My Homestay Family

Hello!

Firstly, for those of you who have heard the recent news stories regarding the super typhoon, Megi, you need not worry about me, as it has not affected the region I am living in. For those of you who are unaware, a category 5 typhoon hit the Northern tip of the Philippines on Monday. It is the biggest typhoon to be received by the Philippines in the last 4 years, with winds in excess of 250km/h. At least ten people from the North Luzon region have been killed. It has now moved towards South China and Vietnam, so I guess all we can do is hope that Mother Nature takes it's course and leaves as little destruction as possible.

A big part of being a volunteer in Tacloban is the experience of living with a host family. I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little about mine. Firstly, they have been nothing but hospitable towards me, which seems to be a common trend in the Philippines, because no matter where I go, people are always very welcoming and generous despite how little they have.

I already mentioned Nanay Pering, my homestay mother. She is a typical Philippino mother: A fantastic cook, able to keep track of several children and grandchildren and a very kind lady as well. Her and her husband, Tatay Roberto (who of course, is my homestay father) are in their early sixties and have brought up 6 children, all now adults. Tatay Roberto is a comedian: He will always greet me with a salute, despite knowing that I'm not American and is always quick to crack out a joke or bring back a bottle of beer!

Their oldest son is in jail for drug charges and with his wife disappearing without any notice, Pering and Roberto were left to parent their three grandchildren. These are John (18), Ronmar (15) and Alecs Anne (11). Three great kids and very different siblings. Their oldest daughter, is a mother of three. During my first few days in the Philippines, she was actually in hospital giving birth to her third child, which left Pering and Roberto to look after the other two kids for a few days. I was lucky enough to see the mother bring home her new born and watch the two siblings completely amazed by this new baby brother of theirs. Since then, this family of now 5, have gone back to their respective home and we see them from time to time when they visit.

Their third child is currently working in Hong Kong as a Nanny in order to support her only child Melly (8), who lives with Pering and Roberto. Their fourth child lives with her husband and children in another region of the Philippines, working as a school teacher. I have not yet met her. Their fifth child Ruperto is in his mid twenties and is married with a child. Ruperto lives both with his parents and his wife and is a mechanical engineering graduate, now training to be a policeman. His final exam is due to take place in the next couple of weeks and him and I have planned to go for a few celebratory drinks once he has completed his training.

Their youngest child is Ning Ning, who is a couple years younger than Ruperto. She has a one year old daughter, Nikka Mae and they both live with her parents. Ning Ning's husband is currently working in Dubai to help support Nikka Mae.

So that is the whole family. My homestay is certainly the busiest compared to the other volunteers, but in many ways, it's nice to be part of a big family. Including myself and James, another volunteer from the States, there are 11 of us living under one relatively small roof. Most nights, there is someone sleeping on the sofa and floor but no one seems to mind. With each day that goes by, I find myself becoming more and more comfortable being a guest in their house. They have made me feel like a member of the family and I'm thoroughly enjoying building a connection with each individual family member. Most evenings after dinner, now consist of us sitting around the living room table and sharing stories. Nanay and Tatay will ask me about my life in the UK and my future dreams, Alecs Anne and Melly enjoy playing games with me, looking at my photos and teaching me songs. Nikka Mae tends to wonder around grabbing whatever she can but with a cute little grin to get away with it. Ronmar... well Ronmar is a 15 year old boy, who has recently established that he is gay. As a result, he enjoys making the occasional suggestive comment towards me - which isn't the end of the world! He's just discovering himself!
So that's about it for now. Yesterday, Melly had a dance presentation at her school which I went along to and watched with Nanay Pering. I managed to get a few photos, which you can see on facebook and today, I plan on getting a few printed for the family to keep.

Much love!

Sam