Gianna about her holiday going to England, Wales, Scotland and Amsterdam

When it was the day I was going away, I woke up and felt absolutely scared! But I could not stop now. The whole day I was getting ready and at lunch I went to see my Dad for the last time before I went away. I was very sad about it but I had to be strong! After that I went to the airport and we went to the Cathay pacific airline office. Then I said Good bye to Mom and Erica (but before I had said bye to angelica.) After that it was very quick getting there to the gate then at around 6:30pm I went on the plane. I went to the desk for BA and for 3 hours i did nothing! Then I met this lady on the plane and she was from Trinidad and Tobago but looked Indian and was surprised that I knew were she was from. Once I got off the plane i went to meet my Gran and Grandad ,we took a plane to Edinburgh then I stayed there for 10 days. While I was there I went to museums, climbed Arther's seat and had fun. I went to Carlise to be picked up by my Grandma then I went with Grandma to her house. while I was there I went to Howorth for the day and i really enjoyed it. I stayed with Grandma for 10 days. For my birthday I went to the official Liverpool football shop and got a Liverpool football t-shirt from my moms side of the family. I am really happy about that present, Before, I went to Amsterdam for a surprise to see my mom . I went to Anne franks house and I felt really affected, Then Bryony came to pick me up to go to Cardiff. It was Enda's birthday so that was one of the reasons I went to Cardiff.(Enda got a ipod Touch for his birthday) then I went to London and then!! It was Mayas birthday!! Before Maya's birthday I went to see my friends Holly, Zoe and Eve that really was the best part of the holiday. Finally on Tuesday the 2nd I went to the airport with Erica and they had a lovely skyflyers lounge it was amazing!! And I got to watch the last episode i would be able to see in Britain for a long time......Eastenders!!!!!! When i got to Hong Kong I did the same thing again like what I did in Hong Kong going there, instead it was for 6 hours!!!! but when I arrived in manila it was 12 midnight and that was the end of that....

By Gianna Molly Mulville Zanetta


P.S My birthday is on Thursday!!!!! I will be 11

Giannas Holiday Pics from her Camera (and Angelicas first day at school)

The wind of change...

So much has happened in the last 2 months there has been no time to blog ! We moved house about a month after my last post, in mid April. After much searching we opted for a lovely big bungalow in San Lorenzo in Makati . Its right at the top end of our budget but as the location is so perfect we decided to go for it. Marc can walk to work and the kids to school. I can walk to the MRT and get to work min 40 mins for 25 peso. So we decided to not get a car and go for the better house as would improve our quality if life so much more.

Think sort of Kensington / Chelsea type of neighbourhood with fancy big shops nearby - so convenient to have Prada at the end of the road darling!!! Its another gated village but green and has park and tennis courts although not as good as Philam and no pool ( lots of house have their own pools but not us)

Its a 3 bed house all en suite with dressing rooms/areas in each - Of course slightly over the top for a 5 year old to have an en suite .....We also have a guest room/den which has its own toilet shower and french doors onto the garden - we have put Sky in there so people who come to stay will have their own space ....(come on guys). There is a huge thru living/dining area that also leads onto the garden which was one of the selling points aside from the location. I think I said before that its very hard to find a garden in the Philippines and this is the perfect size, not too big to handle (meaning paying gardener for lots of days) ,but still big enough to play in and have barbies.

We're only 20 mins from the airport now and staggering distance home from the nightlife in Makati what more can a girl want! Car and driver? (only joking) Its yaking sime time getting used to seeing so many ex-pats after being a rarity in Quezon City where we lived b4. We have a belgium guy next door and Brit opposite......I still get a healthy dose of reality every day when I go to work which is back in poor Barangay in QC..nice office in big house but usual chaotic neighbourhood......

The move was a nightmare and I do not want to do it again for at least another 2 years - we had accumulated so much stuff and the bureaucracy of changing/cancelling utilities was mind bogglingly complicated. It took 2 tortuous trips in a van down EDSA to move our stuff. I just don't know how we accumulated so much. Even so our furniture looks a bit lost in the house as there is so much space. I will have to start scavenging around ex-pats as they leave, for cast-offs in next month or so....

