HIV/AIDS Training in Palawan

Roger invited 5 of us to help him teach his 1st year college students and a high school about HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health. We had a blast and hopefully these bright eyed teenagers will be able to make more informed decisions when it comes to intimacy with their partner.

1. Me and Cynthia – our arrival in Palawan
2. Rebecca and Ariel also just arrived in Palawan
3. I’m demonstrating how to put a condom on using my fingers before the actual condom came out, it was interesting.
4. Teaching 1st year college students about reproductive health (15 year olds)
5. A wonderful mural and about the most action 2 of the 3 of us have had since before arriving in the Philippines (May 2007), so sad L
6. Roger teaching his students about HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health

The Underground River in Sabang, Palawan

One of the sights to see is the Underground River in Palawan. Truly the beauty of the area and seeing such an incredible natural wonder is breath taking. We traveled 2.5 hours to Sabang, a little town hosting transportation to and from the natural wonder through the national park. We rode a banka boat away from the town into a neighboring bay. From there we walked into the forest and saw some rather large lizards hanging around just below the walking path. There were lots of natural noises from the critters, creatures and animals living in the jungle. On our way to the Underground River we saw monkeys having lunch on some fruits on the jungle floor. They were in a troop and they were easy to spot.

We were given the brightest orange life jackets (they were just that clean) and green construction helmets. We felt oh-so safe. Helmets were there to protect us from the bat guano that may or may not drop itself upon us at any time. At least that was our rational for them ;-) We were strategically placed in the boat and for some reason our guide thought the best place for me was at the front and designated the official light provider. The car battery sat in front of me, my light had to clips that attached to the screws on top of the battery. The lamp would be used to keep us going in the correct direction into the black hole of the cave. At points the water was 27 meters deep and the water was alive with snakes, fish and various larvae looking stuff. The fruit bats above kept a constant chatter and we saw a sparrow every now and then lost in the cave. We only boated 1.5km of the 8km river but it was enough. Our guide kept us giggling with descriptions of various formations. We even traveled down the vegetable section! We bi-passed the bat cave to our dismay but we drove very slowly to catch a glimpse of another cave with a formation in the center of the round room.

On our way back to Sabang we chose to hike it 5km back through the jungle. It was beautiful and the trees would grow around, through or attach themselves to each other to reach water. All sorts of vines hung from everywhere. It was if each plant or tree was connected to the other in some fashion. I could only imagine how trying it must have been to walk through it without the nifty trail we were on. The trail lead to a few beaches and it was incredible to see hundreds of crabs walking up the beach away from the water. I have no idea why they were doing this but I got a kick out of watching them go. They are quick little suckers. About half a kilometer from the town a torrential down pour hit and 2 of us did not bring an umbrella not that it did much good anyway. Within 5 minutes I was soaked and cold, this was not a feeling I was expecting. Finally when we arrived back to town we were able to grab some grub before taking a break at our amazing nipa hut.

It was another great adventure here in the Philippines!

Mid Service Training

So officially I’ve survived the first half of my tour of service here in Peace Corps Philippines. It is so weird because it kinda feels like I just left. Really our COS date is August 6th (now Aug 7th) so honestly we have less than 11 official months left but who is counting, hehehe. It is rather interesting thinking about how much has happened in the last 15 months and what will happen in the next 11 months. Personally and professionally this tour has been exciting and challenging.

Challenges were losing a cousin and aunt within a few months of each other just after I arrived to a disease that also took my mother almost 4 years ago. Aunt Peg was the second most important person in my life after my mother. I put her in the “on vacation” box in my mind. When people die I find it hard to process the feeling and so I associate it with that of a person who is “on vacation.” My cousin also passed on but I was more prepared because I knew it was going to happen before I left. My family invested in a condo development project over 2 years ago and this year has been really tough for them and I haven’t been there. Sometimes I feel I left them but they have always been so supportive of my Peace Corps dream.

As for what I’ve learned since I arrived: I can write a grant proposal (well any proposal for that matter), I love being a trainer and presenting information to large groups, I however still don’t like being a teacher to students (below college level), empowering people is still a passion and I’m becoming more effective, I love planning activities for groups of kids and even though it is still tough I am better at working with teens. People are similar everywhere you go. They want to be heard, they will be invested in something they feel is necessary to them and they want to improve their lives to give their children better opportunities. I love the concept of family here: family comes first, families spend lots of time together and support each other on various levels, they are somewhat clannish. The relationship a person has is far more important than what you know or what you can do. If you want something to get done you better have a solid relationship with the stakeholders on a personal level or it can be very difficult. I know I want to continue my degree in social work and focus in the clinical realm specifically working with those in crisis. People are fascinating, wonderfully complex which makes them unique and challenging to work with.

What I didn’t expect is to realize what a control freak I am and even though I thought I was laid back, I’m more output orientated than I ever thought, work is very important to me, for me it somewhat defines me; weather that is good or bad I’m still figuring that out. Being in the Philippines has required me to recognize these traits in myself. I don’t get angry when things take longer than they should but I stress internally on what it should be like. I’m working on being more able to release it and let it go. I guess I’m also very time specific. For the first time I’m usually early to appointments or meetings. In the states I was always running 10-15 minutes late. It is weird and honestly I don’t personally like being early. I don’t really get frustrated when people are late only when they plan on not arriving to begin with.

I feel my contribution this past year has been just a drop in the ocean of life of those I worked with. I know the work I have done and relationships I have created have been important to me and the people who received the information but I am still concerned about how sustainable my work has been. On an individual level I think I have been valuable but I’m not sure if I’ve done the best to empower my coworkers to take on and grow what we have done together for the agency. I think during the rest of my time here I need to strengthen what I have worked on and make sure what I’ve been working on is what they want to continue when I’m done.

Let the adventure continue…