PICTURES!

To supplement my last post, I'd like to add some more pictures and a video I took while at the SONA protest.

In this video, I tried to capture the beginning of the march.  You can see all the different people with flags and banners.  At one point you can see the giant float of the President with a pig face holding to pistols to the air (only from the back but I can assure you that is what it is).  If you look in the background, you can see that they are on a regular road with traffic still trying to pass on the far side.  The jeepneys were used to block off more and more of the road as more people arrived.

This was the legal team.  They were the ones to brief all the foreigners on their rights and what they were and were not allowed to do legally.  However, everyone was ultimately allowed to decide in what capacity to participate in the march.

 The people in the middle in all white shirts with white flags are the religious group.  The priests made a wall around their marchers and were trained with how to handle the situations they could face being a part of this march.

There were plenty of great signs at the march. These are some of my favorite.

                                      

To leave the protest, we went up over the overpass to get to the opposite side of the road.  It was from there that I got some great pictures to put it into perspective.  

                                  

As you can see from above, the march goes in front and behind where I was for a fair ways each direction.  The crowd is decorated with banners, flags and signs.  The traffic is at a standstill right beside them because the line of cops has stopped them to also stop the marchers.  It's hard to see in the pictures, but the police have created a barrier up at the next overpass (thus our departure).  The police lined the side of the street in an attempt to keep the protesters confined to that side of the street and prevent them from continuing past the barrier on the other side of the road.  Many people came to the protest and this was only one of several protests going on throughout the day all over the city.  I forget the exact statistic but I believe somewhere around 10,000 police officers were brought in from around the provinces just for this day.  I am so grateful to have had the chance to walk with these people as they speak out for their rights.  I hope that by sharing this, you might consider how lucky you are, especially if you're from the US, to have the right to peacefully protest and the right to stand up for what you believe.  I hope that this opens your eyes to the injustices facing the Philippines. And I hope you enjoyed looking some of the pictures I took (and ignored any issues with the spacing...I tried)! I only went through my whole camera battery, my whole phone battery, and most of my iPod battery to get them! Hopefully more posts with pictures will come soon! :)

A Reflection on Two Marches

And you thought I was done writing. No, I happen to have put off writing about two very important experiences until I was well within the safety of my country's borders.  It wasn't anything that extreme, but one can never be too cautious. This is one of them. I apologize in advance for the length, but to leave it shorter would do it an injustice.

I think it took until today to really understand and reflect on my experience in the Philippines.  Today, I attended the People’s Climate March in NYC in response to the United Nations meeting to discuss climate change. 310,000 people attended at first estimate.  And I was one of them.  It takes about 5.5-6 hours to get from Ithaca to NYC by bus. One might think that I have better things to do with my Sunday than spend my day on a bus for only a few hours in the city. In my busy life there are exams to study for, homework to be completed, and social/club obligations to meet.  But when I saw my pastor, Taryn, post an article about the climate march, I knew I was called to be there. 

I walked with hundreds of thousands of people to show that this is an issue that I care about, that we care about, and that you and everyone in power should know we care about.  After all, true change should really begin with the people.  So I walked for those who couldn't.  I walked for God’s great earth. I walked for my future.  And I also walked for the friends I left back in the Philippines.

I don’t care what you think about climate change or how you think we should go about taking care of the issue.  That’s not the point.  People today held signs that I didn't agree with.  And that’s okay! We were united by the fact that we all want something to be done about climate change, something I witnessed first-hand in the Philippines. Just this week I read about more devastation due to another typhoon in the region. The science is there to show that the climate is changing. Whether it’s part of a natural cycle or not, the pollution that humans create is not helping.  Just yesterday I was working on some homework about SO2 scrubbers for a coal combustion reaction.  I really think that I can find a way to serve the environment using my gifts and skills as a future chemical engineer. 

I wouldn't have considered attending this march before my summer in the Philippines.  I grew a lot this summer, but I also learned an important lesson.  My presence alone can be a powerful tool.  I’m not a politician, but I can affect political change by using my voice and my presence.  I stand in solidarity with people, and I know that makes a difference because I spent most of my summer doing that.  I know what I care about and I want to make a difference.  In all honesty, if I had rolled over in bed after I shut my alarm off at 5am, it would not have made a big difference to the march.  But if everyone there said that, then there would be no march.  There would be no movement and no change.  The great thing about events like the climate march today is that I wasn't standing alone.  I wasn't one person, I was part of 310,000 people.  That is powerful.  And it gave me the courage to go.

It was a very different story a couple months ago in Manila.  The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is much like the US President’s State of the Union.  But the political climate in the Philippines is much more volatile.  There is a lot of corruption and ineffectiveness in the government.  The SONA tends to focus on the successes of the government.  The protest, where I went, tries to tell the other side of the story. 

At the end of the People’s Climate March, there was food, art, and music. 

At the end of the SONA Protest there was a police barricade.

I, as a US citizen have the right to peacefully protest my government.

The Filipino people do not have that right.  (Nor did I on my travel visa).

Knowing that we were not allowed to participate in anything political made me a bit wary about attending the rally in Manila.  But we were there to attend the worship service in the street before the marchers left, nothing more.  Once we arrived, I realized just how many people had come out for the event.  They were everywhere, slowly taking more and more lanes of the road.  They came from all walks of life.  And the best part was that I knew and recognized so many people there.  Migrante International, the migrant rights group we worked with was there.  There was a group representing the indigenous people, like the Aeta we visited.  There was a group standing behind a handmade set of prison bars representing the political prisoners we visited. (I promise I will write about that.) There were the people we had met at Hacienda Luisita. There were people from the NCCP and other missionaries and church people we recognized.  On top of that there were labor groups, women’s groups, professionals groups.  Everyone was represented in the protest.  This wasn't a problem faced by a few Filipinos.  This was a problem faced by an entire country of Filipinos.

After joining a worship service led by megaphone and witnessing the growing crowd, Nicole and I asked if we could stay and walk with the people.  We got the green light and were briefed by the legal team.  After a surge of foreigner presence at the protest last year, the police were on the lookout and could be taking pictures of us. However, there is nothing illegal about being a tourist on a tourist visa.  So while we were told it was unwise to walk in the protest, we were allowed to walk alongside and take pictures like a tourist.  So with my camera at the ready we set out along the route.  We weren't able to go all the way because there were often physical altercations when the police barriers were reached.  When we got close, we walked up over the overpass to the other side of the road.  From there, we could see the police line and the police all down the side of the road too.  But you could also see the long line of people back along the route.  And even more arriving throughout the day. 

I don’t think I can accurately convey the impact this experience had on me.  I know I've written a lot already, but I don’t think I could do it justice to say any less.  I now know how lucky I am to see police officers today and know they were there to help me, not stop me.  I realized that if I have this right, I can’t waste it.  When issues as large as climate change, human trafficking, and social injustice present themselves it can seem overwhelming to tackle them.  But never doubt the power of just your prayers and your presence.  Change doesn't come easy, but it can come.  And it starts when you decide it’s worth it to get out and do something.  

