I had a brief cultural-whoa! moment on the plane from Manila to Detroit via Nagoya (I refrain from saying shock because a word such as shock deserves something truly shocky). We changed out our flight crews from predominantly Filipinos to predominantly Americans. The Japanese teen next to me, when asked what he wanted to drink, said sprite. I then indicated that I wanted one too. However, I did so in a manner adopted from the country that has temporarily adopted me. I pointed at his sprite with my lips and raised my eyebrows, an effective “that, yes!” to a Filipino. To the flight stewardess though, I am fairly certain, believed I was making advances. Whoops.
On the return flight when we switched from an American flight crew to a Filipino flight crew when the stewardess asked me if I understood and was comfortable with sitting in an exit row I deliberately did the slightest of eyebrows, just to make sure, and she moved on to the next person without hesitation...
I ate many foods that I long for during the deep hours of hunger abroad and spent time with as many of my friends and family as I could. Upon returning to the Philippines, July proved to be a hectic and harrying month. Due to unlucky timing and, perhaps, a smidge of poor pre-departure planning, my tasks and responsibilities pressed together to create quite the pinch. It was quite stressful for a week there but my grind-it out IB mentality (if you don’t know don’t ask) prevailed and I was rewarded not just with my birthday, but three consecutive weekends of Volunteers’ birthdays in Bacolod City.
Me and my then soon-to-be newlywed sister just several days before she tied the knot
I’m now in what is rapidly becoming the sports-themed month of August. Unfortunately, a fundraiser I’ve been planning at my school, a PCV basketball team vs. local Faculty and Staff has been postponed until October. However, in its place I will be coaching the freshmen soccer team in our school’s intramurals (grade levels compete in any number of sports) as well as going to Guimbal on Panay for an indoor soccer tournament (don’t let indoor fool you, it means just not on grass) to compete on a Peace Corps Volunteer team. While excited for both, I am immensely excited to coach something again. I spent many, many hours coaching high school baseball during college and while I may not have the breadth and depth of knowledge for soccer as that for baseball, I still look forward to coaching again. Even my coteachers have noticed how enthusiastic I am about something that’s just tacked on the list of responsibilities they deal with year-in and year-out. Secretly, I hope this may translate into helping with the school’s soccer team down the road. I have already spent a couple hours looking up drills, tips, and clips to shore up my technical knowledge of the game.
Lastly, I'd like to remember one of my good friends from college who passed while I was visiting the states.
peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. i leave America with a heavy heart. i will miss you and keep you in my thoughts L Jahi James, rest in peace.
L Jahi James - 10/28/88-7/2/11
