Bruce and the Volcano

On Saturday at 6:30 A.M. I set out for Lake Taal which is about 80Km. from Manila but takes about 1.5 hours to get there because of the dense traffic in Manila even this early on a Saturday morning and also because once you get off the highway it slows down due to all the different kinds of traffic such as cyclists, various size motorized two and three wheelers, and people walking on the roads. One thing I noticed and had forgotten about is how close people live to the road once you get out of the city. I was often concerned for the pedestrians especially the children who seem so close to the road. You get to see how everyone lives because its right there before your eyes. On the way out of Manila many of the houses were basically shacks so there are some clear cut differences in the way people live in this city and country as there are everywhere. I found myself wondering what a typical day was for the people I noticed as we drove by.
This lake is one of the sights listed in the book "1,000 places you have to see before you die". The other one in the Philippines is the rice terraces of Benaue but it takes about 8 hours to get there so the pictures in the guide books will have to do. So our trip to Lake Taal is to consist of me taking the boat, hiking up the mountain, and then I meet one of the counsellors, Kit, and actually a client of the CIIP in Manila. Nita is a vetenarian in Lake Taal and as a result knows a lot of people who have cats and dogs. You will see the group sitting at the picnic table in a very lush coffee place which was full of birds in cages and of course people. I then went with Danny who was the guide arranged by Boyer and Nita who are the clients from Lake Taal. Danny, Boyer and I proceeded to the lake. It tooks us awhile to wind our way in Boyer's car down to the lake. You see pictures of the boat we took and some of the other boats going across the lake. I was almost hoping I had bought a life jacket because the one they gave us would probably not keep a 4 year old afloat. On the other hand the trip was not that long, the weather was fine, and the wind was not too strong so I felt confident we would make it to the volcano. Once we got there I was giving some hard sales pitches on everything from drinks to horses. I noticed on the way up all the Europeans/North Americans were hiking and the Koreans were on horseback. The hike was not too steep but you did have to stay alert so as to not be trampled by the Koreans on horseback. Actually they did not ride on their own but were riding double with Filipinos steering. Supposedly the Koreans wanted to build a cable from the mainland to the highland and then build a resort thereby eliminating the treacherous boat ride (not really treacherous, I am exaggerating) and the steep horseback ride. Make it into a sort of Whistler of the Philippines. The island people who number a 1,000 or so and get a livelihood from this would have none of it. So we made our way up and you can see some of the pictures on the way up and from the viewpoint. I am having trouble uploading my movies which are better than the pictures. I hope to have them up soon . Once up there with my guide Danny we walked around. Although I did not need a guide everyone in the Philippines is concerned for my safety and insisted I have a guide. He was very good company. He spoke good English and told me little pieces of news such as when we walked along the path to get a look inside the crater he told me 3 Koreans were swept off the path by a sudden gust of wind and fell into the volcano. Reassuring things like that. As soon as he told me this about 5 Koreans came along the path and were walking like they were in the middle of a road, very quickly with wide steps. He looked at me and said "See what I mean".
Anyways I took lots of pictures which do not due justice to the setting. The volcano was last active in 1965 but because it is still smoldering 2 years ago they stopped letting people take the boat to the little island that is in the lake which is in the volcano which is in a lake. Got that. You can see it in the pictures. Afterwards we went to Sonja's Garden which is a restaurant, spa, and hotel off the beaten track but very busy. We had a great meal then went to the spa and I had a foot spa, a pedicure (I had my first one in Toronto in December and now I want them when I can because I have beat up my feet so much fromplaying tennis. I thought it would be my knees which would give in but it is my feet which need tender loving care.) and a back massage for $15.00. It was good and about 7 P.M. we went back to Manila. Jose our driver did a good job. Yes we have a driver because often Filipinos do not drive long distances and suggest you do not either. When you rent a car they throw the driver in with it. The project director at CIIP has a driver and a car for his 2 children in university and Joel, the maintenance support person also doubles as his driver with his other car. He is considered middle class and everyone who is has hired help. It was a fun trip.
Everything is going well at work. I am now working along side the counsellors counselling the CIIP clients and I presented on Friday an all day workshop to the staff on group counselling techniques and how to do an effective job search process the Canadian way which is different than how it is done in the Philippines. I am looking forward to week 3 although missing everyone back home.

