Emily enrolled at UMass Amherst in the fall of 2006 to study journalism and came out the other end with a bang. The university selected her as the class of 2010 co-commencement speaker–the third consecutive journalism major chosen. Just three months after graduation, she began her 27 month-long United States Peace Corps journey. Emily now teaches English in a farming community in Zaragoza, Philippines, which has about 40,000 residents.
In your own words, describe what the Peace Corps is and its purpose.
So, the Peace Corps has three goals. One is to help transfer skills to people in the community for skills that they want to learn. The people have requested us to be here, like the country of the Philippines, education in this case. The second is to learn about the Filipino culture. The third is to relay that back to people in America, share the culture exchange with American people, share American culture with Filipinos.
Why did you want to join the Peace Corps?
The summer between junior and senior year I had an internship at a PR company. I sort of had a wake up call that I was not ready to work 8:30-5:30 everyday. I couldn’t picture myself doing that yet, so I remember sitting there one day, and I thought “I need to do something different!”, I started researching different programs I could do and Peace Corps is one of them. Once you apply to the Peace Corps you really have to be invested in the application because even the initial application is pretty long. By the time I finally clicked submit I was sort of committed to that idea and I wasn’t really sure what would happen if I wasn’t accepted. I honestly couldn’t tell you what I’d be doing now. My true love and passion for traveling, and not only traveling, but learning about other cultures, is something that’s always really interested me. I had friends who had done the Peace Corps in the past or are currently in the Peace Corps, and they helped inspire me to join because their experiences were really great.
How did you choose your location?
With the Peace Corps, you don’t really choose the location. You can choose the preferences of a region, so you could choose if you wanted to be somewhere in Africa or Asia. I said I didn’t have a preference, but I had experience teaching English in Thailand before, so I think that sort of automatically put me into the Asia region somehow. I was nominated right off the bat from my interview, to teach English in Asia, but they won’t tell you the country until you’re officially accepted.
How long is the application process?
I had my interview in November of 2009, and I didn’t find out where I was going until June 2010. The application process is really long because you have to get cleared medically and legally. I got my letter of acceptance to the Philippines in June, and it was funny because in my interview…I remember the recruiter saying to me “How would you feel about being an English teacher in the Philippines?”, and I said “Yeah that’d be fine.”, and I ended up being placed there. They can switch around your placement, so you have to be really flexible.
Share a memorable experience thus far.
The Filipinos have these ideas. One said, “So, when you’re 18 you’re separated from you’re family and you move out.” and I’m like, “No”. “Is it true that all Americans naturally have blond hair?” They’re getting their ideas from watching movies or maybe the small amount that they see on the news, but it’s mostly from media, and they reference movies when they say things. I’m learning so much about a culture I really knew nothing about. I keep a blog so that’s kind of my way of trying to exchange the culture back home so my friends and family and whoever else wants to, can read about my experiences that way.
Describe what an average day is like for you.
It’s 6:23 a.m. right now. I usually wake up around 6 o’clock. I go to school at 7:30, which sometimes is like 7:45 because there’s a thing they call Filipino time where everything is a little bit later. My host mom here is also a teacher at the school, so we go to school together, and then I teach four classes always with a counterpart. Right now I stay at the school the whole day. It’s a long day from 7:30 to 5. They’re just changing the education system a little bit. For the Philippines, it used to only be 10 years of school where in the U.S. it’s 13 including kindergarten, and they are changing it to the 12 year system, but I guess it won’t take effect until later. I have breaks, but my classes are scattered so it’s easier for me to stay at the school. In my free time I’m usually talking with other teachers. They call it “chica chica”, which is what they call small talk. I have breakfast and dinner at my home, then lunch at the school through the canteen. Every meal is with (white) rice.
What are the living conditions like?
I live in a farming community where there are rice fields on every side. It’s a crossroads between two bigger cities, so there’s actually a lot of traffic coming through this way. There are about 40,000 residents and 19 barangays (smaller villages) in this town.
Do you have your own room?
Yes, it’s a Peace Corps requirement when living with a host family, that a volunteer has their own room with a door that can lock.
How would you compare your living arrangement to an “American home”?
