5. Seafood. I am moving to an island chain and I have never had a palate that was acquiesable to seafood. I’m afraid the only type of seafood I like is southern…deep fried and battered. Gets the fishy taste right out. I will make a rare exception to this anti-seafood agenda, BUT the important facet of the exception is that it must not taste like seafood. Has to be heavily seasoned/sauced (like bang bang shrimp at Bonefish…WHICH I LOVE!). If I wind up with a family of fishermen I’m going to be bummed.
4. A host family of thunderous, earthshattering, earsplitting, cosmos sundering snorers. I am a retardedly light sleeper. I will wake up if my roommate rolls out of bed and moves around his room at the opposite end of the apartment. It’s not like my host family can help it either, which makes it a difficult issue to solve. I am taking the best pack of ear plugs I can find just in case...but with the sincere hope I won't need them because I don't want to be sleepless in Manilla.
3. The ‘Golden Era’ for my favorite sports teams. As soon as I leave all of my favorite sports teams for whom I have lived and breathed for the length of my fanhood go on championship winning tears, and I can’t see any of it. I’ll break it down easily: The Gators win something like 4 national championships combined within the following sports: FOOTBALL, basketball, baseball. The Colorado Rockies win their first ever World Series. The Denver Broncos are led to a Superbowl by Tim Tebow. If that happens and I’m not there to see it I will be seriously devastated. It’s rough enough surrendering Saturdays in the Swamp for 3 seasons…
2. The death of my iPod. I love my music. My iPod’s already pretty old and if it goes and I have to wait on a replacement, if it’s even possible to get a replacement, I will probably be, inexplicably to my host family and community, exponentially more grumpy.
1. SNAKES! I have long had an extremely…tangible…fear of snakes. Like all good phobias it goes back to a childhood scarring incident involving a wayward football, my unsuspecting hand, an unsuspecting and probably startled garter snake, and close contact of the wrapped around my hand variety. I don’t want to see them, hear them, feel them, EAT them, or have anything to do with them. Go ahead and google search ‘snakes in the philippines’…two of the first seven links have to do with giant snakes.
don't worry about the fish thing - there's loads of (DELICIOUS) pork in the 'pines! :)
ReplyDeleteAlright, as a volunteer who has been here for nearly a year, let me help break your fears down for you.
ReplyDeleteSeafood: There is some seafood here. That's true, but we love fried food in The Philippines and we also love meat that isn't fish. Don't worry. My first host family rarely ate seafood. It was either fried stuff, veggies, or other meats.
Noise: Um, got some bad news for you. It's not your family you'll need to worry about. You see, here in The Philippines a lot of the houses don't have walls that are sealed to the roof. In other words, if something happens outside, you're gonna hear it. Chickens were my biggest problem. Bring those earplugs, my friend.
Teams: Sports Teams, Friends, Family, etc. Are all going to keep living life without you. It feels weird when a friend calls you to tell you that she/he is engaged, getting married, or whatever. But that is just how life is. Heck, my dog died while I was over hear. It's the sad truth.
Electronics: It's hit or miss. You may have the best luck ever and nothing ever happen to anything you own. Or you may have the worst luck ever (like me) I lost a cellphone, a computer, and an ipod. Good Luck.
Snakes: I have personally never EVER seen a snake here. They exist. Don't get me wrong, but you can live your life and be snake free, so don't worry so much about that.
Cool. Well, that's all I got for you.
Brandon
Fried anything is right up my ally lol, thanks for the heads up Brandon!
ReplyDeleteRegarding snakes... I HAVE seen several, but here's the thing: as much as you may dislike snakes, Filipinos probably hate them even more. Children and adults alike will leap up at the sight of a snake and throw rocks at it, chop off its head or torture/kill it in other inventive ways, no matter how little threat it poses. So, uh. Maybe that would hearten you, or something.
ReplyDeleteAs for replacing gear, you can find legitimate electronic stuff (as in iPods, laptops, etc.) in any decent-sized city. And whether you like it or not, you will be spending some time in Manila, where you can get anything your heart desires except a fresh breath of air.