The first few days...

Hi!

So I have survived my trip over here and the first few days so far. The flight from toronto was a very long 16 hours, but i got a bit of sleep, and watched 8 episodes of 30 rock, kung fu panda, forgetting sarah marshal, and some other random stuff. i.e., it was looong. But I made it to hong kong in one piece, hung out at the airport for 4 hours, then got on another 2 hour flight into manila. I ended up sitting beside a really great couple on the flight to manila. He was born in the philippines, but i think grew up and lived in london, she was french, and they had the cutest baby. So he was great to talk to, really smart, and it was nice to have them beside me. Getting off the plane in Manila was a bit nerve wracking, because i had been dreading the customs agent for weeks, as i was technically in the country to "travel" and not volunteer. So i shook the whole way in line up to him, and he didn't even look at me, just stamped my passport and waved me through, so that was a huge relief. Pom, one of the women who work at CERV (Centre for Volunteerism in the Philippines) was at the airport to pick me up, and gave me a bit of a running commentary on the hour ride back to the CERV house. The house is in a upper-middle class area, in a gated community, but is still very different from our standards of upper middle class. But it's comfortable, there are lots of fans which is nice because it is very hot, and quite big and interesting. Raymund is the main contact i had before getting here, and he and Pom are married. Eden is Pom's sister, and she will be taking me on the ferry to Romblon.

Since i've been here, i've been very busy. The first day i arrived, i was essentially just a jet lagged mess. I didn't know which way was up, and fell asleep a half dozen times before going to bed at 8pm. However I did manage to go to the market with Eden that afternoon, and wow. Definite culture shock. So many people crowding into tiny little places. There was a lot of stuff i was not used to, and one of the highlights of that trip was getting hit with a flying fish scale as the guy in front of me was taking a knife to the fish. I was also stared a quite a bit, as they do not see many white people very often. Little kids were poking me, and saying "Americano, Americano!" which, nope, i am not. Everyone tried to get me to buy things, because they assume that because you're white, you have lots of money. I was definitely ready to return to the dorm, which was the only familiarish thing i had at that point. The second day, (wednesday) i was woken up at 4am by my neighbours, a couple of roosters just crowing away. They are actually really loud, and feel the need to do their rooster noise every 5 seconds. Literally, i counted as i lied there awake. That day was the first day of training, which was lots of history on the Philippines, safety information, culture training, and language training, which i am officially hopeless at. But i have a booklet, and will have to learn quickly. Today, was by far the busiest of all. It was tour day, and i left the house at 9am. Went to the museum of the Philippine People, which was a really cool beautiful building in Manila. There was a really cool part on this huge shipwreck that dad, you would have loved. San Domino maybe? Anyways, lots of really great stuff in there. After that, we went into the walls of the old city, much of which was destroyed during WWII when the Americans were trying to get the Japanese out, so they just bombed the shit out of everything, basically destroying the whole city. Raymund took me to a beautiful church called the San Agustin church, and also an old colonial spanish house, which was so massive, and unreal that one family lived there when spain had colonized the philippines.

Later in the afternoon, we went to one of the many poor parts of the manila. Essentially slums. It was nothing like i've ever seen before. The number of people living in the tiny, run down little 'caves' which is how raymund described them, was mind blowing. The poverty was so severe, it truly broke my heart. I have pictures which i hopefully will put up as soon as i can, but they do not do it justice. The number of people living in extreme poverty in the Philippines is the same as the population of Canada. 15 million people here live on less than $1 a day. Another 20 million live on less than $2 a day. The Philippines is ranked the 5th highest country in the world where hunger is a significant issue. 40% of the people that were surveyed said that it is not uncommon for them to not have enough food to feed their family. To me that is almost unfathomable. There is no opportunity for these people. The land they live on is owned by people who refuse to sell it. There is no land for them to buy to live on. It's not as simple as going to the bank and getting a mortgage like it is for us. That doesn't happen for them. So they have no other place to go than these slums, which are dirty, and no place anyone should have to live. It really did give me this awful feeling in my stomach when we were there. But the kids still ran alongside the van, smiling and waving and playing. Just as we were leaving, i saw a small baby, probably just barely walking, naked and playing near a sewer grate. I think that might be something that stays with me for the rest of my life. And in contrast to all of this, 2 blocks away there are huge builings with gold statues in the front, in an extravagent display of excess wealth. Tonight we went to a mall so i could pick up a few supplies before we go to romblon tomorrow, and i was shocked that such poverty existed so nearby this huge 4 story mall. And apparently all of the malls here are just as big. It's a mind boggle of a country.

But so far, it's been great. Really interesting, and of course very different. Still a bit of a culture shock when im out and the only white person within sight, but i'm sure i will get used to that. I'm looking forward to getting out of the city and to the island, and meeting the other volunteers who are already there. Sorry this is so long, but it's been a crazy past few days with so much happening. I miss everyone a lot, and can't wait till my phone gets up and running so i can text and call you. I will post pictures as soon as i can, cause i'm sure that's much more fun than my big long ramblings.

Love,

Amanda
xoxox

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