Wednesday, April 16th

 Off to Tacloban!

Last night I had two hours of sleep before we had to be up to head to the airport. We were only allowed one carry-on which had to be less than 20 lbs to last us the next 5 days. I didn't think it was possible, but I packed light enough to even have a few pounds to spare haha I was proud of myself. Once in the airport, we met up with Assemblyman Rob Banta (for District 18 of California) and his daughter, Reina. From there, we boarded a super small plane, now a group of around 22 people, and we were Tacloban bound!

Never in my life have I been on a small plane like that where we literally walked up stairs into the main cabin. I've seen it in movies and such, but it was such a trip haha anywayys. The plane right was pretty uneventful and it only took an hour to get to our destination. Once we landed though, the mood changed significantly.

Tacloban was one of the cities that was most damaged as a result of the typhoon and that was very evident as soon and we stepped off of the plane. The small airport didn't have a roof or windows and we just saw hundreds of people sitting in the waiting area for their flights. There was debris everywhere and the whole airport was just in shatters. The conveyer belts for the luggage were broken, the roofs were collapsed and just everything was ruined. As we boarded our shuttles and began to drive to our next stop, the City Hall of Tanauan to meet with the Mayor, the devastation was unreal.

I have never seen such destruction in my life. Debris littered the streets and families were living in makeshift shelters made of rubble, sheet metal and tarps- basically anything they could find lying around. It was crazy to me to think that a pile of random debris on the side of the road might be a product of displaced items from hundreds of different owners- all brought together by the force of the typhoon. Most of the ride was just silence aside from the occasional sound of a picture being taken or someone saying something like "wow" or "this is crazy". I honestly almost cried on the way to City Hall because of everything I had seen- the children, families and shells of homes that were literally everywhere you looked.

Taken from the bus window as we drove from the Tacloban airport to our hotel. 

When we arrived at the City Hall, we got the opportunity to speak with the Mayor as he basically told us all of what happened to the city as a result of the typhoon. One story he told us was completely shocking to me. He explained in the days shortly after the typhoon, the city hall actually became a makeshift hospital where a group of American doctors called "Angels" would operate on victims of the typhoon on the office desks in the building. He explained that the roof had been completely blown off due to the severe winds are there were several feet of water on the floors. Being that there were so many injured, the water began to turn red with the blood of all the victims that visited. I was completely in shock as to the graphic-ness of it all. I couldn't imagine having to go through anything like that but he had to remain remotely calm in order to make sense of the chaos to help his people.

Shortly after, he walked us about a block or two behind City Hall to a mass grave which contained the bodies of 600+ citizens were buried, which will eventually become a memorial site. It was such an eerie feeling to be standing on an area of land where you know hundreds of bodies have been laid to rest. On the surface, it just looked like a huge grass field- children playing on it and families going on with their normal days- but the ground beneath carries an unbelievably heavy story of devastation and sorrow. That was such an indescribable emotion for me.

The burial site of 600+ victims of Typhoon Haiyan. 

Tuesday, April 15th

( Sorry for posting these so late- I suck at blogging lol)


Our first stop of the day- sunshine homes. dozens of families found refuge in a cemetery, and built squatter homes there. the minute we stepped out of our Van, we were greeted by young kids, and the first one I spoke to Tonya. She followed right behind me our entire stay there. Immediately on either side, we say small Moslems and gravestones lining the streets as we entered their living space. There was a strong smell of garbage  and urine, and bottles, paper, shoes and other in recognizable items littered the walkways. Everyone there was so inviting and greeted us with a "Hi" and a huge smile.

I almost felt guilty for intruding their homes and their neighborhood with our police protection, cameras and tape recorders. I hope they didn't feel as if we viewed them as a spectacle..

We had the opportunity to interview three different women (Myleen, her daughter and Norma) and learned their origins, how they got there and whether they planned to leave and such. Even though they love in such quite quarters with one another, they each had a completely different story, which reminds me that every person has their own history and circumstance. There are honestly no words to describe how I feel after seeing all that...

What stuck out the most though about the sunshine homes was one little girl on particular, Tanya. She was eight years old and had an infectious smile. Right as we unloaded our van, she was the first kid to greet us, and asked for my name. From that moment on, she was my shadow- flowing me everywhere, holding my hand, calling me Ate, and taking pictures with me. Her and her friends had trouble saying my name, so they just called me Isabella haha. I didn't even mind haha it was the cutest thing!
Now, we are sitting on bamboo huts overlooking the most beautiful water line and ordering food for our lunch at the Island Cove Resort.

Again, I feel almost guilty for being here. .. We could easily pick up and leave the sunshine homes as soon as we felt we got enough footage, but most families have been stuck there for decades. We are literally 5 minutes down the street from that neighborhood, yet we are now in a completely different atmosphere.. Just wow. I am so grateful to be able to eat all this gourmet food and drink with five star service, but it makes me realize that that's not the most important thing in life.

Thank you to the people of sunshine homes for showing me that happiness is a lifestyle, not a product of privileged circumstance... Happiness is about perspective.

---

Later that day, we visited another roadside slum and also our first GK village  (Olaes) . What an amazing experience! The contrast between the slums we had seen previously and that village was night and day. This particular village was very well developed, after 8 years of existence. As we pulled up, we were greeted by a drum.line, color guard and xylophones band!  They put on an entire show for our arrival that really showcased their unity and sense of community.  Everyone was smiling, dancing and speaking to us so graciously. The entire time we were there, people continuously thanked us for what we are doing, and helping create villages across the PI  such as that.

