Monday 15th August

Hey guys, so this is the first (and possibly last) time I will blog. And it’s going to be about all things Monday-the-15^th…

15^th August 1769 – Napoleon Bonaparte is born
15^th August 1969 – Woodstock festival opens
15^th August 2011 – Work (fun) begins for PP11! WOOP

My first breakfast at Fuente Oro suites consisted of some yummy pork, rice and egg. This was soon followed by an orientation for the project given by our leaders. We were assigned or volunteered for various roles e.g. team medic, wake-up monitor, fun-day organizer, blogging etc.

Moving swiftly on to the next meal – grilled chicken, unlimited rice, unlimited soup and very limited chilli (they were tiny). With but a moment to spare in the mall, we journeyed to a pizza place in order to have a light dinner close to UP high. There we played a few rounds of Chinese whispers ( / “telephone” or whatever it’s called in the States).

Despite our enlarged bellies, we managed to waddle over to UP High in order to watch a performance. There was a little bit of waiting first, though – time, obviously, for more games (yay) and more deet and an exploration of the school. The feel of the place was deliciously tropical: palm trees lining the paths, low buildings with metal rooves, patchy puddles, murals and painted benches. It was great to also meet a few current SEALNet high school students and a few that had already graduated; they were incredibly friendly and took time out of their hectic pre-performance kafuffle to say hi to us. Shifra, if you’re reading this: you looked amazing - I lurrved the costume (i.e. the Spanish dress)! Even before it started we all knew that the performance would be incredible because the outfits and make-up were so well designed and constructed.

And with a cloud of dramatic smoke the show began….

The story revolved around the history of the Philippines and was told through music and dance. It depicted the conquest of the country by the Spanish, the Americans, and the Japanese. What I didn’t realize during the performance, but what became apparent at the end, was that on the two halves of the stage there were in fact two separate performances of the same story happening alongside one another. The two performances were created by two separate classes who were competing for a prize.

Although I liked the music, I thought the dancing, in particular, deserved very high praise. The dance-floor was tough, chipped concrete. However the dancers were somehow able to ignore this and move about in an elegant, passionate and sometimes violent way. This passion, I guess, was an illustration of the tumult and turmoil of parts of Filipino history and I found it fascinating.

The main show was then followed by several group dances which were loadsa fun! I particularly liked the ‘tinikling’, the traditional Filipino dance involving two people beating bamboo poles on the ground in coordination with dancers who step over and in between.

After the performance we tried some sweet rice (more food J) and then headed back to the hotel, with songs and images of the night dancing about our brains.

18th of August 2011

Today’s the day most of us managed to sleep in and catch up on all the lack of sleep and jetlag whilst Natasha, Janet, Jenssy and Andrew went to the immigration office in Cebu to obtain visas. Unfortunately, I (Jan) woke up right in time to catch breakfast of chorizo with Amy, who ate the continental breakfast offered by the hotel. Unfortunate cause I had the least amount of sleep, not because I had to eat with Amy =P

Today was our first and (supposedly) last rest day we would have, so all we did during the day was wait for the others to come back from the immigration office, then headed to Ayala Mall for a deliciously appetizing Thai cuisine, and after returned to the hotel with the intention of getting massages nearby. Unfortunately it started to rain with spurts of downpours so we gave the massage idea a rain check and instead began to get ready for an event in the evening at 5.30pm at Cebu City National Science High School (CCNSHS). The event was an induction for the officers of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and the Student Government (SG), thus we had to wear slightly more formal clothing and everyone was dressed pretty nice I must say. =)

Off we went to CCNSHS in 4 cabs (the rain was drizzling out by then) and when we arrived and entered the gym, where there were a LOT of students, we were given a warm welcome by Ms Yting plus front row seats =D

And so the event began! They started with a choral group singing whilst 2 ballet dancers danced in front of them, a traditional Filipino dance by the faculty, then the national anthem and next the induction of the student officers, teacher officers, parent officers and PTA officers. After that the audience was bedazzled by an array of amazing performances by the students, plus a last surprising number by the teachers (hint: the teachers danced to J-Lo and Pit Bull’s “on da floor”). I wish my teachers in Malaysia were so open to performing in front of the whole school.

