On our way to the MRT we stumbled across a Chinese Zen temple and decided to take a look:

After we fully explored all the hidden corners of the zen temple, we ambled back out to Manila’s busy streets and came across – of all things – a MASONIC TEMPLE.

A more pleasant surprise was these adorably crafted bread-pigs that I noticed in a bakery window

Since Mary and I were able to meet up in Manila because of Bonifacio Day – a public holiday in the Philippines – it seemed appropriate to snap a quick pic of Bonifacio himself at “Liwasang Bonifacio” plaza.

At Intramuros, we spent quite a bit of time in the Manila Cathedral. I was surprised to see a copy of Michelangelo’s “La Pieta” there – we later learned that this was one of the few authorized copies made from the original, and it was gifted to the Cathedral after the hurricane floods in Luzon last fall?

After our visit to the cathedral, we took a short but enjoyable kalesa ride in Intramuros…

And after we finished our wanderings for the day, we headed back to the Paco Park Oasis Hotel. The courtyard pool (with wifi access) was one of the best things about this mo- I mean hotel!

But definitely what I enjoyed most about Manila was being able to learn more about the history of the city and the country through the sights, especially with the help of Mary’s friend Voltaire – and of course, hanging out with Mary and getting to know her better. I didn’t do a particularly good job of capturing this through my photos, but I’ll always cherish the memories from this Manila trip as it turned out to be a real learning experience! To better understand the essence of the Philippines, I believe a visit to Manila is really a must

The trees towered majestically over us. It was a perfect, clear day.

In addition to all the lovely sculptures, William Ricketts also scattered his writings throughout the Sanctuary:

In all this sanctuary there is
one theme only
expressing
reverence for life
in the
new world environment

Life is Love. All you to all me, for being part of nature we are all brothers to the birds and trees.

Will you then join with us in the sacredness of beauty, because at our highest we are part of the beauty of the world, we know we are part of its Creator and Designer and so in this expression of our minds and hearts and hands we give back to God what emanates from God.

Stu checked out the details on this beautiful archway…

…and Wayne snapped a photo of a “betrayal” themed sculpture – a figure of a man wearing a headpiece made out of bullets, with animal corpses flowing from his feet.

At Ricketts’ kiln – all the sculptures in the Sanctuary are made of clay, kiln-fired to 1200 degrees Celsius.

a pure imagination
born to man in a slate of
true freedom
and wrought in fire

is to be desired
above all things

At the Gallery, we got to appreciate Ricketts’ work in a very different setting.

This is probably one of my favorite sculptures in the entire Sanctuary, just because it was so unexpected. I walked by it on my way into the Gallery and actually thought for a moment that it was a real bird!

You would not like to be jailed
for the rest of your life
the bird and you have life
and life comes from that (life giver)
my life here expresses life’s freedom

May we consecrate the Australian bush and speak both for and of it as poems of God. May the power of abundant living be so great in us, and our God-given imagination so quickened, that, having read this message we become crusaders in the supreme quest of true beauty.

Man is nature’s masterpiece, therefore claim your inheritance by giving her the co-operation you owe.

Nearing the end of the one-hour loop, Stu and I chuckled at the whimsy of the mailbox and donation box by the Visitor Centre -

Having experienced his work in all its brilliance, I made sure that my last photo of the day was of William Ricketts’ portrait in the Visitor Centre.

And now, five days after the visit to William Ricketts Sanctuary, I looked over all these photos and realized anew the beauty of this place, like a breathe of fresh air through my soul.

The dive shop we went to was small, but bustling – a group of Korean scuba divers had just returned from their dive. We held our breath and asked about availability and rates. The staff informed us that none of the boats were available for the day (generally do people book in advance, oops), but they could commission a boat from another resort to take us out to the marine sanctuary at Olango Island, and we could have the boat for the entire day. Ed and I ended up forking over around P3,500+ for the boat, or about $75 USD for the two of us – not too bad, considering that we walked in last minute. I also summoned enough enough courage to attempt haggling – we ended up getting our snorkeling gear, water and towels thrown in for free. Plus, the boat turned out to be a massive beast that could easily (and probably usually) fit 10, 15 people. Ed and I got on the boat, lounged, read, snorkeled, and felt like a million bucks.

