The Rum Diaries

It's a typical night at Friendly's. A hypnotic drum circle is led by Bob, who's not surprisingly dressed in his tie-die Bob Marley shirt. Two empty bottles of Tanduay rum sit on the far table, another being passed around the group. Smoke is blown by the fan and half-filled packs of cigarettes litter the table. Several dozen travelers, most from Western Europe and Australia, mingle on the terrace, intermixed with the usual Filipino crew. The Matrix in on the flat screen in the background. In an hour or two, Maki will lead the group to the local bar Penguin to enjoy some live music and consume a few super submarines (a pint of the strong lager with a shot of tequila in the bottom). If we're lucky, we'll make it home before the sun starts to come up. 

It's been a while since I last posted, mainly because for various reasons I was stuck in Manila for 3 weeks and I didn't have much to write about. My nights out don't vary much and pretty much exclusively start at Friendly's. Throw in a biker bar, some videoke, a bout of food poisoning, my purse being stolen, my first acupuncture experience, first mango pizza plus three typhoons and you more or less get an idea of the past month. 

Things started picking up again last week. Part of the program includes a community health financing class, in the form of a study tour. The field instructor and I take 3 mini trips and several local visits to learn how communities approach the rising cost of healthcare. For our first trip, we headed north of Manila to two well performing municipalities. This past week we spent 4 days on Negros Oriental, an island south of Luzon. In our 1991 Manual Toyota truck, we drove hours on rough terrain to visit rural health units and isolated community hospitals. Out in the boonies! (Interestingly, the word "boondocks" comes from the Tagalog word "bundok" meaning mountain). Currently, we're on the island Guimaras for a few days continuing the study tour and enjoying the white sand beaches a bit. Then finally next week I am interviewing a representative of the national health insurance program and visiting an indigenous community. Hands down the best part of the program so far!

And then there's parasitology. The course had a 3-day training a few weeks back, learning how to diagnose common Filipino parasitic diseases like malaria through lab testing. At the end of October I'll be heading back to Negros to test communities for schistosomiasis (the snail disease). Just can't WAIT to spend a week analyzing stool samples...! ;)

Of course my traveling can't only be limited to school trips. Last week, overcome by city fever (and quite possibly the smog), I took an overnight bus north to Banaue. Famous for its 2,000 year old rice terraces created with primitive tools by the Ifuago, Banaue is promoted as a lesson in sustainability. Especially green during the raining season, these terraces are known as the Stairway to Heaven. Incredible and awe-inspiring, it's no surprise that they have been given the coveted distinction of "World Heritage Site."