Venturing into the old city of Manila

I decided to go to the old city of Manila although the weather was sunny, cloudy, and scattered showers throughout the day. I took some pictures on the way as we went from the newer part of Metro Manila which is Makati City where I live into Manila and some of the poorer areas of the city on the way to the historic older part of the city. The historic part has a wall surrounding it where the Spanish first established their colony and it was of course protection for the government and their families. There are some old areas and some that were rebuilt from the ruins. The area was bombed out during the war, first by the Japanese and then by the Americans to defeat the Japanese. The whole Gen. MacArthur thing of "I will return". There were 2 older cathedrals both first established in the 1500's but destroyed a few times along the way but the last Cathedral St. Augustine was used for the internment of prisoners of war and was not destroyed in 1945. During the war over 150,00 Filipinos died in Manila often fighting alongside the Americans vs the Japanese. Of course many of them were civilians caught in the crossfire. In the churches historical museum I saw quite a few paintings of the Jesuits who tried to convert the Japanese in Japan getting their heads lopped off for their efforts. I think the Filipinos held some grudges against the Japanese. I saw a wedding taking place in St. Augustine's and at the other church was also a wedding taking place so I was not allowed in. I came on a Sunday because it is the best day to travel in the city but not a great day to try and look inside cathedrals. It was interesting go through the museum part. It reminded me of other countries such as Mexcio, Columbia where the Catholic Church and the Spanish Empire went into convert the locals. In the imagery, statues, and paintings there is a vivid theme of suffering throughout. The Philipines is still a very Catholic country. You cannot obtain a divorce if you were married here and if you go away and get divorced and remarry when you return you could be charged with bigamy because in the eyes of the law you are not legally divorced in the Philipines.
I started to use the camera more and I shot some movies. I wished I would have practiced a little more at home before I came here so I could perfect my technique a little more. My cab driver, Manny, has a wife who has been in Toronto the last 8 months working as a nanny. He hopes to have his children immigrate. His daughter is now training to be a registered nurse and the other daughter is going to university to become a human resources specialist. The Filipinos are considered ideal immigrants because many of them who have attended post-secondary education speak fluent English (or getting close to it), they tend to be co-operative and self effacing, and the country is poor plus they are anxious to leave although a lot of them are well educated.
Back to my historical tour. The first area is Fort Santiago and within it is the Rizal shrine for J.Rizal who is a national hero. He was executed by the Spanish just prior to the Spanish American war. You can see in some of the pictures how hard it was raining at times.

Getting away from the office

On my fifth day we had a meeting in the morning to see how I can best help them improve their service. We created a good collaborative plan which parallels many of the ideas the funders in Ottawa had but is now much more specific. We celebrated by going out for lunch at a restaurant near Manila Bay which is about a half hour from the office. The traffic was not too bad in this city of anywhere from 10 to 13 million (everyone gives me a different figure but it is a lot of people). The restaurant is one of their favorite spots. You pick whatever you want to have and how you want it cooked. I chose a tuna which was grilled but the portion was about 4 times the amount you would get if you asked for a tuna steak in a Canadian restaurant. We all shared the squid, prawns, scallops on a half shell, green mangos (which are tart not like the sweet yellow mangoes I am eating all the time here) and a vegetable dish with green bean, onion, squash, and some other vegetables with a cocoanut sauce which was delicious. I also drank cocoanut juice from the nut which i have done in Hawaii and elsewhere. We also had a delicious clam soup, not a chowder, which had a nice ginger taste to it. Very clean tasting. We spent a lot of time eating and having a good time. As you can see from the pictures this is not a high end restaurant but the food was excellent and the staff very friendly. The staff of the office were there. Jimmy A. who is opposite me is the Project Director who has lived in Canada and the U.S. He is trained as a labour economist and has been involved in Development projects throughout Asia but he is originally from the Philippines. Next to me is Kit, Jeri next to her, and Ting opposite to Jeri. They are the counsellors in the office. Tosca and Joel are the support staff. I have been eating a lot of fish here even for breakfast because there other favorite food is pork which I do not eat. Anyways afterwards we all went back to work later until 5. They are talking about a typhoon coming through, essentially a rainy, windy storm but it is Saturday and it rained some and now the sun is out. If it is nice tomorrow I will either go to the old historical section of Manila or take a trip out of the city. Either way I should have a few more pictures.

