Randoms

So this is just going to be a blog of random happenings of my travels. Like usual, it's been a long time since my last post and I really can't type up everything that's happened here...

Palawan: This was a trip I went on with my fellow interns. Palawan is a long island in the Philippines which is not very touristy and is still very in tact nature-wise. It was absolutely stunning and beautiful. El Nido, was by far the nicest part. We actually ended up going there by chance and I'm really glad we did when a random van driver asked us if we wanted to rent a van up there. We said we did and tried to bargain him down, but to no avail. We actually found out later that he was giving us an awesome deal!

This is El Nido. We got there late in the evening and ended up staying at a resort outside the town by a few kilometers. We were pretty upset with that and were afraid we would be too far from the beaches and everything. But, we woke up early in the morning walked outside and this was the view from where we were staying! Very nice, indeed.
Here were my companions for the journey. We are all interning here in Davao City together. Well, we were. Only two of us are still here and eventually it will only be me since I'm here for such a long time...

OK, so while in El Nido I almost died. Perhaps a sensationalist statement, but I'm sure I just caught your attention. Yes, you may have heard - the Philippines is notorious for sinking ferries due to low maintenance. Well this wasn't a ferry, but still... Anyways, we went kayaking near our resort and we had to take a little canoe-like boat also since they didn't have enough kayaks. Well the boat was really difficult to steer on the way there, so the three biggest guys (me included) decide that it's a good idea for us to paddle it back. Sure enough we did really well. We managed to paddle it really well. Well enough, in fact, that we decided to stop for a beer in the middle of the ocean to enjoy the fruits of our hard labour. Sure enough we look down and see that there's water in the boat. Not a little, but about half! So I start half-ass scooping with a beer in my hand, but when I realize that the water level isn't going down I drop the beer and keep scooping harder. Nothing. So Mark gets out of the boat and swims beside and I was able to scoop the water out. So we all joke about how funny it would be if the boat had sank... We have another beer and rejoice... Scene 2: the water level is back up. this time we decide to try to paddle to shore instead of scooping the water. The water level rises. We keep padelling and Byeonseong tries to scoop some water. Scene 3: we sink. Yup, it's true. Our little boat sank. And this is not some shallow water, no no. This was in the middle of the ocean, a good 2 miles from the closest shore with a strong current. Well, we think that it's possible for us to actually swim the sunken ship back to shore (it sank but stuck near the surface since it happens to made of wood). Well we swam for a good 30 minutes and didn't move an inch. We didn't have life jackets and we were in the middle of the ocean. Did I say that already? Well anyways, luckily we screamed help a few times and a small fishing boat came by, picked us up, helped us scoop the water out, and towed us back to shore... All the while this incident was going on I was laughing. Maybe not the sharpest tool in the shed after all.... At least I have a damn good story to tell!

Some random incidents:

Mark, an intern from Holland, has had an injured foot since he's been to the Philippines for 1.5 months. He was told back home he had a torn muscle but it hasn't been getting better. So we went to a GK site in a jail yesterday and sure enough, one of the inmates is a physio therapist. She specializes in electrolysis and does some to his foot (in the jail) and proceeds to discover that his ankle has been dislocated this entire time. She puts it back in place and all is well.. Pretty odd.. he had his foot fixed in prison.

Let's see... we were supposed to be going for a helicopter ride yesterday also (for free!!), but they needed it to fight guerillas in the mountains.

I've slept in a GK site for the third time. It's an interesting experience. The people actually have very little (but usually have a TV...) and they are very accommodating. It's quite awkward though considering that the house is probably the size of my living room back home and there are maybe 7 people living there. What's more uncomfortable is that they give one of the two rooms to you alone, so half the house is yours and the other half is for the entire family... They also cook you food and won't take your money in return. Hmm, they're very hospitable. It's interesting to note that the poorer people are, the more they give. Or so it seems at least...