The week after we moved in Erica arrived and it started raining even though it was supposed to be summer - Erica seemed to have attracted biblical downpours wherever she has been on her world trip so far ...luckily the weather did clear and we had a great weekend at the old favorite Mayamaya and we then went off for girlie weekend to Paradise Island (truly!) In Palawan and swam with turtles saw the most amazing fish.http://www.clubparadisepalawan.com/ - Thanks erica for the treat I LOVED IT!!

Erica and Gianna got on so well - Gianna played tour guide around Manila until she left for the UK. Of course lovely to have a good old friend to stay and hard to say goodbye. Till next time

Gianna flew to UK by herself and loved it not bad at 10 years old.......I think she has been a little homesick from time to time but overall seems to have enjoyed it - Her grand tour has taken in Scotland/Birkenhead/Cardiff /Amsterdam and London!

I have now started the new job proper although for 6 weeks I was juggling both the VSO Job and WGNRR which was exhausting. Almost as soon as I accepted the job it became clear I needed to get up to speed as quickly apossible. I have already been to Amsterdam twice in 2 months and will need to go again at least twice more this year - I am enjoying it so far but still a little nervous of the unknown! I have my first full board meeting this weekend here in Manila. Apparently my predecessor left her first meeting in tears - I mean they can't be that bad can they?

I am very excited by the new challenge and the opportunity to gain expertise in a completely new field - Reproductive and sexual health rights. Put simply we campaign alongside our members (2000) and partners to get governments and UN to adopt a rights and social justice approach to population. The theory being that population control does not work and is flawed in its approach, evidence shows that population drops when women have better access to health and basic rights such as education/security and food, not just because contraception is available. We of course also campaign for access to contraception and abortion but that alone will not work. Our work falls under the Millennium Development Goals, another new area to develop expertise for me ! I am hoping this will make my next career move much easier as I will have gained a specialism within Development alongside my management experience, the lack of which made job hunting more difficult this year. I may even sign up for a masters at UP next year = My new Chair is the head of Woman's studies at University of the Philippines and it would help no end to have a masters under my belt to compliment my new field. This is all of course getting a little ahead of myself have to wait and see how the first 6 months go first :)

We went away at Easter to Pagudpud in Northern Luzon, flying to Loaog - I liked Pagudpug which is a beautiful long white beach right at the to of Luzon island - the accommodation is disappointing as all concrete and no nipa style huts.We stayed at http://juncarolbeachresort.com/ which was ok for P2000 and had a TV a requisite for Marc who had to get up at 2 am to watch football!

2 days we travelled over to Blue lagoon (which is really blue), by trike which I really enjoyed but was hell for Marc crouched inside

We ate lunch a fab resort http://www.tjhawaii.com/kvr/about.asp which is where we would stay if we went again - the food was excellent - they had their own garden for herbs and veggies. There is surfing there later in the year

On the way back we stopped in Vigan which I really liked - we took a ride in the horse drawn cart which was great and ended up at a surprisingly nice zoo owned by the local (ex-film star) ex senatorhttp://www.chavitsingson.net/baluarte/ . That night we got the overnight bus back to Manila 12 hours which was not too bad except as usual did not have enough warm clothes - Mental Note: next time take pillow, woolly hat and blanket like everyone else!

Finally (its happening to me!) ........90's dance anthem for those of u unfamilar with the summer of love or madchester :)

Yes another entry starts with the title from a song in the last millennium - one of my fave dance tracks actually
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Ydwvwyeqo one for the funeral procession I reckon :) Maybe could do a lap of honor around the M25 before having a party in muddy (cold) field :)

Anyways no I have not embarked on a new romance (or planing anyones funeral) very happy with the love I currently have BUT I HAVE GOT A JOB here in the Philippines. Timing wise could not have been more perfect as I really was beginning to despair. Job hunting here proved much harder than I anticipated particularly to get anything with a semi decent salary. The job is with the Woman's Global Network for Reproductive Rights http://www.wgnrr.org/
I got the call whilst at the top of cititower with friends which led to a bottle of champers overlooking the manila skyscrapers quite appropriate for a much awaited celebration!!

