Mar 2007

We were due to watch a dance competition today as some of the local girls were going to enter and they are really good - but unfortunately we found out this had been cancelled at the last minute. As we had re-arranged to go into work in the afternoon instead of the morning, we spent the morning in one of the local internet cafes, catching up with our emails and blogs. This seemed to make the day go fast...

Slept really well after sea air last night but it is still a struggle to get up at 6am. But even Nanay Marlyn got up at 4am instead of 3am as usual so I don't feel too bad!

Talking to Bella at the orphanage and she asked if I wanted to adopt a child - not sure if it was said lightheartedly or not but I have to admit it had crossed my mind! Some of the kids go home to their families after they are healthy again which is great. Still unsure about whether it would be right to take a kid away from their country but if they have no family here would that make it OK? It is very confusing and quite emotional thinking about leaving some of the kids....

Felt rough today, my cough isn’t getting better and I had a sore throat and couldn’t breathe very well – just generally felt exhausted.

Work was hard this morning, we hadn’t prepared any worksheets and just had colouring sheets but the pencils and crayons we brought in last week had all gone walkies – I think some of the kids take them and hide them which is understandable I suppose as they are not used to having stuff.

Should have given blood today but the 1 year tattoo rule is still in force over here unlike at home where only have to wait 6 months – I felt really disappointed as Bella had specifically as me to give some as the orphanage are getting low on supplies… It was the first time I’d regretted getting it done as it meant I couldn’t help.

After tea, we went for a family walk to the Astrodome which is near the sea, the breeze was gorgeous and I could’ve fallen asleep there and then on a bench as I was so tired…

We had an excursion arranged by the VFV org today, to see some of the local sights and go to the beach - hooray! It was an early start at 8:30am but we had lots to fit in...There were 5 of us volunteers, some of the families we are staying with and people from the VFV and we had a jeepney at our disposal for the day...

1st stop was a shrine built by Imelda Marcos (Santo Nino Shrine) between 1979-81, with many guest rooms, all themed. It was all very elaborate and a little indulgent considering she never actually stayed there. Interesting to look at though.

Next we went to a mountain (OK - a hill – but it was very steep!) that had different representations (about 7) of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion all the way up. At the top, was a 17ft high statue (approx) and a great view of the City and the sea beyond - typically our camera battery ran out here!

We then drove to and out on the San Juanico Bridge, which connects different islands - Tacloban City (Leyte side) and Sta. Rita town (Samar side). Managed to revive the camera here luckily as the views were fab.

Then we went back to Bliss to pick up the food for the afternoon and made our way to the beach. On the way, we saw Macarthur Landing Memorial - the spot where General Douglas MacArthur landed with the American Liberation Forces in 1944. The statues of the liberators stand in a lagoon, 1.5 times bigger than lifesize. It is also the site of the 50th Leyte Landing Anniversary Commemorative Rock Garden of Peace. (I copied that last bit from http://www.wowphilippines.com.ph as I couldn’t remember the details!)

After all this sight seeing we were ready to eat! As usual Nanay Marlyn had cooked up a feast and we ate well! Then I had a glass of tuba before going in the sea for hours! The sea was really was as you would expect but some of the waves were enough to knock you over! I was trying to help Twinkle to swim but it was difficult with all the waves…

By the time we went home, everyone was falling asleep in the jeepney and I reckon we all slept well that night!

Saturday morning at the orphanage – no classes and just playing outside, this was fun but very hot! I spent most of the morning looking after a baby called Mary Joy, less than a year old I think but she is quite small. Feeding her was slow work as she has a cleft palate but she really need to put on weight. I think she must have got used to the comfort of having someone there as she cried quite a lot when I put her down.

It was Nanay Marlyn and her husband John’s 32nd wedding anniversary today. To celebrate, loads of food was cooked and everyone was invited to the house. The party had already started when we got home from work at about 1:30pm! We tried two new things today: tuba (local alcohol) and karaoke! We had heard about tuba all week and finally got a chance to try it, mixed with coke – not bad at all and definitely got better the more you drunk! Good job there was plenty of food too or I might have got drunk quite quickly! And yes, we actually sang on the karaoke machine. It is really popular here and it really is easier to sing than say no! Joy was quite up for it though – I didn’t sing any on my own but once she got going, there was no stopping her and I have photos to prove it! Party went on till 9:30/10pm, not late by any means but you try eating, drinking and singing for 8 hours in this heat!

All I can remember about today is that we went to work in the morning! Neither Joy or I can remember what else we did.

I do know that I need to remember to take some photos and upload them soon though...