Also, I've been volunteering with another organization here. This one has an orphanage for children from the mountain regions. This is the only orphanage that does this because there is actually a lot of animosity and racism or something towards the indigenous peoples of the region... Near the village is a site of former squatters who were given their land by the generous Dr. Robillo. Unfortunately, these people are the poorest I've encountered here. A family of 9, for example, lives off of 1,000 pesos per month. That's the equivalent to about $37 CDN. 9 people!! The family sometimes goes days without eating and they have a 1 year old daughter with malnutrition and who cannot yet stand because of it. Oh, they also live in a house that is no word of a lie, the size of my bed back home. How messed up is that? This is a rampant problem across the entire Philippines though. There's a lot of unemployment here, which is starting to sound like back home from what I've heard (which isn't much). I haven't been keeping up to date with current events lately...

I have been to 3 buddhist temples here. Very interesting and nice experiences. The people there have all been very nice. I went with other interns, and Yingxin, from China, is especially very interested in the temples, as she is buddhist. She really enjoys answering my questions about it, which as been good.

Let's see... the Mayor. So Davao City used to be a lawless city in the Philippines. Then Mayor Duterte came to power and has made it his misison to bring about law and order to the city. He has since been extremely successful and Davao has to be one of the safest cities in the Philippines. How did he achieve this? Ruthlessness. He's been under heavy scrutiny by organizations like amnesty international, but the people of Davao both love and fear him. He does not tolerate crime and doing drugs can land you life in prison here. He also has a private army that apparently kills drug pushers and junkies. He fights guerillas from his personal helicopter. He also sneaks away from his security guards to ride his harly davidson around Davao... An interesting character for sure. It always brings up the question as to the cost of things like law and order. Undoubtedly, he has done his job and the people love him for that. How he did it has created fear. But... who can judge? The man also contributes a lot to GK and is really one of the most important sponsors for helping the poor people of Davao. He is also very concerned with the women and children in prisons, hence the GK site in the jail... You wouldn't find a politician like this back home, that's for sure!

This is at crocodile park... I actually tried crocodile meat, also... tastes like a very tough beef... with a tinge of reptile.

Well, I'm done with my randomness and my post. Things in the Philippines are going quite well. In a week I will be climbing the highest mountain in the Philippines, which is an active volcanoe. Also, I will be going to Siargao, which is one of the best surfing places in the world to learn to surf! Very excited...

What is quality of life?

Well, it's been even longer since the last post... kind of been busy, kind of lazy. Mostly busy though, don't get bent out of shape! This is the first solid chunk of time I've had to really do anything in a while.
Kids in the GK sites love getting their pictures taken...

Wow, I've done too much to tell really. I have to say it's been an awesome past few weeks. Of course filled with ups and downs, but mostly ups...
This is a GK site. These people used to be living in shanty towns, but now they have a decent infrastructure and nice houses.

So I finally have direction with my job. It's been a long time coming. A month of orienting myself, but I really think I can contribute a lot to the organization before I leave. The other interns and myself will be working on updating all of the information on all the sites at GK to better orient ourselves on the current status of different villages and to help future AIESEC interns get an idea of what they want/can do earlier than 1 month... like me (woops). But, unlike the others, I'm here for much longer. Most are here for 2 months. Mark, a new Dutch intern will be here with me for 3 though. Both of us will be able to really get things finished and organized. Then I'll be working on livelihood programs and programs for future AIESEC interns and what they can do for GK. We'll also be making recommendations for structural changes to the organization... Yeah, pretty intense stuff. I'm excited to get it really going.


The Philippines has been really good to me lately. Since the last post I've definitely lifted my spirits up. What helps me deal with the situation of the people is how well the people here can deal with it. I'm pretty inspired that people with so little can give so much. They always try to feed you and accommodate you. They're really just so hospitable. And they can be happy even though they have so little... They emphasize community and relationships over material wealth, which hinders them economically, but helps them in regard to happiness. Hell, they're a lot happier than most Canadians, I think. I'm really not sure what it is - maybe they've accepted the fact that they can't aspire to much higher? I don't know. Mind you, this is definitely not all Filipinos. But this is the general attitude of the very poor here - they just want a better life for their families. They want their kids to go to school (sometimes they can't afford it past elementary, or sometimes even elementary...), they maybe want a small business, and they want decent infrastructure.. things that we take for granted, such as adequate water supply, drainage, electricity, roads... I always think that both Westerners and Filipinos could learn a lot from each other. We need to learn to relax a little, and they need to learn to put more emphasis on economics.. but not quite so much as us of course or else they'll be just as unhappy. Oh, and efficiency... wow, line-ups are hilarious. Back home, with four people in front of you it'd take MAYBE 5 minutes.... here... hopefully less than 20. It takes a while to get used to. But, they're not in such a rush like we are back home. They don't drink coffee that much, they don't care if they're late. It's just a different culture... Very laid back.

