Well just when I thought that the Philippines couldn't be any more beautiful I take a trip to Dipolog, Mindanao and discover the wonderful life of the South. Some of you have probably heard that Mindanao is not the safest places to go to ... to be honest there are warnings and notices all the time about staying away from Mindanao because of the situation down there. However, I ended up going with two Filipino girlfriends that knew the owner of the resort and it was located in the North way from the activist. Also, the entire time we were there we had escorts and drivers so we were never left alone which was nice to know.
So are flight was from Manila to Dipolog and we arrived around 12 noon on Friday. We got settled in and then spent the day relaxing by the pool and then all the action started on Sat. We were up early for Scuba lessons and then we headed out to a beautiful dive spot. It was my first time scuba diving so I was really exciting and it was more than I could have ever imagined. So many fish and sea plants, it is one of the most amazing things that I have ever experienced. If you ever have the chance to go scuba diving take it ... you will not regret it. Then after that we hit the water with the seadoo's for a bit and then lunch at the resort then in the afternoon a nap before heading off to visit the Rizal Shrine (one of the national heroes). After that back to the resort for supper and a tourist show of Filipino Dances which was very well done. Sunday up early again for a dip in the pool before breakfast and then out in the kayak for a while. Then we went and got some souvenirs before our flight back home. The highlight of the weekend was definitely the scuba diving but overall it was an awesome and amazing weekend. I feel refreshed and energized after the weekend so I hope that it will stay with me for the next week.
Everything is still going good here in the Philippines. I hear that some parts of Canada are starting to get snow. I'm dealing with temperatures between 20 and 25 so I still think its summer which is kind weird but I'm glad I don't have to deal with the cold weather this year. No major plans coming up just working, studying and volunteering but I'm ok with that ... I'm trying to save some money for NZ which is right around the corner.
That's everything for now ... I have a meeting at 1 pm so its almost time. I'll post again soon.
Cheers
Monday, November 5, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Almost at the Six Month Mark
Quick update on my life in Manila. It's been really busy the past couple of weeks. Work has been going steady and smoothly ... hope it stays this way haha. Haven't been out of the city for a while but I'm volunteering and studying for my GMAT's so I have been keeping busy on weekends. However, that will soon be changing cause the Philippines has many holidays coming up so we have some long weekends :) On October 29, not next Monday but the Monday after is Sangguniang Kabataan & Barangay Election and we will be heading to Puerto for Gosia's Birthday (another intern with Headway). I have already been to Puerto but we will be heading to different spot please its a nice beach close to Manila so it should be an exciting weekend. Then on November 1 its All Saints Day and November 2 is a Special Nonworking Holiday so it will be a nice four day weekend. I will either being going to Palawan which is suppose to be one of the nicest places in the Philippines or I will go to Bohol to see the Chocolate Hills. Not sure yet which one I'm trying to work out the details. If I don't go to Bohol oh that long weekend I will be planning to go there the last weekend in Nov. cause November 30 is Bonifacio Day another holiday so I will have a long weekend. After that it will be New Zealand which I am getting really excited for but its still a long way away and I have to focus on getting a good grade on my GMATs before that hahah ... work first than I can play :)
Other than that not much new ... I'm still liking it here in the Philippines. I did have some rough patch with culture shock and all that but I seem to have got through the hardest part and hopefully the next six months will be a breeze haha if it was only that easy.
Thats all for now ... sorry this one is short, next time I'll write more especially after the next couple of busy weekends.
Cheers Amy
Other than that not much new ... I'm still liking it here in the Philippines. I did have some rough patch with culture shock and all that but I seem to have got through the hardest part and hopefully the next six months will be a breeze haha if it was only that easy.
Thats all for now ... sorry this one is short, next time I'll write more especially after the next couple of busy weekends.
Cheers Amy
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Rainy Manila
Update on my life in Manila ... It has been a long three weeks here in the Philippines. Were being hit hard with rain, rain, wind, and well more rain so it makes things pretty depressing. Haven't been out of the city since Korea but I have been catching up on some personal stuff that need to get down like student loan stuff (my heart goes out to all my friends that have to start paying them back soon ... sucks). Also, I have started to think about what I will be doing after the Philippines. Oct. 5th, this Friday, will be exactly 5 months that I have been in the Philippines so only another 7 months to go. In some ways that seems forever way but I know that it will come sooner than later. So for any of you that know me I'm really organized and like to get a head start on everything. Therefore, I have started to update my resume and looked into some universities. I have not decided yet whether I want to go back to school and get a masters but I feel pretty excited about the idea. I'll keep you up-to-date as time goes by and how the process is going. Some of you might be wondering if I will stay in the Philippines longer and right now I don't know. I really like the Philippines but this experience has shown me that the world is so big and I have so much to learn and I really want to see more of it. So we will see ... I'm so unsure of my future right now but I know some how it will just fall into place haha.