Hopefully these pictures come out okay and I can share more photos in the future!

Typing Up Old Blog Posts: Last Days in Aeta

July 24

Today is my last day in the Aeta community of Camachili.  We leave to go back to Manila tomorrow morning.  As sad as it is to say goodbye to the new friends and greenery, it will be nice to go back to the familiar and rest a bit. 

Yesterday, we went to visit another Methodist Missionary church in the area.  We started out with a wet walk down to another church, Evangel Christian Church, to wait for our jeepney driver (who is also Pastor Leslie's brother).  Then we set off on the most fun and interesting jeepney ride to date.  It was a bit like what I imagine and African safari would be like.  Not in the sense of spotting animals, although there were plenty of caribou, cows, goats and more.  But more so in the ride, fording giant puddles, bouncing up and down on the uneven roads, and having reeds and branches come in the windows and whack us.  It was quite the adventure. 

After driving as far as the road would allow, we set off on what would be an hour long hike through the mountains.  The views were incredible! It was muddy and we had to cross the river a couple times, but overall it was a fairly easy hike.  Every so often we'd come across a caribou or a cow just off the path.  Upon our arrival, we were able to wash our feet off and meet in the sanctuary.  We all needed the rest.  We ate some corn on the cob (not as good as in Jersey) before sitting down for lunch in the pastor's house behind the church. 

Pastor Arlene and her husband Aron were recently married.  The banner for their wedding still hung on the wall.  Pastor Arlene is only 25 (I think) and yet at such a young age she new she was called to be a pastor. 

After lunch, we split into two groups to visit members of the congregation.  They didn't speak English and the young girls leading us around were rather shy with their English so we mostly just greeted the families, saw their houses, and left.  One man owned and raised 41 goats.  At another family we met the Lola, or Grandmother.  She was 79 years old and had lived there all her life.  She also had inch thick glasses that were cracked and taped together on one side.  At that house I also met my kitty friend who I played with.  We left the house and he (or she) tried to follow, but was unable to.  I can still here him (or her) meowing goodbye. <tear>

We walked back to the church for a break and then said our goodbyes and headed back.  I found little pink/purple flowers to put in my hair.  I found one for Nicole to pin at the bottom of her braid too.  On the hike back we also found some red hibiscus looking flowers.  The guy who owned the house let me and Nicole each have one.  After getting tired of carrying it, I put it that one in my ponytail.  Nicole followed suit and twisted her hair up into a pretty updo with the flower on top.  I eventually let my flower float down the river that night when we returned and went swimming.

Today, I spent another day with Teacher Juliet.  This time kids actually came to class since it wasn't raining that hard.  They were learning body parts.  She was teaching them the English words while I was trying to pick up what they were called in the local dialect.  They sang the national anthem (at least I'm pretty sure that's what it was) before they started.  They also prayed, repeating back what Teacher Juliet said.  They had play time and story time.  I wanted to teach them the song Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, but I didn't want to interrupt her.  So when she asked if I wanted to teach a song for the afternoon class, I knew exactly what I would teach.  The 4 year old class is much more responsive and engaged than the 3 year old class.  They picked the motions up, but I'm not sure the English words came across well.  Later, Nicole showed up from her homestay and together we taught our go-to song which I'm going to call Paige's song because she's the one who taught us.  We did Head Shoulders Knees and Toes again and then called it a day.

We finished by swimming in the river for the last time.  I'm so glad we were able to have this escape and relaxation time in the river.  I look forward to heading back tomorrow.  They promised we would be able to stop and pick up some local peanut butter and local root plant cookies to take back with us.  I haven't personally tried the peanut butter but I've been told it's excellent.  And I can vouch for the cookies with the empty container we left in Pastor Leslie's kitchen!

Typing Up Old Blog Posts: Aeta Community

I'm home! And finally have a keyboard to type up some of my written journaling! This entry should follow the post from July 20, Best Day Yet. So if you want it to seem in order you can refresh yourself with that post before reading this. Or just read this. :)

July 22

I've had two more lovely days in the Aeta community. I'm actually writing this next to the river watching Nicole swim. (I would go swimming but for once it's actually cold here).

Yesterday was a much later start than Sunday. Once the students from St Paul's College arrived we joined them for another presentation about the Aetas.  They were also here for an exposure trip, but just for the day.  After lunch, we went to several different houses to meet some of the people.  One woman shared some delicious cookie things that are also at our house.  They are made with some root plant and are a local treat.  At the last house we visited, there was videoke, or video karaoke.  One of the girls sang and I thought it was Beyoncé herself singing! She was so good! Hopefully we will get to go again this week with some of our friends.  The afternoon was pretty chill.  We went swimming again (after I took a nap).  Overall, a pretty great day.

Today was homestay day.  I spent the day with Teacher Juliet.  She teaches daycare, the 3 and 4 year olds.  Unfortunately, it has been raining pretty much nonstop since 3am this morning thanks to typhoon Henry being in the region.  When there are heavy rains, children don't go to school.  We had a total of  students out of 24 in the morning.  I cannot imagine how she handles a full class of 24 3 year olds by herself.  It's a mix of play and focus.  She would guide them through simple coloring exercises for basic English using red and yellow crayons to distinguish between big and small or men's and women's clothing.  But the others ran around the building playing with each other.  There were lots of loud voices and running around and banging.  This one little kid, James, kept jumping up on the table and causing other trouble.  All I could do was sit in awe at what this woman accomplished everyday in that classroom.  I would've helped, but none of them have learned English yet. 

After the first batch went home, I went to Teacher Juliet's mother-in-law's house for lunch.  Juliet's roof is thatched and was currently being replaced. (They last about 5 years).  After sitting on a bench watching Filipino soap operas and talk shows for what seemed like forever, we ate lunch.  She made a dish with heart of banana which was really delicious.  I ate that with rice.  She also made sardines in tomato sauce from a can, but I decided to forgo that. (Probably a good move).  At her mother-in-law's house there were lots of animals roaming free throughout the house including chickens, a dog, an two puppies.  The puppies were adorable, but also troublesome, trying to bother us while we ate.  The home was small, but cozy and the lunch was great. 

We returned to the school for the afternoon 4 year old class.   We had one kid come to class and I'm pretty sure he spoke only two words the entire time.  So it was a bit dull, but I was glad to be there.  Juliet let the boy go home early and I decided to accompany her to pick up her daughter from the elementary school.  She is only 6 so the 1km walk is a bit far for her to do by herself.  We waited in the rain for about half an hour before Christine, the daughter, and her friend came out after their quiz.  They took their uniform skirts off and walked back in just their gym shorts that were underneath.  They were so cute but very shy.

