Blogs from Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines, Asia

Another week has flown by! Again, it has been busy and hard work, but really fun and my brain is currently aching from how much we have learnt (and from all the Tanduay last night). On Thursday, we did two recreational dives to celebrate being fully qualified and welcomed the new volunteers, Charlotte (who was returning from last year), and father and son Peter and Charlie, Rachel the new scuba instructor, and Javier the new science officer. On Friday, it was back to work again and we began SDP, the science development programme. We began by learning about substrates (sand, corals, sponges etc) which is far more complicated that I had ever realised, but after a nailbiting computer test and two underwater validation tests, I finally passed. It was the same with Invertebrates and Impacts (the ... read more

These photos were taken on the 30th of October 2007. After a few days in Manila, we made our way to Tacloban for a 4-day trip. It was divided into visiting my relatives (dad's side & then mom's side) and my friends with a little city sightseeing on the side. My uncle picked us up from Tacloban airport and then we made our way to Jollibee for breakfast. Ordered the chicken joy meal. I love how they serve their chicken, they actually do it right - it's crunchy/crispy and also tasty. Sad to say, KFC Australia's chicken isn't even up to par. The skin's soft & also peeling off. Anyway enough about chicken, after breakfast my uncle took us to my auntie's house & we left our bags there, relaxed for a bit before heading back ... read more

My trip to the Philippines was an eyeopening experience. I was in Tacloban for three weeks, working as a volunteer. I did everything from painting houses, to feeding and playing with kids. Being a teacher for a 4th grade school class, and telling them all about Norway, was probably the most fun. The Filipino people are extremely friendly. I stayed in a community called Bliss community, with about 420 families. My trip was organized, so that I could live with a family in the community I worked. I lived with the Llanto family, and they made my stay as pleasant as it could be. I must admit that when I arrived I thought to my self: This is going to be three loooong weeks. The area is very poor, and far from what I am used ... read more