hi friends... this is a sad blog but i had to write it. we're immersed in the struggles of the poor here and it is something i experience every day - the adversity of the Philippines. it should be brought to the attention of those willing to listen...
there is a struggle between two different worlds here in the Philippines: the world of have and the world of need. the root of the conflict is the apathy of those living in the world of have... or rather, the willingness to turn a blind eye and praise Cebu for "doing so well", when in fact, the majority of the Filipinos living here belong to the world of need... they need food and clean water among the most basic of needs. they need medicine and a decent hospital for when they are sick, schools, supplies and scholarships to get them successfully past high school and prepared to go onto higher eduction. they need to be held accountable. the challenge is that the C class, as one of our mothers referred to it, is disproportionately large, which means that although the need for each individual person is basic and not much to ask, when you multiply it by the millions living in starvation and disease, it is a demand overwhelming to wrap your mind around. unfortunately, the A class (and what little proportion of the population could be considered B class - there really is no middle class here), would prefer to remain oblivious to the poverty plaguing their neighbors... on such a small island, everyone is your neighbor, and living on Cabreros Street I've come to realize that the majority of my neighbors need a lot but are given little by those who have...
not to sound too pessimistic, and to avoid offending those trying to make a difference in the world of need, i should say that there are good people here doing what they can to help. Hilary and David are the epitome of what everyone from the world of have could be doing to change the lives of those in the world of need. and there are others here like them, though few and disappointingly far between... unfortunately, those wonderful "haves" trying to help cannot expect support from the authorities here or the government or organizations that should be in place purely to help those in need. They are alone in their efforts. they try to report neglect, there are no authorities to help the children, no legal system in place to prosecute the guilty. they go to the town hall here and speak about the afflictions of the poor and promises are made to send help, to make changes, but nothing happens. it is frustrating, and seems futile at times, but they don't give up. the world could use more like them. willing to make sacrafices to help the world of need...
to augment the problem there is further disparity in the Philippines, unrelated to social class, it is the inequality between men and women - not a new struggle by any means, but fortunately becoming obsolete in much of the world; sadly, not here. in this primarily matriarchal society (the women work, and tend to the house, and care for the children), the man always has the last say on decisions to be made. whether this pertains to family planning, or him quitting his job, or how the woman's income should be spent, or if he has other women - it is his word that is the law and the women are obedient. This is the tragedy of the Philippines... the women work hard, they can support themselves and their families, they are reliable and do their jobs well, they usually have an education comparable to that of the men, however, they will not stand up against the rules laid down by the men in their lives. even if the husband is out of the country or has other wives or does nothing to support the family, still the women will listen when they are told what to do... it is frustrating. (it is interesting too... in fact it is a little refreshing, if i didn't understand the implications, to see that when the bill comes at the end of a restaurant meal the waiter brings it to the woman, that is the culture here, no assumptions that the man is the bread-winner).
the stories I hear and what i learn of the culture convinces me more and more that the solution to so many of the problems in the Philippines is to empower the women. this is not a new idea.... educate them, teach them skills, give them jobs: empowered women can drop the fertility rate (substantially reducing problems of overpopulation), they can reduce the infant mortality rate (which subsequently leads to fewer births and smaller families), they will slow the spread of disease, boost the economy, raise healthier children who grow to be a stronger working class of people... empower women and you can change a country. the problem in the Philippines is that the basic steps have been taken to empower the women here: they are educated, they do have jobs, and still they are submissive to the orders of the men. there needs to be a shift in the social hierarchy to put women on a level field where they have the authority, the confidence, the power to have a say... it could mean big changes for the Philippines, particularly for those living here in the world of need.
I'm sitting in the ultrasound room, which doubles as the office here, and we were just doing an ultrasound because the fundal height of the patient who came into the clinic today was alarmingly small for her estimated due date. The ultrasound showed us a head and femur of a full term baby, however the abdomen and arms of the fetus are very out of proportion and much smaller than what would be expected. we anticipate that the placenta has maybe detached some from the wall of the uterus, maybe because her husband smokes (terrible!) and apparently she didn't comply for a diabetic screen early in the pregnancy. the cost for this screening is P300 (about 6 US dollars), and she couldn't afford it. now her baby will most likely not make it. she has few options, but those that might save the baby she can most likely not afford. tragic.
the ultrasound before that the woman has had 3 miscarriages and a still birth. more tragedy. she labored for three days with the still birth, it's no wonder the baby didn't make it - what stress!! we make up excuses for her to explain why her pregnancies have been so unsuccessful: she didn't know better? maybe. she didn't have money for proper prenatal care and delivery? most likely. She is now on her 5th pregnancy and we're hoping this one will make it... with the proper prenatal care and a delivery assisted by certified nurses and midwives she might have a chance. then again, what kind of a world is this baby really being brought into? a world of need...
you want to talk about tragic? about loss? how about some statistics to show you how far behind the Philippines really is. to reinforce what I've been saying about the struggles here... to demonstrate the magnitude of need in this world of need... here you go! according to information conveyed to us through Hilary: the infant mortality rate here: 35/1000 live births. compare that to the US, about 6/1000... wow. The Philippines has the highest Maternal Mortality Rate of this area of the globe, I believe it. About 11 mothers/day die due to complications. There is a saying here in Cebuano "when you get pregnant, you have one foot in the grave". women here are 300 times more likely to die during childbirth as a result of complications than women in developed countries (many are age 15 to 19... children still by our standards). 28.5% is the probability of dying under the age of 5 years old... check out the world factbook or any other reliable site with information about country demographics. check out the country I'm currently living in. it's impressive in the most terrible way.
