Sensei Ueki and the Emperor's Birthday

Good evening!

Yesterday marked the end of my spell of karate training in Japan. The JKA Honbu dojo is now closed for a two week period over Christmas and the New Year and will reopen at the start of January, by which point I will be in Nepal.

This has been the most intense period of karate training that I have ever experienced in 15 years of practising. For two and a half weeks, I ate, slept and breathed karate, attending the dojo everyday that it was open. That totals 14 days, during which I completed 27 training sessions under a whole host of skilled, renowned and inspirational karate sensei. 27 classes and every single one was exceptional.

To mark the end of 2010, the final class was taught by Sensei Ueki, the chief instructor of the JKA. This was an occasion I could not miss. Having trained under Sensei Ueki a few times when he has visited the UK, I knew first hand the quality of instruction that I could look forward to. The class was dynamic and exciting to be a part of. It was one of those classes where the time just seems to fly by because you're so engaged throughout. It involved all three aspects of karate: Kihon (basics), kata (forms) and kumite (sparring). The focus was on weight distribution while transitioning between stances and how maintaining good form is imperative for producing an effective technique in any stance. We also looked at using certain hip rotations and vibrations to generate power in movements that would otherwise be viewed as 'weaker' techniques. It provided a lot of insight into certain technical aspects of karate that are sometimes overlooked in everyday training. We practised the application of this through some partner exercises, where I did my usual trick of picking the most skilled looking person in the dojo to face.

All in all, it's been a very fulfilling two and a half weeks. I feel I barely managed to scratch the surface here but my intention was never to come away from Japan with some new exceptional outlook on karate and my karate training. I feel to do this, I would need to spend a period of months or years at the Honbu. My intention was to have a bitesized experience of the Honbu and take away the memories and priviledges that it would offer. I originally planned on training 3-4 times per week but soon decided that an opportunity like this needed to be greater seized so I decided I would train daily. Once I arrived in Japan and realised that they would be closing from December 23rd, I decided to up my training and attend a second session every other day. Pretty soon, this turned into training twice almost every day and on some days, three times.

I arrived in Japan off the back of almost 6 months without training but I was willing to pay for that and work hard to get my sharpness back. Sure, I spent many sessions being corrected by the sensei and being pushed to do things faster, stronger and with better form, but that's karate and anyone who understands karate will know that it's a life long process where we never stop learning. One memory I will never forget from my last training session at the Honbu: I was positioned at the front of the class, performing combination after combination as instructed by Sensei Ueki. On one occasion, Sensei Ueki was stood no more than 2 metres in front of me analysing my every movement. As I finished the final technique I looked at him and received a nod of approval! At least that's what I hope it was - It could have been an involuntary twitch for all I know! Karate instructors rarely give encouragement or positive feedback. They focus more on corrections and the things you do wrong. To finish the sequence and have that recognition from one of the most influential sensei in the world is something that I'll treasure.

So training is now finished. It's definitely a little depressing that something that I've built up and dreamed of for so many years has come to end so quickly. I have no regrets of the experience - so on to the next.

Today was a national holiday in celebration of the Emperor's birthday. In the true spirit of being a Tokyo tourist, I decided to go and visit the Imperial Palace. Today is one of only two days a year where the inner grounds of the palace are open to the public. I felt this was definitely something worth visiting and I had an enjoyable time wandering around the gardens and taking lots of photos. I had been told that the Emperor and his family would make regular appearances throughout the day. Unfortunately I must have missed this.

Over the next few days my plan is to rest and recover and enjoy all that Tokyo has to offer over the holidays. My guesthouse are hosting a traditional Christmas party so that's something I'll be looking forward to. Hazel then arrives on Sunday which is when I'll begin doing all the proper site seeing stuff.

Much love!

Sam

The JKA Honbu Dojo

Hello!

Having now been in Tokyo for over a week, I thought it might be worth going into a bit more detail on the karate training I've been receiving here.

Firstly, let me explain a little bit about the history of karate. Gichin Funakoshi founded modern day karate at the start of the 20th century. He was a true pioneer who believed that karate was not only a means of combat, but also a physical pursuit and form of exercise, a mental release, a discipline, an art and a spiritual conquest. Karate is not for defence, not for sport, not for show but for life - it's a holistic discipline that covers all of these! Having trained for 15 years and attained the grade of sandan (3rd dan black belt), I realise now more than ever, just how much more there is for me to learn and appreciate.

Funakoshi founded the JKA (Japan Karate Association) which was then, and still is now the most renowned and respected karate federation in the world. After Funakoshi's death in 1957, Sensei (teacher) Nakayama took over as chief instructor of the JKA. During the 1960's, many of the supreme practitioners from the JKA were sent to various countries to teach karate to the world. So although, karate is now universally practised, this all came from the Japanese. Unfortunately, the repercussions of sending the JKA's finest instructors around the world was that the governing structure for karate became rather fragmented as each great sensei decided to form their own federation. Never the less, the JKA still remained as the leading authority on karate.

In 1987, Sensei Nakayama died and Sensei Sugiura replaced him as the chief instructor of the JKA and earlier this year Sensei Sugiura stepped down from this post, due to bad health and was replaced by Sensei Ueki (an instructor whom I've had the pleasure of training under a number of times when he has visited England). The JKA today still has the same reputations that it's always held. Its famous instructor programme continues to produce the finest sensei around and the quality of it's karate is second to none. It's global headquarters are based in Tokyo and for any karate enthusiast around the world, it is a dream to be able to train and experience karate at the Honbu. I feel honoured right now to be able to wake up everyday and study karate at the finest centre on the planet!

So what's it like? It's a professionally run organisation. The Honbu itself has 4 floors, filled with offices, a gym, a conference hall, changing rooms and of course 2 large, state of the art dojos. Karate classes run 4 times a day, 6 days a week. Since my first session, a week ago, I have attended 10 classes, which is most certainly the most times I've ever trained in a week! There is no set schedule, so with each class I attend, I have no idea who the instructor will be, what the session will entail, or how big the class will be.

Of the classes I have attended to date, some have been taught by young, recent graduates from the instructor programme, while others have been taught by renowned masters of karate including Sensei Osaka, Kawawada, Kurasako and Imura to name but a few. To date, I've been unable to fault a class. Every single sensei has been exceptional. It's worth noting that the younger instructors, many of whom are the same grade as me, are the top karate practitioners in Japan right now. When you look them up on the internet, all of them are current or recent national champions and internationally famed. I've spent a bit of time watching youtube videos of these sensei. It's sickening to see how talented they are and being able to train under them is an honour. On the other hand, being able to train under the veteran masters of the JKA is simply breathtaking.

The classes are of course taught in Japanese, as is the case everywhere else in the world. I therefore have no problems understanding the instructions. However, when it comes to the sensei explaining finer details and intricacies, I'm unable to understand. However, I feel I get the general vibe of their explanations from their demonstrations, which highlight what they're trying to put across. Every class has been different so far and whether it's focused on kihon (basics), kata (forms), kumite (partner work) or a combination of the three, I've left the class feeling inspired and enlightened. I wish I could give specifics of classes but it all seems to be a bit of a blur rolled into one incredible experience.

When I was 10 years old, while my friends dreamed of playing football for arsenal, becoming an astronaut or being in a rock band, my boyhood dream was to train in Japan. I'm now eating it, breathing it, living it and loving it!

Much love!

Sam

Kyoto

Good Evening!

This morning, I awoke very early to make my way to Tokyo subway station for 7am. Courtesy of the Australian couple I had met two days ago, I had a return shinkansen (bullet train) ticket to Kyoto. However, I wasn't too sure as to where I needed to go in Tokyo station or how to find the appropriate train, as I was aware there were a number of different bullet trains, that all provide different services (some stop more frequently than others) depending on the ticket you have purchased.

After asking a few people for help, I managed to find my way to the shinkansen and was fortunate enough to have a seat for the journey. I had heard nightmare stories of people who had not managed to get seats on a shinkansen and were forced to spend 3-hours crammed in a tight passage between the train compartments. Riding the bullet train was an experience. It truly epitomises the slick advancements of Japanese technology. The ride was so smooth and so quiet that had it not been for me regularly looking out the window to enjoy the scenery, I would have sworn I was sat in a room. The comfort of the ride made it hard to really appreciate just how fast we were travelling. One highlight of the journey, was getting a good view of Mount Fuji after leaving Tokyo.

I arrived into Kyoto late morning, ready to explore the city. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over a millennium (up until 1868) and is argued to be its most beautiful city. With the important role it played in hosting much of Japan's culture, tradition and power throughout history, it has accumulated a number of temples and shrines, built for emperors, shoguns and monks. However, like most cities in Japan, while Kyoto has a vast display of heritage sites, much of the city has become very modernised and cutting edge. Arriving into Kyoto train station exemplified this with its unique glass and metal structure.

I had been told that in order to discover Kyoto's beauty, you need to dig outside of the city centre and search in it's outskirts away from the urban jungle. Therefore, on arrival into the train station, I found the subway and headed North to venture to some of the old temples and shrines.

Since there are so many temples to view in Kyoto, and I was only there for one day, I had made a rough plan of which ones I hoped to visit. However, before doing so I came across some geisha, the traditional female Japanese entertainers, known to wear pale white make-up and a kimono. This made for a good photo opportunity as it was not something I had yet seen in Tokyo. I then began at Kinkaku-ji Temple, also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This is the most popular attraction in Kyoto and the true iconic image of the city. It had originally been built as a retirement home for a Shogun in the 14th century. I took my time wandering around the garden leading up to the temple and enjoying the views of it from across the pond. Unfortunately my camera was low on battery so I only managed a few photos.