After jumping in the gorgeous clear water and admiring the swarms of fish that had gathered, I climbed back into the boat and was greeted by a mysterious man holding coconuts and shell jewelry, who had apparently boarded our boat while Ed and I were snorkeling. He offered me fresh coconut juice and I made the big mistake of accepting without first asking for the price and assuming that it’d be pretty cheap. So he hacked off the top of the coconut and while I sipped the fresh, sweet juice, he said “And that will be 700 pesos.” And I was like WHAT!? NO. That coconut is not worth $15 USD, even in the States! And I had spent enough time in the Philippines to know that the local going rate for fresh coconuts is under 100 pesos. He insisted that he had muttered the price at me before he opened the coconut for me, but I angrily countered that I hadn’t heard a thing. I was mad enough to really bargain him down hard without feeling my usual pangs of embarrassment, and in the end I think I forked over around P200 for the coconut. He left, shaking his head, and the boat crew that were sailing us around looked at me with… respect? It wasn’t a particularly happy experience, but it did reinforce an important lesson – always, always settle on a price first and never make any assumptions until you know what the agreed upon price is.

Slightly rattled by the experience, I asked the boat crew if they could take us someplace where we can get lunch (as the staff at the dive shop had suggested). They nodded, and we were taken to this row of five or six restaurant-shacks on stilts standing in the ocean, just off shore. So we literally climbed out of the boat, up a ladder and into the restaurant. I wish I had gotten some pictures of Restaurant Row, as it was really quite picturesque.

Unfortunately Ed and I quickly realized that we had fallen from one tourist trap into another. After looking at an impressive array of live seafood in various plastic crates, we picked out some fish, some clams, some scallops. This time we were smart enough to ask for the price first, and got quoted a ridiculously high price – 3,000+ pesos. Ed and I looked at each other and grimaced. I told Ed that apart from not wanting to pay that much money for a meal, especially when we’d been spending around P300 to P400 on fairly posh meals in Cebu, I didn’t have enough cash on me anyways. Ed agreed that the price was ridiculous, and we started to head out. One of the restaurant waiters rushed over to us, lowering the original price quite a bit but still not enough to tempt my slim wallet. So we walked just outside of the restaurant where our boat crew was happily digging into fresh plates of rice and seafood (Ed speculated later that they were probably related to the restaurant owners), and told them we’d decided to not eat at the restaurant – but they should still finish their lunches, since there’s no point in everyone going hungry. To our slight embarrassment they followed us back into the boat fairly quickly, and we motored back to the marine sanctuary again.

After a bit more swimming and lounging, Ed and I decided that we’ve gotten our money’s worth and asked to be taken back to shore. We paid the dive shop, and decided to walk to Magellan’s Shrine, which we had passed on our way over in the taxi. We grabbed a quick bite at a cheap burger stand to satiate our hunger…

…and after an hour of leisurely walking and spontaneous detours, we arrived at Magellan’s Shrine.

Most people know of Magellan’s exploits as a famous explorer, but the fact that he died at the hands of a Philippine native right in Mactan is far less popularized (outside of the Philippines). Both Magellan’s Shrine and Lapu Lapu Monument offered interesting insight into Philippine history and nationalism.

Not only is the park surrounding Magellan’s Shrine filled with aboriginal sculptures and busts -

But Magellan’s death is recorded in detail (and dare I venture, celebrated even) on this marker. The front celebrates Lapu-Lapu’s defeat of Magellan: “Here on 27 April 1521 Lapu-Lapu and his men repulsed the Spanish invaders, killing their leader Ferdinand Magellan. Thus Lapu-Lapu became the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.”

The back of the marker acknowledged Magellan as a great explorer while (not so subtly) pointing out that Magellan was hindered from completing the circumnavigation of the globe because of Lapu-Lapu and his soldiers.