Last but not least we were invited to share the buffet for the officers and the chance to meet some SEALNet members from the high school. When I talked to one of them, Elizah her name was I think, I was amazed by how busy they are. Their school schedule is from 7am to 5pm and by the time they get back home would be approximately 7pm, then they have a pile of homework to handle. With the addition of SEALNet, which I learn they are excused from class to be a part of, their workload doubles. I wonder how she manages it all… Oh did I mention she was one of the top 4 students last year? And she had the chance to attend a conference at Penang, Malaysia? Sadly, we weren’t able to meet all of the CCNSHS SEALNet members (20 in total) before we left.

Back at the hotel, the team had a good open discussion that helped enhance our unity greatly. I’m really glad that the team was able to be transparent with each other and grateful that I am able to take part in PP11 together with them. Although we’ve only known each other for 4 days, I sense the unity has grown hundred-fold tonight, and it could be seen whence we were figuring out the SIO of the project (Stake, Impact, Outcome)

Well then, good night peeps! =) I would love to tell y’all our Stake, Impact and Outcome, however we haven’t come to a solid conclusion, and we ended our team ‘meeting’ (the word ‘meeting’ sounds awfully formal to me, and we’re hardly formal at all!) at 1+am. Time for a good night’s sleep to keep the positive attitude going!

Cheerio!

Welcome to Budlaan!!

Coming from an enjoyable two day introduction to the Philippines, this day seemed to be one of the first times we started to understand what work we would be doing here. We left at 10:00 AM to take taxis in the rain to Budlaan, the Gawad Kalinga community we would be working with for our project!

When we arrived, everyone was warmly welcomed by the Gawad Kalinga members of the village, Jerdie and "Teacher Tess" haha. And going even further were the pre-school and kindergarten children of the community! There were tons of them chatting and swarming around us, even bringing our hands to their foreheads in the Filipino traditional blessing. After being introduced to all the members of the Gawad Kalinga community at the village, the children all gathered around to sing the Gawad Kalinga theme song. That must have been the cutest thing for me to have ever seen in my life. Seriously, the kids were so emotional and into the song that everyone was singing along at the chorus. They said the kids had been practicing that for a year already, so I can definitely see how big of a role Gawad Kalinga plays in the Community.

We then took a tour of the entire village of Budlaan, from the colorful, quaint homes to the mini convenience store, and into the pre-school and kindergarten school. They did mention that they did not have any sort of clinic in the village, however. Overall, I would say that the GK community at Budlaan was very warm and connected as a community, which I took to be truly inspiring considering how other Filipinos came together to help build houses and the entire village from the ground up. I had visited other Filipino GK sites in the past, but never looked into it so much to notice the thriving synergy of the community.

Next we met the members of the Sealnet club at UP Cebu for the first time, and had a great time as they showed us around the school and then played an exciting game of I'm a Ninja. The students were so happy to meet us, I couldn't wait to work with them.

Lastly, we attended a fairly in depth lecture on the history of the Philippines by Dr. Sofia Logarta. I learned a lot more than I had previously known about the Philippines by Dr. Logarta, who seemed so passionate about her work. It was definitely a joy to learn more about the history of the country my parents are from. In general, I would say that this day was definitely a bright, exciting introduction to the different people we would be working with for the coming weeks.

I'll add pictures soon! BTW This was for Tuesday August 16th

Rest and relaxation in Cebu!

