Change of Plans...

Well, while Cecille and Emelda are packing up and moving into the temporary birth center we have set up here, I will be getting ready to move to…Manila! Yep, that’s right, plans here can change in a blink of an eye, it’s the fun part about living in the developing world…I will be moving to Manila in about 2 weeks and staying for 3 months apprenticing with a Filipina midwife who has a VERY busy birth clinic down there. Moving to Manila now while the birth center here is being built and clientele established, is giving me the chance to immediately start catching babies getting the experience I came here for. Manila is about a 3 hour bus ride from Olongapo, and one of the largest cities in the world. To tell you the truth, I am a little nervous, because I just got used to living here in Olongapo, and I feel like moving to Manila will be like culture shock all over again, but I know that it will be good for me; and I am definitely learning what being flexible actually meansJ(gotta be flexible in order to be a good midwife!) I will also miss everyone here during the time that I am gone, but I will be back in Olongapo after the three months in Manila just in time to jump into all of the action here. Manila is definitely bigger, busier, and more polluted. Also, Manila does not have as many “Americanized” products that I am able to find in this area. the reason being the US military was based here for a long time making in impact on what food and other products were sold...So, I won’t be able to have my little American treats that remind me of homeL... but, I am excited to get busy and start catching babies!