My role is co-ordinator and I have an office here in Manila and one in Amsterdam to co-ordinate. They are a campaigning organisation which is a new departure for me but having spent 25 years working in advice/information/help services issues relating to woman's health and contraception are very familiar. Its a major area in development at the moment as linked to the Millennium Development Goals - basically we can't improve the health of the poor if we do not start by improving woman and their children's health and to do that we need to address inequalities, lack of education , access medical care etc etc.

So all exciting stuff. I'm under no illusion it looks like a tough job - the team did not get on with the last co-ordinator and she left - there's a lot of mistrust so I'm not expecting a smooth ride. But what they don't know is how much I needed this job so I won't b easy to unseat and want it to make it work!!

The package is good not quite ADB standards but fantastic for here . We will be self sufficient and able to move house and finally buy a car. At the moment we are trying to decide whether we upgrade in Philam, where we live now, as we love it here, or whether we move nearer Marcs work and Gianna's school. The properties I have looked at so far are in Makati are all horrible and not as nice as we have now but twice as expensive - seems like we will have to pay a fortune to get something as nice and I don't want to over commit ourselves at least not till the dust settles on the new jobs . Our house current contract is however up at end of April so we don't want to get tied in here another year.

I am still so excited about the new job and new life I am sill waking up at night. The VSO adventure was always a temporary situation and we never knew what would happen at the end. This feels very different, that we are making a commitment to stay here and pursue careers - which may eventually lead back to UK but then again may not. I have said before that the last 2 years were frustrating as felt a little like camping or being on a long holiday in our own house - we can now put down some roots and take a longer view.

Yesterday was Angelica's birthday - 5 years since she was born and the house burnt down. She had a great day with her nanny went to the pool and her favorite playplace and had a birthday tea . The real action is on Saturday at Burger King where her class mates will join her in a BK frenzy. Its very tricky the whole birthday party thing here because the kids will usually turn up with siblings, parents and nannies in tow making a huge amount of people to feed for just 12 kids. However I just don' t have the mental capacity to arrange anything myself at the moment and will close my eyes when I sign on the dotted line. For my money I do get everything a party host, give aways, party bags, balloons decorations, banners we literally just have to turn up and at least I like BK whoppers. They give out free massages at BK here so I can distress at the same time as have the birthday party - now that's pretty unique

Angelica has now finished school and graduated (from one nursery class to another) in another round of pomp and ceremony wholly inappropriate for a 5 year old but there we go! The more challenging issue is that she is now off school for 3 months - Gianna finishes in 10 days but I have decided to pack her off to Europe for a month to keep her occupied. We have holiday plans in April so hopefully I can find suitable activities for the few weeks in between for her.

Life in the Philippines continues to amuse and amaze in equal measure - they are currently trying to reopen a nuclear power station positioned on an earthquake fault???? How cleaver is that? The local TV network shot footage of the assignation of 4 car by 14 police - their story was the robbers shot back whilst the footage showed the cops just walking up and firing in car where they sat! The usual bribery scandals going straight back to the palace although the administration is slowly realising that the new American administration is taking a very different view on the Philippines, and that the human rights abuses and corruption here means there ain't no special relationship any more

The horror stories of the impact of the recession play out daily on the TV but u would never realise there was a world recession walking around Manila . Buildings are still going up at dizzying speeds and the malls are full to the brim. There is talk of overseas workers loosing their jobs and Marc is seeing a sort of slow down on the recruitment side but at the same time many banks and outsourcing companies are actually coming here. The rate of sterling continues to be very depressing for those of us with savings in pounds - if I had bought my car this time last year I would have got one worth 25% more than the one I can afford today ouch! I get my end of service grant in May and it will be worth 30% less than what it was when I first arrived thats a lots of pesos when talking of over 2K pounds.

