8. The End: When the Blanket is Short, Learn to Curl
Friends, lovers, archenemies, undecideds: What I want to emphasize above all else is how deeply grateful I am for people like you, my attentive readers, without whom my time as a Young Adult Volunteer would have looked and felt very different. Your emotional and financial support made it possible me for me to undertake this…
7. BLM
Friends, This will be my penultimate blog post. I will eventually write a closing post on my evacuation from the Philippines and my final thoughts from the experience (long story short: I’m safe at home in the U.S.). For now, though, to neglect recent events on this blog when much of my time as a…
6. Filipino Food, ft. Rice
To those of you feeling especially anxious about the coronavirus pandemic, I wish you safety and peace of mind. As the stress of global panic can be overwhelming, I’m using this outlet to distract myself with a more light-hearted entry, and perhaps some of you would like a distraction, too. This entry on food will…
5. Catch-Up: Volcanoes, Epidemics, the Usual
My friends, this blog post comes a few weeks late, and for that I apologize—between the start of a new job, a new host family, a volcanic eruption, a conference in Thailand, and the outbreak of coronavirus, there’s been a lot happening these past couple months. I’ll make this a simple catch-up and return to…
4. Jail, Music, and Waiting
When I was in grade school, the comment that I remember receiving on my report card most often was “uses time wisely.” Shy and introverted, I was less likely to distract myself from work by talking to my classmates; thus, I was adept at fulfilling expectations of efficiency. But here in the Philippines, time and…
3. The Red-Light District: Assumptions and Surprises
Content Warning: Abortion, sex work. During our site orientation to the Philippines, the three YAVs visited Cebu City and met a Filipino man who is notorious for the many late nights he spends at the city’s red-light district. He calls out to pimps, asking the whereabouts of the sex workers if he doesn’t see them…
2. Site Orientation: A Hike, A Motorbike, and Well-Intended Laughter
Hello from Cebu City, and thank you for your patronage of my humble attempt at a blog! I really appreciated your replies to my first post, including one that I will echo here to publicize another useful example of socially conscious language: we should avoid saying “the poor” and “the homeless,” and opt instead for…
1. Pre-Philippines (Sort of)
Hello from the Philippines! First of all: as I anticipate that many of my potential readers have offered financial and emotional support for my year in the Philippines, allow me to express my gratitude. Thanks to your generous donations and encouragement, I have reached the minimum fundraising requirement of $5,000! Additional donations to the YAV…
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Clara Hare-Grogg, YAV 2019-20 