Goodbye Manila

Today is my last day in Manila. I am writing this from an internet cafe in "Megamall"..quite an appropriate end to my Manila experience as this city is dominated by malls and Filipinos love to go "malling".

The last few days have been a blur of farewell parties, packing, cleaning and last minute shopping. Tomorrow morning I fly to Singapore and then its back to Sydney for a new chapter as a Masters student. I still can't quite believe this wonderful year of new challenges, new friends and exploring lots of new places is coming to an end. I have really enjoyed writing about it all on the blog and have been surprised by the number of people who have followed my Philippines adventure. Thanks for reading!

Some Philippines photos

While I was going through my photos of my year here I came across a few favourites Manila Bay at night
Crazy dancing at the Maskarra festival

Walking in the Rice terraces

Always look on the bright side

After spending yesterday in a daze of tears I am almost back to normal- have been overwhelmed by the kindness of my colleagues who have showered me with sweet messages and hugs today. Amongst the kindness there have been some truly funny moments....

The first I wanted to share was this text message I got from my boss. Very lovely sentiment, just the text language that cracked me up:
"Jst think f da thought dat she's now at peace watching over u n much closer 2u dan eva b4"

The second amusing incident was when I became the tourist attraction at San Agustin church yesterday. My friend S had suggested I go somewhere quiet to remember my grandmother... the only quiet place I could think of in Manila was an old church so I took myself there. I was letting the memories wash over and having a good weep when a Filipino high school group came through the church. Suddenly my pew was full and I was surrounded by all these teenagers staring at me and asking me if I was ok. A little embarassing at the time but thinking about it now makes me laugh.

There are times when it is really hard to be away from home

My wonderful grandmother passed away last night and this morning I was woken by the news. Oma was the most vivacious, opinionated, adventurous and mischevious woman I have known and I will miss her dearly. Am feeling very sorry for myself and just wishing I could have made it back to Sydney in time to say goodbye. The lovely phone calls from friends and family are a great comfort but it is times like this that it is really hard to be so far from home.

Beginning of the end

Today is the start of my last week of work so I have been making my way through my last "to do" list, trying to write my final report and throwing out the mountains of papers that have accumulated at my desk. My twelve months in the Philippines really has flown by- it feels like only yesterday that I arrived in Manila and yet in less than two weeks I will be back home.

The goodbyes and "despedidas" (farewells) have already started and there are many more scheduled for the next week. I have already had several "exit interviews" where I have been asked to sum up my time as a volunteer here- a hard task when I feel like I am still in the middle of the experience. Of course I am excited about going home but it just seems so unreal.

Leaving has got me thinking about the things I will miss about the Philippines and the things I am looking forward to most about going home. Here's the list I have got going so far:

THINGS I WILL MISS
- The constant challenge of my work here and the opportunities to learn from very wise colleagues
- $1 beers and $3 taxi rides
- Random singing
- The colour, excitement and general busy-ness of living in Manila
- Jeepneys

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO
- Catching up with family and friends
- Surf
- Being cold...strange but true!
- Fresh air and the smell of eucalypts
- A good coffee (preferably to be enjoyed somewhere with a water view)

Family fun

What a wonderful week with my sister and cousin! Had so much fun introducing them to all my favourite Philippines experiences- riding in jeepneys and on the back of motorcycles, sipping G&Ts whilst watching beautiful sunsets, eating halo halo, shopping at Greenhills and seeing mad little monkeys!

After a weekend in Manila we flew south and made our way to Apo Island for two days of sun, sea and some amazing underwater views of fish & coral (and even a turtle!) From Apo we headed to the hills of Bohol staying two nights at Nuts Huts on Loboc river. It was my fourth visit to the island and this time I finally got to see the Chocolate hills. We also visited a great butterfly farm, swam in the river and went to the tarsier sanctuary to see the little critters up close. Back in Manila the girls shopped up a storm at Greenhills before heading to the airport with bulging bags...was sad to say goodbye but know I will see them both soon. Thank you Caz and Christa for coming!

One more sleep!

One more sleep until my sister and cousin arrive for a visit. Am so excited! Next post should be all about our adventures together.

Back to Albay

Back from another trip to Albay to see the evacuation centres and meet with government partners about school rebuilding. This time around it was not so overwhelming and I was happy to see the local government finally getting on with some plans to help those still without homes. We also distributed childrens packs to schools and tents for temporary classrooms...check out the kids smiles!

Breaking the record

Today Manila is abuzz with the exciting news that the country has once again claimed the world record for the most number of couples kissing at one time!

