Lost track of the days....

This last week was a very busy week and with all the work, traveling, data analysis and general sickness I did not get around to posting by day so I will give a general overview of the week, everyday was about the same so you haven't really missed anything.

Me doing a key informant interview

From Monday until Thursday was data collection- focus groups, key informant interview, and household surveys. On Monday we went to two barangays-one in the morning and another in the afternoon. We did household surveys first by walking around with the Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) and trying to interview every 3rd house. This gave us a chance to see the community and find out what the community thought about water and sanitation. It was very interesting to see the communities and see how each barangay was different and had so many different problems. After we did the surveys we would move into doing focus groups and key informant interviews. In the focus group we had them do a community map, prioritize the problems and a problem and solution tree. So we did this in the morning for 4 hours had a short break and then went and did the same thing all over again in another barangay in the afternoon. I will just say that we were incredibly tired the first day and we made it home by 7pm after being out all day. As a side note: I've already discussed how humid and hot it is here--now think about that but you're in a small room with ten people and one fan. Lets just say that we were all very very sweaty and gross by the end of every day. Monday was a very hard day and on Tuesday we decided to break up our little group and do two barangays at once in the morning so we could be done earlier in the day-- it meant less woman power but getting done early was worth it. So Tuesday to Thursday we split the group up and went to separate barangays-- it was lots of work but so rewarding and interesting. I really feel like I can do a focus group now, and successfully implement the other skills I have learned. 

Julie, Jennifer and Helen doing a focus group

The group finished data collection on Thursday July 19th and then the task of data analysis began. We spent the better part of Friday analyzing data and then writing reports of the results by barangay. The nutrition group left on Friday to head to Boracay- one of the islands. I was a little jealous to say the least, but there was no way I could go because we had enough work for the whole weekend. Saturday and Sunday were work days...with little breaks in the afternoon. Saturday I went to the local mall-SM to get an actual coffee that wasn't instant for Nescafe. Walking into Starbucks was like being at home, it was a very comforting feeling. The coffee did wonders and so did the mango shake later. Unfortunately the food that came with the mango shake was not what we were looking for- green mango salad with some fish paste just doesn't work for me. Sunday was a paper writing day with a short break for swimming, and the Silang market. Even though we had lots of work to complete it was a relaxing weekend free of stress. We were getting our work done and not having to stress about it was nice-everyone did their part and got it done. It was a very long week but I learned so much and am glad I had the experience of working in the field and understanding the challenges and rewards that come with it.

DAY TEN: Not a day of rest

Sunday is not a day of rest this weekend. Last Friday we officially started working on our projects and we pilot tested all the tools we made--FG, KII, Survey. Obviously changes needed to be made so we pretty much worked on that all day. When working in a community it is really nice to know the general background of the community but in our case we were pretty much going in blind to every barangay. So after our pilot of the tools on Friday we found that the community perceptions were very different than we were thinking they would be. An example would be that they all buy mineral water as a source for drinking water so they don't see themselves as having a problem with water. But if a community member doesn't have money for mineral water they are drinking from the posos or deep wells which many times are contaminated. So really there is a problem with water but if you can buy mineral water you choose to not see the problem because it doesn't effect you directly.
Re-creating the focus group guide, which was my job, took a good hunk of the day.  Unfortunately I was starting to feel a little sick. Other people had gotten sick on the trip and ended up at the doctors and on antibiotics so I am really hoping that wouldn't happen to me.

DAY NINE: Manila

Got up early and headed out to Manila to go shopping at Green Hills. I was expecting more of a market with crafts and one of a kind souvenirs but it was a mall. There were small stall shop areas but mainly if you were interested in a knock-off Prada purse or a Rolex. I did find a few really cool things but overall I was a little disappointed. However, it was an exciting day because I was able to get pasta! When I'm in the US I eat pasta around 3 times a week so not having it has been hard so I was very excited to eat my pasta, and yes it was very good and hit my pasta craving perfectly.

After Green Hills a small group of us headed to Intramuros which is an older section of Manila that has lots of Spanish architecture and a really old church. 3 weddings were going on when we got there, one right after the other. I got to see some very interesting bridesmaids dress and yes they are just as hideous here as they are in the US. My favorite was the bridesmaids that had bright orange dresses with green sashes-- the colors made me think of a pumpkin. The architecture there was gorgeous and we had a great time wandering around, shopping in the little souvenir shops and meeting new people. A few of us decided to get some food at a hostel in the area and we met 3 guys from Holland that were headed to northern Luzon to see the famous rice terraces.