The past couple of weekends have consisted of shopping, getting my hair done, and volunteering. So I wish I could say that I wanted to get involved and give back to the community here which I really do but it is also I requirement for my internship but anyway. Not this past weekend but the weekend before I spent the morning with a room full of children during a read along session which was actually quite fun in a way. Then after story time I helped out during Hands On Manila - Breakfast Club where we bring and pass out food to them so that they will have something to eat. The children are really nice and enthusiastic about the program and it was really nice to just learn more about the Philippines and the people that live here. Then in the afternoon I went out to the University of the Philippines where I interviewed potential candidates for AIESEC UP. It was really fun I got to interview about 20 candidates and learn more about what they thought about AIESEC and what they thought about the Philippines. Some of them really didn't get how an outsider would see the Philippines. It was a really great experience to see how people from the country see the Philippines and how I (a foreigner) see it. Hopefully, in two weeks time I will be able to help out with Hands On Manila again and get to know the children a little better.
As for this weekend we are hoping to head out of a quick trip to hundred island national park but if the rain and the weather forecast not being so great and also the fact that the weekend after is a long weekend it might just be better for us to post pone it until the next weekend but who knows we might go this weekend. We will just have to wait and see.
Well thats all for now ... everyone take care and please fill me in on your lives through Facebook or email.
Cheers from the Philippines :)
The past couple of weekends have consisted of shopping, getting my hair done, and volunteering. So I wish I could say that I wanted to get involved and give back to the community here which I really do but it is also I requirement for my internship but anyway. Not this past weekend but the weekend before I spent the morning with a room full of children during a read along session which was actually quite fun in a way. Then after story time I helped out during Hands On Manila - Breakfast Club where we bring and pass out food to them so that they will have something to eat. The children are really nice and enthusiastic about the program and it was really nice to just learn more about the Philippines and the people that live here. Then in the afternoon I went out to the University of the Philippines where I interviewed potential candidates for AIESEC UP. It was really fun I got to interview about 20 candidates and learn more about what they thought about AIESEC and what they thought about the Philippines. Some of them really didn't get how an outsider would see the Philippines. It was a really great experience to see how people from the country see the Philippines and how I (a foreigner) see it. Hopefully, in two weeks time I will be able to help out with Hands On Manila again and get to know the children a little better.
As for this weekend we are hoping to head out of a quick trip to hundred island national park but if the rain and the weather forecast not being so great and also the fact that the weekend after is a long weekend it might just be better for us to post pone it until the next weekend but who knows we might go this weekend. We will just have to wait and see.
Well thats all for now ... everyone take care and please fill me in on your lives through Facebook or email.
Cheers from the Philippines :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Korea and After
Two weeks ago I went to Seoul South Korea to visit a friend and see a new country. My trip was great and I had so much fun. Thanks goes out to Richard for showing me around all weekend and bringing me to the best spots in Seoul, I had a great time. Saw some palaces and some other tourist areas which were beautiful and clean compared to the Philippines which was a huge culture shock. I had forgotten what a developed country was like compared to a development country. The streets were cleaner, the infrastructure was great, and the washrooms even had toilet paper except maybe in one spot but here in the Philippines your lucky if the toilet even has a seat. Anyways it was just a big surprise to me to notice the difference between the countries because I really didn't get that shock when I went from Canada to the Philippines. Also, while I was there I got to eat and drink many different things for example at one restaurant we got to take shots out of a green apple that was hollow. So you get a bowl filled with some booze and then you fill your apple with the booze and then you shot it. Another thing was the amount of side of food they bring with your food. If you order one dish you get like 5 or 6 small side dishes and even more in other places. Overall I really liked Seoul, it was a really nice city.
Since, my trip to Korea I've been catching up on sleep and work. Over the weekend I spent Saturday in the salon getting my hair professionally straighten which I love ... I wake up in the morning take 10 min to dry it and then its straight no more straighteners haha. Then Sunday I got to get some rest and watched a few movie. Pretty boring but after not being home the last four weekends it was great to get some rest.
This weekend coming up I'm staying in Manila again. I have signed up to volunteer with Hands on Manila which is an organization that sets activities to help the community. I will be bring breakfast for some children that live on the street on sat. morning and it should be a new experience. Sat. afternoon I think I might be helping AIESEC UP do interviews for their recruitment but that is still up in the air.