My host family’s house is different than you’re “average” Filipino house. My host family’s house is more Americanized. We have a flushing toilet and running shower with a water heater, which is almost unheard of among my other Peace Corps volunteer friends. Usually bucket baths are the norm. That’s what I did during training with my first host family. Also, toilets are either squatter toilets or ones you have to flush manually by pouring buckets of water down until everything is gone. Toilet paper isn’t usually used by Filipino’s, so its up to the volunteer whether they want to buy their own or go native [she laughs]. Hand washing clothes is common here too. My host family has a washing machine, but it’s not what you think. It moves the clothes around in soapy water for awhile and then stops, there’s no draining or spinning. That you have to do yourself with other buckets of water, and it’s tiring! I really miss washing machines and dryers.
What do you do during your time off?
During the week, I come home from school around 5. I usually read or just stare at a wall until dinner because I’m so tired from the day [she laughs]. If I have extra energy I’ll play with my host sister, who’s nine, or my host brother, who’s 1.5 years, then eat dinner around 7. Then, I read, use the computer, write in my journal, or text other volunteers to talk about our day. Weekends my host family will usually go to the near by mall in the nearest city, Cabanatuan, or I will go there with my sitemate. Sometimes I will go with another volunteer in my town, and we’ll go to a movie or get coffee. If I’m not traveling that weekend I’ll hang out with a group of younger teachers if they’re doing something together, clean my room, and lesson plan for the week ahead.
Do you intend to come home at all?
Some volunteers will come back around Christmas time of this year, so December 2011, but the thing with that is that it’s at your own expense. The only way the Peace Corps will send you home to the U.S. is if there’s some sort of family emergency or if you need some sort of medical treatment that you can’t get here. Thankfully, I’ve had a really great support group back home and everyone wants me to come back, so they are helping to save money to hopefully get me to go home at that point. So, that’s also up in the air.
How many volunteers are you with?
I came in with a batch of 140 volunteers, the biggest they had so far. Before was 70 volunteers. The placements range from a very rural place to a city. Also, there are two other sectors in the Philippines. I’m in the education sector. There’s also children, youth, and family sector who deal more with orphanages. Then, there’s the environment sector who work with coastal resource management.
Do you plan to stay in the Philippines after your contract ends?
The initial contract is 27 months, but you can extend for a year if you want. I’ve actually already thought about it because it takes a long time to get projects off the ground, so I’ve been in the country for 6 months, but only at my permanent site for three months because I was training in another city.
What are your plans after your service ends?
After the Peace Corps I would like to go to graduate school–maybe some sort of journalism track like communication–but also just from this experience, I’ve also looked into a few programs for youth development leadership. I’ve seen a couple schools that have programs like that, but it’s still very up in the air. I do know that I want to continue my education after this service ends.
How do you communicate with your host family, the teachers in the school, the students, and the local community members?
My host family and most of the teachers speak English fluently. This is convenient for me, but also difficult when trying to learn the language because I know I can always fall back on English. English is actually one of the national languages here, so that is one of the reasons why it’s important for students to learn it. I usually talk to my host family during meal times, and I’m always talking to different teachers while I’m at school. Getting out into the community has been one of my challenges. Birthday parties seem to be the best way to integrate. Otherwise most teachers spend their weekends in their home doing laundry and cleaning.
Does the Peace Corps give you a stipend?
The Peace Corps gives us an allowance that is enough to cover the costs of food, transportation, rent, communication, and some other miscellaneous costs. Overall, we’re supposed to be living at a similar level to our community members. The Peace Corps has a medical staff that take care of us really well while we’re here. Afterwards, volunteers get money to help readjust to living in The States, and returned volunteers also have an option to get health insurance.
Do you drive a car there?
Driving is prohibited for all Peace Corps volunteers as is riding a motorcycle. My host family has a van, so I usually get a ride to school since my host mom is also a teacher at the school I work at. Another common mode of transportation is a trike, which is a motorcycle with a sidecar attached to it. Traveling further distances, such as to the mall, I take a jeepney. Google it for a picture, it’s hard to explain [she laughs]. For more extensive travel there are buses that go anywhere you’d like to go for the most part.
What do you miss the most about UMass and the U.S.?
I miss everything about UMass! I miss the town, I miss the people, the food, the classes, the teachers. I really loved it there. Any graduate goes through withdrawals from college I think. I thought that being in another country would distract me from missing it, but I still miss the freedom of making my own class schedule, late night trips to Antonio’s, and living with friends. As for the U.S., aside from friends and family, I really miss the food and driving my car.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The Peace Corps organization just celebrated their 50th anniversary today! Peace Corps Philippines also turns 50 in November so it’s a really exciting time to be a volunteer.
If you’re interested in reading more about Emily’s experiences, you can visit her blog or her twitter!