What is that? This is called, balut (not sure about the spelling). It's a Filipino delicacy - a duck embryo. How do you eat it? Well, you crack the egg - which has been pre-heated to ensure it's not alive - and you drink the amniotic fluid (aka "the soup"), then you eat the half formed duck. Sometimes there's bones, sometimes there's feathers.... yummy!! I ate mine when I got to Manila. It's.. well... not very good. It's probably the thought of what you're eating that's the worst part. Oh, and the smell... But the fluid doesn't taste like anything I know, and the duck tastes like liver.... Lami!! (delicious)

Just doing a little bit of tree-planting at a GK site. It's to prevent the soil erosion and landslides that happen at this particular location.

Here's a collapsed house likely from soil erosion. It's one of a bunch of houses all along the side of the highway. They're actually on a cliff face and they stay up with little stilts... this one didn't do so well.

This is the livelihood of one of the GK beneficiaries. He makes little houses inside bottles. It's actually very cool. I thought there was some sort of trick where the bottle is cut in half or something then melted together or the bottom. But no, he actually assembles houses inside the bottle with a stick! So cool.

Yes, I have started scuba diving! It's absolutely incredible. The ocean is such a calm, tranquil place. It's so relaxing to be down there... Anyways, here's me and my dive instructor, Dyck. He's pretty funny and if you want to see me laugh just ask me about Dyck and the dolphin kick...

Too much to say, and this is all the time I got...

Political Educating

These is a painting done by this amazing artist here in Davao. His name is Kublai. He has an entire 4 or 5 storey hotel that's completely filled with his art. It's a really cool place. I thought this picture was suiting of the post's content.... You will see.

OK, so it's been a while since I last posted or at least it seems that way. What's happened? I've been sick, met a governor, built some houses, started my job, been disillusioned, culture shocked, home sick, explored impoverished communities, visited a female prison, been disgusted with the world, optimistic and cynical for the future, played with twenty children who were intrigued by foreigners, hung out with friends, made new friends, explained international politics and macroeconomics (many times), spent a night in an impoverished community and much more... A lot to write on, I know. So I'll just pick and choose :)

Well, I've begun work here in the Philippines. In case you don't know, I'm working for an organization called the Gawad Kalinga Foundation, which is a non-profit NGO that works to help alleviate the situation of those Filipinos in abject poverty. It targets the poorest of the poor and builds bright coloured houses for them to lift their spirits and give them hope for the future. It also provides them with pre-school programs for the children to begin learning early, scholarships for those who may have the grades to get into college, livelihood programs (ways for them to make a living - community-based projects), health education and assistance, a governance structure for the community, and continuous support with the goal of the community being self-sufficient within three years.

My job at GK is to help with their livelihood programs (which are currently quite unsuccessful), environmental issues with the communities, and their governance systems. In the first couple of weeks I have been conducting surveys of the people within the communities to better gauge their life circumstances, finances, and why the livelihood programs have been failing and what they suggest for future projects. So far I've only really adequately surveyed one community and the results were a little disillusioning. I guess I was expecting the people in the communities to be working really hard to raise their socio-economic status and to try to achieve more for themselves and their families. I was also expecting them to be better financially educated and to also be able to give me some good ideas for livelihood programs that could work for the communities. I was pretty wrong.

One family, for example, put 3 kids through college (which is very unheard of in GK villages because of how expensive it is to put kids through college). But all of the kids lived at home still and were unemployed. Most people in the villages are also in pretty deep debt to "Mumbai" and only have a grade 6 education. Mumbai is the term they use for Indians who come to the Philippines and offer loans to the poor. Unfortunately, they offer these loans at 20% interest rates and they have to be paid back in very short periods of time. Many can't make the payments on time, which causes an increase in interest and perpetuates their debt... sound like they got their cue from the World Bank. Other loans are granted from NGOs, but one of them will actually imprison the loanee if he or she cannot make a payment. This causes them to take loans from Mumbai to pay off the NGO loans if they can't make a payment because who wants to go to jail? It is a very difficult situation indeed. The major problem is the macroeconomics in my opinion because no matter what, there's a ceiling on how much the people here can help themselves. There's not enough money in the Philippine economy for everyone to increase their socio-economic status, so how do you decide who succeeds and who fails? I'll elaborate on this later in the post in my "lesson in politics and macroeconomics".

