I think thats the title of the 1970 world cup -funny what songs u remember and what u forget! I can still sing the chorus! Anyways the blog title has nothing to do with footie, I mean back home in Manila, as oppose to back home in UK. All rather confusing really.
The jet lag was tough - straight back to work but kids up at 4am every morning then wanting to sleep all day....Luckily Gianna had exams so she had to leave at 6am but was home by 11 so could sleep. Meanwhile I had to prepare for a conference in Cebu. First ever event for VSOP where they got all the volunteers and partners together part of my KM strategy. Was away for a week and was damm busy - only just getting over it now. I think it was a success and delivered most of the objectives. It ended with an away day at a resort for the vols and staff. Nalusuan Resort - photos in previous blog- tiny island you can walk around in 4 minutes. It is the only privately owned marine sanctuary in the Philippines and it was wonderful - the reef that is- there was a very long pier. the kids counted over 100 blue starfish from one end to the other. http://nalusuan.mencaresorts.com/
The houses on stills were sweet and the water crystal clear. I thought the food limited and drinks a bit pricey. The main thing that put me off was the hordes of days trippers that came for lunch each day shattering any illusion of privacy. If u could hide away in your room for the 3 hours in the middle of the day it would be fine. Considering its proximity to Cebu about 1 hour transfer from airport its fabulous- go on a week day and avoid the rush!
We then went onto Camotes islands - whitest beaches we've visited outside Boracay and Palawan. Very under developed. We took an island tour P1800 and went all over San Francisco and its neighbour Poro connected by a bridge. The caves were great fun. http://www.camotesresorts.com.ph/home.htm. We stayed at Santiago Bay Garden resort = fantastic beach with marine sanctuary and lots of starfish. Great for kids. good value too - food and drink cheap - just very limited- I mean no fresh fish at all on menu yet a huddle of fishing boats on the beach. Sometimes things don't make sense but you learn to live with it.
The boat trip out on pump boats (2 hrs) was as entertaining as ever! On the way out the boat started smoking - the boatmen dived under the boat and freed peanut shells of all things from the water filter. Hummm someone snacking on duty?
On the way back it was like riding the ark! We got on early to get seats away from the engine (and smoke!) and the sides so we stayed dry! We were then entertained by the zoo that was brought on - goats, chickens, chicks, cockerels - the goats were particularly unhappy ....
It was one of those rare family weekends when its just us exploring and it was just what we needed. I also needed just to be back at home and an ordinary week of early nights to get over the hectic August. I was only along weekend but felt much longer and the weather was great- having now been through 2 Augusts I realise that even though rainy season u rarely get more than 10 days bad weather in one go and then as soon as it passes we then get 10 days of great weather so always possible to get to the beach!
Of course whilst we were in Cebu the fighting broke out in Mindanao. The government has been involved in " Peace" negotiations for almost 10 years on the establishment of a Moro ancestral domain. It was announced that an agreement had finally been reached and all parties headed off to Malaysia, who had brokered the deal, to sign a Memorandum of agreement (MOA). Then all hell broke loose - apparently no-one had shared with the senate what was in the deal not even the provinces where they would loose land to the new boundaries - The courts stepped in and declared the MOA invalid as it required constitutional change. The armed faction of the Moros started taking villages by force or at least couple of renegade commanders, venting their frustration at the futility of the 10 years negotiation.
Then things got very inflammatory with senators calling for all out war and for Christians to arm themselves - in other words a complete and utter mess. With civilians caught between a incompetent government and angry and humiliated armed separatists. Our volunteers were initially pulled out but are now back working but confined to "safe " areas - Many people have been displaced by the fighting so there is much work to do sorting out relief supplies as well as trying to advocate for some sort of dialogue although this seems unlikely now. The elections are in 2010 and this government or at least the president is unlikely to attempt anything that will affect her popularity. There is a huge difference between what is on TV and in the press and what is happening on the ground, meaning that its hard to see how any real discussion can take place, when most of the populace so totally uninformed. This is a great link from a well know peace advocate that trys to explain what is actually happening and why...
Marc's job has come to an (amicable) end. There wasn't sufficient work for him to be kept on although the experience was very good. With only 6 months left of my placement we are having to make some decisions about the future fairly soon. One major issue is to sort out our immigration status as we can't stay and work without this settled. We re currently looking at retirement visas believe it or not - you only have to be over 35. I'm seriously looking at job ads and other possibilities like consultancy. Marc is of course also looking for new possibilities although he's unlikely to get something via a advert its more likely to be through word of mouth so we are out networking when ever we can.
The kitties are growing fast. They fell from the roof into our yard about 3 months ago. We are all allergic to them except Angelica which is rather problematic. The plan is that they live outside- today is their first day out the front, as they finished their shots yesterday. It remains to be seen how self sufficient Molly and Run Run become at the moment as they prefer tuna and pilchards to eat, unless they work out how to open a tin, they would not survive long by themselves. Good job they have an attentive nanny Angelica.....
Gianna got her first quarter exam results and did very well with an overall score of 81. This even though she missed 3 weeks of school. All the studying whilst away oviously paid off. I would not do visit U,K again during the school term again though as too stressful, to keep up with school work and too short a time to see people. I think we would some how try and come for longer in May next year when the kids were off. Unless of cousre Gianna swicthes to international school in which case she will have 5 months off next summer - God help us!
