 |
| This ferry took me and my bus from Luzon, the main island in the Philippines, to my island of Northern Samar. The 23 hour bus ride is a far cry from the quick 1 hour plane ride I had taken to site originally, but now everything is on my own dime. |
Less than a week after I returned from my resignation, I was the victim of a theft from my home. Sleeping on the second floor of my duplex apartment, I cracked the window due to the heat thinking that no one would scale a wall to enter in my sleep. I was wrong.
I had suspected theft three times within my first month here, each time a few 1,000 pesos would be missing from my wallet. I had assumed that the perpetrator entered through a vaulted entry into the adjacent family’s apartment not properly closed off, so I was trying to handle it internally with the landlord. But then, as I went to pay for transportation to the airport while heading into Manila as mandated by Peace Corps, I noticed that 5,000 pesos, the biggest hit yet, was missing from my wallet; money I absolutely needed just to get to Manila. Fortunately, my counterpart was able to assist me at the time.
Then it happened again upon my return, and this time my iPhone was stolen along with more cash. It became clear that entry wasn’t actually through the other apartment, but through the upstairs window instead by an experienced thief.
Especially since I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer and am now unsupported financially, every little hit hurts. So I decided now was the time to change housing, and the Mayor’s family has been incredibly kind to lend me a room at their house.
I am no longer living on my own, but with an incredibly welcoming family who has invited me into their home as if I were their own flesh and blood. I had been eating all of my meals at the church since I returned (due to Father's unwavering generosity upon knowing that I have now lost my living stipend), but now I am dividing my meals between both the mayor’s family and the church.
All of this makes my life quite different from a month ago, all driven by heavy misfortunes. But the truth is, I am really enjoying this set up. I don’t particularly cook, and throughout my time overseas I have most enjoyed my time when I've been with people in the community. From this standpoint, life is pretty damn good now.
Over the past week, the rains have finally come to a halt. I’ll take that as a sign that my misfortunes have finally ended as well.
I had suspected theft three times within my first month here, each time a few 1,000 pesos would be missing from my wallet. I had assumed that the perpetrator entered through a vaulted entry into the adjacent family’s apartment not properly closed off, so I was trying to handle it internally with the landlord. But then, as I went to pay for transportation to the airport while heading into Manila as mandated by Peace Corps, I noticed that 5,000 pesos, the biggest hit yet, was missing from my wallet; money I absolutely needed just to get to Manila. Fortunately, my counterpart was able to assist me at the time.
Then it happened again upon my return, and this time my iPhone was stolen along with more cash. It became clear that entry wasn’t actually through the other apartment, but through the upstairs window instead by an experienced thief.
Especially since I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer and am now unsupported financially, every little hit hurts. So I decided now was the time to change housing, and the Mayor’s family has been incredibly kind to lend me a room at their house.
I am no longer living on my own, but with an incredibly welcoming family who has invited me into their home as if I were their own flesh and blood. I had been eating all of my meals at the church since I returned (due to Father's unwavering generosity upon knowing that I have now lost my living stipend), but now I am dividing my meals between both the mayor’s family and the church.
All of this makes my life quite different from a month ago, all driven by heavy misfortunes. But the truth is, I am really enjoying this set up. I don’t particularly cook, and throughout my time overseas I have most enjoyed my time when I've been with people in the community. From this standpoint, life is pretty damn good now.
Over the past week, the rains have finally come to a halt. I’ll take that as a sign that my misfortunes have finally ended as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment