Prenatal Day

Yesterday the midwives and I traveled out to a village called Iram, we have a building there that we can do prenatal checks out of.  We will be going there every Tuesday, but we don’t yet have very many women coming to us because it is taking a while to gain their trust. They are a people group that were displaced from the big volcanic eruption (Mount Pinatubo) in 1991. But the midwives did have one patient who was supposed to be delivering soon and when we got there we found out that she delivered already the night before on her own. She wasnt able to contact us for some reason, when woman here go into labor and don’t have any “load” (money) on their phone to txt the midwife, they just have the baby on their own. It is very sad, but that is one of the reasons why having a birth center is good because a woman can walk to the birth center where the midwives are when she goes into labor, and she doesn't have to have money on her phone in order to contact the midwife to come to her. Anyways, we were led to where the new mom and baby were so that we could do a checkup. The baby hadn’t nursed since it was born 6 hours earlier, so our main goal was to get the baby nursing before we left.  When all was well, we prayed over the mom and new baby and headed home. So for now I will be going with the midwives Jen and Cecille 3 times a week to do prenatal checks and be attending the homebirths. As for Mercy In Actions clinic, the process is going slower than expected and the building of the birth center has not yet been started, they are working very hard to get things going and to get all of the permits and licenses they need, but it is more complicated than one would think. Here is some pics of Iram...

The Market

I have to learn how to get around in Olongapo confidently, and safely, so the Philippine midwives I am staying with decided to take me out today to teach me. The main use of transportation in the Philippines is a Jeepney. I will have to take a pic tomorrow and post it on here, but it is like a very small open bus. They are colored coded depending on where in the town you are going. The ones we have to take from our house to get around are the brown jeepneys with the white top. It cost exactly 12 pesos each way which is about 3cents in American money. The jeepney does not stop only slows down a bit, so you have to hop on quickly and when you are at your destination you knock on the roof and the driver will stop to let you off. On the jeepney there is a padded bench on each side and you have to squish together(like a can of sardines) When I thought that no one else could possibly fit the driver let 2 others on. Good thing I am not claustrophobic! Once we reached the market we all hopped off and joined the bustle of Pilipino’s buying and selling things. To explain what the market is like in American terms-it is like a HUGE Saturday market but people also sell electronics, clothes, toys, ect...The people treated me like a celebrity always saying hi maim, beautiful girl, pretty girl, wow look at her, what is your name? Are you wearing contact lense?(they find it hard to believe that my eyes are actually blue) It is saddening in a way of how much they want to be like Americans-the people here never want to be out in the sun, and buy whitening products for their skin even...The fruit and vegetables here are amazing and fresh, I bought 9 mangoes for 80 pesos which is about $1.75. Seeing the meat on the other hand was very interesting. The smell of raw meat is not very appetizing to me anyway and the meat lays out on tables the entire day waiting to be purchased. carcasses would be hanging with flies on them and animal heads would be staring right at you…I am sure that it was fresh; just butchered even; just the way that it was presented made me think about if I wanted to ever eat meat again... There are many beggars in the market and the little kids try to sell you plastic bags to put your stuff in, one little boy and 2 girls came up to me to try to sell me one, and I gave them my fried plantain shish kabob instead. It seemed they were more pleased with that than if I would have buyed the bag. Next was going to the grocery store, unlike the grocery stores in the states, it is very hard to come by milk or cheese, lettuce, or spinach and many other things. If one wanted to buy a more Americanized brand of something, it would be very expensive. A box of cocoa puffs was selling for $10.80. But most things are very inexpensive here, I bought some stuff to make spaghetti for dinner for the family tonight, hamburger meat and all and paid 436 pesos which is about $9.00, don’t you wish food was that cheap in the states? All in all I had a blast going through the market. It is so interesting and fun to experience a whole different culture! I feel like I will get used to living in the Philippines soon, my jet lag is slowly resolving!

What are you looking at?

The people loved posing when I would take a pic

Those fish were still alive flopping around

yum yum

       

Day 1: Jet lag plus culture shock!

