(IN August) I had a visit up north on the island and saw some very interesting sights.
We visited some patients in their homes, went island hoping (I love being on the ocean; were is Edmonton again?), and enjoyed the fresh mountain and ocean air. It was a good way to recover some strength after feeling unwell.
I was amazed to find out that the birds nest soup, a specialty, is made from boiling the swift birds nests to get the bird saliva. It sounds very unappealing to me. I'm trying to imagine how this became a food item. One chef talking to another, I have a great idea for making soup. Lets boil a birds nest so we can get the flavor of the birds saliva into our soup. Other chef says, sounds like a great idea, I'll go get some birds nests!!
Well as amazed as I am with the whole thing about bird nest soup, I was even more taken a back by where we found the birds nesting. We came across the birds nest "in" the Taytay hospital. You will see in some of the pictures that Taytay is a great place to visit, just don't get sick. The part of the hospital has been neglected and next thing you know, bird nest soup on the hospital menu (if it had a menu). The whole state of the medical system here sure makes me appreciate what we have at home even if it is in the prairies.
Along the way we also stopped to see the project of Mylene. She is a social worker that advocates for persons with disabilities. She has been very successful in creating employment form a joint government and school project to provide chairs to schools in the rural areas. She has a work shop that employees persons with disabilities (PWD) to make the desk chairs. I really admire these dedicated people that are working hard to support a cause and make a difference. Even if it is a small scale local effect, it is the dedication and persistence of people like Mylene that is to be admired. In one picture you will see Mylene with the new chairs. The other picture is the old chairs that students had to make up for themselves before this program. The school doesn't have books, that's usual out in the rural places, I imagine the teachers get creative. (again we are lucky at home). There are 505 students and 14 teachers at this place.
If you look at the scenery pictures you will quickly see were life out here can be grand. I really enjoyed the little town of Taytay with the small homes on the water, a historic fort and a friendly welcome in the streets.
The picture of Ime on the white beach (Ime is an OT that works for Bahatala in the rural areas) was taken at a little island that was wonderful, no inhabitants, beach, trees, great rocks (worth contemplating selling the house and car in the prairies; for a moment on a sunny day).
Also on that boat trip we stopped at a resort for a tour of the facilities (Club Noah). The Resort is very posh so a day trip to see it was all we really needed. The island is limestone and in the bay the horizon is dotted with these grand island of different shapes. It is great to travel with a geologist (Dr Soc first had a geology degree before taking up medicine) and get the history of island formation and development. We stayed at the resort on the mountain overlooking the bay. It's called Casa Rosa and although it was a bit of a climb to get up, the view was well worth it (picture of me with the bay behind is from this place). The last picture of the little hut is a place we stayed on the way to taytay. It's on a little sand island. great to wake up in the morning and swim out a few feet to find all kinds of corals and fish (even nemo!)

I will say by for now. All is still well.

still Here

I've really slowed down. I see my last note was a month ago! Well August and first part of Sept were busy. I continue to struggle with getting pictures up and I'm at a bit of a stand still this week. I do have some great pictures from the last month and hopefully I can get them up soon but in the meantime I thought I'ld update my adventure stories.
I was able to do little travelling for work and play in August and this brought me close to the sea. Swimming, island hopping, and waking up to a beautiful beach was all part of the fun. I really enjoyed the boat rides and fresh Ocean breeze. I even have a tan now. The swimming and fresh air also helped to get over whatever illness I had been suffering and I feel very healthy again. I have missed my weekly runs and soccer so I can't promise to be in great shape at the moment.
Last week I was at a conference for volunteers and part of the activities was a bit of hiking and even horse riding. They were quite small for horses but the ride was well worth the effort and we ended up with a great view of green valleys. After the conference a group of us volunteers when canyon trekking. I have a fear of heights so I wasn't sure how cliff jumping, rappelling and rock water slides would all go down but it was great. (pictures to come at some point).
This week I was back to work after a week off. Work continues to be very enjoyable with lots of variety. This may only be interesting to my PT friends but I thought I would share the story of the most unusual shoulder contracture. This patient was in a cast with external fixator for a year for wrist fractures and as a result had decreased shoulder extension (unable to bring his arm back or even to his side) to at least - 35 degrees. When he lay down on his back his arm just stuck up in the air. He is from Manila and was hoping to get surgery so I wont get a chance to follow how therapy may help him, but I was wondering if Charlies ever seen pecs this tight. I'm sure I never have or will.
Back at work and into my regular activity; hopefully will be sailing again this weekend. I have to admit (but don't tell anyone) that I really don't miss soccer !! shocking for me to realize this too. I'm sure when I get home and acclimatize to shoes, I will be excited as ever for Friday night soccer. It is the getting use to shoes that will be a challenge. In the last month I only put on shoes for the canyon trek, I was very happy they still fit. I even ran 5 k's with flip flops because I met up with some running friends but forgot my shoes. I was very impressed that I could run with flip flops but I must admit I was pretty slow. I went on a big shopping spree and came home with 2 new pairs of flip flops (for variety).
With no big plans for the next while I will have time to get my computer working better. Till then, take care :)