Dragon Fruit and Soursop

One of the good things about the Philippines is the variety of tasty fruit there is. The mangoes are great, especially the green mango shake! But I had always wanted to try a dragon fruit and I finally got my chance. We decided it kinda tastes like an Asian pear with the texture of a kiwi because of all the seeds. 

Dragon Fruit! 

I also got to try a Soursop... not sure if that is the correct spelling. But its kinda like a cherimoya. It was really sour and a little slimy but still very good. Though I will say that I liked the dragon fruit better. 

Soursop 

DAY EIGHT: Zip line, the beach and "flying saucers"

Isla Bonita 

After a night of little sleep due to creating a focus group guide and go to the mall I had to get up, eat and be ready to head out by 6:45am.

The morning started by making a courtesy call to the Rosario Municipality. It's a way for us to know whats going on in the government and for them to know that we'll be in their barangays for the next week doing work. We got a chance to do some informal key informant interviews with a few sanitation worker and just see all the departments of the government.

Helen and Arti on the zip-line 

Isla Bonita 

After that we went to Isla Bonita which is the city beach area. It used to be a trash dump but has been cleaned up and turned into a beach with restaurants and its own zip-line. We hung around, waited for the mayor, relaxed, ate some food, really good chicken and rice, and of course went on the zip-line. This was not an ordinary zip-line. You actually had to lay face down on it and it took you over the water and then you climbed the other tower and it brought you back. At first on one really wanted to go on it and a few people thought they would get stuck or fall in the water below. But when it came down to that time to fly 6 of us ended up doing the zip-line. I went with Jen and I told her if we fell in the water I would pull her out because she can't swim. Though swimming was the least of my worries if we fell in, the place used to be a trash dump site and there was still plenty of trash and other things in that water. I was more worried about catching some nasty disease if I fell in. But we all made it across and back across the bay just fine.

Chicken and Rice 

Zip-lining completed we headed to our first barangay to test out our focus group guide, key informant guide and our survey if there was time. We encountered many roadblocks and found out that we needed to change lots of our focus group guide. As part of the focus group this was our first time doing a problem tree and for many of us our first time facilitating a focus group. By this time it was well after 2pm and we were so tired making it harder to change on the spot and come up with ideas and more questions.

Julie and June doing a problem tree 

Normally when you conduct a focus group or any type of assessment you would first have a look around the community and do a little back ground research and possibly a windshield survey so you would know what the community had and what they didn't have. We pretty much went into this knowing nothing and having our own perceptions which were shattered as soon as we started asking questions. We quickly found out that our perception of flooding is so much different than the Filipinos perception of flooding. I mean we think its flooding if its up to our ankles and here that is normal. Some people here only consider it flooding if its up to your waist and if its to your knee that is just high tide. Also, when your used to coming from a place where you can technically drink the water out of your sink at home its hard to see people say that they are fine just buying mineral water by the liter.

The most interesting part of this focus group was finding out about the "flying saucer". Some of the places we visited didn't have bathrooms or comfort rooms as they call them here. So we asked were they went and we were told they went in a plastic bag, tied it and flung it--hence the term flying saucer!

Sick in the midst of a crazy week

I am currently very behind on putting posts up and I hope that I will get some time to post this weekend. Its been a rough week with lots of work and I am trying to get over a fever that I have and some congestion and a cough.

DAY SEVEN: Let the work begin!

This morning we went to Cavite City to visit the provincial hospital and a presentation that would have created many sexual harassment lawsuits in the US. Our presenter was a surgeon who was pretty interesting and I think wanted to make us laugh but it made many people mad. He told one of my female colleagues that she had a large butt; and two others that they were showing too much cleavage. When presenting us with coffee at the end he found out my last name is German and said something in German and did the Hitler sign to me. Yea it was an awkward day. The hospital overall was pretty nice. The OB room was so crowed, there were around 3 women per bed with their little babies and every bed was full so over 100 women in the ward. It was interesting to see, especially because women in the US get mad when they don't have their own room while the hospital now; such different perceptions.