Next stop was the Ryoan-ji Temple, famous for its Zen garden consisting of 15 rocks laid out on individual pieces of moss (You should check out the photos because my description doesn't do it credit). The origin and meaning of the garden is unclear. Some believe the garden to symbolise something abstract like infinity or life, while others take it to depict something more obvious like islands in an ocean. Behind the garden was a quaint looking washbasin inscripted with kanji to mean 'I learn only to be contented.' I felt the common theme from my temple visits was that each one provided food for thought - ideas and notions to ponder over for hours!

The final temple that I went to visit in depth was the Ninnaji Temple. This was one of the most interesting temples to view as it featured a number of different buildings and gardens. It was originally built for the imperial family but like most historic buildings in Japan, it suffered repeated destruction during various wars and battles. Among the various buildings on the temples grounds, lies a five-tiered pagoda that is simply magnificent to look at. Sadly, it was at this stage that my camera battery completed died so I only managed to capture a couple photos of the pagoda.

After spending pretty much an entire day walking around North Kyoto and viewing the various temples and shrines, I headed back to the train station and caught a late afternoon shinkansen back to Tokyo. I pretty much slept the entire journey back, which from my earlier description of the train ride, isn't hard to imagine!

So that about sums up my day. Tomorrow, I'll be back training at the JKA Honbu again and hopefully my next blog update will go into more detail on what it's like to train at the Honbu and experience shotokan karate in the heart of Tokyo!

Much love

Sam

Japan and Arriving at The JKA Honbu

Hello!

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned my List of Lifetime Ambitions in any of my previous posts. I wrote this list last April, after I decided I was going to travel. It was an idea given to me by my father. While they are all goals that I aim to fulfil in my lifetime, I hoped to achieve many of them during this period of travelling. Below is the current list (since being lifetime ambitions, it's likely that I will accumulate more as I continue to grow and change with age).

- Achieve Sandan (3rd Dan) in Shotokan Karate (Completed late April 2010)

- Run a marathon (Due to be completed April 17th 2011 - Sponsor me www.justgiving.com/samaboudara)

- Climb Everest - In part! - (Due to be completed January 2011)

- Jump out of a plane and skydive (Completed in New Zealand September 2010)

- Bungee jump (Completed in New Zealand September 2010)

- Take-up Jujitsu (One day in the future)

- Learn to play Clare de Lune on piano (One day in the future)

- Volunteer in a third world country (Completed in the Philippines Oct-Dec 2010 - but I feel I will be wanting to do more of this in the future)

- Study Shotokan Karate at the JKA Honbu in Tokyo (Completed 2 days ago! read on for details!)

- Become a member of Mensa (Completed May 2010)

- Learn to solve the Rubik's Cube (Completed October 2010)

- Visit every continent in the world (one day perhaps!)

- Travel horizontally around the world (Due to be completed January 2011)

- Fall in Love and get married (One day!)

- Have 2-4 children (One day!)

- Visit Turkey and discover the Aboudara family roots (Hope to be completed February 2011)

- Do the splits (I'm not far off - training every day in Japan will help!)

- Attend a major music festival (One summer I'd like that!)

- See the Northern Lights (Completed December 2009 - this was the only ambition that I had already achieved when I wrote this list!)

So I've now been in Japan for 3 days. To be truthful, initially I didn't want to be here. This is the one place that has been top of my list of destinations for so long but when it finally came to arriving here - I didn't care. The prospect of being all alone was not a pleasant one. Up to now, I've had other people around me throughout all my travels. First there was camp. Then I was with Andy through Vegas. Then Andy and I met a whole host of other backpackers on our Kiwi Experience bus through New Zealand. Australia was a continuation of this, as well as being with Cazz and then my cousin Max. Finally, in the Philippines I was part of an organised volunteering programme with plenty other like minded Westerners. Japan is the first place where I am completely alone and 3 days in, I'm still alone.

I always knew that this would be the one leg, that I had to do alone. Coming here to practise karate is something so personal, that I knew no one else would really be able to appreciate it and dragging a friend along, requiring them to work around my training schedule would not have been fair. I hadn't realised just how rare backpackers would be in Tokyo. There really are barely any. It makes sense I suppose. Japan is such an expensive country that travellers would rather spend time in China, Vietnam, Thailand etc. I've also been told that this isn't a popular season for backpackers in Tokyo so I guess that makes it worse. To put things into perspective, I'm about to spend my fourth night in an 8-bed dorm and have not had a single other room mate to date!

I think the other thing that makes you feel lonely is the lack of spoken English here. In many non-English speaking countries, most individuals can hold conversations with you in broken English. Take the Philippines for example, almost everyone can understand English and converse with Westerners to a reasonable level. Japan seems to be such an advanced country that they don't require English at all. The majority of people here speak as much English as I speak Japanese (virtually none). So going to bars or pubs is sort of pointless as I'm unlikely to find anyone who will understand me.

But...and this is a huge but, all of the above is completely worth it for what I get to experience here. I am in Tokyo to train at the JKA Honbu. The JKA is the most renowned karate association in the world and the Honbu dojo in Tokyo is its central hub and a worldwide mecca. Since it's origins the JKA Honbu has prided itself on the finest karate instruction, producing the world's most supreme karate exponents and practitioners. For me, it has been a dream to train here since I achieved my 1st dan black belt 12 years ago. I originally first planned my visit 2 years ago, but due to a job offer I received, I had to cancel my trip.

I went to visit the Honbu on my first day in Japan. I can't describe to you what it was like walking there from Iidabashi train station. I had spent 2 years memorising the directions based on photos from google maps. To see it all live, was the most amazing sensation ever. I arrived and stood in the doorway for a few minutes, completely in awe. The man at reception spoke to me as though it was any ordinary mundane day at the JKA (because essentially it was!) but for me this was one of the biggest moments of my life. He then answered my questions about training fees and times and gave me directions to the nearest Tokaido shop to buy a new karate gi (uniform). By the way, this young man turned out to be the 2009 All Japan kumite champion and one of the Junior instructors at the Honbu. During our conversation, Sensei Osaka, 8th Dan (one of the world's most renowned instructors) walked straight past. I stopped to greet him of course!

The next day, I visited the Tokaido shop and bought a new gi. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to karate gear but after 15 years of training, I feel I'm justified. There aren't many things that I have expensive taste for, but when it comes to a karate gi, I don't settle for cheap quality. So I may need to live off scraps that I find on the streets in order to work this into my budget...but who needs food anyway!

Later that day, I had my first training session at the Honbu, delivered by Sensei Tanayama, 6th Dan. I wish I could go into full detail on what we covered in that session, but I'll simply bore you. For me, it was a wonderfully exhilarating experience. Everything from the dojo itself, the method of teaching, the demands of the class, the spirit of the students, the expertise of the sensei and the fact that I felt part of a huge dynasty was completely incredible. After that session, I decided I had to train more regularly than I had originally intended. The Honbu is open 6 days a week. My plan is to train every one of those 6 days and then attend a second session on every other day, totalling 9 sessions per week, up until they close for Christmas on 22nd December. By then, it won't be long until Hazel joins me here, so it should be perfect timing!

Anyway, that's about all I can manage typing for now. Good news is there's an Australian couple staying in my dorm room tonight who just arrived from Hiroshima, having already spent time in Tokyo a few weeks ago. They're only here for one night, but it turns out they purchased two return bullet train tickets to Kyoto which they can no longer use. They already sold one for half price to another person they met and I have agreed to buy the other at half price as well. Bullet train tickets are really expensive so managing to get one at half price is fantastic and I'll now start looking into visiting Kyoto on Sunday.

Much love!

Sam

Goodbye Philippines - Happy Chanukah

Good Morning!

I am currently sat in Tacloban airport awaiting my flight to Manila. I then have a day to kill in Manila before flying to Tokyo tomorrow morning. I don't really know what to say. The last few days have provoked so many emotions that I seem to be leaving the philippines with a very mixed heart. I can not wait to arrive in Japan and fulfill a dream that's existed since I achieved my shotokan karate black belt at the age of 10. However, I am leaving here with so many overwhelmingly positive memories of this place and the people that remain here, making this a rather sombre occassion. Truth be told, I've not been ready to leave any of the places I've visited so far (The US, New Zealand, Australia). I feel that's part and parcel of travelling and something I've grown accustomed to but it still doesn't stop me from feeling quite low right now.

Let me fill you in on my last days here and all the wonderful goodbyes I received. I'll start with Thursday, which saw my last tutorial with my group of 2nd and 3rd graders. I decided to skip the learning part for one day and play a bunch of games with the girls instead. We had a lot of fun, listened to music and it was a really sweet way to end the last 2 months I've spent teaching this lovely group of girls.

Friday was my Despidida (celebration party) at the RRCY, my placement. I invited along all the other volunteers and VFV staff for the occasion. The afternoon began with an exhibition basketball game. The boys club from Bliss, as well as James, Matt and myself, took on a select team from the RRCY. Need the less to say, we struggled severely. The RRCY not only have a larger pool of boys to choose from, but they also spend every day exercising and completing chores. We got well and truly demolished, but we had fun in the process. The end score was irrelevant: A. Because we clearly lost and B. Because I made the RRCY boys fix the score board so that it looked like I had won! Woops

After the game, we had the presentations. This included various dances and musical performances from both the RRCY residents, as well as the boys club and girls club from bliss. There were also a number of messages read by certain residents expressing their gratitude towards me, which was very touching to hear. At the end, I was invited to the stage to receive a framed certificate and say a few words. I then presented a prize to the winning basketball team in the league we had been playing. The presentation was concluded with the dance that Hazel has been working on with the boys. I feel they did her proud. We spent a bit more time saying goodbye to all the boys before leaving to check out an outdoor music concert taking place downtown.

Saturday was spent finalising a few things. I bought gifts for my homestay family, I made sure I had everything sorted for Japan and I spent time with the people I've grown close to here. That evening, the whole group of volunteers went downtown and enjoyed a night out at a few of the local bars and clubs.

