Tuesday, June 22

Congratulations to IJM FO Manila, as today celebrates their 9th year anniversary!

I get to celebrate later on today by attending a signing of the IRR of RA 9775, Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, which I'm pretty sure our Legal Fellow, Mike, helped draft. (I will check to make sure).  IJM is so great. I'm sure you already knew that, though.

Sunday, June 20

Happy Father's Day to my daddy!  I love you!!! Thank you for reminding me that someone calling me a sweaty darling is more so calling me a darling than someone who is sweaty.  :)

I got to work on a Sunday today...which is my privelege, because I got to work with our wonderful and resilient clients.  Any opportunity to be with them truly enhances and blesses my life.  At the STAR Training a few months ago, I noticed during videoke that one of our clients sang a song that seemed to really speak to her. She finished singing it with tears in her eyes, and we found out later singing is her passion and she gets through hard times.  At an event for one of our partner organizations, the victims of trafficking sang and danced to the song, and left the stage crying, as well.  It's called The Journey by Lea Solanga....and it seems to truly touch on the life experience of many of our clients.  They will be having a performance coming up, so we have hired a voice coach for them in practicing the song.  We didn't so much want it to just be about a successful and perfect performance, but a continuation on a journey to recovery...so by hiring a voice coach we are able to empower them to feel confident in other skills and abilities, and show them how important they are by investing in them.  They seemed to enjoy it, and were highly entertained when I tried to speak broken Taglish to them.

Thursday, June 17

I went to a forum on human trafficking today.  The forum was lovely, well planned, and had delicious food.  It included 5 hours of talking and debating about issues of trafficking.  Here in the Philippines when they hear too much English or have trouble translating, they call it "having a nosebleed."  Well, the whole forum was in English, but I still felt like I was having a nosebleed.  I just think my mind sometimes gets on "human trafficking" overloard, and it's like I reach a point I can't hear anymore.  The problem of trafficking is so huge, so difficult...I feel dabilitated...and frustrated.  and even angry.  I think sometimes I just can't take it. It was one of those situations where people seemed to be debating and debating and talking and talking and I just wanted to be like...OK...so now what are we going to DO?  These events are, however, good for awareness and I am more than grateful to have been invited. I think my frustrations were more so about me, and where I'm at, versus the actual event.

Tuesday, June 15

I started out this morning by attending a graduation ceremony for a client's family member at cosmotology school.  IJM is able to also assist client family members in their education,  since we are attempting to help the minors in the family not have or feel a need to work in bars.  It was so encouraging to participate in an event such as this, and witness women and men feeling empowered and doing what they love.  In true Filipino style, there was videoke during the ceremony...one of the songs being: My Heart Will Go On.  And the person singing it... killed it. I was so impressed.  :) 

After the graduation, I was dropped off to meet a client in order to escort her to visit one of our partner organizations, which she may choose to join.  Our relationship with this organization is continuing to grow, and I am encouraged every time I go to this sanctuary for women battling prostitution.  Tears welled up the clients eyes as she heard of a scholarship opportunity from Samaritana, so that she could afford to send her children to school.  This has been a major stressor for this clients life and one of the reasons she was originally trafficked internationally...the thought of an opportunity to make enough money for her family. 

I finishd the day visiting a children's home where Hope used to volunteer during a previous summer in the Philippines.  I don't know what my expectations were, but the place was incredible, the children seemed well adjusted and happy, and were clearly getting the love they needed from the staff.  One of Hope's contacts had brought in a group of high school students from the United States on a mission trip here, and asked us to speak to them about our work with IJM.  People are usually so grateful when we do this, but I don't think they realize what a blessing it is for us.  We get so pumped up talking about IJM, it's mission, and the incredible people that we get to work with.  By no means are we the soldiers and the ones effecting change, but the people here that are employed by IJM.  Talking about it to groups serves a good reminder for us, as we can sometimes struggle in our day to day responsibilities and maybe even forget what it's all about.

Monday, June 13

This weekend celebrates the Philippines Independance Day, as well as, Edgar's birthday.  I think we were expecting a lot more elaborate celebrations and tons of fireworks happening at irrational hours of the night, but overall it has been pretty quiet over here in Ortigas.  

As I was leaving the building to my gym on Saturday, I waved at the guard as I said good-bye and walked out of the building.  He smiled, put his hands together and bowed his head while saying "ahhhhhh.  Sweaty darling."

Now in my head, I was thinking..."Did he just call me a sweaty darling?  Yep...that pretty much defines the way I feel here all the time," but in real life I just kinda giggled and walked away.  How are you supposed to respond when someone calls you a sweaty darling?  I've now had days to think about it and am still not totally sure of the proper response.  I know he wasn't trying to be mean, he was probably even trying to be nice?  maybe? If anything...he was simply stating the obvious.  as is often done here.

Did I mention the heat index is 115 today?

Grabe... (translation - severe)

Edgar showed me this today:

My favorite part is the secton on discomfort from heat and humidity.  A majority of the year it is rated as "high" while the other 2 months are "extreme."  When are the extreme months you ask? June and July.  So the best is yet to come.

Saturday, June 5

So I'm not quite sure how my life came to this....a few months ago I signed up to take belly dancing classes at a dance studio close to my apartment.  Just something fun I could do for myself to stay entertained while I was here.  Somehow that resulted in me dancing in a recital over the weekend in a costume that can best be described as a bedazzled bra and long flowy skirt.  When I orginially heard "recital" from my fabulous instructor a month or so ago, in my head I thought maybe we would invite some friends and family over to the studio to watch us dance one evening...which would be fine I guess....and why I missed about 2 weeks of practice the week before the recital.  I just didn't think it would be a big deal.  But here...things often get lost in translation.  or lost in Tagalog. 

Come to find out...the recital was in a venue where they used to perform the show Rent....and there were 35 performances from all the dance classes offered at Dance Movement studios in Pasig and Makati.  I was definitely stretched out of my comfort zone... I think if someone told me when I originally signed up for classes that I would be dancing publicly in the Philippines, I would have probably squealed....and vowed I would never do it...but it was an amazing chance to immerse, get to know some of my classmates, get my make-up done at MAC, and stretch myself a bit...a lot actually. As I sat back stage I just kept telling myself...."you're in a different country...so if you mess up...no one will know."  Other than the fact that now everyone knows since I'm posting it on my blog.  So although it was probably good I didn't realize what a big event it would be ....that still didn't prevent me from constantly sweating.  but then again that may have been more so the heat than my nerves.  probably both.

Video of Balut eating...

Beware -  click here to see it

I (we) did it.

In case you're not sure what Balut is...according to Wikepedia - A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell.  I knew I had to do this before I left the Philippines, I'm just not sue I was emotionally prepared to do this so soon.  Don't scroll down if you're not in the mood to be disgusted.  If you're willing to be proud of me....carry on.

Looks normal.

First you sip out the broth juice stuff....not too bad.

Then peel off the shell....

I ate it in parts....

Not sure that was a good idea.

handling it.

and it's over.

Hope's balut - that was clearly too old to eat.

FYI - balut is a food that has been eaten on Fear Factor.

Ahhhhh

Pray for me....aparently today is the day I eat Balut.  I don't know if I can do it...