I first came to the Philippines as a Peace Corps volunteer, back in 1961. Since that time I visited here frequently and in June 2007 we decided to retire here permanently.
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.
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
Our property in Silang, Cavite, is officially classified as “agricultural land,” and the development, Ponderosa Leisure Farms, imposes a restriction that you cannot build on more than 25% of your lot – the rest of the lot has to be garden – ornamentals or vegetables.This restriction and land classification makes sure that your neighbors are not too close [unlike some subdivisions] and helps lower real estate taxes significantly.
Most of our garden is planted in ornamentals but a certain portion is reserved for ‘veggies.’So far we’ve harvested tomatoes, cucumber, eggplant, ampalaya, okra, pechay [Chinese cabbage], bell pepper and chili pepper.
Some of them mature over time and you can harvest more or less when you want. Others, like tomato, seem to ripen all at once.In the next week or so, we’ll be harvesting lots of tomatoes and the idea is to use some of the harvest to make pasta sauce and freeze that for future use.
It’s sort of ironic that the main source of our vegetable seeds is the East West Seed Company, a company founded more than 25 years ago by a cousin of mine from Enkhuizen, Netherlands; our fathers used to be partners in a major seed company there.
…East West began in 1982 with the goal of blending European style seedsmanship with Asian tropical vegetables. We were convinced that by introducing intensive breeding programs to developing vegetable seed markets we could improve the lives of farmers while building a successful business. Our first commercial success, a hybrid bitter gourd, came after several years of research investment. But our hard work has paid off by significantly raising industry standards for all vegetable seeds.
…Our strategy is based on breeding appropriate varieties by living and working in the markets we serve. From our early work in the Philippines, we have expanded to include breeding programs in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.
In 2007, I contacted the company office here in the Philippines, explained who I was, and indicating that I would be interested in visiting them to view their Philippine operation.Perfect timing as my email got to them just before the 25th anniversary of the company – of course, Noel and I attended.Now we grow and eat their vegetables.
Lately, we’ve also added hydroponics trials – on the suggestion of friends from the agricultural college at U.P. Los Baños.Lettuce and stuff like Chinese pechay seem to do very well.
Given the cost of real estate in this area, growing your own vegetables might not make much economic sense --- but it’s fun and you can’t get them any fresher.
The rainy season is starting and everything is growing like crazy -- and so are the weeds.
A few days ago, we buried Nikko. He had been with us for more than 18 years and, during those years, he brought much joy to our lives. He was such a good dog, never complaining, but always ready to let you know he was your friend.
We got Nikko from a litter of about ten. When we first saw him, he’s the one, he right away came to us to ‘say hello,’ and that made him the obvious choice – he stood out in the crowd and let us know it.
At first, he was not allowed to go into our living room at Harmon Cove, our condo at New Jersey. From time to time, we’d test him by rolling a tennis ball into the room but Nikko was good, he always stopped at the edge. Once he was fully trained, he had the run of the house. In those days, I traveled quite a bit and when I’d bring my bags down, Nikko would jump on top of them and stay there -- knowing I’d be gone for a while.
When we walked him in Harmon Cove, he always stayed by our side – in later years I was forced to put him on a leash as other Cove residents insisted that all dogs be leashed.
He was such a trooper and loved to travel. He was with us in the car, on the boat, and came along on trips to Mexico and California –- our fellow passengers never even realized we had a dog with us in the cabin as Nikko was so well behaved.
I remember walking him in wet and sticky snow that was some 20 inches deep. Nikko would sort of hop around, like a bunny rabbit until he could hardly move as the snow clumps around his paws got too large and heavy.
Not a natural swimmer, he put up with it – swimming in the Hackensack River, the Hudson River, Long Island Sound, Lake Hopatcong, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
When we finally made out move to the Philippines, we were concerned about the long plane ride. On trips to Mexico and California he was allowed in the cabin – not so for the long haul from Los Angeles to Manila. We were not sure what his condition would be when he’d come down the luggage conveyor belt. Noel opened his cage door, Nikko came out, looked around, shook himself and looked for a place to pee – he’d held it for the whole trip.
In Manila, he stayed with us in the Roxas Blvd condo overlooking Manila Bay. We’d walk him at the Baywalk and he loved it. Gradually, however, he lost his eyesight and could see no more. When we made our move to our new home in Silang, he never got to see his new home – just smelled it.
He was getting old and not very steady anymore on his feet. You’d have to hold him while Nikko ate or drank . or let him lay down next to the bowl where he continued eating. He ate well – up to the end.
