Weekend

Neil left for Australia on Friday leaving me all alone. But there were lots of things planned for the weekend so I didn’t feel too lonely. On Friday night I was invited to watch one of the AFL semi-finals in Malate. Unfortunately I had a series of meetings on the other side of town at the University of the Philippines. With the rain and Friday traffic, by the time I would have arrived there the game would have been half way through, so instead I went home to relax before Jarrah’s going away party. Jarrah is an AYAD who arrived in the intake before us and has been working with Sally at the Asian Council for People’s Culture (ACPC) . He had his going away party at a restaurant-type place called Conspiracy in Quezon City which plays live local music. On Friday night a local artist called Joey Ayala was playing. He was very entertaining. Most of the Manila AYADs came along, as did Irene from my work which was great.

On Saturday I slept in and headed down to do some grocery shopping. In the afternoon I headed over to Malate to meet up with Ange and Kate at the Instituto Cervantes (Spanish sponsored Institute) to watch The Motorcycle Diaries (nice website). I had become confused thinking that this was a movie version of The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which I had been lent to me by the son of a women that mom sings with in Perth and whom Melissa and I had bumped into at a youth hostel in Geneva in 1998? The book was ok, a kind of philosophical look at . . . quality and stuff. OK so I don’t remember it too well but the guy who leant it to me had raved about it, I though it was ok, and deduced that it was a guy type of thing. Actually, Neil would probably really appreciate it. Anyway, despite the confusion, the movie was great! In Spanish with English subtitles, the movie was about an trip of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and Alberto Grenada throughout South America on a motorcycle in their early years. The trip appeared to be the basis of the foundation of Che’s ideals and beliefs for a unified America respecting the marginalised - particularly displaced indigenous peoples. The scenery in the movie was fantastic and I would recommend it to others to see (I think it’s on DVD now). Plus it really made me want to go spend some serious time in South and Central America!

Afterwards, Ange and I went for some dinner and then I went home for an early night in bed.

Sunday morning was an early one for a Sunday! I met Dette from my work at 8.30 and headed through Quiapo where we met Anna and ventured down to Manila Zoo for Dette’s birthday. There we met Aleth and her 4 year old daughter Tracy and Macel and her partner Chi for a nice Sunday stroll around the zoo. We went on a boat ride and saw a few strange Filipino animals that I had never seen before. Tapos (then), we went to eat some lunch. Here in the Philippines when it is your birthday you treat everyone else rather than be treated yourself. And it is a tradition to eat pancit (noodles). They call them birthday noodles. I went home after lunch for a nice afternoon nap and woke up on Monday feeling the best that I have felt in about 4 weeks (ie. Normal)! Hurrah!

posted by batik billy @ 2:12 pm