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
Friday 19 November 2010
Wednesday 17 November 2010
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
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
Friday 12 November 2010
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
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
Monday 8 November 2010
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
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
Monday 1 November 2010
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
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
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