Coming Home!

I'm 8 miles high, out over the Pacific Ocean on my way home.  Just had the most extraordinary meal for "breakfast"!  I was brought a tray with a little wooden box, with an elegant black paper wrapping and a red cord.  Inside was:
Nori Over Rice
Grilled Salmon
Deep Fried Fish Cake with Nori
Japanese Home-style Omelet
Boiled Green Vegetables
Pickled Plum with Honey
Pickles (these were daikon radish pickles, I believe)
I was also offered a cup of Miso Soup, which I accepted and Orange Juice and Coffee.

Everything in the box was 'just so' and amazingly delicious, though there was too much rice for me to finish.  So elegant.

I managed to sleep a bit even though I'm an idiot and forgot that I could recline my seat!  I only remembered toward the end of my sleep cycle and it made a very big difference.  Oh well.  I asked for a bulkhead seat, and that was a good move, as I can stretch out my legs (though the video screen is much smaller).

The first leg of the trip was on Royal Thai Airways and it was very nice.  The seats were roomy and the food was also delicious (Thai, of course).  This is such a wonderful upgrade over China Air, with its crammed seating and bare bones amenities.

I'll be getting home around 7:30pm local time, but for my body it will seem like 10:30am!  I guess.  Even so, it should be easy to sleep tonight, I think.

I had one strange surprise in Tokyo.  I was pretty sure we landed around 9pm local time and boarding was for 11:30pm.  But after checking my email and Facebook, and putting on a long sleeve shirt in the bathroom, and exchanging a $20 bill for some yen, it was suddenly time to board!  I couldn't figure out where the 2.5 hours went.  I had to go right back to the money exchange and turn in my yen, at a $2 loss, I might add.

I was actually quite glad to get on with the trip, but I had thought to traverse the Tokyo terminal and maybe buy a few souvenirs for the kids.  Whatever.

As I was dozing in and out of sleep, my mind was ranging back and forth across this wonderful trip--meeting Alana and Jacques, and the kids at LCP, my more recent friends Ice and Dr. Ignapa and of course Dr. Nalinee!  And her brother Sam and his wife Branee.  And all my lovely students and clients, and the woman who was so intent on setting up EFT teams to cope with earthquake trauma in her village.

And there were good folks at Cave Lodge and Chiang Mai.  I remember the wonderful Burmese waiter at the Peppermint Cafe and Tapanee.  And on and on.  So many people and an endless stream of sights flooding in through my eyes.  Just the few hours of seeing Apo coral and fish is enough for years of remembering!  It's all stored away, just waiting for story telling and discussions to allow it to stream back into my conscious memory.  I feel deeply grateful that I was able to take this trip.  Grateful to all the people who sponsored me, and hosted me, and especially to my wife Krista, who kept our home life running and even dealt with new braces (not to mention homework) for Eden.

I'll be home soon

My Hog

My Hog, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

Without really meaning to, I've been facing some fears on this trip. The worst so far has been riding. Seems a bit silly now, as the roads here are mostly empty, and the scooter is an automatic and very easy to ride.
Of course, they do drive on the left here, and that made negotiating intersections a bit more challenging! Fortunately, there were very few intersections in Pai and none at all on the way up here to Soppong.
I had a mini-fear to face yesterday, immersing myself in the muddy river down below. It's not very deep, maybe 21/2 feet, but very strong current! Not a big fear, but it took me a bit.
Tomorrow it's my fear of heights...in Pai there's a zipline tour of the forrest canopy, which has 14 stations. I guess this sort of thing started in Costa Rica as a way of exploring the rain forrest there. I don't know what the balance is between educational and thrilling, but if it's open, I'm going for it!

Fellow Travellers at Cave Lodge

Fellow Travellers at Cave Lodge, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

Up until I arrived here I was starting to feel a bit lonesome. That has been cured (though I decided to keep my private room and not sleep in the co-ed dorm with 5 other folks).
I've had wonderful times with folks from Australia, Canada, Oakland CA, Ireland, Germany and Romania.
Last night was a series of long conversations about travel, politics, and philosophy. A sweet cure for my solo blues.

A River Runs Through It

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Just had the BEST adventure.  Joined two other guests, Jessica from Canada and David from Australia, and two Thai guides and kayaked down the river here to and through a huge cave.

Last night it rained so hard!  I don't think I've ever heard rain like that before.  It woke me up about 1:45am and I realized I'd been drying my towel and swimsuit out on the porch railing!  Despite the overhang they were soaked, of course.

It was hammering so loud on the metal roof of my bungalow I finally had to put in ear plugs.  I'd gone to sleep with the most exotic sounds--geckos, tree frogs, someone singing across the ravine at a Temple, and some frog that sounds like a duck!  Plus various assorted insects, I imagine.  It was lovely.

So anyway, all that rain swelled the river and it was moving fast!  Our kayaks were two person rubber jobbies, and I went with one of the guides, which was great.  One of the guest's lent me her 'wet bag' so I was able to bring my camera and video camera.  I was so grateful to have it, because at times we got absolutely soaked.

I didn't realize there would be such rapids.  Someone said they were class 2 and 3, whatever that means.  To me it meant getting very wet at times.  Other times the river would be relatively placid and I'd whip out my cameras.  Twice we went over dams!  They had a really steep slope and we'd go right over.  Of course I was in the front.  The first was maybe 12 feet, the second one 20!  Sploosh.

There was almost no signs of humanity for most of the river.  This really is a remote area I reckon.  The river and surrounds were just beautiful, but of course the main course was the cave.

