It’s more fun in the Philippines…

Hi all!

This is my last post of my trip to the Philippines. As you could imagine, this trip was one of the most memorable trips in my entire life. I am so grateful to travel to so many different places in the Philippines. From the northern regions of the Mountain Province to the Visayan speaking parts of Cebu, I not only learned the different cultures but I was also able to eat a wide variety of food and work with some of the most amazing team members of FNRI. During the couple weeks before we departed, I was able to work in the office where I worked with Stata ( a date processing software), observe the biochemical tests of blood and urine samples, and finalized the presentation about the field work that Grant and I presented to the directors and other employees at FNRI. Our supervisor, Dr. Marina B. Vargas, Ph. D. wrote us a heart-warming farewell letter and presented us three farewell videos of some of the team members we worked with on field at the end of our presentations. In addition, our manager, Miss Czarina Martinez took us on an unexpected adventure to a beautiful modernized church as well as some schools and Chinatown. Just writing this post is making me want to go back to the Philippines. I already miss all the team members, our supervisors, and the Internationals (FNRI Interns) that Miss Czarina termed that got along so well. When else can an Ethiopian, an Indian, a Malaysian, an American, a South Korean and an Italian eat Indian food, drink German drinks, and watch the Filipino sunset at the Mall of Asia…

Only in the Philippines

Pictures:

Celebratory Birthday Dinner at Tongyang Buffet

El Nido

Hello all!

After we came back from the last week of field work, we worked with some of the data the teams recorded in the data processing division of NAMD – FNRI as well as being orientated in Stata (a data organizing software). Due to the fact these two weeks would be the last time in the Philippines for a while, all of the FNRI interns as well as interns from Human Nature decided to travel to El Nido, Palawan. This beach resort which is located in the middle of the Philippines is a popular tourist destination for people all around the world. We went island hopping, swam between islands, relaxed on several beaches and even zip-lined from an island to another one. Even though out Airbnb got flooded and we had to move to another hotel, our time spent in El Nido is now even more memorable.

Pictures:

Orientation on Data Collection and Processing

Cooked Filipino Pancit for the first time

Walking across two islands during low tide

What’s better than puppies on an island?

I ❤️ Cebu

Hi all!

As the title of this blog says it, I love Cebu, Philippines. This southern province has everything… From the falls to the beaches to the delicious dried mangoes, Cebu is a beautiful tropical location for everyone. Tourists are able to cannoneer at Kawasan Falls, experience the skywalk high up on a hotel building as well as relax at a beautiful white beach and swim with whale sharks! During our two week stay in Cebu, we worked in the field with several sub-teams. The supervisor of these sub-teams, Sir Rachie, travelled with us to the different barangays. Just as last time, the members of all the teams provided amazing hospitality and allowed us to assist in their field work. I assisted in the collection of biochemical samples, interviewed the health and food intake information of many households because most of the people speak English, recorded and measured more anthropometric measurements (had to escape a flood at one household!), learned the process to encode and transfer information to the FNRI software, recorded the weight of food before lunch, and located houses in crazy settings. Overall, the trip to Cebu was amazing but only because of the people in the sub-teams who treated us like family and taught us so much more about the kind-hearted people of the Philippines allowed it to be. In addition, the lack of access to healthcare and clean neighborhoods made me realize the poverty in the Philippines and the importance of knowledge on proper nutrition and health as a necessity for the progression of this country.

Pictures:

All the team leaders of sub-teams in Cebu!

Greeted with an amazing sub-team and dinner for the first day in Cebu!

Assisting in the collection of biochemical sample

Interviewed the head of the household on her dietary intake

The local kids performing a popular K-Pop song!

Internship Perks

Missing all the sub-teams 😦

Learning how to encode the data

Locating and interviewing at a house

Fish Spa!

2nd sub-team we worked with!

3rd sub-team we worked with has my long lost twin sister 🙂

Day care is where we slept and where A cockroach bit my eye 😉

Usual pathways to locate houses!

Side trip to the historical fort of San Pedro Fort

Last day of work 😦 final recording of food and a sweet ride on a patrol tricycle

Patrol Ride on a typical street of Cebu

Farewell dinner with remaining sub-teams in Cebu!

Seminar Break

Greetings again! This is going to be a quick blog post because it only covers the last several days. However, we did amazing things that weren’t part of our work because we attended the 44th FNRI Seminar Series which lasted from July 4-6. At the seminar series, poster presentations, nutritional and health talks as well as technical sessions were held. On the second day of the seminar series, the rest of the FNRI interns and I visited the mall of Asia and watched the sunset eating Indian food. It was perfect. Not to mention, we (college students) actually played Laser Tag at the mall against these little Filipino 10 year olds. Definitely a fair game…On the last day of the seminar series, we went to a little restaurant and watched the soccer game. It was a disappointing game. However, our day after that was insane. We woke up early to catch the bus and then took a ferry to Puerto Galera. As soon as we arrived, the tour guides wouldn’t leave us alone. They were just following us until we finally agreed to their tour. It was kind of funny 🙂 After we checked in our hotel, we went snorkeling, and it was exactly like the coral reef episodes on Blue Planet. Soon after, we went island hopping. The second beach was isolated and had amazing waves, so that was perfect for our group. After we landed on the main beach which is called the White Beach, I went parasailing! It was an on the spot decision, and it was so peaceful. Overall, the seminar break was just what we needed before we flew to Cebu.Pictures:Poster Presentations Mycoproteins Mall of AsiaIWU Interns at FNRI Seminar SeriesFerry Ride to Puerta Guerra Snorkeling Island HoppingParasailing Credit: TedThis girl is on fire!