Wow! I am finally here and made it safely... As we walk off our airplane into Manila I realize that the hardest part of the trip has just begun. I am with the Penwell family(the people who started and run the organization Mercy In Action.) so it is Vicki, her son Ian, his wife Rose and their 3 children who are 7, 2, and 3 years old. First we all had to go to the bathroom(comfort room is what it is called here, even though it is not the least bit comfortable) They are very different from the states because the philippinos do not use toilet paper. It is too expensive and clogs up their sewer system. So instead, right beside the toilet is a spray nozzle like what you would find by most peoples sinks in America that one rinses off with when they are done. I still have not figured out how one would get clean by doing that or afterwards how to dry off, so I bought toilet paper for myself right away lol. Next we had to go through immigration, and customs, then baggage claim, all in all took over 2 hours just to do that. As we walk out of the Manila airport under the sign “bay 7” waiting for Scott (Vickis husband to spot us and pick us up) it was like we had entered a different planet. The smell is horrendous, garbage everywhere and pollution so heavy that there is a smog/smoke cloud everywhere you go. It is very humid and hot which just makes the smell so much worse. The philippino people are very kind but also VERY nosy; we are stared at and followed constantly because of being white (they love white people.)  As we wait with a sea of people around us taking in the sight, sound, and smell of Manila, I start to wonder what I was thinking even coming here and if this was a good idea. But deep down I know that this is where I am supposed to be and is what God has planned for my life right now.

Finally Scott found us, loaded up our bags and we hopped into Mercy In Actions ambulance, it is a 3 hour drive from Manila to where we are living which is in Olongapo city. Rose and Ians little ones are so excited that they don’t have to be in car seats or even buckles because there are literally no traffic laws here, not even a set speed limit; What was meant to be a 4 lane road turned into six lanes. I could literally shake hands with other people that were driving beside us because of how jammed it was. Also pedestrians do not have the right away and one will get hit if they cross the street when there is a car coming down the road. It is about 5am Philippine time when we arrive to our apartment complex. We are dead tired by now and are very excited to finally be here. The apartments are actually pretty nice, I am living in one with cecille(a philippina midwife) Jen(also a philippina midwife) her husband Jokes and 2 children 71/2 month baby boy and 11/2 year old boy. I share a room with Cecille and the other 4 all share the other room and one “family bed.” The first thing I did was put my sheets on my bed and crashed waking up 2 hours later to start my first day in the Philippines...here some pics, I cant figure out how to flip them the right side up though...

My side of the bedroom

Our living room/dining room/laundry room/kitchen all in one shot

Living room

Dining room

bathroom(notice how it has toilet paper! It didnt before I got there lol)

Cecille holding Jens baby boy! Oh so cute!

Oh the joys of packing

Well lets just say that packing is probably the hardest part of traveling! One not only has to decide what and how much they are going to pack, they have to be careful about not packing stuff that will get them caught at security; I had to add up all the liquids I have, weigh and measure my luggage and on and on....ect. Lets just say last night and today was STRESSFUL. I didn't realize that I should have started this whole packing extravaganza a week ago. Anyways I finally got everything packed up and left Prineville today, drove here to my dads house and we are heading up to Seattle tomorrow where I will be flying out of Thursday. When I left home(Prineville) today, everyone was in tears, including almost all my little siblings and myself. It was a tough day, I have never been away from home for longer than 3 months so this will be very challenging. I already miss them. But, I know that this is going to be an adventure of a lifetime and I am going to learn sooo much, not only about midwifery but culture, which I think America has lost in a way. Well, I think I am going to turn in early tonight, have to be out the door tomorrow by 5:30am because my dad has some appt. in Portland on our way out to Seattle. Magandang gabi po! Which means goodnight in tagalog 
(the main language they speak in the philippines).
-Alyssa 

4 more days...

So, only 4 days left until I board a plane to the Philippines! This morning I showed a little video and spoke at Eastside church to get spiritual/prayer/financial support during my travels. I am so thankful to all who donated and to all who are praying for me. I was very nervous but everyone said my nerves didn't show, I am very glad it went smoothly! After church I went shopping for things I need for my trip and realized how expensive traveling can get. I still need to get a few more things, and pack. I am trying to spend every extra spare moment with my family and friends in the craziness of everything. Yesterday my family got together and threw a going away party for me, I felt very loved and it hit me how much I am going to miss them. I have never been away from home for longer than 3 months...I guess thats part of growing up though. The other day my little sister said the cutest thing, she told my step dad Dave "Did you know Alyssa is going to go to the Philippines?" Dave said sarcastically "She is! What for?"...and she said very nonchalantly "To sell babies". hahaha! Anyways I want to end this post with one of my favorite quotes which is written by Dr. Seuss, and it is "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better its not."
Until next time,
-Alyssa