So last weekend most of the other interns here and myself went and joined in something called the Bayani ("hero") Challenge. It's set up by GK and it encourages volunteerism. basically, people come out and help build houses for people who are in dire straits. The people we were helping for this challenge were victims of a landslide. Why did the landslide take place? Because of terrible mining regulations here and multinational corporations taking advantage of those lax laws. Wow... Anyways, we went to help the people there and helped build some houses! It was a lot of fun! The people were all so welcoming and giving. They kept inviting us to share their food and they always wanted to know about us and where we are from. We were in a region that doesn't see many tourists at all so it was really cool. In fact, the governor of the province came to eat with us - and yes, I talked politics with him - and no, I didn't rant, haha, I mostly listened. It was really a great experience to be a part of. I'm really happy we went, but one of the interns got dengue and she's in the hospital right now. She seems OK, but she's there for a few days just in case... The thing is that half of us came back with bad fevers (symptom of dengue), so who knows, maybe half of us got it? I was one of the ones with a fever. But I feel fine now! Don't worry.

Oh, yeah, we also went to Davao City Jail for women. It was quite an experience. We were acquainted with the inmates and they were really wonderful hosts. You can tell they're forced into their positions circumstantially. You know, your environment. If you're surrounded by drug pushers and are living in poverty. What's the first thing you think of as a good way to make money?

GK is putting great programs in place to help rehabilitate them. I hope it's enough because eventually they'll be put back into the circumstances that caused them to be on the wrong side of the law. But, it's still really nice to see that at least someone cares about these people who made mistakes and deserve a second chance. Aaaah, there are so many here and in the world. It's so difficult to first acknowledge them and even more so to try to do something about them. So daunting...







The interns and AIESECers here. They're a lot of fun. This was taken at Jack's Ridge. An old outpost of the Japanese during WWII. It's been made into an expensive restaraunt that overlooks the city. It's really nice though.








A LESSON IN POLITICS AND MACROECONOMICS

Well, like I said, I've been giving lessons on this all week. So what's one more time? And at least this one will be timeless and I can just refer people here from now on. This may looks daunting to read, but please take the time to read and try to understand it. It's important that as many people as possible are educated as to how the world works.

So the major problem with the world is that our economic system is zero-sum. This basically means that in order for someone to make money, someone else has to lose money. This is because there is only X amount of money in the world, and if two people (A and B) both need to gain money, the sum must equal X so they can only take from each other. For example, if the whole world only had $100 (X) and there were only two people (A and B), then X = A + B. Thus, $100 = A + B. In order for A to gain more money, he/she must take from B because the sum of both always equals 100. Oh, just had to throw some math in there, right?

This is how the world works though. So if the US wants to make more money, then it takes money from other countries. The countries most exploited are those in the "developing world" or the global south. Back to the math. If the world's monetary supply is $100, then the developed world probably has $80 and the whole developing world (with a far greater population) probably has $20. This means money in poor countries is spread really thin.

This means that each poor country has a serious lack of money to spread around. The perfect analogy for this is monopoly. If you're playing a game of monopoly, and you start out with $10,000 each, everyone can buy properties and hotels and you can probably make the game last forever because there's a chance someone will land on you and you'll land on them and the game will just keep going. This is the case for the wealthier countries in the world. If, however, you're playing a game and you start out with $100 and there are hotels on every property and they're owned by multinational corporations, everyone in the game will lose. Basically... good luck.

There's actually sooo much to explain. I really can't do it in a typed message that I'm trying to get out as fast as possible so I can get on to other things...

