Travel to Leyte

I found out I would be spending this year in the Philippines in October of last year, about a month before it hit front page news that the worst typhoon in history had pummeled parts of the country.  While it was horrifying to read about the damage that was caused by Typhoon Yolanda, it gave me confirmation that I was going to the right place and would be put to good use.

SIBAT in Tolosa, Leyte

Nathan's on the back of the motorcycle taking the picture,
so that's 4 grownups on one motorcycle

After 3 months of work in Manila and northern Luzon, I was able to join a team of engineers and agriculturists traveling to Tolosa, Leyte, one of the municipalities hit hardest by Yolanda. It is located just south of Tacloban, the city of 200,000 that was obliterated and shown on news channels around the world for the last months of 2013.

SIBAT had sent a team there in December to help address immediate agricultural needs, as most of the crops had been washed out in the floods. While there they identified 12 barangays (villages) that would be targets for small water distribution projects. With only 8 full days in the area, our team was constantly on the go, sometimes visiting 3-4 sites per day. While the team of engineers & technicians (including Nathan) went to the potential water sources and did measurements, I sat with groups of community members and held focus groups with the SIBAT agriculturist.

While the rest of the team trekked through the villages to find a deep enough well, I had the opportunity to engage with the community members and talk about their water-related needs. I learned a lot about how to ask questions--

Before:

Me: How many wells here have clean, drinkable water?
People: None.
Me: How many people buy mineral water?
People: Just a few
Me: Where do people get potable water?
People:.....They just buy mineral water
Me: Do you have water purification tablets from the municipal government?
People: Yes, we all have them.

After:

Me: How many wells are there?
People: 15
Me: How many wells are people drinking from?
People: All of them
Me: How many wells have clean water for drinking?
People: None of them!
Me: But they are drinking from them anyway?
People: Of course!
Me: Do people regularly use any kind of filter or purification tablet:
People: We have them but we don't use them 

We would talk though each zone in each barangay, figuring out what the current situation was with drinking water. One of my favorite comments--

Me: How many people in zone 4 are purchasing mineral water?
Woman: All of them! That's the millionaires zone!

Focus group

Our group + one of the communities we visited

After we finished with the focus group and the engineering team came back from the field, I would find out which source they thought had the most potential for a water delivery project. Then I got to put my biology skills to use (kind of) by heading out to the source and testing the water for the presence of fecal bacteria. SIBAT has never done on-site water testing before, but after reaching out to another Manila-based NGO I found out about a simple test that we could bring with us to remote areas. 

Initially when I found out the test we were using required a 98 degree (F) incubator I was concerned, knowing that we weren't going to be hauling around an incubator in an area that still lacks refrigeration. I asked the other NGO how they overcame this obstacle and they pointed out the now obvious fact that we are surrounded by 98 degree incubators. Humans! Solution to field incubation: place the test between some cardboard, wrap it in a scarf, and tie it around your tummy! So for the entire trip I was strapped up with incubating water samples, adding new tests as soon as the last one had come off. When it's close to 100 degrees outside all day, having a scarf tied around one's abdomen can be pretty uncomfortable, and it wasn't the best sleep companion either. Nevertheless, I was glad to be able to make a physical contribution to the project, and I liked the added benefit of being introduced as the team's microbiologist to each community. It does have a nice ring to it.

That's a lot of bacterial colonies for 1 mL
of mountain fresh water!

After one particularly nasty test result, showing high levels of E. coli and other fecally-derived bacteria in one of the water samples, I learned another lesson about field work. While the community agreed that this source was the best, cleanest drinking water, they weren't surprised to learn that my sample was highly contaminated (picture to the left). Turns out I had sampled just downstream of where children are known for playing, which I now know goes hand in hand with open defecation. So I can add "do children poop in this water?" to my list of good questions to ask when surveying for water systems.

Hopefully the information we gathered can be put to use in the designing of future projects. This week SIBAT is being trained on the construction of biosand water filters, and my hope is to return to Tolosa and conduct some filter building workshops in the next few months.