Sunday, I spent with Hazel. We went out for lunch at Leyte Park and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon by the pool. That evening was my farewell party hosted by my homestay family. If there's one thing the Vermug's know how to do - it's to throw a party. Without being biased, this was the best volunteer farewell party that I've experienced since being here. I arrived home from Leyte park at 5pm to find the entire extended family already cracking open bottles of beer with music blaring throughout the house. There were about 15 young girls from the community, friends of Alecs and Melly, who had been preparing a number of dances for the occasion. This had originally caused a bit of a stir as Alecs had organised a practice session the previous day at the same time that Hazel runs a class for this same group of girls. At first we thought Alecs was trying to compete with Hazel as a dance teacher, but it turned out she was preparing a surprise for me!

The volunteers and other invited guests joined my family at around 6pm and we enjoyed a wonderful feast cooked by my Nanay, and a big cake with my name spelled out in icing. We then watched the dance performances from the girls. They also prepared a special banner for me. I felt truly blessed that evening and it was a wonderful way to say goodbye to a family that has been so good to me over the past 2 months.

This morning, I woke early and did the rounds, saying goodbye to everyone (that I could find) properly. After a few emotional goodbyes, and even some tears from the kids, I took a Jeepney with Matt, Hazel and Devina to the airport. I think it's a combination of things that have made my experience here a truly sensational one: The community, my homestay, the volunteers, the projects but above all, Hazel Douglas!

On that note, I'd like to wish everyone a happy 5th night of Chanukah. This is the first year that I am not home for Chanukah and it's something I really miss: Spending time with the family, lighting candles at home, early sunsets, wrapping up in the cold weather and giving presents to the nieces and nephews. I had not planned on celebrating Chanukah this year but Hazel thought otherwise and has given me a present each morning so that I can still commemorate it in some way. She's got a nack for present giving, because each one has been perfect so far and I now have three wrapped presents remaining in my luggage for the last 3 nights of Chanukah. I think this might be one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me.

I'm now at Manila airport waiting for my flight to Tokyo. On to the next one!

Much love!

Sam

Southern Leyte and Cock Fights

Good Afternoon,

I'm now into my last few days here in the Philippines, which is mostly very saddening, however, it does mean I get to look forward to all the farewell parties (Despididas) as well as the excitement of making it to Japan.

Before I go into any more detail, I thought I'd share with you my most recent outing. Last friday, after finishing placement, a few of us travelled 4 hours down to Southern Leyte. Our group consisted of myself, Hazel, Victoria and Ingrid. Matt also came from Ormoc and met us there. I had booked us some rooms at the Maasin Country Lodge, which turned out to be a real diamond in the rough. We arrived in the evening to find ourselves in a beautiful guesthouse, hidden away from the streets and looking onto the river. Once settled, we ate dinner and headed out to Maasin City centre. Maasin is the capital of Southern Leyte and as a result, has a fairly decent night life. We found a couple spots to spend the evening, before returning to the lodge later on.

The next day, we decided to visit Padre Burgos, located roughly an hour South of Maasin and renowned for it's Scuba diving opportunities. None of us were particularly bothered about diving and so instead, spent the morning at a resort, enjoying the use of a large infinity pool and water slide, with a stunning view of the coast as our backdrop. After a hearty lunch, we headed back to Maasin for a chilled afternoon, before eating dinner and having some drinks with the Country Lodge staff. Out of all the places I've stayed in the Philippines, I was most impressed with how accomodating and friendly the staff here were. They even drove us into town to show us some of the recommended spots and we thoroughly enjoyed their company during our stay.

The next morning, we took a van to Ormoc. Hazel and Victoria had planned on doing some shopping and what not. Meanwhile, I went with Matt to see the homestay, where he's been living while being placed in Ormoc. After experimenting with his homestay's 100cc motorbike briefly, I went and experienced my first ever cockfight.

We arrived at the arena, to find we were invited into the VIP section - perks of being white I guess! It's a rather bizarre set-up. Basically, two birds are brought out into the ring by their owners. The owners show them off to the crowd for a while, and then the crowd bet. The way this works is that everyone yells for which bird they want to back and how much money they want to bet. You then have to find an exact match - someone who wants to back the opposing bird for the same amount. The birds then fight (which is somewhat barbaric so I'll spare you the details) and then the individuals who lose their bets simply throw their money across the arena to whoever they owe it to. This system relies on a lot of honesty but somehow manages to work! Matt and I found a friend to bet for us, so long as we gave him 10% of our winnings. Fortunately, we owed him nothing by the end of the afternoon as we found ourselves completely even, after 2 hours of watching cockfights.

That evening, we went out for dinner, and watched The Hangover at our hotel. The next morning consisted of a leisurely breakfast, a leisurely stroll around Ormoc, a leisurely lunch and a crammed van ride back to Tacloban.

It's now time for my tutorial, so I will have to leave you. My next post will probably be after my farewell parties at the RRCY and with my homestay.

Much love!

Sam

The Sustainability of the Dumpsite Project

Maupay nga kulop,

It's a rather rainy Saturday in the Philippines but this morning I paid another visit to the dumpsite. To refresh your memory, the dumpsite is a huge waste area located slightly North of Tacloban City. It is used by many of the locals, who scavenge for plastics and metals which they can sell, in order to feed themselves and their families. The local communities that surround the dumpsite are particularly poor, even by regional standards. Volunteer for the Visayans provide a project which uses funding from donors to allow children in these communities to go to school and receive an education. In total there are 33 children, who were all previous dumpsite scavengers, unable to pay the costs of schooling. They now all receive a full education. The project also provides a weekly feeding for these sponsored children every Saturday. The food acts as a tool for getting all the sponsored children in one place at the same time so that the VFV staff can monitor their progress and have a weekly interaction. The project also offers support for the parents and additional tutoring sessions so that the children can catch-up on school material that they had missed.

Every third Saturday of the month, VFV conduct a head count at the dumpsite itself in order to determine whether sponsored children are continuing to visit the dumpsite (which would go against the sponsorship agreement) as well as to identify new scavengers and general trends. James and I decided to go along and help with this. Hazel has also began teaching a dance class every Saturday morning in the local community outside the dumpsite, so while this was taking place, James and I assisted Mano John with the head count.

Mano John is a born and bred Bliss boy. He lives next door to the VFV office and is a rather remarkable individual. He holds down a job, while continuing to study and conduct research, as well as being actively involved in a voluntary capacity with all of VFV's projects. He is like a sponge in that, although he has never stepped outside of the Visayans, he has a desire to learn and understand everything about the world we live in. The VFV Dumpsite Project is his greatest focus and something that he has invested a lot of time and effort into. Visiting the dumpsite was also the most impacting experience I have had in the Philippines and the Dumpsite Project is something that I hope to contribute to, after I leave. For this reason, I spent the entire morning quizzing Mano John on every aspect of the project, attempting to gain a full understanding of the in's and out's of it.

Firstly, I learned that there is a lot of controversy surrounding the dumpsite and the fact that there is little governmental support to change it's existence. The dumpsite is harmful for a number of reasons: It is destroying the local environment; It breeds diseases and pollution which are harmful for the local civilians; It is a dangerous place for children and has witnessed a number of injuries and fatalities among local kids.

Prior to the dumpsite's existence, the local, non-professional townspeople used to make crafts and sell them for profit in order to feed their families. Once the dumpsite was established, these people found that they could make money much quicker by gathering scraps to sell. Of course, this trade allowed them to make enough money to buy only a limited amount of rice, but so long as they were nourished, that was all that mattered - nutrition was an unattainable luxury. All that this led to was a cycle of making enough money to barely survive, whereas although the craft making required greater effort and time, the money they were making gave them the opportunity to save-up and have future prospects - Basically, the dumspite provided a lazy alternative...this is of course ignoring all the dangers and health problems that it also poses.

After conducting the head count with James and Mano John, we were able to visit the local high school and elementary school where the sponsored children receive their education. The high school currently has 60 children in a class, due to space restrictions. However, the government has plans to build a new high school in the new year and we were able to see the plot of land intended for this. We also visited the junk shops, where the dumpsite scavengers would sell the pieces of plastic and metal that they had obtained. Finally, we spent some time in the community speaking to the sponsored children.

Leaving the dumpsite cemented my desire to do something further for this project. I believe that every individual has the ability to make a difference by using the skills and resources that they have. Therefore, my plan is to firstly write an educational workshop for children in the Western World based around third world poverty, but using the dumpsite project as a case study. If not for anything else, this will raise awareness. Secondly, I hope to use my role at the NJY Camps next summer, to do some additional fundraising with Asher division for the VFV Dumpsite Project. Last summer, my division of campers helped raise over 500$ for the Against Malaria Foundation, through a couple of charity events. That money would sponsor two children, allowing them to attend school and no longer rely on the dumpsite.

The future plans for The Dumpsite Project are to be able to fund some of the sponsored children through college. This is where the project begins to show some sustainability as one of the clauses in this agreement is that upon graduating from college, these individuals would be required to give back to the community. They would need to offer their skills in the community and provide funding for future sponsored children. I now have absolutely no hesitations in dedicating some of my time and effort to this scheme!

Other news, today is Gabs 7th birthday. Gabs is one of Nanay's grandchildren and although he doesn't live with us, the family visit every weekend. So to mark his special day we had a big feast and played games with the extended family. Later on, Hazel and I have plans to visit Marabut, Western Samar for the remainder of the weekend. So long as the weather clears up by tomorrow, we're hoping to do some kayaking and island hopping!

Much love!

Sam

Calicoan Island

Maupay nga kulop!

Tuesday marked the end of the Islamic festival Ramadam which meant that it was a national holiday here. I found this rather strange considering I've yet to meet a Muslim person in the Philippines and that the country at large is Catholic. Either way, it provided a pretty good excuse for a bunch of us to visit another beautiful island in the Philippines.

This time we chose Calicoan Island, located at the South Eastern tip of Samar. The group pretty much consisted of every volunteer including myself, Hazel, James, Alana, Ilonka, Ingrid, Connie, Victoria and Benedikta - a rather female-heavy group to say the least.

