UP WITH PEOPLE

BRINGING THE WORLD TOGETHER. That's how their slogan says.

It's been a while since the last time I updated my blog. I've been pretty busy for the past days and I know it's just a lame excuse for not having something interesting to talk about. I was avoiding to look stuffy on my posts coz that would simply bore everyone.

It was few months ago when my mom first told me about this group of people from different countries coming here in the Philippines for a community service thing. She said, she signed up for hosting members. To cut it short, we're a host family. Since it was quite far from the date she told me about it, I didn't mind. I just said it was OK and asked her few things on how the set up was gonna be. (so I did mind..hehe) She said we're just going to provide a place for them to stay and food to eat. I didn't really bother that it was going to be a nose-bleeding situation to be with some people I dont know, what bothered me was, where the heck am i gonna sleep. Our house isn't big. It's not even good to let people in. But my mom said, that they have to experience how Filipinos live their lives. I wanted to tell my mom that they could go to the mountains and live with the native ones if that's what they need.I won't win over my mom though, she's bringing the money in so I dont have the right to protest, anyway it was september when she told me about it and that would happen in December.

Few days before December 5, since I forgot about the people coming, she told everyone in the house that there were 2 western people coming over to stay with us for 10 days. I was really holding my breath when I heard her say it. It's my first time to have the longest 5 seconds in my life when she said it. My world stopped and I was wishing to die. I am not over-acting but seriously I didn't like the idea that I'm gonna be staying with English speaking people for 10 days, share the same food and be with them whenever my mom says. I didn't know what to do but she's solid on her decision.

December 5 - I was at work when my mom started calling me to be with her to pick up my "foster sisters". I said I couldn't coz Im doing overtime work. It was a big no for her and I must do what I was told. She knew that I was just lying. I was going crazy that time when I was about to go to the pick up place and my mom told me that they just arrived. She wanted me to go home straight instead. When I got home they we're front of the house while my mom was on the door trying to pull their heavy luggage. I was surprised that I forgot to offer my help to my mom who id be sharing love and care with the 2 big girls in front of me for 10 days. The next thing I knew was my mom asking me to help her carry their things. I took their luggage in and my mom introduced me to ANNAKA and LINDA. They're from the USA and Finland respectively. I rushed the hello thingy and jumped to my sorry-the-house-isn't-that-good statement. I felt comfortable when they said it's ok coz they had the worst thing in their lives when they told me that in Mexico they even slept on the floor.

I didn't have much talk with them coz I had a birthday party to go to that night so I bid goodbye to both of them. I went home late and they're sleeping when I arrived. I woke up late and they're gone on Subic tour and had to leave early in the morning according to my mom. So I had to compose myself while they're out. I didn't want to tell anyone that I'm teaching English coz that might upset them if they knew that Im messing up with their language. They came home at around 6pm and my mom had to pick them up where they were dropped off by their staff. I couldn't really be myself whenever they're around. I would always think about being intimidated by them whenever I'm gonna ask them something or otherwise.

So what are they here for? They're with UP WITH PEOPLE. They do community service and some outreach programs to the needy ones. How did my mom know about it? My mom is just a social butterfly to volunteer hosting members. It's a non-profit organization and they travel for 6 months to different countries.That's why they need a host family so it could at least lessen the burden of paying for their accommodation. I didn't understand their idea at first since there are a lot of non-profit organizations that do the same thing they do, aside from the HOST FAMILY thing.

My aunt got 2 members too. So basically, we're hosting 4 girls. But my aunt lives in a different place. The thing here is, I have to look after all of them. They're a group of young people, between 19-29. Ours are between 19-22. My aunt has got CHERYSSA (USA) and TINA (germany). Tonight they had their FINAL PERFORMANCE which they do everytime they leave the place. (they did it in manila because they also went there to do their thing). Anyways, yes, it's final coz Subic is their last stop and they're all going home. Their 6 month-community-service tour ends here in Subic. 2 days to go and all of them are flying back home.

This is such a wonderful experience that they're really bringing the world together. They adapt to the culture of the people which is kinda hard especially when you travel for 6 months and you're gonna meet different families serving totally different food from each other, you have to adjust your body clock and bear a terrible jet lag from a long trip (coz they came all the way from mexico after doing their US tour). It's good to know that there are still people willing to see the world on a good purpose and pay for 14 US dollars just to serve people across nations. I hope that hosting them could bring us closer to the rest of the people in the world. In this way, I was able to experience USA, FINLAND, GERMANY and not to mention other members I met, without getting a VISA. They;ve been all good and appreciative to the accommodation we gave them. They embraced the Filipino culture with all their hearts and showed us that there could still be unity in diversity, that there is no greater race in this world and we are all equal. The organization primarily promotes service to people and this entails everything that we need to achieve world peace which is quite getting too impossible to many.

I'm wishing that I could be a part of this group in the next few years. They had a big impact on me and watching their show made me realize that general interest should always be superior to our self-interest .

As per my mom, MA, SARAP NG ULAM NITONG MGA NAKARAANG ARAW!!!! nyahahahahaha!