Went to the Red Cross to give blood today but the doctor had been called away so it was no-go.

The Red Cross is slightly out of the downtown centre so we had to get a tricycle, like a motorbike with a sidecar type thing on the side. I was a bit worried about 3 adults fitting in but apparently it is common to carry 7! But Filipinos are ALOT smaller than me - think about how small my mum is! There is also a similar type of transport called a pedicab which is similar but with a pushbike instead of motorbike.

Went shopping in the afternoon, most of it in the department store which is massive and full of bargains! We also ate lunch there, for both of us including drinks, it cost about 95p, I can't get over how cheap everything is.

OK so I knew it would be hot, the temperature in Manila before we left was 32 degrees and although I think Tacloban is not quite as hot, it is not far off.

Had to have a shower in the middle of the day because I was feeling soooooo hot and then promptly started with a cough – just a tickle I hope!

We are getting a little better at teaching the kids, some of the older boys are really bright and I kind of feel guilty that we are all they have got at the moment. To go to school in the Philippines costs money and not everyone can afford it so all the kids are really eager to learn (well most of the time!).

We had our 3rd Waray lesson today, I’m not finding it any easier but hopefully practice will help! We can travel on a jeepney on our own now with no worries which is good.

Agreed to donate blood tomorrow – hope my tolerance for this is not affected by heat!

...that having a shower here is not what we are used to? There is a bucket which you fill up with cold water and then a smaller tub to use to pour the water over you? Even in this heat, this can make you gasp in the morning when half asleep but it is quite refreshing - honest!

Our second day at the orphanage felt more successful as we kept the kids entertained for at least an hour! Also helped with the laundry again, the task of having to wash clothes and bedding for 62 kids by hand is huge and there are always people washing, squeezing, scrubbing, hanging up or taking down laundry – it is never ending. The house mothers didn’t come over too welcoming at first, maybe because we come and go when we like and they do the proper hard work but most of them seem to be friendlier now.

We spent the afternoon in town again, preparing worksheets for Wednesday on food with the words in waray and in English. Talking about food, our homestay mother Nanay Marlyn provides us with breakfast and dinner and she feeds us so well, we haven’t yet managed lunch!

Despite using extra strong insect repellant, the mozzies seem to have taken a liking to me, but the bites aren’t too itchy and disappear fairly quickly so I can’t complain…

Went to a local internet café in the evening, using them is as cheap as chips, it is just finding the time…

Monday (19th March) was our first day at our placement - the Missionaries of Charity orphanage, which is run by nuns. We had been on a jeepney the previous day to the placement with Lorena but we were still relieved when Matt, another volunteer there who works there, offered to meet us near to where we live so we could travel there together.

We arrived at about 7:30am and were greeted by 62 kids, aged between a few months old and about 13 years old. Most of the kids are malnourished and/or sick, some children have been abandoned all together and some are just there temporarily until they get better and can go back to their family. It was quite overwhelming at first as nobody particularly explained what we should be doing - we just had to get stuck in.

So we did just that - up to our elbows in laundry in the backyard. We had already been told that the nuns expected us to help where we could, whether that was with the kids or with the washing, cleaning or feeding.

I don't remember seeing any of the nuns that first day but there are other house-mothers who look after the children.

At about 9am, it was class time for the older children, about 25 children piled into an outdoors, upstairs classroom. This is when it started to get scary as Bella, the lady who usually teaches them, sat them in front of the blackboard and said "Right everyone, listen to what Ate Joy and Ate Grace have to say..." - but we had absolutely nothing prepared at all! We improvised a bit with the alphabet and numbers etc but it was difficult keeping the kids entertained with the age range that there is. ("Ate" is what you call an older female in the Philippines)

They have a few books in the classroom and it is so cute seeing them at all ages intently reading junior encyclopedias - even if they are too young to read, they still like looking at the pictures and asking you what it is - very tiring and taxing on the brain going through 9 odd volumes!

It is very difficult to resist the temptation to pick up a kid every time you see or hear them crying as we don't want them to get used to this if nobody else will carry on doing so when we are gone. I think we have both picked up kids and found that when you come to put them down because they have stopped crying, they start again. The trouble is they all have such lovely big brown eyes and when they put their arms up to be cuddled - what can you do?!

We had a Waray lesson that afternoon (the local language dialect) and afterwards, we prepared worksheets for the next day at the volunteer centre.

Tacloban airport is so small that there is no baggage carousel, just a platform where all the luggage is placed and you help yourself! We got stuck in and managed to retrieve our stuff quite quickly and then it was outside to see who was there to meet us!

