Hiii! Wow, so much had happened since the last blog. After Singapore, it was back to Malaysia! Took the "Jungle-Rail" up central Malaysia to the country's most Islamic state, Kelantan. The Perhentian Islands was a definite must - so off to the islands I went. It was absolutely beautiful - really relaxing and a nice change from the busy cities. Unfortunately I was only able to stay one night; however, due to broken down busses and conflicting bus/train schedules, I ended up staying in Malaysia's most Muslim city, Kota Bahru. Being a visitor in their country and their city, I wanted [View Full Entry]

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What an adventure Singapore has been so far!! After many debates of whether or not to come this way (since many people find it "too modern" and "clean"), I decided to go anyways. I took a night bus from KL, Malaysia @ midnight and was at the border around 4:30 or so in the morning....immigration made me get off the phone with my mom (mjah, daarna konder we gewoon verder kletsten!). I was surprised to see how many people were there so early in the morning! Anyways, long story short, it was quite a hassle trying to figure out where to [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, So I've been in KL, Malaysia since Thursday now and it's absolutely amazing. It's a busy city and a lot different than most cities in the Philippines. It's a lot cleaner here and the people don't bother you as much (ie. trying to sell you things) when you're walking down the streets. Yesterday was all walking: saw almost the entire city! Today I went to the Batu Caves which were really nice. I had to climb 250+ steps of stairs and was greeted by many monkeys! haha and tonight I'm off to Singapore with the nightbus. My last few [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't written in a while; it's been hectic! After the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute, we spent a few more days in Davao. We went to the beach, and were able to visit with an environmental NGO, Interface Development Interventions Inc. (IDIS), and Bantay Bata 163. The environmental NGO is mainly concerned with the spraying of pesticides on the local fruits and produce, and the side affects it has on the people. Big companies, such as Dole and Del Monte, have been spraying there since the 70s and it wasn't until 2000 that NGOs were informing the locals about [View Full Entry]

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Heyhey everyone!! All is well over here - arrived in the southern province of the Philippines on Sunday afternoon. We're at the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) until Friday. Here, I've been taking a class on Peace Advocacy and it's really interesting. I've truly met some amazing people from all over: Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Figi, etc. There are even some officers and military personnel from the Filipine Army and even some of the rebel groups, Military National Liberation Front (MNLF)!! So that's really interesting to get their opinion! So one aspect of the trip w [View Full Entry]

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Mabuhay!! Welcome to the Philippines!! I finally made it over here....after 32 hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Manila sometime early in the morning. It's really strange: they are 12 hours ahead over here, so it completely throws you off your sleeping schedule!! The flights were ok...I completely forgot to order a vegetarian meal, so simply had to pick around the meat and beg for fruit and bread from the neighbors haha Umm....quick side message right now - I'm in an internet cafe right next to the hotel and someone is playing Chris Brown's "Without You" (or at least I [View Full Entry]

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