Day to Day in Tolosa
On a plot of land, newly freed up after the typhoon removed the house that sat on it, SIBAT built a plywood house for staff staying in the area. We stayed here for the whole time we were working in the area- me with 5 men sharing a bare one-room house, with a tiny bathroom stall (but no door). Given the living situation of many in the area, even before Yolanda but especially after, I know that we were lucky to have a roof over our heads and a place to call our own. Nevertheless, here's a very brief list-style rant!

• Shower: Outside, with a hand pump and a small bucket, mostly clothed, in front of whoever happened to be eating breakfast or doing laundry at that time
• Meals: Cut some vegetables with my swiss army knife and cook in a pan over an open fire
• Beds: Thin bamboo mat on the wooden floor. Ants, mosquitos, oppressive heat.



I found my new favorite mode of transportation

• Laundry:  Handwashing by the hand pump in a small bucket + clothesline. 

Cooking for myself with such limited tools went surprisingly well. With one of the guys cooking meat for the rest of the group every night, I had a lot of freedom with my meals. I loved picking out produce from the palenkes (outdoor meat/veg/fruit markets), chatting and haggling with the vendors and cooking whatever vegetables looked freshest that day. Especially when two days in a row that meant guacamole for dinner.

One thing I noticed in and around Tolosa is that people are pretty used to seeing foreigners. This was most obvious from children who seemed to have had a lot of practice saying "Welcome, visitors!". There were banners and signs everywhere thanking the various NGOs that had come before us or were there at the same time. It feels great to be part of such an effort, and was uplifting to see how much support had been given in the area. There was evidence of lots of good being done- rebuilt barangay centers, fresh paint on elementary schools just in time for the new school year, and a bustling health clinic in the municipal hall with supplies from Doctors without Borders. Unfortunately, there was also evidence of not-so-good NGO work. One focus group discussion revealed that the barangay we were in didn't have access to safe drinking water, people were getting sick and most people couldn't afford to buy bottled water. Just as we were wrapping up, someone mentioned that Catholic Relief Services had given every household a water filter. Every household! Had a state-of-the-art carbon water filter! So what was the problem with getting drinking water then? It turns out that most people weren't using them at all- they were collecting dust in their boxes. When we pushed further to see why the project had failed, we heard that didn't know how the filters worked (and therefore didn't trust them) or they thought the filtering would take too long (it's actually very fast). Other people simply didn't know what to do with them.

Filters from CRS 

One of the things that I liked about SIBAT from the get-go was the idea of empowering communities to develop solutions to their problems. It's the difference between teaching people how to build a filter out of local materials, so they can build new ones and maintain them on their own, and dropping off a big box of expensive technology and rushing off to the next village. When the community isn't engaged in creating the solution, they won't be engaged in using it and they certainly won't know what to do when something goes wrong with it. This was an problem I had thought about a lot before coming here and was saddened to see exemplified first-hand.

Onward, to Hinunangan! 
After we arrived in Tacloban, Nathan and I found out that for around $20 we could move our flights back a couple days and have time to visit his relatives in southern Leyte. Having seen his photos from his trip there in 2008, it was an easy choice to make- never say no to palm-tree lined beaches with crystal blue water full of tropical fish. So after a long, hard 10 days in Tolosa, we made the 3 hour journey to Lola Lilia's house in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.

Me and the stylish Lola Lilia

Stepping into her home after our journey felt like winning the lottery. A huge,  sun filled, open floor plan greeted us, and we were quickly led to comfortable napping quarters. I will never take mattresses for granted again; beds are so luxurious. Lola Lilia's bright, welcoming personality made me feel at home right away. Her constant "You're so beautiful", "Your skin is amazing", and "So-and-So, isn't Emily so beautiful?"s might have helped me warm up to her as well!

For the next 2 days, we were living the good life. A trip to a tropical fish sanctuary, sunrise on the beach, delicious food prepared by Lola's caretaker, a canoe ride at sunset and a whirlwind of Dadaps-in-Hinunangan history and introductions.

Beach sunrise in Hinunangan

In stark contrast to the typhoon-damaged homes, fallen trees and graffiti saying "Help Us" that defined Tolosa, this place just 3 hours away was seemingly untouched, the beaches still lined with towering coconut palms. I imagine that this must have been something like what Tolosa looked like around this time last year, before the rug was torn out from under it.

All in all, it was an incredible trip. I am proud to be a part of the work SIBAT is doing in Tolosa, grateful for being welcomed like family into the home of Lola Lilia, and excited to return to Leyte in the coming months.

Hinunangan

Coming soon: Palawan island getaway, starring Emily & Nathan.

Ala came to the Philippines!

Ala is incredible! She flew all the way here from Boston and let me drag her all around Manila and beyond for 8 action packed days. 

I'll fill in more details later, but for now here are some pictures from her visit!

At Rizal Park in Manila- that's the Rizal Monument in the background!

Buying a young coconut (buko) in Manila

Ala made some bovine friends in Zambales

Day trip to Talisayen Cove, Zambales

Blissful after lunch in Sonya's Garden, Tagaytay

That crater behind her is an active volcano, Taal!

The whirlwind week ended with an incredible dinner over Manila Bay

Abra Conference, May 4-10

A farmer and his goats, Bangued, Abra

After getting back from Cordillera Day and having a few days to rest and re-pack, SIBAT headed north into the mountains again for a conference in Abra. 

In the province of Abra, SIBAT currently has 13 microhydro energy stations. They range in age from 1-20 years old, and serve communities as small as 13 households and as large as 150 households. For the first time, SIBAT held a conference to bring together community leaders from each of these project sites to share knowledge and plan for the future. 

SIBAT, pre-conference preparations

My role at the conference was concentrated in the 3 days leading up to the arrival of the guests, helping with the handout materials and audiovisual presentations. Once the conference began, everyone was speaking Ilocano which meant that Nathan couldn't be my translator, so I wasn't too involved beyond clicking through the slide shows.  I was really glad to have had the opportunity to join the team that went up early and be able to contribute something tangible to the event. As far as I could tell, it was a success! Communities met amongst themselves to discuss problems they'd been facing, and met with SIBAT to plan future upgrades and trainings. The event was supposed to culminate with a field visit to one of the communities that serves as a model for how to properly manage and operate a microhydro system. Unfortunately a prominent member of their community passed away during the conference so our presence would have been inappropriate.

Late night work session in the hotel before the guests arrived

No Filipino meeting would be complete without a solidarity night- these usually involve singing, be it karaoke or cultural chanting, drinking, and dancing. Representatives from each community delivered a speech in a singsong throaty style of chanting, played drums and demonstrated native dances. Some SIBAT engineers are from this part of the Philippines and joined in. I got a chance to demonstrate my newfound mastery of the Eagle Dance after all of my practice at Cordillera day. I still have a ways to go on my courtship dancing though- it's a dance where a man chases a woman in a circle to the beat of gongs, and at the end he catches her and they shake hands. I got elected for this twice, and I don't think saying no was an option. Unfortunately I don't speak any Ilocano, so I'm just hoping that I'm not now married to a microhydro system operator in Abra. 

Cordillera Day

The Cordillera is a mountainous region north of Manila that is largely inhabited by many tribes of indigenous people. Like indigenous people all over the globe, the people of the Cordillera are constantly struggling to maintain their ancestral land, resources and culture against transnational corporations and even their own country's government. 

The view from my tent!

This year was the 30th annual Cordillera Day. Representatives from different tribes, advocacy groups and countries attended to participate in workshops and cultural presentations. It was held in Kalinga, one of the 7 provinces of the Cordillera.

I was able to participate in a workshop on agriculture, and I learned a lot about the negative impact of international trade agreements on local farmers. For example, corn subsidies in the US make it cheaper for Filipinos in Manila to buy US imported corn than the corn grown by farmer's in their country. Pretty crazy! We also talked about the influx of toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers that are being pushed on small farmers by transnational corporations like Syngenta and Monsanto, and the devastating effect these have had on health, the environment and the economy. Talking about these issues in NGO conference rooms in Manila is one thing, but hearing the same concerns voiced directly from indigenous farmers is incredibly powerful. It was a great confirmation that the work SIBAT is doing related to sustainable agriculture is necessary and important.