Monday, April 13, 2009
"just come out!!"
it rained last night... annnddd a baby girl was born today at the clinic!! my hypothesis is fast on its way to becoming a theory :) this was a fun birth because Hilary and Maritess were the only midwives/nurses on at the clinic, which meant Lo and I played a big roll in the labor and delivery - sweet!! it was a very hands on experience... the poor mother was swaying back and fourth in pain, bent over the labor table with her head between her hands. she had just vomited up everything in her stomach (Hilary says they usually puke at 8cm because that is when the body stops digesting - fun fact! :)... she would rock her hips side to side between contractions, then fall into a deep squat as she tolerated the pain of the contraction in silence. we finally moved her to a yoga ball that she bounced on incessantly until a contraction, at which point she would lean far back and Lo, myself and her helper would do what we could to balance the ball and keep her from rolling off onto the ground... and this point she had starting groaning "just come out!!" in Cebuano - Hilary translated for us. I kept rubbing her lower back trying to ease the tension (we do this with most of the moms), and breathing loudly out to remind her to keep up with the deep breaths... Hilary and Maritess were now m.i.a. they had darted out of the room without explanation and our only instruction was to keep her breathing... not a problem right?... riiigghtt....
what felt like a half an hour later we had moved the patient to the delivery table because she was so ready to start pushing. she was telling us that she needed to use the CR (the comfort room, aka the bathroom) but that she was afraid because the baby felt so close to coming out.... wait, what?!! Lo and I glanced at each other wide eyed and exchanged silents looks of "sh!t?!!"... based on past births we have seen here we figured about two pushes and that baby would need someone to catch it before it landed in the discard bucket at our feet. Where were Hilary and Maritess?!! and neither of us was about to leave the other alone with the mom claiming her baby was "right at the opening", to go looking for Maritess or Hilary... just as I was pretty certain I was going to be able to say I've delivered a baby, Maritess came to our rescue. and, just as expected, that baby was out in a push and half - a healthy baby girl...
We had the cord clamped and the baby's vitals taken within seconds of delivery, then it was time to tend to the mother. the baby was big (around 7 or 8 lbs - that's really big here! - probably explained by the fact that the mother had been holding the baby in all holy week[end]... what'd i tell ya?!) and the uterus had a long way to contract down to it's normal size in order to stop the mother from hemorrhaging. This is probably my least favorite part of the delivery: when the poor patient, who has been through so much, has to endure more pain as you push as hard as you can on her uterus to ensure that it contracts down entirely and is firm... the mothers just cringe and say "enough!" but you can't stop because if you do the bleeding won't stop, and we've already discussed how difficult it is to get a blood transfusion around here. We gave this mother 4 shots of oxytocin - one in each arm and two through an IV we started right after the birth - to help the uterus return to its normal size (had she done a home delivery she would have bled to death).
It was a very exciting delivery and now i'm just hoping for more rain... because you know what the rain brings!!
what felt like a half an hour later we had moved the patient to the delivery table because she was so ready to start pushing. she was telling us that she needed to use the CR (the comfort room, aka the bathroom) but that she was afraid because the baby felt so close to coming out.... wait, what?!! Lo and I glanced at each other wide eyed and exchanged silents looks of "sh!t?!!"... based on past births we have seen here we figured about two pushes and that baby would need someone to catch it before it landed in the discard bucket at our feet. Where were Hilary and Maritess?!! and neither of us was about to leave the other alone with the mom claiming her baby was "right at the opening", to go looking for Maritess or Hilary... just as I was pretty certain I was going to be able to say I've delivered a baby, Maritess came to our rescue. and, just as expected, that baby was out in a push and half - a healthy baby girl...
We had the cord clamped and the baby's vitals taken within seconds of delivery, then it was time to tend to the mother. the baby was big (around 7 or 8 lbs - that's really big here! - probably explained by the fact that the mother had been holding the baby in all holy week[end]... what'd i tell ya?!) and the uterus had a long way to contract down to it's normal size in order to stop the mother from hemorrhaging. This is probably my least favorite part of the delivery: when the poor patient, who has been through so much, has to endure more pain as you push as hard as you can on her uterus to ensure that it contracts down entirely and is firm... the mothers just cringe and say "enough!" but you can't stop because if you do the bleeding won't stop, and we've already discussed how difficult it is to get a blood transfusion around here. We gave this mother 4 shots of oxytocin - one in each arm and two through an IV we started right after the birth - to help the uterus return to its normal size (had she done a home delivery she would have bled to death).
It was a very exciting delivery and now i'm just hoping for more rain... because you know what the rain brings!!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
the Resurrection Party!!
Parties in the Philippines always have clowns. Unfortunately, for Saturday's Resurrection (Easter) Party, our favorite clown, Window, was not available... but his brother turned out to be pretty fun!! clowns are responsible for orchestrating the games - Filipinos love games!! We actually had to come up with a game list in advance (I'm talking at least a dozen games), for the party, and bring all the supplies: spoons, eggs, ribbon, newspaper... Lauren and I went early to help Hilary with the decorations and set up, the party was at the pool house/community center where the Overton's live. We hung streamers, blew up balloons, set up the egg dying station, hid tons of Easter eggs in the yard area, and decorated the tables.