Sometimes he would not be able to get up by himself and then he’d cry out for help – not infrequently in the middle of the night. He’s now at peace and if there is a doggy heaven, we’re sure he is there. He was truly ‘one of a kind.’
Two years ago, for my 70th birthday, friends gave us Noah. Noah’s body color was almost the same as Nikko but his body shape is very different – kinda stocky. Noah is turning out to be a real sweetheart also and he helps make up for our big loss. Dogs are truly man’s best friend, always there for you and never complaining. Nikko we will miss you but never really forget you.
Some weeks ago, a friend from Silang asked if she could bring over some friends to show them our house. Such requests are not unusual and we quickly agreed.
When we met a few days later, we found out that it was a couple from Canada [Ralph and Ruth Hollenberg], but both originally from Holland. Now Canadian citizens, already for some 50 years or so, they were sailors with their boat currently docked in Subic Bay, the former U.S. naval base.
I got really intrigued when they explained that their boat was a 63-foot sailboat. I immediately asked them to return the favor – could we drive up to Subic to take a look at their boat; it’s not every day one gets a chance to set foot on a boat that size. They readily agreed and yesterday we made the 3-hour trip to Olongapo and Subic Bay. There is a new highway, SCTEX, that cuts right through the mountains making it a nice sightseeing journey. The boat was not hard to find -- there aren’t that boats that size flying the Canadian flag.
The boat, Deo Volente I, was well worth the trip. It’s a Cat Schooner. The owners had designed it themselves and had it built some 25+ years ago somewhere in Washington State, with Vancouver Island as home base. Don’t know much about boat design as such but it looked beautiful and comfortable.
They have been sailing it ever since and I asked if they would have made any design changes now that they have sailed it so long – couldn’t think of anything except for some very minor items. They had also designed and built their previous sailboat -- he’s a chemical engineer with no marine design experience.
After touring the boat, they offered to take us for a harbor sail … to a nearby beach where we could have lunch. It took us a little less than an hour to get there, then took the self-designed and built dinghy ashore. Lots of restaurants and, judging from the menus, used to serving Aussie sailors.
During lunch, the wind picked up a bit and so we got a bit wet going back to the boat. There, I went for a swim the warm Subic bay waters. Closer to the Marina, the conversation turned to docking boats while there is a bit of a breeze and the tide is going out. At least it was something we could relate to having encountered the same challenge on the Hudson River, with a stiff breeze and strong river current.
If you like flowering plants, the bougainvilleas here at Ponderosa offer a multitude of colors to choose from; January – February is a good time to view them.The photos speak for themselves.
From time to time, we get asked as to how we communicate out here. We don’t, as yet, have regular phone lines here at Ponderosa; the phone company tells us there are not enough customers to warrant the installation of lines.
The alternative is the cellphone. There are two major companies providing cellphone service – Globe and Smart. While in Manila, we relied on Globe to keep in touch. However, when we moved to Silang, we soon found out that Globe coverage in this area is less than perfect. To overcome this problem, I got myself a dual-sim phone – one that receives messages from both Globe and Smart; works well. Within the Philippines, probably 90 percent of the communication is via cellphone texting; few people seem to use the cellphone for phone calls. After a while, you get the hand of texting – but none of us can keep up with some of these Filipino kids who seem to set all sorts of speed records.
For the internet connection for the computer, I first acquired SmartBro – a small gadget that connects to a of the UBS port. This seemed to work only part of the time and reception was less than desirable. I now have a SmartBro antenna – gives much better reception and we are connected to the internet 24/7..
Since we don’t have a regular phone line, communication via phone was often a problem – especially overseas calls via cellphone … also a bit expensive.
I had read about something called MagicJack and decided to give that a try. Asked a friend in California, who was coming to Manila, to get me the hardware – around $35. Came with the necessary software – it gives you the option of a local phone number anywhere in the States. Since my family members live in California, I opted for a California number. The service only cost $70 for five years and allows you free calls. We now have a California number so anyone in the States can call us that number – and we can use that number to call anyone in the States – all thanks to the internet. I’ve used it a number of times and reception is great. It also has a built answering machine so you can leave messages – MagicJack also sends me an email to let me know that I have a phone message waiting.
Another way we keep in touch is via skype, another internet system that allows you to talk and see a person via webcam; it works well but only with friends who also have skype. It can get a bit confusing – the other day, while talking on MagicJack, another friend called via Skype – kinda hard to keep the conversations apart .. but it works.
We have a satellite dish for our TV. The first one we got, via a friend, was very inexpensive but then did not work anymore when the satellite company changed access codes. We opted for a “legit” dish and that works fine. The major problem is that it does not offer all that many channels – for example, we can’t see major tennis tournaments – very frustrating.
