Journal Entry #2 - Sunday

Sunday

Good morning!  Guess what!  Today I kissed a dolphin!!!  J

Me, Jessica, and Nala (the dolphin)

We went to a marine wildlife park today called Ocean Adventures.  It’s like a really small Sea World.  It’s set right on the ocean, so the pens the animals are in is ocean water.  You could get really close to the animals, and the trainers were playing with them.  There were a few different kinds of dolphins, and a false killer whale.  We got to go in small groups into a shallow area and meet a dolphin.  I got to meet Nala..  She’s a 8 year old female bottlenose dolphin.  The trainer gave her commands, like to wave, roll on her back, splash water.  We got to pet her and hug her.  He told me to try to lift her out of the water…..there’s no way!  When the dolphins take a breath, it’s a loud huffing or puffing sound.  Then when they make the clicks and squeaks, you can see their blowhole making different shapes.  It reminds me of how a parrot can make so many sounds by blowing air under their beak.

The dolphin skin feels hard and smooth, like hard rubber.  I even got to feel her tongue, which is hard too.  Her eyes were covered with mucous to protect them.  Her tail is thick and strong and heavy.

There was an educational show about animals that are native Philippines; afterward I got to hold a python and pet an owl.  They didn’t let us touch the bats though.  We saw the fruit bats hanging on trees in the jungle by the road.  They are big – about like a hawk, with brown fur and of course, hang upside down by their feet.  They move their wings in and out slightly as they hang to cool themselves off.  And they make a real high squeaking sound.  There was also a neat indoor aquarium with eels, sharks, jellyfish, and lots of fish.

The mosquito nets were a must!  This was
at the end of a looong day later in the week.

After Ocean Adventures, we went to where we’ll be staying for the rest of the week.  There is some land where Mercy in Action built “Waiting Huts” and we are staying in them.  They are built of bamboo, on stilts so they don’t flood, with grass roofs.  There are two windows with screens (no glass) and 2 sets of bunk beds.  There is a ceiling fan and a bare light bulb in the ceiling, but the electricity comes and goes.  On this same land, up the hill are 4 neepa huts, a larger hut they use as a classroom for the kids, and the house belonging to Jason and Teresa.  Teresa is a midwife with Mercy in Action, and they have 4 girls.

On the land there is also an outdoor “kitchen” (a gas 2-burner stove, and a hose) and 2 toilet rooms and a shower room.  Above the bathrooms and shower, there’s a little apartment where one of the other midives lives with her family.  There’s no hot water, but it’s so hot here the cool showers feel good.  Everywhere here in the Philippines, you don’t throw your used toilet paper into the toilet because the pipes are small and clog easily.  But Jason built these bathrooms with bigger pipes, so we can throw TP in the toilet.  Ahhh, it’s the little things  ;)

We stopped by the grocery store on the way to the land, because there aren’t restaurants around anymore, and we have to prepare our own food.  We bought eggs and potatoes, bread, PB&J, a salt & pepper shaker, bananas and mangos, spaghetti and sauce, and some nuts.  I am rooming with Michelle, and we shared food too. 

In our neepa hut, Jessica is staying too.  So there’s one bunk free and we keep our luggage there.  The mosquito nets are already up on our beds, so we just put our sheet “sleeping bags” on the thin mattresses and we’re set.  We have leave at 6am tomorrow, so we go to bed with the sun.  Tomorrow we are going to hike a couple hours up into the jungle to an Aeta village, to clear some land for a mulungai tree nursery.  

Journal Entry #1 - First week

We arrived in Manila, spent the night there, and were picked up by Vicki (director of Mercy in Action) to take us to Olongapo Bay.  We will spend the next week there in a hotel, taking classes.  The rooms are even air-conditioned (LOVELY) and there is a dining room that opens to the beach.  The sunsets are beyond amazing!

The weather is hot and humid, and there are green plants everywhere!  Vicki gave us each a welcome present -- small bottles of hand sanitizer and mosquito repellent!  I'm sure they will be much-used.

We attend classes in a small classroom down the road.  The classes were about the leading causes of infant and maternal death in developing countries, and how to address these causes.  Some are so simple, it's unbearable that children are dying -- for example when kids get severe diarrhea they need fluid and electrolyte replacement.  A pinch of salt and a teaspoon of sugar in a bottle of water can give the right balance.  Some cultures think restricting water is best, so the kids don't continue having diarrhea.  Sanitation and health education can go such a long way.

We went out to one of the urban slum areas to teach health education and give away vitamins.  There is an empty lot with portable canopies that the landlord let us use.  We checked Hemoglobin levels for the pregnant women, and gave out vitamins.  We also checked blood pressures and did little puppet skits teaching about sanitation, disease prevention, and nutrition.

The kids wanted to play with our stethoscopes and gloves!

There are little restaurants all around the hotel.  We try a different one every day.  There's an open-air market down the street, and we go there in the mornings for fresh fruit and breads.  We never know what kind the breads and muffins are, so we just try some of each!  The bananas and mangos are beyond delicious!!!  I wish we had a way to cook at the hotel.  These vegetables look sooo delicious!  The piles of meat hanging out on the tables, not so much....

The Mercy in Action Ambulance.  

Setting up the table for vitamins and hemoglobin checks.