Kuya Russ, my professor, returned my graded interim report with many helpful comments and suggestions. I made comments on the document in response to his comments and sent it back to him. He made additional comments on the same document, so I sent this to my supervisor and a couple of other people. I’m realizing that I cannot do this research thing on my own, and I need as much advice as I can get. Especially since I have to gather & analyze data in a cross-cultural context. My thought process is so different from a Filipino’s, so I really need a local perspective before I can know what to look for. I met with one of the ladies that I sent my interim report to, and we met on Sunday to discuss what direction I should take. I am so grateful for everyone who is willing to give of their time to help me. I’m trying to not feel overwhelmed because it seems like I have sooo much to do before I leave. I even woke up the other day at 5:30 and couldn’t fall back asleep because of my anxiety. I think I need to get more sleep actually. I'm averaging at 6 hours a night, and last night I only got 4.5 hours. I know I need to take care of myself so I don't get sick.
The past couple of days have been good to relieve my stress. My supervisor, Ate Norma, has a relative visiting from New York, so I spent Sunday with this family. Kuya Nikos and Ate Rhiza (Ate Norma’s son and daughter) took me along with them for a family reunion. It was nice to talk to Jonathan, the visiting American, and it was fun being with their family. We ate a huge Filipino feast at Aristocrat, a famous Filipino restaurant on the Bay of Manila. After dinner, we were leaving the restaurant, but turned around to get dessert. We were there for over 3.5 hours! Yesterday, I hung out with Ate Rhiza, Kuya Nikos, and Kuya Jonathan again. They took me to a mall and we ate at TGI Friday’s. Although I love trying all the authentic Filipino cuisine, it was kind of nice to eat American food for a change. We also got Blizzards at DQ before heading to a different shopping center. We ended the night by going to Ate Rhiza’s flat to hang out and talk. I think they may even take me to the Mall of Asia today. Hey, I’m up for it!
I haven’t really seen the boys since Sunday morning, and I already miss them. I was telling Ate Yen yesterday about how I feel like I have a family here at SBCC. Before I left America, I was a little worried about living in a church. I was picturing myself alone a lot in my little guest room, since I wouldn’t be living with a family. It’s normally recommended that interns room with families instead of living alone, in order to have a truly cultural and fulfilling experience on their internship. I was afraid that I’d miss that, but now I’ve realized that I do live with a family-I live with the Shelter boys and their caretakers. Not only do I live with them, but they (& my other friends at SBCC) have become my family.
No comments:
Post a Comment