20 youth, 2 projects, 1 summer (and no Darryl Braithwaite) adds up to chaotic fun and non-stop culture shock. Catch it all here, as I sporadically update.

 
Countdown to reality.

So, I sit here, back in funsville Manila, lost somewhere in their super-duper ginormous megamall thing, wondering if the last two months is a dream. The only thing that stops me is the fact that I still find the sound of traffic somewhat odd, and that I have many **coughseventeencough** rolls of film already developed.

We arrived back in Manila on Tuesday afternoon. We actually left the community on Friday morning of last week. Between that, and an absolutely beautiful goodbye celebration they threw for us, we were all pretty shattered when we left Apni. We had a few days at the beach in La Union, which is pretty much an hour and a half jeepney ride straight down the mountain. It was a well needed break because we were all pretty much physically and emotionally exhausted by the time we got there. Most of us slept through our time there.

We finally caught up with the other group who worked for Bahay Tuluyen on Tuesday. It was an odd moment. They were down three members for many reasons (one medical, one for uni and one for a family event), and have had an entirely different experience to us. In some ways we feel like the grandparents not understanding the "kids" with all of their injokes. That has come from their group spending pretty much all of their time together, whereas most of us had a lot of singular and small group experiences with the community. They are also still saying their goodbyes to people, so are in an entirely different headspace to us "oldies".

I'm a bit scattered at the moment, so I don't really have much to report. I finished my program the week before last with a workshop for the health workers on creative community education methods and then did some fun teaching things in the local school. Much of last week was spent finishing a community map with the local "Fonz" and basically hanging with "da boyz" of Apni. In the last few weeks they really took us under their wing and we spent many a day literally moving houses, searching for cave bee honey, fishing and drinking gin. They love their gin here.

So this will pretty much be the last email from here. I'll be back in Brisbane next week. I can't really believe that. It's already jarring enough to just see other Westerners. Heh. Dodgy Westerners. Sorry, we have a thing about Westerners. They all EVIL ;-)!

It's been one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I have learnt so much. I've seen and read a lot of stuff about poverty and experiences of indigenous people in the past, but it didn't really hit me until I've experienced it first hand. We take so much of our lives for granted, fresh water, showers, not having to "squat", beds, a variety of food, and spices ... ok maybe the last two are just for me.

But that's just the simple stuff. Many people will work all days in their fields for 100-200 pesos, which is about $2.50 - $5 Australian. They will get up will before sunrise to make the long journey to the local city of Baguio to sell their wares, sometimes never making a single sale all day. Their fields may be a good hours hike up a mountain, and for some these farmlands can be basically dry, eroding patches of dirt covered with weeds.

Teachers receive little support here either, and fight to keep their staff numbers at reasonable levels. Children can walk over an hour up and down a mountain each way to get to school. Also, there isn't any luxury of HECS for tertiary students. If they can afford to work their way their college, they will then have to face high levels of unemployment. Many parents feel that tertiary education isn't worth it for that reason, as, for example, I met qualified engineers, teachers, optometrists and electricians in San Pascual who have given up hope of ever finding work. At least most own their land, but there are some who are forced to rent and deal with middlemen selling their wares and landowners taking their share.

These are but a few of the issues that discovered facing the rural indigenous people of the Cordillera. There are also issues of loss of culture and land. In a nearby region, indigenous communities are forcibly removed from their land to make way for hydroelectric plants based in dams, which might have a life of 30 years at the most. That's 30 years of electricity that isn't actually needed, as the Philippines already produces more energy than it uses.

Despite all this though, they are such friendly people who would give you their right arm and are always laughing and joking. We were very lucky to be welcomed so warmly into their lives for the past few months and I doubt that any of will soon forget the experience.

Today we also had quite a different experience; one with urban poverty. We visited the barangay of Payatus, near to where we are staying currently in Quezon city. Basically Payatus is the rubbish dump for Quezon, and those living nearby, pay for permits to scavenge on the dump. They work in co-ops who will scavenge for certain types of rubbish - some for tyres, others for metals, some for cans, other groups for plastics. Life in Payatus teems around this dump, and schools, stores and community centres look out over the "mountain". A few years earlier, a similar "mountain" collapsed killing many families and workers. In three years time, all families in the area will be asked to leave due to expansion of the dump. It was a pretty intense experience to say the least.