When in Mountain Province

Hey there again! After we moved in with a new team, we traveled to Sagada in the Mountain Province. Not only was the ride there the craziest experience of my life, but the views of the mountains, skies, caves, coffins (yep. i said coffins) and the houses structured on the hills of the province were just incredible. On top of that, we got to explore the rice terraces of Banaue and shower in the falls of Pide with an amazing team. Fortunately, it was much cooler than our last location, and the households where we assessed the health and nutrition had people who were some of the most accommodating people we met. However, we will never forget the memories that the second survey team provided us with. Here are more pictures of our adventures:

The rice terraces of Banaue!

Locating households on the mountain province

An example of home cooked lunch..got to help make it for the team!

sCaving!

Farewells night

Pide Falls!The hike to the falls

Kids literally getting on the “school bus” on the Mountain Province

Goodbye Mountain Province!

New Team New Place New Food

Greetings again! This will be a short post about the last few days in a new Barangay before we head off to the mountains! Not only did I meet the mayor, I also measured the blood pressure for the first time on a cop here in Isabela. I ate at amazing restaurants like most days, and the food only kept getting better, and I lost almost all of my money to the hair salonist who definitely took advantage of my foreignness. In addition, I was somehow in TJ vs. the Wild since I had to hike, jump, balance, and slide my way over to the houses in order to interview them. So it’s been a really good week 🙂

I’ll post next week after the mountain province!

Meeting the Mayor

The road to the houses

A typical house in Isabela

The inside of a typical household

The Makeshift Clinic

Measuring the waist

Anthropometric Team!

Measuring the Mid-Upper Arm

Measuring the BP of a cop

The market

Chicken Sisig

Carnival Game

TJ vs. the Wild

The hotel we were at

First Week!

Greetings!

So… first week of work was amazing. Each day felt like three days only because the survey team, Grant and I were waking up at 4 in the morning. On the first day of work, we travel to 16 households to attain permission to take the health and nutrition survey. On the second day of work, we conduct anthropometric measurements to the family members. In addition to those measurements, we conduct interviews and ask questions about their health and how they eat. During one of those days, we also measure the weight of the food before and after breakfast, lunch and dinner. Traveling to different areas and seeing how people live and eat made us realize how much we take for granted. However, the people of the Philippines always treat us with a smile regardless of their living circumstances. Grant and I traveled to two different Barangays which are government owned public buildings that serve as temporary health centers to record the health information for the people. The survey team we were with treated us like family. Not only were they hospitable and curious, they made us laugh, taught us games and Tagalog which is the Filipino language as well as teach us the importance of community service and the valuable work they have done. We will be going to the beautiful Mountain Province on the 24th; however, there may or may not be internet there! If that’s the case, I will update the blog after we return.

Pictures of Week One:

Organizing Household Booklets

Last Day with Squad #1 :((

This means Hearts and Love

A typical household in Santiago City

The Cutest Lil One

Measuring Height

Sir Allan buying groceries for the homes

Packaging Incentives (Groceries)

Meat Lovers Lunch

The Journey to Santiago

Recording Height

First Epic Survey Team

Interviewing Household #2

Orientation!

Greetings!

Yesterday, we had an orientation at the building we will be working at. Food and Nutrition Center is located right in the city, so we commute using a BMW (By Means of Walking)…Czarina who gave us the orientation informed about BMWs. The building has multiple laboratories, offices and training rooms. We ate lunch at a food court in one of the biggest malls in the Philippines, and I had an amazing coconut milkshake! Today was the field work orientation. I learned that we were going to be given sleeping bags to sleep on the floors in the rural community near the mountainous region and that we would need to hand-wash our own clothes! Isabela is the second largest province in the Philippines and that is where we will conduct surveys, asses the health of the locals as well as try new foods and experience the rural culture. This evening, we will be packing and preparing for our 8 hour journey to Isabela. Can’t wait!!

This is the view from our walk to work.

FNRI Building

They call us “The Internationals”

We were greeting with amazing breakfast as soon as we arrived for orientation!

Welcome to Philippines!

After two frightening flights, we finally arrived in the Philippines! As soon as we landed, it was pouring…typical. We drove for 2 hours before we were dropped off on top of a mountain. Our orientation was going to take place there before everyone was going to be separated. The campus we were staying has incredible greenery and I had fried fish for the first time! It was amazing as it was only half a dollar. The FNRI students and I travelled outside the campus to see the busy streets filled with food, tea, students and pools of water on the thin roads. Fortunately, the weather was amazing. First day is 10/10.

Fried Fish

Campus Art

Middle of Street

Unpacking and Repacking

I just got back from India yesterday after a long 14 hr. flight, and it’s been a stressful day unpacking and packing for my 16 hr. trip to the Philippines in only a day! What is sleep?