Random thoughts

Over the past months (half year!) I have had many memories and thoughts of the people and places in Puerto. From the walks to works, to the adventures on sea, to the many people who have touched my life.

Especially watching summer turn to fall, I have wanted to capture to feeling and express the wonder of nature as it changes before your eyes. Although I have seen fall come and go many years!! It has been extra special this year.

Thinking; what it means? What would it be like if I was experiencing fall for the first time? What would I see different? Taking a lesson from nature, change is inevitable. So in becoming part of the change, seeing the beauti in change, I hope to continue on.

These pictures are from my trip to Penticton (yes I don't only look cold, I was and I'll still always cold!).

ingat!

still

So what do I think? Feel? Or know? I have been back for over three weeks and I’m mostly filled with questions. Yet there is a change in me that is precious; I am able to be still. I can feel stillness when I look at trees (what about trees? What does that have to do with being away?). When I was away in Peurto, I took interest in all the newness around me and took the time to really looked at the surroundings. Just looking at trees became a habit. It’s hard to explain what happens when you look at trees, plants, and the surroundings, but for me, it was special. Try it and see for yourself!

Yes that is snow in the last picture, May 11, 2008.
I have created a life with challenge. Coming back has been an emotional process affecting those I care about and myself. So a tribute to trees – may I continue to grow and accept the changes of time as gracefully.

Home on Friday!

Hi
Well I'm almost home. Just finished my last bit of Cake at Itoy's and then will catch the plane to Manila in a few hours. Besides the fact that packing has been very stressful and I have to admit that I'm not a true minimalist (I think I'll be over my 50 K weight restriction!!), the last few weeks have been great with opportunities to say good bye to many and even have a relaxing few swims in the ocean. I will miss the ocean, trees and friendship soo much.
(don't worry though, you wont be without my run on sentences, odd (OK bad) grammar, and random thoughts as I will continue writing when I get home.)
I have enjoyed blogging.
I want to invite you all to a "thank you for your support party" that will likely be second week in May. I will work out details when I get home and give you more details. Let me know if I don't get you through my email list and you need the details.
so ingat see you soon. Give a call, I'll be around this Saturday!
And to those in Puerto take care, Keep in touch. I will come back come back!!

What I learnt in Puerto!

well, can I entertain you all now!!
I'm a drummer. I know 10 beats...
like gong pa ta gong pa ta... and ta pa tapa tapa papa gong ..When you see the actual little video clip you wont believe I've only had lessons for 1 week!! (joke only). Actually I know music better than I thought! I know for sure I'm bad. I am pretty persistant though and I will come home with a drum and pratice!! (the tuperwear on my lap in the boat is me entertaining my work mates after a trip to the beach, with the sound of a motor boat, my drumming works)
Also in the pictures you will see my friend Rochelle, I like her singing. She sings for many of our work events. I've asked her to sing for my fairwell party. I'm sure I will have tears and have a hard time saying the good by!!
The picture of a sketched hand holding a candle is mine; my hand and my drawing. I called it brown out, that's what it's called when the electricity goes out which happens on occassion (like the night I wanted to draw!)
Oh that's the Adamant II I went sailing on a few weeks ago. (Will have to find water and wind at home). It's very exciting when the wind comes up but I will miss the kids giving me directions "Tak maam." (oops I couldn't updoad the pictures on my sailing trip. You'll have to take my word for it and come by to see my picture showing return party, I also don't have pictures of my tennis lessons but I'll hit the ball with you when I get home if you like. I'm not that into games, just like the feel of hitting the ball. It's great stress release.)
Anyways I am enjoying my new hobbies.
Also included is a picture of my favorite rock in the garden at Bahatala's teaching center (can't wait to start gardening. I am so inspired by all the growing stuff out here. I want to plant, plant, plant, I may even have to get a few more house plants!!)
A little more of fun artistic expression!
my feet. It's kind of an inside joke at work. I was getting advise on how to pose more Philopino style and we started directing (like the song) with to the left to the left.... then to the right to the right. So there are my feet to the left. (the feet to the rightyou have to see anouther time)
(you can see that volunteer work is all about the serious mission of saving the world!! The big question for us volunteers, did I help someone, did I make a difference, and the big one - is anything sustainable?
Well I did help myself, I made a difference in my life, and I can continue to draw when I get home (and Michelle says I can sail in the Okanagan)...sounds sustainable to me!!
I hope those around me feel as rejuvinated as I do.
Many thank you's to VSO, to Bahatala, and to the people in Palawan.
Visit na lang in Canada!!