On this spot Ferdinand Magellan died on April 27, 1521 wounded in an encounter with the soldiers of Lapu-Lapu, Chief of Mactan Island. One of Magellan’s ships, the Victoria, under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, sailed from Cebu on May 1, 1521 and anchored at San Lucar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, thus completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Cebu – the landmarks, the history, the modern amenities. But at the same time, Cebu was the one place in the Philippines where I felt horribly conspicuous as a foreigner – someone who’s very rich and could be easily taken advantage of by almost any local, from taxi drivers to restaurant owners. Maybe this is because Cebu is a big tourist hub for wealthy foreigners, but I had gotten used to blending into the crowd in Cagayan de Oro – generally not too difficult for me as a Taiwanese person. So while I’m glad to have experienced Cebu and would definitely recommend a visit to anyone who hasn’t been there yet, there’s no denying that Cebu dealt me both ups and downs on this trip.

Complete with many landmarks commemorating the landing (and death) of the great European explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the weighty layers of history made themselves felt as I walked through the streets of Cebu. In a way Cebu is like a mash-up of Boston, for the history, and Miami, for the beautiful beaches nearby and modern amenities – including the biggest SM City mall in the Philippines, as my HSPFI co-workers informed me. You really can’t ask for any better than that.

Unfortunately the weekend started off on a slightly traumatic note, as our taxi arrived at Magellan’s Cross and was immediately surrounded by a crowd of child beggars. The taxi driver did his best to shoo them away, but we ultimately had to brave wading out and through the crowd as the kids followed us and begged for money. I wished there was a prescribed action that one could take when facing child beggars – we didn’t give them any money, but I felt horrible about myself anyways. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a particularly compelling passage in her latest book Committed about her encounter with child beggars in Cambodia:

I picked up my pace and walked faster toward the hotel. The crowd of kids tagged behind me, around me, in front of me. Some of them were laughing and blocking my way, but one very little girl kept pulling at my sleeve and crying out, “Food! Food! Food!” By the time I neared the hotel, I was running. It was shameful.

So much of my experience as a Kiva Fellow in the Philippines was about poverty – but somehow nothing I’d experienced before made me feel quite as shocked and ashamed as being surrounded by all those child beggars in Cebu.

By the time we made it to Magellan’s Cross, the child beggars had scattered – probably because there were security guards posted by most of Cebu’s tourist attractions. So Ed and I admired the cross, as a sign underneath proclaimed that “the original cross planted by Ferdinand Magellan on this very site April 21, 1521″ was encased in the visible cross of tindalo wood.

We then wandered over to the Basilica of Santo Niño, which was just a short five-minute walk away from Magellan’s Cross.

There were lots of visitors in the Basilica, but the church still exuded an atmosphere of peace. The courtyards I found to be especially beautiful and serene.

Ed and I ambled out of the Basilica…

…and I asked if he’d be interested in walking back towards a big, interesting-looking sculpture we had passed in the taxi earlier on the way to the Basilica. I had seen it in some sort of promotional image for Cebu, and thought it must be another famous landmark. It was a hot morning, but Ed gamely said yes and we proceeded down the streets of Cebu, walking past another beautiful stone church on the way.

Turned out that the sculpture I had saw was the Heritage Monument in Parian Park.

The pride, unity, and cultural wealth of a race emanate from a people’s sense of self and history; from the early Filipinos, to the dawn of European colonization, the revolution of 1896, the birth of the Philippine Republic. The heroic contribution of the Cebuano people and the saga of events, which transpired on the islands of Cebu, are vital elements in the formulation of the nation we know today

The adventure continues on Day Two in Cebu…

Corroi kept trying to get a good picture of the Kalatungan Mountain Range, because she explained that the mountains were shaped in the form of a “sleeping lady.” Unfortunately the focus was kind of hard to get right from the bus, but she still managed to get some pretty good pictures of the mountains.

Quote wiki: “Bukidnon is considered by Filipinos to be the food basket of Mindanao. It is the major producer of rice and corn in the region. Plantations in the province also produce pineapples, bananas and sugarcane.”

I loved seeing all this lush green. Traveling in the field was my favorite part of the Kiva Fellowship, partially because there’s so much beautiful scenery to take in.

Corroi lamented the fact that I would miss Bukidnon’s famous Kaamulan Festival by about a week. She explained that the festival celebrates the seven tribes of Bukidnon. People would gather in Malaybalay, and there would be lots of street dancing and good food. Foreigners like to visit Bukidnon during Kaamulan to observe the festivities, Corroi added. Since I’d be missing out on all the good times, she took care to snap a picture of this arch that was going up in preparation for the festival.