As we approached the cave I saw swarms of swallows.  I mean swarms!  Thousands.  They were in the sky and going around and around in the cave.  Our guides beached us there so I was able to indulge in my photography.  Then we set off on a walk, with helmets and headlamps.  Our guide had a more powerful electric lantern.  We saw amazing cave stuff.  Huge stalagmites, stalactites and columns where they met centuries ago.

There was a lot of scrambling up slippery slopes and ducking under low overhangs.  We were all glad for our helmets.  There were hordes of bats deep in the cave, god knows how many.  Then we climbed back in our boats and went off through the darkness of the  inner cave.

I should mention that this was a really big cave.  The opening is big enough for a five story building to fit in there.  When we came out the other side, once again there were thousands of swallows in the air and the air had a very peculiar smell...bird and bat shit, I imagine.  I saw a woman filling a 50# rice sack with something.  Not hard to guess what.

Next we beached and took a hike through the forest to another cave that we had to scramble down into.  It was pretty tight.  There we saw bats up close and a myriad of wonders, including musical stalactites--they made different tones when we tapped them.  Crystals on the ceiling that looked so much like fine plant life.
 

There was one cave that had amazing acoustics and we OM'd a bit.  This is where our guide turned off our headlamps and we hung out in the dark for a bit.  Total, absolute darkness.  Not one of my phobias, but it would have been kinda hard getting out of there without light!  There was a string to follow, but...

After all the caving we had plenty more rafting ahead, including the most intense of the rapids and the two dams.  It was exhilarating, beautiful, and almost overwhelming.  We were met by a songtheaw like vehicle for the ride back to the lodge.  The three of us were all smiles.

Out of Pai

Saturday November 3, 2012 Cave Lodge, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand Woke up this morning in Pai, feeling a bit jaded, or lonesome or something. I went to a little organic cafe and met some Americans there (from New Jersey) who mentioned this place. I had forgotten, but last time I came to Thailand I had plans to visit here. The big draw is kayaking through beautiful cave complexes. Plus a VERY quiet, natural atmosphere. Once I decided to go it was just a matter of steeling my nerves to drive the 40 Km through winding mountain roads. Turned out to be a wonderful trip with almost no traffic at all. Soon out of town I was in gorgeous farm land with rice growing, and verdant mountainsides. I got used to the road very quickly and stopped a number of times to take photos. My only worry was fuel. I left Pai with only 3/4 of a tank and watched it go down to the red empty level! There were no towns for a very long stretch. Finally I found one Nam Rim, which is a very tiny village off of the highway. There were no stores or shops that I could see, but I spotted four boys, maybe 8 to 12 years old and asked for fuel. It actually took a little doing to get this across, but then they got it and laughed. One of them ran around the side of their shack house and came back with a liter water bottle with yellow stuff in it. Hooray! They charged me 60 baht and I think that's actually about what it would have cost at a station. Neat kids. It was cool motoring through this village. Minimal concrete construction, mostly bamboo and thatch. All the houses situated along a creek. I get that the living is pretty easy for these folks, relative to back home. At least the basics are pretty much covered: housing, food, health care (Thailand has universal health care). The boys were looking at a laptop when I drove up. So I guess they have some sort of cash needs. It's wonderfully quiet here. There's a river down a steep hill from here and I'm going to go down in a minute and plosh about. So far I've met six other guests in the great, open air common room. It's super nice, in a very down home way. Tomorrow I'll be kayaking through the caves! Woo hoo!

Market Shop

Grains, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

My last day I took a stroll through Dumaguete's massive public market. Notice the look that older fellow is giving me. It wasn't exactly a friendly experience. So unlike Thailand in this way.

Bread Camp

Bread Camp, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

These kinds of places were everywhere, offering little baked rolls and buns for 2 or 3 pesos each. Not a lot of really sweet things, but many that were just mildly sweet (very Asian). These places kept me going on the cheap!

Anti-Contraception March!

Anti-Contraception March!, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

The Philippine government was considering a reproductive health bill that would make contraception more available. Guess what major religious institution was opposing it? Yup. The good old Catholic Church, in classic knee jerk fashion. Never mind that many Filipino families have so many children they can't afford to feed them. Very frustrating.

Cute Kids

Cute Kids, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

They came over to sell me something or other, I think. But really they just wanted to stare at the sunburned white guy. I was SO sunburned and putting on apple cider vinegar (I'd read this would help...didn't). They were so adorable I asked to take their photo, and like kids everywhere, they loved looking at the pictures once I'd taken them.

Big Tree in the Tropics

Big Tree in the Tropics, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

I was fascinated by these trees. I wish I was more of a botanist to know about them. They really made this boulevard in Dumaguete.

Crowding in Manila

Crowding in Manila, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

This shot just about sums it up. You've got your big modern skyscrapers, and nice open spaces and upscale neighborhoods (upper left) and then you've got massive slums, especially along the waterways. A few haves and a whole lot of have-nots!

Ouch!

Well, I'm sitting here in my room with some bloody gauze in my mouth. The good news is the operation only cost $68! Back in the states I'm guessing it would have been well over a grand, because it took almost two hours.

The bad news is this a procedure I wasn't totally expecting, and it isn't over by a long shot.  I knew I had a cavity under one of my crowns, but I didn't know how bad it was.  It was bad.  I remember being so optimistic when I got my first crowns.  I didn't realize my gums would recede.  The one they did today was my left upper rear molar, which used to have a shiny gold crown on it.  Once they pulled that crown off, it was very clear the tooth would need to be pulled.

 I use the word "pulled" euphemistically. They did a lot of pulling alright, but it came out in many many pieces, all the way up to my sinus cavity. It had been root canal'd and it was brittle and even though I prayed and tapped, it really wanted to stick around.

Anyway, it took forever, was very painful at times, and very stressful the entire time. Wish I'd asked for another Xanax. The gold crown is sitting here on my table, and will probably more than pay for todays two hour treatment, but I'm going to need another implant.  Damn.

And here I am in one of the great eating capitals of the world and I'm supposed to stick to scrambled eggs and yoghurt!  I know that I'm whining and I really have no right.  Hurricane Sandy hit land this morning and it doesn't look good for New York City and surrounds.  I'll stop complaining now and wish everyone back there love and light.

Some Dumaguete Photos

Filipinos are a bit obsessed with light skin. In this they are like the Thai, I believe. It seems such a shame, but then I think back to my 20's when I would try and get a tan! But I never stooped to using darkening soap. Alana told me it was hard to get any soap that didn't include bleaching agents! Uck.

  Before I got to the Philippines I was worried about eating well enough. Ha! Even though their native cuisine is a bit limited, the whole country seems to embrace western food. For breakfast I would usually just go to a little hole in the wall and get eggs for about 35 cents, and a few buns I got on the way for maybe 12 cents. The fancy meals like this one would set me back $3 to $5. This was one of the most gourmet meals I had my whole stay!

  The far back wall of LCP had a number of these...murals? PSAs? To me this was the most intense. There are recruiting companies that offer domestic service jobs, especially in rich countries like Dubai. I know they also prey on Africans from Kenya. Once the girls get there they are actual slaves, receiving no pay and no freedom whatsoever, living in squalid conditions and forced to work long hours 7 days a week. Probably there are legitimate companies as well. Alana told me that there are more Filipa overseas workers than from any other country right now. My dear hosts, Jacques and Alana, are hopefully enjoying a much deserved R&R vacation on the beach in Sri Lanka. I would never have taught in the Philippines at all, were it not for Alana. They delayed their own departure (and I think they were READY after 2 years) for two whole weeks and endured a second round of tearful goodbyes! What wonderful folks.

Can't Sleep So Here's Some More Photos...

Well, it's 2:30  am and I can't sleep, so I thought I'd catch up by posting some photos from Dumaguete.  The photo above is from my enthusiastic class at LCP - the Little Children of the Philippines, where Alana worked for two years in the Peace Corps.  Lovely folks.  Some of them are women who represent rural districts, as part of an empowerment program for women.
The gal in the front with two hands up on her head, she came back the next day and brought her niece who is still traumatized by a flood that wiped out her home.
We had an awesome session and then worked on the Aunt's Bell's Palsy.

Fun Facts on the Philippines:  If you squeezed the island nation into one land mass, it would be just slightly bigger than the state of Arizona, but would contain the population of our 5 biggest states: California, New York, Texas, Florida and that 5th one I can't remember.  That's a lot of folks.
Unfortunately, they've achieved a deforestation rate of about 95% and that's why the flooding is so horrific here.

And of course the cheapest land, or free land, is along the rivers.  Not good!



And here is my first, 2 day class at NORSU - Negro Oriental State University.  This was a much tougher class, with less participation.  Here I met the culture shock head on, and yet there were some folks here who I'm certain will take the teachings to their community in a very big way.  By the end I was so happy to be there.




Okay, this is a shopping mall in Manila.  I don't go to malls in the US much, so I'm not sure if this looks unusual or weird, but this is in a third world county, with beggars and families living on flattened cardboard on the sidewalk!  I saw them on the walk over to this place, which was super air conditioned, of course.
Alana, who has been here for two years, said "we still don't know who can afford to shop here".  We had a lovely dinner at one of the restaurants.  My first meal in the Philippines.  I took home leftovers and on the way back to our pension a little boy beggar tried to grab it from me!
Welcome to the third world, which is built upon vast disparity of income.

Banana Pancakes and Oral Surgery

It's a beautiful morning on Soi 5. Im guessing low 70s. I'm at one of my favorite restaurants, just steps from Kavil House, my new digs. My room there is a big improvement over the one at Harold's in Dumaguete. Much more spacious and big windows letting in the sunshine.

I had a rough night though. Woke up with a fever and chills and actually had to bundle up and turn the fan off. Whatever it is seems to have passed and even my sunburn is a little better today.

There is a joke about how you can tell Americans abroad: they're the one's who take pictures of their food! Guilty as charged.

I ordered a big breakfast because I'l be on soft foods for the next three days or so. So I got a vegetable omelette, banana pancakes and fresh coconut juice (which I LOVE). 120 Baht or about $4

So right after eating and brushing my teeth (of course) I walked over to Dental 4 You and signed in. It's quite a lovely waiting area, and there were lots of staff (I think I counted 9 of them!

The dentist is a tall (for a Thai) handsome young man, very soft spoken and polite. The took panoramic x-rays, and he explained everything to my satisfaction. But I was nervous as hell and asked for an oral sedative (they mentioned that in their literature). It was something called Xanax and I think it probably helped.

The implant process itself wasn't that big a deal, but on one side they had to drill into my sinus cavity and add bone graft material. Hang on...I think I'm going to faint. That part was MUCH more intense and horrible, but I got through it. Now I'm icing my face off and on and laying low.