Everyone started arriving around 3 and the games began!! We started off with musical chairs for the warm up (not that they need one - they have sooo much fun with the games, it's hilarious!!). the next game involved tying four different colored ribbons to random places on each person's body, then everyone finds a partner and the partners split up to two different groups and dance around until the music stops, as which point they rush over to their partner at the clown yells out a color and they have to touch their two ribbons of that color together (make sense?)... the slowest group to touch their color is eliminated. Toward the end, the clown starts calling out two or three or all four of the colors and they have to stay in position with the colors touching.... groups fall over and are in the funniest contortions trying to match up their colors, it was very entertaining. Next was the egg toss. Lo and I paired up and made it to the finals competing against the two guards JoJo and Rouel... We were chucking the raw egg across the entire lawn trying to avoid the leaves of the tropical trees overhead. unfortunately we lost :( but we put up a good fight and JoJo is our favorite anyway so we were ok with him getting the prize - yes, there are prizes for the games.
More games, easter egg hunt for the kids, coloring hard boiled eggs, trying to give away the kittens, then it was dinner time.... it was a huge catered dinner consisting of rice (duh!), spaghetti (which is orange and sweet here? i didn't try it), pad thai, coconut curry veggies, sweet and sour fish, chicken, watermelon and macaroni salad - the clinic voted for each thing on the menu, which is why we ended up with such a random assortment of food. and then cupcakes for dessert!! mmmm! and we handed out the dyed hard boiled eggs which went soooo fast (i kept giving them to this really skinny old man who was hanging out watching everything... I think he cleans up the pool house or something... i gave him a cupcake, then later a bunch of cake, then kept giving him the hard boiled eggs... he was so grateful every time but I probably made him sick with all the sugar). I also feed the stray dogs that come around during the party (don't act surprised) Stansio is my favorite, he's really sweet and is always wagging his tail - I'd take him home but he'd be even more difficult to sneak into the states than the cats. Speaking of which, Tom and Sylvester found a home with one of the doctors, and Jerry, my favorite, went home with a friend of Hilary and David's from the states (they now live in Cebu and have for about 5 years). It was a very successful party, and though I was a little disappointed there was no karaoke, I had a great time :) experiencing a Philippino party is must!!
Everyone started arriving around 3 and the games began!! We started off with musical chairs for the warm up (not that they need one - they have sooo much fun with the games, it's hilarious!!). the next game involved tying four different colored ribbons to random places on each person's body, then everyone finds a partner and the partners split up to two different groups and dance around until the music stops, as which point they rush over to their partner at the clown yells out a color and they have to touch their two ribbons of that color together (make sense?)... the slowest group to touch their color is eliminated. Toward the end, the clown starts calling out two or three or all four of the colors and they have to stay in position with the colors touching.... groups fall over and are in the funniest contortions trying to match up their colors, it was very entertaining. Next was the egg toss. Lo and I paired up and made it to the finals competing against the two guards JoJo and Rouel... We were chucking the raw egg across the entire lawn trying to avoid the leaves of the tropical trees overhead. unfortunately we lost :( but we put up a good fight and JoJo is our favorite anyway so we were ok with him getting the prize - yes, there are prizes for the games.
More games, easter egg hunt for the kids, coloring hard boiled eggs, trying to give away the kittens, then it was dinner time.... it was a huge catered dinner consisting of rice (duh!), spaghetti (which is orange and sweet here? i didn't try it), pad thai, coconut curry veggies, sweet and sour fish, chicken, watermelon and macaroni salad - the clinic voted for each thing on the menu, which is why we ended up with such a random assortment of food. and then cupcakes for dessert!! mmmm! and we handed out the dyed hard boiled eggs which went soooo fast (i kept giving them to this really skinny old man who was hanging out watching everything... I think he cleans up the pool house or something... i gave him a cupcake, then later a bunch of cake, then kept giving him the hard boiled eggs... he was so grateful every time but I probably made him sick with all the sugar). I also feed the stray dogs that come around during the party (don't act surprised) Stansio is my favorite, he's really sweet and is always wagging his tail - I'd take him home but he'd be even more difficult to sneak into the states than the cats. Speaking of which, Tom and Sylvester found a home with one of the doctors, and Jerry, my favorite, went home with a friend of Hilary and David's from the states (they now live in Cebu and have for about 5 years). It was a very successful party, and though I was a little disappointed there was no karaoke, I had a great time :) experiencing a Philippino party is must!!
