My Adventures

Well i have final made it my training site, and i already have enough stories to fill a book. Formal instruction does not start until tomorrow and i have already learned so much. We all boarded a seemingly normal jet plane on Friday morning bound for our new home. as we where coming in for landing we noticed that there did not seem to be any type of runway underneath us until the last second. We hit the landing strip so hard that the plane bounced back into the air before quickly landing again less that a second later. we all clapped and those who where afraid of flying could not even open their eyes. I for one kind of enjoyed the experience. Dumegette which is the capital of Negros Oriental Provence and has about 300,000+ residents had an airport that was no bigger than a normal one store house. We grabbed our luggage and got into our respective vehicles bound for our new homes. I as well as others where in a Jeepney which is are converted jeeps with to benches and no windows and a rack for luggage. as we where driven down the road it became apparent that we where in some of the most stunningly amazing places on earth. The water was clear, the fruit is so plentiful that it is almost annoying and the air was so thick that it reminded me of a summer day in Tennessee when it felt like you could cut it with a butter knife. Less than twenty minutes from the airport i arrived in San Jose. IT is considered to be a 5th city which means that out of a scale of one to 5 it is the poorest class. We got off the jeep to meet our new families and begin the process of integrating into our new lives. I have a family of 8 two sisters one brother and two husbands and 3 kids. I have been able to figure out the family tree so don't ask. One of the oddest things about my time here is that when i woke up my first morning here i heard the sound of a basket ball game. turns out for less than a meal at Chili's you can get cable which includes ESPN, discovery channel, BBC, Fox News and so one with local and other Asian channels thrown in so i got to watch the playoffs while eating breakfast. Go figure! Showering is an adventure in its self because all you get is a bucket of water and a dipping pale. But i have found it to be quit refreshing. the roosters in the neighborhood tend to start making noise at about 4 in the morning so i am in the process of learning to sleep with lots of noise and it is not easy. I have been swimming many times and i am continually stunned by the clearness of the water and how warm it is. The town is curious about these five Americans that have decided to live in their small town and for that matter i would be to! But the community is kind and welcoming. I love my family and the hospitality that i have been shown. My fears and stress have subsided for the time being and i am just enjoying life Many of you have asked for prayer requests so here they are: 1 For the start of formal training and my ability to learn the language and technical skills that i will need for the next few years 2 To live as a part of the culture and not apart from it 3 to manage my stress 4 to continue to have a focus on my faith 5 to work on growing relationship in my new home That is all for right now so i will date you as time continues God bless each of you. David Walker Lumsden

flying south

No not silicon valley, This San Jose is at the southern tip of the island of Cebu in my new country. My sector group will be boarding the plane at about seven in the morning for a short flight down to the province Capital and then travel to our respective city and host families to start our training. I have receive word that i will be living with a family of eight in this small coastal town. Many of us including me are very nervous about all the adjustments that we are going to have to make over the next 48 hours. Yesterday we had our water training during which we preform rescue techniques in the case of sinking ferries, out rigger canoes or other various transportation methods. The US Embassy came in and briefed us on the various forms of threats and terrorist activities that take place in the country. Although most of these activities take place in restricted areas of the country it was still good to be informed of the many insurgent groups that have bases in the country. Things have been stressful and it is not going to get any easier as time goes on. This will also be the beginning of less frequent contact as it will be hard to get t Internet. Keep those emails coming "Bendisyonan, ka sa Dios" bless you by God David Walker Lumsden

A new Begining

So i am finally here. It is 12:13 in the afternoon which means it is 9:13pm in Portland. After a brief stay in LA for prebriefing by our staging officers we boarded our plane on Friday for our new home. about 28 hours after we left the hotel in LA we arrived at our housing site for our orientation. I have not had much sleep and the heat is pretty bad but not terrible. I is different to see people pointing at you as you are being driven away from the airport, and i am sure that is only the first of many things that will challenge me during my time here. in five days i will be boarding one more plane to the southern island of Cebu where i will being my language and tech training. I am really tired and my mind does not know how to comprehend the whole situation but that will get better as time goes along. God Bless each of you. I will talk to you soon.

EVE

I have not updated this in a while and i am sorry. I am on the eve of my tour with the Peace Corps. I will arrive in LA tommorrow morning for the begining of my training. I will begin to update this as training gets going