Host Family

I'm all moved in and boy is it different than the resort! Ha. I have my own room with a door that locks...that's a Peace Corps policy for host families. I'm living with a mother and her daughter. They make me laugh a lot. The mother speaks very good English and it has been very easy to communicate with her. Her husband is abroad working in Saudi Arabia. A brother and his two kids live in the house as well, but I have rarely see the brother or his son.

The bathroom situation is very different from the states. I have a squatter toilet and I got stage fright the first time I tried to use it. It will take some getting used to! After you're done doing your "business," you use a bucket and pour water in the toilet to make it flush. I don't know how it works, but it does. The shower is a cement room with a water spout with a basin under it and a bucket. I use the bucket to pour the FREEZING cold water over me and that's how I take my showers!

Yesterday afternoon, all of the trainees' host families organized a gathering at one of the houses for Marienda (snack time...in the Philippines, marienda is at 10 am and 3 pm everyday no matter what! People will stop what they're doing for meals and snacks). We had some very good spaghetti and a coconut and fruit salad that was absolutely delicious.