I certainly wish (and not for the first time) that I'd taken better care of my teeth when I was a kid. Love and hugs, rob

Bye Bye Philippines

My Philippines adventure is over.  I'm high in the air on my way to Chiang Mai, with a quick stop in Bangkok.  I see a long muddy river winding below us, and I wonder if it's the Mekong.

Last night we had a final supper up on the rooftop of Harold's Mansion, all the Peace Corps folks who were leaving, and a few who were staying for a bit.  I was able to write a letter to Joy, which made me happy.  It will be delivered by Janet, who has been volunteering at LCP.

Some of them went out for karaoke--they rented a private room.  I guess that's really big  in the Philippines.  I would have loved to go with them, but I was feeling too wretched from my sunburn.  I was asleep by 8:30!

Four of us rode to the airport and flew to Manila.  My companions had been living there for two years and were happy to be moving on.  I felt a little sad.  But now I'm on my own.  I've been following them around like a puppy for two weeks, as they knew the territory so well.

If all goes to plan, tonight I'll be checked into my guest house on Soi 5 Ratchadamnoen and can stroll down the alley to the Sunday Walking Market!  Maybe I'll buy a lot of stuff!  In many ways it'll be great to be in Thailand.  The Thai are MUCH more friendly (it is the 'land of smiles' after all) and I'll be staying in a tourist ghetto, more or less, with ready internet access!

And tomorrow morning I meet my new dentist and he'll drill holes in my skull and screw in a couple of implants for new teeth!  Wish me luck!

Happy

This was a very good day, at the El Dorado resort.  The first time I was able to really just relax since arriving in Manila last week.  Dumaguete is so noisy and smoky and has so little to do or see, it really colored my outlook on the Philippines.  Turns out that a lot of travelers consider the Philippines to be a top destination, for diving, snorkling and beach play.

It certainly was beautiful along the beach there, and wonderful being in the ocean.  My friends went back there today to snorkle, but alas, I am so sunburned I'm staying put.  No outings for me, on this last day of my trip.  

Apo Island

Apo Island, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

It took about an hour to reach Apo. My diving guide grew up there! Tiny place with two tiny villages. I'm happy to say that it's now protected and one side is even a marine sanctuary.
All of the small ships here have outriggers made from bamboo. Adds a certain element of the exotic!

Me and the Girls

Me and the Girls, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

It's absurdly difficult, here at least, to go back and add photos to my posts (and I finally have a few photos uploaded to Flickr, also crazy hard to do). So I'll be posting things all out of order!
After my little EFT class for the kids, they all wanted to pose for me, especially the girls.

Getting in Over My Head

It's sunset here, on the top of Harold's Mansion.  Jack Johnson is playing (loudly) on a rather impressive stereo.  And I have a rather impressive sunburn on much of my body, especially my face and head.  Alas.

I have to say it was worth it.  I got to do 3 dives today and saw wonders of nature, including a vast variety of corals.  A truly mind boggling diversity and most of it very healthy and colorful.  I got to meet a number of sea turtles, including several up close (though no touching allowed).  I saw a lion fish--which was small but so impressive!, a scorpion fish, clown fish galore, a banded sea snake (my dive master told me it's venom is 8 times more deadly than a king cobra, though it has a very small mouth).  There were little schools of angel fish, and iridescent fish, and brain corals and....I saw so many incredible things that I feel full to bursting.

And I met two wonderful gals from NZ and Holland, and a nice couple from Estonia.  The ship was awesome, the trip there and back gorgeous, but the borrowed sunblock didn't help at all.  A little while ago I felt very ill indeed.  Turned out I needed to eat and Harold's produced the best and biggest Filipino pizza yet for a mere 150 pesos.  That and some Buko (fresh coconut) juice has me feeling much much better.

To be honest, I was a little scared for a bit.  I felt terrible and it wasn't just the sunburn.  Harold's provided heaps of free barbeque'd oysters for everyone on the roof and the look and smell of them made me most unhappy.  Also, everything is still pitching and rolling.  I think my inner ears took a bit of a beating from the 3 dives.  It'll be fun falling asleep though.

But I had a lovely time up on the roof tonight, once I recovered, joining in with the peace corp folks, and my ship mates too.  Tomorrow is my last full day in the Philippines but I'll most likely have to lay low and stay out of the sun.

In Deep Water

I walked down to the ferry terminal again this morning...all trips cancelled!  On the way there I passed a big cylinder truck that said "cryogenic liquid".  It was leaking some steam out the back, which made me a bit nervous.  But on the way back, just as I was approaching, it let out an enormous cloud of bright white fog which immediately blocked the road stopping traffic.  I saw one guy drive through it, trying to get around the edge, but he was in an actual car.

I decided to wait!  It took about five minutes for the fog to clear.  Not sure what would have happened if it had got me!

So we ditched the island trip and took a jeepny down out of town.  Jeepnys are these strange, long, low slung vehicles left over from WWII.  They were all over Manila, but here they are only used between towns.  It was fun!  There were no windows and the breeze just whipped through.  One guy had baskets of vegetables, another guy a couple of old marine batteries. There were some little kids looking at us like we were from outer space.

The resort we went to was very spiffy.  Really, it was the first spiffy place I've seen here so far.  It reminded me of Bali.  Very artful.   I swam in the gorgeous pool and we lounged on comfy couches in a great big open air lounge all built out of timber bamboo and thatched roofing.

