Wow, we fly out in the morning. I can’t believe it. This
trip has been an absolutely wonderful experience and one I will be forever
grateful for. After the stress of the middle third of the trip (we had four
flights over a three day span), the last couple days we spent at the beach in
Batangas, at a resort courtesy of one of the Daughters of Charity’s uncle, and
the Mall of Asia. I spent yesterday in the warm water of the central Pacific,
soaking up the sun (confession: I got pretty badly sunburnt) and seeing my
first coral reef. It may have been the best beach water I have ever had the
opportunity to swim in. Oh, and how could I not say more about the coral reef?
Sure it was a bit bleached and devoid of its famous colors, but it was amazing
to see hundreds of fish swimming around. It was like living inside of Finding
Nemo. It was beautiful really, and a small miracle. Our three hour drive seemed
doomed by rain clouds. The Daughters of Charity, God bless them, really,
accompanied us as they cooked us another feast of a dinner. A few of us rose
early the next morning to take pictures of the sunrise over the water. After a
night of on and off rain, we were gifted with a rainbow to go along with our
sunrise. We soon packed up and left Batangas for a trip to the Mall of Asia, a
shopping mall big enough to function as its own city. The store Kultura, packed
with all things Filipino, served as a great base of activity as we all bought
souvenirs consisting predominantly of mangoes (the mangoes here are heavenly)
and pearls. I also finally got the opportunity to try Jollibee, the Philippines’
own fast food chain that serves items disparate as fried chicken, spaghetti and
red sauce, and cheese burgers. And of course rice; no Filipino meal would be
complete without rice.
While that was all great fun, I don’t want it to distract
from what this trip did for me personally. For one, I got to meet with almost
all of our borrowers in the Philippines. These were the people that GLOBE
always set out to help. These were the people we spent those countless hours
organizing fundraisers for. I’ll never forget sitting down for meals with the
borrowers and their families in Libon, or the smiles and energy of the women in
IloIlo City. For me it showed me there is a world outside of Queens, a world
that is not necessarily Paris or Rome. None of those cities have anything close
to the sheer magnitude and depth of Manila’s poverty. The images of the city
were unlike anything I had ever seen before. The filth and squalor and
abjection that much of the city has to live in, yet in the same city that can
house a mall as prolific as the Mall of Asia. I can now say I have seen what
poverty looks like, what someone means when they say developing world.
I have been contemplating applying for a Fulbright English
Teaching Assistantship for about a year now. Most of the countries I have
looked at working in are a part of the developing world and are generally a
part of Southeast Asia. After spending (a short) time in the Philippines, I
have an idea of what I can bring to the table and why the work I want to do is
so important. For many, education (which is almost synonymous with access to
the English language) is the way to escape the cycle of poverty and advance in
life. This trip has made me think only further on how I can contribute. I would
like to thank everyone involved for giving me this opportunity and Dr. Sama for
this extremely vital experience. Your work for us students does not go unnoticed.
Now, back to the States!
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