Friday, April 10, 2009
motherless maternity clinic
I have this theory that the number of births at the clinic correlates with the amount of rain we're having in Cebu... and we're in a bit of a dry spell on both accounts at the moment. For this reason I am hoping for a downpour, and assuming that with it, more laboring mothers-to-be will arrive at the clinic. the other reason I'm wishing for rain is because i truly love it when it rains here, and this is why... the rain here comes in two varieties: the sprinkle-and-hardly-wet-the-ground variety, and the tropical-downpour-that-turns-the-streets-into-rivers variety. I prefer the latter. the last time it really rained an old woman took refuge in the doorway of the clinic - she had a basket of sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves that she was selling, and I'm guessing her product is less appealing when soggy from tropical rain. in contrast, the neighborhood boys are unfazed by the rain. In fact, I'm almost certain it is their version of a water park... they run through the streets, shirts off, kites in tow, hair slicked to their faces - really, when you're always sticky with sweat, it is pretty refreshing to be drenched with cold rain drops instead. Lo would agree... she steps into the street from the shelter of the clinic and stretches out both arms, taking in the momentary relief from the heat. the old woman in the doorway is amused and smiles a toothless grin as she mumbles something we don't understand in Cebuano (we've been trying to learn the language, but so far have only mastered "my name is", "thank you", and "pee and poop" <-- we have to ask the patients during vitals... of all the words to learn!), my guess would be that old lady is telling Lo she is crazy :)
During those really big downpours we usually sit and read in the clinic because the noise of the rain hitting the tin roofs of the neighborhood drowns out your words and conversation is near impossible... but then the power flickers off, our electric fans slow to a stop, and we're left sitting in the dark stagnant air of the clinic - not a good reading environment. Before the humidity becomes too stifling (or maybe we're just getting acclimated and can tolerate it), the power buzzes back on... the downpour continues, they often last an hour or so. Another old lady walks down the street, indifferent to the rain, she balances a basket of fruit atop her head, it serves as her umbrella, how creative! the thunder starts to pick up and it's loud enough that I'm convinced the storm is directly overhead, though i have no lightning to gauge distance with. the rain usually comes through in the middle of the afternoon, or early morning, and though there are thick clouds overhead, it is still bright, and the flashes of lightening are only audible, not visible. Just as everyone starts dishing up lunch - coconut veggie curry and rice... always rice, every meal, mcdonalds even serves rice - the rain begins to slow, and within minutes all that is left of the storm is the residual flow of water down the street, and the waterlogged bodies of the kids outside still dripping...
that is why i like the rain here... and because it smells like home when it rains... and usually because it brings the laboring mothers! seriously! but i think this weekend, even if it down poured, the clinic wouldn't see a single mother-to-be. the reason? it is holy week. and apparently during holy week it is bad luck to have your baby - particularly on good Friday or black Saturday (though it is fine to have a Christmas day baby, and if that happens the baby is usually named Jejomar - for Jesus, Joseph and Mary.... wow). thus, the full term moms who came in for prenatal checkups this week are at home, fighting the urge to push... we'll see if will can trump nature. so far it has, our clinic has been empty for two days. during holy week in the Philippines, it is not just the births that get put on hold, everything stops, closes, gets postponed. Parades of people take the street during the day and night, and there are even reenactments of the crucifixion of Christ (tryouts to play the part of Christ Jesus and everything, and yes, they use real nails).
Lo and i decided to spend good friday relaxing by the pool - which was empty because it is also bad luck to swim at this time - didn't stop us. Then we headed to Hilary and David's to make cupcakes for the party Saturday... 3 boxes of mix and few hours later we had two cakes and 50 cupcakes that we had decorated with frosting made from scratch and sprinkles and displayed in 4 cupcake towers for the party!! We were also feeling a little sick from so much sampling while we baked... so we took Penny for a walk and brought along two of the kittens to try to give away to Hilary and David's neighbors. Princess bunny (this is probably what we call her most frequently because he name has been changed so many times :) was successfully adopted out to a teenage boy and his family who are from Bohol. He promptly renamed her sugar and assured us she would be his girlfriend after we made him promise to let her sleep in his bed and to feed her daily... i also told him we'd be back in a few years to visit her, so hopefully he'll hang onto her for that long. mostly i think he agreed to take her because he wanted pictures with us. we grudgingly agreed to pose for the camera phone first with him then with his friend... and later again when they asked for more pictures. being famous would seriously be terribly annoying.... when we were first explaining to the group that we had kittens to give away people were just pulling out their cellphones and getting in your face to take a picture while you're talking - it's weird. anyway, one cat down, three to go... we're going to try to find them homes at the Easter party tomorrow. more on that later!
During those really big downpours we usually sit and read in the clinic because the noise of the rain hitting the tin roofs of the neighborhood drowns out your words and conversation is near impossible... but then the power flickers off, our electric fans slow to a stop, and we're left sitting in the dark stagnant air of the clinic - not a good reading environment. Before the humidity becomes too stifling (or maybe we're just getting acclimated and can tolerate it), the power buzzes back on... the downpour continues, they often last an hour or so. Another old lady walks down the street, indifferent to the rain, she balances a basket of fruit atop her head, it serves as her umbrella, how creative! the thunder starts to pick up and it's loud enough that I'm convinced the storm is directly overhead, though i have no lightning to gauge distance with. the rain usually comes through in the middle of the afternoon, or early morning, and though there are thick clouds overhead, it is still bright, and the flashes of lightening are only audible, not visible. Just as everyone starts dishing up lunch - coconut veggie curry and rice... always rice, every meal, mcdonalds even serves rice - the rain begins to slow, and within minutes all that is left of the storm is the residual flow of water down the street, and the waterlogged bodies of the kids outside still dripping...
that is why i like the rain here... and because it smells like home when it rains... and usually because it brings the laboring mothers! seriously! but i think this weekend, even if it down poured, the clinic wouldn't see a single mother-to-be. the reason? it is holy week. and apparently during holy week it is bad luck to have your baby - particularly on good Friday or black Saturday (though it is fine to have a Christmas day baby, and if that happens the baby is usually named Jejomar - for Jesus, Joseph and Mary.... wow). thus, the full term moms who came in for prenatal checkups this week are at home, fighting the urge to push... we'll see if will can trump nature. so far it has, our clinic has been empty for two days. during holy week in the Philippines, it is not just the births that get put on hold, everything stops, closes, gets postponed. Parades of people take the street during the day and night, and there are even reenactments of the crucifixion of Christ (tryouts to play the part of Christ Jesus and everything, and yes, they use real nails).
