Host Family - Laguna

Tenth Month 9, 2011

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Leo Tolstoy

This post is dedicated to families; happy, unhappy, and in- between. Many of us have at least two families. The families we were born into and the families we have created for ourselves. Those who are called to marriage acquire yet another family when they marry. Some, like myself, also have a spiritual or church family that we hold dear. In addition to these families that we have in common, Peace Corps volunteers also have host families; and in Peace Corps Philippines, volunteers have two host families.

After completing training in Bataan, I was assigned to a new site in Laguna and assigned to a new host family. This family compound consists of three homes with different wings of the family in each home. Deceased parents A and B had six children. Three of the now adult children live on the family compound in homes with their own families.  There are 14 members (4 children, 10 adult) in the family living on the compound aside from the neighbors occupying the rental rooms.

House 1 includes the eldest son, 49, his wife and two of his younger children ages 24 and 21. The oldest child married and has moved, with his wife, into a home of their own. This is my "official host family".

House 2 includes the widow and son, 13,  of the second eldest son in the family. Two female relatives attending university also live in this house.

House 3, where I live, includes the three children, ages 6 and 8 of the eldest daughter. The eldest daughter works as an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) and lives in the United States with her boyfriend. The children live in the house with me and a "house helper" who cooks and cleans for the children. The father is absent, and lives with his other mate and children here in the Philippines.

During my first week, the house helper left for four days to attend to matters with her own family.
Imagine eight-year-old twin girls and a six year old boy left to their own devices for a school week.

Please hold my biological, spiritual, and adopted families in the Light. Please hold both my Filipino host families in the Light. I miss my Bataan host family every day and long to see them soon. I am just getting to know my Laguna host family, and pray that we develop a healthy relationship.

Laguna host family

The youngest member of the Laguna host family

My housemates