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Update 54

It's Saturday & Rog went to a work site working on a foundation but I got to join a group of 7 AH playing with kids!  Again we went to the community with no electricity where AH worked on over 200 homes.  AH had purchased Christmas gifts for them but since Typhoon Ruby hit in early Dec...they had not been able to get the gifts to them.  Amy, AH head of the program,  kept busy with that.  We also took bubbles, balls, large legos, books, bingo, balloons, crayons & coloring books and lots of energy.  We kept the 90 or so kids totally entertained for about 3 hours.  Amy asked me to teach the kids some group games so once again I taught my favorites:  Doggie, Doggie; Bluebird, Bluebird; Simon Says; and balloon volleyball.  I'm kinda feeling like Johnny Apple Seed...only Janey Game Giver!

Update 55

Sunday--our day off!  We had a trike to take us south toward the ocean with only a few ideas of what we might do and leaving the rest to chance.  It was the first time we'd seen the ocean here in Tacloban.  How eerie to face the killer of so many.  The giant seawall was shattered...but in the distance I heard cries of laughter...Filipinos frolicking in the waves.  I could hardly imagine a scene so filled with mixed emotions.  A bit further down we came to McArthur's Park where a monument showing the General, the exiled Philippine president & several US soldiers coming ashore...the statues stood in a pool of water and the plague said, "I have returned."  Later in the day, we'd see Hill 102 where the US Flag was raised after defeating the Japanese.  Seems like we've been doing a WWII tour this trip!  We got into a trike again & told the driver to take us to the next town.  We happen to get off next to a print shop & since I told Amy I'd get copies of some of my pictures, we got that done.  It was a mom/son shop.  Son made my copies while mom fried hamburgers.  As Rog waited outside, a pedicab driver came by singing "Just Smile though your hear is aching..."  Should be the theme song around here.  Then a lady with a huge growth asked for money...since the hamburgers were so hand, we just bought one for her.  There was a nearby church so we walked to it and just before we entered, someone called out our names.  It was Nestor, a AH volunteer we'd worked with. He was with a friend, Ann who lived in Tacloban.  She and Nestor were both electrical engineer university professors.  They asked us to join them for a tour and visit two schools where they were doing the electrical work as volunteers.  Nestor is pres &  Ann is VP of the Volunteer Electricians Organization.  So we joined them and our grand tour began and did not end until 8 hours later!  Ann's sister had been principal of the first school we visited and was now principal of the second school.   At the first, we were shown classrooms where repairs had been done, conversed with several teachers and then they insisted on pictures.  The next school we stayed longer as they examined the needs.  I sat with 4 teachers...one Ann's   cousin.  They were hilarious!  They called themselves "4 Women in Waiting" --Ha ha.   They were married to their classroom.  Ha ha.   They had to re-do all their charts, bulletin boards, decorations etc. after Yolanda took off the roofs.  One classroom was leveled & several others almost totally destroyed.  I took pictures and they asked me to show them to Obama so maybe he'd send them $$.  Ha ha.  The K teacher was a volunteer who was getting 1/3 pay ($150 per mo no ins.) as the school had no $$ to hire her.  She asked if she could get in my suitcase.  Ha ha.  She'd pack an oxygen tank.  Ha ha.  The K teacher said her kids were well behaved and many were reading.  All lessons were taught in both mother tongue & English.  Biggest problem was they had to go poo poo lots and since she had no bathroom--she sent them home to poo poo.  Ha ha.  But they came back cause they lived close.  When Nestor finished his evaluation, more pictures were taken...all with the K teacher hugging me.  Since we were so close to Ann's family country home, we stopped there for a lunch she'd brought :  rolls, cake, pineapple & Coke.  (Typical sweet stuff)  The porch & roof had  been damaged but not too bad.  It was a modest home--rough by US standards-- but as Ann told us about all the fun she and her cousins had here...it reminded us of the cottage in Atlanta.  Coconut, banana, mango, & lemon trees were fun to climb and between their fruit & the rice from their paddy they had all the fresh food they needed.  Her cousin who lives across the street now cares for it all.  He came over, climbed a coconut tree and cracked 3 for us.  We drank the juice & ate the milky lining.  After about an hour, we drove along the ocean.  Ann pointed out her many family members' homes...some quite damaged...but she had not lost any family.  She described what she saw after Yolanda as we passed some of the hardest hit areas:  here's where most of the bodies were found;  her's where everything was so leveled there was no way of knowing where you were;  here' where a house in almost perfect shape sat in the middle of the street; here's the hospital where patients had been moved to the basement for protection & then to an upper level floating on mattresses; here's the church where so many came for refuge but drowned;  here's the Coke plant, the first plant to be re-built; here's a mass grave;  an another;  and another; here's the monument they are building.   As we drove she told about seeing people carrying bamboo poles with their dead family members hanging on them.  Other searching...but other already rebuilding.  She said the people's strong faith allowed them to accept saying the lost were with God now.  Ann said the people were angry at the gov't as they are sending little help and under estimated the deaths because they were ashamed.  The true lost was over 15,000.  Sobering.  We drove to where the 6 freight tankers were washed ashore.  4 have been removed piece by piece and 3/4 of another.  A family lives in what is left.  They are trying to move the only one left back into the ocean.  Can't imagine how?   But then, I can't imagine how so many shacks have been built all around the ship.  We left the coast and headed for the Santo Nino Shrine.. a chapel & palace built by Imelda Marcos as a showpiece here as it is her home town.  According to our guidebook, it wasn't suppose to be open on Sunday, but like the rest of today, we lucked out.  Though we had a guide showing us around, Ann was filled with even more stories as she had played here as a child because her best friend's mom was the caretaker.  Talk about luck!   Opulent barely describes the place...crystal, ivory, mother of pearl, jade, imported items from China, Russia, Paris, Vienna, theme decorated bedrooms & walls with 1" blocks glued together to look like a weaved bamboo.  The chapel had two life size mosaics and the altar centerpiece was a Christ Child statue from Rome.   Ann took our picture in the  spectacular ball room as we pretended to dance.  Imelda nor anyone else ever slept here.  The gov't that took over after Marcos confiscated it and sadly, the humidity, termites and lack of care are slowly causing it to deteriorate.  Priceless art work & furniture is already ruined.  There is only talk of possible restoration.   Ann said that although the Filipinos did not approve of the lavish spending,   Philippines were better off when Marcos was president than now.  We got dropped off at our hotel...but since our sweet lunch was all we'd eaten today....we jumped in a jeepney and soon were mowing down french fries & hamburgers at the Texas BBQ.  What an incredible day!