When we got there the tide was in and it was pretty choppy.  The water came right up the the concrete edge of the dive center/restaurant.  After a really good late lunch Jacques and I walked down the beach.  The sand was a beautiful coco brown and even though there were waves coming in, the water was surprisingly clear.  J said it was because the sand is especially heavy and there's no silt.

All along the beach there were big trees with green leaves.  Only a few palm trees here and there.  Very exotic.  We have nothing remotely like this in California.  Also, the way the water looked--it was grey--made me think it had to be really cold.  It wasn't at all!

We ended up going swimming and it was wonderful.  Big rolling waves were coming in.  I tried opening my eyes under water and could.  It didn't even sting, though the visibility wasn't good.  It was very salty water so I felt extra buoyant.  What a pleasure being able to be in the water without getting cold.  Not that the water was warm, it wasn't.  And the sun was not out.  In fact, it was raining a bit!

So I made a big decision.  I've signed up to go diving tomorrow on an all day trip to Apo Island.  A & J told me it's rated as the third best diving spot in the world!  The owner of the guest house, Harold, has a beautiful dive boat.  A & J got certified by him and have been to Apo 7 or 8 times.  The price is 3800 for three dives.  They call it a "discovery dive" when you aren't certified and they have someone minding you the whole time.  That's under $100.  I'm going for it!

About 6 years ago I went diving in Bali.  There was a sunken WWII Liberty Ship right off the shore.  I was a giant clam with glowing iridescent lips, a clown fish, blue starfish, etc. etc.  It was one of peak experiences of my life.  So what the h

I'm up on the rooftop of my hostel.  There must have been a big party last night, judging from all the beer bottles (and the guy still asleep on one of the couches).  The air is almost cool!  It's breezy and the sky is all full of clouds.  We'll find out this morning whether our big trip to the island of Siquijor is going to happen at all.

So far no storm.  It's hardly even rained at all.  Not much to report really.  And still no way to upload photos to Flickr but I've been able to upload some to Facebook and maybe I can share them here? Here's a link:    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4385163639860.163568.1611334297&type=1&l=052aabe318

Oh Lord stuck in Dumaguete again

I'm at the ferry terminal with J & A waiting with about 100 Filipinos.  There's a tropical storm advisory and all the ferries are canceled for the day (so far).  I'm not keen on drowning in a ferry acceident and those do seem to happen here a lot.  But there's hardly a breeze and it's only half an hour across the water....

Then again, if we get over there and a big storm blows in, we might get stuck and miss our flights.  That would NOT be cool.  Alana is laying on the brick floor with her eyes closed.  Jacques is reading my book Snow Crash.  We'll find out in about half an hour if the next ferry is running.

There doesn't seem to be much of a plan B.  I asked if there was a nice place up the coast, but apparently it's not the same.  Much more difficult (and dangerous) riding around on a scooter when it's mainland Php with all the traffic.

This morning I hung out with my favorite 6 girls, especially four of them are very dear to me.  I gave them all my business card and a US dollar.  They seemed pretty happy about that.  I just happened to have $6 in my wallet left over.

I also talked with Carmenia about sponsoring Joy.  I decided yesterday that was something I wanted to do.  I have to get it set up with the organization in the US, but I don't think it'll be any big deal.  Joy was VERY happy for me to do it.  Almost feels like I have a new daughter!  Not really, but there is that flavor to it.  I'll be sponsoring her for the next 4 or 5 years probably, helping her through college (Siliman if Carmenia has her way with me---that's three times as expensive and much much better).

But all that's out the window if our ferry sinks and I drown!  Or my plane blows up or crashes.  Whatever.  I told Krista if that happens to go ahead and sponsor Joy for me.

My got this plastic seat is hard.  There has been little in the way of comfort on this trip.  My bed at LCP was actually good.  But all the chairs and seats are hard, except for a few upscale restaurants.  People don't seem to mind but I'm skinny dammit!

Last night we watched Home Alone 2 with all the kids.  There are scenes of amazing opulence.  At the end the family has a giant Christmas tree with mounds of wrapped presents under it.  I can't help wondering how that registered for them.  They have very little in material goods.  I watched the girls washing clothes in a concrete ditch with water from a pump (the kind you work by hand).

Jacques tells me they all think America is this golden land of milk & honey.  And to some extent it really is.  We really can work our way up the economic ladder.  People still do it.  And life is so much cleaner and easier than here.  If only we could somehow appreciate it!

Update: I'm at Harold's Hostel about half a mile from the ferry terminal.  All trips have been cancelled for the day.  There's no going back to LCP.  The goodbyes just about killed Alana.  She hates crying, I think, and did a LOT of it this morning.

So here we are and the "typhoon" is pretty unimpressive so far.  Just a little extra breezy with most of the sky clouded over.  A plan B is starting to take form, if we can't get to Siquijor tomorrow we'll likely rent bikes and head down to a beach resort called Dauwin (sp?) with a great beach, snorkling or diving maybe (if it isn't raining from the typhoon).

I'm waiting in the cofee shop while they clean my room.  Lot's of waiting today!

Today is day two for training at the LCP center.  We left it open to folks yesterday that they could come for more training this morning but only one woman showed up, bringing her niece April.

I did a little session with April around flood trauma.  Flooding is a big deal here.  Yesterday the pastor told of getting caught and swept away in a flood that killed 8,000 people in one day...just in his area.

So April and I tapped on various aspects of the flood, and what happened and her aunt watched carefully.  The aunt is going to introduce tapping to her community group tomorrow!  We got most of the anxiety down, and the sadness at what they'd lost in the flood and then it was the on-going fear every time it rains.  I think that may be very common here, which is a bummer since it seems to rain a LOT nearly every day!