The bus stopped by a bus/jeepney depot to drop off and pick up more passengers…

Corroi was particularly taken by the orderly display of this stand at the terminal.

Then we were back on the road again…

And Corroi managed to sneak a few more pictures in before the sky went completely dark and my camera’s battery died. She was particularly keen to get some pictures of the Kitanglad Mountain Range. Mt. Kitanglad is the second highest mountain in the Philippines and home to the endangered Philippine Eagles. Corroi had fixed the Philippine Eagles in my mind by telling me about how a local Filipino was arrested and tried for hunting and eating an eagle, not knowing that it was a precious national bird. But I guess that’s another story for another day

I was just two days off the plane and back in the Philippines when I heard that HSPFI’s 2009 Q4 Project Officers Meeting would be taking place the next day. I really wanted to make something for the POs as a small token of thanks, so I threw a video together and showed it the next day to whoops and cheers. I actually think this is the best Kiva/HSPFI video that I’ve edited to-date, so I was really glad to see it well-received.

A bit of context – the first part of the video is mostly made up of footage from the HSPFI 2009 Staff Christmas Party. The day kicked off with gift exchanges and team-building/general bonding activities at a nearby resort; the night activities took place in the HSPFI office and consisted of a big delicious dinner and the HSPFI staff dance competition (and videoke/impromptu dancing). Having seen how hard HSPFI staff works on a regular basis, it was really cool to see the organization give back to dedicated staff members on the ground with a kickass Christmas celebration.

(Video Background Music: Allison Crowe – “Immersed” and “Midnight”, available on Jamendo.com)

Other footage used in the video were taken from the 2009 Q3 HSPFI POs Meeting & After-Party; Iligan Branch’s 15th Anniversary and 2009 Client Christmas Party; and Gingoog Branch’s 2009 Client Christmas Party. I also threw in some of my favorite photos from various branch visits/field travels with awesome HSPFI POs.

Enjoy

What I really wanted to write about was how I found myself slipping back into a more commercial/American mindset when I left the Philippines, which manifested itself in the fashion magazines that I pored over and many additions to a mental wishlist of wants. And also when I found myself back in the States at Honolulu International Airport facing an array of eats at the food court. My first instinct was “I want McDonald’s.” Which is not a rational decision because I rarely feel the need to go to McDonald’s and indulge in a Big Mac. I usually indulge in Pringles when I feel the need for junk food – another story for another time.

For me, choosing to eat McDonald’s or some other American fast food chain is (usually) more of a capitulation to what that meal symbolizes (e.g. American culture) as opposed to actually wanting to eat fast food. The fact that I didn’t actually end up eating at McDonald’s in Honolulu because there wasn’t one that I could see, or because I saw mapo tofu instead (way too tempting to give up after 2+ months of no tofu) is irrelevant. I can only shake my head at the commercial success of American fast food companies that makes me crave “something really American and easily accessible” with more regularity when I’m traveling to and from the U.S. – despite the fact that fast food is trashy.

Another thing that struck me when I left the Philippines was how I immediately slipped back into the American mindset of constantly weighing the (perceived) value of my time and how much that time gets wasted on a regular basis. At Hawaiian Airline’s check-in line in Manila Airport, I was stopped by airline employees no less than three times because I had let slip that I was carrying a lithium laptop battery in my check-in luggage. When I finally capitulated and laid my suitcase down to pull out the offending battery, another gentleman slipped past me and cut my place in line. After I quickly pulled out that damn battery I then proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes glaring and feeling generally pissed off at the world. Yes, I had just waited in a line that snaked across the concourse for almost an hour. But was it really worth it for me to spend the last 15 minutes in line feeling angry and sorry for myself? Not really.

As an American who’s just spent a few months abroad, the “commercial” aspect of the American psyche really stands out in high relief when I returned to the States. And this aspect of the American psyche is something I’d like to ditch in favor of something a little more zen. I think I found my zen in the Philippines – now I just need to figure out how to retain it.

Maybe a more fitting title for this post would be it’s harder to be Christian in the commercialized environment of the States, period?