The main event hall with multi-colored tarp roof
and bamboo benches

While the workshops were quite serious, Cordi day was also full of celebration of local culture. There was lots of dancing, some of which I attempted to take part in. Communities performed songs, plays and gave heartfelt speeches throughout the 3 day event.

We slept in tents in the most picturesque mountain-side conference location. In fact there were no permanent structures at the entire event- the main event space was a giant tent made of bamboo poles tied together with rope, covered with tarps. The bathrooms were also small bamboo structures with tarp walls and a hole in the ground. Sometimes there was running water but it was pretty unpredictable.

The one that got away

Cooking lunch for 1000

Each morning and at various times throughout the day everyone was jarred by the loud screaming of pigs being slaughtered for lunch and dinner. They probably killed 4 pigs every day to feed the hundreds of attendees, plus one water buffalo on the third day. The screaming of tortured pigs sounds a lot like children. I was really shaken by it, and even though it was a couple weeks ago I still keep hearing the screams. Creaky doors, whining dogs and crying babies have all caused me to look around in panic, thinking I was hearing another pig being killed. When you really look at pigs, they're so human like in their eyes. I was pretty elated when I found out that on the last day a pig was actually able to hide under a stage beside the kitchen, even though he'd been left with his legs bound to a bamboo pole.  Because it was dark when they went to kill him he could not be found. He probably didn't add too much time to his life, but to me it really demonstrates the fact that pigs are smart animals that have a will to live.

This stirs up a lot of internal debate for me because I can certainly acknowledge that not everyone is in a position to immediately stop killing animals for food. I know that in the Philippines, eating meat is a big part of celebrations and people's cultural identities. I'm not passing judgement on indigenous people for slaughtering pigs for this or other events. Still I feel that it is a practice that will one day be looked back on by humanity as barbaric and unnecessary in today's society.

Holy Week in the Philippines

Good Friday in Pampanga

In a country where 85% of the population is Catholic, Christian holidays are a big deal. At SIBAT, the office was closed Wednesday-Sunday for Holy Week. Unlike in the US, we didn't even call it something PC like "Spring Holiday"! I've been called out for my attempts at political correctness here, which I'm beginning to think is a purely American construct. But back to Holy Week!

Since we had Wednesday off, we accompanied Nathan's aunt and uncle to University of the Philippines Los Banos to pick up their son for his break. It's a couple hours south of Manila, and the campus was a lush green, tree-filled paradise. On the way back, the roadways were lined with hoards of people waiting to board buses to the provinces. We must have passed thousands of people waiting for buses! Over the next couple days, the effect was staggering- the city was a ghost town! Streets that notoriously have standstill traffic at all hours of the day were like open country roads. (A similar effect was seen during the Pacquiao fight the week before, because everyone was inside somewhere watching, but it was much shorter lived).

Maundy Thursday

I spent most of the day at church, participating in a Lenten reflection and then attending the evening Maundy Thursday service. I’ll admit that I didn’t warm up to my new church right away, but I’m really beginning to feel like part of the community there.

Good Friday in Pampanga

During a 2-hour break between a Lenten reflection and the evening service, I was idly snacking on a glutinous rice dessert in a room with the members of the women’s guild- most of whom are probably around 70. I was thinking it would be a long two hours with nobody to talk to. I ended up spending it learning a huge lesson about presumptuousness.  I had sat beside an old woman during the reflection, and all I really noted about her was that I hadn’t seen her before, she seemed a little disheveled, and most of her front teeth were missing.  Then she introduced herself – she had attended the church in the 60s but now only comes when she visits Manila from Mindinao, the southernmost part of the Philippines. Once we started talking and I realized how much we had in common, I almost cried (I high-fived her instead). My advocacy work at SIBAT has been focused on organic, sustainable agriculture, and she’s an agriculturist with an organic farm in Mindinao.  She brought up Golden Rice and said “Why would they add vitamin A to rice! People just need to eat vegetables!,” which is essentially the punchline of a flyer I made last week at work.  She told me about her organic farm and her younger days as an activist. She smirked while talking about how in college when they were lecturing about "biotechnology" (chemical pesticides, fertilizers and GMOs) she didn't even save her notes because she knew she didn't need it. I was giddy for having met her and for finding a friend and ally in the most unlikely place. I love the way church can bring people from totally different backgrounds together that way.