havin a bad day!!

well after a year of my "life is wonderful", I thought I would send you a note on my down day. More so to ensure you that I'm still human (and not Mary Poppins!)
It's raining this morning and looks like it will be pouring all day, which is very unusual this time of the year. By itself that wouldn't get me down but last night I tried to escape attack of 3 furious dogs while I was biking by. After trying the usual hiss sound I hear most locals do to chase off dogs, I did the more self preserved scream at the dogs. They only came at me with more fury, so trying to avoid the rabies series that would have followed the bite at my ankle, I decided to jump off my moving bike to put it between me and the dogs. I think it would have worked but a week ago I aggravated the planter fascia injury to my foot. The foot was suppose to land on the move and hold me up, well anyways my foot collapsed and it hurts! (the dogs did run away in all the confusion of my ungraseful landing.)
I was on my way to visit some friends and had some tender nursing care from my host. Ice, cleaning small skin wounds, and lending me a cane (can't walk without the cane and right now it looks more like a hobble.)
So that's the basis for my crummy day. Rain and pain. So my plan to do lots of walking and take tons of pictures of the different street and trees in town is out for the day. For you that know me well, you can no doubt appreciate what kind of bear I turn into when I can't get about. Looks like I'm going to be sitting and pouting today instead! (I do have to be very nice this morning because I forgot my wallet and I'm depending on the friendlyness of the staff to let me come back later to pay!)

In this moment of self pitty, I 'm reflecting on "my time away". Maybe as the day goes on I will realize what I am away from and what it means when I come back. Pehaps there is a lesson in this. I had better not try to land back home on the go, and when I get cornered by lifes' distracting barks, I'll work on a calmer approach.

I will surrender to the pain and inability to walk for the next few day. Even on this bad day I feel peaceful and calm. Tomorrow is the start of the art festival; the spark that motivated me to quit my job back home (There's a story to that but I wont bore you with that at this moment). I'm taking Drumming lessons and will spend the evening listening to local artist share there skills. It's kind of like Puerto's version of Folk festival.

Anyways, time to hobble home, hobble back to pay for breakfast and work out the rest of this Crummy day!!

miss you all

see you soon

P.S. The pictures are to cheer me up. first one is sunrise at Sabang, then some sun sets atSabang, and the last two are sun sets at bay walk (not that you prabably care were the pictures are from; it's just for record sake!)