Lo and i decided to spend good friday relaxing by the pool - which was empty because it is also bad luck to swim at this time - didn't stop us. Then we headed to Hilary and David's to make cupcakes for the party Saturday... 3 boxes of mix and few hours later we had two cakes and 50 cupcakes that we had decorated with frosting made from scratch and sprinkles and displayed in 4 cupcake towers for the party!! We were also feeling a little sick from so much sampling while we baked... so we took Penny for a walk and brought along two of the kittens to try to give away to Hilary and David's neighbors. Princess bunny (this is probably what we call her most frequently because he name has been changed so many times :) was successfully adopted out to a teenage boy and his family who are from Bohol. He promptly renamed her sugar and assured us she would be his girlfriend after we made him promise to let her sleep in his bed and to feed her daily... i also told him we'd be back in a few years to visit her, so hopefully he'll hang onto her for that long. mostly i think he agreed to take her because he wanted pictures with us. we grudgingly agreed to pose for the camera phone first with him then with his friend... and later again when they asked for more pictures. being famous would seriously be terribly annoying.... when we were first explaining to the group that we had kittens to give away people were just pulling out their cellphones and getting in your face to take a picture while you're talking - it's weird. anyway, one cat down, three to go... we're going to try to find them homes at the Easter party tomorrow. more on that later!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
tour of Cebu!!
Cebu City tour yesterday was pretty much an all-day thing. We drove around in a van with a tour guide who basically told us it's summer here (as if we couldn't tell from the unbearable heat), and that the Philippines consists of 7,107 islands (already knew that - that's at high tide, at low tide you add 14 islands). We went to several of the historical sites in the city, they are all sort of grouped in the same general area: Magellan's cross where the first baptisms took place, the oldest church in the Philippines - although i think this is disputable because Jesrel just told me the oldest church is on Bahol, where she is from - The church we toured had many old women standing outside with umbrellas of all colors trying to sell candles (it made for a really cool photo). We also visited: an old house of a wealthy priest where the floorboards purposely were squeaky to warn of intruders, some strange sculpture thing, a triangular fort where people mostly have garden weddings now, and the Lapu Lapu memorial where Magellan was killed by Lapu Lapu (home court advantage as the tour guide put it)...
I didn't pay a whole lot of attention on the tour :) oops... in part because i was taking a lot of pictures - so many cool things to photograph here!! - and also because our tour guide's thick accent was difficult to understand at times. we had lunch at a roadside bbq place... it was an actual restaurant, so no fear of getting sick from the food vendors (shacks everywhere selling chicken's feet and squid balls and bbq or fried nondescript meats).... you basically picked out a fish and then choose how you want it prepared. we went for the sweet and sour lapu lapu and another type of fish barbecued. really good, and of course a mango smoothie - i'm almost certain Lo and I will have mango withdrawls once we get back to the states... please start looking into a mango IV or something so i can ease off my addiction.
The best part of the tour was when we convinced our tour guide to stop at Plantation Bay (a resort on Mactan island near the Blue Water Resort where we spent the day last week), so we could see the ocean. Lo and i took one look at the lagoons and tropical paradise and basically ditched the tour group (the tour group itself was only for the two of us, as everyone else was local, so i don't think our tour guide was too happy with us disappearing into the resort, but it was worth it! :). we were doing everything we could not to "accidentally" fall into the pristine water of the resort, which is built around a series of lagoons.... i think, had that happened, we would have also had to figure out how to explain "accidentally" going down all four of the water slides in one of the resort's pools :) with much discipline we managed to stay dry, and eventually felt guilty enough about the ditch that we pried ourselves away from paradise and returned to the group (luckily it takes a lot to upset a Filipino - like i said, the most patient people... except when it come to driving of course).
On our way back to the clinic from Mactan Island (where most of the nice resorts are), the tour guide told us about the poor people on Mactan not being able to afford the dynamite to blast the rock away and put their septic tanks in place (i guess only a foot or two deep the ground is solid rock). he explained that the poor people just poop in the areas around their home, but that there is a circle of life to take care of everything. this is pretty much the only time during the tour that Lo and I started asking questions... what do you mean circle of life with the poop? so he explained that these red crabs eat the poop and then the people eventually eat the crabs (he also pointed out that those particular crabs are not really sold in markets because of their reputation due to their questionable diet). at this point Tessie (one of the midwives) yells from the back - so the people are actually eating their poop?! and everyone breaks into laughter, because the Filipinos laugh at pretty much everything. Hilary told us the most famous Philippine joke is "Why is the sky blue?"... answer: "because it's not red!" Lo and Hilary thought this was funny; David and I were less amused. anyway, after we talked about poop crabs that was about the end of the tour - what a finale!