After our trip to Cavite City we made our way back to IIRR to finally find out what our projects would be. I am in the Disaster Risk Reduction group and well we found out that we had lots of work to do. I thought that we would just have site visits to see where we would be working on the rest of the time but we found out that we needed to make a whole focus group guide, key informant interview guide and survey by Friday- July 6 and it was Thursday July 5, at 5pm at night. We also needed to go to the mall to get snacks and supplies for the focus groups. The mall trip took a very long time. We found out that we needed rain boots and other things which would have been nice to know before we left....oh well. We got back from the mall and started writing the questions and going over what we wanted to actually research. My group is conducting a water and sanitation assessment in 9 barangays over the next week which include a focus group, key informant interviews and a household community survey. We spent until about 1am finishing up on the questions and then tried to get some sleep because we had to be up early the next day to pilot test all of our assessment tools. Its going to be a long day tomorrow. 

DAY SIX: 4th of July: Hot Springs and IRRI

The 4th of July in the Philippines is obviously not celebrated but being Americans we decided to celebrate in a very nontraditional way. As Joanna says" 4th of July will be celebrated with hot springs and pizza" and after this 4th of July I really have to agree with her.

Our day started out by visiting the local health center in Silang, which is the municipality I am currently staying in. They are trying to do so much with so little resources. Most of these health centers don't have doctors and are run by nurses, midwifes, and community health workers. This one even included a dental section, unfortunately it only performs extractions, but it's still really good that they have that.

Arti and Me with the rice fields

After the health center and lunch which as always has rice with it. Just a side note every meal has rice here and not brown rice but white rice, it is not considered a meal if it lacks rice then it is a snack. Anyways, after we left we traveled to the International Rice Research Institute or IRRI. It was about a 2 hour drive and once we got close it was gorgeous. I just can't get over how green everything is here. We had a tour of the Rice museum and learned pretty much everything you can learn about rice, tools used in making rice and what edible and non-edible good come from rice. It really was an amazing place they are doing research to create rice that is more nutritious and that tastes good to help increase the nutrition level of those in the Philippines and worldwide. They also store every variety and type of rice in a giant freezer vault.

IRRI is near an area known for having hot springs so the group decided to stop and take a dip. I think that we were all thinking natural hot springs but that was a very false assumption. The hot springs were pools with water from hot springs in them or something of the sort. They had slides and pools with different temperatures and depths. It really felt amazing. We had a great time goofing off, eating pizza and getting bit by bugs. It was the perfect way to end our 4th of July abroad.

DAY FIVE: Peanut Butter and WHO

Today was a long and exhausting day emotionally. We had to be up really early so we could go the Manila. We left at 6:30 but didn't get to WHO until 9:30 and because of that we missed out meeting with the department of health. WHO was very interesting they are helping the Department of Health implement a program that can be used in emergencies to identify disease outbreak like diarrhea, cholera, leptospirosis through a text messaging system at the local barangay level. 

When we met with the Save the children organization they planned for us to travel to a few of their sites where they had programs going on. So we saw other parts of Manila mainly the ones with lots of poverty. They had one program making peanut butter and selling it. I bought two small jars to bring back with me and it is some of the best peanut butter. Another community was doing urban gardening to supplement their nutrition and that was really interesting. The gentleman working on the program had developed all these interesting ways to use water bottles and other items that might be considered trash to create gardening containers. Some of the ideas he had implemented I had never seen and they made the actual care for the plants minimal. There were a lot of little kids in this area and they were loving looking at all of us. One little girl started laughing so hard when I smiled at her. The little kids were really cute to I taught them how to make their fingers into glasses and we took some pictures together. It was sad to see the area they were living in because they were an informal settlement but the people were definitely trying to improve their situation and there was hope. 

The saddest part was when we went to the cemetery which a lot of people are living at and they were just so impoverished. It was also the trash dump right there so it really reminded me of the situation in Egypt at the trash cities. It seems like its at the start of becoming that a similar situation where the people are living and working in the trash. We actually had some young girls hand their babies to a few of the group and they wanted us to take the babies with us. It was so sad to think that life their is so bad that they were willing to part with their babies. 


Oh.... I forgot to mention that it has rained pretty much all day. I am constantly wet and even my clothes feel damp even if they haven't gotten wet yet...its just so much humidity. Its back to raining here and will probably rain all tomorrow.

DAY FOUR: A giant gecko!!!