Second major problem with modern economics. All money given out is given as a loan. Money is printed as loans from banks. So all money is basically a loan to the bank and it only has value because collectively we believe it does because after all it's just paper. Let me elaborate. Again, if we have an economy of two people plus a bank: the bank gives out $50 to each person at an interest rate of 10% (I know it's a little high, but it's easy math). So the bank gives out $100, but it expects back $110. So A and B each have $50, but owe $55. Thus, $100(X) + $10(interest) = $50(A) + $50(B). Obviously the sides don't equal out. $110 does not equal $100. Thus, if A owes $55 to the bank, he/she needs to take at least $5 from B to pay back the loan. This means that B will not be able to pay back his/her loan because he/she still owes $55, but only has $45. In short, there is no possible way that either person can pay back their loans because of interest. In addition, all money is debt anyways!! This is how our monetary system works. It's just far more complicated than this.... and far worse...

Now that I said that, I have to explain, right? WELL! Basically, if we have A and B again, they each have their money from the bank. Let's now say they each have $100 and owe $110. So there is $200 in the economy, but they owe $220. Where do people put their money? In the bank. So let's say that A and B both put their $100 in the bank as soon as they get it. Well, the bank has something called reserve rates. This means they only have to hold on to about 5 or 10% of the money you give them (depending on the country). So what does it do with 90% of your money? It lends it out at interest to other people! Or maybe even back to you! So out of the $200 in the bank, it only needs to hold on to $20. It can give out $180 as loans to someone else. Let's say it gives all $180 to person C. Well if C puts his/her money in the bank. The bank now has the initial $20 reserve (from A and B's $200) and it must keep 10% of the $180 ($18). So the bank holds the $38 and it can give out the rest of the $180 ($162). So the bank loans that to D. And I forgot to mention that all the while the bank is charging interest. I need to put this in an equation... I never thought I'd have to say that, haha.

$200(A and B's loan) + $20(A and B's interest) + $180(C's loan) + $18(C's interest) + $162(D's loan) + $16.2(D's interest) is what is owed to the bank. So total debt to the bank = $596.2.

So what's the big problem? All of this debt is owed from $200. Basically, only $200 exists to pay back the entire loan. The rest of the money doesn't exist. This mean's it's impossible to pay back $396.2 of the debt! The majority! This means that these people: A, B, C, and D, must fight each other to the financial death to be able to pay back their debt. Yes, this is how our monetary system works. Who loses? The poor - always. How does this system stay afloat if all money is basically unpayable debt? More money is printed and more debt is taken continuously! How else could the US have such a giant economy with such a giant debt? It needs more debt to pay back old debt! I'm sure they teach this much differently in finance classes...

So people wonder why I'm such a radical. Because the system obviously needs to change in order for us to live in this giant absurdity that is an insult to people's intelligence and ingenuity - if only people knew. And why am I so anti-establishment? Because the establishment perpetuates the status-quo. Schools, politicians, judges, etc.

Developing countries are just victims of an avaristic system. And it's not even avarice really, it's everyone trying to struggle for existence in this system. I mean, look at the US and Canada right now! Going through such incredible financial difficulties. I thought we should be safe in a system like this? Nope. Because internationally, rich countries take from poor. And in domestic affairs, rich people take from poor people. So in every country there are rich and poor and the gap is widening as we speak...

Why don't "developing countries" change things then? Because they are victim to two things: ignorance and international fincancial institutions. IFIs construct policies that allow multinational corporations such as wal-mart and others to go in and rape the resources of developing countries. This is because the IFIs give developing countries loans. So, loans they can't pay back AND we'll take your resources. Thank you, come again! And they will because they need more loans to pay back the initial unpayable loans. Only these new loans will have harsher conditions than the first. Like I said, Mumbai got their cue from the World Bank and International Montary Fund. Oh, and if you don't pay these loans? If you default or go bankrupt? Well, then you'll lose your membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and nobody will trade with you. Kind of like North Korea. We all know how economically vibrant they are, right? (They're not if you didn't know [it was sarcasm]).

Another major problem with "developing countries" is that they mainly have resource-based economies. This means they sell raw resources of their land for cheap (extracted from foreign companies, too) so the only money they make is wages and royalties (although most countries don't have any because they actually COMPETE to try to get multinationals to rape their countries). It's kind of like how China doesn't have environmental regulations or human rights regulations. Companies can basically pollute how they want and exploit the people how they want. China's using it's "comparative advantage" to use economic terms. Using laymen terms, they're just brutalizing their own people short term and with long term health problems.

