Goodbye to Manila

Well it is actually March 7 and I am on Kho Phangan island in Thailand but I am going to record my experiences from memory. I was unable to access the blogspot in China, I guess it is being censored. I left Manila on March 1 after having spent 43 days there. I had gotten quite used to being there with my various routines of going to the gym which was rarely used by others at the hotel although there were a few regulars like Yossi a Japanese businessman I always shared a few comments with. The buffet breakfast was also excellent and my room was comfortable. I said goodbye to the other counsellors and staff on Friday. They presented me with some food and a t-shirt with Manila written on it. I gave them cards and some books which were work related. I had gotten to know all of them quite well. I had met Jeri's and Kit's spouses, Kit's aunt, her brother also plus many of her close friends in Laoag. I got a few pictures of the staff and myself leading a group at the office. I enjoyed my time there and believe I made a valuable contribution to their organization. The last week there Harold and Shirley Goldin had come to visit for a week and I went to Hong Kong plus on to Guangzhou when I left. They are both American although Harold is also Canadian and spent some time growing up in Windsor. Shirley is from Baltimore. They met on Vista project in the inner city of Baltimore. Shirley is an African American and Harold is Jewish so it makes for interesting mix of religions and race. So now I knew who I was going to be working with for one week with when I got Guangzhou. Harold is the director of the China office in Guangzhou. I was going to be providing counselling training for 4 days when I got there.