The Philippines held the record until 2005 when 5327 Hungarian couples kissed in Budapest and snatched the title. But at midnight on Saturday 6124 Filipino couples smooched their way back into the Guinness Book of Records. The event was called "Lovapolooza" and was held in the car park of the Mall of Asia (incidentally the biggest mall in SE Asia...and my idea of hell!) complete with fireworks, confetti and sponsored by a toothpaste company. Too funny!

Surviving and smiling...

It has been two months since Typhoon Reming hit the Province of Albay killing hundreds of people and destroying thousands of homes. Around Mt Mayon the heavy rains mixed with volcanic ash to create a mudslide and flash flooding that wiped out scores of villages. More than 100,000 people were displaced and have been living in evacuation centres and transit centres since December.

I spent the last 3 days in Albay visiting the centres and meeting government agencies. The trip was interesting but overwhelming, mainly due to the tragic stories I heard...a mother who lost 4 children and her husband in the flash floods; an older sister who saw both her parents swept away by mud and is now looking after her 6 siblings; a husband who could not rescue his wife from being crushed by falling boulders....

Amazingly, life goes on...people are now living in either school buildings or small shelters and tents in transit camps. Schools has resumed with classes held in tents or any other space available. There are plans for relocating and building new houses but the process is frustratingly slow. Whilst I gnash my teeth at the inefficiency of the government, the people of Albay keep smiling and just get on with it.

Blissful weekend

Spent a blissful weekend at White beach in Puerta Galera. Forgot my camera so you will have to imagine the torquise blue water, palm trees and huts right on the beach. A group of eight of us did lots of lying around on banana chairs reading, some swimming and also indulged in pizzas and red wine at a pizzeria right on the beach. A pretty perfect two days.

Sobering

Some sobering statistics from a presentation I attended this morning.

Of 100 children in the Philippines:
4 will not reach their 5th birthday
27 are underweight
30 are stunted
66 don’t have access to Early Childhood Education
66 are infected with worms
90 have dental carries

Weekend Shenaningans

A very fun weekend in Manila thanks to visitors, a birthday and Australia Day celebrations. The fun kicked off on Friday night when I attended an Oz day event hosted by the Embassy. I expected a night of sophistication and small talk...what I got was an crazy party with important people getting scarily drunk and silly. I think it may have been due to the tequila shots served on silver trays...they were just asking for trouble!

The madness continued on Saturday with Bridgit, Tara and Daphne in town and needing a Manila tour. We hit Greenhills and they shopped up a storm before heading back to the hotel to "glam" up for Dani's birthday party. More drinks and silliness with the added fun of afro wigs and dodgy dancing. You can understand why I was so exhausted at work on Monday!

Harriet

On my trip to the rice terraces I met Harriet. Harriet is 27, has 4 kids and lives and works as a rice farmer in the village of Batad. To make extra money she guides tourists around the rice terraces. Harriet guided Jana and I around the terraces for 2 days where her agility and grace was a stark contrast to our huffing and puffing as we scaled the mountains around her village.

Harriet is one of the most open people I have ever met. She happily answered all our questions about her life in Batad. We soon realised that life is tough- to get to the village you have to catch a jeep or trike from Banaue and then hike for 2 hours. The village has no health clinic, no shops and only 2 hours of electricity supply each day. Whilst tourists have started to visit Batad, life in the village still revolves around farming from the rice terraces. Harriet and her family live off the rice from their field eating it twice a day. Sometimes they complement the rice with potatoes, mongo (beans) and Kangkong (spinach). The 400 pesos (about $10) she made from guiding us will be used buy medicine, clothes and extra food for her children.

In many ways the stories Harriet told us about her life in the village reinforced the idea that her life is one of tradition and isolation. Harriet left school at age 8 and married early. She has lived her whole life in the told us about life in the village where life revolves around family, local festivals and arranged marriages. But our quick assumptions about a sheltered culture were contradicted by complexities...through guiding Harriet is exposed to the outside world. She has strong opinions on climate change, on the role of the church in Filipino society and has defied her local bishop to start taking the pill as a contraception method. She thinks America and China have too much power and that corruption is ruining the Philippines...and thanks to one guest who set it up for her she even has an email address!

Meeting Harriet was a pleasure and I will remember her openess, warmth and wicked laugh as one of the best parts of my trip up north.

Rice terraces

Just back from a wonderful trip up north to the amazing Rice Terraces. Jana and I spent time in the village of Batad hiking amongst the terraces and "oohing" at the spectacular mountain views. Also went to Sagada to check out hanging coffins and the caves and planted rice in Hapao. Loved meeting the very friendly farmers, hiking and breathing in huge lungfuls of fresh mountain air.