On the walk back, we stopped for soda and snacks.  Juliet bought a bottle of soda and then distributed it to us each in plastic bags (which is totally normal here).  The lady who sold us the snacks was fascinated by my appearance.  Paleness seems to be idealized in Filipino culture.  Also, no one here has blue eyes like me.  She was also pregnant.  There are lots of superstitions around pregnancy.  Only look at pretty things.  No horror movies.  And apparently, rub the white girl's arms so that your kid will look like her.  It was a little odd (okay a lot odd), but we all have our weird traditions so who am I to judge.

And to wrap up the day, I'm sitting by the river.  A good day.

Paranaque Revisited

August 9

It was somewhere between this week and last week that I realized I wanted to come home. Luckily, this realization came when I only had a couple weeks left. This time next week I will be home.  I'm literally counting down the days.

I want to be honest with everyone. I'm having a bad week. It's really hard to motivate myself to the end. Certain things keep happening that have kept me down. I've spent too much time feeling angry and frustrated in my situation. It is in no way the fault of the program. This is a great program. I would recommend it to anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 30. But it's time for me to come home.

I think a lot of people may equate this with a vacation. I mean I'm in the Philippines with gorgeous beaches and tons of tourism. But it's not. It's work. And it's often hard work. And like any job it has it's ups an downs.

Today I'm going to try to share the ups because they are much more interesting and inspiring than the downs. But I want you to know that this isn't always rainbows and butterflies.

This week Nicole and I chose to stay behind from the trip to Cagayan to help fix up the building that is used for a weekend teaching program in
Paranaque. Unfortunately instead of building and fixing we were relegated to cleaning. But we were able to convince them to also let us decorate the place. I'm unable to add photos from here but when I get home I promise to try to upload lots of pictures.

We spent the first day getting supplies. We got poster board, markers and paper. Then that night we stayed up until 2 in the morning making the posters for the rooms. There were two rooms so each of us made a welcome poster, a Lord's Prayer poster, a shapes poster and a bible story poster. I did the story of feeding 5,000 and Nicole did the story of Daniel and the lions' den. By staying up that late, it allowed us to have a free day the next day to hang with friends, a much needed escape from our week.
On Thursday, we traveled 3 hours to Paranaque to clean the place. After a quick sweeping and clearing of the bookshelf, we scrubbed the walls of dirt. I can't tell the difference from the before and after pictures of the walls. But I saw a lot of dirt come off so I guess that counts. We were helped by about 5 or 6 of the children in the community. They were the best helpers! And we had a little fun doing it even though I ended up sweating buckets and being soaked with soapy water. After a 2.5 hour ride home, it was definitely time for some rest.

Friday was also a rest day. We started the morning with a workout. I forgot to mention I started working out with Nicole here about every other day. It makes me sore but it relieves stress and ultimately makes me feel better about myself. Hopefully I can continue the routine into the school year. We followed that up with a trip to the mall where I picked up some yummy souvenirs for friends and family. We attempted to sun bathe on the driveway but it didn't last too long. However I'm pretty sure it was long enough to get at least some color. Everyone thinks we are crazy because we want to be darker. People in the US pay for tanning salons all the time. But here paleness is valued. Every lotion, body cream, and even deodorant come with "whitening" properties. If I have to listen to one more Filipino commercial advertising for a beautiful white rosy glow I might have to throw something. Of course I feel the same way about tanning but that's a different story. This day has a lot of side stories. I finished the day by reading the rest of my Nicholas Sparks novel Message in a Bottle. I mean I was only 30% of the way through when I started but I finished it that night. It was just the type of relaxing day I needed.

Today started a lot later than expected so I got up, showered, ate breakfast, and went back to bed. :) After another long trip to Paranaque, which included a train ride on the national railway system, we started to decorate. The girls who helped with the cleaning also helped with the decorating. It looks so much more inviting and just fun. We followed that up with teaching for an hour and a half. That may not seem like much but when you are dealing with 3-7 year olds who don't speak English you kind of have to go with the flow. They understood some things and other ideas we had to scratch. We did a lot of singing and dancing and looking ridiculous for the sake of the amusement of the kids. But I don't mind. I'm good at that.

Our day finished with an interesting train ride back. Remember me mentioning the national railroad system? Yeah this is like old fashioned in many senses. They look a bit like prison cars and I'm pretty sure the engine car ran on coal or something else like that. And Filipinos love to squish. They have an all female car which makes the guys to girl ratio in the other cars much greater. Plus more guys take it anyway. But we were with Anthony so we went in the regular car. After following the crowd we finally found a spot to hold the rail conveniently provided by some really nice Filipino guys. Actually this was some refreshing kindness and friendliness that was sincerely appreciated. They created casual conversation that only slightly verged on invasive (but that's the culture so this was more moderate than usual). Eventually, one of the men even gave his seat up for me to sit. It might have been my bright red face or the gallon of sweat on me but it was still really nice. The train was like a sauna and it smelled of, well, sweat. One guy told us he takes it everyday. I could not imagine. I am definitely not destined to be a city girl.

While it was hard to get through the week, looking back I was able to do some really great things. This upcoming week is mostly free so touristy Manila here I come!

Hacienda Luisita

This is the first of the catching up. I'm pretty sure I wrote most of this the day of so that's the tense it's in. We went to Hacienda Luisita on Thursday, July 17.

Today, I got up at 4am to take a shower in the dark thanks to good ol' Glenda the typhoon. The early start wa because we had a 2+ hour drive to Hacienda Luisita. In case you aren't up to date on your Spanish, a hacienda is a giant farm, more closely related to a plantation. But to put it into perspective, it is 6,435 hectares of land or almost16,000 acres.

It took me a while to understand the issue at hand. A history of imperialism has messed a lot of things up. From my understanding, sometime after the Spanish left, there wa a document that said the land should be distributed to the people within ten years. This would be all fine and dandy except that the farmers still don't own the land. It is all owned by the same family, the Cojuangco family, which is related to the president's family, the Aquinos. It seems that several governments ago loopholes were created to get out of distributing the land to the farmers. This is how the Cojuangco's were able acquire it. Then, in another government they escaped distribution by forming Hacienda Luisita Inc where they made the farmers share holders. Now, there has been a Supreme Court case in favor or the farmers, saying that the land must be distributed to them. And the Cojuangco family started giving land away to people, but only their relatives and not the farmers. This is a confusing issue to me and I've done some outside reading, but there's still a lot I don't know. There's always two sides to a story and I invite you to look into it if you are interested.

One of the most vivid images I have of the hacienda is that of the concrete walls topped with barbed wire surrounding recently bulldozed fields. Farmers plant the land and the bulldozers would come. All they can do is replant because that is all they know how to do. The people against them use guns and government officers turning blind eyes. It's a big injustice to the people who just want to be able to provide for their families. There are so few jobs here that it is really sad people are destroying the only infrastructure they have. People are being evicted from their homes just so they can fence off the land and do nothing with it. Apparently there may be plans to build a sports arena.