HI
by the time I post this I will have less 3 weeks to go. Although I could be driving myself crazy with things to do, reflecting on what the year has been to me, and preparing to get going again when I get home, my mind keeps wondering to simple things. I do think of some of the daily saying and small events that I really enjoy.
My tagalog's not great (at all) but I love lots about the language. It sounds nice and the phrases are catchy:
Heres some of my favs:
diba (kind of a filler, like "you think")
OK lang (means "OK" -hehe, bit of a personal joke from when I was first learning tagalog at home - lang means just)
na follows almost everything and it means already
when not using na you can use pa, meaning more like now or still
text na lang (text already just literally, but really it means text later)
Taas baba (up and down, the daily instructions I give patients) along with tayo upo
talagal - really!
Ano pa (what else)
Ano - what and also a frequently used filler
malamig - cold, I'm entertained by the concept of cold, like today after a little rain my coworker was cocerned I was biking home because it was malamig (likely only 27 or something), on the way home I stopped by the see a patient at his home and he was wearing a jacket because it was malimig!). Malamig almost always flows from my tunge when I talk about Canada! It's the first descriptor I use when someone asks.
mainit - more often used, hot!!
the following are really tagalog but I love hearing these
whatsurname (translates into what is your name, said very quickly because the child along the street feel compelled to ingage the a white person into a conversation even though I am whizzing by on a bike)
ma'am (I like being called ma'am especially by the children helping me sail)
sanjosesanjosesanjose (this actually sounds like a song. The man that helps to load the multi cabs in the evening often calls this out. San Jose is a district about 1/2 hour out of town. When I was first here, I was always amused at how persistent they were in trying to get me to got to San Jose (really no reason why I would go, usually just was going down the street a bit) anyways, in my amusement I often gave the man a big smile. Now he says sanjosesanjosesanjose, where you going and shakes my hand)
picture? (actually its pronounced very nicely kind of like pikchur? and the kids are usually asking if I'll take there picture or if I have their picture developed yet)
Most lunch times I just sit back and enjoy listening to conversation that I only understand the odd word.
Other things that I have been paying more attention to is listening to the birds in town on my way to work, I haven't always heard them, maybe I have been too busy getting to work without getting run over, trying to avoid direct sun, and just see all the newness of the place. (I've become immuned to hearing the rosters in the morning, I still see them but it's a sound that you don't think will ever just blend into nothing but it actually does. I do think that when I get home and no roster calls out, I'm going to hear the silence, and miss the rosters)
Some of the things I say regularly for work, that will not be so useful back home are:
sabi mo masakit (tell me if it hurts)
isa pa (one more)
pusod loob, matigas taas, (belly in and tighten up)
malakas (strong)
matankad (tall)
may tanong? (any questions?) - not that I can understand them if you asked the question back in tagalog!!
balik dito susnod ng lingo (come back next week)
bukas - sarado (open close, usually I'm gestering to open and close hand with these instructions)
magaling - good
konti lang magaling? (meaning are you a little better) or paracho (same)
well I could go on but I've probably board you enough!! with silly little things. Maybe when I get home I will have time to get deep and inspirational. Overall I'm refraining from getting too serious, because I don't want to miss the point of just having fun.
Well the pictures are very random!! and kind of old. I was going to use them for my now is the time reflecting poem but never got around to it. In the mean time it takes so long to upload pictures I don't want to delete them!! (except for the running one the pictures are of work and work mates/events...)
anyways you will see me soon!!
INGAT

wow that's one year!

I left Edmonton March 13ish 2007 for "my time away" and as you've heard me say many times it's great. It been rewarding to reflect on the year and think of the many unique experiences I have had. So, excited to see you all, (ticket home is booked for may 2) and I'm also having a hard time thinking of leaving Puerto. I have been very reflective, enjoying extra trips to the beach, lots of fruit, getting in some more sailing (last week I even had what I would call big wind, it was a blast), and I am enjoying the extra heat that has just settled in. "Summer" is back here. (My definition of summer is when it is hot enough to make you sweat at night just lying in bed). With this new definition though I'll be lucky to get a day or two of summer back home in Edmonton :(
Over the past month there have been many flowering trees, and even though it's always green, it has felt a bit like spring (maybe it's the Tim Horton's coffee I've been savoring from my Christmas parcel. (Roll up a rim for me!) I am very happy to be getting home when garden season starts. I am looking forward to seeing what's growing and planting some more. (Lesson from Palawan: you can never have too many plants, got to love green!)
Before coming out here I came across a poem from an advertisement; I cut out it out to keep because it was very inspiring at the time. Reading it now I feel the message has inspired much of the great experiences in the past year; the words came to life here so I figured it was worth sharing on the anniversary of my year.
Draw on your own energy
Transform the moment into an event
Play music, paint, or write
Explore the unknown, share ideas
Be passionate about issues - a person
Exercise your body
Cross the finish line like there is no tomorrow
Be mindful of yourself and the world around you

I think the add was for a power bar or drink or something. I hope you are able to live it and enjoy it as much as I have.
I tried to download more pictures to reflect each line but the computer won't let me?? who knows. Anyways the one picture I got says lots about how I feel!

ingat!!