Disco Disco

I have seen little evidence here in Nueva Valencia for what would constitute as a “nightlife,” in the traditional sense of the word. So last week when one of the guys who hangs out at my house asked me if I was interested in going to a “Disco Disco” in Nueva Valencia, I was rather intrigued. This conversation was last Wednesday, and I assumed nothing would come of it. Then came Friday night, and after dinner I started hanging out with the guys and drinking some Tanduay Rum. Eventually the topic came up at about 8:30, it became clear that the “Disco Disco” was happening and that we would be leaving shortly. At about 9:00, my host mom, Nanay Elsa, exhausted from a long day at work, told me it was time to leave. She, and my 11-year-old host brother, Justin, were coming too. So I hopped on the back of a tryke and headed off. As per usual, it was dark, and I had no idea where I was going. After about 15 minutes or so, I could hear “Telephone” by Lady Gaga and Beyonce, blasting in the distance. We had arrived. There were lots of huts lined up outside with tons of  people hanging out. The barangay’s basketball court was lit up, and standing on the far side was a wall, probably 20 feet high, of speakers blasting music. On the court were probably 40-50 high school and elementary school kids dancing, with some adults dispersed throughout the crowd. This was the "Disco Disco." We sat down at one of the huts and grabbed a couple of more drinks before Nanay Elsa told me to go to the basketball court. I tried to get her to come on the dance floor with me, but she was too tired (and subsequently passed out just a few seconds later). She encouraged me to go out there with Justin, and despite being initially hesitant, I figured why not. I must have stayed there for at least an hour. Even though we were outside, the music was so strong, you could feel it reverberating through your body. It may have been in my head, but the music seemed to be pulsing warm air with every beat. The other kids were definitely surprised by my presence. Some just stared and pointed. Others copied my dance moves (I hear imitation is the greatest form of flattering). I stuck to the basics: punching it out, the sprinkler, the clean-the-ear-throw-it-away (thanks to Stef for teaching me that one), etc. The kids copied every last one of them. While I would have definitely appreciated some dance partners (not that Justin didn’t do an excellent job keeping me entertained), I was happy to experience the Nueva Valencia nightlife. I definitely felt a little out of place out dancing on the basketball court surrounded mostly by kids, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. I'm still a sucker for American pop music.

I spent Saturday night in Iloilo City, which does have much more of a nightlife that can be expected. I went to another volunteer Andrew's training homestay house with Ryan and my sitemate Denise. After dinner at Andrew's, we went with Ryan’s host parents and Andrew’s 13-year-old brother, Dart, to a bowling alley in the city. Duckpin bowling, of course. Then, all together we went to Smallville, the strip of bars and clubs in Iloilo City. First we stopped at Pirates, a big outdoor bar with a live performance. As I write this, I don’t really understand how this happened, but one minute we're sitting hanging out and the next, the MC is announcing that it’s Denise’s birthday (it was not), and she was going to sing a Justin Bieber song for everyone. She wasn’t going up alone, so Ryan, Andrew, and I accompanied the "birthday girl." Ryan was on the drums, while Andrew and I did backup. It was a well-received performance, although I’m very thankful I didn’t have my Flip video cam with me. Afterwards, we said goodbye to Ryan and his host family, and the rest of us went to MO2 Ice, one of the night clubs in Iloilo City to meet up with Rob. We didn’t get there until about 1AM, and by the time we got there most of the Filipinos that Rob came with had fallen asleep, some at the club. In their defense, they had been there since 10. Andrew wasn’t able to get into the club because of the (shockingly strict) no flip flops policy, but we pulled off a successful pass-back to get him in. Not of IDs but of shoes. A first for me. Compliments to Denise for having a bag big enough to fit my shoes.

We were all hanging out in the club, when the place erupted. It seemed that a celebrity had appeared, and soon enough we were as excited as the rest of the crowd to see it was none other than Vice Ganda! Believe it or not, I’m not being sarcastic. Now I know most of you reading this have no idea whom that is, but for me (and most of my language cluster) it’s one of the few Filipino celebrities we can get excited about. Back in Banate, the Staff House had 1 television. Because of our class schedule and regular breaks, we ended up watching the same shows every day: Nightly News with Brian Williams (if we got there early), the Price is Right, Jerry Springer, and Show Time. Show Time is a variety-style comedy/performance show, which I could explain better if I understood what was going on. Vice Ganda is a judge and ends up dancing with the crowd by the end of every episode. Vice Ganda also appears in countless commercials on TV, and I’m about 25% sure was also on Celebrity Survivor. 

Vice Ganda is everywhere here in the Philippines.

After a fun time in the city, I returned to Nueva Valencia for a rather busy week. Yesterday, we had another BFARMC reorientation and reelection. The people were so happy to meet me and hear me speak their native language that they gave me a plastic bag full of potatoes as a token of appreciation. I spent all day on Tuesday and Wednesday in a workshop led by the Zoological Society of London, which is an NGO that runs a community-based mangrove rehabilitation project in Dolores, one of the barangays in Nueva Valencia. It was a really fun meeting. I got to meet a lot of people and help think up of some policies for the project. At the end of the two-day project, the mayor handed over, quite ceremoniously, a check to the PO (people’s organization) of Dolores for the mangrove project and for a milkfish mariculture project. They're going to save a lot of that money by having me create and lead the monitoring program for the site, rather than outside experts. Then on Monday, I attended the relaunching ceremony for the Igang Bay Marine Reserve. Hopefully this time all the buoys won’t get stolen! To my surprise, there was another white person about my age at the ceremony! She was a Canadian girl named Katie, who is interning at the university in Iloilo City that helped establish the marine protected area. Below are some pictures that I took while sitting out on the boat of the marine sanctuary. 

Establishing the Igang Bay Marine Sanctuary.

Over an hour on the boat made me remember that while I may feel like a Filipino, I still burn like a redhead.

The rest of the observers back on the shore.

The fisherfolk deploying buoys.

Guimaras.

          While most of you probably don't know who Vice Ganda is, you probably do know that we're currently in the midst of Hannukah. Considering it was impossible to find a Happy Hannukah card to mail home, I knew finding a menorah was a lost cause. So instead, I bought some supplies at Ace’s Hardware store. There’s a menorah still at my apartment back home that Logan made as probably a third grade Hebrew school student. My goal was to make something more elaborate. I think I succeeded (barely). It doesn't look so stable but has held up thus far. Considering my limited supplies and budget, I'm pretty satisfied. I’ve have fun lighting it at home with my host family and telling them about the holiday. 

Justin lighting the candles on the 5th night of Hannukah. His Hebrew can definitely use some work!

My makeshift menorah and I.

       That's it for now. To everyone back at home, Happy Hannukah!