But we got that tapped away and just about then I realized we should be videotaping it.  Oh well.  I taped the next bit on test anxiety and mental block.  And then the aunt's Bell's Palsy!  I'd never tapped on that before.  We tapped on the physical symptoms and then on her various feelings about having it...I had to supply suggestions here, as she's a very good Catholic and the only appropriate feeling, apparently, is faith in God.

Well, when we got to shame we hit the jackpot.  She's had this for 30 years and said she was afraid her son and daughter wouldn't like her because of the way she looks (?!).  At least I think that's what she said.  So we tapped on the shame and hopefully took care of some of it.

It's hard to get an honest answer from these folks, about whether the tapping is working.  They put a strong priority on being polite and agreeable.  Makes it a bit harder to assess.  I told her she should keep tapping on the problem and she agreed.  Alana said that's one good thing here: if you tell them to do something, they'll carry through.  It's that long tradition of Catholic obedience to authority, and that means me, at least this time!

The girl April was very grateful and thanked me profusely, so I said if she'd like to pay me back she should teach at least one other person to tap.  She said she would and I believe her!

In a few hours I get to teach some groups of kids.  I don't know exactly what I'll do, but they are wonderful kids and I'm sure inspiration will come.  Another brilliant inspiration was to have some of the girls address all the postcards!

I'm sending postcards from Dumaguete City to all the people who helped sponsor my trip here.  It's a nice big stack of cards.  Only trouble is, my handwriting is really bad these days.  Three girls helped out and did a fantastic job (although one person's address was "opted out of getting a postcard, Santa Rosa, CA"  I gave each girl a 20 peso bill (I don't think they were expecting to be paid anything) and they were really amazed and pleased (in an anguish of embarrassment kind of way).   20 pesos is about fifty cents, by the way.  I love these kids.

An Explosion and I go to Church

 Last night Alana and I were out and stopped at a fruit market.  I got mangosteens for breakfast, and she got really good bananas, then we had these guys machete open a green coconut and put the juice and scrapings in a plastic bag.  We each got one for breakfast this morning.

So I was ready to have mine, but it's just in a bag and I wasn't sure what to do.  I knocked on their door and Jacques handed me a wide mouth Nalgene bottle to pour it into.  I decided that might be messy so I went to do it in the bathroom.  Good thing!  As soon as I poked the bag open it exploded!  No joke.  I guess it went off during the night and fermented (it didn't smell too good) so it just burst all over the bathroom floor.  Messy but no worries.  It's one of those asian style bathrooms with no shower curtain, the shower water just goes everywhere.

So I was cleaning up the slimy coconut shavings and mess when I hear an urgent pounding on my door.  It was Jacques saying don't open the bag!  Alana had hers burst in the middle of their room!  Oh no!

So after that it was time to go to church!  There's a really huge open air room (it's bigger than a basketball court) with at least 300 people in plastic chairs.  These are the families of some of the kids who live in LCP.  Not all of the kids are actual orphans.  Some of them come from families too poor to feed or care for them--all part of being a Catholic nation. 

So there was singing and a sermon by the pastor, all in whatever language they use.  I don't think it's Tagalog, but something like that.  It's a very consonant heavy language that sounds a bit like verbal popcorn.  At the end they had a special ceremony to honor Alana and Jacque who have been there for two years.  The staff all got up and sang songs.  They made Alana and Jacque get up on stage to say a few words.  It was sweet.

Then to my surprise I heard my name mentioned and the lady was smiling and pointing at me, thanking me for coming to teach the Eeeeeee  Efffffff Teeeeee (our workshop is tomorrow) and they all sang me a welcoming song!  She also invited these 14 community leaders to come and (Alana told me) offered to pay their transport...people are really poor, remember.

So I felt like a big wig and had three hundred people looking at me.  I waved and a number of people shook my hand at the end.

The best thing here though is the girls.  We had another movie night last night and it was just the 13 girls.  I'd brought some caramels from Trader Joes and they each got two.  VERY well received.  The movie was god awful!  Some short Disney flick called The Young Black Stallion.  But I stayed just to hang out with these wonderful kids.  

They want to know all about my own daughters and my wife and have tons of questions.  One of the questions was whether I was sponsoring a kid already.  Alana explained later that means sending $35 a month to help pay for their keep and school books and such.  I'm sorely tempted.  

There is so much poverty in the world that we can't ever hope to do much, but then sometimes something comes right across our path.

It's been raining here a lot.  Sometimes it just hammers down and will be extremely muggy.  But you just walk around in the rain and get a bit wet and it's no big deal at all.  It's actually cooling. I guess when it's really pelting down we haven't gone out in that.

Notes from the second day of workshop one

Notes from the workshop (during practice sessions):
The workshop is going much better now.  People seem to be really getting it.  Maybe some of the slackers are gone.  I'm seeing much less chatting and more serious tapping happening.  Voices are lower and people are really working.

Also, after my last few presentations there have been many more questions and comments...god, what a relief!  I never realized just how vital that is to teaching.  This last bit was on negative core beliefs.  I've got a slide with 21 classic ones, like "the world is a dangerous place" or "I'm helpless" or "Something must change for me to be okay".

So I decided to ask the group which of these might apply to most Filipinos.  After an agitated few moments, one older woman said all of them!  At first I didn't think I heard her right.  But pretty much the whole group agreed.  I stood next to the screen and went through them, and everyone did agree!  The only one that escaped was "I must be perfect to be loved" which, this being a Catholic nation just makes sense, I guess.