Lo and i asked to be dropped off at McDonalds (which is a few blocks from the cafe on the busy Cebu street) to get McFlurries - so nice in the heat, and they cost about 75 cents here! but then we accidentally were abandoned by the ladies from the clinic and had to figure out how to cross the street alone. yeah, sounds like we're 4 years old, but crossing the street is serious business here. Constant flow of speeding, unpredictable traffic and no cross walks, lights, or cross signals. It took us a good 15 minutes to finally get across, in part because we were so distracted with eating our ice cream before it melted - which takes all of 5 minutes here. it was probably one of the most authentic Philippine experiences we've had since arriving... trying to navigate traffic as a pedestrian is not light business. I'm shocked there aren't more accidents and fatalities!!
after the tour we headed up to Hilary and David's for an evening walk with their dog, Penny. we hike up to the mountains behind where they live and the view is awesome. out one direction is the populated area of the island, the ocean. the other direction is tons of tropical forest (Jurassic Park, as Lo puts it... Landis, you should appreciate this if you're reading my blog, i took pictures for you!). there are a few huts built back in the banana trees and it is strange to hear loud American music blasting out from the forest. there were a bunch of kids up there this day (holy week i guess... seems to explain everything around here right now, including why the entire mall was closed today! a Thursday!), and they had this huge kite it looked like they had made and were having no luck flying. it was actually pretty funny, they had quite an audience they were entertaining, and when the kite was finally up and everyone was cheering it promptly fell into a sideways plummet and crashed into a rock wall (so disappointing). we couldn't help but laugh - hope we didn't offend anyone. flying kites is unquestionably a favorite past time around here. the many power lines (people insert their own power lines into the electric poles so there are always tons or random wires over the streets), are decorated with homemade kites. when i first arrived here i was confused how all the garbage got stuck on the power lines, it wasn't until a few days later that i realized the garbage was many old and weathered kites, they're everywhere!!
Lo and i were lucky enough to get to catch up on LOST at Hilary and David's, and enjoy some amazing freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (see mom, they're taking great care of us!). then we spent the evening stuffing Easter eggs for the Saturday Easter party (all the staff and their families are invited), and watching videos from past Christmas parties - so hilarious, the games they play and dances and songs they perform! i have a feeling Saturday is going to be a blast!! I should head back down to the clinic now... Lo and I are there with Max (the guard) and one of the new nurses. it is only us because everyone else is at the service for Tina's baby. We're hoping for a laboring woman to stumble into the clinic so we can test our skills!! it's been quiet so far and we've spent the afternoon mastering Dutch Blitz (a card game kind of like speed... or spit... whichever you prefer). All for now!
I didn't pay a whole lot of attention on the tour :) oops... in part because i was taking a lot of pictures - so many cool things to photograph here!! - and also because our tour guide's thick accent was difficult to understand at times. we had lunch at a roadside bbq place... it was an actual restaurant, so no fear of getting sick from the food vendors (shacks everywhere selling chicken's feet and squid balls and bbq or fried nondescript meats).... you basically picked out a fish and then choose how you want it prepared. we went for the sweet and sour lapu lapu and another type of fish barbecued. really good, and of course a mango smoothie - i'm almost certain Lo and I will have mango withdrawls once we get back to the states... please start looking into a mango IV or something so i can ease off my addiction.
The best part of the tour was when we convinced our tour guide to stop at Plantation Bay (a resort on Mactan island near the Blue Water Resort where we spent the day last week), so we could see the ocean. Lo and i took one look at the lagoons and tropical paradise and basically ditched the tour group (the tour group itself was only for the two of us, as everyone else was local, so i don't think our tour guide was too happy with us disappearing into the resort, but it was worth it! :). we were doing everything we could not to "accidentally" fall into the pristine water of the resort, which is built around a series of lagoons.... i think, had that happened, we would have also had to figure out how to explain "accidentally" going down all four of the water slides in one of the resort's pools :) with much discipline we managed to stay dry, and eventually felt guilty enough about the ditch that we pried ourselves away from paradise and returned to the group (luckily it takes a lot to upset a Filipino - like i said, the most patient people... except when it come to driving of course).
On our way back to the clinic from Mactan Island (where most of the nice resorts are), the tour guide told us about the poor people on Mactan not being able to afford the dynamite to blast the rock away and put their septic tanks in place (i guess only a foot or two deep the ground is solid rock). he explained that the poor people just poop in the areas around their home, but that there is a circle of life to take care of everything. this is pretty much the only time during the tour that Lo and I started asking questions... what do you mean circle of life with the poop? so he explained that these red crabs eat the poop and then the people eventually eat the crabs (he also pointed out that those particular crabs are not really sold in markets because of their reputation due to their questionable diet). at this point Tessie (one of the midwives) yells from the back - so the people are actually eating their poop?! and everyone breaks into laughter, because the Filipinos laugh at pretty much everything. Hilary told us the most famous Philippine joke is "Why is the sky blue?"... answer: "because it's not red!" Lo and Hilary thought this was funny; David and I were less amused. anyway, after we talked about poop crabs that was about the end of the tour - what a finale!