VSO is having to make big cuts in budgets as 75% of its income comes from UK government yet it funds its activities overseas - so costs here have increased by 25% just because of exchange rate. There is an emergency meeting at the office today to work out how to make 25% savings on an already stripped down budget.

New Years Eve 100 islands and Bolinao

We returned from Nasugbu to Manila undecided whether to stay in the city or leave for New Year. In the end we decided, last minute, to leave for 100 islands on NYE. It was the wrong decision timing wise, but I will get to that in a moment. We caught the bus from Cubao (Victory Liner) to Almininos, which was a really quick easy journey as the roads were empty (3.5 hrs usually 5). At Alaminos we took a trike into Lucap, the jumping off point for 100 islands - on the way we passed a great many stalls, with piles of what looked like homemade fireworks- someone had helpfully hung up a cardboard sign saying no smoking, but knowing how Filipinos like to flout written rules ,it did not inspire confidence and the kids were kept in the trike, which probably was not that much safer. Marc decided to buy some fireworks to help let in the New Year. So there we were, in our little trike, with several large rockets sticking out the back, just the same as every other bike or trike we passed - thank god nobody ran into one another or it would have been like Beirut.

We arrived in Lucap, fireworks intact, which is basically a dump of a place and I would NOT recommend it to anyone....We realised too late that most people seem to merely pass thru on their way to the islands ... consequently it is NOT the place to be for New Years Eve.

The main attraction of our night was as ever the karaoke, but even then but the only singer was Gianna, in a deserted bar that shut at 9pm. We had decided we would eat at the recommended sea restaurant at 8 - which closed at 7.45.......so retired hungry and grumpy to our hotel room to eat our left over sandwiches. I suppose things did hot up at midnight when there were lots of fireworks and motorbikes dragging bin lids, but as I could see at least one person with their gun in their back pocket, we stuck to the hotel lobby to watch the ensuing mayhem....what was a deserted town now resembled a war zone.

All I could hope was that this was not an omen for 2009.....stuck in a war torn backwater with old sandwiches and no pubs for the next 12 months!!!!!

Luckily we did have a bottle of wine and another of fizzy to drown our sorrows - needless to say getting a million texts from people all over the world having fun was most irritating, so I switched off my phone, sorry guys!

The next day was better (could it be worse?) and we went off around 100 islands which is the picture with Gianna in the foreground. It was ok ...... but theres better places and it certainly does not warrant a night in Lucap hell....... The highlight for Gianna was the Pinoy Big Brother house which apparently u can rent and for Angelica playing with Mary on the beach (see pics)

Happily we set off for Bolinao late afternoon and caught a packed bus that got in just b4 sunset. Eventually we managed to find a great beach place to stay, but it was mere perseverance that we kept going and did settle for another bar less/restaurant less hut, the previous nights ordeal was still fresh in my memory and I was not going to settle for anything less than beach and cold beer on tap.....

Its one long road from Bolinano down to lighthouse near the resort Treasures of Bolinao http://www.treasuresofbolinao.com/which is actually 17 km from the town...once it was dark it was near impossible to know where we going to end up or where to stop... best to get there in the day next time

The place we stayed was called and was a fabulous find http://villacarolinabeachresort.webs.com/roomsandamenities.htm- lively, right on great beach and cheap with a rather kitch pool with Rialto (Venice) bridge over it. see the site!!!...it had 3 karaokes was incredibly loud but had cold beer and was just what the doctor ordered. It is owned by a Belgian ex-seaman and his Filipina wife. They had a 10 year old daughter who Gianna got on with really well so the place was pretty much perfect ....Well for 2 nights, after which I think the karaoke would wear a little thin. The place next door looked great http://www.puntarivieraresort.com/ but we tried to eat there and the food and service was appalling

Anyways I LOVED Bolinao my new favorite place on Luzon and definitely the best overland trip close to Manila (5.5 hours). The sand is lovely,theres a huge beach, big waves, cheap places to stay and mostly self catering . The best place to stay if one wants to splash out is Puerta del sol...http://www.puertodelsol.com.ph/main.html absolute dream of a place P3800 per night, real 5 star resort. Only P200 for a day pass so can even stay in small nipa hut or camp and crash all day by the pool..