Other than that not much new, my next big trip will be to NZ in Dec. my flight is booked and I'm so pumped to go. I'll be there for over two weeks and it will be really nice to have a really vacation but I will tell you more about that as it gets closer.
Well that's all for now ... everyone take care and please drop me a line if you guys have a the chance would love to know whats going on at home.
Amy from the Philippines
Since, my trip to Korea I've been catching up on sleep and work. Over the weekend I spent Saturday in the salon getting my hair professionally straighten which I love ... I wake up in the morning take 10 min to dry it and then its straight no more straighteners haha. Then Sunday I got to get some rest and watched a few movie. Pretty boring but after not being home the last four weekends it was great to get some rest.
This weekend coming up I'm staying in Manila again. I have signed up to volunteer with Hands on Manila which is an organization that sets activities to help the community. I will be bring breakfast for some children that live on the street on sat. morning and it should be a new experience. Sat. afternoon I think I might be helping AIESEC UP do interviews for their recruitment but that is still up in the air.
Other than that not much new, my next big trip will be to NZ in Dec. my flight is booked and I'm so pumped to go. I'll be there for over two weeks and it will be really nice to have a really vacation but I will tell you more about that as it gets closer.
Well that's all for now ... everyone take care and please drop me a line if you guys have a the chance would love to know whats going on at home.
Amy from the Philippines
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Boracay
Quick update on my weekend trip, I got back this morning from Boracay (little island in the south of the Philippines). It has to be one of the most beautifulest places I have ever seen ... it was paradise. Even though the island was very beautiful it was very commercialized which took away from much of its beauty but if you could look past the 100+ merchants trying to sell pretty much anything, from sunglasses to messages, to you could appreciate the wonderful view.
Boracay is made up of three different stations (1, 2, and 3) along the beach front. It is awesome to see all the restaurants, hotels, and shops along this huge beach. Not only is the merchants fun to watch you can pretty much find any water sport know to man on this beach, from snorkeling to wind surfing to water skying ... on a small Philippines budget I could only afford to go snorkeling with some of the other interns but it was great. There were hundreds of fish in so many different colors and you could feed them crackers and they would eat right out of your hands. Also, the boat that we took snorkeling took us around the entire Island and we got to see all the different beaches and the great view. Pictures are posted on Facebook for people that are interested.
Boracay is also known for its night life, however, due to the off session and my not so strong stomach I didn't really get to experience that much of it. All in all it was a great weekend. We were a little nervous that we weren't going to get much sun because its raining season but after about three hours in the sun with sun screen I have a wonderful burn that I am currently nursing, hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight with only one layer of Aloe.
Well that's all for now, this Saturday and Sunday we will be heading to Tagaytay which is just a small city out side of Manila but its suppose to have an awesome view of and from the volcano. Should be good times. So I'll let you all know how that goes next weekend.
Hope everyone is enjoying my blog and please keep the comments coming. I love hearing your thoughts on my experiences and what you guys have been up too.
Cheers from the Philippines
Boracay is made up of three different stations (1, 2, and 3) along the beach front. It is awesome to see all the restaurants, hotels, and shops along this huge beach. Not only is the merchants fun to watch you can pretty much find any water sport know to man on this beach, from snorkeling to wind surfing to water skying ... on a small Philippines budget I could only afford to go snorkeling with some of the other interns but it was great. There were hundreds of fish in so many different colors and you could feed them crackers and they would eat right out of your hands. Also, the boat that we took snorkeling took us around the entire Island and we got to see all the different beaches and the great view. Pictures are posted on Facebook for people that are interested.
Boracay is also known for its night life, however, due to the off session and my not so strong stomach I didn't really get to experience that much of it. All in all it was a great weekend. We were a little nervous that we weren't going to get much sun because its raining season but after about three hours in the sun with sun screen I have a wonderful burn that I am currently nursing, hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight with only one layer of Aloe.
Well that's all for now, this Saturday and Sunday we will be heading to Tagaytay which is just a small city out side of Manila but its suppose to have an awesome view of and from the volcano. Should be good times. So I'll let you all know how that goes next weekend.
Hope everyone is enjoying my blog and please keep the comments coming. I love hearing your thoughts on my experiences and what you guys have been up too.
