Arrival, first impressions, orientation, rules and daily life
Due to the fact that Asian countries and especially the Philippines are different to our home country Germany, we had to get along with cultural differences on the one hand and distinction of our surroundings on the other hand. Two of the main topics for us are the climate and the food.
When it comes to the climate you could say that you need a very long time to get used to that, so that we do not feel completely comfortable yet. In our first days even walking or just sitting around were so exhausting that we had to rest almost the whole day although the temperatures now are quite ,,cold’’ in comparison with the rest of the year. Step by step we adjust to the climate so that we are able to work outside without bigger problems. Though we are sweating a lot more than in Germany wherefore we have to take a shower directly after finishing with work and change our clothes more often.
Our first experiences with food were almost entirely positive, so that we established together with Irene, a 25-years old Disaster Recovery Management student from the Netherlands, a list of food we want to try including things like Taho, Kwek Kwek or Balut at one of our first days here. During the first week, we already tried things like Kwek Kwek, Lobsterballs, Squidballs or Taho but also Adobo, squid with tentacles, the One-Day-Old, Halo Halo and other traditional or popular meals. Thereby we experienced that almost everything in the Philippines tastes sweet, even for example spaghetti and other food which is normally spicy in Europe. Of course there were dishes that we did not like at all, but that was rather the exception.
What directly comes to my mind when I think about the mindset of Philippine people is their obliging, helpful and especially happy attitude even if their life is not easy in some cases. The people we met are always anxious to help us in every situation and with every problem that arose up during our first weeks. For instance, Ricky and Julia, who are students at Ateneo, accompanied us to the University and answered all our questions. Afterward Julia also advised us in joining sport opportunities and also had dinner with us in the evenings. Moreover Michelle showed us the campus on our first day and the members of the office of sustainability always kept an eye on us and tried to help us as much as they could. Our supervisor Jaime was always exerted to help us in every concern that appeared during our first weeks. Not to enumerate all the people who helped us to settle in the new surroundings.
What really got to us was the jetlag we had for a few days. It was quite exhausting to adjust to the climate and the time difference at once. In our first night after around 30 hours without sleep we just slept for four hours and were awake the whole night. In our second night the procedure was almost the same, so that we were really tired during the day. Therefore it took us around seven days to sleep the whole night.
In our first week at the Ateneo de Manila University we got instructed by representatives of the Ateneo offices like the ACED (Ateneo Center for Educational Development), Pathways To Better Education, Gawad Kalinga and AIS (Ateneo Institute of Sustainability), which are important for our volunteer work.
As we got to know, contents of our daily work in our first months in the feeding program of the ACED will be kitchen and feeding operations as well as data collection, visiting kindergarten classes and, at the beginning of the next year, Brigada Eskwela. However, one of the main topics of the feeding program is the reduction of malnutrition, stunting and wasting among children in poor areas of Manila. So far we visited the Bagong Silangan Elementary School and the Elementary School in Cainta, where we supported the parent volunteers and the ACED kitchen staff in preparing and packing the food and also handing the meal to the children and cleaning afterwards.
volunteers
Included in our first instructions was a presentation by Abby Favis about disaster management in the philippines. She points out that many people in endangered areas are not aware of the safety measures and do not have a foresight on possible future disasters. To improve the situation people in power have to separate the three factors hazard, exposure and vulnerability to minimize the risk for humans and their possessions.
Additionally the Office of Pathways to Better Education tries to balance the lack of confidence, financial problems and lack of academic preparation of students in public schools, where the learning conditions are often not acceptable to educate appropriate. Maybe we will have the chance to join some of their weekend activities during our stay.
In our fourth week we worked in the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability, where we made campus microclimate profiling. To create a map, we had two routes on campus, one which includes traffic and open fields and one in a forest on campus. On these routes we had several stops – every two hours at the same time at the same place – where we measured indicators like current wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure and heat stress index. On the basis of this results, Abby constructed charts of their development during the day.
Based on cultural differences, there are different rules and norms to obey. For example is the patriotism way more distinct than in Germany, so that you have to stop and just wait when the national hymn is played in the mornings. Of course there are other behaviors you have to follow, just as avoiding conflicts whenever you can and using a mediator instead of facing the other person, or respect the very religious attitude of the inhabitants. Moreover some gestures are rather typical for the Philippines, for instance the mano to show your respect for authorities like priests or older people.
In general we really enjoyed our first weeks in the capital of the Philippines. So far we received so many impressions by living here, trying to experience the culture, talking to people and working in these new surroundings that we are looking forward to explore the multifaceted country not only in a tourist way but also through the view of locals.