To wrap up with something completely non-related and has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas (since tonight is Christmas Eve) – but will make you laugh – check out the octopus video below!

At any decent celebration, party, or fiesta in the Philippines there will always be lechon baboy, or roasted pig. The first time I had it was in Cebu, where it’s a local specialty. I had met up with fellow KF9er Ed Coambs one weekend and made a point to try out lechon baboy, since all my HSPFI co-workers kept telling me that Cebu has the best lechon baboy in the Philippines. We ended up getting a tame, chopped-up version in a restaurant recommended on Wikitravel. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. I much preferred lechon manok, or roasted chicken. And to be honest, on that Cebu trip Ed and I gravitated towards American comfort foods. Like McDonald’s and pancakes.

I think this was Ed’s favorite meal in Cebu. He seemed a bit distraught when he learned that there’s a Pancake House in Cagayan de Oro, but not in Bacolod where he’s currently serving as a Kiva Fellow. Sorry, Ed. If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t gone to the Pancake House in Cagayan at all

But I digress. After returning to Cagayan de Oro, I got to eat lechon baboy at a HSPFI project officer’s son’s birthday party; at the after-party for HSPFI Illigan Branch’s 15th anniversary (and Christmas) party. Then I had it at the fiesta this past Tuesday. Twice. During lunch at a HSPFI co-worker’s house, and then during dinner at the HSPFI Executive Director’s.

I actually love eating lechon baboy, despite it’s somewhat… intense… appearance. I’ve always thought that you should call a spade a spade. If you enjoy being a meat-eater, you should be able to stomach eating meat that retained its original form and looks like the animal that it actually came from.

…Although I do admit these “after” pics of lechon baboy looks like complete carnage. Which never strikes me while I’m busy stuffing my face with roasted pig.

And actually, my downfall at the fiesta meals on Tuesday wasn’t lechon baboy. It was fatty pork. Large, gooey, oily, delicious chunks of pork meat and fat. I’ve always loved eating Chinese fatty pork dishes, so I was ecstatic when I found out that Filipinos like to eat fatty pork too. I ate so much fatty pork with rice on Tuesday (in addition to lechon baboy) that I ended up suffering from the “goldfish syndrome” – a favorite pet theory of mine. If you keep feeding goldfish, they’ll eat until they die. However, I used to have these amazing goldfish that would flip over and helplessly float stomach-up near the top of the tank when they overeat. (In case you were wondering, as my boyfriend sardonically asked when he first heard this story, they WEREN’T dead or dying.) They’d wiggle their little tails trying to flip right-side-up, but they won’t succeed until their stomachs finish digesting. Hence, the goldfish syndrome, which applies to humans too. I suffered from a particularly bad bout of goldfish syndrome after stuffing myself at the fiesta this Tuesday.

Apart from lechon baboy, I’ve sampled a variety of meats and offal in the Philippines. The most exotic dish that I’ve tried by far here though is balut – boiled duck egg with a partially developed “chick” inside.

I almost never say no to any dishes that my co-workers tell me to try, but I had been desperately hoping that I could get out of eating balut while I’m in the Philippines. I had read a previous Kiva Fellow’s encounter with balut before I ever thought of becoming a Kiva Fellow, and I honestly didn’t think I could stomach this dish. But my co-workers kept telling me how delicious it was, etc. It almost seemed like eating balut is an unofficial initiation rite for Kiva Fellows in the Philippines. So I was resigned when Corroi, HSPFI’s Kiva Coordinator, finally dragged me to a balut stand. I watched her eat one, and then she promised that she would pick one out for me that had a younger, less developed chick.

When Corroi cracked it open though, I could see the duck fetus all too clearly. I could see a little duck foot. I managed to suck the balut juice, then begged Corroi to eat the chick for me. I ate everything else – yolk, whites etc. which tasted pretty normal. I will admit that the juices, with a dash of vinegar, was pretty tasty. But yeah – I’m glad I can cross balut off my list and put it behind me.

Lechon baboy and balut aside, the main eating mishap that prompted me to write this post was actually me accidentally biting into a chili pepper thinking that it was a string bean during lunch yesterday. It was a pretty painful first experience – but you can thank that innocent-looking chili pepper for this long post on roasted pigs and duck fetuses.