Cheers from the Philippines
Monday, August 20, 2007
Malaysia and Other Stuff
Alright so I'm really really bad at writing this blog on a regular basis so my apologies. Everything is going great, I have just returned from Malaysia where I visited Farah. It was a great weekend, we visited the KL Tower and the Petronas Towers which I have always wanted to see so it was a pretty big deal for me. We also got to do some shopping and we went to the Sentral Market which was great and I got some Malaysian treats. However, the best part of the entire weekend was having dinner with Farah's entire family and having a real Indonesian meal and wearing their traditional clothing. It was a great new experience and the food was so good :) I enjoyed the weekend immensely and I would definitely consider going back to Malaysia and spending more time. Compared to the Philippines, Malaysia is quite similar in the land scape, however, there are many differences also ... KL is definitely smaller than Manila and the shopping is even different. It was a great weekend and I hope to put pictures up soon but my digital camera broke and it will take awhile to get them developed and scanned onto the computer but Farah should be posting some soon on Facebook. :)
So that was my weekend in Malaysia but my traveling doesn't stop there ... it has only begun. This upcoming weekend I will be heading to Boracay, a small island in the south of the Philippines, with the other interns. Boracay is suppose to be known for its beaches and party scene but since it is rainy season we might not see that much sun but hopefully we will be lucky and the rain will miss us. Either way it should be another great weekend away. Then the next weekend we (interns and I) will make a quick trip to Tagaytay which is known for its Volcano. It's only about three hours away from Manila so it will only be a two day trip but apparently the view is to die for. Then the weekend after that I will be heading to South Korea for a long weekend in Seoul to visit Richard, which should be a great time.
Those are the plans for the next three weekends so its going to be crazy busy especially with work and trying to get my project complete. Oh well all in all it is a great experience and Asia is a beautiful place and I want to see as much as I can before I have to leave and I can't believe that I have almost been here for four months now ... I feel like I have just arrived the other day. Approximately eight more months to go so I want to make sure I make the best of it.
Well thats all for now ... Cheers from Manila
So that was my weekend in Malaysia but my traveling doesn't stop there ... it has only begun. This upcoming weekend I will be heading to Boracay, a small island in the south of the Philippines, with the other interns. Boracay is suppose to be known for its beaches and party scene but since it is rainy season we might not see that much sun but hopefully we will be lucky and the rain will miss us. Either way it should be another great weekend away. Then the next weekend we (interns and I) will make a quick trip to Tagaytay which is known for its Volcano. It's only about three hours away from Manila so it will only be a two day trip but apparently the view is to die for. Then the weekend after that I will be heading to South Korea for a long weekend in Seoul to visit Richard, which should be a great time.
Those are the plans for the next three weekends so its going to be crazy busy especially with work and trying to get my project complete. Oh well all in all it is a great experience and Asia is a beautiful place and I want to see as much as I can before I have to leave and I can't believe that I have almost been here for four months now ... I feel like I have just arrived the other day. Approximately eight more months to go so I want to make sure I make the best of it.
Well thats all for now ... Cheers from Manila
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Work, Work, and more Work
Sorry it's been so long since I wrote on my blog but its been crazy at work and I really haven't been up to anything new. Still just shopping and partying on the weekends. My project was due last Friday so I had to pull some extra hours last week and this week I'm just making some changes and hopefully I'll be moving onto the next part of my project which will be great because I've been working on this business plan for the last 2.5 months and it would be great to start something new.
Right now its suppose to be rainy session but we haven't had much rain maybe three or four times a week for like 2 hours but nothing like I expected but lets hope it stays that way. It's about 35 degrees here today and the sun is out so I will probably go outside and work this afternoon as long as I don't find it too hot.
I have booked my flight to Malaysia and I will be visiting Farah on Aug. 17th which I'm so pumped to see and shop with. It will be nice to get out of the Philippines and see some of the rest of Asia. So that is what I'm looking forward too in the next month. Also, hopefully a short trip this weekend but we have been saying for the last three weekends that we will be going out of the city but with work and other stuff never found the time so we will see if this weekend we will actually get out.
Well that's all for now I actually have to get back to work but I just wanted to write something in order to stay in touch with all of you who are reading.
Take Care,
Amy
Right now its suppose to be rainy session but we haven't had much rain maybe three or four times a week for like 2 hours but nothing like I expected but lets hope it stays that way. It's about 35 degrees here today and the sun is out so I will probably go outside and work this afternoon as long as I don't find it too hot.
I have booked my flight to Malaysia and I will be visiting Farah on Aug. 17th which I'm so pumped to see and shop with. It will be nice to get out of the Philippines and see some of the rest of Asia. So that is what I'm looking forward too in the next month. Also, hopefully a short trip this weekend but we have been saying for the last three weekends that we will be going out of the city but with work and other stuff never found the time so we will see if this weekend we will actually get out.
Well that's all for now I actually have to get back to work but I just wanted to write something in order to stay in touch with all of you who are reading.
Take Care,
Amy
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