Finding Bolinao made the Lucap trauma worth it.....hopefully we will be back before too long.

January has been tough. Applying for a few things, but mostly getting fed up at lack of opportunities to try for...Have applied and been accepted for UN Volunteers which actually pay a very good wage for here and allowance for family etc. If I got a posting here would be a good side step, but bit of a long shot that the right vacancy will come up within the right time frame. Once in with the UN should be possible to switch to paid consultants work or at least that would be the plan.

Waiting on a couple of applications at the moment, one with a Dutch organisation one with the Canadians and I can extend with VSO of course, but the uncertainty is killing me. I suspect, unsettling Gianna too, a she would still prefer to back to UK.

Marc seems to be settling better into his job although its tough getting up at 5.10 everyday and its a culture shock working in a wholly Filipino company. If we knew I had something here we could make decisions about moving house nearer to work or school and/or get a car..

If nothing happens here by May I will have to start applying for jobs at home and then hope for interviews in June/July...Hope to get back to UK in May/June or at least send Gianna by herself.

We spent a week in E.Samar making my first film which was great - a real highlight of my time here. We filmed lots of local communities around Matarinao Bay which provided a fascinating insight into life on the coast. People have very simple houses made of local materials, mostly on stilts in the mangroves, living off fishing and farming or trying to... The film was about some of the alternative livelihood projects in seaweeds, crab ranching and coco rope. I have to say, everytime anyone said crab ranching I sort of expected to see someone lasso a crab wearing a stetson....the picture would just not disappear from my head

Angelica came too and loved it - out on the boats and visiting the communities. She would find herself a friend to play with and she'd be happy...she even ended up in the school one day. The hardest thing was to keep her out of the film and this was not entirely possible

The cats are growing up quick, rather too quick - Molly has been disappearing this week with her "boyfriends" as Angelica politely calls them -Skanky old toms more like... Poor old Ran Ran, her brother ,has been beside himself not only because he keeps looking for her , but when she comes back she does not want to know him - Little do they both know they are off to the vets tomorrow for their ops! The last thing we need are more kittens, which is what will surely follow very soon if action is not taken now.

Better get back to the applications :)

Xmas and New Year 2008

Well can’t believe Xmas is here again – Its come around so quickly – still not used to this Xmas in the summer lark. There are of course lots of lights, Christmas carols everywhere trains/buses/shops and has been since early September. House sand tower blocks are covered in lights and everyone wants a Xmas tip…..but somehow still miss the wrapping up warm, fires, hot toddies – probably romanticising about it now as sure would be cold and miserable if actually there.

Talking of cold the girls are “shivering”as the temp as finally dipped down to around 24/25 and it feels positively cool. Up in Baguio which is higher up it apparently got down to 9 degrees and everyone is talking about it.

Mum is now back home and I think the trip was a success. It worked out more costly than expected as the pound took a dive half way thru her time her to below P70 to the pound. Good job we have dollars here to live on at the moment as the pounds we would otherwise have to bring over would be worth 25% less than when we arrived! Otherwise the financial crisis has not hot here yet. The buildings are still going up at an incredible rate and the malls are full and busy.

On the news we see reports of retailers closing so it seems the reach crunch at home is yet to hit home ...although the rate relief is of course very welcome when I actually find out what it is as have lost internet passwords I no have idea what is happening.

Marc has stared his new job as Business Development Manager for the executive search department at a recruitment Agency. It’s a very exciting job, lots of responsibility with his own team. Hes been rather stressed as thrown in at the deep end doing strategic planning and budgets for next year. But he seems to be enjoying the perks playing with his very posh new mobile phone and laptop. The hours are very long and will remain so until we either sort out a car or move house. Neither of which we can plan until we know what sort of job or income I am going to get.