We visited a section of about 8 hectares that the activists farmed organically. Unlike the US where everything is mechanized, in the Philippines everything is done by hand. After a quick presentation on the land distribution (or lack thereof) we worked out on the farm. One of their plots had actually just been flattened last week. After a muddy trek, we reached the rice paddies. I got to be like my fellow GJVs at ARI in Japan by planting rice. Let's just say it's probably better that they are there and I am here. It was fun to wade into the muddy, slimy patch, but all my rice stalks fell over in the water and my lines were anything but straight where I planted.

After lunch, we went to a community center where they were gathering the people to prepare to protest at the SONA (State of the Nation Address). This speech by the president usually says how great everything is going in the country, including the "success" of the land distribution act.

One of the first people to speak was a young girl named Angela. She is now 10 years old, but when she was 7, she witnessed a massacre outside the sugar refinery. They killed everyone with knives and guns. Though officially 7 were killed, it is likely many more were not counted. They spared her because she was a child, but she was scarred by the experience, witnessing her aunt be killed right in front of her. She has become very politically active for the farmer's rights because of this experience. She is a brave little girl, not only surviving the massacre, but being able to speak out about it in front of crowds that number in the thousands. She is protected by the community because she was the only survivor. They watch over her at school and at home. She is really a special girl.

It was a very long day that ended by going back to a dark house. Still no power.

Batis, Fishermen, and Kindergarten!

Yesterday I attended the 25th anniversary celebration for Batis Center for Women. Batis is the placement site for two of my fellow GJVs. They work with many women who have returned from working abroad, sometimes as the result of human trafficking. There is also a program for the Japanese Filipino children of the women, who are the product of the mother's time working abroad, but have little to no knowledge of their fathers. Batis also sponsors several girls, who are survivors of typhoon Yolanda, to attend school. 

It was attended by people who run each program and also those who are in the programs they facilitate. There were also those who support the center in attendance. It was a liturgical celebration which made it a lot like an extended church service, just a little less traditional. 

The part that really moved me was the testimonial part. While most testimonies were in Tagalog, the emotions conveyed by those helped by this program surpassed the language barrier. From the little I did understand, I know that Batis is an important resource for many women and it has helped countless more that were not in attendance at the celebration. It was great to see our friends perform in the program, but also to see who they have been working with this whole time. 

This past week I stayed at Harris Memorial College, a school for student deaconesses. For those of you who don't know what a deaconess does (like me when I first heard the term), a deaconess can major in Christian Education or kinder education. They work as teachers for young children and usually run the music programs at churches. While I'm not sure if there is anything similar in the Methodist church back home, it often reminds me of nuns or Sisters of the Catholic Church. On a slight tangent, a lot of traditions of the churches here seem to emulate those of the Catholic Church. Communion is commonly given with wafers. There are kneeling rails in many of the churches and sometimes even the individual pews. The large catholic presence in the Philippines probably contributed to a lot of these things, but it is interesting to see the differences. 

What was I doing at this college for deaconesses? Certainly not attending classes. I have enough of those at Cornell! No, I was there to teach kindergarten in a local impoverished community. But first, we visited the fishing community of Ticulio where we would leave our male companions, Kosta and Anthony, for the week. 

To get to the island, we first traveled on the school bus to get to the docks. This school bus is very different from American school busses. It actually resembles a jeepney in many ways except it is smaller and there is a door that closes you in. Plus it's got AC (or as it's called here, Aircon). At the dock, we got onto a boat that could've come straight off of Survivor. I kept expecting Jeff to pop out at any time. The middle was rather large and could hold lots of people. The boat was balanced with two bamboo skis that jetted off on each side. The views from the boat were spectacular. The islands slowly faded in from the cloudy distance and the mountains seemed to form from nothing. We saw fishermen out on the water and communities built on the edges of each island. 

Once on the island, we proceeded to receive a tour. We hiked up to the school. And up and up. It was so high! But the view from up there was spectacular. The school was in a state of disrepair due to typhoon Glenda, but the students still used it. We also visited the recreation center which consisted of a basketball court and a little school house. All of the children, and some people a little too old to be considered children, stared at us in awe. But if you walked towards them, they immediately backed away like they were afraid. It was rather interesting. The lady who was leading us around gathered the kids and asked us to teach a song. So we did, except no one sang along. They mostly just stared. When we asked for a picture with them no one wanted to get close enough to us for it. It was the first community who had not been super excited about taking pictures. Except this one little boy. He walked right up to us and smiled. I like him. He's cool and can stay. :) Yet despite not wanting to be in our pictures they continued to follow us until we got back to the house that was hosting us for lunch. After lunch we just dropped the boys off and headed back to Harris. 

We got to teach the kindergarten students for the rest of the week. We planned the lesson at night with Teacher Devine, who was a 4th year student at Harris studying to be a teacher. To get to the school, we had to take two jeepneys and a tricycle, which if you remember is a motorcycle with a sidecar attached. Right before we reached the community, we passed through a very nice subdivision. It was a very clear contrast between those houses and the ones in the community we were teaching in. The kids were the saving grace of the week. They were so cute and precious! We taught them songs like the Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Ants Go Marching to help with weather and counting. Their topics for the week were weather, counting 1-20, and vowels and consonants. We were tasked with teaching the math section and helped them count from 1-20 by clapping. Then we would draw the number on the board so they would recognize it. Of course being the only native English speakers there we did not teach the English portion. We instead sat in the back and snickered at the interesting pronunciations that were being taught to the kids. I guess accents perpetuate accents. But I will not be riding a school "boos" anytime soon. On the last day we got to give them an untraditional quiz by doing activities with them. I ran the letters game. I would say "Hop to the letter..." And if they got it right they got a star. It was usually a group effort but eventually they got it right. I really enjoyed our week at Upper Javier. It felt like we were really making a difference by teaching. I love to have experiences like this one that really validate why I am here. Hopefully this coming week will provide the same satisfaction as we prepare to fix up a building at Paranaque, where we taught the kids a few weeks ago, so that it is better suited for use as a learning cent

Wifi! And a Reflection on GJV

It's probably very stereotypical of people from my generation to be lost without Internet connection. You just think of the cranky teenager on a camping trip in the middle of the woods complaining about a lack of signal. Well that's been me a couple of times here. But not for the reasons you may think. I didn't realize how much I was dependent on my support system back home until I no longer had access to it. It makes a huge difference in this difficult process to be able to talk to friends and family. And my only way of doing that is through the Internet. I'm at my home away from home, Decker until Tuesday morning. So at least I will be connected until then. I know some people have been wondering why I haven't posted and its because of a lack of wifi. I have been journaling on paper though. So hopefully this weekend I will be able to type some of those up for you to read. In the mean time, here is part of the first reflection I had to do for GBGM.

GJV Reflection

Brielle Hohne

July 25, 2014

Reflection #1

Board of Women's Work

Manila, Philippines

"What am I doing here?" 