We left Monday, immediately after finishing our placements and took a Jeepney downtown to Tacloban. Here we jumped in a minivan and headed to Guiuan, the Southern most town of Eastern Samar. The journey was 3-hours long and once again saw us crammed pretty tight. On arrival in Guiuan, we found some pedicabs to drive us the 23km across to Calicoan Island and the resorts which we had booked to stay at.

About 15km in, the pedicab which myself, Hazel and James were riding in found itself with a flat tyre. The driver had no way of changing it and no phone to contact anyone - these kinds of scenarios no longer surprise me here! I pulled out my phone to try and call one of the other girls, to see if they could come back for us but had no service. So we waited around for a while and watched our driver hail down another pedicab in order to get hold of a spare tyre. Later on, the other two pedicabs came back for us.

By 6pm we arrived at our resorts. Despite the terrential rain and lack of sunlight by this time, I knew we were in paradise. Calicoan Island is rather remote and as a result, there's only two places to stay. The six girls had booked a room at the more luxurious surf camp, while James, Hazel and myself had gone for the budget option of surf huts at the Calicoan Villa. The surf huts were fairly basic but we were only staying one night.

We met up with the other girls to have dinner and a few drinks and spent the remainder of the evening chatting, enjoying the view of the coast and listening to locals sing karaoke. When we returned to our room, Hazel and I found that someone had left a present on our pillows. Sadly, it was not a single-wrapped chocolate mint as would perhaps be expected but instead a whole load of rat poo! Hazel went to reception to see if it was possible to move to one of the fancy rooms in the villa and somehow managed to get us upgraded completely free of charge. Not too bad considering these rooms were usually three times as expensive as the surf huts.

The next morning, we all rose early and had breakfast. My first stop was the beach. I rented a board and swam out to the waves to find it more of a struggle than I had anticipated. The tide was strong, the waves were rough and big and the ocean bed was completely filled with sharp rocks. None the less, I gave it a go for a while, especially since I haven't had the chance to surf for a couple of years. I came out of the ocean feeling completely exhausted yet still pretty satisfied at having caught some waves - but when you're the only person out in the ocean, you should probably question whether it's a smart idea.

The rest of the afternoon was then spent relaxing at the Surf Camp's beautiful swimming pool located right on the edge of the coast line. I don't think I've ever experienced anything more picturesque. We later ate lunch and swam a bit more before heading back to Guiuan to catch the van back to Tacloban. We somehow managed to negotiate a private van to take just the nine of us back to our homestays in Bliss. Rather than costing £2 each, we paid £3. Not too terrible for the luxury of being able to feel your bum cheeks for 3 hours.

All in all, a very enjoyable end to Ramadam for us all.

Much love!

Sam

Tutorials

Maupay Nga Aga!

Good morning from the Philippines - it's a beautiful Saturday, the sun is shining and I ate three burgers for breakfast!

This weekend my plans are fairly relaxed. Today I'm going to visit the gym. Shortly afterwards, Matt is coming over from Ormoc and him, myself and James are thinking of checking out a cock fight. Now I know it sounds barbaric to spectate and bet money on two cockerels trying to kill each other but part of my travels is embracing the cultures I'm submersed in. Cock fighting is a regular weekend event in the Philippines so I feel I should experience it atleast once. This evening will probably include a trip to the Astrodome, the local bar scene we regularly visit in the evenings. It's basically a large complex with a number of karaoke spots and clubs playing different kinds of music.

Tomorrow is the Pacquiao Vs Maragrito boxing match for the WBC Light Middleweight title. Manny Pacquiao is undoubtedly the most famous Philippino in existence right now, least not for being the greatest pound-for-pound boxer around but also for all the additional philanthropic and governmental work that he does in his home country. Whenever a Pacquiao contest comes about, the country pretty much goes into national holiday mode! So tomorrow morning will mainly be spent watching the fight while it's live in Texas. Tomorrow afternoon, James and I have plans to take Alecs and Melly to the cinema to watch Mega Mind. I figured they might enjoy a visit to the shopping centre to see a movie and eat some junk food!

So the other thing I wanted to talk about in this blog entry are the tutorials that I run. I've previously mentioned that I tutor a group of 2nd and 3rd graders but I haven't yet got round to elaborating on this further. One of the projects that VFV offer is the Sponsored Child Programme. This is where a number of donors from the Western World fund the schooling of various local children, whose families would otherwise be unable to pay for their education. There are no free schools in the Philippines and with the high level of poverty, many children simply miss out on having an education. This project helps to put these children through school to improve their future prospects. Part of the project includes additional tutorials to further support the childrens' schooling and help them catch up on any material that they may have missed.

Every weekday at 4:30pm I teach a group of 8-9 year olds. I usually get 4 young girls, with whom I cover subjects such as Maths, English, Geography, Verbal Reasoning and General Knowledge. It's become one of my afternoon highlights since the girls are adorable and so eager to learn and being able to witness their progress over the weeks is really fulfilling. We even have a secret high-five ritual - but I'm not authorised to go into any more detail on this!

Well it's been nice blogging as always. What do I have coming up? Well tuesday is another national holday, so Hazel, myself and a few other volunteers have plans to visit Calicoan Island, situated off Eastern Samar. From what I've read, it has some of the most beautiful white beaches around and although it's relatively untouched, it's becoming a bit of a surfers' paradise - and I'd definitely love to get some surfing in here!

Much love

Sam

Visiting Ormoc and Biliran Island

Maupay Nga Gabi (Good Evening)!

It's been a rather eventful weekend for me so I felt it worth sharing with everyone. First however, I promised in my last post that I would demonstrate my advanced level of spoken Waray Waray language. So firstly it's worth mentioning that there are many spoken dialects throughout the Philippines due to the geographical make-up of the country and the fact that it spans over thousands of small islands. The national language is Tagalog but in Tacloban they speak Waray Waray, which literally translates as 'nothing nothing.'

Most people here speak English to a reasonable standard, however without basic Waray vocabulary you would struggle. So here are a few of the words and phrases that I have picked up:

Oh oh - Yes
Deri - No
Maupay Nga Aga - Good Morning
Alion - Please
Salamat - Thank you
Pasahe - Fare (Used when you pay for your jeepney rides)
Para - Get off (Used to request that the driver lets you off the jeepney)
Sukli - Change (Used to demand your change when the Jeepney driver doesn't give it to you)
Ako Balik Bois - I'll be back tomorrow (I say it each day when I leave the RRCY)
Maupay Nga Shoot - Good shot (Basketball!)
Deri Ako Ma'aram - I don't understand

I've got a few more, but you get the general jist.

O.k so on to my eventful weekend. Well it began friday afternoon when I walked 16km (10 miles) for no particular reason. Hazel has began teaching dance at the RRCY every thursday and friday morning, so on her first visit, she suggested the idea of walking all the way home one day. I wasn't really sure how far it would be. The jeepney rides usually last about 30-45 minutes depending on traffic - but again, I'm not really sure how fast Jeepneys travel so I wasn't able to figure out whether walking all the way home was a wise idea or not. Regardless, we decided to complete the walk on friday. 4 hours later, we arrived home. We walked at a rather leisurely pace so I reckoned on it being 8-10km. When I plotted it out on a map, it turned out to be 16km - needtheless to say, everyone thought we were insane!

The next day, a few of us decided to take a weekend trip to visit Matt and Madri in Ormoc, another town situated 2-3 hours from Tacloban. Originally, it was just Hazel, James and myself however, Connie, Ilonga and Ingrid decided to come with us very last minute which made it into quite the road trip! We caught a van from downtown Tacloban which took us straight to Ormoc. On arrival, we found our hotel and met Matt and Madri. We went out for dinner and a few drinks and enjoyed our new surroundings having not left Tacloban since arriving a month ago. In addition, having aircon and a TV in our hotel room was beyond amazing.

The next day, we woke late and had breakfast. The three girls had planned to go home, while James fancied staying another day in Ormoc to watch a cock fighting match with Matt. That left Hazel and I to do as we pleased. We took another van and headed North to Biliran, a separate Island. The ride took us about 2 hours and we were dropped off at a resort that we had researched named Chamorita. The resort was in the middle of nowhere, situated on the coast of the island with views that were flawless - it truly felt like our own little paradise. We checked into a room and decided to go venturing. This is where it gets interesting.

We began by jumping on the back of a moped and getting a ride to the local town of Naval, about 8km away. Though it sounds dangerous and a bit unsafe, this is actually the standard way of getting around Biliran. We arrived in Naval and booked ourselves a van to take us back to Tacloban the following day. We then found a quiet spot for lunch before speaking to the two ladies who had served us our food, about possible things to do with our afternoon. They suggested going on a bit of an adventure and seeing some of the local scenery. So we jumped on the back of another moped and were treated to a wonderful tour with the most beautiful sites. We stopped off and took a few photos of the nearby rice fields before arriving in a small village. Here we met another local guy who took us on a short hike to some falls. After the amuesment of watching Hazel slowly negotiate her way through this rather unmarked trail, we arrived at this sound, picturesque waterfall formation. We spent a bit of time swimming and cliff jumping and just as we got out, ready to head back it began to rain a little. Not to fear, we hiked back, taking a slight detour to see a giant swinging bridge and we then rode the moped back to Chamorita. After drying off, we spent the evening having dinner, watching a movie and enjoying our tranquil paradise.

The next morning, we again woke late and decided to go canoeing for a short while, before returning to Tacloban. Unfortunately, I managed to capsize my canoe and I'm still uncertain as to whether the camera has survived it's encounter with the ocean. After grabbing lunch, we met the van to take us back to Tacloban. It was a truly wonderful weekend, with some views that sum-up everything that I love about the Philippines.

We're now back in Tacloban and yet again there are more volunteers who have arrived. So now I am off to spend the evening getting to know the new faces and introducing them to life in Bliss.

