At the beginning of April I caught the ship in for a resource trip. The time has been wonderful and refreshing and full of an unexpected adventure to Manila. I made friends, both on Yap and in the PI, and it's been wonderful to reconnect with people.

Here are a few tidbits, some taken from previous emails and some just spur of the moment (sorry, no island reflections, but don't worry, things have been going really well out there and I'm working on a full update). I apologize because I have been very negligent with communication lately. Thank you for all of your support and love and letters.


My heart and wishes of well-being go out to Japan, however unspecific and unknowledgeable they are. It's kind of scary coming back in and seeing pictures and hearing stories. I can understand why some people never go back to the "real world" after living so far removed from it. But then again, I don't want a tension-less life. The real world is hard, it has struggles, and it has meaning and compassion. It's such a simple and hard thing to comprehend at the same time. As my friend Cate pointed out, makes you wonder what the “real world” really is.

I recently found myself on a lay-over in Guam on my way back to Yap. I ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut and walked to pick it up, which ended up being a 20 minute walk each way (which made me feel much better about actually eating the pizza). On the way, though, there was a Taco Bell. Now, I'm not one of those Americans who goes out of their way for Taco Bell like some of the other volunteers do (I am Organic Hurianek, afterall), but I figured, since it was IN my way and since my standards of consumption have greatly plummeted since joining PC, why not? See my new Facebook profile picture for further proof.

So, as you may or may not know, this was on my way back from Manila for a "Dental MedEvac" with a broken (well, dislocated and fractured) toe to boot (ha!). This time they couldn't just "fix me" b/c of the infection. So they undid the root canal I got over Xmas and "instilled antibiotics." There will definitely be a Part 2 in about a month, and then we’ll see if we need a Part 3. It sounds scary and painful, but the experience was painless and very enjoyable and heartening. Oftentimes, coming from Yap and going to one of the biggest cities in the world, I felt like an island bumpkin, but it was so interesting to meet up with a number of local PCVs in the Philippines. The PC program there seemed huge compared to the FSM/Palau program here, and I didn't even know before that there was a program there (it's actually one of the oldest...someone told me it would've been the FIRST, but the plane ride was longer so somewhere in Africa beat them to it). There are over 200 volunteers, so there's a wonderful assortment of people. I got to share about my experience and stun people about living topless and teaching only three students. They stunned me in lots of other ways, like texting and students making school signs by using images from the internet...I saw a picture of one sign that said "Everyone needs to lend a hand" and it had an outline of Hitler w/ outstretched hand and an iPod!


I heard lots of interesting stories and experiences, like about the "bakla" culture here (which is basically a socially accepted 'third sex' of flamboyantly gay men) and how one volunteer's bakla mayor literally painted the town PINK! I've also eaten so much good food that I've brought back some of the Philippines with me. Indian food, burritos, even just the eggs, wheat bread, and tea w/ milk and sugar for breakfast. We went to an all PB place, I ate mango everything, even an avocado popsicle. I basically just attached myself to other volunteers and I was taken on a great trip around the city, to markets and bead stores, to eco-goods stores where I got organic toothpaste and Newman-O's and a really cool coin purse made from woven plastic bags.

I was really happy to have experienced the human dynamic of the PC program there, I mean like, social interactions between a group of diverse Americans with different experiences under the same context. I connected with lots of volunteers, even if I just met them for a taxi ride. On my last night they took me to the PC-infamous hole in the wall Indian food restaurant some volunteer found once and has passed down for PC generations. They treated me to dinner and we had fun talking story. I feel happy about the connections I made in the PI and hope that they continue in a very groovy, fluid yet sincere way throughout life.

Here’s what’s on deck for me: Today I leave on the ship to return to Federai and I’ll finish out the school year there. I come back to Yap at the end of May for MedEvac Part 2, then vacation to Jordan, and (if necessary) MedEvac Part 3.

I know there are many challenges involved in the work we do. As I understand it, these challenges are inherent to our work and indicate a strong need for what we do. If it were easy, we wouldn't be here. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be here and for the challenges I've faced.


Yay for your friendship and for the adventures you're on. When you can, tell me about them!


Much love from your happy friend,
emily nell hurianek