A meal is not complete here without rice and it is served at every meal (yes, even for breakfast).
Since we had some time to waste before heading to the airport, I asked if we could walk around the block. I was searching for sunglasses - and was anxious to see what kind of goods the various "vendors" would have laid out. As soon as we walked out the door, I was overcome with smells, noise, traffic, and crowds of people. Maybe it's because I live in UT, but I've become acustomed to quiet (not to mention manageable traffic and a very clean downtown). It is - to say the least - overwhelming (even if you've experienced it before). I also saw my first pair of street kids - a boy and girl, arm and arm, maybe 4 and 5 wearing tattered shorts and a skirt (not shirt) and barefoot. About an hour later, we drove past a woman wearing a dress made out of a trash bag - no shoes...
We got to the airport early - to take my oversized trunk (yes, the trunk saga continued) to the "cargo" area. Apparently domestic airlines don't allow excess or baggage over 30 pounds. I have never seen so many "workers" standing around doing what appeared to be nothing. I was glad they had me wait in the car, because the chaos was unnerving and I had to squelch my impulse to have someone explain why they weren't more organized. It took 4 steps - at 4 different windows -just to get the trunk weighed, tagged, written up (no computer) and then shrink wrapped. The irony, of course, is that after all that we arrived at the Butuan airport only to find out that the trunk WAS NOT put onto our plane (not to worry, it arrived the next day).
I have attached a short video of the last few minutes of the drive to the PDK compund so you can get a feel for what it looks like here. PDK is about 15 minutes drive from the airport and town - off the beaten path so to speak - and it is quiet. When we pulled in, the first thing I noticed was a large welcome banner (see photo) with my name on it. The word "ate" means sister and it is commone for women (esp. older) to be called that over here. Everyone had gathered in the (outdoor)dining area to greet me. No one here is fluent in english, but a few of the staff can carry conversation. I've spent most of my time listening to meal conversation that I can't understand.
Not surprisingly, my first breakfast here was - yes, rice - but this time it was red garlic rice served with turkey spam and fried eggplant. I'm pretty sure I have never eaten spam nor had I planned on it, but I was sitting with the director and as I was placing the bite into my mouth, she told me what it was.
The small amount of land around the compound has been filled with pots of every imaginable material and size so they can grow eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes and potatoes and some things I have yet tofigure out. I ate something last night that looked like spinach, but was actually the leaves of this kind of potato, and cooked with red onion and tomato. I was told several times it is very nutritious (it was tasty).
The kids have been spending time practicing music and dance. Christmas is HUGE over here and there are a number of events and parties going on in the area including christmas caroling door to door. I will have to video the kids so you can hear them singing our favorite carols. Even the kids who don't know english are learning "hark the herald", "oh come all ye faithful" and "joy to the world".
I'll end today by sharing that there are 3 babies here. The youngest is the baby of the couple who are on staff and live in the boys house. The 2 toddlers are both a result of girls who were once prostitutes (one of whom lives here and has almost completed the program). Her little boy is nicknamed Kong-Kong and has decided I'm his new best friend. We can't understand a word we're saying to each other- but words don't matter when you can laugh, hold hands, play and eat together (pictures to come when I feel more comfortable taking photos here).
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