no pretension of providing a comprehensive review of the 50 year history of the Peace Corps in the Philippines. It also is not an attempt to assess the impact of the Peace Corps on the Philippines nor of the influence the Philippines has had on the individual volunteers.

You will read vignettes about the lives of young, and not so young, Americans who came to the Philippines in pursuit of the challenge ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.

Some articles are current recollections of events that transpired some 50 years ago; others were written years ago and reflect the volunteers’ thoughts and feelings at that time.

We hope you will enjoy our collection of the Peace Corps experiences in the Philippines.

To preview the book, go to: http://www.blurb.com/books/2086215