Meanwhile, Back in Manila...

We interrupt the trip writeup (even though there will be more travel to write up – I am going to Bicol, in Eastern Luzon, this weekend – if Luzon is an L, my trip up north was to the top of the L and Bicol is the far end of the side of the L – and, in fact, I now have plans to go away for the next five weekends!) to talk a little bit about what else is going on.

Work things: I realized as I was writing my monthly report last week that November was a really good month. The work highlight was the Habitat build – in a way that could be considered a secondary project, but it also fits into my primary work, since it gives me another way to appreciate what Habitat does. The visit of the HFH International people was also a highlight – they offered some good suggestions that I can work on and/or incorporate into my final report. And I took other projects either to completion (email appeals to US affiliates and Filipino-American organizations) or to a point where if information came while I was gone it could be sent out (USAID appeal, American Chamber follow-up, water system proposal for Mindanao). So that took me to a good breaking point right before vacation. I wrote up, “How to Organize a Habitat Build” with the idea that future groups of Peace Corps Volunteers would make this a tradition. I also received a side project that I’m enjoying working on – a fund-raising proposal for an indigenous group, to send to the contacts I’ve made (and to look for others to send it on to). This week I’ve been writing a summary of everything I’ve done to date – which will turn into my final report, plan and recommendations. I’ll review that with my supervisor and then we’ll see where I should focus my remaining time. On Tuesday, I had a meeting with the Asian Development Bank/Cities Development Initiative for Asia. We talked about Habitat, myself, Peace Corps Reponse – it could lead to something in all of those directions or none, but at any rate it was interesting to hear what they do! Next week we have a Secret Santa exchange at work – or, as it is called here, “Monito-Monita” (boy-girl); items have to cost less than 150 pesos (about $3). Also exciting – we have a new addition to our routine – on the way from the jeepney to the bus in the morning, we pass a vendor selling cut-up fresh fruit (big pieces; he then cuts those into bite-size pieces to order). I saw a lot of these in Thailand but not so many here. The pineapple is great!

Peace Corps things: Last Saturday was International Volunteer Day, a UN-sponsored day for local and foreign volunteers to work together. This year’s theme was “Volunteering for our Planet” and the activity was a Manila Bay cleanup – right up my alley! This was in the Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, and there was SO much trash there. A bunch of Peace Corps people were there, some of whom I had met but others who had just sworn in. All in all there were maybe 70 people – we filled 1-2 bags and/or several large baskets each, and barely made a dent. But a dent is a start, and the day was about inspiring people to volunteer as much as it was about the activity, so in that sense, it was a success. I also designed and ordered Peace Corps Response T-shirts! Our group has been talking about this for a while and I was wondering if someone else would take the lead.... and I finally just did it. We never had t-shirts in Morocco, but each batch (in Morocco it was a stage, in other countries a group) here has one and some of the other Response people had them in their original countries of service, so now we have one! Also, on Sunday night, Milo, the Peace Corps Response Coordinator, had the Metro Manila PCRVs to his house for a little party, which was nice. And today, I gave a brown bag talk at the Peace Corps office, with my Third Goal Morocco presentation – sharing Moroccan culture with PCVs and staff, and showing PCVs an example of a Third Goal presentation. It was fun!

Other things: I managed to survive up north without going to a mall, but I was happy to be back, especially for the mango shakes. I went to Shangri-La for a shopping trip too, and got some slacks at the Gap and some blouses at Marks and Spencer. I went to the Cultural Center of the Philippines on Friday for a production of The Nutcracker – the former Miss Universe who is co-chair of Friends of Habitat is also President of Ballet Philippines. She gave us the tickets and she also danced! It was a beautiful performance. I can’t remember the last time I saw The Nutcracker, and it felt festive (the streets and malls are decorated, Christmas carols play everywhere, and it is actually a little cooler after all, at least in the morning and at night. It hasn’t rained in a while, though while I was gone, Urduja was headed for the Visayas. The cooler weather is more evident in the air conditioner – now I set it at a higher temperature to be as cool as I was before – and in the noticeably-colder cold showers; the water’s not as cold as it was up north but it’s not as uncold as it was before I left). I went back to Greenhills for more pearls, too, and once again thought of still more people I could get pearls for if I take another trip there!