After a busy first week, our team decided to de-stress and bond by having a free day.  We allowed ourselves to sleep late into the morning, which we needed after enjoying an adventure-filled evening at  the club Voodoo the night before.  As soon as we met up, we headed to a mall that is famous for its cheap deals and knock-off brands.  It was a bit like the Namdaemun market in Korea--including the bit about negotiating prices--so we all got some practice bartering.  Among the fifteen of us, we bought everything from sunglasses (Raymans instead of Raybans...), Thom shoes, and dresses--mostly for ten dollars or less!  It was a great day for shopping.

In the afternoon, we split up into two groups and got massages at different spas in the city.  Most of us got full-body massages, but a few of us just got royal foot treatments and other interesting surprises.  We then ate a makeshift dinner at Robinson's--the nearby supermarket that is quickly becoming our go-to place for almost all of our needs--and headed back to the hotel.  We did a bit of subcommittee work afterwards and got prepared for our awesome day tomorrow!! 

Apologies for the lack of pictures... coming soon!

Day 1 - The Grand Arrivals

14th of August

Today was the first official day of the project, the day that everyone arrived. First to arrive was Jessie, a Cambridge medical student. We groggily welcomed her to the neat line of sardines sleeping at Sampaguita Suites around 2am, but left formal introductions till 10 am the next day, when we eventually woke up! Once packed, we moved to the new hotel (Fuente Oro on M Roa Street). It was just around the corner, but the taxi took a slight detour and we were saved by a quick phone call and directions from Anton!

We were surprised to find Amanda and Mutahir asleep in the rooms. A slight misunderstanding meant that they had arrived exactly 12 hours ahead of the time they were expected! Thankfully they were able to find out the name of the new hotel and get a taxi there.

Most of the day was spent getting to know each other as a group (Jenssi, Anton, Janet (the three PLs) Amy, Jessie, Jan, Ross, Mike, Xun and I (Livvie)) and ironing out some of the British vs American pronunciations while the others arrived, picked up by the project leaders.

For dinner, we went to the famous Ayala Mall, and ate at Gessie's Grill for our first taste of Filipino cuisine, thankfully no strange delicacies appeared yet. After exploring for a bit, we returned to the hotel and bonded over a rather complex game of Pictionary and Mafia. We got ready for an early night, and then the final team members of PP11 arrived: Natasha and Alyx fresh of the plane from Hawai (via Manila).

A promising start to the project with an awesome team : )

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.

Behind the scenes: pre-PP11

Project Philippines 2011 (PP11) hasn't officially started, but Anton, Janet and I (Jenssy) have been in Cebu for 3 days already. As the project co-leaders, we arrived a week earlier than the international university team in order to prepare the ground. To all of our university team members: we are super excited for your arrival!! :D Let the games begin! Just kidding, let the work begin! =P

We wanted to share with everybody a little bit of what we've accomplished on ground so far. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes...

Day 1

Janet and I (and our friend Racquel Enad) hit the ground running by meeting with Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM) to define its partnership with SEALNet. We were fortunate to meet with Dr. Henry Yu, Dr. Montoya (head of student affairs), and Dr. Fernandez (dean of the medical school).

Janet and Jenssy at CIM

The rest of the day was dedicated to A LOT of walking to different hotels to ask for special group rates.

Janet and I also made a new friend over dinner. At dinner, there was a couple sitting next to us and sitting next to the couple was a little kid. The kid kept switching tables between our table and the couple's table. I thought this was odd behavior so I finally asked the couple if the kid was there's. When they said no, we realized the little kid had followed us from outside and was hungry. We bought him a meal and he sat with us to eat dinner.

New friend

Day 2

We began our day hotel hunting. The weather was bipolar, alternating between rain and sunshine. This made hotel hunting a little slippery, but no problem.

Anton, Jenssy, and Janet at lunch

Later we met with the Gawad Kalinga representatives, another one of our partners, to learn more about their work in Cebu, to discuss how SEALNet can help Gawad Kalinga (GK), and in general to define our partnerships and to set expectations. I was really happy with the enthusiasm our GK partner shared despite the many challenges that they face every day. They are a really inspiring group of people to be working with.

