Orientation - Part Two

We then went on to Medical, where we received more things than I had left room for in my bag (and I had left room for the medical kit and some manuals!). There was the medical kit (with some interesting stuff – so maybe I’ll detail that at some point), a bulky mosquito net, a manual bigger than all of the Morocco ones put together and a big box of vitamins. Don’t worry, I made room for everything and still gave away my airport-purchased bag. The new thing here is malaria – those of us in Metro Manila weren’t given prophylaxis after all (but we’ll need it when we travel, and I may start traveling as early as next week, either for work or for fun – so in a way it would have been easier to just get some, at least to have on hand) but we were all warned about dengue fever, which is caused by daytime-biting mosquitoes. There are outbreaks in Manila – the PCMO will text if there is one, but to be on the safe side, it’s good to wear repellent every day. Charlie had had dengue fever when in Honduras – it sounds awful.

We then went with Milo to a mall near the pension to get cell phones. I had brought my Morocco phone with me, and luckily they were able to unlock it, replace the SIM card and load it up (do I almost sound as if I know what I am talking about?). As in Morocco, you buy a card and load it in. Unlike Morocco, the cards expire in a number of days whether you call or not, though texts are unlimited. Will this get me to change my texting ways and call more? I guess I will see. It doesn’t make sense though. As for texting, though, it took a couple of days to get into rhythm on the phone, but I am already back up to speed (literally). I also bought an automatic voltage regulator (that’s what I needed – as opposed to surge protector).

I wasn’t sure I would meet any of the regular volunteers at all, but as it turns out, several were also at the pension. A big group COSed this week – our delay was nice in that we got to meet them. And another group was in town for some extra training. Over 15 volunteers are extending (!), and some of them were in town too. It was nice to hear about their work and their sites and to get their tips on places in Manila and places to visit around the country. One of them recommended a nice Korean restaurant, where our little group went for dinner.

The next morning we were picked up and driven to the office of the PNVSCA (another acronym) – the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency. They work with not only Peace Corps (which has the largest number of volunteers) but also with other groups doing long-term service – from Japan, Korea, Australia, Germany and France. In addition, they coordinate Filipino volunteers who go to other countries to serve. It’s impressive that there is one body that oversees all of them and makes sure they fit a strategic vision. I thought the presentation was quite interesting.

The drive to and back was sobering though – we went past high-rises and past makeshift houses and even tents in the median strips where people were living. We also passed some big houses in a nicer area, but several were rundown – the residents cannot afford to keep them up. Even though we experienced our first taste of the bad traffic of Manila, we were still moving too fast for me to take a picture – but something tells me that as I get more involved in Habitat I will see more of the deplorable housing conditions that Habitat is working to replace.