Lo and i asked to be dropped off at McDonalds (which is a few blocks from the cafe on the busy Cebu street) to get McFlurries - so nice in the heat, and they cost about 75 cents here! but then we accidentally were abandoned by the ladies from the clinic and had to figure out how to cross the street alone. yeah, sounds like we're 4 years old, but crossing the street is serious business here. Constant flow of speeding, unpredictable traffic and no cross walks, lights, or cross signals. It took us a good 15 minutes to finally get across, in part because we were so distracted with eating our ice cream before it melted - which takes all of 5 minutes here. it was probably one of the most authentic Philippine experiences we've had since arriving... trying to navigate traffic as a pedestrian is not light business. I'm shocked there aren't more accidents and fatalities!!
after the tour we headed up to Hilary and David's for an evening walk with their dog, Penny. we hike up to the mountains behind where they live and the view is awesome. out one direction is the populated area of the island, the ocean. the other direction is tons of tropical forest (Jurassic Park, as Lo puts it... Landis, you should appreciate this if you're reading my blog, i took pictures for you!). there are a few huts built back in the banana trees and it is strange to hear loud American music blasting out from the forest. there were a bunch of kids up there this day (holy week i guess... seems to explain everything around here right now, including why the entire mall was closed today! a Thursday!), and they had this huge kite it looked like they had made and were having no luck flying. it was actually pretty funny, they had quite an audience they were entertaining, and when the kite was finally up and everyone was cheering it promptly fell into a sideways plummet and crashed into a rock wall (so disappointing). we couldn't help but laugh - hope we didn't offend anyone. flying kites is unquestionably a favorite past time around here. the many power lines (people insert their own power lines into the electric poles so there are always tons or random wires over the streets), are decorated with homemade kites. when i first arrived here i was confused how all the garbage got stuck on the power lines, it wasn't until a few days later that i realized the garbage was many old and weathered kites, they're everywhere!!
Lo and i were lucky enough to get to catch up on LOST at Hilary and David's, and enjoy some amazing freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (see mom, they're taking great care of us!). then we spent the evening stuffing Easter eggs for the Saturday Easter party (all the staff and their families are invited), and watching videos from past Christmas parties - so hilarious, the games they play and dances and songs they perform! i have a feeling Saturday is going to be a blast!! I should head back down to the clinic now... Lo and I are there with Max (the guard) and one of the new nurses. it is only us because everyone else is at the service for Tina's baby. We're hoping for a laboring woman to stumble into the clinic so we can test our skills!! it's been quiet so far and we've spent the afternoon mastering Dutch Blitz (a card game kind of like speed... or spit... whichever you prefer). All for now!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
making diapers
the past few days have been a little uneventful. martinelli, one of the moms who is in the clinic while her baby receives phototherapy for jaundice, taught us how to fold diapers from thin cloth blankets. very useful when disposable diapers are so expensive. she also sent us out with a list of ingredients to make mango float... it is nothing like a root beer float, but it is a favorite dessert around here. you basically put graham crackers in the bottom a tub then pour on a mixture of chopped up mango (the manila mangoes from here - best in the world), condensed milk and all purpose creamer - so healthy! :) then once the grahams are covered you do another layer of them and add more of the cream mixture and so on until you have many layers, then you decorate the top with graham cracker crumbs and mangoes and let it freeze. sounds kinda weird but seriously it is the most delicious dessert ever!! i will make it for everyone when i get home :)
we have a fourth kitten now. this one is a little girl and she is a tiny white ball of fluff... we first named her tweety to go with the theme of the other cats but when giving her a bath (she was covered in fleas) we decided cotton might be more appropriate, but then we settled on bunny since Easter is coming up and we're debating giving her away as a prize at the Easter party on saturday... no one wants the kittens, surprise surprise, an extra mouth to feed, just what everyone around here needs. so for now our apt is turning into more of an animal shelter than anything else, good thing they're all friendly!
yesterday was the baby party! all babies born in march are brought in with their moms to eat cake and learn about family planning and get their babies vaccinated for TB. the TB vaccine is a little challenging to give because it is subdural, and if it is not given just beneath the surface of the skin it is ineffective - talk about high stakes. so lo and i practiced on each other before the babies came in. it wasnt too painful until the sterile water was injected to make a bubble under the skin, that stung a lot!! but after practicing it was fairly easy to do it on the babies (though they squirm a lot more than we did).
In the evening we had a masseuse come to the clinic, actually two, to give Lo and myself massages. These people give the best massages in Cebu according to Hilary and Gina and we were not disappointed!! 90 minute full body massage and it was sooo nice. After than we were pretty useless. hung out in the clinic, had some tuna (not much dinner variety around here... lunch is the biggest meal of the day and dinner is always small and boring), big fire late in a neighborhood nearby, you could see the smoke billowing up above the houses... hilary says a lot of people usually die when there's a fire because it travels so fast (the houses are built on top of each other practically, no buffer zone between them). as we were out watching the smoke and debating whether we should drive over to see it up close i spotted a rat (well, either a huge mouse or a small rate) on the telephone wire above the clinic. sick! im used to seeing squirrels on telephone wires, not rats!! one of the women looked up and said "only in cebu" shaking her head... haha. gross!!
ok, Cebu City tour today, should be fun. sorry for the boring post today, im looking forward to friday when i think we'll be spending the day at http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/cebu/mactanresort. go ahead, be jealous :) hopefully ill have some new birth stories to tell you in my next blog!!
we have a fourth kitten now. this one is a little girl and she is a tiny white ball of fluff... we first named her tweety to go with the theme of the other cats but when giving her a bath (she was covered in fleas) we decided cotton might be more appropriate, but then we settled on bunny since Easter is coming up and we're debating giving her away as a prize at the Easter party on saturday... no one wants the kittens, surprise surprise, an extra mouth to feed, just what everyone around here needs. so for now our apt is turning into more of an animal shelter than anything else, good thing they're all friendly!
yesterday was the baby party! all babies born in march are brought in with their moms to eat cake and learn about family planning and get their babies vaccinated for TB. the TB vaccine is a little challenging to give because it is subdural, and if it is not given just beneath the surface of the skin it is ineffective - talk about high stakes. so lo and i practiced on each other before the babies came in. it wasnt too painful until the sterile water was injected to make a bubble under the skin, that stung a lot!! but after practicing it was fairly easy to do it on the babies (though they squirm a lot more than we did).