Describe specific functions that you have accomplished to date while at this placement:

I am here to listen. It sounds like such a passive action, but it is one that I have come to find extremely important.  I have spent most of my time listening to people's stories. I have heard from typhoon victims, political prisoners, urban poor, human trafficking victims, families of migrants, and farmers at Hacienda Luisita who are being oppressed. Each one has a story to tell. Beyond the physical exhaustion of traveling to all these places, the emotional exhaustion is high. It's difficult to listen to testimony after testimony and see no hope for their situation. And yet, every time we visit, I have found we bring hope to the people. By simply lending my ears I have brought hope. By having someone care enough to come and listen there is renewed hope for a better and more just future. My presence and my prayers are enough for now, but there are high expectations for when I return home. 

The Board of Women's Work covers a wide array of organizations and issues. I have been exposed to many of the issues and the people that they help. The wide variety has allowed me to explore my passions  in the realm of justice issues. I have been able to work many days with Migrante International, an organization that works for justice for migrant workers of the Philippines. From this experience, I have acquired a resource book and the testimonies of several migrants and human trafficking victims to take home and use to educate my local community. As someone who has worked with the migrant ministry at my home church, I feel called to return to this ministry and share what I have learned to help the migrant community near me. This specific experience is only one of many that serves as a specific, long term purpose. 

Best Day Yet (and Catching Up)

I'm still here! I know it's been a while. If you are up to date on your Filipino news you should know that the lovely Typhoon Glenda visited me on Wednesday. It was my first typhoon and I was very glad to be staying at the Decker home and not one of the communities I visited. They have been destroyed in the storm and one of the volunteers who works with us stayed behind to help with the damage. Our power was out until Friday and the wifi was still out when we left. I was able to contact my mom for a few minutes at the mall which was running on generators. But obviously not enough to get on my blog. So! I have lots to talk about that will definitely take more than one post. I hope to write about my day and then post  again about previous days. So yay for lots to read!

Yesterday we left for the Aeta community in Floridablanca in Pampanga. It was a two hour drive north of Manila. Upon arrival, we walked for about ten minutes including a walk over a sketchy bridge, to reach the mission church. We were greeted by choir practice for the kids going on in the sanctuary. They were so cute!! They were doing their dancing and it was just so nice and welcoming to see. We got our rooms and then returned for more choir practice before dinner and bed. Well not really a bed. More like a board they put a blanket on. But there are a lot of amenities that are nicer than Decker including ice cold water from the dispenser, the toilet has a seat, and it's a bit cooler here at night. Oh and there's wifi here in the middle of nowhere! So praise The Lord for that!

Today started out at 5:30am. It's hard to wake up at 4:30 just to get a freezing cold bucket shower.  We went across to the sanctuary for a morning prayer time only slightly late. After that time we ate breakfast which was very filling. We had church at 8am. It was so refreshing and just fun. They know how to sing with soul here. It's a lot like shouting but their heart is in it. And you know most of them have the right pitch too! But actually it's very pure. There's no front to it. They are singing to Gid and for God and you can tell they really love Him and worship Him here.

After service, which was a mix of English and a Filipino dialect, we had a presentation on the Aeta and the community we are in. This was followed by a tour of the community led by the youth. --side note-- everyone here is at most 5 feet tall so it's hard to determine ages when you look down at everyone. -- So anyway, I was led around by a girl who was 16 and in her first year at college studying social work. This may seem young but here this is normal because there are not as many grades of primary schooling. She was accompanied by other first and second year college students studying engineering and teaching. I got to see their houses which vary from very hut-like to hut-house combos. I was given fresh coconut milk at a house we stopped at and tried the fruit inside it as well. This was sooooo good! I then followed them up a trail to a coconut tree where one of the boys climbed it to cut down some more coconuts. They made a reed straw and I had fresh coconut juice. It was like straight out of Survivor.

We returned for lunch and then had free time for the rest of the day. We decided to go down to the river (the one underneath the sketchy bridge) to swim. Best idea yet. So we climbed over river stones upstream of where the women and younger girls were washing clothes and little kids were bathing. There the kids slowly gathered around us to watch us play in the water and to play with us of course! It was again so much fun. Eventually it started to rain but we were already wet and in the water so it didn't matter. Also at some point a caribou joined us in the water. That was only slightly freaky and mostly cool. At some point the rain got too heavy for us to be in the river so we walked back up to the church. We were soaked through. Even if we hadn't been in the river we would have been soaked through by the time we got back. And it's only a 5 minute walk max.

A side effect of the rain is that the water gushes from the gutters. Conveniently it created a fantastic water pressure. More than I've had here the whole time. So Nicole and I grabbed our shampoo and soap and washed our hair outside underneath these spouts of rain water. We then proceeded to lay on the pavement and be massaged by the rain. It was very relaxing.

You may think, "Wow what an exciting day! What else could they possibly pack in?" Well ladies and gentlemen I have checked off yet another Filipino must. Tonight for dinner I tried balout. What is balout you ask? I've had it describe to me as chicken abortion. I've been told its not uncommon to first try it in the dark so it doesn't make you sick just looking at it. (Which mind you it did).  Balout is an egg that has been incubated for 30days before it is cooked. So basically it's pretty well developed chicken fetus. And it looks a lot like brain son the inaccurate. Not that I've seen brains before either. It was just nasty looking. I was spared from the chicken part which has its beak and feathers already developing.  The part I tasted was mostly like the yellow part of a hard boiled egg only nastier. Just slimy and gross and full of shattered chicken dreams. While I'm being melodramati, it wasn't actually that bad. It was mostly a mental thing. But I did it so now everyone can stop bugging me. It's a c'mon question here for foreigners.

Today was a really good day. This was definitely needed after the busy end of last week that I will be sure to tell you about soon. We meet some of the local college students tomorrow so hopefully the fun will continue.

More stories will come in my free time so be sure to keep checking or sign up for email alerts at the bottom of the page. :)

Reflection on Migrante

Below is a copy of a reflection I wrote earlier today about my time with Migrante International.

I have now spent 4 days working with Migrante. It's sometimes overwhelming to take in all stories of injustice an corruption. Hearing the statistics is one thing, but to put faces and stories behind those statistics makes it harder to digest. Every statistic has hundreds and thousands of individual stories not unlike those we heard. It seems like an impossible problem to tackle, but the work Migrante does is chipping away at the big issues. My hope is that through my experience with Migrante, I might be able to educate those around me back in my home country. I feel empowered to share the stories that I heard first hand while I was here. Human trafficking is an issue that I, as a Christian and as an American, have to care about. While this is a Filipino issue, it is also my issues as well, and an issue fr many others around the world. Migrante International has helped me to lay the foundation for future advocacy for human trafficking victims and for other Filipino issues I have been exposed to.

Filipino Funnies

On our way home from Migrante a couple days ago we got out of the jeepney to a blocked off road. Sueña informed us it was a shooting. So we shuffled past the crowd with our heads down kind of concerned that she was not more concerned about it. I mean there were cameras and a bunch of cars all stopped there. And when we got to the other side we asked if it was really a shooting. "Yeah. Movie shooting." Ohhhhhhhhhhh.