odds and ends

Hello I am just updating with a few odd pictures and activities. I went to the east coast a month ago for the day and had a bit of hiking in the mountain and swimming in the waves. It rained for part of the day but it was still warm. It is very beautiful country. The trip up involved some pretty ruff roads, and with the splashing in the waves I was very worn out by the end of the day. Rose is my friend that took me. A little bit of rain and the true Filipino is under cover!!
A few weekends ago I had a variety of events. The picture with the pineapple on my back was from my trip home from a soccer game. I bought the pineapple and had to bike home with it on my back. I usually have a lot of remarks when I bike down the street but the pineapple increased the entertainment value of me for the local kids. The smiles and laughs were bigger than usual.
That evening I went out for a very nice home made meal made by some local x pats that bring in the foods like real cheese (a real rarity). I went all out to blow dry my hair (under my rotating ceiling fan). It was very interesting meeting people from many parts of the world that had now settled with Puerto as their main home.
The following week I spent the evening visiting my local friends down the street. The kids get very excited so I need a lot of energy to visit them. They are trying to help my tagalog but it is a challenge for me still. I can pretend that I understand thing quiet well but really very little sinks in!!
I also installed a hammock in the living room. It is really relaxing and when I spot the critters late a night it is the only place I feel comfortable sleeping.
I also included a picture a Erinn and Greg from Calgary. They were here for a month; it really is amazing how reassuring it is to run into someone close to home when you are so far away.
All in all my company has been very varied and pleasant.
Still enjoying sailing. The other day I even had wind. Enough to get me into trouble and capsize the boat. My little friend that was helping me (I think he was about 10) enjoyed watching me get into trouble and then he would get me turned around and give me the controls again. Like most city bay water, not the best place to go swimming, but at least the water is warm.
take care back home

less than fun week

Well I thought I would share with you my down time, as so far my experiences have been so positive. I had my first spell of something (NYD not yet diagnosed!!) Being overseas does not change a persons ingrain habits. I deal with sickness over here pretty much like at home. I assume nothings wrong, I think I can sleep anything off, and then when I don't, I think what I have is the worse possible thing in the world and that I am suffering like no one else has. At the moment of most pain I can possibly endure I finally, like some test against illness breakdown and take something for pain. (does that sound about right Rick and Michelle?)
Well I did get tested for Malaria and Likely had a flue. My past week was spent crawling out of bed to the hammock, then getting restless with he hammock and crawling back to bed. Well today I am functioning almost normal (for me). I can actually be up for hours at a time and can walk down the street to my usually email place. some early signs that I was not myself was early this week (when I was still walking) I was walking so slow that the local people were passing me!! I got feeling very weak, weaker than a Kitten! (that's for you chianta's girls that remember my spell last summer) at one point I was struggling to turn over in bed.
Well I am working my way to going to work and hopefully I will be walking and running in no time. Take care.

frustrated with internet

Hi. Well most of my experiences have been very positive but I thought I would vent a bit today. I have a letter and pictures I would like to post but I can't get good connection with my computer to the internet so I am here at the public computer punching away at fickle key boards and will have to wait to post my letter with pictures.

