Musings of no particular significance...

This is most of my team at work - we took this picture on Jelson's last day,
and unfortunately a few people were away.

Back row: Joel, me, Lorna and Henry (standing)

Front row: Marites, Gemma, Salve, Jelson and Melanie.

Missing: Dayan, Marion and Aileen.

These guys are a lot of fun - I love working with them, and in many ways, they are some of my best teachers about the Philippines. There are other wonderful people in the office as well -
our IT guy is a good friend of mine, as is the accountant and the receptionist.
In fact, they all rock! I will try to get a piccie of all of us -
I know we took some on Prayer Day (start of the financial year) this year.

I haven’t posted much lately – I have been flat out at work and also home sick (not homesick, as one friend thought I meant in an email, but at home, sick – should have put a comma in there!!) I haven’t even finished putting up my Palawan pictures (not even close, I’m afraid!!) but all of a sudden blogger just decided it wasn’t going to post any more one day, so I spat the dummy and shut it down (power of the user?)


Anyway – I am still alive, although a little the worse for wear. I have been sick a lot since I got here – the number of colds I get has become legendary. I lost count but I think I am in double digits over seven months (and am sadly not exaggerating) – people can no longer tell if I am on the tail end of the previous one, or starting another one. I have yet to have a major upchuck event (which I count as a triumph, seven months in!) but have had a full spectrum of other ailments – my most spectacular was two weeks after arriving. I was pretty ill and went to the clinic in Mega Mall (yes – they have a full medical clinic, a church, a skating rink, a bowling alley (that I have yet to see) – I think they should just open a hotel and a school - then you could never leave. It’s like Singapore airport. Anyway – I went from the clinic down to the chemist to fill my prescription (scribbled by the doctor onto the back of a piece of paper – getting prescription-only drugs here is just a matter of looking persuasively at the ‘chemist’) and proceeded to pass out – twice! It took people a really, really long time to notice a white person (extra white at this stage) passed out on the floor – or maybe they just thought I was a druggie and didn’t want to come help! Anyway – eventually some very nice folks dragged me back down to the clinic while I tried to ring everybody I knew (which wasn’t that many people at that stage) and had this ridiculous moment where I literally couldn’t get anyone to pick up their phones. Eventually, I got Ange and she said she would come and get me. So I lay down in the clinic for a while and then Ange, Sally and Nat all walked in – it was quite a sight. Three tall, blonde Aussies in gym shorts (they had been on their way to play basketball) – apparently they attracted quite a bit of attention as they strode through the mall. It was pretty funny – they said that when they walked into the clinic, they didn’t even have to ask for me – people just started pointing them in the direction, “you want to go there”, “she’s through there”, etc. Guess there weren’t too many half conscious white people in there that night!!



Anyway – I was home sick again a couple of days ago, and Ange just totally cracked me up. I was sprawled out on the sofa working the horizontal position as that reduced most of the symptoms, and I can hear her banging and clanging around in the kitchen and am thinking I should go and help her out, but really couldn’t get up (was still proud of making it out of bed!) And then she emerges from the kitchen with this huge grin on her face and comes over with dinner for me – on a tray! With salt and pepper and a little thing of condiments. And cutlery on a folded napkin and everything!! I felt absolutely mortified – I think all my colour returned in spades in a hurry! But at the same time it was hysterical – I am not sure why it was so funny but we were both killing ourselves laughing and it was just so incredibly sweet – I still can’t believe she brought me dinner on a tray…must have been flashing back to her hospital days.


The next day, I was still at home and having to miss dinner out with everyone. Luckily Nat came over to kill some time between appointments near our house, so I had some company for a while. And then, about 7.15p.m., some of my colleagues from work called me, just to see how I was and to tell me that they missed me. It was so touching – it made me realise how much I have come to love the people I work with and how much I will miss them when I leave. And also that we all work too long hours!!!


In fact, I have come to love the Philippines as well. There are days when it drives me nuts – days when I want to be cold, when I want to walk to work without every guy I pass staring openly at my chest, days when I don’t want to feel guilty all the time about my relative wealth, and not get angry about the incredible corruption everywhere. But it has wormed its way into my heart. Filipinos have the most fantastic smiles you have ever seen – they light up their whole faces and the word ‘beaming’ comes to mind. They are the most warm and friendly people – when you ask for directions, chances are they won’t have a clue but will send you in the wrong direction as they are too embarrassed to admit it, but they will always want to do their very best to help you. So many people here struggle every day just to feed their children, but instead of resenting me, they are just incredibly friendly.


But you can get these platitudes a lot of countries you go to – especially developing countries. I guess you have to live in a country, share its ups and downs and make friends from all walks of life to really immerse yourself in it. I have so many wonderful friends here now – friends I will miss like crazy when I go. I have a life here – I know Manila, I know my favourite places to go. Every time I leave the city, I am struck by how amazingly beautiful this country is – it is so lush and green with the most fantastic scenery – volcanoes, rice paddies, mountains, rivers. Sometimes you think you could be driving through rural England and I have even passed red dirt that reminds me of Australia. I enjoy my life here – I like hanging out with my Aussie friends, my Pinoy friends and my international friends. I like that at devotions at work, they speak in Tagalog with me in the room – I don’t understand 99% of what they say (my Tagalog still sucks) but it means I am just part of the team now. It is hard to articulate what I am feeling, but I get a warm and fuzzy feeling walking to work (if I keep my eyes firmly fixed in the middle distance!) driving through the countryside, or showing other visitors around Manila (as a 'local'!) and I know that no matter what, the Philippines has claimed a part of my heart.

Still - it will be nice to go home at Christmas and not attract any attention at all - just be anonymous...