Speak soon,

Much love!

Sam

Getting Stung by a Giant Jelly Fish

Maupay Nga Kulop! (which means Good afternoon in Waray - the local language here)

Today is the 1st November, which is Saints Day. In the Philippines, this is a national holiday so although it's a regular Monday and I should be at my placement - today I get the day off.

So firstly, let me tell you what I got up to this weekend! Friday was Matt's last day at our placement so at 4pm we had a big farewell party at the RRCY. All the other volunteers came along and we sat through a very sweet ceremony consisting of messages from some of the boys as well as dance and music performances by some of the residents. This was followed by a makeshift disco and the residents cutting some shapes!

Saturday was an excursion day. As part of being a volunteer here, we get two excursion days. The first excursion for me, was last weekend where we visited some of the other project sites including the Dumpsite project and Build-a-Home project. It was wonderful to see a brand new home that had been built through funding provided by Walter, a donor in Hawaii. We were fortunate enough to have Walter present with us that day and to be able to hear his story and reasons for getting involved with this type of project. Later on, we spent the remains of the afternoon at Tadyaw, a beautiful beach resort.

This week, the excursion was to Calawayan, another beautiful beach resort. I decided to take a quick swim over to a near by Island. Error: About half way across I felt a sudden shock down my entire arm. I turned around and slowly hopped back to the shore. It seems I managed to get stung by a big jelly fish. I've never been stung by one before so I didn't really know what to do. I was advised to put ice and sugar on it which seemed to do the trick. My best attempt in describing it to you would be comparing it to a really bad encounter with some stinging nettles! You could see a huge line down my back and arm of where the tenticle had stung me. The rest of the day was spent pretty much chilling and collecting shells - I found some keepers. Unfortunately, when I showed them to the kids at home, they didn't remain in my possession for much longer.

So now I'd like to share with you some of the daily rituals I complete in order to demonstrate how living here is an experience far removed from my home comforts. I am not complaining - I'm merely trying to convey to you how different life is out here!

Showers and Toilets: There's no running hot water here. Toilets don't flush themselves. Most homes don't have a shower head... or a shower for that matter. They have what is called a Comfort Room, consisting of a toilet and a hose pipe. Once you're finished using the toilet, you have to fill a bucket with water and pour it down the bowl. Showering involves the same bucket...and with a scooper, you pour cold water over your head - as simple as that. In many ways it's actually quite refreshing, considering how quickly you get hot and sweaty in this place!

Laundry: Laundry is an interesting one! The lack of hot water is the least of your concerns. I wash my clothes once a week. For me this involves sitting on a little stall outside my house with a big bowl filled with water. I then scrub each item of clothing with a bar of soap detergent and then rinse each item, one by one. Clothes are then hung outside until they dry.

Weather: As mentioned, it's generally very hot and humid here. My tan is booming - and I've even managed to burn myself once, which is very rare for me and my African skin (alright I'm not african but I've definitely got Mediterranean blood.) I've yet to wear anything other than t-shirt, shorts and flip flops! All my long pants and sleeves have remained folded in a drawer somewhere. However, despite this glorious weather, it's a tropical island and so it rains frequently and when it does, it rains hard! It takes no more than 10 seconds to be completely soaked. Carrying an umbrella is essential and probably the most necessary accessory to have here. I've managed to break two already! No big deal when they cost about 1 pound!

So that's what's happening right now. There's been a few new volunteers arrive in the last week so it's been fun meeting new people, seeing new faces and showing them the ropes here. What's coming up? Well It's likely to be more of the same - The RRCY, tutorials and more fun times with the group of friends I've made here. Two of the volunteers, Matt and Madri are moving to Ormac (another settlement about 2-hours away) to complete a separate placement for a month so we won't be seeing them as often for a while. However, myself and Hazel (who's the dance teacher here) are planning on visiting them for a couple days at some stage.

It's been lovely updating you once again. Next time, I hope to share some of the Waray Waray language that I have picked up here.

Much love!

Sam

A Typical Day in the Philippines

Hello!

Well I'm now into my third week of volunteering and living in Tacloban City, Philippines. While speaking to various friends online, they all seem to ask the same question...'what do you do?' Since I'm now into the swing of things, I thought it would be worth sharing with you what a typical day for me here consists of.

I wake up at 6am. I roll out of bed and breakfast will be waiting for James and myself. Everyday breakfast is different but we always get something very filling along with juice and some fruit. I'll then either shower but more commonly go back to my bedroom and lay down for half an hour. At around 6:45am, I go over to Matt's house. Matt is at the same placement as me so we meet up each morning to commute together. His house is a 20 second walk away and it's the one house in the whole community (that I'm aware of) with free wifi. So I usually go online until about 7:15 and then we catch a Jeepney to Tanauan to take us to the RRCY (Regional Rehabilitation Centre for Youths).

I already mentioned in a previous post what the RRCY is so refer back if you're unsure. We usually get to the RRCY at 8am and are greeted by a bunch of chuckling young men who are always very excited to see us. The first two hours is usually spent playing basketball as part of the league we set up. The last two hours, we set up a games room with cards, jacks, connect four, jenga, dominoes, chess, darts, pick-up sticks etc. We bought all these games from the local city centre and although the residents can not keep them (to prevent them gambling with them) we can bring them along each day for them to play with under our supervision.

We then leave the RRCY and head back to Bliss, usually rocking up at about 12:30ish. We'll meet James and grab lunch at our favourite burger stall (50p for two burgers!) and then most days we'll go to the gym. This brings me to a good plugging opportunity since I've now officially begun training and fundraising for the London Marathon. I am running for the Martin B. Cohen Centre for Wellbeing - Please visit my justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/samaboudara have a read and perhaps sponsor me if you feel so inclined!

After the gym, it's time for my tutorial. I have a group of 2nd and 3rd grade girls (8-9 year olds) that I tutor for an hour each afternoon. These girls are part of the VFV sponsorship programme and receive funding so that they can go to school. Each day I tutor them a different subject ranging from English, maths, reasoning, general knowledge etc. Dinner is served at 6pm which will always consist of lots of meat/fish, vegetables and fruit. After dinner, I enjoy hanging out with my family, playing games with the kids and kicking back. Later in the evenings, I often meet up with some of the other volunteers and we might go to the cinema, play cards or hit up some of the bars in town.

So that's a typical day for me! Weekends are far different and usually jam packed with fun. I'll try and share more next time.

Much love

Sam

My Homestay Family

Hello!

Firstly, for those of you who have heard the recent news stories regarding the super typhoon, Megi, you need not worry about me, as it has not affected the region I am living in. For those of you who are unaware, a category 5 typhoon hit the Northern tip of the Philippines on Monday. It is the biggest typhoon to be received by the Philippines in the last 4 years, with winds in excess of 250km/h. At least ten people from the North Luzon region have been killed. It has now moved towards South China and Vietnam, so I guess all we can do is hope that Mother Nature takes it's course and leaves as little destruction as possible.

A big part of being a volunteer in Tacloban is the experience of living with a host family. I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little about mine. Firstly, they have been nothing but hospitable towards me, which seems to be a common trend in the Philippines, because no matter where I go, people are always very welcoming and generous despite how little they have.

I already mentioned Nanay Pering, my homestay mother. She is a typical Philippino mother: A fantastic cook, able to keep track of several children and grandchildren and a very kind lady as well. Her and her husband, Tatay Roberto (who of course, is my homestay father) are in their early sixties and have brought up 6 children, all now adults. Tatay Roberto is a comedian: He will always greet me with a salute, despite knowing that I'm not American and is always quick to crack out a joke or bring back a bottle of beer!

Their oldest son is in jail for drug charges and with his wife disappearing without any notice, Pering and Roberto were left to parent their three grandchildren. These are John (18), Ronmar (15) and Alecs Anne (11). Three great kids and very different siblings. Their oldest daughter, is a mother of three. During my first few days in the Philippines, she was actually in hospital giving birth to her third child, which left Pering and Roberto to look after the other two kids for a few days. I was lucky enough to see the mother bring home her new born and watch the two siblings completely amazed by this new baby brother of theirs. Since then, this family of now 5, have gone back to their respective home and we see them from time to time when they visit.

Their third child is currently working in Hong Kong as a Nanny in order to support her only child Melly (8), who lives with Pering and Roberto. Their fourth child lives with her husband and children in another region of the Philippines, working as a school teacher. I have not yet met her. Their fifth child Ruperto is in his mid twenties and is married with a child. Ruperto lives both with his parents and his wife and is a mechanical engineering graduate, now training to be a policeman. His final exam is due to take place in the next couple of weeks and him and I have planned to go for a few celebratory drinks once he has completed his training.

Their youngest child is Ning Ning, who is a couple years younger than Ruperto. She has a one year old daughter, Nikka Mae and they both live with her parents. Ning Ning's husband is currently working in Dubai to help support Nikka Mae.

So that is the whole family. My homestay is certainly the busiest compared to the other volunteers, but in many ways, it's nice to be part of a big family. Including myself and James, another volunteer from the States, there are 11 of us living under one relatively small roof. Most nights, there is someone sleeping on the sofa and floor but no one seems to mind. With each day that goes by, I find myself becoming more and more comfortable being a guest in their house. They have made me feel like a member of the family and I'm thoroughly enjoying building a connection with each individual family member. Most evenings after dinner, now consist of us sitting around the living room table and sharing stories. Nanay and Tatay will ask me about my life in the UK and my future dreams, Alecs Anne and Melly enjoy playing games with me, looking at my photos and teaching me songs. Nikka Mae tends to wonder around grabbing whatever she can but with a cute little grin to get away with it. Ronmar... well Ronmar is a 15 year old boy, who has recently established that he is gay. As a result, he enjoys making the occasional suggestive comment towards me - which isn't the end of the world! He's just discovering himself!
So that's about it for now. Yesterday, Melly had a dance presentation at her school which I went along to and watched with Nanay Pering. I managed to get a few photos, which you can see on facebook and today, I plan on getting a few printed for the family to keep.