I hope you are all doing well. I am able to post more on my facebook site so if you would like to update and review more pictures check out facebook.com. Once you sign up you can look for my address (I'm under a Philippine net work) and I can hook you up to my albums. Well I'm not a spokes person for facebook but for some reason I have less troubles getting connect to facebook.

Another concern I have is I can't believe how fast time is going. I have been away for more than 4 months!! I was sure a year would fly by but it's like the weeks are days.
I am enjoying work still and the weekends are filled with a variety of house chores, shopping, sailing, and I am also doing some running. They have a running club just like back home. Next month they are even doing some learn to run clinics. I'm sure I will meet some great people with this group. The leader is quite the amazing runner. He is 67 and has ran 102 real marathons (they often refer to any distance run as marathons so I usually clarify and check to see if they mean 26 miles? or 5 miles?) Well he is talking about some ultra marathon he would like to organize so I may have to decide how much running is going to be too much. There isn't going to be a problem of not enough.
I played a scrimmage soccer game with the high school boys and they were very proper gentle men passing me the ball and giving me a bit or running space. Overall I was struggling. (Before I come home I will have to dedicate some time to my ball.)
Well I have to get up before my knees seize. I hope to be able to update pictures soon

a bit from work

There are pictures of disability week parade. The picture in the pick up show some of the staff and Sam (the skeleton) as we drove about. When we went past a school; Sam and I (the white lady with a camera) created excitement for the kids.
Unfortunately even with awareness and policies there are many limit for those with disabilities. The focus this year was with access there is success. It sounds great only the phrase itself wont make a difference. It's an area of real frustration for me because it's difficult to know were the solution needs to start from. I have challenges walking to work and couldn't imagine getting anywhere with mobility issues. (when there is a sidewalk it may have a big hole in it, vehicles park on the sidewalk, if there are ramps, they are often too steep, well the list goes on).
The pictures carry on to show a few regular patients and the space we work in (including outside, my favorite). I have some great patients that are regulars and they agreed to be models for my blog. Take note, I will be looking at changing the dress code for work to include flip flops and tie dy pants. It's my favorite work outfit. (There is a high degree of playing close attention what is going on when helping patients on the wobble board and wearing flip flops!!).
The stroke patients come in the morning and children with CP in the afternoon. Right now there is a trend of teens with scoliosis, and like back home, there is always a regular flow of folks with back pain. Posture education is a very big part of my day.
With the number of young men riding motor bikes all day I'm surprised any of them can walk. (A very common career is to be a tricycle driver and they can work many hours sitting on the bike, I often notice them sitting a bit sideways, mixing it up I guess). As a pedestrian I am often frustrated by the fact they don't seem to notice me or care when they cut me off or drive right at me (on the sidewalk). I try to keep in mind that there job in not easy.
Some PT thing I find interesting (I'm sure some of you won't care) is rarity of planterfascitis. We spend a lot of time and effort getting our feet support and orthotics and still have planterfascitis. Flip flops, cheap sandal definitely no orthotics and no planterfascitis here(even the foot pains I had last year are good in Flip flops, cheap sandal and no orthotics.)
The guys that play soccer don't seem to get the knee injuries, ankle sprains, and other common injuries (they didn't care I was a PT and could help them with injuries, I got a kind of what for look when I offered). Well, always something new to learn. Take care.

written June 30

Well these 4 pictures took 1/2 hour to download and seeing that the other few are just a few more corners of duct tape and close ups of baskets I think I will cut short my pictures!!

This is my letter from a week ago.