Good Friday
One tradition that takes place in a couple towns within the Philippines is the reenactment of the crucifixion on Good Friday. A few people volunteer to be nailed through their hands and feet to a cross in the sweltering heat, believing that it will earn them favor in the eyes of God (despite the denunciation of the practice by the Catholic church, and the total lack of biblical basis for this belief). One man has already been crucified 23 times, and plays the main role of Jesus in the passion play. It sounds pretty gruesome but also like something that I might never get another opportunity to see, so I decided to check it out.
Through the magic of Couchsurfing, I found a travel companion with a rental car (Nathan had a choir performance and couldn't come). Nathan's cousin Jascha also came along for the adventure.

Good Friday in Pampanga

We headed north for about an hour, and once we got off the highway we knew we were close when we saw self-flagellation along the sides of the streets. This is also thought of as a way to atone for one's sins during holy week. As we got closer to the town where the crucifixion was to be held the number of bloodied backs we passed grew rapidly. We found a place to park the now blood-spattered car and joined the crowd of onlookers. There were hundreds of people self-flagellating while they slowly walked through the town, many wearing black face coverings. It was so crowded that I actually got whipped on the arm by one of them. Turns out the whips are pretty soft! Once I got a closer look, I saw that there were two big patches of about 50 razor cuts on the mens' backs. To achieve the bloodied look without using a real whip to pierce the skin, they make lots of incisions before they start and then spread the blood around with the whips.

The bloody procession was moving toward the beautiful Metropolitan Cathedral in the center of the town. Once the men reached this site, they would lie face down on the pavement in front of the church. Women and children were standing nearby to gently continue the whipping. The kids seemed like they were really enjoying themselves, slapping the men with their sandals and gently kicking them. After some amount of time, the penitents would get up, make the sign of the cross, and walk away to make room for the next group. Along with people carrying crosses, which is the third and least violent method of repentance, they begin the long walk to the site of the crucifixion.

Metropolitan Cathedral in San Pedro Cutud

The heat was pretty unbearable- maybe 95 degrees and no shade in sight. After we'd seen enough of the whipping for one lifetime, we retreated indoors until it was time to head to the crucifixion. The field with a hill that has been chosen to represent Calvary is pretty far from the town center, so we took a pedi-cab as close as we could. The walk was still pretty far, and involved crazily darting back and forth across the street through a massive crowd to catch every small patch of shade. We arrived at the field just in time. Squeezing through throngs of sweaty Filipinos, we found a spot just to the side of the action.  People with good views must have arrived hours earlier. Over loudspeakers there were shouts from Roman guards and loud weeping from Mary Magdelene, all in Filipino, before the three crosses on the hill were lowered. The first batch of men being crucified wore microphones so their screams could be heard throughout the crowd, but the loud cheering still drowned them out. Once the nails were carefully positioned and driven through the hands and feet of the three men, the crosses were lifted. 10 minutes later the nails were plucked out, the crosses lowered, and the process began again with the next group. Unable to stand the heat much longer, we began to make our way out of the crowd.  I had expected this to be a more gruesome, somber, reflective experience, and in that respect I was disappointed. Still, as a cultural experience it was definitely interesting and I'm glad I was able to see it. Even though it's not far from Manila, most of the Filipinos I've talked to about it have never seen it before and think it's a little over the top.

Easter Sunday
Sunday morning Nathan and I attended a beautiful sunrise service with some friends that live here- they're actually the parents of our friend Stephen from San Francisco. There was lots of joyful singing, an upbeat sermon complete with a jazzy interlude, and we followed it up with a picnic in the park. It was a great way to start the day. I really love Easter, it fills me with so much hope to remember all over again that He conquered death on our behalf. Hallelujah!

Cambodia & Thailand

Two weekends ago (March 13-18), Nathan and I took a trip to Cambodia and Thailand.

