Serving as a Peace Corps volunteer was a dream of mine when I was a junior at Western Michigan University in 1962. A husband, two children and 10 years later, I read a little blurb in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the Peace Corps had a pilot program to send families to Third World countries. I was teaching, my husband was a city planner and the children were 3 and 5 , but I did not hesitate to send for applications. One year later, after physicals, red tape, you name it, we received a call that we had been selected to serve in the Philippines. Our home sold in one month (January 1973); our church friends bought our car, refrigerator and other large items. Movers packed up our personal belongings and on a very, very cold Minnesota morning we flew to Detroit to say goodbye to our families and wait for our tickets to the Philippines, which arrived in late February. We chuckle now as we think about those days - 110 degrees by 10 a.m. when I was in my classroom. Don had to learn not to work 9-5, which he never got the hang of, since life moves at a much slower pace in a hot climate. He would come home with some good stories, like the firefighters, when not at a fire, would be cock fighting in the station. Or the throngs of Americans who came to the Philippines to see the "faith" healers - and the MSU volunteers who pretended to be ill to see what the faith healer was all about (a lot of chicken blood and other nonsense, which was sad since the doctors we did go to were wonderful.) Or the weddings we attended because the brides wanted an American to walk them down the aisle - Don was kept busy. I learned how to haggle in the market. Our son Jeff became toxic to the sun, prompting a move back to the mountains and cooler weather. We loved living in the mountains. Best diet in the world. No car, no fast food, walking up and down the mountainside to work. In 30 days, we dropped all of our body fat.
Philippines RPCV Victoria Reis writes: Peace Corps service experience of a lifetime for family
Viewpoint: Peace Corps service experience of a lifetime for family
Published: Friday, March 11, 2011, 7:12 AM
The Muskegon Chronicle By The Muskegon Chronicle
To mark the Peace Corps' 50th anniversary, The Muskegon Chronicle is featuring a series of essays by former Peace Corps volunteers who have West Michigan ties. The essays will appear several times a week throughout the month with photos showing the volunteers at their assignment.
By Victoria Reis
Caption: Victoria Reis is shown on her way from the market in the Philippines in 1973.
Serving as a Peace Corps volunteer was a dream of mine when I was a junior at Western Michigan University in 1962. A husband, two children and 10 years later, I read a little blurb in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the Peace Corps had a pilot program to send families to Third World countries. I was teaching, my husband was a city planner and the children were 3 and 5 , but I did not hesitate to send for applications.
One year later, after physicals, red tape, you name it, we received a call that we had been selected to serve in the Philippines. Our home sold in one month (January 1973); our church friends bought our car, refrigerator and other large items. Movers packed up our personal belongings and on a very, very cold Minnesota morning we flew to Detroit to say goodbye to our families and wait for our tickets to the Philippines, which arrived in late February.
After a teary goodbye, a long flight via Seattle and Tokyo, we landed at 2ish a.m. in Manila with soldiers pointing machine guns as we departed the plane. President Ferdinand Marcos had declared martial law. Thus begun our two-year stint as Peace Corps volunteers.
After a month of acculturation in the mountains of Luzon, we flew to Cagayan de Oro in the Visayas and began what became an incredible journey for four naive Americans. We have too many wonderful and even scary stories to share in a letter, but suffice it to say that we were blessed with incredible friends who still keep in touch with our family.
I taught English as a second language to the most polite students I have ever encountered in my 42 years as an educator. Don worked for the mayor of Cagayan as a city planner. Our children had some wild experiences as did we since we were not familiar with some of the local customs.
We chuckle now as we think about those days - 110 degrees by 10 a.m. when I was in my classroom. Don had to learn not to work 9-5, which he never got the hang of, since life moves at a much slower pace in a hot climate. He would come home with some good stories, like the firefighters, when not at a fire, would be cock fighting in the station. Or the throngs of Americans who came to the Philippines to see the "faith" healers - and the MSU volunteers who pretended to be ill to see what the faith healer was all about (a lot of chicken blood and other nonsense, which was sad since the doctors we did go to were wonderful.) Or the weddings we attended because the brides wanted an American to walk them down the aisle - Don was kept busy. I learned how to haggle in the market.
Our son Jeff became toxic to the sun, prompting a move back to the mountains and cooler weather. We loved living in the mountains. Best diet in the world. No car, no fast food, walking up and down the mountainside to work. In 30 days, we dropped all of our body fat.
Suffice it to say that we came to love the Filipinos, their food, their customs and their country. They were so generous to our family. We had to come back to Detroit early when we heard that my father was dying. Later, Don took a job in Muskegon working for the West Michigan Regional Development Commission and I taught in Grand Haven and Spring Lake.
In 1976 our language instructor came to visit us in January for a weekend and ended up stranded in Grand Haven for almost two weeks due to a massive snowstorm that struck the Midwest. Elsa now lives in Seattle and still corresponds with us.
What did we learn in the Peace Corps? Cherish freedom, travel as much as you can - it breaks down so many barriers that you may have built up about those whose lives rarely touch ours. We learned about poverty, children sleeping on the streets at night in Manila, children running into restaurants and grabbing food off of your plate, children foraging in garbage cans and mothers desperate to give their children up for adoption for a better life. For me, it was living the dream that President John F. Kennedy shared when he announced the formation of the Peace Corps. We cherish our memories and thank the Filipinos for opening up their hearts to this naive family from Michigan via Minnesota.
Would we join the Peace Corps again? I think the real question is: Would they have us now that we are 70-plus years?
Don and Victoria Reis are retirees living in Norton Shores. Victoria Reis was a teacher and is considering becoming a mentor. Don Reis was involved in community planning and is still active in low-cost housing and homeless issues in the area.