A day in my life here, and some extras
Well I thought I would share with you my saturday. It actually feels like I am settled. I can cook and this week I have a few added personal touches that I acquired at the festival that features crafts from all of Palawan (the Baragatan). I didn't get any photos at the festival but imagine lots of people, food booths, and little craft booths done up a very nice authentic look. (I did take a picture of some of the crafts I got. I really like my bamboo bead curtain. I'm bring that home!) Tonight I had to step out because of this popping noise. (I thought the neighbor was making popcorn at first but it was fireworks!! for 5 to 10 minutes) Well I was already set up for bed so I just stood out front by my apartment and I could see them quite well. I did miss the crowd reaction. I wonder if they say aagh like we do back home anyways fireworks on june 30 is pretty close to being at home. So this is how my day is ending writing this note on my computer at home. (Tomorrow I will hopefully find wifi to send this note ).
So I started today at 4:50; early rise so I could meet my coworkers at the running track. I had homemade sweet potato pancakes that I cook the night before and fruit. It's about a 30 minute ride to the sports complex and even though it is early, once I'm up it's very refreshing to be up for the sunrise. At the track I also met the running coach of those fast girls from the weekend before. My exciting week of being as fast as I thought I was ended. I ask if he had the actual times and the girl that got second finished in 47 minutes which puts me at 52 minutes (in retrospect maybe my first estimation was a bit too fast to be realistic but I enjoyed thinking I ran that fast for the week)
Well I did my laps and realized again how fast these young girls are compared to me. I also found out that there is a 5 K race tomorrow morning that I will try to make. I really like the small town feeling of just doing things I like to do and meeting people in the activity. It always seems like there is something new, or interesting that comes from just doing.
I then biked to the sailing club. It is right on the way home so that works well. After a few more tips on sailing I was out on the little one man sail boats. Well the wind had gone from perfect (before I got on the water) to very still when I got on. I didn't mind because it really is great to be out on the water, enjoying the scenery and trying to somehow work out how to sail without wind. I actually maneuvered out to a predetermined spot and made it back without wind. There were a few times that I was going backwards, and just kind of drifting but overall I did manage a semi controlled drift in the bits of wind and current I happened upon. Sailing without wind is kind of like fishing. Your out on the water, using whatever skill, knowledge, and mostly silently praying to make a catch (fish or wind).
Well if sailing was not that thrilling with speed or danger my bike ride home has some elements of extreme sport to it. avoiding being hit, crossing busy streets, paying attention to all the possible obstacles (dogs, cats, children, motorbikes, tricycles, ...)
Home for lunch I used my earth pot to make my first homemade soup. The pot is made like a pottery pot (see picture) and after soaking it for 5 minutes it can be placed on gas stove. It is much better than soup made in some tin, or aluminum pot. I was very pleased with how easy it was to use and clean after.
During lunch I also went on a duct tape mission. I had a little "good one" race up the wall and into a little hole. (it is superstition that if you call the rodents the R word and speak badly of them they will come and eat your clothes so I will use the help of superstition to keep peace of mind and call the visitors the good ones). So I think I've got the Red Green guy on a very creative use of duct tape (like the pictures show, I'm on a mission to cover up any hole that seems inviting for the visitors) . I'm not sure how well the tape will hold up but when I run out of the nice subtle white stuff (that I actually brought from home), I'm sure I can find some more here. I added a few pictures in case there is a duct tape contest I can always refer back.
After lunch I wandered down the street to catch the street dance. Groups from the different areas in palawan, in authentic dress, dance down a very long stretch of main street to the festival and there they take turns dancing for the judges. The costumes were great but I actually did more waiting than actually seeing any dancing. I had to leave before it really got going because I headed back to the sports complex to meet some students that don't have a soccer coach (see picture)
Well I don't know how much I can help this team. They are fast and skilled. I will only be able to make some of their practices. They only have one ball so I know they will be happy to see me coming even if it just for the extra balls.
Because of the dance in town only 3 guys showed up. We played a bit of pig in the middle and that gave me a very good workout. (It was very fun to touch the ball and the kids were very polite to make it look like I wasn't completely out of my league.)
Well when they say volunteering is very much about learning and developing yourself, I have to say I am definitely on a very steep learning journey. Tagalog, sailing, running faster, soccer with 17 and under skilled boys, and then all the stuff at work. I will have to work hard to feel like I've left some stuff behind as well.
After my good workout I was happy to go home and relax with a home cooked meal again. I like to experiment with fresh vegetables. (I had tofu with eggplant stir fry for supper, I don't think it will make Companies Coming). I was going to go to the festival again and try the seafood taco?? but better rest up for tomorrow.
Thanks for coming to My Time Away!
I think of you all back home many times a day