Working hard

Well the fourth day on the job. I am learning a new way of counselling using internet resources and moving to an action plan with clients in a single session. I am also sitting in the all day workshops the purpose being to prepare new immigrants to more effectively find work and support in their new country. It is meaningful and gratifying work for the counsellors because the clients are happy to be receiving such help. My role is to provide support, feedback, and suggest improvements to the group and individual counselling process. The counsellors are very receptive and so we have a good working relationship.
While coming back from dinner the other night I saw a sign for a new song " It's in her ear" by the Itchy Worms. I hope it is not any foreshadowing for when I go out into the countryside. Staying in shape not only by frequenting the gym but having to dodge the cars crossing the street. I am now waiting for someone to come along so I can cross with them to use their expertise and use them as a shield of sorts between me and the oncoming cars. The stop signs work like yield sign because it only momentarily slows the cars down. Hopefully I will have more interesting comments by the weekend .

second day on the job

I am going to have to come up with a new title. I did find out more about where the beauty contest is going to be held. It will be in a small city named Laoag on the north west coast of North Luzon. This was the childhood home of the infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos. I can go visit his embalmed body, if things get slow at the beauty contest, which is laid out on a mattress under some floodlights in the what else but Marcos Museum and Mausoleum. To add to the creepiness supposedly some eerie choral music plays on a continuous loop. There are some good beaches in the area and some terrific cockfighting on Saturday nights at the "cockpit". Sounds like an interesting town. After work I did take a picture of downtown but of course it does not capture the intensity and activity on the street some of which has to do with you cannot hear the noise all around. I will take a little movie to capture it perhaps. I had some delicious Green chicken curry for dinner. I like the clients and the staff at the centre but it does take the better part of the day , starting at 7:30 and fininshing around 5.

First day on the job

Well I arrived at work at 7:30 sharp although due to the time change I had been up since 3:30 and been to the gym when it opened at 6 A.M. I hope this pattern ends sometime soon. I just answered the door for a laundry pickup. Instead of knocking they ring the doorbell and it is loud and sounds like a house doorbell. At the office I sat through an all day session on Canadian labor market, job search techniques, cultural differences etc. Because I am the academic consultant from Canada I was being peppered with all sorts of questions which could all be answered with "depends" but I tried to be definitive although they may be basing their decisions on my information. They are mostly mid level Filipino professionals and today's group are planning on going to Alberta to live. Lots of discussion about the weather. The staff here are very friendly and after some brief discussion about the week's work activities it quickly moved to what I can do to see the country. I have been invited to North Luzon to be a judge in a beauty contest! I will be going to the home town and family of one of the staff who is a gregarious, large boned woman which is a lot of fun. One of the previous female consultants had gone with her to the family stead and had a ball. It should be a look at more traditional Filipino life. I mentioned I wanted to go to Lake Taal and they said they would take me but when I mentioned I want to climb it and go to the lake within the volcano they began to scramble for alternative ways to get me there. Part of their concern is the boat that takes you to the volcano is a little touch and go. Perhaps I will buy a lifejacket for the trip. The other place is Boracay which is an island in the central part of the country that I have heard many people comment on it as being beautiful with great beaches and coral reef.
At lunch I had a chicken fajita which costs a little more than it would in Toronto. This area is the high end of Manila so the food is not cheap unless you buy it off a street vendor. I walked down to the main road of Makati which is like being in Manhattan. The weekend was quiet around here but today I discovered there are a million people walking the streets about three blocks from my hotel. The traffic is crazy here, but not unlike Mexico City or Delhi. You really have to be mindful of the traffic because they take the corners so tight if you stepped off the curb without looking you could get whacked. It's a city of about 11 million with various centres strung out like Los Angeles rather than one downtown core. The jeepney I took a picture of the other day are operated privately, they are a cross between a bus and a cab. They run routes but not on any set schedule. There is virtually no public transportation in this city. The streets are so wide and busy they have walkways built underneath the intersections because you would not get across in a reasonable amount of time. You think you are walking into a subway but there is no subway you just come up on the other side of the street. I will take some pictures tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will be observing the counselling sessions which by next week I will be helping out with in addition to facilitating the workshops. Then I am expected to coach and mentor the staff on group and individual counselling skills. It should keep me busy.

