So I've come back from my second homestay and it was amazing!
The original plan was to have a homestay in the area we are staying - Victoria, but because of political problems between the local government (Barungay) and BT at the moment, we were sent to Los Banos (about 20 mins away) to stay with local families in the more rural areas of town.
My family - the Valencia's were an amazing family. My mother - Ate Michelle (30), Father, Kuya J (36), and Sisters Jayme (14), Justine (11), and Brothers Justin (9) and Jamar (7).
I met Michelle when Cath dropped me off at the house. It was a nice, clean and cozy thatched house in its own mini community of about 10 homes. The other neighbours were mostly extended family and from what I gathered consisted of the husbands' mother and father, 3 brothers and 1 sister - all grown up with their own families living in the same area.
There were two other children - who were the neice and nephew of my family that pretty much lived at my families house. Rose-Ann and Brian (yes Brian!) were both 4 years old, but not twins...and the cutest kids you'll meet. They loved me and were constantly on top of me for the two days I stayed there. They were magunda (beautiful)!
Once I had met Michelle, we then went to the local church for her Sister Club meeting with 16 ladies from that area. I was continually pryed with food and they tried to talk mostly in english so I could follow along. It was pretty funny.
We then went off to buy dinner at a mini-store (the front veranda of a house) with veges and a pond with live fish in it that you pick and she kills it on the spot for you. We then went to the local dairy, where she bought me FRESH milk...the first time I've had non-UHT milk since i left!
When we got back home, Michelle and J showed me how to cook the meal (pork with beans soup basically) and I played with the kids.
The family are really a strong unit and enjoy each others company - prefering to talk around the table, making dinner than watching tv in the next room. It was really nice.
After dinner, the extended family were gathering outside for a few drinks and Balut (duck fetus)! I was asked if I wanted to try - it basically looked like a large egg, with half baby in it - I looked horrified I think and they all laughed at me, probably glad they didn't have to share since it's a real delicacy here.
Afterwards I went to bed with the kids. We shared a room with two double beds in it, one for the girls and boys to share. I slept with the girls (3 to a bed) and they were so comfortable with me, by morning, Justine was cuddling up to me...it was so sweet.
After a breakfast of champions (eggplant omelette, hotdog sausage and milo) Anh and her homestay mum picked us up and we went over to a building project site. It's called GK home project and it helps families build a home. The family have to put in P6000 (about $200) and then 300 hours into helping build at the site, and they get a house.
We met the rest of the girls there, and set to work making a chain to transport cement from one pile to the sifter. We really only did about 15 minutes work (even though we were there for almost 3 hours), it was raining really heavily, and everyone would stop when it got bad.
It was interesting to see the people working at the site and how they all worked together to build these houses. Hopefully they counted our 3 hrs each towards the hours they have to put into the site.
After we got back, wet and very muddy, I hung out with the family, mostly watching filipino tv (mostly funny gameshows) before it was time to leave. It was sad saying good-bye to this family because I really enjoyed being there and really loved their chemistry as a family.
So I had a great experience in all and was really glad that I got another opportunity to experience the culture so closely!
xoxo
p.s. Festival is in two days! Crazy hectic! Can't wait to tell you all about it. Also, I'm sorry I haven't uploaded any photos for a while - I can't find a computer that'll do it...hopefully soon! :)
