Bumalik ako sa Maynila!
Where to start! I have returned to Manila to attend an Annual General Meeting of the Asia Pacific Group for Anti-Money Laundering for work. Now that I am back I realise how the Philippines and Manila really are a part of me now. It's wonderful. The familiar 'hello ma'am', the warmth and business of Manila streets, the friendliness of the Philippino people. I only realise now just how much I miss this place! I don't know if anyone ever read my blog, or continues to check it once in a while to see if I have got my butt into gear and actually finish off this blog as I promised. Somehow returning I feel an urge to do that again. We will see how I go!
Last Day at Work
For my last day at NCRFW I attended part of the Board meeting in Mabini Hall, Malacanang. Of course there was a surprise for me - presentation of a beautiful plaque by the Commission. I'll post a close-up picture of it soon.
Being presented the plaque by Miyen and Ms Myrna Yao the Chairperson.
NCRFW Commissioners - and me
Afterwards I, An and I took the opportunity to snap some pics inside the Malacanang grounds.
SAGRIC despedida and welcome to the newbies
Last Thursday we had our AYAD despedida at SAGRIC in Ortigas. It was a chance for a final catch-up with everyone and we were able to meet some of the incoming new Philippines AYADs.
'Oldies' - Sally and Ange
Newbie - Elyse and 'oldie' Reggie
Nat, Tina and some new AYAD arrivals
Kate, Nat, Lynette and Me
Neil, Ange, Sal and NatAnd so the videoke begins!
My despedida from NCRFW
On my last Thursday at work, my workmates threw me a surprise despedida (going away party). Most of the staff from NCRFW were there and of course there was heaps and heaps of food.
Here are some pictures.
Surprise!
Check out all the food! Buko pie, 2 cakes, lumpia shanghai, turon, kropek, pancit and more pancit! 
PDD till the end!
Fiesta by the Pool
Last weekend we had a party at Valencia Hills as a little thank you and goodbye to many of the people we have shared the last year with. Here are some pictures!
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The party in action
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The Embassy crew - Gaye, Ghia, Peta and Chris getting into the shots of Tequila
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Some of Neil's boys from the Embassy.
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Josephine, Dette, Joy, Ann and I. Josephine and Joy have been our fantastic friends here in Manila - they clean up after us!
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Me, Dette, Naomi, I and Jean
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Elizabeth (an AYAD located in Bacolod), Lynette (our great ex-In Country Manager) and Tina (the new In Country Manager with some big shoes to fill!
Neil and the star-appearance of Mr Joel Torre. We know him better as the owner of our favourite place to eat in Manila - JT's Manukan.
Mr. Joel Torre with my work mates and great friends - Chii, Me, Macel, Ritchie, Dette, I, Jean, Anna, Joel, Aleth and Tracy
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By the look of Neil - can you tell it's the end of the night?
Ange, Me, Neil and Kate.
2 weeks to go! Huh?
With 2 weeks to go in Manila and the Philippines, it’s a shame that I’m not feeling 100%! I’m sure I have written before that when you are healthy, Manila can be a bit of a challenge, but when you aren’t feeling great, the city is very effective at magnifying that yucky feeling and making you feel downright awful. I guess it is just a typical stomach big that I’ve got that’s making me feel bad, but unfortunately it has completely turned me off wanting to eat Filipino food of any type (I’m even off JT’s Manukan – a really delicious locally barbequed chicken – and given that we are hosting a despedida (going away party) and a belated birthday party on Friday night with JT’s provide over 50 BBQ chickens, I hope I get over this one quickly!)
Normally at work we eat at turo turo stores where food is cooked in the kitchens of local residents. For the most of the year this has been a decent, cheap way of eating at work. It can get a bit repetitive, but it’s ok most of the time. But sometimes the veggies taste like fish (from having a local flavoring – bagoong – little shrimps added), and you know that sometimes it’s been sitting out for a bit letting the bacteria grow in the nice Manila humidity. No HASSP food standards here . . .but like I say, apart from a couple of bouts of feeling yuck and the Manila belly, it has been ok. So it’s a shame that at the moment, with only 2 weeks to go, just thinking of some of that food here is making me feel really ill!
Only 2 weeks to go! Having spent almost a year here what do I have to say about it? Not sure yet – of course it has been really great but I think I will have to record my reflections when I actually arrive back in Australia. I’m busy busy at work (of course, the busiest that I’ve been here all year!) trying to complete the development of a couple of Directories and a monitoring database, devising and doing some basic database training, writing a Manual as well as some Quick Reference Sheets for the staff here to continue some database enhancements after I go (that IHSS database knowledge has come in handy here Glenn!). In any case, I’m sure I will miss my little work room with my great NCRFW colleagues, the chikka chikka, daily meriyendas and even the multiple ‘hello maam’s, and strange things that happen everyday on the walk to work everyday (including questions from the local Malacanang guards ‘Saan po kayo ma’am – Where are you ma’am? – ‘right here sir . . .’).
I know I will miss the lifestyle (we bought a 1 litre of vodka for 180 pesos last night for our party – about $4.50 - and can afford to eat out a lot), the ability to travel in a diverse country, no winter!, and the fact that I’m still learning new things about the culture even after having spent a year here (like why aren’t there Easter eggs in the stores 3 weeks before Easter when Christmas starts in September? Because Easter is a solemn month where many Filipinos, who take Lent seriously, only really celebrate after Easter Monday in honor of the resurrection).
Getting to the end of my time here means getting to the end of the blog – another sad thing - as I enjoy recording my experiences and having an excuse to take lots of photos all the time! Even when I was younger I enjoyed keeping travel diaries of my experiences with bits and pieces of other places. And this blog has served the purpose extremely effectively in this electronic age. So I hope to post a few more entries before I leave, some reflections of my time in the Philippines when I get back to Australia, but I’m also thinking about writing a bit more about some of the people that I’ve spent this year with here. I hope they don’t mind and I am well and truly willing to amend anything I’ve written if I cause offense – it won’t be intended because in many things Filipino I know that I am still a little culturally ignorant!