Where does Canada fit in? Well, Canada has been called the world's most affluent developing country. This is because we have a resource-based economy still. The difference is that we have such an abundance of natural resources that we sell and such a low population that we can actually be affluent off of this system. Does that mean it's good? No way. We don't even have an adequate manufacturing sector. And the manufacturing sector we do have? Well they're making cars and things for foreign companies like Toyota and Ford. When's the last time you shopped at a Canadian store? Do you even know which stores are Canadian? And the oil companies in Calgary - well most of those are foreign owned, too. So we're selling valuable things like wood to the US and they manufacture it into something with more value and sell it back to us for far more money. Oh Canada... you really do need to do something about this.

Recap. Zero-sum (monopoly), all money is loans that can never be paid back, and there are gross inequalities in wealth. This isn't even all of it.... if you want to know more, ask. I'm always happy to rant and we all know this :)

What does all this have to do with my trip? How did I get on this tangent!?!?! Well, it's not a tangent. It's a serious problem that I have to deal with every day while I'm here. Basically I know that no matter what I do, I can only help these people up to a limit. At the end of the day, like the monopoly game, there's not enough money in the Philippines or other developing countries for everyone to live as affluent as we do. In fact, in order for me to help the people in the GK communities, that money will likely come from other poor people. Thus, I know that I'm just putting a band-aid on a much bigger problem. In fact, by putting band-aids on, it may prolong the actual root problem. Ironic, isn't it? It's really difficult to deal with and see these problems. But I will do the best I can for GK because I think they're on the right path and need my help. So we'll see what I can do in 5 months. Hopefully I can do as much as I hope and need to do...

I don't know how, but no matter how daunting or terrible the problems of the world are I always keep some hope. I really think that people can change. We just need mass political educating. So thanks for reading. Share if you want... and, until next time.

The Beginning - Davao City

Davao City.... I am completely in love with it so far. All of the people have been so warm and open, and even more so than Manila was.

I don't really even know where to begin with how different things are here, so I'll just start.

Water - there are no hot water taps at where I live or where I was staying in Manila. I guess it's pretty uncommon. So no hot showers - wait, unless you boil the water, put it in a bucket with cold water and splash it onto yourself with a giant measuring cup (for food). Or at least that's the best way to describe it. For toilets, in many places there are not any "flushers" I guess you could say. Instead, a bucket of water with the measuring cup and you have to put the water in fast enough that the toilet flushed. Oh, and if you don't prefer toilet paper, you use the water. I have to say, it's been really cool to have to experience using water like this. It makes me realize how important of a commodity it is and how over-consumptive we are in the West. Also, we could easily make due without heated water... well except in the winter. The water is fine to drink here as well, which is a big bonus. Saving pisos! :)

Food - no vegetables. Or very little for that matter. Three meals a day consists of rice (always) with some sort of meat. So yes, it is a very good thing I stopped being a vegetarian about a month ago. Milk and dairy is really expensive here, so it's not really used in anything. In coffee, the powedered stuff, and the cheese is almost certainly processed. The vegetables, well you can get them if you seek them out, but it's usually a choice meat OR vegetables and there is always some meat in the vegetables anyways. Oh, and there's only a fork and spoon for utensils. So you must cut your meat with the spoon, shovel the piece and a little bit of rice in it with the fork and you have a delicious bite. Overall, I like the simplicity of the meals and they're usually pretty good tasting, but I do miss vegetables.

Security - There are security guards absolutely everywhere. We have two where I live who're here 24/7 at the entrance of the building. Also they are at malls and on the streets and everywhere. They check bags to look for bombs and such, since there were some bombings a few years ago around here. That's a whole different story altogether, though.

"The Stare" - OK, so you hear about going to Asia and people staring at you because you're caucasian. Well, a "stare" is probably an understatement at times. In Davao, there are far less tourists than other cities even in the Philippines because of the civil unrest in the region. So they rarely see white people. I ventured into Chinatown a couple of days ago to get an electric hot water boiler and some towels and the looks are intense! People stop what they are doing, and get whoever they are around to look. It's really quite funny. It's not creepy or scary in any way. I actually feel more like a celebrity than anything. Kind of - for lack of a better term - neat.