Made all the more jarring by our visit to the residence of the Australian Ambassador in Makati later. There couldn't be two more different worlds. I can't even begin to discribe it, except that, walking there in the little walled city of the rich, it felt like we were walking down a street in an exclusive area of north Melbourne. You couldn't even hear the sounds of the streets.

I can report that someone you all know may have ... done ... something there. **coughhadhisphototakenontheambassadorsbedcough**

So I guess that's about it. I hope you've enjoyed reading a few of my stories of the last ten weeks and I hope that it's increased your interest in the Philippines, a country still missed by many people when they visit Asia. I have yet to visit the other islands, but Luzon itself is an island of great beauty, filled with many diverse landscapes and such friendly people from many walks of life. The gap between the haves and have nots though can be quite jarring. Also, despite the colonial influences of America, Japan and Spain, it retains a distinct, quirky culture of its own.

So what am I trying to say? Visit. Maybe volunteer for an NGO or two ;-) If you can get away from the tourist traps, you will have an amazing time. And if you have the opportunity, I can highly recommend trying something like what I've done this summer/winter. By working with an NGO, we have had the opportunity to become completely immersed in a culture very different from our own and we have all gained so much from the experience. I only wish we could give back some of what we've gained.

If I have got you curious, take a quick gander at the AVI website - http://www.australianvolunteers.org/ They will be able to direct you onto other such organisations.

Anyway, better get going. Looking forward to catching up with you all soon. Take care.

PS - For interests sake, here's another group email about what everyone has been doing here.

Group Update #3

NEWSLETTER #3: AVI PHILIPPINES YOUTH PROJECT DECEMBER 2003

Dear all

We are now just under 8 weeks into the youth project, with the Bahay Tuluyan team based on Bohol Island and the Shontoug team based in San Pascual, a rural community in the mountains outside Baguio City. The various projects have been well and truly underway, and will wind up shortly. Then there will be an evaluation during the last week in Manila, where the participants will give feedback about their 10-week
experience.

Time seems to have flown by, and people have been busy with their projects.....

Bahay Tuluyan Participants Unfortunately, there have been technical difficulties with receiving the latest witten report from the Bahay Tuluyan team, which means there is less news about them. However, I have been in contact with Catherine, the Team Leader, who has been filling me in with activities. The team have been working very hard in Bohol with the organisation, PETA, which does drama and theatre activities to help raise awareness about social issues. The participants, with some street children from Bahay Tuluyan in Manila and some street children from Bohol, have been working with staff from this organisation in developing drama and plays to raise awareness about children's issues and rights. The launch of the performance happened on Australia Day where a number of Government and Community representatives were invited. Another 13 performances are planned as the group will conduct a tour around various schools in Bohol.

The participants and the Manila street children will be returning to Manila on the 5th February. Then they will go to conduct the performance to the children at the three Bahay Tuluyan Children's Centres (Tiaong, Kibo and lastly Santa Mesa on the 9th Feb). After this, their 'work' will have finished, and they will have time to visit their homestay families (the families with whom they stayed at the beginning of their trip), meet up with the Shontoug team participants in Manila, evaluate their projects and do a bit of sightseeing before the final day of the project on the 14th February.

Shontoug Participants

The Shontoug team have also been working hard on their projects. The participants have designated themselves to project activities as follows:

Adam Health
Nat, Laura, Stuart Educational Support
Sian, Bernie Day Care Program
Catherine, Lisa, Anna Cultural Documentation
Laura Video/Film making
Stuart, Lisa Out of School Youth

They wrap up with their activities next week, and on the 6th February, they will be farewelling the community members of Apni to return to Baguio City. There they will conduct an evaluation with staff at Shontoug and then there will be a farewell party after this. The day after, the participants will go to the beach to enjoy a hard earned rest before returning to Manila on the 10th February to meet up with the other team.

The report below probably gives the best description about how the participants have been faring and what they have been up to! It was sent to me by Laura, but Laura has stated that she is not the author.....


Now well into the New Year we have alll settled nicely into community life in San Pascual and we are all busy with our individual projects.