So I asked what would happen if they believed none of them and they were a bit stunned.  I asked them to think of really successful people (not just filthy rich, but rich and happy).  Did they believe these things (obviously not).  Then I suggested that if each of them could change just one of the beliefs for themselves, it might begin to actually impact Filipino society (a bit woo woo maybe).

Anyway, they are taking it really seriously!  Going at it hammer and tongs.  Success!

Edit:  At the end of the workshop I handed out the certificates and shook hands with each student.  It was surprisingly moving for all I think.  Everyone clapped for each other and people were just beaming.

As folks were leaving one woman, Nora, came up to me and invited me to come to her town to teach and organize.  There was a terrible earthquake back in February and if I understood her there are some 50,000 people still homeless, sleeping under tarps and such.  They are all deeply traumatized and it seems that many people died, including some of her students.

I let her know that I couldn't come back to the Philippines any time soon, but I could work with her via Skype.  I could even run a mini training by Skype for a team she put together.  I tried to give her confidence in her own ability to get going on this, as I'll be away for another three weeks or so.  She was very excited and my heart was singing.  This is exactly what I dreamed of coming here!

Then another woman, Edna, approached me.  She had stood out in the class.  She seemed extra sharp and was one of the few to ask questions.  Turns out she runs an early childhood education program at another University and she was already planning how to teach and organize her students to add tapping into their work.

She said that many children cry every time it rains, being traumatized by recent flooding!  That just about broke my heart.  But she's ON IT!  I told her I'd work with her anyway I could.  Again, this is my dream coming real.

After all the students were gone, Alana was meeting with the wonderful young woman who did all the organizing for the event, Dawn.  She's 23 years old and should be running the country, in my opinion.  But they looked worried.  Seems that 6 students hadn't paid yet (and it wasn't clear they would) and the money had come out of Dawn's pocket, so Alana paid her.  That would mean we're $150 in the hole for the workshop, but I don't care.  At this point I'm happy to pay and in fact, all the backers for the Kickstarter project funded this anyway.

But who knows, maybe Dawn will be able to collect before we leave and we'll come out about $13 ahead!  Woo hoo!

I've got today off, so I made my way down to the waterfront and found a big supermarket with a little Internet cafe attached, and here I am.  I wish I could add photos at this point, but it's beyond me with just this wifi connection.

I've got some really incredible images to share!  Stay tuned.

High Point

Sorry for the long delays in posting.  It's been very frustrating getting any internet access!  Argh.
I'm with Alana and Jacques at a fancy Internet cafe near the waterfront.  We went for a long walk along this fancy pedestrian boulevard after the first day of the workshop.

I'm still processing the craziness of the workshop, but I wanted to tell you about the awesome experience I had last night...

Alana and Jacques, as it so happens, are wonderful and generous folks.  They're donating their apple laptop and projector to the LCP (little children of the Philippines) where Alana worked for two years.  The laptop has about 300 movies on it!  We watched on with the kids last night "White Fang" with Ethan Hawke.  Not a film I would normally sit through, but sitting in a big room with 27 boys and girls (from 6 up to 16) in the muggy heat, watching a film about the frozen Klondike...well, that was a treat.

When a grizzly bear suddenly shows up and starts chasing Jack...OMG you should've heard those kids scream!  Their reactions to the various twists and turns of the plot were priceless.  I did wonder what they made of the evil dogfighting men and scenes, given that cockfighting is the national sport.

Alana passed out 2 little Halloween Peanut Butter cups to each of the kids.  I declined to take any, but then I  had three or four kids offer me their second candy!  So generous!  These are kids living in a freaking orphanage!

When Jacques, Alana and I went back to our little building and he opened the door a HUGE toad jumped out from inside and we all let out a yelp!  At first I thought it was a rat!  I fell asleep with a smile from the sweetness of the kids, but also smelling burning garbage from down the road.  This is a very different country.

Today we had 27 people show up for the workshop, which was great.  Turns out there actually are windows with actual glass and the noise from the big carnival across the road wasn't that bad.  There were other frustrations and weirdness though.  Big time.

For example, Filipinos are used to just talking during class.  Jacques warned me about this.  They just chat with eachother whenever wherever.  Shockingly disrespectful if it happened in the US.  Totally normal here.

Also, no one will raise their had or answer my questions in the group.  It was like pulling teeth to get a volunteer.  Except there is a woman from Nigeria, different culture!  Thank god.  Some of the people are very sharp and seem to be getting it, but others I can't tell at all.  And the whole thing about having to stop for snacks....it's a big deal and seems so juvenile somehow.

Apparently their school system, Catholic school for all!, trains them to be totally passive.  Nothing much is expected of them, according to Jacques.  I did a lot more group tapping than I usually do--they really respond to that, and lots of gory case studies.

Oh well, enough for now!

First Impressions

Today we flew down to Dumaguete City and "checked in" to our rooms at the Little Children of the Philippines compound.  I've got a nice little room with a private shower (cold water only, but that's okay 'cause it's HOT).  Alana and Jacques were dismayed however, as all the stuff they'd stashed in their room 3 weeks ago was moldy!

The other source of stress is that there is some snafu around giving our students an official receipt.  There was some sort of threat that the workshop would not happen and all the people who might be able to deal with it were away.  Poor Alana was a bit freaked out.