Poverty - There is extensive poverty here. A survey of the Philippines' results were that 40% of Filipinos consider themselves in poverty. But I have to admit, they have a very resiliant way of dealing with it! Instead of begging, people try to do what they can. Some ride tricycads (different than tricycles), which are pedal powered. Others shine shoes or open a little street venue selling fruit or handicrafts. The only people you see begging here are children and disabled people. In fact there's a couple of stories with that... and we know I love my stories... I'll keep them short.

OK, so there were some kids on the street begging. They had to be about 6-9 years old. They came up to me and distorted their faces in a way that begged the utmost sympathy. They actually had their lips pursed and tears welling in their eyes, hands outstreched for change. I felt a tug in my heart and I felt so bad for the kids. I was really close to giving them money but I told them no instead. I fealt so guilty, but I didn't want to support begging. So they went on to the person beside me (who was the only other person nearby) and he said no in a flash (a local). As soon as both of us said no, both had smiles on their faces and they started skipping away. DAMN they're good! Since then I don't feel so bad.

People here also want to have their photos taken for some reason. Not, with me, but by me. So people want me to take their pictures. And I do. I've taken a few groups of people now. There were a few kids who approached me to ask if I wanted my new sandals polished. I said no thanks and they just asked for a picture. There, I kept that one short. Here's a picture. One didn't want to be in it.









OK, this is getting super long and has eaten up a good chunk of my day. Plus, I have to go for dinner soon. So the AIESECers here who I have met have been absolutely amazing. First the other interns here from abroad are all extremely friendly and it's always a great time hanging out with them. Here's Byeongseong from South Korea and Kathryn from Saskatchewan (she doesn't like being called from Calgary where she went to university). :) Hi Kathryn!










The photo below is of Krista and Kerstine under a beautiful Davao sunset. They are two of the many great AIESEC people I've met here. It's been a really good past few days.












I'm really enjoying it here. I start work tomorrow and I have a lot more to say but it's time to go eat. I hope I could give a good taste of Davao.

Oh yeah, I'm feeling a lot better now, too. I have a head cold and a fever left over. I think it was just some intense jet lag and maybe some of the food or water or something. But I'm getting down with the sickness and I should be immune to probably everything by the end of this week!

This is there I will be spending the next 5 months. It's actually super nice - I am impressed.

Arrival in Manila

So I've made it to the Philippines. It only took two stop-overs, one in Vancouver, the other in Seoul (South Korea) and a good twenty some-odd hours of my life. Plus, I lost a day since they're 15 hours ahead here. But do not fret! I shall re-gain that day when I return.

How is the Philippines you ask?

I respond with - it is great!

I actually do really enjoy it here so far. The weather is incredible. It's nice to come from -30 degrees to plus 30 degrees. A good ol' 60 degree difference, but my body seems to be rejoicing because of it. Apparently this is the cold season, too. I guess in the coming months it won't be uncommon for the weather to reach 40 degrees.

The people here are also wonderful. They are so helpful at every turn and it really makes me think of Calgarians as pretty cold, ruthless people - even though we're supposedly nice compared to most other North American cities.

Manila, where I am staying now, is actually a pretty nice city. From what I was reading in some of the travel books I bought, they tended to be pretty anti-Manila due to the crowds, etc. It might be because I am actually somewhat out of the city that I enjoy it so much. But I went into the city yesterday and it was quite polluted since a lot of their vehicles run on diesel. The main mode of transportation here is the "jeepney", which were made out of WWII jeeps that the Americans left behind and they made them into buses - pretty cool, and they still use them today. Oh, they're also ostentatiously decorated. There are also the tricycles, which can't get onto major roads, but are used for smaller road traffic and they are quite handy. I have to admit, riding in one yesterday was pretty fun. They're motorcycles with sidecars. Both the tricycles and jeepneys are always crowded beyond their capacity, which is pretty funny sometimes.

I'm feeling a little sick today, unfortunately. I've got the good ol' runny nose, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, nauseous, fatigued, and borderline fever. Yup, it's kind of brutal. It might be some side effects from my anti-malarial meds coupled with jet lag and the fact that I've been around a few sick people lately. Or, it could be something else. We shall see...

Anyways, I head to my true destination, Davao City, tomorrow at 4pm. I'm excited to see where I'll be staying and to meet the people there. Hopefully feel better by then.



This is where I'm staying with Ate Lenie. Thanks Bernard! :)