Today we went to Baseco, another urban poor community by the sea. We went to teach the kids and sing with them. After trudging through the mud, which contained a lot worse than just dirt and water, we waited for the kids to gather. As they rolled in we made a circle and prayed to open. We sang some Tagalog songs with actions but I had to do it with one hand because my other hand was firmly grasped by a little boy's hand. We split up into groups and I took the third and fourth graders. It was an interesting experience trying to occupy them for 45 minutes. We learned names and went around saying what animal they would want to be. Then we sang a song that the lovely Paige taught me during training. They really enjoyed that. I read from a storybook about Noah's Ark. I was impressed by a couple of them who wanted to read with me. Besides having a strong accent they got most of he words right on their own. They loved the pictures too. We played some games and finally colored pictures of animals. They were so sweet. And the thing I saw the most was that they were all looking out for each other. They shared their snacks and took care of each other. They were fun to work with. I get to do the same thing again next week but at Paranaque. Hopefully it will go a bit smoother and be just as fun.

I bought a mini Tagalog bible the other day. I started to read out of it in my best Filipino impression. All it brought was laughter from Sueña. Apparently I butcher the language. But I'm working on it!

Sueña spent the night earlier this week and so I offered to make her the same dinner I was having, grilled cheese with pepperoni. Never before have I seen a grilled cheese sandwich eaten with a fork and a spoon. The sandwich is easily finger food yet it's just the custom here to eat with your spoon and fork. So that's what she did!

I'm enjoying assimilating into the culture but sometimes it is hard when everyone stare at you. I've never been in a culture where I clearly stood out. Everyone always notices my eyes because no one has blue eyes here. It's a bit uncomfortable but if I notice a stare I try to return it with a "hello".  After all it's only a friendly gesture.

I'm at church from 8:30-4:00 tomorrow. Should be fun!

Week 1- Discerning Purpose

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to write! They keep us pretty scheduled here. I'll touch on a few things from this week.

We went to church at Puno UMC. The service was great and it was nice to have a similarly organized service to those from home. When we got there it was like God had answered our prayers. Literally. The air conditioning hit us like a wave of relief. I'm pretty sure I almost cried. It seems silly but this has been a bit of a rough adjustment. We had air conditioning last week at NCCP and I don't think we knew how lucky we were. By the simple act of having AC the church provided some much needed relief. We will be attending a different church every week. I have decided to keep all of the bulletins to make a collection when I get home. Each week we will share with the youth of the church about what we are doing and why. We have already heard stories of the impact we had on the first group of kids we talked to. (One was a ChemE too! But I didn't find out until after). 

The church was the home church of our "local GJV" Sueña. Sueña is my new Filipina BFF. :D She is with us most every day. She has been taking us on all the public transportation options and making sure we don't get lost. She commutes 2.5 hours every morning and every night to get to us and back home. She spent a couple nights at the Decker home with us because it was too late to go back. She is a full time volunteer and a student deaconess. And also super dedicated! And we love her for it! 

On Monday we got our schedules for the whole time we are here. Thank goodness they put some rest days in because they are keeping us busy! I am always exhausted by the end of the day. We then went to a couple tourist destinations around the city including Fort Santiago and Razil Park. We had a ton of pictures after that excursion. We even walked over a replica of the Philippines which was cool to see it represented in 3D. 

On Tuesday we had a unique experience. We visited the urban poor community Paranaque. The community will not exist after 2016 as it is scheduled to be demolished to make way for new flood prevention structures. While some of my group had visited before during training, this was my first experience there. The smell was overwhelming at times. It was a rotten odor that pervaded every corner of the community. The "streets" were narrow pathways that wound in seemingly unrecognizable patterns. It would be easy to get lost in there. We were given the chance to meet one of the families. The woman we met was Tita Rose. While her husband worked on a boat motor behind her we were able to ask her questions with the help of our Tagalog speaking friend from Batis Center for Women, Glen. She used to work as seamstress but went blind in one eye and was unable to stay employed. Her husband runs boats up and down the river, fishing to make a living. That suffices for most of the year but after storms the river is too churned up to fish an income becomes short. There is a plan to relocate them to another community, but there is no river there. I tell this story to put a face on the issue of the cycle of poverty. One of the main issues we are looking at is forced migration in the Philippines. There is a lack of infrastructure to create the jobs necessary to employ all the Filipinos. 28% of the population is unemployed or underemployed. The house we were in is actually built over the river. I could look through the bamboo floor and see the water. I felt a bit voyeuristic looking in on their lives and leaving having done nothing. Who was I to come in and see their lifestyle and leave just as easily? It is sometimes hard to discern the meaning of all of this, of why I have been placed here and why I am doing what I am doing. I think it comes back to being able to share these stories. To bring to light the injustices people face everyday. John 10:10, our focus verse for this mission journey states, "I came that you may have life and have it abundantly." They are living an abundant life in their own right but they are also being oppressed by a corrupt system. So take my story as you will.

This experience was followed by dinner at the Mall of Asia, the biggest mall in Asia. And if you have read my previous posts you will know that the regular Filipino malls are huge.  This could probably rival all the malls in Burlington county put together. And then some. We had dinner and rode the MOA eye (a Ferris wheel that overlooked the mall, the city, and the ocean. It was quite different from the afternoon's experience.

We led the morning devotions time for the UMC headquarters the next day. We shared our experiences and where we were from.

Yesterday was spent at Migrante International. We heard more testimonials of survivors of human trafficking. They were equally compelling as those I heard last week during training.

Today was our day off so I finally had time to write! I mostly caught up on sleep but also saw 22 Jump Street and wrote this blog post.

It's hard here sometimes but I know I have a ton of support coming from everyone back home! I really appreciate all the prayers being sent my way. Pray for an adjustment to the weather. Pray for strength to get through the week. Pray for the three others serving with me, Nicole, Tekeya, and Kosta.

I'll leave you with one of the only phrases I can remember in Tagalog.
Mahal kita.
I love you <3

THIS IS ONLY DAY 1??

EDIT: I fell asleep before I could finish this yesterday. So this is really about yesterday...

Today we left the NCCP to go to our placement sites for the summer.

I haven't stopped moving since I got up this morning.
The day started with packing up so that we could take a taxi to our new home, the Decker Home. The Decker home is formerly a home for retired deaconesses. It is dorm style with the three girls sleeping in the same room. We are all luckily on the first floor because there is no AC. I REPEAT THERE IS NO AIR CONDITIONING. The side effects of which I am feeling right now as I write this blog post.  Let's just say I savor the brief moment every couple seconds when the oscillating fan hits just right. Also the showers are taken with buckets. But I'm making a solid effort to assimilate. I wil be a bucket  shower pro by the end of this. The bugs crawling in my bed and onto me are kind of freaking me out a bit now though....