Disclaimer: One of the conditions of my 12-month visa for the Philippines is that I can only be here for 59 consecutive days (but I can leave and re-enter as often as I want for 12 months). If I stay longer than 59 days, I have to pay something crazy like $150. On top of all this, I also can’t re-enter the country without proof that I have a ticket to leave again before the 12 months is over. I’m actually feeling pretty guilty about this situation, because there are a lot of people that helped fund my volunteer work through donations. I don’t want to give off the impression that I have all this excess money and I’m using it to jetset around Southeast Asia, and at the same time I don’t want to miss this opportunity to see other countries while I’m on this side of the world.  Luckily from what I’ve seen so far, you can go a long way with very little money around here! Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat

We only had one full day in Cambodia- we arrived the previous night and would leave the next morning for Bangkok. I had been pretty disappointed once I realized how little time we’d be spending there, but it ended up being perfect.

Siem Reap is the city outside the Angkor temple area. I think it exists entirely to provide food and accommodation for the huge number of tourists visiting the temples. Nearly every building we passed was a guesthouse, hotel, bar, restaurant or souvenir shop. The dusty roads were packed with tuk tuks and motorcycles, both used to transport tourists around the area. For $15 we hired a tuk tuk driver for a full day to take us around the temples.

Angkor Wat

I was not expecting there to be so many people! Though I guess it makes sense, especially given the recent increase in airlines flying into Siem Reap. The walkway to the first temple we visited, Angkor Wat, was packed with tourists, monks and local guys persistently offering us tours. Normally crowds like that could make it hard to appreciate an ancient temple, but it was still totally engrossing. The scale is unbelievable. There were many buildings within Angkor Wat, and not a single feature was without intricate detail. It was constructed as a Hindu temple in 1125- I cannot fathom how many hours it must have taken to carve the thousands of images of Vishnu into that much stone without any of today’s technologies! Nevermind the massive undertaking of gathering all of the raw materials.

Nathan took over Angkor Wat

The corridors were incredibly narrow and winding, like a labyrinth. It was really disorienting at times, and I wonder if that was intentional. Imagine the original tenants meditatively wandering the zig-zagged halls that are now filled with shutter clicks and voices in 20 different languages.

The fact that it was just under 100 degrees might have contributed to my feeling of disorientation. Having to wear long pants didn’t help either- some temples have a dress code prohibiting shorts or tank tops. Being the good tourist that I am I bought some massively baggy Thai-style pants from a woman outside one of the temples after haggling down to 50% of the asking price (my mom taught me well!).

Ta Prohm

We wearily toured a few other temples after Angkor Wat, including Bayon Temple, which is Khmer for “GIANT FACES EVERYWHERE!” and Ta Prohm which translates to “TREES ARE GROWING INSIDE THIS TEMPLE, WHAT!”. I think.

There were a couple others that we just quickly stopped by, but the heat in the middle of the day was so draining and I was relieved to go back to our guest house to shower and relax. I really enjoyed the place we ended up staying – Advisor Angkor Villa. Everyone there was really friendly, and the highlight of the whole trip for me was meeting other travelers while lounging in the common area. We met a French guy who bartends for 6 months and then travels for 6 months, on and off, forever. A German artist who sold a painting and decided to spend the money on a couple months in Thailand. A German engineer a few weeks into his 18 month globe trek.   Everyone but us was travelling solo, though a common sentiment was that they hadn’t been alone much given the robust community of travelers in that part of the world. We ended up going with a few people to a night market for late-night snacks and beers. Meeting all these interesting, brave, adventurous, and yet also totally normal people was really inspiring. Like, “Hey, I could do that!” Anyone could do that!  It was also timely because I was finishing Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, a book dispelling the myth that only a certain type of person can see the world.

Onward, to Thailand!

Yikes, budget travel: $10 for a bus, 200m walk, and crowded minivan ride from Siem Reap to Bangkok. 8am-6:30pm. But we made it!

