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Hi everyone!
I feel so grateful to be writing to you again from the Philippines. Last summer was an amazing experience, and I knew I was going to be back, I just didn't think it was going to be within a year!! The "outbound" trip (Washington DC - Chicago - Hong Kong - Manila) went by a lot quicker than last years. This summer's traveling is a volunteer trip to the Philippines and Thailand. I am also planning on backpacking Laos and possibly Burma. Right now, however, I am in the Philippines.
Arriving late Monday night (around 23:45), my friend Samantha and I were planning on catching the 04:10 flight to Davao, where the
Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) is located - more details about that later! All flights to Davao, however, were full!! I'm so thankful that I have a good friend living in Makati, which is a part of Manila. After calling him at 01:45, he came and picked us up from the airport, took us to his tattoo shop (P&P Tattoo and Body Art) so we could book our flight on Wednesday and then went "home" to sleep!
First thing I noticed again after
arriving in the Philippines was how friendly the Filipinos, or "Pinoys" as they call themselves here, are:
Guud morrrneeeng ma'am
- it's such a unique accent to which I've have grown really accustomed to; I have even started to pick up their accent when talking to Pinoys. I also noticed the infamous raising of the eyebrows when greeting someone, which I also picked up again so don't mind me when I continue this for a couple weeks after my return!! People here raise their eyebrows when saying hello, or they'll simply raise them to acknowledge you. And the smell! It's a good, familiar smell, which I have grown to appreciate; it reminds me a lot of last summer. The warm weather, honking of cars and jeepneys, and scents of humidity mixed with outlet gas, was, honestly, a great welcome!
Anyway, long story short: Tuesday we just relaxed and spent time at the tattoo shop; we missed our flight on Wednesday due to some mix-ups, and therefore caught the 04:10 flight for Thursday morning. BUT now I'm here in Davao and started my work at MPI.
It's great because I'm seeing a lot of familiar faces, since I spent a week
here last summer, following a Peace Advocacy class. The
Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute was established ten years ago by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and Agong Network. This institute, which run for three weeks, brings together a wide range of people from all over the world with experience, knowledge and skills in peace-related work. Intensive training in areas such as religious peacebuilding, mediation, grassroots peace work, and conflict transformation, allows for people to share stories, experiences, and ways to make this world a better place. I am meeting many new people from all over: Timor Leste (East Timor), Solomon Islands, Indonesia, India, Germany, USA, South Korea, and all over the Philippines. It's absolutely beautiful to see all these people come together from all walks of life!
As for my role, I am photodocumenting all the classes, assisting this week's
Religion: Peacebuiling in Multi-Cultural Society , and helping out with the events calender, including "weekend escapades". It's interesting to be working together with people from different cultures, definitely challenging at times but definitely a neat experience!
Since it's the weekend, we (30+ people: students and staff) went to Samal Island...relaxing, swimming, snorkeling, and
Office
This is where I "work"scuba diving. I was able to work on my tan a little - always good! 😊
Before signing off, let me share this translated part from an Arabic song with you. A good friend of mine sent this to me and it rings close to my heart so thought I'd pass it on to you:
A book starts with an idea,
a tree starts with a seed,
and goodness starts with an act...
Peace.
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Elsje
non-member comment
Ik heb even moeten zoeken, maar heb het gevonden, wat een mooi verhaal heb je weer geschreven en de foto`s zeggen genoeg. Je bent weer helemaal op je plekje. Lieve Nikki, geniet ervan. Elsje X