The Good, the Bad, and the I-Can't-Believe-I-Did-That

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A treat for the eyes and ears: Diana's Phils: Part 1

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I don't even know where to begin. With all sincerity, words fail me. These past few days have been crammed with more adventure and memories than I could have ever imagined. Sure, I went skydiving a few weeks ago, but that pales in comparison. I was on the verge of death. Twice. Possibly three times because I'm pretty sure I've contracted schistosomiasis.

Guimaras:

The journey began on Thursday. Two cabs, a plane, another cab, a pump boat, a jeepney, a second pump boat, and a dingy later (total 7 hours) we arrived in darkness to the Baras Beach Resort. Nevermind having to switch rides 8 times. In any normal situation I would have griped just about that. But friends, I had bigger things to worry about.

Verge of death 1: the second pump boat, after some clanging on the engine with a hammer, was kaput. We sat under an incredible blanket of stars and waited for rescue. Luckily it came without too long of a wait. Unluckily it was the sorriest looking dingy I have ever seen. Unluckily there were no life jackets for the 7 passengers. Unluckily the water was not calm, and water kept crashing into the boat. Did I mention I can't tread water? My sisters and I took swimming lessons, yes. But I missed day one: how to avoid drowning. I sang old choir hymns to distract myself from the realization that, in fact, a wave just might hit at the same moment that the driver guns the engine and flips us. A little melodramatic? You would be too if you were there.

Scared and soaked (some of these are Diana's photos)

The dingy

How can you hold a grudge though when you wake up to this?

As we were swimming, another boat pulled into the resort and a group of Koreans joined us in all their FOB (fresh off the boat) glory. Is it normal in Korea to swim wearing goggles, shorts, shirts, hats/visors, and hoodies on your head? Anyway, they had no idea that I understood what they were saying because as we were enjoying our fresh coconuts, the kids swarmed around us talking about how they wanted to try them too. I eventually went to the parents to offer them up, and they were shocked that I spoke Korean! They blinked a few times before realizing that I was, yes, addressing them. We made fast friends though--they were so sweet during the rest of our time together.

We also went exploring on the different islands. We rowed around in the dingy, laid out on more beaches, rode into caves, visited a trappiste monastery, and saw a sea turtle sanctuary.

Here comes Verge of Death 2. Remember the "can't tread water" remark? After scaling the side of a cliff in wet flip flops we found ourselves face-t0-face with a 50-foot waterfall. The "don't listen to me" voice in my head and my friends told me I couldn't let the opportunity to swim under a waterfall pass me by, so in I went. I loved every minute of it!

Right after that little jog in the park we climbed down another hill to swim in a spring.

The rest of the time at Baras was pleasant, save for the room. Let's just say there were creatures abound sharing the room with us. But that's what you get for $7/night, right? The staff was so helpful and sweet. Baby, Boy Boy, S Boy, Nonoy, you are all missed!

Baras Beach Resort at sunset

Sorsogon:

Oh Lord. The morning after we got back from Guimaras, we went right back out at 4:30am for our first class trip where we were told we'd be collecting snails. Oh right. They forgot to mention we'd also be taking a little side trip to collect blood and stool samples from "carabao". First of all, we were all scratching our heads wondering how a bunch of tundra-loving caribou ended up on a tropical island. Carabao are water buffalo.

These pictures can speak for themselves. BTW, the school neglected to bring the long gloves, so we made do with short ones. I have to stick my hand in further for the stool? No thanks.

The day ended in smiles when the school kids swarmed around our group to check out what these foreigners were doing in their barangay. Now I know how Bono feels.

"We just stuck our hands inside a buffalo's ass! We're amazing! I can do anything! Bring on those stupid snails, I can do that with my eyes closed."

I would gladly have pooped scooped another twenty buffalo if that meant I didn't have to strain my eyes, back, and legs crouched over in the rankest mud pits/swamps looking for the smallest snails in the world. Imagine looking for dirt. In a big pile of dirt. With all kinds of insects and rodents swarming around you.

This is why I'm sure I've contracted schisto. My school-provided ankle-high boots were no match for the quick-sand mud pits, so mud oozed right in. Good thing I had open cuts on my leg! No worries though, as we were knee-deep in mud, we were assured that, of course, we're all having blood tests in 55 days to make sure we will receive medication if we've contracted schisto. No problem!

Needless to say, I am quite skeptical about our week-long jaunt in Palawan: malaria studies. You know me and mosquitoes--I'm a magnet for those suckers. Schisto and malaria within months of each other does not sound like a good time.

Comings and Goings

In a few hours we're off to the airport for our first trip! The destination is an island in the Western Visayas called Guimaras. They are renowned for their mangoes, "sweetest in the world", reportedly served at the White House and Buckingham Palace.

I remember the first time I ever had a mango was on a family vacation in Florida. I was maybe 4 or 5? (Also the same vacation when we went to Disney World and I had to be that kid on a leash. I have the pictures with Minnie to prove it.) We happened to come across a mango festival and I was in heaven. Imagine being eye-level with tables dripping with everything mango. I remember just grabbing things off the tables and shoving bits of mango into my mouth. I probably shouldn't have done that, but I guess the purveyors didn't want to mess with a child who had to be leashed.