After our initial meeting with GK, we walked to CIM to meet with Dr. Montoya, and two members of the student council. We had a phenomenal meeting with Dr. Montoya and the students; they had already mapped out which days CIM students would be able to help with the SEALNet project in the next three weeks, as well as shared their concerns and ideas for our collaboration. The thing I liked best was that our conversation felt equal. We could tell Dr. Montoya and the students felt comfortable sharing with us their thoughts and ideas. Our partnership is a true collaboration and all decisions are made together. Yay teamwork! :D

Dr. Montoya, Janet, and Anton

Dr. Montoya, and CIM student council and PP11 leaders

After our meeting at CIM, Tito Jerdie, a GK volunteer that is quickly becoming one of our greatest GK resources picked us up and we headed to Budlaan, a GK village located in the mountains. Along the way, we learned about Filipino history, how GK started in Cebu, and we shared ideas for what we will be doing in the village in the coming weeks. Tito Jerdie is a selfless individual who is very knowledgeable about the organization and does his best to answer all of our questions and think with us through challenges we might encounter. Thank you Tito Jerdie, for all you do for us!

"This way to Budla-an"

Getting closer to the GK Budlaan village

Jenssy, Tito Jerdie, Janet at GK Budlaan

Some sites in the village:

Village store

There is one village store in Budlaan. Actually, Tito Jerdie explained that only one store is allowed to be in the village and it serves to provide some livelihood for the village. The "Smart" banner advertises one of the major cell phone companies in the Philippines. The other most popular company seems to be "Globe".

Venue where major events in the village are held. We will have some of our education workshops here.

Preschool


Homes (there are about 164 in the village)

Woman getting water out of a well


Woman picking something up


Cute children playing


Village tutor and students

After our village tour on day 2, we did some more hotel hunting...hunt hunt hunt...

Day 3

Today began with a meeting with the UP Cebu High School guidance counselor to talk about our continuing partnership and to map out how the students will be involved with SEALNet in the next month. SEALNet has partnered with UP Cebu since 2007, and luckily we have a strong relationship with the school. Its students is what personally inspired me to continue working with SEALNet. Despite limited resources for a lot of them, they surpass great challenges and thrive academically on many levels. I am very proud of our SEALNet alumni. This year we will continue working with UP Cebu to strengthen leadership skills and to teach them about high blood pressure and the roles they can play in their community to raise awareness about how to prevent it.

Shiprah (SEALNet UP Cebu HS president), Jenssy, Anton, Janet, Ms. Belle (guidance counselor), and SEALNet UP Cebu HS vice president

This picture was taken in front of a bench that says "SEALNet" painted by the students at the school. It was a pleasant surprise. :)

After our meeting with UP Cebu HS, we headed to the GK Budlaan village again with Tito Jerdie where we met with the Barangay captain to ask permission to carry out our project in the community. I was not surprised by the hospitality and willingness to help us carry out the vision held by SEALNet and its partners in the community.

I would love to tell you funny stories and reflect some more on our experience so far in Cebu but it's 1 am already and I fear I won't be able to wake up in the morning for another meeting with our last partner, Cebu City Science National HS.

The last thing I would like to say is that I am very blessed to be working with my sister, Janet, and Anton on this project. They are amazing co-leaders. Every day we give 100% of ourselves. We want PP11 to be the best possible experience not only for the international team that will be joining us in Cebu shortly, but also for all of our partners. Thank you Janet and Anton for being great leaders and friends. Finally, thank you to all of our Project Philippines 2011 supporters and donors. We could not do what we do without you. We are eternally grateful for your support.


A small gift we found (wifi password) that reflects the degree to which Catholicism has penetrated the social fabric in the Philippines.

Good nighty world!!!

Sleeping beauty :D mwahahaha hiiii Janet!