Lorena (who works for VFV) and Natasha (another volunteer) were there with a sign with our names on, I don't know about Joy but I was relieved, who knows what we would have done if there had been no-one there, especially due to the delay. Then we got to experience our first ride in a Jeepney (the most common for of transport here). I'll post a photo soon as they are really cool!

It was already dark when we landed so it made our first impressions quite overwhelming as there are not many street lights. The area of Tacloban where we are staying is called Bliss and as soon as we pulled up, there were many hands to help us with our bags which is just as well, because they wouldn't have wheeled easily. A photo is needed to really explain why so I'll add one asap. The case that struggled to wheel seemed no problem for the very strong person who carried it about his head to our house!

We are staying with the Llanto family, most of who were there to greet us and Nanay Marlyn had prepared us dinner. Being introduced to everyone, I was worried I would never remember everyone’s name the next day - and I didn't! Our first dinner was rice, two veg dishes and a mango, all welcomed after our long trip!

We arrived in Tacloban City, Philippines at 6pm Saturday, just 1.5hrs late which wasn't bad for a journey that took over 24 hrs overall. After arriving at Heathrow with plenty of time to check-in etc, we had a drink with both Marks and Mum and Dad. Not five minutes after they had left and we went through security, the fire alarm went off and it wasn't a practice! But Heathrow being the hustle and bustle place it is, the first we realised of this was when I heard a clown say 'fire evacuation, leave the area' and my first thought was 'what an unfunny thing to say', before it actually clicked that the alarm was going off! We moved to another part of the airport, there was no panic being shown by anyone but the next airport staff member we came across didn't know a thing about it so we made our way back - Joy is convinced someone burnt their toast!

Our 12hr 40min flight to Singapore was pretty uneventful, those of you who knew how sick I was before leaving will be glad to know I felt better by Friday but no thanks to the turbulence on this flight! I thought the time went past quickly, after getting fed and watered 3 times; there was barely time to watch more than 1 film (Babel)
and discover Ray LaMontagne (better late than never).

We had heard quite alot about how nice Singapore airport is so it was a shame we were only in transit for 2 hrs but we enjoyed a drink in an Italian cafe (I know, I know - it makes no sense!) but didn't make it on to the free massage chairs, Xbox or internet. Before we knew it, we were on the plane to Manila.

The only part of the journey I felt nervous about was our Manila connection, as we were due to land at 13:15 and depart for Tacloban at 15:10. This would have been fine if our luggage was checked though and it was the same airport but why would things be that easy?!

Anyway you can imagine how nervous I was when we took off from Singapore 15 minutes late.

After arriving in Manila on a VERY tight schedule, we managed to:

• get in the longest queue at immigration
  
• wait for ages for our bags at baggage claim (felt like forever!)
  
• get a taxi OK but not have the right change and nor did the (very nice) driver
  
• get in the wrong queue for the next flight
  
• miss last call for the flight
  
• somehow manage to get bags checked in for flight
  
• discover we have excess baggage and have to queue again to pay
  
• find out about terminal tax as we ran through the departure lounge gates
  
• make it into gate lounge with 5 minutes to spare til flight take off
  

And after all that, the flight was delayed until 16:25pm so we had nearly 1.5hrs to wait...Phew! Thought it was going to go totally wrong when there was a power cut but we did manage to leave at the later time of 16:25pm and arrived in Tacloban at about 6pm Saturday. Thanks to Lorena for not abandoning the wait for us!

Well, I thought I'd better put at least one entry on my blog so everyone knows whether it is working or not!

Last full day at work today and I'm having major trouble concentrating (sorry guys!) - I'd like to say I'll make it up when I get back but I might not remember where work is...

Just to recap what 'the plan' is, for those of you who have not heard (unlikely!) or have switched off when I talk about it because you've heard it that many times already!

Joy (my sister) and I leave on Fri 16 Mar for Tacloban City in the Philippines to volunteer at an orphanage for three weeks. We are staying with a local family too which will give us a real taste of the Philippines. We have heard from previous volunteers that the host Mum is an 'amazing' cook so we are in for a treat! The volunteer organisations website is http://www.visayans.org/ if you fancy a look...

Joy has also started an online diary at http://travellersstories.blistersandbackpacks.com/passport.html and she has put two entries on already!

Anyway, after three weeks, Joy is off home to start a new job and Mark is coming out to meet me in Singapore where we are staying for a few days. Then we are going to New Zealand where we will be hiring a car to explore the North Island for 10 days or so. After that, we travel back in time (thanks to the international date line) and arrive in the Cook Islands the day before we leave New Zealand (get your head around that!) and get a week of relaxation before the craziness that is Las Vegas.