Anyway, I'm sure there will be some lovely photos to share with you when we get back from our trip. When we return we have to head right back out for our first school trip. We are going to Sorsogon, a province in the Bicol Region. Whale shark capital of the world! Yikes, I doubt I'll get over my fear of "big things that swim" in time to jump into the water. I don't think we'll have any free time though. We're there to collect snails to test for schistosomiasis. Send me good vibes so that I don't end up contracting those little buggers!

What post is complete without the mention of a mall? We made it to the Mall of Asia, an endless maze of stores upon stores. There was a fantastic photo exhibit of incredible press photos. The 2009 World Press Photo exhibition is touring globally, but unfortunately the US dates have already passed. Visit the site--a must see!

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” Jawaharlal Nehru

We went to school this morning for our first class that lasted all of an hour. Unfortunately we are the only ones in the class, and that might be the case for our other one tomorrow too! So much for making friends in school? This morning was a quick briefing about the three regions where we'll be doing fieldwork and conducting research. "Have you collected stool samples before?"

Mental note 2: Buy a box of latex gloves.

It still feels like a vacation. In the past few days we visited Binondo Chinatown, Fort Santiago, and Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Museum of the Central Bank of the Philippines). Mall culture is nice, but it's about time for some true culture, no?

On Friday after a lunch of piping hot, freshly made dumplings, we stopped into one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. The Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, or Binondo Church, was erected in 1596.

And today we were a little stir crazy, so we went to the Fort and Central Bank. Unfortunately it was raining so we weren't able to really enjoy Fort Santiago. The grounds and museum inside the renovated Fort are a beautiful tribute to the national hero, Jose Rizal.

Finally, here are pictures of the museum in the Central Bank. The contemporary German art was so unexpected! Not to mention the exhibit on microfinance. (I can't get away, can I? Hi CGAPers!) I just love the sense of humor in art. The last two are a little blurry, my apologies.

Living the Life

First things first, special thanks to one Joseph M. Novotny for his ever-critical eye. Transpacific, not transatlantic. What would I ever do without you?

Meena and I practically have the same blogs, so for photos of our new digs, cliquez ici.

We went to Makati last night and had dinner at John and Yoko in Greenbelt 5. Posh. Amazing. I think the closest thing I've ever experienced comparable to this are the casinos in Vegas. But I hated Vegas, and I was just in awe of this place.

We still have to experience the Mall of Asia, apparently. Maximum capacity: 5.3 million. I'm not joking. I know, I didn't exactly think that my life in public health would lead me to become a mall rat in Asia. But I'm here, and as they say, "when in Rome.."

Classes officially begin on Monday, when we have our first meeting for our parasitology class. We'll be doing projects and field visits around Manila. The other class we're taking is on nutrition--how to plan nutrition programs. These are two things I don't have too much experience in, so between all these mall visits I guess I'll be learning something after all.

Hit the ground running!

We're here in Manila with a serious case of jetlag. We woke up this morning at 5AM (serenaded by the crowing rooster outside our 14th floor window) and surrendered at 7PM, only to wake up at 11PM thinking it was already morning. My travel buddy, Meena, and I got in last night after some amazingly painless flights. This was the easiest transatlantic flight I've ever been on. I think it had mostly to do with the fact that all 5'1" of me was stretched across four seats of the 747. I slept through each of the connecting flights and missed most of the meals they served. Apparently that was a good thing. Questionable meats and such.

Nagoya's airport wasn't nearly as enjoyable at Osaka's. It was only 6PM when we landed but there weren't any people in the airport and only three flights going out. Oh well. Then we landed in Manila and went through customs, changed money, etc. Meena's aunt (Tita B), cousin, and Sir Freddy of UP came to pick us up from the airport to take us to the hotel. There we reunited with Diana and Julie who stayed up to greet us. SO good to see them! We all chatted in our room to catch up on events missed since I left them in Boston before heading to bed. We're staying in this hotel near UP for the time being, and will search for an apartment asap.

Classes, which were meant to start today, have been pushed back a week because "so many students have the H1N1 virus that we stopped counting." So now we have a week before we begin school to do a little exploring and orienting, which is great. We did a little of that today around the university, when we schlepped back and forth between offices to fill out what seemed like multiple copies of the same paperwork asking for the same information over and over again.

This area is packed with street vendors, pedestrians, cars, jeepneys--all crammed into small streets and trying to avoid colliding with each other. Hopefully when we have a chance to explore other parts of Manila there will be less congestion. The respite from the heat is a HUGE mall called Robinsons Place. I don't necessarily want to spend my time in Manila inside a mall. However, according to Meena, "we have to survive!"

Mental Note 1: Be one with the humidity or you will hurt yourself. As soon as you step outside, the humidity washes over you like warm laundry out of the dryer after you've been running outside for an hour in 90 degree weather. I've never felt humidity like this before!

More to come. I need to shake this jetlag!