Up until Marc getting the job I had sorta thought we could move elsewhere in Asia or even the Pacific but now Marc has found something he seems to enjoy at least so far, and would look good on a CV anywhere in the world – I will concentrate my efforts here in the Philippines. His salary is not enough for us to live on (yet) but pays the rent and the school fees so goes a long way to supporting our outgoings.

I have applied for a few things without any success – I’m also chasing some consultancy work with both local and overseas companies ……Hey maybe Marc cab get me a job thru his work? I’m looking at an official end date at Easter although I can extend – we could survive for another 6-8 months on my VSO allowance and savings with Marcs money but I am now getting fed up of making the sacrifices and the uncertainty.

I WANT my car and some decent furniture if we are staying – feels we have been living in temporary circumstance's for too long and I’d like to make a proper home if we are staying. The house we have is great but everything in it was purchased with the short term in mind – it would be a relief to feel we have made some long term decisions.


The run up to Xmas was hectic with lots of social engagements with friends and work mates. I was also away for 3 trips immediately b4 Xmas implementing some of my KM initiative's out in the provinces. Angelica performed a great Xmas number with her classmates which I’ll upload via You Tube.

I took Gianna to Tondo, a tip where people live as rubbish pickers just to remind her that there is another side to Manila. She was a real trooper after getting over the retching caused by the smell of the dump which people live in. There were 300 manic kids inside all having their first Xmas party - there was nearly a Santa stampede. It was hot smelly and fun at the same time just shocking to see how people live. People at home have no idea how lucky they are to have the welfare state and no matter how grotty accomodation, is will be better than a cardboard house on a dumpsite.

On the way home we went via the new school being built from old donated container trucks. Truly inspired but still needing funds for completion. Education is probably the only way out of the dump for most of the kids you see in the photos.

What a contrast to the way we live ..

We went off to a house near Mayamaya Resort, Nasugbu over Xmas with friends Leona, Michael and Ashley. Jerome and his Girlfriend Lynette came and joined us so was a quite a party on Xmas day. Mel, kids and friends also joined us at the house and we joined them at the resort – so we didn’t feel too lonely. Xmas was a huge success for the girls – they were happy with their (Ebay) Nintendos and and Angelica with her pink barbie car that spent more time in the pool than dry land but seems to have survived.

The Jury is still out as far as New year is concerned I could happily hang out in Manila till we go back to work on the 5th January but Marc, who of course travels much less than me would like another trip to the provinces maybe 100 islands national park to the north of Manila. So watch this space…I rather fancy seeing the Manila mayhem that is New Year but once we’re in the middle of it we may of course think differently. Seems like I have been constantly travelling since we got back in the summer, sometimes really not knowing what island I was on, but then I won’t complain as there could be worse options such as tied to a desk in Manila…..or London!

So what for 2009 ? Usual January diet and a week in Samar making a film on fishing sanctuaries and alternative Livelihood projects. A trip to Davao and lots of job applications….things slowed down over Xmas so hoping new opportunities will present themselves in the NY. I will apply for UN volunteers which get paid a very good wage for here and see if any short term placements in case nothing else comes up. Erica is doing her grand tour so hope to see her and some other visitors this way ...they were a bit thin on the ground in the second half of 2008. (hint hint you know who u are!)

I miss all my friends and family at this time of year and of course I hope we will make it home for a trip if we don’t move back in 2009. Maybe in May this year to avoid last years stresses but then again I’m desperate to get to a festival so may need to reconsider . Feeling rather old these days so need to spend more time with degenerates my own age so I don’t feel l'm the oldest raver in town!!…. One thing I have learnt is that you cannot replace 10/20/30 +year friendships, how lucky one is to have them in the first place and how important it is to stay in touch...

So to u all (newer friends included of course) - love you lots - a really big hug and got have a great 2009 -we'll meet somewhere sometime during the year I hope..

Anyway have to go – need to decide whether we are leaving or staying in Manila tomorrow…..

Happy New Year xxxxx