Today we stayed on the IIRR campus and had some presentations. ADRA, World Vision, Red Cross and a few other organizations came to talk with us about the work they are doing in the Philippines. It was really interesting hearing about the different programs going on and also meeting some students from the Adventist graduate school near here and what they are doing for classes. This was a pretty relaxed day and we were at IIRR all day and the organizations came to us. It was a long day but we got a great snack of friend bananas. They were so good! And they provided us with much needed coffee to keep us awake during the many presentations. At some point it started to rain and that completely delayed our afternoon presenters. The Red Cross was over an hour late and they had spent 4 hours in traffic from Manila to Silang to talk with us. They had one of the best presentations. One of the men that presented, who had dyed blond hair almost to the point of getting that orange tinge, told us that he was single and to let him know if we were interested. At the end of the presentation he told me we have the same kind of hair. Such a character!

Overall today was very relaxed and nice. It started raining pretty hard later in the night. We actually lost power while I was Skyping with the family. At one point it was raining so hard that I couldn't hear what my family was saying. Tonight was the night I also saw the biggest gecko ever. It was about a 1 1/2 feet long and just huge. I didn't get a picture but my family saw him on Skype before he ran up into the roof. We had about 6 lizards in the front porch area and ended up losing power until midnight and then we were on generators for the rest of the night.

DAY THREE: Stuck in the mud at Malibiclibic Falls

I thought we would be going to Taal Volcano today but we found a waterfall that is mainly a local spot. Malibiclibic Falls will remain a mystery because we were unable to see it, not because it wasn't there or that we couldn't find it. The real reason is because we got stuck in the mud while driving there.

The group of 11 hired a Jeepney for the day and started off around 10:30 am. Jeepneys are interesting to ride in. They have windows but it is so hot that you have to open them to get a little bit of a breeze. You end up breathing in enough pollution and exhaust to make snot black when you blow your nose. Also, like many other countries there aren't real rules when driving and so the driver goes into the other lane or really close to another car. I will say that the Philippines has actually been better driving wise than a few other places I have been. Cairo, Egypt was much more scary, drivers said the lines separating lanes were for decoration. At least in the Philippines they try and stay in their own lane. But we had a rather long uncomfortable Jeepney ride.

According to our Google research the falls were supposed to be around 40 minutes away but since we didn't really know where they were it took 2 hours. We finally found some locals who knew where it was and got in the right barangay (village) and it was going well until we hit the dirt road. As everyone know dirt turns into mud when it rains and it rains lots in the Philippines. In fact its raining right now as I type this. Well it had rained the day before and the Jeepney is not exactly made for off-roading so we got stuck about 30 minutes from the falls.

So were stuck and a few people freaked out a little or got annoyed but things like this do happen and you just have to figure out a way to get the car or truck or Jeepney out of the mud so you can continue on your way. We all climbed out and a few of us started looking for rocks, trees branches,  log type items to put under the wheels to get some traction so we could push the Jeepney out f the med hole it was currently in. We worked on it for awhile and then our driver and the local with him decided to call for some help on their walkie-talkie. Of course Americans expect help to come in a fast and timely manner but many other countries don't see it that way. So we had lunch and waited around. A few of us tried to start to the falls but were told we couldn't go... such a kill joy!

By this point in time I was about ready to have heat stroke because I had a one piece black bathing suit on and pants and we had be pushing a Jeepney. So I decided to head up the path a little ways and change into other clothes behind a bush. Fortunately the clearing up above was clear and the only thing the got a show was the water buffalo mama and here two babies. While I was changing the Jeepney was pushed free. At that point we had to hop back on and head back to IIRR for some meetings. We didn't make it to the falls but we did have an adventure.


Sorry I don't have any pictures of our amazing day maybe I'll find some from the other girls.

DAY TWO: Green Mango Shakes and People’s Park

A green mango shake has to be the most refreshing drink ever; it’s not as sweat as a yellow mango shake and hits the spot after you had to walk along the side of the busy highway and dodge stray dogs. 

Me and Julie in a pineapple! 

The green mango shake happened at the end of the day so I will start from the beginning of the day. The first breakfast of the trip stated with the best mangoes ever and so my day of mangoes started. After breakfast we were trying to figure out what to go and see on our first day in the Philippines. We wanted to go to Taal Volcano but had heard that it was a long hike and we didn't think we would have the time for it today. Instead we heard about Peoples Park which is a high point where you can see a good portion of the area such as the volcano and just the general green amazing-ness of the Philippines. We were lucky enough to get a van for the trip and headed into Tagaytay a little after lunch. Peoples Park was had great views and also some colorful peoples and souvenirs. There was a large pineapple made out of concrete or something at the top of Peoples Park and of course we had fun taking pictures in it. The view was perfect for seeing Taal Volcano and some of the group was a little disappointed that there wasn't smoke and lava pouring out of it, but it was still a beautiful site. I also found a purse made out of a real frog.... the mouth was a zipper... gross but cool at the same time. I really thought about getting one but the thought of wearing a frog on my shoulder and putting my hand in its mouth grossed me out a little. So the frog purse will no be coming home with me, unless I think my little sister might like it. = )