Much love!

Sam

The Dumpsite Project

Hello,

So previously, I spoke about my placement at the Regional Rehabilitation Centre for Youths. But being a volunteer here involves more than just your one placement. There are plenty of other projects to get involved with through Volunteers for the Visayans (VFV). For example, soon I will begin tutoring the local sponsored children for an hour after school each day. What I would like to mention here however, is the Dumpsite Project, which I visited for the first time yesterday.

When I refer to The Dumpsite, I'm actually talking about a group of villages located about 45 minutes from Bliss, where we are living. It is a very poor area where the settlements are extremely basic. The dumpsite itself is found near the local villages and sees heaps of garbage spilled over the beautiful natural surrounds of Tacloban. Many of the children from this area come from families that are struggling to get by. They therefore, visit the dumpsite to look for food scraps or any products that they can sell, such as plastic bottles.

The Dumpsite Project is a sponsorship programme that aims to provide food and clothing to these children so that they do not have to visit the dumpsite to scavenge. Yesterday, I visited the local village and met 25 children who are part of this project. We fed them lunch and watched each child receive a brand new t-shirt and jacket. These had been provided by Walter, one of the sponsors, who had flown over from Hawaii to witness the children receiving these gifts. It was really quite touching to see just how thankful these children were.

Upon leaving the village, we headed to the dumpsite. A small group of the sponsored children had been chosen to come with us so that Walter could take some photos of the children with their new clothing and the dumpsite as a backdrop. I suspect these photos will be for promotional use to further increase awareness and funding. I had never seen anything like it. It was completely covered in waste and the smell was horrendous. There was litter and garbage for as far as you could see but the saddest image was that of the children, who were wondering around looking for scraps and items. While the rest of the volunteers went with Walter, to take photos of the sponsored children, I stuck around and tried to interact with some of the kids who were looking for scraps. These are ordinary children. They laugh when you do something funny and they respond when you make conversation. But here they are living a life that no child should ever be forced to experience. I needed to compose myself on a couple of occasions. It was so saddening to see. I took a few photos to remember these images but I couldn't help noticing the contrast between the beautiful landscape of the Philippines and the filthy views of the dumpsite, side by side.

Mano John, one of the Philippino volunteers said something very thought provoking on the Jeepney ride back. He said that he 'enjoys the smell' - to which we looked puzzled and assumed that he was being sarcastic. He assured us that he was not being sarcastic. He said he 'enjoys the smell because it reminds me that I must help them.'

I don't think I can leave this place without trying to do something myself. I'm not sure exactly what I can do but I intend on making it a mission to further help the Dumpsite Project, once I leave the Philippines. Perhaps I can use my work in informal education, to raise awareness amongst the youth in the Western World and maybe create some fundraising projects as a result.

On a happier note, that evening I sat down with the kids in my homestay and showed them all my photos from travelling. It was lovely to have them asking me so many questions and we spent the evening playing games, watching movies and looking at family photos. My next blog update will be a full description of my Philippino family, who I've grown very attached to already.

Much love!

Sam

The Rehabilitation Centre for Youths

Hello,

Having now visited my placement and began working, I thought I would share with you all a bit of information about the Rehabilitation Centre for Youths (RCY) and my first impressions of working there.

The centre currently holds 53 young men aged 15-23 years. For these residents, this is their home for the next few years. In essence, it's a young offenders institution. All off the residents had committed crimes as a minor (under 18 years) but rather than going through the prison system, they are given the opportunity to spend 2-6 years at the RCY until it is deemed by the social services and courts, that they are fit to return to society. This is their one chance in the RCY. If, on being discharged, a resident reoffends, even if they are still a minor, they are not permitted back into the RCY and instead will go to prison.

I was astonished when I first visited at just how friendly and welcoming the residents are. I don't want to judge too soon and be viewed as naive but my first impression is that these young men are not bad. It seems that there are a number of contributing factors which have lead to them becoming involved in drugs, violence and theft. Most of them come from broken families and have experienced a really troubled childhood. They come from some of the poorest parts of the region, where basic living requirements such as shelter and food are sometimes unattainable. Many have come from areas where rebel activity is high and so have been surrounded by negative role models and have been influenced into making poor life choices.

Whatever it may be, they have been brought to the RCY for committing a serious crime. The centre provides a number of services for the residents. These include schooling, behavioural modification, vocational skills training and a disciplined environment where these young men are encouraged to succeed. They are expected to complete daily jobs such as cleaning, washing and cooking, promoting the idea of being part of a community and contributing. As well as basic academic studies, they are taught crafts such as baking, printing and construction in order to improve their future job prospects for when they return to the outside world.

During my orientation, I met with Mum Lim (The head of the institution). She somehow had a copy of my CV and we discussed my background and experience. My role, is to provide some recreational activities and act as a positive role model to the residents. I have always strongly believed that recreation such as art, music and sport have the ability to not only allow people to express themselves and display competence but also act as a tool to teach values, transferable skills and education. Mum Lim was quite interested in my views and we seemed to be on the same wavelength, which was comforting for me, since up to now I've been a bit uncertain as to what was expected of me as a volunteer.

My first day at the RCY allowed me to meet the residents and spend some time talking to them and finding out what they're interested in. They were overwhelmingly welcoming and it gave the impression that seeing new faces is something they really enjoy. On the whole, most of the residents are interested in sport, which suits me perfectly. Sadly, they have no interest in soccer but many are keen on basketball and volleyball - so I'm going to have a think as to what else I can offer. Activities need to be appropriate for the residents as well as suited to the facilities and equipment available - so karate or rugby are probably out of the question! But something like ultimate frisbee would probably work well. I'm also going to have a think about some possible art and music projects that might work since they have some art supplies and a small music room.

After experiencing my first day at the RCY, I sat down and quizzed Mum Lim and the social workers a little more to find out a bit about the process that the residents go through when they get discharged. It seems that the RCY recommend the residents for discharge and then the courts make the final decision based on their behaviour while in the RCY. The sad reality is that for many of these boys, their improvement in behaviour may be irrelevant, if the environment they are welcomed back into is not conducive to living a crime-free life. The centre might work wonders on the residents while they are inside, but if they return to a family who are struggling financially or a social setting where they are easily led astray again, then all the good work of the RCY could be for nothing. Unfortunately, as explained by Mum Lim, the social welfare system in the Philippines is not advanced enough to be able to ensure that all residents upon being discharged, will be placed with either a family or communal living arrangement where they have access to job prospects and a healthy future. I found this side of things hard to handle. How can it be allowed for a centre to have such a positive impact on these young men's lives but then be wasted when they return to the outside world? I guess that is part and parcel of being in a developing country and even if this system can help steer a percentage of these boys in the right direction when they leave, then it is still doing some good. Meanwhile, the positive influence of the RCY, while the boys are in residence is unquestionable.

That's all for now.

Much love!

Sam

Arriving in The Philippines

Good Morning!

I left my cousin's house at 7am on Saturday 9th October 2010. My journey from there consisted of: Walking from his house to Gardiner train station, taking a train to Southern Cross station, catching a shuttle bus to Melbourne airport, flying to Singapore airport, transferring and flying to Manila airport, catching a shuttle bus to the domestic terminal of Manila airport. By then it was 9pm on the same day. I slept for a few hours on a metal bench before checking in at 3am for my flight to Tacloban City which was at 5:30am.

Manila is the capital city of The Philippines and from what I saw of it, it's a typical city: Industrialised, full of sky scrapers and with a well developed infrastructure. Tacloban City however, was far different. I arrived into a small terminal where their version of a conveyer belt was a man lifting the suitcases off of a big trolley and walking them into the terminal building. As soon as I walked outside, the first thing I noticed was the extreme humidity and heat. I was met by dozens of men trying to offer me transport in taxis and buses. I was somewhat confused and disoriented by the lack of sleep I had received in Manila airport but fortunately I noticed Devina, my volunteer coordinator, who was holding a piece of paper with my name written on it. She took me to Bliss, the settlement where all the volunteers live with their homestay families. Bliss is also where the Volunteer For The Visayas office is located. I arrived and met my host family, including Nanay Pering (my Mother for the next 8 weeks). She showed me to my room and later made me breakfast.

That day I got to meet the other volunteers who are all here for differing periods of time. Some are here for a few weeks, while others remain for up to 6-months. At present there are 6 of us, all from the UK, USA or Australia. I spent the majority of my first day with James (who is staying in the same homestay as me) and Matt who lives a few doors down. They showed me a few of the local spots which I'll go into more detail on now.

Firstly we visited the private hospital, where one of our fellow volunteers, Hazel, is staying for a few days having had an appendectomy. The walk to the hospital was the first I saw of the local streets. The streets here are very typical of a third world country: No road markings, lots of litter and full of people selling products from the road side.

We next visited the Astrodome, which is a small complex located a short bus ride away. However, there are no buses in Tacloban. The common mode of transport are Jeepneys, which are large and rusty yet colourful vehicles which would ordinarily hold about 8 people on two parallel benches, however here, they squeeze about 25 people into these things! You jump on the back of the Jeepney wherever convenient and at some point during your journey, you're expected to pay the driver 6 pesos (10 pence)! At the Astrodome, Matt and James showed me the local fitness centre, which I've signed up with for the next two months. The hope is that I can spend some of my free time here getting in shape for the many phsical challenges ahead of me: Karate training in Japan, climbing Everest and running a marathon.