So to celebrate me finding a new favorite spot on Earth, here are some memorable candids from Camiguin.

We found Ms. Mezyl Guerra‘s home/business surrounded by spindly, towering palm trees where you really have to crane your neck to look up at them. In the coming dusk, this spot felt beautiful yet slightly surreal.

This was a bit of a WTF find at Ms. Lina Micabalo‘s… a fish with fangs?! She said that it was real and dried as is though… I still feel the awe when I look at this picture

(She also had some pet rabbits in a cage, but after the fanged fish I can reassure you that they were nothing special )

This next pic is one of my all-time favorites. I guess I’m just a big sucker for people going down stairs. Plus, I snapped this shot on the way to the Sunken Cemetery and that place is a big reason why I love Camiguin so much. I’ve posted quite a few Sunken Cemetery photos in a separate blog post and they’re definitely worth checking out!

We also visited a small hot springs rock pool right next to the ocean. The water was scalding – I wished I had brought my swimsuit so I could’ve gone for a proper dip. Although, the one time I did bust out my swimsuit (after a staff dinner at a beach resort) it apparently caused a mini-scandal? I wasn’t wearing a skimpy bikini either, mind you – just a two piece that basically looks like a one piece. So maybe bringing that swimsuit wouldn’t have been such a good idea after all…

Here’s another one of my all-time favorite pics… Corroi (HSPFI Kiva Coordinator) snapping a pic of Sir Ronald Alipaopao (HSPFI Project Officer) on his motorcycle. And me, thirty feet away, stealing this picture of an unguarded moment in the field.

I experienced a lot of firsts during my week in the field visiting HSPFI‘s Camiguin Branch. Some good, some intense, all of it exciting. Amongst all these firsts, I’m convinced that I witnessed on Camiguin Island both the most beautiful and the most bizarre client interviews that I’ll get to conduct while here in the Philippines. This post is about the former – check out the latter at “The Most Bizarre Client Interview (Part 2 of 2)“!

A bit of background on Camiguin – I had been excited about this outing for quite a while, because all of my HSPFI co-workers kept telling me about this “island of paradise” that has hot and cold springs; a walkway through an old inactive volcano with stations of the cross that Filipinos from all over visit during Lent; the sweetest lanzones in the Philippines; a sunken cemetery.

Camiguin - A View of the Volcanoes

Corroi (HSPFI’s Kiva Coordinator) and I spent most of the week trekking around with the project officers and interviewing clients, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can visit Camiguin again and spend more time touring some of the spots. Corroi and the Camiguin Branch staff were very thoughtful though in arranging the schedule – Wednesday turned out to be a work+fun day when we visited a bunch of HSPFI clients who ran souvenir shops, transport services, etc. at popular tourist spots. So we also got to check out some of the sights in between interviews.

At the sunken cemetery we found a HSPFI client who rows tourists over to the base of the massive cross marker. Corroi has an artist’s eye for picking out good backdrops for client interviews – she’s amazingly astute at this – and suggested that we do the interview in the boat while the client was rowing us over! So we did. It was a gorgeous day – bright sunlight, blue skies, aquamarine seas, and something undeniably romantic in the atmosphere – as there should be at this old cemetery, sunk beneath the waves because of a volcano eruption. We lingered beneath the giant cross and listened as the client told us about his business and his family. He runs multiple businesses to support his three children and their education while his wife is working overseas. The hardships that the client described contrasted with the beauty of the day and took my breath away.

After I came back to HSPFI’s head office in Cagayan de Oro I was disappointed to discover that this particular HSPFI client wasn’t posted on Kiva, so I can’t share the actual interview here despite building this entire post around how wonderful it was. Nonetheless, I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet this ambitious client and hear his story. He plans to purchase another boat so he can run more tours and catch more fish.

I’m proud to be working for an MFI that supports individuals like him, and I feel privileged to have found such grace on Camiguin Island. Standing beneath a memorial to the dead, I heard a living testimony to the strength of the human spirit.

Eva Wu is a proud member of KF9, and she’s still head over heels in love with the Philippines and her host MFI, Hagdan sa Pag-uswag Foundation, Inc.! Support HSPFI by lending or by joining the HSPFI lending team today!