So I always knew that I was tall and blonde but it never really hit me how tall and blonde I am until I came to the Philippines. I was walking around with another girl in my group, Julie, who it also tall and blonde. We actually had a group of girls ask us to be in their pictures. Theses girls didn't even come up to my shoulder. I feel like a large blonde amazon here especially when everyone is staring. But in the end we had two sets of girls ask to take pictures with us and we had a friend trying to sell us for pictures.

Taal Volcano 

When we arrived back at IIRR rested and decided we wanted to try the mango shakes that everyone was talking about. We hopped on a bus and got off at the closest stop to the mango shake place. Then we had to walk a little way across stray dogs and along the highway to get to the place. Finally we got there and yes the mango shake was amazing and the place we had them at was so fun. Our group had its own little hut with mosquito netting around it to keep all the bugs out. I had the green mango shake and it was amazing, I will definitely be going back to get another one. Of course I day wouldn't be complete without it pouring on us and this happened right when we left to catch a bus back to IIRR. It was fine with me I love the rain but a few of the girls with me didn't really appreciate it. In the end it was a fun day I got to see a volcano, have a shake and walk in the rain. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store.

DAY ONE: Traveling, Jeepneys, and lots of airplane food

Hello Kitty....

This has been a never ending day that started at 9pm on June 27, 2012. We had to meet at the airport to get checked in. Our flight wasn’t until 1:30 am on June 28 but when traveling in a group you always have to plan for extra time. In this case it was way too much extra time but we spent it catching up and eating overpriced airport food in the LAX international terminal. At some point we finally made it on the plane and started the 14 some hour journey to Taipei, Taiwan. It was long and rather boring filled with many movies, trying to sleep and not one but two awful airplane meals. We arrived in Taipei around 6:30 am and I took a picture with Hello Kitty. After a short layover, more airplane food and a short flight from Taipei to Manila we finally arrived!!!!! 

Getting tea and coffee at the mall 

In class we have spent months talking about this trip to the Philippines and now we are finally here!!! Its exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I am so excited to be here but I am still so tired that its hard for me to believe I am actually in the Philippines. After the group arrived in Manila and made it through customs we all hopped on a bus and had a fun 2 1/2 hour bus ride to IIRR (International Institute for Rural Reconstruction). The bus ride really reminded me why I am here but at the same time depressed me. I am so excited to get to use the skills I have learned, and new skills to help these people but then I remember that I leave in 3 weeks and this experience doesn't necessarily create a lasting impact on the health of the Filipino population I will be working with. I love that I get to help but I just wish it was for longer than 3 weeks.  

Nasty bugs in our cottage 

After a bus ride that only developing countries can deliver full of traffic, near collisions and the constant smell of exhaust, we arrived at IIRR. By this time I was dead tired and had been traveling a long time and really wanted showers, food and a bed to sleep in. Instead of sleeping and relaxing the group ate a snack- oatmeal and pineapple squares and some noodle and veggie dish, then we got on two Jeepneys and headed to the closest mall to exchange money and pick up forgotten supplies. So a Jeepney is this little bus thing that can hold lots of people and is a very popular way to travel. It was fun except for the countless amount of exhaust that pours in the windows from that other cars outside. 

The mall was like every other mall... just different prices and different fast food stores; though a Wendys, and a McDonalds were both there. Well it has been a very long day and now I am in Cottage 10 with 5 other girls and currently fighting off the swarm of bugs that has engulfed our front porch area. The water is finally on and the humidity and traveling have made it so I desperately need a shower.... 

One week to go!

It's one week before I leave for the Philippines with 20+ other students and I can't wait. For those of you that don't know I am going to the Philippines for a class requirement for my MPH in Global Health at Loma Linda University. I will be in the Philippines for 3 weeks (June 28 to July 19) working in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction for the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction. I can't wait to apply what I've learned this year and do a little bit of touristy stuff. I have never been the Philippines but I am excited to see what this opportunity has in store for me.