We next visited downtown Tacloban, where again we hopped on a Jeepney. It was here that I started to realise just how much of a novelty I would be here. There are no white people in this part of The Philippines, so walking down any street, it's common to have people stare at you constantly. This is something I'll get used to but what I'm not sure I'll ever become accustomed to are the living conditions for some of the people around here. Downtown is a busy area with many shops and cheap roadside stalls, but what it also brings are many people who are living on the streets and spending their days begging. The vast number of underfed and dirty children that I saw lying on the street floors, with barely any clothes on really got to me. It was probably the biggest culture shock I've encountered. None the less, we have been told not to give money to beggars as the sad reality is that many of these people will not use it to buy food, but instead will buy cigarettes or drugs. When you come to a poor area, such as this it's hard to not feel helpless because there are just so many problems that exist here. However, I feel that if I keep reminding myself that the voluntary work I am here for is worthwhile and will make a small difference then perhaps this will help me get over this notion of helplessness.

The final place we visited was Robinson's shopping centre, which is a rather Western looking shopping mall and as a result, looks rather out of place in the middle of Tacloban. I took this time to buy a few essentials for my stay here such as a cell phone, some tank tops, an umbrella and some laundry detergent - nothing too exciting!

That was pretty much my first day. I arrived back at the homestay, ate dinner and went to bed to catch up on some well needed sleep. The next day I met Devina at the VFV office and spent the day receiving an orientation. This involved learning a bit about the Philippino culture, visiting downtown Tacloban again and getting a health check at the hospital in order to receive a medical certificate to show that I'm eligible to take part in my placement.

Tomorrow I will be visiting my placement centre for the first time and I will look forward to telling you more about it in my next post. What I can tell you in the meantime is that I will be placed at the RCY, (Rehabilitation Centre for Youth). This is a centre which houses around 60 young men aged 15-23. All of these young men have been in trouble with the law. Common crimes include theft, assault and drug taking. The purpose of the RCY is to help steer these men in the right direction and provide them with the skills, confidence and discipline to lead a crime free life. My role is to provide some recreational activities and by the sounds of things, I have a free reign to bring in whatever ideas I have. The only constraint is that I must purchase whatever resources I require - which isn't so terrible considering how cheap everything is out here!

This has been a long blog update but I'll end it with a few basic first impressions of life out here. Firstly, the people are friendly yet a little shy - but if you take the initiative to talk to them, they will happily open-up and show a great deal of hospitality. They like to eat - regularly - I'm talking 5 meals a day - their lives revolve around food! For fun, well they enjoy playing basketball but the thing that seems consistent amongst all families here is a love of karaoke. It is common to walk past a home and hear someone singing particularly loudly to a music track with the entire extended family sat listening and cheering as an audience. Aside from that, life here is about surviving and getting by - as sombre as it sounds.

Much love!

Sam

Goodbye Australia!

Hello!

Firstly, I'll update you on some of the other things I've done in Melbourne. Since I last posted, I visited the National Gallery of Victoria and saw some beautiful artwork. My personal favourite were the oriental ornaments collection, featuring work from China, Japan and Korea. I also visited the National Sports Museum, which involved checking out the famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground): Home to Australian cricket and AFL. We were also treated to a day out with my Auntie Dorothy, who I was very surprised to see. She took us for lunch and showed us around a few of the coastal spots by St Kilda. Other than that, I've eaten some good food, watched a bit of the Commonwealth Games and enjoyed catching up with my cousin on the last 10-years.

It is now my last night in Australia. Tomorrow morning I will be flying to the Philippines, via Singapore to undertake 8-weeks of voluntary work in Tacloban City.

My time in Australia has been really enjoyable and I feel Andy and I definitely made a good choice visiting the country the way we did. When Andy and I were looking at our travel plans, many months ago, we decided that we wanted to visit both New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand was easy enough to see in its entirety over a 4-week period but with Australia being so vast, we knew we would barely be able to touch the surface. We therefore had the choice of doing a whistle stop tour of the East coast or picking a couple of major spots and experiencing them in full. We went for the latter option and have truly taken advantage of our time in both Sydney and Melbourne.

As I depart Melbourne I am not only leaving Australia, but a few other things as well. Firstly I'm leaving Andy. Andy is flying to Borneo tomorrow to spend 10-weeks living in a jungle as part of a charitable project which will see him working with the local communities and participating in a number of environmental projects. I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner. Having lived together for 2-years at university, I knew this would work out well and I've really enjoyed being able to experience the States, New Zealand and Australia with Mr Dykey!

Secondly, I'm leaving a lifestyle of certainty! It sounds a bit abstract I know, but up to now I've had a pretty good idea of what all my travel segments would entail. Camp, I've obviously experienced many times, I've also travelled around the States a number of times, I knew what to expect from New Zealand and our time in Australia was relatively predetermined. However, I know very little about what to expect in the Philippines - both in terms of the work I will be doing, the people I will meet, the agency who are supporting me, the living set-up and the cultural differences that I will encounter. In short - lots of uncertainty ahead of me!

Finally, I'm leaving a world of civilisation. It dawned on me a few days ago, that this will be the first time I will experience a consistent level of poverty across a region. I have of course visited many places where homelessness exists and people live in poverty but this has never been a general occurence throughout a specific area. There has always been plenty of affluence and people living comfortably to counterbalance the individuals living in poverty. This can be seen in any big city and I've experienced this in New York, South Africa, Israel, Europe and even where I live in London. The Philippines is by no means one of the poorest nations on the globe but it is a developing country and part of the third world. It certainly has it's wealthy areas but Tacloban City, which is where I'll be located, is not one of those areas. Tacloban City is home to a community where across the board the civilians are uneducated, underfed and in many cases homeless. Crime levels are relatively high and drug taking (most notably glue sniffing - an appetite suppressive) is pretty common. Now although this draws a very sad and negative picture of life in Tacloban City, it does provide the opportunity for doing something good in this community. I will be spending 8-weeks working alongside the Social Services in Tacloban City. The aim is to get the local youths off the streets and give them something more productive to do with their time. Offering activities such as sport, art, computing, English Language training will not only redirect their focus, but also develop their skills and better their future job prospects. I expect it to be a challenging 8-weeks but my hope is that it will continue to fuel my passion for youth work and engaging young people in informal education.

Good bye Oz!

Much love!

Sam

Arriving in Melbourne

G'day!

Funnily enough, no one even says G'day in Australia...It's the same as expecting English people to greet you with 'Good day to you sir' - it just doesn't happen!

Our final afternoon in Sydney was spent tidying Cazz's appartment, bidding fairwell to Toby and Jonny who were flying to Cairns and leaving Cazz a few gifts for when she returned from Brisbane. At about 7pm, we made our way to Sydney Central Station, to catch our 12-hour Greyhound bus to Melbourne. I figured, 12hours...I'll grab myself a double seat, lounge-out and get a good 10-hours sleep! Sadly, this was not to be as the coach was at capacity, so Andy and I were squished next to each other and I think it's fair to say that neither of us had the best night's sleep!

We arrived into Melbourne at 8am where we would be staying with my cousin, Max. I hadn't actually seen Max in 10 years! He had moved to Melbourne when he was 13 and although he makes an annual visit to England to see family, this tends to be during the English summer time, which is when I'm in the States at camp. Still, Max had contacted me a few months prior, and offered for us to crash at his place for the week, which was very kind of him.

After settling in and catching up with Max, the three of us headed into the city centre to watch the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final. n.b. This is not soccer/football but the commonly referred to Aussie Rules Football! Although many people seem to assume that rugby and cricket are the big sports in Australia, in Melbourne, AFL is all they really care about. This was quite a special occassion as well, since it was the first time a Grand Final game had gone to a replay. We had watched the first match between St Kilda and Collingwood, the previous week in Sydney, and had seen it end in a draw. The official rules are that in the Grand Final game, a drawn match must go to a replay. This seemed kind of stupid and was a rule that most people were unaware of, since it's never happened! We piled into Federation Square, with 1000's of other crazy supporters to view the game on the big screen. After 80 gruelling minutes, The Collingwood Magpies secured the win.

After the match, we headed over the river with Max to check out the Parklife festival which was featuring bands such as The Dandy Warhols, Groove Armada and Cut Copy. Unfortunately, we didn't have tickets, but it was nice to hear a bit of the music and see the atmosphere present.

Andy and I had decided that Melbourne would be our place to chill out. Everything had been pretty busy in New Zealand and Sydney and we needed to recharge our batteries, Therefore, we were both looking forward to a week of chilled nights and late lie-ins!

The next day, we went back into the city centre and saw the World Cycling Championships, which were taking place in Melbourne. Andy had chosen to wake up early to see live, the start of the mens elite race. I however, placed greater value on my beauty sleep and rocked up late to watch the race on the big screen in town. We then spent part of the afternoon checking out the famous Queen Victoria Market before heading back to make dinner, play some Fifa '10 and watch a DVD.

The next day, we visited the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) which was a whole museum looking at the evolution of cinema, film, television and games. Definitely well worth a visit! Highlights included reenacting a scene from the matrix and creating your own flipbook. We later checked out the Parliamentary buildings and strolled down China Town.

That brings me up to today, where once again we will be rising late, eating lunch and then heading into town to check out one of the other places on our to-do list!

Much love!

Sam

Sydney - The Start of Australia

Hello!!

I'm currently sat in McDonalds using their free wifi on my netbook. Today is our last day in Sydney before taking a night bus down to Melbourne this evening. I thought I'd share with you what I've been up to over the last week in this exciting city!

So as previously mentioned, we've been staying at Cazz's appartment, which is located ten minutes from the city centre, so we really got lucky with that! The first evening we arrived, we met up with Jonny and Toby, who had been on our bus throughout New Zealand and had become good friends of ours. We spent the night at a club in the city, enjoying the new setting we were in.

Day 2: I visited Darling Harbour, which is beautifully set in the middle of Sydney. I checked out the National Maritime Museum as well as the Chinese Gardens: Both very enjoyable and I'd strongly recommend them if you get the chance to visit Sydney. That night, Cazz invited round a bunch of her friends, as well as Jonny and Toby, and we had a big barbecue on the roof of her appartment complex. What would a visit to Australia be without a barbie!?! We spent the remainder of that night at a couple of bars on George Street.