ANYWAY...
After we got our stuff settled in Decker home we went to a sports festival held with a few Methodist churches in the area. To get there though we used jeepneys. If you don't know what a jeepney is, google it. They are pretty cool and very Filipino. This was one of the things on my list of things to do. So check! After yelling to the driver, "Para po!" we got off and transferred to another jeepney and finally walked a bit to get to the park we were going.

Upon arrival we were introduced (via the loud speakers) and were immediately requested to be in people's pictures. At first it felt a bit as if we were on display. After all, the culture of the Philippines is almost 100% Filipinos. This ying yang of color that showed up was new and interesting to them. We smiled through the first few. Then started complaining how it hurts to smile for that long as the 10th camera was passed forward to take the picture and the nearest person hopped in the picture prompting another picture to be taken. We had officially entered the selfie capital of the world. I am not being dramatic or using the lovely literary device that is called hyperbole. We were in at least 1,000 photos. Easily. I let Sueña, our lovely guide and good friend you will be hearing more about soon, take my camera. It came back with 3x as many pictures as I had taken the whole past week within a span of a few minutes. If we got paid for very photo we were in I'm pretty sure I could retire.

But I digress. We were there to play sports after all. (No selfie taking is not a sport). First we watched  Konstant, my fellow GJV, play basketball with the guys. Nicole and I participated in an interesting relay where we stacked cups and chewed this sour bubble gum until we could blow a bubble. Needless to say, we were the victims of racism when we were relegated to the "white" team as opposed to the orange or green team. I thought it was funny. Then it was lunch time. We went to KFC where of course rice was served with our meals. Spaghetti was also an option. It was mostly just a relief to sit in the air conditioning. On out way back to the park we rode in tricycles. They are motorcycles with side cars where we sat. It was definitely an experience. One where I felt I was putting my life in someone else's hands. But it was fun and you know when in Manila do as the Filipinos do. After an afternoon with some intense volleyball games we finally returned to the Decker home for some much needed rest.

Showering in the evening was done with cold water and buckets. But because it is very hot in the house the cool water was very refreshing. I didn't want to get out! Since I fell asleep writing this I can reflect that it was a bit difficult to sleep in the heat. It is a constant struggle to cool down and stop sweating in this place. But God is good and will provide for my needs (which obviously does not include AC!).

A Reflection on Friends

I haven't written in a few days so let's catch up.

So we did some more training. And then ate. And then some more training. And took a break (with food). And then some more training and more food and then training again and then bed. We did this basically all week. It was interesting and we learned a lot, but most of it will probably be discussed when I write about the work I will be doing so I will save you from all the specific details.

On Wednesday night, we drove (for only 2 hours!) to go out to dinner. I will write about the lovely experience others had because I was quite sick for most of the night. :( But the food was amazing (so they told me). It included a bunch of different seafood dishes including crabs, clams, muscles, shrimp, and multiple kinds of fish served many different ways.  Pretty sure there was a pork dish and maybe even a chicken dish. To say that there was a lot of food would be an understatement. Dinner was folłwed by a performance of traditional Filipino dances. There were many times in the dances where the Spanish influence was obvious both in style and dress. They invited us up on stage to try the traditional Filipino dance. I did not dance but I had the pleasure of watching all my fellow GJVs try it. It was done between two long sticks that the men tapped on the ground to the beat as the partners hopped in and out of the middle in time with the beat. It was funny to watch everyone start slow, get faster and then misplace a foot or lose count and have to stop and let the next person try. Overall, it was a great cultural experience.

What I wanted to reflect on today, the day we said goodbye to volunteers going to different placements in Japan and Manila, was the wonderful experience I had meeting all the great people who are now out serving as Global Justice Volunteers.

6 countries
17 volunteers
1 fantastic week of deep conversations and new friendships.

It presented an interesting dynamic having a global presence at our training. We were able to hear prayers in Tagalog, Russian, Swahili, and Portuguese which was moving to say the least. We also had a diverse presence from the United States. Five people went to/are attending a Historically Black College or University. People came from Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Virginia. (And of course I'm repping the NJ!) In the span of a week I have opened my eyes to other cultures, and not just the Filipino culture that I was expecting. 

It's not often you can discuss the political unrest for the world cup in Brazil with a Brazilian and then discuss your views on same sex marriage with a Russian all in one day. It amazed me how easy it was to think deep thoughts and have these conversations with people I had just met.  We were able to talk freely an openly without fear of judgement. The girls in my room (and the other room too) had "girl talk" and we all talked about our families, schooling, and other travel experiences. I know that every single person who I trained with is highly capable of being successful both this summer and in the future. I see plenty of great pastors and missionaries. Shout out to my engineers too! I have made some great friends already and I can't wait to hear all their volunteering stories! Please keep them in your prayers as well as they go out to do God's work.

Fun Filled Day 4

We started this morning with a worship service with the people from NCCP (national council of churches in the Philippines and also where we are staying). There were musical instruments, new songs, prayer, and presentations. We heard from the General Secretary of the NCCP, Rev. Fr. Rex RB Reyes Jr.. He spoke on the many different programs within NCCP including typhoon relief and HIV/AIDS advocacy. We were also treated to a performance by Teatro Ekumenikal, a theater group that promotes justice and peace. The performance was a very moving piece that dealt with the issues of migration. It gave me goosebumps it was so good!

We got the chance to go back to the mall before lunch. I was able to get some local foods to try including ube bread. The mall is only a 5-10 min walk from where we are staying for training. It is quite the experience every time we go.

Then it was lots of training. I've learned a lot about the structure of the Methodist Church and Global Ministries. I will spare you all the details. Let me know if you want to borrow my notes. ;)

We prepared short presentations for the night session based on some games we played after the training portion. We sang a camp song that my friend Paige taught us for our presentation. Something about fruit and Jesus and branches. :P The night session was full of fun. I laughed so hard at points. We were dancing and singing and playing games. It was a very enjoyable experience.  

One of the songs we sang in Filipino translated to, "I am happy because I am with you." I am so happy because I am here with all these wonderful people. We have deep conversations and I have been exposed to the cultures of several different countries represented in our group. And we are starting to get to know each other well. We received a schedule for the week so it looks like tomorrow is filled with more training. But now it's time to sleep. 

Days 2 and 3

Let's just say I skipped writing yesterday because of jet lag. Even now I'm laying in bed exhausted. 12 hours is a big time difference. 

I want to start with an observation from the airplane coming into Manila. The city seemed to sparkle from above. It was not like any other city. There was very little light pollution. In fact, driving back from the airport, I was wondering where all the street lights were. But the lights I saw from the air twinkled as if they were the night sky with the stars. 

Yesterday I got to experience the "grocery". I use quotations because it was really a mall. And when I say mall I mean super mega ultra deluxe mall, complete with a full grocery store, food court, shops, and a giant stage (in case you wanted to attend a dance party after picking up your milk and eggs).  The luxury of this structure was evident by all the fancy brands carried inside. There are two or three just like it within 10 minutes of where I am staying. 

