February 17, 2003 - Personal Web Site: Jean had met her husband Mark when he was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kiangan in 1979.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Philippines: Peace Corps Philippines: The Peace Corps in the Philippines: February 17, 2003 - Personal Web Site: Jean had met her husband Mark when he was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kiangan in 1979.

By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, February 17, 2003 - 6:35 pm: Edit Post

Jean had met her husband Mark when he was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kiangan in 1979.



Jean had met her husband Mark when he was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kiangan in 1979.

Strolls, Shops, Stairways to the Sky

MVP Trip to the Cordilleras, March 7-10

On our third day Jean took us to her hometown, Kiangan. We were very pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a group of school children welcoming us in traditional Ifugao costumes-singing and performing traditional dances for us.



Many of us joined in. We were probably a great source of amusement for the kids! We had a tour around Kiangan, which seemed like a relatively prosperous town. It's a real idyllic, peaceful place with stunningly beautiful surroundings. Kiangan seems like a perfect vacation spot but is not (yet) on the tourist map! Jean seemed to be related to or is friends with just about everybody we met. She showed us her family's fields that were originally inherited by her oldest sister-in accordance with Ifugao custom-but later given to Jean by her sister [Jean acquired them through an exchange with her sister]. We were also able to see the ancestral village of her father, where most of us tasted locally made rice wine. One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to a 92-year old "grandmother" of Jean's who showed us the production of rice wine (see newsletter cover photo, right). She was extremely fit and lively; she spoke good English and had a great sense of humour! There must be something in that rice wine…

We had lunch outside, next to a lake. Jean's sister, Dr. Emilie Indunan Balhayon, had prepared a fantastic lunch for us that we ate from halves of banana stalk. (photo left-Jean and Emilie) We met two American Peace Corps volunteers there-which brought back memories to Jean: She had met her husband Mark when he was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kiangan in 1979. Jean was working with him on several projects as a nurse. Three years later, they were married according to Ifugao tradition. Contrary to Jean's father's-who is of Ifugao royalty-initial fears, Mark completely immersed himself in Ifugao culture. He speaks the local language fluently and is treated like a local whenever he comes to town. Their oldest daughter participated in a very elaborate Ifugao ritual that was performed for her 18th birthday, which was last year, before she went off to study in the United States.

Except for some old people and apart from special occasions, few Ifugao are still wearing their traditional clothes. The traditional architecture is disappearing and so are some of the rituals and customs. Local officials in Kiangan are making an effort to preserve traditions: they opened a school for traditional Ifugao culture, where subjects like weaving, music and dance are taught. A local historian told us about the history of Kiangan at the school.

On our last day, we separated into several groups. Some wanted to drive around or go for short walks through rice fields and villages, some wanted to go shopping or just relax while the last group went hiking to Batad.(photo right, a scene enroute to Batad) For most of us in the Batad group, this was the best part of the trip. The rice terraces there, built on steep mountain slopes-are absolutely spectacular. We felt we were walking inside a picture postcard. I finally understood why the rice terraces are called "stairways to the sky"-that's exactly what they look like. It's hard to believe that people actually built these terraces by hand-stone by stone-and still continue to work on them! It is exhausting enough to just walk up and down the mountains to reach Batad. The locals have to carry everything on their shoulders or heads for hours on end-from building materials to groceries and coca cola cans for the tourists! For the people living in this area, life is definitely far from being idyllic.

Unfortunately, our trip ended after this final highlight but, as a famous American in the Philippines once said "I shall return!"
—Claudia Blume

Photos by Erik Lacson, Carol Mrazek, Sony Ng (cover), Pandy Singian, and Tito Torres.



Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Philippines

PCOL3066
62

.


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: