With the Trip a No-Go, a Bonus Post!

Well, Typhoon Santi came through and left quickly – with not a lot of rain but strong winds. Boats from Batangas to Mindoro were cancelled on Friday and Saturday. We heard that 700 people were waiting in Batangas pier. Boats were scheduled to run this morning (it’s already Sunday here), but with the rough waves, the holiday travelers, and having to leave early tomorrow to get to the spa, we decided to reschedule Mindoro for the weekend of the 14th (can't wait, but I'll have to!). Instead, yesterday I updated my resume – and I started working on a federal job application. That’s making the most of a “snow” (in this case typhoon) day! Our power was out from 6:30 am until the generator went on at 11:00; the downed power line was repaired by 1:30. Today I called Makati hotels to find day rates – this afternoon we’re going to enjoy this sunny, not-humid day (it might be the nicest day in Manila since I got here!) and go to a pool! I wrote some post-script haiku, so check that entry.

On a more serious note, something I’ve been thinking about – at the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum, then while researching the UNDP, and most recently while reading up on Stairway’s work, I keep running across the Millennium Development Goals. I’ll list them here, so we can all think about how much work there is to be done (and how lucky we are...):

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day
- Achieve Employment for Women, Men, and Young People
- Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
- By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
- Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
- Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
- Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
- Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
- Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
- Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
- Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
- Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources
- Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
- Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
- By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
- Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
- Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC)
- Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
- Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

Month Three in Haiku

Disaster Response
Working on the proposal
Some iterations

Soup kitchen – helping
Evacuation center
Toilet build as well

USAID
Sending the proposal out
EU, UN too

Mr. Jugo passed
HFHP President
May he rest in peace

Any way I can…
I made my own donation
To help people here

Building target lists
Time-consuming but fun
With baseball playoffs

Brownout – it happens
Pepeng right after Ondoy
Life without A/C

My World-Wise Schools class
Got extra letters this month
They asked good questions

Packing relief bags
Rice, sardines, canned beef, noodles
Trucked up to the north

At the halfway point
Got lots done, lots more to do
Still glad that I’m here

Eggplant-pumpkin sauce
Sometimes instead of mall food
Princeton meeting too

Consolidation!
To the pension right away
It was just a drill

Weekend excursions
Again lots done, more to do
See the Philippines!

Greenhills pearl buying
The Chinese cemetery
And Old Manila

Samar – boat ride, cave
Leyte (MacArthur returned)
Imelda showcase

Bata-an – a march
Monument to World War II
Many people died

Embassy Bazaar
Pagsanjan canoe to falls
Mindoro, spa next!

NOVEMBER 1 POSTSCRIPT:

Typhoon Santi - wind
No boats from Batangas
Mindoro next month...

Worked on resume;
Hotel pool in Makati
To sit, read and swim

Coming Up: Rest and Relaxation

Halloween is for kids here, not so much for adults – the same decorations and costumes you see in the US are available here (I haven’t seen as much candy, but I am told that kids do trick-or-treat). All Saints Day/Day of the Dead, November 1, is a major holiday in the Philippines – families spend the day, with major feasts, at cemeteries, honoring their departed loved ones. If I had a host family, I might have gone with them. When we toured the Chinese cemetery, the guide suggested that we come back for it – until that point, I wasn’t sure if it would be all right to come as an observer as opposed to a guest – but by that point I’d already made plans.

It’s back to Mindoro! Monday is a holiday, so it’ll be nice to be there for a long weekend. Whether there are any Halloween festivities with the boys or All Saints Day participation there remains to be seen. How much hiking we do also remains to be seen – Mary has been getting over an infection in her foot for about two weeks now – but even if we (provided she is healed) just swim and sit on the beach it’ll be great to get away. There was a clear night earlier this week in Manila – I think the first time since I’ve been here that there was a cloudless sky – and I saw a star; quite a contrast from seeing a sky full of stars, including the Milky Way, from Mary’s site! Julie and I are going – she and Mary both served in Macedonia so it will be fun to introduce them to each other! Julie has been here since the second week of September and hasn’t been to the beach yet! Typhoon Santi is on the way…I hope it doesn’t affect our ability to cross the passage.

I’ve reviewed all the Stairway materials in case there’s an opportunity to talk to the founders. They have a great residential program for the boys, but when I met with Lars he mentioned wanting to do more marketing of the advocacy part of their work. They’ve put together a package of animated videos – one of incest, one of pedophilia, and one of sex trafficking – to make it easier to discuss these issues. The award-winning package is a gentle way to approach the subjects – that is, if there is a gentle way. All three of those are so terrible – it amazes me that humans can treat each other this way, especially children. I think it would be fun to get work-related leave to do some consulting with them, or that they could use their own Peace Corps Response Volunteer! I don’t know if I’ll get the chance (I have so much to do with Habitat!) but I’m glad I studied the materials and I’m glad to be able to support Stairway by staying there (the price is a small contribution) and buying some pasalubong from them (you all want dreamcatcher keychains, right?).

After that, I’m going to a spa! There was some boxed text in Lonely Planet that mentioned that spas are a growing business in the Philippines. I asked Mary if she was interested in going to one and she’s coming along (I asked Julie too but she passed)! We frequently text and email, and I’m really looking forward to spending more time with her. Check out www.thefarm.com.ph - it’s conveniently located between Mindoro and Metro Manila. Our package is called Midweek at the Farm and includes:
• arrival welcome drinks
• 3 days/2 nights stay in a villa suite
• guided walking tour of The Farm
• live blood analysis with a medical doctor
• choice of two 60-minute spa treatments (relaxation massage, reflexology massage, anti-stress facial, little yin yang dry brushing – I haven’t decided on my two yet, but since I haven’t even heard of dry brushing, I might have to do that one!)
• three-course healthy gourmet meals (note – vegan – can it make up for the other 180-odd nights of mall food?)
• use of The Farm facilities: swimming pool, library, gym and meditation lounges/pavilions
• participation in complimentary morning and afternoon yoga sessions
I probably would have gone for a day on my own, just to experience another aspect to the Philippines, but not for the three-day package if not for Mary. I’ll be gone from Saturday morning through Wednesday night. These plans have been in the works for a while and I’m so looking forward to it!
P.S. There’s no time change in the Philippines. Enjoy falling back!

Some Pictures from Week Thirteen

Pumpkin:

Eggplant:

Manila Bay, one month after International Coastal Cleanup Day:


Products made from juice packets:


They know my name at the mango shake place:


Cue "Ride of the Valkyries":


Being paddled - and dragged - up the rapids:


The gorgeous gorge:

Before - five mostly-dry PCRVs about to get very wet:


After - We went on this raft under that waterfall:

So What Else is New?

My air conditioner became a fan early last week. Air came out, but it wasn’t cold air. It was quite uncomfortable – it made me tired, it was hard to get anything done, I had no energy for yoga. An attempt at repair failed, and I told Hanna that I would pay out of my own pocket to replace it if it couldn’t be fixed – it would be worth it for three months. But then I thought about it again – I didn’t expect to have air conditioning. Most Filipinos don’t have air conditioning. I could go to work every day and not work from home at all. I can go to the mall for air conditioning. I could sleep with just the fan. It’s only three months. This is the Peace Corps, after all – I could live without it. Fortunately, I do not have to – a second attempt to fix it was successful!

I was reminded of more of what I’m living without, though, when I went to one of the fancy restaurants in one of the fancy malls in Makati on Tuesday night, to meet the head of the Princeton Club here and another Princeton alum who is here for a Fulbright. We had a wonderful and intelligent conversation (as would be expected with Princeton alums!) and delicious food. California Pizza Kitchen every so often is a treat for me here, and this food (spicy tuna, shrimp, pasta, salad) was so much better and so much more expensive than that – it had been so long since I had food that good that it was almost a shock to my system. It had also been a long time since I had a conversation that left me so energized – though I don’t feel without it on a regular basis, I think this was just a special evening. In addition, it’s still culture shock to be in Makati – Shangri-La mall is one of the nicest here, as is Rockwell, so I didn’t think I was missing anything, but I was. I went to CPK the next day – not ready to go all the way back – and the next day made another batch of my now-named Shaw Boulevard Pasta Sauce (eggplant, pumpkin, spice blend, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, laughing cow cheese).

When we first arrived in the Philippines in late July and went to the mall near the pension for our cell phones, we encountered a group of current volunteers who were going to the mall for Mexican food. We left them – we couldn’t wait to get out of the mall, and we didn’t have that need for Mexican, preferring to eat in local restaurants (though we ended up with Korean one night and Indian the other, and not Filipino). Well, Friday night when we were back at the pension for the consolidation exercise, there we were, going to the mall for Mexican. I guess we’ve assimilated into the PCV community now! We then went out for drinks. I never did this in Morocco – it was not culturally sensitive, and the bars were loud and smoky. I now realize how much drinking is a part of PCV life (and it’s even more so in the countries where drinking is a big part of the host country culture, such as Eastern Europe). It was kind of fun, I’ll admit it. Really, I had fun in Makati, fun at CPK, fun cooking and fun at the mall and out drinking – expanding my horizons here and taking advantage of what’s here to have a complete experience (such as it is in the big capital city…).

And to add more of the Philippines to the experience – on Sunday a group of us went to nearby (i.e. two hours away) Pagsanjan, for a canoe ride to the falls. Boatmen transported us up the river; when I saw them get out of the boat every time we hit some rapids and drag us upstream, I was no longer disappointed that we didn’t have a chance to paddle. At the top of the river, we boarded a raft and were pulled under the falls – Julie likened it to being blasted with a fire hose – very wet and very fun. The boatmen then expertly guided us through the rapids back downstream, where we had lunch. The wider, gentler part of the river is where they filmed the final scenes of Apocalypse Now. Monkeys can be seen on land, but we didn’t see any. The canyon was deep and lush – quite a contrast to the dry gorges in Morocco but just as beautiful in its own way. Great outing. And then, another big (and rare) treat – I got home and took a nap! After a night of not a lot of sleep in the dorm and getting up early for the road trip, I needed it!

Consolidation Drill

Things were moving right along last week. I finished building the list of Habitat for Humanity USA affiliates – that took much longer than I thought it would, but it’s good that I did it, because it’s possible nobody else would have ever had the time to do it. The list is much bigger than I thought it would be, which is also good. I’m still compiling the list of Filipino-American organizations; this work doesn’t require my full brain wattage, so it’s been perfect to do in the mornings while listening to the baseball playoffs.

I also had a meatier assignment, to help prepare cover letters for the now-ready-to-go funding proposal for the EU (European Union) and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). This required some research into what they fund and how, so that I could target the letters. Even more exciting, I was invited to come with the Co-Chair of Friends of Habitat (the former Miss Universe) to the UNDP presentation.

I was preparing for that when we got the call from our warden – consolidation exercise; drop everything and go to the consolidation point. It was somewhat disruptive (in addition to the UNDP meeting, I had made pasta sauce the night before and hadn’t had time for yoga that morning – in other words, a busy afternoon and evening ahead!) but I take these things seriously – just in the time since I joined Peace Corps, they’ve evacuated several countries – Georgia, Bolivia, Kenya (those volunteers went back), Mauritania, Guinea and maybe others I am not thinking of now.

There are many steps to the Emergency Action Plan, consolidation being the final one before evacuation. We never had a consolidation exercise in Morocco but we had several other tests – cell phone drills and land line drills – and a couple of times I had to call people in my warden group to report a terrorism incident or see if people were all right after flash floods.

If we were really headed for consolidation, we would have packed two weeks’ worth of clothes and everything we would have wanted with us in case we weren’t going back to our sites. For the exercise, I brought clean underwear, my t-shirt-and-shorts PJs, and toiletries. I forgot my passport – the most important thing! – but to my credit I remembered it right away and texted my warden to find out whether I should go back for it or not (she said no, but I probably should have, because I felt that as a former warden I should live up to my own high standards). Our consolidation point was the pension where we stayed when we first arrived – ironically, my second time there in a week; I had come down on Wednesday morning to have breakfast with Travis, who was COSing. I hadn’t seen the PRCV guys in a while so it was nice to spend some time with them; also met some of the current PCVs whom I hadn’t met yet (including the ones who have volunteered for our Habitat for Humanity build week, now rescheduled for the week of November 16!). We had a really good meeting with the Peace Corps staff member who checked us in and the Regional Safety and Security Director. It’s interesting to think about all of the issues involved in keeping volunteers safe.

When we arrived, Mary, Mercedes and I shared the air-conditioned room. Now that we’ve been here a while, no more of that – instead, it was the dorm room, where there are eight sets of bunk beds. It’s not easy for me to sleep with that much karma in the room, but it was nice to take a hot shower!

It actually worked out well that I was at the pension, since I was planning to be in the area the next day. I walked over to the Embassy Bazaar – looking for (and finding) some craft items that might make lovely pasalubong (items that you bring home for people after you travel) and/or lovely things for myself! I also went to the Kultura Filipino store in the Mega Mall to buy some items I had scoped out earlier. I know not to leave all my shopping until the end! I’m not going crazy, though – so far everything I’ve bought will fit in one box.

Reflections at the Halfway Point

I knew the time would go by fast – Motasim said six months was just enough time to get there, figure out what you’re doing, do it and say goodbye. This is week 13 out of 26 – a good time to reflect on what I have done so far and what I still hope to do.

Work is definitely front and center in a way that it wasn’t during my service in Morocco. There, I really felt that the technical assignment was but one of three goals, and that experiencing the culture and getting by on a daily basis were central to my service. Here, I spend much more time and energy on work – but that’s one of they key differences between Peace Corps Response and the regular 27-month program. The work has been exciting and rewarding – for a while now I have been saying that I wanted to do marketing for a non-profit and here I am confirming that (at least as one possible direction – government service continues to be another, as does other development work). I now see how marketing - both fundraising and communications – is a vital part of humanitarian aid. I may have gotten more than I bargained for with the typhoon/flooding relief effort, but I feel all the more that I am making a needed contribution and also getting some valuable experience. If I could find a job like this and an organization like this when I am finished here, I would be quite content. In the meantime, I am trying to make the most of it while I am here, because I know it’s a tough market out there and some compromises may be required. What would I give up in order to work on something I feel passionate about – Salary? Location? Leisure time? Responsibility? Organizational culture? I won’t know the answers to that question until I have an actual choice to make, but it’s a welcome experience for me to be passionate about what I am doing and it’s something I’ve hoped for, so I’m not taking this time lightly. I also have a lot of flexibility in my work – something I have also craved and will continue to hope for.

I feel I’ve gotten a lot done so far – solid prospect lists, appeals lists and inroads, with plenty of time left to explore more of the paths I initially came up with when I was brainstorming. At the same time, if the disaster response means that I don’t get as much of my initial plan done as I thought I would, I will have worked on that immediate need, and I will still leave Habitat for Humanity Philippines with some accomplishments and also some avenues to pursue that they may not have considered before.

I’m doing well at seeing the Philippines, too, with my weekend trips and vacations taken and planned. I did do research and I did make a list of what I want to see, but I think I’m a more relaxed traveler after my plan-as-you-go post-Morocco trip. That may also be a function of the nature of the Philippines – with hot weather it’s hard to go-go-go all day, and with beaches and nature, part of the activity is allowing for some inactivity. I still have several major trips planned and the majority of my vacation days yet to take. I haven’t decided on anything yet for post-service – I feel I still have time before I have to decide anything about that.

I don’t feel I have as much time on my hands as I did in Morocco (or Southampton), so I haven’t done all of the reading and writing I brought with me to do, but if it’s because I’m working more, that’s okay – I don’t feel the “you should be doing more” pressure I used to constantly put on myself. I feel both nutritionally-challenged and fitness-challenged, but I am working on both of those. I haven’t done as much language recently as I did when I was first here – I haven’t given up yet, but I have revised my goal down from comprehending most of what’s said around me to having a few solid phrases and being able to make light conversation, and I’m just about there.

I haven’t played a single hand of cards. But I’ve gone out more to restaurants and bars. I’ve spent more time with other volunteers than I have with host country nationals, but I still have some opportunities for cultural exchange. I realized something recently – I baked some brownies for Marilee in Thailand and a chocolate bread pudding for Martha in Los Angeles. After that, I never used the oven in Southampton because it looked a little daunting (and because my sister said she never used it either). I don’t have an oven here – so I could conceivably go an entire year without using an oven!

In the late innings of a lopsided game this week, with the Dodgers down, Vin Scully wondered if there was anyone at all out there listening, and why they would be (I wanted to scream back, “I am, Vin, and it’s because of you!”). I couldn’t help but think of this blog – who is really out there reading it? But I know that there are people out there – those of you who have told me so, and maybe some who haven’t? – and I thank you for reading. And for caring.