Day 3: We were treated to fine weather, so we decided to visit Bondi Beach. We spent much of that day relaxing by the ocean, checking out the local stores and watching some very talented skateboarders at the beach-side park. We returned to the appartment pretty tired and decided to chill out that evening with a movie.

The next day, Cazz left to go to Brisbane with her work and she kindly gave us permission to stay and look after her appartment while she was away. She was also kind enough to allow Jonny and Toby to stay as well, which meant they no longer had to pay for a hostel room. So there we were - A one bedroom appartment, four boys and one key-card. This meant we had to carefully coordinate our days in order to make sure we could each get back into the room when we needed.

I'll try and summarise the next few days as briefly as possible:

Day 4: We visited the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Yes, the Opera House is just as magnificent and amazing to see up live as it is in the photos! We spent the afternoon chilling around the harbour area and visiting The Rocks (the old settlements of Sydney).

Day 5: I checked out the Sydney Aquarium, which you can easily spend atleast 3-days visiting!! Highlights were the shark pool and sea cows (but not together...I'm not sure the sea cows would stand much chance!) That night, we met up with three of the girls from the Kiwi Experience bus who were in Sydney for one night.

Day 6: I visited the Olympic Park. This was really cool to see, especially as an avid sports fan, who has clear memories of watching the 2000 Games on TV. Being able to see in person, where it all took place was quite a priveledge. It also gave me a good idea of what London 2012 might look like in a couple of years times!

Day 7: We made a trip to Manly Beach. I was hoping to hire a board and spend the day surfing, but truthfully, the waves weren't that great. Instead, we spent the day chilling on the beach and doing a bit of body surfing!

That brings me up to today, where I'm planning on visiting Paddy's Market and seeing what interesting bargains I can find!

I'll finish by wishing a big Happy Birthday to my nephew Alfie, who turned 2 last week, as well as my Mum, whos turning.....35? tomorrow! Love you lots Mummy!

Sam

Farewell New Zealand

Our final night in Queenstown turned out to be a very lively one as we spent it with the people from our bus who were staying on in Queenstown for longer. We ended up getting back to the hostel in the early hours of the morning, only to have to wake up at 6:30am to catch the bus to Christchurch in time.

On the way to Christchurch, we made a number of regular scenic stops to appreciate for one last journey, the beautiful views of New Zealand. We arrived in Christchurch later that afternoon and after settling into our hostel we went out to explore the city and pick up some food.

It's been regularly mentioned, but I feel I need to say it once more. Christchurch received an earthquake measuring 7.4, 3-weeks prior to us arriving. I was hoping to be able to volunteer some of my time to helping with the clean-up and repair of the city. However, I was astonished at just how undamaged the city seemed. Yes, there were a few construction sites, but you wouldn't have thought this city had been hit by a huge earthquake. The earthquake that hit Haiti measured 7.0 and caused utter devastation. It's incredible to see first hand the difference that a developed infrastructure makes.

The next day, we visited The Canterbury Museum, which was similar in many ways to Te Papa (Wellington) and the Auckland museums, with regards to the exhibitions that were on offer. After having a fun wonder, we headed for lunch and got a few essentials done that afternoon. The city centre had a nice market set up, so I enjoyed walking around that, looking for interesting gifts to bring home.

My flight out of Christchurch was at 7am the next morning. Since I would need to be getting up at 3am in order to get to the airport on time, I decided to save the money and sleep in the airport instead of spending an extra night at the hostel. I therefore, packed up my stuff and took a bus late that night. I got to the airport and found a nice little spot to nap for a few hours. My backpack was my pillow and I laid, cradling my rucksack to make sure no one mugged me while I was asleep.

The flight was pretty easy and I had a lot of time to kill at Sydney airport while I waited for Andy to arrive on his Quantas flight. I spent this time watching movies on my laptop and playing solitaire. We then hopped into a shuttle bus and made our way to Cazz's appartment. Cazz is a Loughborough Uni girl, who's completing a placement year working for the Australian Institute of Sport and has kindly let us crash at her place for the week.

So as we mark the end of our New Zealand adventures, we can look forward to our upcoming Australian adventures. My one regret from New Zealand was not being able to visit the Milford Sounds while in Queenstown. I suppose this means I'll have to visit Milford in some other capacity but whether that's Milford Sounds or Milford Pennsylvania, I'm not sure!

The plans for tonight are to go out into the city and meet up with a couple of the lads from the kiwi bus who flew out here a few days ago.

Much love!

Sam

More of Queenstown

Kia Ora!

The morning following my bungee jump, saw an early rise in order to catch a bus to visit Milford Sounds. Milford Sounds is described as the '8th Wonder of the World' and is supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful. A number of us had booked onto a full day-trip to see the sounds which included all transportation, a buffet lunch and access to the underwater observatory to view various wildlife creatures. Unfortunately we were told that we would be unable to go on the trip due to heavy snow fall which had caused certain roads to be closed.

That day was therefore spent sleeping, chilling, watching movies and lazing about with the other lads in our room. As much as I hate wasting any time while travelling, sometimes it's essential to simply rest and recouperate. It also made it an extremely cheap day! We rebooked our Milford Sounds trip for the following morning, in the hope that the weather might improve.

The next morning was rather deja vu, as once again we woke early to once again be told that we would be unable to visit Milford Sounds. At this point, we only had one further day left, so we decided to cut our losses and get a refund on the trip. That day, I walked around Queenstown a fair bit, visiting the various shops and sites. Later that afternoon, we had a knock on our door from one of the hostel employees inviting us to play frisbee golf. I'd never plaid before but it's one activity I'll definitely be keen to play again. I ended up 14 over par, which wasn't terrible with all things taken into account. That evening we hung out with more of the people on our bus and enjoyed a relatively low-key night.

The next morning, I decided to do some hiking once again. Having learned from my previous errors, I was dressed much more appropriately this time. I decided to hike up a big old hill, which would take me to the Queenstown Luging Centre. The climb was tough but by no means comparable to Mount Roy. After just over an hour of solid climbing, I reached the summit which provided some beautiful views of Queenstown. I sat down and had a quiet coffee before walking back down. That afternoon, we had another knock on the door from the same hostel employee, this time inviting us to take part in a scaveneger hunt. After being split into pairs (which meant Andy and I working together), we were given an hour to complete as many of the challenges as possible. We were required to bring our cameras with in order to gain photographic or video evidence. The challenges involved everything from finding certain items, completing random tasks and the occassional display of nudity. Andy and I returned victorious and won ourselves a few freebies at the hostel.

Tomorrow morning we will be boarding the bus to Christchurch, which will be our final stop in New Zealand. Christchurch received a 7.4 recorded earthquake 3-weeks ago, so I'm unsure what to expect when I arrive. I'll look forward to telling you more soon.

Much love!

Sam

The Adventure Capital of the World

Kia Ora!

I woke up the morning after my mountain climb feeling pretty sore. I would also like to take this opportunity to admit that climbing a 1,500m high mountain with insufficient planning and preparation was stupid. I did not mean to worry anyone and while I was lucky that I decided last minute to bring my coat and managed not to catch hypothermia or break my leg, it still doesn't justify my poor decision making. This hike was not intended to be a display of arrogance or dominance over Mother Nature. I misjudged the weather conditions and magnitude of the climb. However, I remained calm at all times and I think something should be said for that strength of character. I trusted my body and mind and they served me well. While this hike will provide a thrilling story to tell in the future, if I could repeat this experience, I would do a number of things differently.

That day we made our way to Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world. Just outside the city, we stopped off at the Kawarau Bridge, the first commercially operated bungee site in the world. We were treated to a free bungee jumping orientation as delivered by the team at AJ Hackett, the world's leading bungee company. Following this, a number of the guys on the bus decided to complete the 47m bridge jump. I decided to sit this one out, as I was saving myself for the Nevis bungee jump the following day. It was great to watch these guys experiencing such an incredible rush.

Once we arrived at the hostel, we settled into our room and stocked up on food for the next few days. I then went into town and treated myself to a special gift which I will show you all in good time. That night, we went out with our bus driver, Kane. Although our bus journey has not yet ended with Kane, for many, this will be the last time they see him. Queenstown tends to be the city that many people stop at for lengthier periods of time than projected. On our bus, people were planning on staying for anything between three nights and a few weeks. We had even heard stories of people remaining in Queenstown for up to 10 years when first visiting. Seeing this place, it was easy to understand why. It's a backpacker's utopia! The atmosphere is buzzing, the activities are incredible and the night life is booming every day of the week.

The next day was of course bungee day! We woke up late and boarded a bus to take us out of the city and along the steep, narrow and unsealed Nevis road. After driving for 40-minutes, we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere. All that was visible was a huge gorge and a sky pod, hovering some 150m above a river. This is where I would be completing the 134m Nevis Bungee jump: The highest in New Zealand, 4th highest in the world and arguably the most thrilling bungee jump in existence.

There were a number of us hoping to complete this jump so I had to wait around a while. However, this only helped build my excitement. Eventually, my time came, I was strapped up to the bungee cord and I shuffled over to the platform. I made sure to show boat a bit for the camera before hearing '3...2...1...GO!' I can't remember what went through my head at that moment but I leaped off the platform and into this elegant eagle pose. The next 8.5 seconds were simply remarkable. It was a completely different rush to skydiving but equally incredible. I would write more, but I'm struggling to find the words to describe the sensation I experienced. I stuck around to watch the last of the guys jump. It was great to be able to share this experience with many of the people I'd been travelling with since Auckland. There was a really warm vibe in the sky pod as we all spurred each other on and shared those feelings of euphoria.

The remainder of that day, I was on an equivalent high as to that felt in Taupo after completing the skydive. I spent the rest of the evening chilling with the boys and I even managed to visit an old camp friend, Simon (Donkey) who's studying and working in Queenstown. Hopefully, we'll find the time to go out for a drink before I leave.

Much love!

Sam