Wednesday, 17 August

Last Wednesday (August 17) was jam-packed with activities. The day started off with a jeepney ride to the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM), one of our local partners. Their medical students will be collaborating with us on the creation and implementation of a health education curriculum focusing on hypertension prevention.

This particular visit, however, was for a lecture given by Dr. Berden, who talked about hypertension in detail, including definition, types, symptoms and prevention. The lecture was a nice crash course/refresher on the science behind hypertension as well as information that will be useful for our health education curriculum. Afterwards, the team also got to mingle with the CIM students, who were extremely friendly and receptive. I look forward to getting to know them in the coming weeks :)

Our time with the CIM students was cut short, as we had to grab a quick lunch before heading over to the University of the Philippines - Cebu High School (UP-Cebu HS) for a symposium on environment and health. The school had asked us to participate, so we prepared a presentation on high blood pressure. It was a very exciting experience, as there were at least two hundred UP-Cebu HS students in attendance, and they were all very enthusiastic about our presence. Although it was a challenge to convey our key messages over the cheering and talking amongst the students, the team stepped up and did an admirable job.

After the PLs debriefed the team on the symposium, we headed over to my favorite restaurant in Cebu: Chika-An! We had invited the Gawad Kalinga officials we are working with in Budlaan, but unfortunately they weren't able to make it. Sayang! (what a shame) But I know we will get to know them more as we collaborate with them to implement the health fair and other activities.

That's all for today, but I can already tell that this is going to be a very epic and fun project :) Ingat kayo (take care)!

-Andrew

Tuesday 23rd August: Day 10

After having a late night work session, the leadership team was once again up for an early start, for the 7:30am working breakfast. This morning was devoted to subcommittee work, and we set about finalising and rehearsing agendas for the afternoon's leadership workshop taking place at Sci-High (CCNSHS). On the way to laminate nametags we stumbled upon none other than a shop selling mountain dew..... All you non-believers, here's proof i've not been going crazy..



Definitely Legit..

 After a hearty and healthy (not at all hypertension related) lunch of KFC, we headed off to CCNSHS to set up the workshop. One of our co-leaders, Anton had got caught and fined for jaywalking, a term unfamiliar to us Brits.



Cab 1 is awesomeeeee!



Awesome paper creations the students had made

And so the workshop began; with an icebreaker, the ingenious 'human chair', followed by the bulk of the day's focus, Public Speaking, which consisted of a discussion between mentors and mentees about previous experiences and ideas of what makes a good public speaker, and a hilarious gameshow-themed skit devised and performed by none other than our beautiful children's subcommittee!

Vote for your "BEST PUBLIC SPEAKER!!"

LESS is indeed more. That was the motto which would hopefully prove useful in the next shocking exercise, 'Impromptu Public Speaking' where students were given 1 minute to prepare a given topic for a speech. Scary, and unexpected, but feedback was offered by their mentors and when the second bout of 'Impromptu Public Speaking' came about the students fared much more successfully.

Ziggy tries his hand at discussing: "Hot or Cold"

Onto the teambuilding component of the day. Students were blindfolded and led to the gymnasium in what can only be described as an exercise of trust (with some mentors relishing control!) and took part in a game known as "The Key to Success", an exercise that involves putting the mentees blindfolded into a 'maze' (which in reality has no exit) and helping the students realize that they can always ask for help.

Blindfolded students waiting to be led to their next destination...

...then attempting to escape the 'maze'

The final leadership activity of the day was "River Crossing", a game that involves a 'river' of mentee-loving piranhas, leadership mentors under threat from rabid pandas, and 3 pieces of cardboard, with the objective being to cross the river intact with all your team-mates (to save the leadership mentors). Some of the methods adopted proved amusing but in the end team 3 completely dominated and managed to reach the other riverbank well in advance of the others, by using some clever innovation and teamwork. Mentees picked up especially on the fact that there were several different possible solutions and approaches to the same problem.

Jessie keeps an eye out for industrial espionage..

...but team 3 push ahead!

The children's subcommittee then took over for the final hour, dedicated towards the hypertension portion of the project, with the mentees splitting into small groups and preparing a short presentation detailing an overview of hypertension - with a definition, the symptoms, the causes, and how to prevent it.

Hyper-what? ...Hypertension!!

The rest of the day was dedicated to more subcommittee work, the adult team coming up with a provisional plan for next weeks health fair, and the children's committee working on their hypertension pamphlet. Us leadership folks moved onto planning the next day's agenda and leadership workshop.

Dinner was at a buffet, with an opportunity to sample more of the local cuisine.. and the place also had entertainment in the form of a guitarist and singer belting out acoustic versions of all the latest tunes - Bruno Mars, J-Lo, Jessie J. Our resident minstrel Andrew had a go on the stage which was a smashing hit!

ARGHHHHH!

Providing smash hits since 2011

Andrew showcases his skills!

The songs had to end eventually and after another round of spotlight, everybody finished the day with more work... GO LEADERSHIP TEAM!!

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 : )