That’s my excuse, anyway. I think it’s a pretty good one! 40 degree weather does not encourage a lot, except for swimming and lying in the shade of the neighbour’s nipa hut during the hottest hours of the day. The heat drains away my energy, making me lethargic and grumpy. I can’t even imagine what cold feels like. It’s a good thing that I’ll be returning to NZ in the middle of winter!
I don’t like the idea of reading books that everyone else loves, books that are on bestseller lists. I especially do not like reading books that are on Oprah’s Book Club list. I want to enjoy books simply because I think they are good, not because I am following the masses. I realize that this isn’t a smart idea, as the reason that books are on bestseller lists is that many people have loved reading them. Anyway, in the last 2 weeks I’ve found myself enjoying two such books. The first is ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ by Sue Monk Kidd. I feel a little less guilty about reading this one because I did read another of her books sometime during university. The 2nd is ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Speaking of university, I was talking to Carolyn the other night when I realized that I finished my undergrad degree FIVE YEARS AGO. I was absolutely stunned when I heard myself speak those words. Five years ago? I feel old. What have I done since then? I got my Masters (fat lot of good that did!), and I traveled and lived abroad (wonderful yes, but useful for my future, no.) I know that the grass is always greener on the other side, but when I compare what I’ve done to my friends who all have established careers, I feel a little inadequate. And when I think of my student loan, I feel a bit queasy.
Enough contemplating. Damn you, ‘Eat, Love, Pray’!
Today is April 24, meaning that I have now been in the Philippines for 38 days, and in Sugod for 32. (or 25 if you take away my visa/vacation trip to Boracay.) What have I achieved in 25 days? What’s happening with Project Lifecycle?
First, let me say that everything happens slowly here. Tasks that should take 5 mins to organize take a week. This has taken some getting used to. I am a stickler for punctuality. “Ha-ha-ha,” says the Philippines, thumbing it’s nose at punctuality. A 9am appointment could mean anything between 9am and midday, but then at midday it’s siesta time, so it actually means sometime after 2pm. I am getting better at going with the slower flow, but when you are only here for a limited time, it’s frustrating.
Secondly, M has a habit of not delegating work, so I’ve had to keep reminding him that I a competent and completely able to share the Project Lifecycle workload.
With that disclaimer out of the way, this is what we’ve achieved so far:
We’ve introduced ourselves and Project Lifecycle to all the health centres: the main one in San Agustin and the smaller ones in Carmen and Cabolutan. Again, this should have been as simple as ringing the centres and arranging meetings, but then it was Holy Week and Easter and then I had to go to get my new visa in Boracay, and soon after it was Sugod Fiesta.
We’ve also written the surveys and had them translated. The translation task showed me the difference between Koreans and Filipinos. Give a task to a Korean and they’ll sit down straight away and work away quickly at it until it’s finished. Give the same task to a Filipino and they’ll consult all their friends and neighbours at length about the best way to go about completing it. Then it’s siesta time, then it’s go-watch-the-dress-rehearsal-for-fiesta-time, and eventually the task will be completed.
This week we traveled to the health centers again (I am now most comfortable on the back of a motorbike. Look Mom! No hands!!) and trained the barangay health workers how to administer the surveys, because as M likes to say “Bad data is worse no than no data!” The surveys have revealed some surprising results. Many of the women haven’t heard about condoms. We’re still not sure whether this is true, of whether some of the questions were a little lost in translation. I got to conduct the training in Cabolutan all by myself yesterday! Of course, this weekend is the big street dancing festival in San Agustin, so half of the surveyors won’t get started until next week.
We are still trying to get hold of the local priest to arrange the all-important meeting where we will kiss the asses of the local diocese. Aren’t you glad that’s just a figure of speech? I am! We need to get the Catholic Church on our side. If they don’t like us, they could make life very difficult for all of MV’s projects. While the head church guy in Manila supports SDM and Cycle Beads and has ruled that local diocese must do the same, this doesn’t mean we automatically have the local diocese’s support. We’ve been trying to set up a meeting for the last 3 weeks, but the priest seems to be ignoring us. Maybe he lost his phone?
And while of this has been going on, we’ve been documenting all we do and looking for ways to do things better. I am also writing grant proposals. I hate asking for money!
(but if anyone would like to donate $400 to buy a single computer for Sugod Elementary so that the teachers don’t have to write out 4 copies of every school report by hand, and do all the grade calculations with a calculator, let me know.)
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