49, 50, 51, 52 and 53

Update 49

So many hurting people...so many caring people...so much hard, dirty work...pretty much describes the last couple days.  We continue to hear their Haiyan (they call Yolanda) stories.  Worked with Vanessa at the warehouse today.  She's a late 20's Filipino lady.  I knew when I asked if she had children...the answer might be hard...but she'd asked about mine.  She had two both died when Yolanda washed them away while they were with her Mom...a 5 yr old girl & 7 yr old boy.  She described the storm:  winds over woo MPH (category 5 tornado) for over 3 hours and 3 huge ocean waves over 20 ft tall with tremendous power smashing...smashing..smashing.  The water formed gigantic whirlpools sucking in everyone & everything .  The earth was shaking.  Then the dead...everywhere.  Vanessa wished she had died too.  She started helping those around her and then hooked up with All Hands...it's why she's here now.  She has a tattoo on her wrist she says she must read often..it reads:  just keep breathing.  And she and so many like her is what fuels the AH volunteers.  Though I try to do my part, I can't carry the heavy beams, bags of cement & gravel for blocks over rugged surfaces to the sites.  I tire after digging & mixing cement by hand (no cement mixers & we draw water from a well with a bucket) and then it must be wheel barreled to the sites.  My arms are sore after pounding nails (no nail guns).  But these young kids seem to delight in doing such hard physical labor. ..quickly volunteering to crawl down into holes filled with stinky water up to their waist.  And all the time cracking jokes & teasing each other.  Rog can almost keep up with them and they call him "the beast."  He's worked lots on the tool shed.  I felt immense satisfaction when I completed the railing & facade on one of the front porches.  Each thing you do here you hope brings a bit of healing & comfort to someone.

Update 50

Resilient.   I have a deeper understanding of that word.  The Filipinos live that word.  The young boy at the place where we eat lunch told me his Yolanda story today...all the time smiling.  At first he and his sister went to a low cement building for protection from the wind which is usually what they do...but then the water came so they went to the highest spot and still the water was up to their chest...his siter was screaming but ha had to remain strong.  Finally the water level lowered and he searched for his Dad...he found him.  Then he went out in the street in front of their place and it was covered with bodies.  They had much work to do to start up their business again.  He ended his story saying the typhoons & earthquakes make the Filipinos strong.  I am not sure it would have that effect on me.  I asked him what he was studying in school.  He replied he wanted to be a chef...adding "I hope to see you in America!  It's everyone's dream to go to American!"  The conversation made my afternoon work sawing re-bars & sewer tubing much easier.  After our evening meeting, we watched a documentary on Yolanda  (Haiyan) which verified the stories we'd been hearing...the unimaginable strength, length and effects of Yolanda.   Though many meteorologist had been tracking the typhoon & warning the Philippine gov't that this typhoon would be much worst than any other...that warning was not passed on.  Indeed even the head of the Tacloban weather warning station did not realize the danger and his body has not been recovered.  Katie, AH staff member, was here about ten days after.  She talked about how difficult it was to face the devastation.  ..but then after she worked several months, took a break and returned...she wept seeing how the Filipinos had picked themselves up and started over.  Resilient.

Update 51

Today 3 families were given a new home.  The AH group was almost as overjoyed as the families!  In the evening, we drove about 30 min to a small community without electricity that AH worked in earlier.  After playing with the kids a short time, we set up a screen & showed "Despicable II"  to about 90 kids.  How fun to hear so much laughter!  Great Day!

Update 52

Food here is either spicy or sweet.  Don't think a day goes by without eating some type of cake or donut and most deep fried.  Even the banana break is deep fried after it is baked!  And it's cheap!  How do you pass up a fried chocolate filled roll for less than 4 cents??  Meat is usually chicken or pork in a spicy, sometimes curry sauce with carrots, yams or green beans mixed in.  Rice is served every meal except once we got spaghetti--with a sweet tomato sauce.  Lots of cabbage slaw similar to ours.  Kids seem to be eating crunchy snacks all the time and all are flavored:  BBQ, chili, beef, cheese, pepper, pork, etc.  Can't hardly buy a plain chip.  Coke & Sprite...in glass bottles usually..are everywhere but finding a Coke Zero or Light close by is impossible...but I go the distance to find one.  Today I found the first "limitless"  fountain Coke Zero for $2.25.  I guzzled my first one, then heard a bell ring & a waiter quickly came & refilled.  As I finished that one, another bell rang...this time I saw the bell ringer who was watching me & smiling.  One bell ring later, my thirst was finally quenched.  AHHHHH!

Update 53

The language here is so unique...it hopes between the local dialect of the area and English.  Last night we were watching the local news--about 2/3 in the local dialect intertwined with 1/3 English.  When I asked a local about it--he just grin and said "It's our new language."  Though we've heard it for over 6 weeks now, it still cracks us up!