This was starkly contrasted by this afternoon's experience. We were split into two groups to go on exposure trips. The other group went to visit an urban poor community. Looking at some of the pictures it was hard to believe people lived that way. Houses were built over the water because they don't own any land. Yet the sentiment the others brought back was one of hope an determination to escape the situation. There were plenty of smiles to go around. I went with a group to Migrante International. This organization is an advocate for migrant workers. The Philippines export around 5,000 people a day to work in other countries. And that's just the documented workers. Human trafficking is a big issue that the Filipino government is failing to address. Because there is so much money to be made, there is a lot of corruption and very little help for migrant workers in distress. We heard from 3 survivors of human trafficking. It was great to hear their stories yet scary to think that so many more are not that lucky. 6-10 Filipino workers arrive back in the Philippines in coffins everyday. Workers can be exploited and forced to work ridiculous hours with little food and sleep. There were several horror stories we heard about all the experiences the human trafficking victims had. And human trafficking doesn't just occur in the Philippines. Workers are exploited in several countries including the United States. This was a very eye opening experience that helped to focus why I was here. These people are not given the opportunity to live life abundantly. They are in need of advocates to inform them and help them exercise their rights so they are not exploited. Many of the workers that go abroad are very brave and hardworking. They are the bread winners of the family making much more than they could at home, but less than their counterparts in the countries they go to. If you would like to learn more information about Migrante International you can check them out on Facebook. They also have a website which may or may not be currently down. http://migranteinternational.org

On a happier note, the food here has been excellent. My eggplant omelet thing this morning was top notch. Yet when they served us fried chicken at the church I was pretty excited for some normalcy. We got to experience the church service at the University of the Philippines. Everyone was very welcoming to us. The service was very similar to the ones I am used to. I knew most of the hymns and luckily it was in English. Afterwards, they served us an unexpected lunch. And I guess they like food here because we had another lunch waiting for us when we got back. I am slowly mastering the art of eating with a spoon and a fork. I was trying to watch some of the locals eat to see how they did it, but I determined there is not really a method. Cut with the spoon. Eat with the fork or the spoon. Keep switching which hand you hold the spoon and the fork in. I mostly just hold the spoon while I eat with the fork, but hey! At least I'm trying!

The Philippines are so beautiful. All the greenery and flowers brighten up the city. Driving around today we got to see more of the city. I can't wait to keep exploring the area in the coming weeks!

Thoughts On a Plane to Manila

Initial apologies for the length of this post. I had 12 hours on a plane to kill...feel free to scan but there's some good stuff in here. I promise. :)

Contrary to some travel websites, it is not necessary to arrive at the airport three hours before your international flight. In fact the two and a half hours I left turned into three hours when my first plane was delayed an additional half hour. So after lots of sitting in PHL I was finally on my way by 1:20pm. The Philadelphia skyline was so beautiful as we took off, just slightly blurred by the thin cloud cover between me and the city.
Once arriving in Detroit, I spent all of two minutes in the airport, the amount of time it took to walk down five gates over to my connecting flight that would take me to Nagoya Japan and then to Manila. It was a miracle that the plane was parked so close as the delay had cut my layover time down to less than forty minutes (which is not very long at all in terms of catching a flight). When the lady scanned my ticket it beeped and she had to go into the system to cancel the seat they had reserved for me on the next flight in the expectation that I was going to miss the flight because of my other flight's delay. Let's just say that it is quite the miracle that everything worked out the way it did. It's nice to know someone's looking out for me up there.
When I walked on the plane for the first time I was still recovering from the panic I had experienced thinking I wouldn't make my flight. As someone who has flown a fair bit, I have flown on many different planes. Little tiny ones, medium sized ones, and what I used to consider large planes. But I had never before walked onto a 400 passenger Boeing 747. It is basically the cruise ship of airplanes. I mean there are two floors! Unfortunately, the extra space is for all the extra people and I am just as squished as on a regular flight.
Maybe it's because I am a non-Asian person heading to Asia or maybe it's my Gospel bracelet that I am wearing, or maybe it's both, but when I sat down the person sitting next to me asked if I was a missionary. My response, "Yeah I guess I kind of am." I mean I knew I was going on a mission trip, but I never really associated it with being a missionary. I mean when I went to Roanoke last summer with REACH I didn't think of myself as a missionary. I was just a church kid going to rebuild some houses. And still, until he asked me that question I guess I thought I was still that church kid going to volunteer just this time in another country. But the question made me think a bit deeper about what I'm doing.  I've made a conscious decision to spend almost all my time away from school sharing what I believe in order to help others. And I'm okay with that.
I've met two people who are also GJV so far. Because I was one of the last people on the flight, one was a fleeting hello as I walked past their seat in my trudge to the back of this huge plane. The other is sitting in the row in front of me. It's nice to know there are others here with me. I look forward to getting to know the other volunteers as well throughout the training the next couple weeks.
I don't know when I will have the connection to post this, but I currently have 6 hours and 39 minutes left in my flight to Japan. And I believe another 3 hour flight from there to Manila. I want to leave you with a thought that I got from my blonde brownie wrapper from my in meal flight. At the end of the ingredient list it said, "Made with love." And if they can make their brownies with love I think we can all do the little things (and even the big things) with the love of Christ in our hearts.
Written with love,
Brielle

Movie list:
Monuments men
Forrest Gump
The little mermaid
Frozen!!!!

Sent from my iPod

It's getting closer!!!

I got my flight information today and found out I'm leaving on the 19th of June, a bit earlier than I expected. But I guess you have to account for the fact that I have a 21 hour flight from Detroit to Manila.  This will definitely be the longest flight I have ever taken.  Luckily I have plenty of knitting projects to keep my hands busy and a kindle full of unread books.

So many vaccines and medicines! I have a few more doctors appointments coming up to be sure I'm ready for the trip.  My left arms a bit sore from my most recent visit earlier today.  But better sore now than sick later.  I've stocked up on bug spray and sunscreen which I believe I will need lots of.

I'm really excited to share my culture with the people I will be staying with and working with.  I've had fun coming up with ideas for things to bring as gifts for my hosts.  So far I've decided to bring salt water taffy and Tastykakes for regional foods for them to try.  I'm also bringing a Cornell Teddy Bear and some of the Gospel Bracelets I make.  The bracelets are made up of beads that each represent a part of the Gospel story.  I'm having the story for the bracelets translated into Tagalog as a special touch.  If you have any more ideas about regional things I could bring with me please leave a comment. :)

I want to thank everyone who has helped me with my fundraising goal! I am pretty close to my goal with only 3 weeks to go before my trip.  If you want to help me get to my goal feel free to check out my fundraising page linked to in a previous post.

These posts will hopefully be more frequent and more interesting once I reach the Philippines.  Feel free to subscribe at the bottom of the page to be updated when I write a new post!