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August 17, 2003 - Americans believe things can always be better. In any helping profession such as the Peace Corps, it can be difficult to know what people really need. People of Carigara do not really need any help. No one goes hungry in the province.
A helper also needs to know that you can't force people that don't want what you have to offer. There are out of school youth here. But it does not mean they want to learn anything from me. If they wanted to learn and get a job, there are opportunities. But it takes hard work, dedication and desire to succeed. |
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August 31,2003 - My host sister borrowed a Meteor Garden collection of 21 VCD's with the entire 1st season. This was a big event in our family and everyone has since spent the last few weeks watching all 21+ hours of programing. I was happy because the show was in original Mandarin and subtitled in english. I had great laughs at the translated conversation. I was the only one laughing though. |
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Here's the story: 4 guys attend Ying De university, an exclusive school for rich kids. They are bullies and call themselves F4. A new student named Shan Chai enters their school. She is strong and independent and does not fear them. It is a great story, kind of like Mulan. It is based on a Japanese Manga(comic) called Hana Yori Dango (Boys Rather Than Flowers). The show was a big hit in Taiwan. F4 also sings and they are stars throughout Southeast Asia. Many young people can sing their songs in Chinese. Media is an awesomely powerful way to spread culture.
It is the first time I have ever watched a TV show with an all asian cast. Finally, the asian guys have good style and the girls like them too!
While shopping for clothes, I discovered I can find great clothes that fit me. Finding pants in my size is no problem and shirts are tailored for people like me. I have never had it so good.
The Asian Wall Street Journal did a special on how much it costs to live and shop in various asian cities. Kuala Lumpur comes out as the best place to shop, but Manila comes in a close second. |
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One example is my subscription to the AWSJ - I pay 6500 peso a year ($120 USD). With today's exchange rates, the next best is Thailand, paying $180 and going on up to $800 for a subscription in Japan!
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70% of children in the US and other developed countries have access to the internet at home. Computer literacy is an important element of my education that I often took for granted. I now teach a computer class at Cassidy Elementary School. The computers were donated by a program called Books for the Barrios. I have 4 computers, 486 DX-2 machines running windows 95. They work and have some old Microsoft programs installed. That's good enough for a few lessons. |
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In my class at Holy Cross College of Carigara, out of 50 students, only 1 knows how to use the internet Hopefully I can introduce computers to them as well. |
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