Out on the town

Today I moved around the area a little more. Last night I had gone to a small mall and shopped in a grocery store which did not have a great deal of selection. The weather is in the high 20's but it is humid. I today saw that the mall is actually a series of malls called the greenbelt and there is every store you would find in one of our big malls : Banana republic etc. I shopped at a bigger store where I was able to pick up mangoes, papayas, and other fruits . It is pretty, pretty safe around here: there are security guys all around. They are friendly, at least to me, but they even have wand metal detectors which they use as people move from one section of the mall to the next. they never approached me, I guess the older white guy is not deemed a threat. Speaking of older white guys, there are some floating around here often with filippino wives but also younger couples or bunches ofwhite guys probably on vacation. I took some pictures which show my hotel, a look at Makati which is the area of the city I live in, and a park which is a block away. I walked over to where I will be working which is less than a 5 minute stroll from the hotel. So far I find the people very friendly, in one of the guide books some survey had established them as the happiest people on the planet. Why all the security guys? Obviously some people are not happy here.

Long Day's Journey into Night or following the sun around the world

Well I made it! As is usually the case my worst fears were not realized. I was imagining a cramped 20 hour flight but actually it went quickly although I did not sleep at all. At the beginning the flight attendant approached us (me and the filipino guy next to me) to see if we would change with a couple who needed our spot so the baby's basinet could fit the leggy space we had in front of the bulkhead. Fortunately when we moved we got a better space so I was able to stretch my legs the entire trip. This plane had the self selection of movies, music etc so I watched 3 movies: Superbad which was pretty good, Valley of Elah also good, and the Eleventh Hour a documentary on climate change plus I was reading an interesting book called "The Echomakers" which is very engaging. Ironically, one of the characters is based on Oliver Sacks the neurologist, author, and the guy Robin Williams portrayed in the movie Awakenings, he has traveled to Nebraska to observe this guy who is suffering from Capgras syndrome where he thinks people who are closest to him are imposters although they look the same to him etc, and Sacks is talking about lack of sleep when traveling etc which is happening to me because I have slept 5.5 hours since I left Toronto at 10 am and it is Sat afternoon. Anyways you can see I have time to kill because it is pouring rain outside although it is about 30 degrees . Speaking of lack of sleep my first really interesting conversation was this morning at breakfast with a Bosnian doctor who immigrated to the U.S. with his family and now lives in Dubai. He is a rehab specialist and is in the Philipines volunteering to set up a health clinic in a small village in the southern part of the country. He told me he works at a hospital in Dubai, has a small private practice, and works p/t as the doctor for a sports club where they have semi pro basketball club. He said he sleeps on average about 4 to 4.5 hours a night he is so busy. So anyways the trip went well my seatmate was a vet technician who works with animals in research at McGill U. who was going home because his father is ill. He told me a lot about Philipines in between movies. That's the thing about 20 hour flights is you have time for everything. I am learning as I am go because I missed my first great photo op. As we began our descent to Hong Kong I open ed up the blind on the window and there below were the mountains of China with the rugged coastline while my camera was tucked away. The airport sticks out into the ocean because of course there is no room. The other sight is the apartment buildings which look to be 60 stories high and are in rows. They reminded me of huge grain silos except they are people silos. The airport should be called airshoport because it is like Times Square with all the street activiy inside the terminal. Ohare airport is huge but hallways here go on and on and are so huge in width, height and length.
Last night as we came in, Manila fit into the classic third world city with 10 million mode. Lots of cars not following the street markings so everyone is all over the place, its slow driving and the honking of horns is incessant. My hotel is good al first I although at first I was not impressed by the furnishings but actually the bathroom is good and I have a separate kitchenette. I have a good view from the 14th floor of the area called Makati. Now I know what someone meant when they said it was like Vancouver but they were thinking of the West end and all the highrises and the density of the area whereas I was thinking of beaches and parks. Unfortunately it is not on the water but it is a safe area which the staff and my hosts keep reminding me. This morning I had the brunch which is free every morning and it was quite good. They also make good strong coffee which is terrific. Today is a day to stay close by but I will walk over to the office which is 5minutes away. The gym here has pretty new equipment where I had an indepth conversation with the attendant this morning on poisonous snakes in the philipines and he had some good stories which I will not repeat. I will post a not so good picture of Hong Kong at the end of the wing.

Happy New Year

I am writing in my blog for the first time. I am presently preparing for my trip: reading, starting to pack etc. This is a test so I will continue later.