Pre-project Day 4

Our 4th pre-project day started the same way as previous ones: packing our stuff and checking into a temporary hotel. Janet, Jenssy, and I (Anton) have probably visited almost every econohotel in Cebu City trying to get the best deal for our team. For future team leaders: book your hotels early or at least get quotes from potential lodging options once you've finalized your project dates. Rooms may be available but reservations may have already been made for some dates so booking rooms for two or three weeks straight may be difficult.

Jenssy and Janet obviously excited to check out for the third time.

At any rate, we woke up rejuvenated from a pretty lengthy sleep. We were supposed to meet with Ms. Ida Yting, guidance counselor and SEALNet moderator from Cebu City National Science High School, but she cancelled because of an impromptu meeting with the school's principal. We thus decided to check into Sampaguita Suites and head on to the airport to fetch our first team member to arrive in the Philippines.

We took a cab to Mactan International Airport. When we got there, we headed straight to the arrival area where we all came from. When I checked the arrival times, however, I found out that we had been waiting at the wrong side of the airport. Livvie Corn was flying from Singapore; thus, we should have been waiting at the international arrivals area.

Anton, Janet and Jenssy with the "Welcome Livvie" sign.

Thankfully, we got there just in time. Jenssy had made a sign for Livvie at the cab which we flashed at the arriving passengers. Since we hadn't met Livvie in person, we made sure to look at her photo to help us identify her.

It was at around 1:07 pm that we saw a girl with a heavy-looking backpack and a maroon scarf come out of the airport. She was looking around but we weren't sure from where we were if she was Livvie. I decided to run closer to her and scream her name to check. Livvie looked to the side and waved. She arrived safely in Cebu!

Welcome, Livvie!

For lunch, we had earlier decided to visit an old PP09 favorite. The bakery/cafe is owned by the family Christian Ngo, a PP08 team member who is currently a medical student at New York. Jenssy couldn't stop talking about how good their lasagna was and Janet recalled that the mentees really liked the mamon they sold. Unfortunately, we didn't know the name of the bakery/cafe so we only told the cab driver the address we were given. Luckily, it didn't take too long to find it!

Front door of Corner Bakery

Livvie, Jenssy, and Janet by the Corner Bakery logo!

Jenssy and Janet ordered Corner Bakery's lasagna while Anton ordered a garlic pasta dish with additional Hungarian sausage (yum!). Livvie only ordered pineapple juice because she had several meals during her plane rides to the Philippines from London.

During our meal, we noticed a couple come out of the kitchen. I asked Jenssy if the guy looked like Christian and she said yes. We decided to introduce ourselves to them and the lady was actually Michele Ng, Christian's cousin!

With Chef Michele Ng!

She was so happy we were there that she offered us free dessert from her decadent selection of cupcakes, cakes, pastries, and breads. Jenssy ended up getting the old fashioned chocolate cake with custard filling. Janet got Christian's favorite, the S'mores cupcake while Anton and Livvie got the red velvet cupcake and mango cake respectively. We all shared our desserts and loved each one. It's good to mention that Michele never received formal culinary education but her creations are definitely a must-try her in Cebu! We also ended up getting a discount for the 50 mamons we will be bringing to the UP Cebu High School event on Monday. Thank you, Corner Bakery!

S'mores...

...red velvet...

...chocolate cake...

...and mango cake!

We then headed to Sampaguita Suites to drop Livvie's stuff off and then meet the SEALNet chapter at Cebu Science. The campus was bigger than UP Cebu, probably because they have a bigger student population.

Cebu Science administration building facade

We went straight to the administration building and Ms. Ida Yting was waiting for us there. She brought us to the principal's office where we met Dr. Chin. We started talking about the three week schedule and Ms. Ida was nothing less than hilarious.

PP11 Team with the funny Ms. Ida :)

Suddenly, a student in a green dress came in with her new title as 2nd runner up of a Milo Olympic contest. We of course couldn't resist to take a photo with her.


Ms. Ida and Dr. Chin with the winner

With the major, major winner!

We then headed out of the principal's office to talk to the high school SEALNet members. We discussed the three week schedule we had prepared and made sure the students agreed to our activities. We had time to talk to them and they were really, really excited for the trainings we had in store for them. They were also particularly excited about Livvie whose accent they just loved. The high school students also asked her if she loved Harry Potter and she answered, "of course!"

Some of the Cebu Science SEALNet members with thier new mentors!

Our last stop for the day was UP Cebu where a fundraising concert called UP Cookout 2011 was being held. Former mentees of PP09 and PP10 were part of the presentations so we decided to meet them there. Jenssy and Janet saw some of their former mentees and the reunion was heartwarming. Mia was the one who stayed with us the longest. She showed us around UP Cebu and even allowed us to watch her friends rehearse for a sing-and-dance contest they were joining.

Jenssy with Nina

Janet and Livvie with Hillary

Anton and Janet with PP09 posters on gastrointestinal worms

Livvie, Janet, Jenssy and Mia

We then headed to the UP Cebu college grounds and listened to some bands. We also ate some snacks and took some pictures. Janet then decided to get a henna tattoo from the fine arts majors at the college for 20 pesos! Janet decided on a butterfly design and the final product was amazing :)

UP-ians love 'em rock 'n roll!

Janet getting a tatoo?! Relax, it's just shampoo and hair color.

Mentees and mentors

Jenssy with a UP Cebu fine arts masterpiece

We also met with Racquel Enad, a PP09 team member who is currently in Cebu for a hypertension research project. She also met up with former mentees.

As I am writing this, we are currently at the hotel room, on each other's laptops and getting ready for bed. It's been a long, exhausting but absolutely fun day. We are really excited that Livvie Corn is here with us to spend the last full day before PP11's official start. Please keep following us--we need all your support.