A few of us have been sharing Australian and Filipino recepies with some of the locals such as the famous Mrs Coile. While we have learned how to cook rice the Filipino way, aswell as pancitm, kutsinta and sticky rice, our lessions in making rumballs have inspired Mrs C to start her own small business, 2 pesos per rumball.

Our only night of heavy rain forced our outside cooking adventures nextdoor into the kitchen of local primary school teachers Edgar and Rose. After this intimate dinner for seven it was revealed that Edgar is a talent on the dancefloor and he was co-erced into organising a regular Sunday evening ballromm dancing class, which has become a popular community event, once we managed to drag the boys onto the dancefloor/basketball court. Ilokano (ie the local dialect) lessons have also proved amusing, with us learning important phrases such as 'Can I court you?' and 'Would you like to dance with me?' and the important response 'madam dama' (maybe later).

Stu had discovered the trials and tribulations of attempting to light fire with wet wood and consequently sending smopke signals to his girlfriend in Melbourne. On the positive side - his coconut bowl collection is coming along nicely. His first basketball game this Sunday was a real slam dunk! But there was panic earlier in the day when the only basketball in the community was nowhere to be found! After one hour of play we all learnt the finer details of Filipino basketball but realised we still had another half of the game to go. It was great to see so many people come and support what we hope will be a regular Sunday event. Well done Stu!

Bernie (AKA Tonia Toddman) and Sian (Noni Hazelhurst) have discovered the pleasures of sewing. Or at least Sian has, Edgar informed us that in the Philipines this is a sign of preparing for childbirth. Suppost from all the mothers ar the two daycare centres has been wonderful bit seems to have evolved into a seing class for the two girls and an opportunity for the age old 'chika-chika' (gossip).

For local sitio workshops with the Health Care workers on reproductive health and sanitation, Adam has successfully memorised the female and male reproductive systems but has discivered that a deoderant bottle is probably not the ideal model for demonstrating how to put on a condom. Adam also put on a show with Nat at the local Karaoke bar, with their numbers 'You're the one that I want', 'Not a girl, not yet a woman' and 'Sisters are doing it for themselves', plus Nat's claim to fame a score of 100 for 'Dancing Queen'. Appropriate really since she is known by the locals as 'dancing girl' after her form and stamina at the New Year Celebration and for 'shaking that ass' at ballroom dancing. However, Adams talent has failed to translate into the kitchen, as Father German has discovered when his kettle would no longer boil.

Nat has enjoyed her homestays with some of the local primary school families but has still failed to get her hands dirty and do some farming. Her storybook making with Grades 3 and 4 is progressing well.

Therese (team leader) is continually nesting and making home improvements and has discovered 101 ways to utilise a plank of wood. But the cooking team were far from impressed when she was caught trying to cut through a wooden block with our only sharp knife.

The new kid on the block Peter...PetePNG is learning the implicit rules of camp life, the check-ins, meal times cooking, and when it is appropriate to open 'fresh milk' (UHT) and eat precious fruit such as mangoes.

Catherine, Lisa and Anna's cultural documentation is proving to be a valuable insight into the community and they have experienced the generous Filipino nature. However, are still yet to confirm which of their 5 alternatives is the correct reason behind how San Pascual got its name.

Catherine continues to receive endless packages from home. Thankyou Mrs Loy for the chocolate...plum pudding...tea. They've been a small reminder to us all of luxuries back home.

Lisa has changed sleeping spots continuously, but has discovered that the stench from whatever died in out ceiling is inescapable and ants will bite her wherever she goes.

Anna continues to serendade us with her newly found singer-songwriter 'talent.' Hovever, we feel for our neighbours who unlike uis probably don't have access to disposable ear-plugs.

Laura has rediscovered the solar-system with her primary school science project and is relieved that her film is now in post production because the threat of dropping the borrowed camera into the river has now passed.

For everyopne, after learning more about local superstitions, we are no longer drinking liquids after 6 pm due to our fear of encountering the white lady or dwarfs in the mango tree on our way to the 'comfort room', ie 4 acres.

Greetings to everyone back home, Lots of love from Team Shontoug.

I am Leaving for the Philippines on Monday to join up with the participants, and hear all their stories. I will be in contact on my return (soon after the 19th February) with the last newsletter for the project. So stay tuned!

With best wishes

Joanna (Jose)



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