In the evening we had a masseuse come to the clinic, actually two, to give Lo and myself massages. These people give the best massages in Cebu according to Hilary and Gina and we were not disappointed!! 90 minute full body massage and it was sooo nice. After than we were pretty useless. hung out in the clinic, had some tuna (not much dinner variety around here... lunch is the biggest meal of the day and dinner is always small and boring), big fire late in a neighborhood nearby, you could see the smoke billowing up above the houses... hilary says a lot of people usually die when there's a fire because it travels so fast (the houses are built on top of each other practically, no buffer zone between them). as we were out watching the smoke and debating whether we should drive over to see it up close i spotted a rat (well, either a huge mouse or a small rate) on the telephone wire above the clinic. sick! im used to seeing squirrels on telephone wires, not rats!! one of the women looked up and said "only in cebu" shaking her head... haha. gross!!
ok, Cebu City tour today, should be fun. sorry for the boring post today, im looking forward to friday when i think we'll be spending the day at http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/cebu/mactanresort. go ahead, be jealous :) hopefully ill have some new birth stories to tell you in my next blog!!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
rest in peace hannah
Hi Friends,
Sad news about Tina's baby... we had been really hopeful because her surgery went well and she was stable and on the way to recovery... unfortunately, last night her lung collapsed unexpectedly and there was nothing the doctor's could do. little hannah passed away. I wanted to let you all know and thank those of you who took the time to read about this or donate to the surgery. We're very sad for Tina and her husband, but she has a great support group here. Thanks again for all of your concern. (see below for the original post if you're not caught up)...
Hi Everyone!
We have an emergency with one of the midwives here at Glory Reborn who just gave birth to her first baby, a little girl, who unfortunately has many complications :( Please read the info below and if you would like to donate please go to www.gloryreborn.com and on the right hand side at the bottom you can "donate via paypal." Click on this link and in the PURPOSE put TINA.
From Hilary: For all of you who know and love Tina, our midwife, (and for those of you who don't but would like ot help a good cause), we are asking for your immediate prayers and support. Tina discovered through ultrasound on Friday that her baby girl had a diaphragmatic hernia. She delivered baby Hannah today, April 5th and x rays confirmed the diagnosis. Tina and Vincent are asking for prayers and support as baby Hannah needs surgery for her condition. We are believing that she can stay at the private hospital under qualified surgeons and not have to transfer to the city/public hospital. The initial estimate for the surgery, continual ventilation, anesthesia, and NICU fees is $4,000. While it seems like a large amount, it's simply 100 people donating $40. If anyone would like to contribute please pledge on our website at www.gloryreborn.com or donate through paypal. Thank you for your prayers, love and support. We are believing for little Hannah's life.
Thanks!
Lo and I told hilary we would put something about this in our blogs just in case you're back in the US reading about our adventures and wondering what you can do to help!! even $5 will help us raise the money we need to make Tina's baby healthy!! Much love everyone!
Sad news about Tina's baby... we had been really hopeful because her surgery went well and she was stable and on the way to recovery... unfortunately, last night her lung collapsed unexpectedly and there was nothing the doctor's could do. little hannah passed away. I wanted to let you all know and thank those of you who took the time to read about this or donate to the surgery. We're very sad for Tina and her husband, but she has a great support group here. Thanks again for all of your concern. (see below for the original post if you're not caught up)...
Hi Everyone!
We have an emergency with one of the midwives here at Glory Reborn who just gave birth to her first baby, a little girl, who unfortunately has many complications :( Please read the info below and if you would like to donate please go to www.gloryreborn.com and on the right hand side at the bottom you can "donate via paypal." Click on this link and in the PURPOSE put TINA.
From Hilary: For all of you who know and love Tina, our midwife, (and for those of you who don't but would like ot help a good cause), we are asking for your immediate prayers and support. Tina discovered through ultrasound on Friday that her baby girl had a diaphragmatic hernia. She delivered baby Hannah today, April 5th and x rays confirmed the diagnosis. Tina and Vincent are asking for prayers and support as baby Hannah needs surgery for her condition. We are believing that she can stay at the private hospital under qualified surgeons and not have to transfer to the city/public hospital. The initial estimate for the surgery, continual ventilation, anesthesia, and NICU fees is $4,000. While it seems like a large amount, it's simply 100 people donating $40. If anyone would like to contribute please pledge on our website at www.gloryreborn.com or donate through paypal. Thank you for your prayers, love and support. We are believing for little Hannah's life.
Thanks!
Lo and I told hilary we would put something about this in our blogs just in case you're back in the US reading about our adventures and wondering what you can do to help!! even $5 will help us raise the money we need to make Tina's baby healthy!! Much love everyone!
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