The bus dropped us off at Khao San Road, the westernized backpacker/hostel zone, loaded with bars, cheap guesthouses and street vendors selling less-than-authentic Thai food. We compared prices and found the cheapest place- around $11 per night. Having read that some of these places are pretty grimy, I asked to see the room first. We scoped it out, without instructions on how to turn the lights on, and it looked like a totally standard, albeit cheap, hostel room. After paying and learning the secret for the light switch, it was a whole different story: dirty stained sheets, little bugs on the floor, mystery gunk on the bathroom/shower floor. Not cool.

"I'm hard to eat out with" in Thai

 Luckily, one of the people we’d met in Siem Reap had just been to Bangkok and wrote down a couple recommendations. The next we got out of there as quickly as possible and hopped on a boat ($0.50!) down the Chao Phraya River to the part of town he recommended, and I’m so glad we did! This next guest house was only twice the price of the first, and was pristine. Some things it had over the first place: so clean, air conditioning, free filtered water, free wifi, free coffee, the most helpful staff, and a kitchen for guests! What a 180.  That was a pretty awesome turn of events. The host at the front desk even wrote me a little note in Thai that I could hand to food vendors and they would know what I do and don’t eat!  Or it said “This girl is crazy, just nod & smile and then go stir fry some vegetables”.  We will never know.

Monk crossing the street

For Siem Reap, there was really no planning required because there was just one attraction: temples. Bangkok is totally different, but that didn’t stop us from making no plans and doing almost no research. I don’t think it could have worked out any better- without a big list of things we wanted to do, everything was an adventure and we were free to spend as much or little time every step of the way. I was feeling pretty templed-out, so we skipped some of the major tourist attractions. Instead we stumbled upon really beautiful parks, a giant anti-government protest camp, and countless monks doing everyday activities (sleeping, crossing the street, drying their laundry). Monks are just people! In orange! Especially in Thailand where every male is supposed to serve as a monk for at least a week. I loved that!

Sleeping Monk

Oh Thai food. The hard thing about being white and liking really spicy foods is that nobody believes you, and I also get the feeling that people are worried for me when I order things spicy. So usually they ignore my requests. I thought Thailand would be different because I’d heard that everything is made spicy by default, and it was for Nathan. But alas, the blander tastes of my forefathers have betrayed me again. It wasn’t until the last night that I was able to get my fix via green curry at a jazz club. Spending an evening listening to live jazz and drinking cocktails probably wouldn’t have made it into a tightly-packed tourist itinerary, and it was one of the best things we did there. Along with lying in a park watching kids flying kites, standing at attention while the queen drove by in a massive caravan, taking the long way to the Old City by walking through the overcrowded markets of Chinatown, and getting around by bus despite not always knowing where the bus was headed.

I will leave you with a list of things I overheard our fellow American tourists say while travelling:

• “I just came from Bangkok, why the f*ck would I go back? F*ck that!”
• A guy at our guest house in Siem Reap in response to our bus driver politely asking him if he was also taking the bus to Bangkok
• “I already hate this country. You just can’t talk to these people.”
• Annoyed girls trying to check into our overbooked guest house, talking amongst themselves in front of the Cambodian staff, all of whom seemed to have an ok command of the English language.
• “New York and Philadelphia have really different accents, but nowhere else in the US really has an accent. Like, people in California sound the same as people in the north east.”
• A lesson about American accents from a New Yorker to a British girl on the trip to Bangkok.
• “Look, that monk is napping, take his picture!”
• Me.

Food, Glorious Food!

God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” Genesis 1: 29-30

My master plan for vegan living in Manila

Before arriving in Manila, my biggest concern was whether or not I would be able to find vegan food. There were more seemingly important issues- housing, finances, natural disasters, terrorism- all of which I felt would work themselves out, but I couldn’t stop worrying about what I would eat.  Having heard many times about the Filipino love of lechon (roasted pig) and their fondness of flavoring dishes with bagoong (shrimp paste) and patis (fish sauce), I knew that eating in Manila wouldn’t be as easy as it was in San Francisco, arguably the best cities in the world for veggie lovers.  I reassured myself with the facts that at least there would be rice and mango, and by stocking up on multi-vitamins and iron supplements.

After a little more than a month, I can now confidently report that I am the Luckiest Vegan in Manila.