But I had a shock myself when we went to look at the room.  It's up a long flight of concrete stairs and has big windows opening to the street.  No glass, just metal bars.  Across the street is a big 10 day festival going on.  There was LOUD music booming in through the windows.

At first I didn't get were the sound was even coming from, but I heard Alana ask our guide if she thought the music would be happening for the next three days.  Answer: Yes!  Holy shit.  I'm supposed to somehow teach with that racket going on?

They said not to worry, I'll have a PA system.  Oh goodie.  Apparently this is the only room available.  So I'll just have to do my best.  It helps that I'm not making any money at all on the event.  In fact, I'm actually paying to teach them.  Takes some of the pressure off somehow.

The really cool thing was coming back to the LCP and getting to meet a bunch of the kids here.  Really sweet.  Mostly I talked with four little girls, who were older than they looked, at 12, 13, 14, and 15 years old.  They asked me tons of questions and were happy to answer mine.  All of these kids lives have been touched by real tragedy.  Many are orphans, some from families that were too poor to care for them.  Some rescued from abusive parents.  

In that sense they are very much like the kids I worked with for the first ten years of my career.  Only a lot more respectful and sweet!

Apparently there is a custom to show respect for elders.  When I met them they would take my hand and then touch their forehead to it.  One little boy sat right up next to me and was pulling on the blond hair on my forearms.  It almost hurt, but I let him do it anyway.

It seems that Filipinos as a rule are very aware of skin color.  And of course lighter is better.  Dark skin means you work outside in the fields and are poor.  Low status.  Sad but true.  I'm finally in a place where my inability to tan is a benefit!

I guess this is a really big deal here.  When we got off the plane we had to walk down stairs and across the tarmac.  The airline handed out umbrellas so people could avoid the sunshine!
The major mode of transportation here is the trike.  It's powered by a little motorcycle with a covered seating contraption attached.  It's got a windscreen on the front, but it's very open air.  Lots of noise and smog.  We caught one at the airport, the three of us with all our luggage.  Just as I began to ask "are we really going to fit in that thing?" the driver grabbed the luggage of another family of three and the SIX of us, with all our luggage, crammed into and onto the thing.  Astonishing.

I had three trips today in these things.  It's almost impossible to understand how we didn't crash about 380 times.  There aren't any stoplights.  The drivers, pedestrians, cars, buses, trucks and all just somehow merge in what looks like the embodiment of chaos.

It's 6pm.  The sun just set, as it is want to do in the tropics.  No internet.  A big training tomorrow.  More Filipino style chaos ahead.
rob out.

I'm here!

I kind of freaked a bit when I saw my seat.  It was definitely engineered more for the Asian body type.  Not someone 6'2".  I actually asked the stewardess if I could switch to a bulkhead seat.  Alas, every seat was full.  At least they're efficient.

So the first leg was only 13 hours.  I'm sure I slept at least 3 of those.  We were chasing the sun west, but it caught up to us, rising behind us a few hours before we landed.

The next leg really did just fly by, but still no sleep.  So here I am in Manila, on my own so far, as my hosts are in Peace Corp meetings.  Everything is a bit surreal...in some ways it reminds me of Thailand but then again not.

When my taxi pulled up in front of the "pensione" there was a dirty, naked little boy on the sidewalk.  When I left later to seek out this internet cafe, I saw that it's a mom and some kids.  They seem to have some flattened cardboard for furnishings.  On the sidewalk.  Yikes.

I guess I'm in the right place.

Gearing Up

Wednesday night, October 11, 2012

I'll be in Dumaguete City
(look for the island Negros)

I'm packing for my big trip to the Philippines tonight. 

People keep asking me "Have you ever been before?" and the answer is NO!  I have virtually no connection with the country whatsoever aside from Alana Fournet and a stuffed pangolin.

Alana's been a Peace Corp Volunteer in the Philippines for the past two years and a one time client.  She invited me to come over there and teach EFT.  Her tour is just about over and my workshops there will be her final project.

The stuffed pangolin is another story.  When I was about 9 years old my sister and I had outgrown our bikes and my dad gave them to a Filipino family he knew from work.  In return they gifted my dad with a stuffed pangolin, which looks like a cross between an armadillo and an anteater.  It has big claws for digging, and I seem to remember it can also spray like a skunk!

Ours was stuffed and mounted on a piece of wood and I treasured the thing for years.  I still have it boxed up in storage somewhere.  I understand that the Philippine Pangolin is threatened as a species.  I'd love to see one, but that's not actually why I'm going.

Another reason I'm not going is to make money.  That's usually a big factor in going somewhere to teach a workshop.  Even though I love teaching, it's a lot of work.  But it turns out that Filipinos are kind of broke.

Even though we're charging for the workshop at the University (I think the tuition is 1000 pesos) it's not enough to even cover our expenses.  And I'm not talking about my airfare and lodging and all that!  Just renting the hall and supplying everyone lunch and the printing and such. 

By the way, 1000 pesos is around $25.  For a three day workshop.  And that includes lunch.  Sheesh.  I couldn't really afford to pay to teach these folks.  So I decided to raise funds for the trip.

And we got backers!  Some 40 wonderful and generous people who've made donations to make the trip happen. You can see how we raised the money through Kickstarter here.

So the big plan is to make a documentary of the trainings.  I'll be editing that when I get home and with luck will have it done by Christmas (we'll see).

I'm starting this blog just to keep family, friends, donors and anyone else who might be interested, posted on this venture.  I'll try to keep the photos coming, so check it out time to time!