What is awesome about these villages are the values that are instilled in their residents from the very beginning. Before they are awarded a home, they must help build each other's houses for a total of 1,500+ hours. This allows the residents to bond with one another and  work on each other's homes, forming a send of community. The houses they are given from the beginning are simply concrete shells with a kitchen and bathroom- the basic necessities. However, over the years as they gain stability and collect savings from an income, they being to renovate their houses- buying furniture, painting and even adding upper stories! It's just so admirable to see these families that begin with very little, then are granted this new start and completely flourish!

I'm really behind on this blog and I apologize, but I will slowly be updating my blog about the past few days as I find more time! Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, April 15th

Late night discoveries

It is currently 3:17AM in Manila and the past few hours have been jam-packed full of dialog and discovery. Although there is a 2-4 generation gap between myself and a majority of my colleagues, it amazes me how cohesive we have proved ourselves to be. Each and every one of us comes from a different background and set of experiences, yet we are able to understand and compliment one another.

One of my colleagues, Dean, who works as Chief of Staff for Assemblyman Rob Banta and a 3rd generation Fil-Am, asked me what compelled me to come on this trip. In that moment, I was really able to reflect on what I am even doing here and what I am hoping to take back to the States.

Also, having one-on-one dialogue with Tony about our conceptions about the Philippines and the differences in mindsets of our generations really opened my mind to begin to understand where my parents were coming from when they first told me I couldn't go on this trip. Instead of simply disagreeing with my parents' belief systems, Tony encouraged me to listen and sympathize with their POVs, because each of us undergo different experience to shape our beliefs and understandings of the world around us.

Basically, I am just so incredibly grateful to be where I am today, on the other side of the Pacific, gearing up to learn more about my Filipino culture and it couldn't have come at a better time. Back home, a lot of things were beginning to cause stress in my life and began to interfere with who I thought I was and who I was becoming. Although I do not expect to come back to the States knowing 100% who I am and what I want in life, I do hope that I will begin to as I am granted this 9-day getaway from my American life.

In 3 more hours, we will be gathering for breakfast and a debrief of what we will be doing throughout the day! L8rrr.

Monday, April 14th

We out heerreee!

So after a 3 hour delay, we finally left LAX and headed towards the Narita Airport in Tokyo- which took 10 hours. We were supposed to have a 2 hour layover where we were planning to eat REAL ramen and explore the shops, but because of our delay we boarded our next plane to Manila right afterwards.

The whole plane ride, I was watching a ton of movies, listening to awesome music, sleeping and eating. Airplane food actually isn't half bad, just like a TV dinner you'd pop in the microwave. I'm rambling.

Anyways, the whole plane ride and even when we were at the Tokyo airport, it still hadn't settled that I will be here, all the way across the Pacific Ocean for the next 9 days, but I think it's just now starting to feel that way.

As soon as we got off the plane in Manila, we were blasted with heat and humidity! We waited in the immigration lines for probably 45 minutes just packed like sardines with strangers, all sweating together. That's what I call bonding haha. After we got through that line, picked up or bags and walked through customs, we boarded two separate shuttles and headed to Tony's house (which is freaking nice btw).

It was a relatively short ride, but as soon as we hit the local neighborhood lines with squatter homes and store fronts, I was flooded with a bunch of old memories from my last trip which I might explain later. Right as we walked in, we were greeted with platters of rice, lechon and sinigang and we all feasted! It's almost 3AM here, but most of us got our fair share of rest on the plane ride over.

Stay tuned for more adventures to come xo

^^ Here is the first picture we took at the Manila airport of the Mayon Valcano- no it is not the real thing lol

Stuck on this plane. 

We have been on this plane for 3 hours now, and have yet to move.  -_- Our flight was scheduled to leave around 1PM, and now it's 4.. Apparently, there was a problem with the fuel gauge and the fuel  ended up being unevenly distributed or something. I'm lightweight scared haha. Plus I'm starving.. and my butt hurts haha.

The upside tho is that I'm having pretty good conversation with some of the people we're traveling with! I'm super excited for everything about this trip and what will come after that. :)

Hopefully, we get moving soon. I just want to eat  some real ramen at the Tokyo airport, ahhh.

Until next post!

Preparing for liftoff! 

Today is the day I've been waiting for  for the past month. As I'm sitting on the plane right now,  it hasn't settled that in  17 hours, I will physically be in the Philippines.

This morning, I drove up to LAX in a shuttle with Erin, Jen, Rico, Deejay, Tony, Cherry and Al- a few people that I will be spending the next 9 days with.  Out of those people, Erin and I are the youngest and the rest are very involved members in the FilAm community of different generations.

The last time I visited the Philippines was with my family, 12 years ago. At age 7, I don't remember much, but the things I do remember remind me that this trip will be a complete culture shock. What I remember most vividly is the heart humidity, population density and the food! Every day, I would go to the cornerstone with my cousins and buy soda in a ziplock bag and play racquetball in the streets with the neighbors. Now being older, I can't wait to venture  beyond  my Lola's  neighborhood and see different parts of the country.

My expectations for the trip are very different than that of a vacation. Though we do expect periods of downtime, we are scheduled to visit multiple GK villages, slums and other areas affected by the typhoon. The purpose of my presence here is to expose myself to the current state of the Philippines and to further understand my own background. As a college student, I am just beginning to find my identity and I truly believe that this trip will help me do that!

Sorry this post is so scatter-brained, but I will hopefully edit and have more to add once we land!  The plane should be taking off any minute now! Next stop, Tokyo. Then Manila! :)