Likha Diwa with Kat, Alay and Nika!

On the day we moved in to our new apartment in Quezon City, Nathan and I walked five minutes down the street to an incredible and entirely vegan restaurant called Pipino, which means cucumber in Tagalog. They have Filipino classics, decadent Western dishes like lasagna and mac n’ cheese, and a huge variety of vegan ice cream and cupcakes all made in-house.  I mentioned that SF is one of the most veg friendly cities, but I will add that it’s one of the most expensive as well, and this restaurant provided an awesome selection of plant based dishes for the price of a fast food combo meal at home. Plus they sell vegan bagoong, pesto and mayo in adorable jars to take home. This place was like a deep breath of fresh air and I decided that even if that was the only place I ate at for the rest of the year, I would be happy! As it turns out, that would be far from necessary.

I soon found out about a couple other great eateries. A few of Nathan’s relatives live nearby (another huge blessing that would take up an entire post), and after learning that I was vegan they went out of their way to show us some of the veggie restaurants they’d heard of in Manila- Likha Diwa, Greens and Corner Tree Café- the first of which is in our neighborhood (about 10 minutes walking).  So far, things were looking up. But a few restaurant visits don’t justify my title as Luckiest Vegan in Manila.  

Young coconut! Masarap!

The next week we started working at SIBAT.  Every day for lunch, the whole office buys their ulam (the saucy, salty part of the meal that you serve with rice) and brings it back to eat together, with the rice provided by SIBAT. Most people purchase something meaty from street vendors, and the chances of finding something vegan on the side of the road here, is close to zero. My favorite exceptions include: Coconuts, clementines, mango and taho which is made up of soft tofu, tapioca and syrup and is my new favorite breakfast food. Unfortunately, none of these would make for a very well rounded lunch. Luckily, through an incredible stroke of good fortune, the one restaurant in the condominium complex that we work in is ALL VEGETARIAN! So every day, instead of going out to the street, I walk into the courtyard of the office building and purchase my veggie ulam for around $1. I’m sure I’ll be reaping added benefit from this once the summer hits and I don’t have to go too far in the noonday sun! The one woman who mans this lunch spot, called Green Wok, makes a different dish every day and that’s what everyone who stops in will be served. I cannot get over how awesome a provision this has been!

SIBOL People's Store (from their website)

Finally, the cherry on top of it all: SIBOL People’s Store. SIBAT runs an organic farm north of Manila where they train other farmers on the use of organic, sustainable agriculture practices. They sell some of the produce from their own farm, as well as from the farms of those who have adapted their green farming techniques, in a small store located in the courtyard of our office building. Every week people from the city can place orders for produce and either have it delivered to their homes or pick it up from the store. So I stock up on organic veggies (as well as vinegar, wine, sugar and peanut butter) right at work for a very reasonable price. This week I ordered enough for 2 weeks of homemade dinners, filling a giant grocery bag past the brim, for around $6.

Some taho for breakfast at the office

So while it’s true that most people I talk to here are totally unfamiliar with the idea of veganism, and most restaurants have a very limited (if any) selection, I am still eating an incredible variety of delicious food.  I really can’t believe how fortunate a position I am in. I was worried I wouldn’t get to try any “real Filipino food”, and instead everyday a lovely woman cooks up a veggie version of a traditional Filipino dish and serves it inside my office building. I was worried that I would have a hard time finding fresh ingredients for cooking, and instead I simply tell my coworker at the SIBOL store what I’d like to buy and receive a beautiful array of veggies at work.  I was worried that on weekends I would sit at home eating white rice and vitamins, and instead there are two different and incredible veggie restaurants within walking distance from my apartment. I had been telling myself that God would provide for my safety, my housing, my work and my relationships, but I hadn’t trusted that He could take care of my most basic needs.  So I’ll end with this scripture that sums up my experience so far:

 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” Matthew 6: 25-27 

Some pineapple growing on the sidewalk near my house

Other, unrelated, updates:

• I have a bike! I biked at night in Manila! What a crazy life!
• Work is great & I'm getting involved with No to GMO advocacy, starting with a trip to the Supreme Court tomorrow!