Daily Diary: Day One

Written by Helen Jambunathan 

Pictures by Emily Choong & Sarah Chong 

            Having left Monash University at 10 pm on Friday night, we travelers found ourselves arriving in Iloilo City after nearly 12 hours of being on the move. In between, some of us had managed to catch some shut-eye sleeping on three plane seats with the armrests up, but for the most part we were all bleary-eyed, having missed a night’s worth of sleep.

 The sun glinting off the plane wing.

         Along the way we had also made a beeline for Jollibee’s for the first time, endured Lestari's nearly losing her backpack when a stranger accidentally picked it up coming through the airport scanner, and speculated about the possible meanings of the words ‘wang wang’ in a sign above the immigration counters reading: ‘NAIA is a no “wang wang” zone’ (we later learned it meant ‘siren’). It had been an eventful half a day, but we were definitely glad to have touched down at long last.

NAIA is a no “wang wang” zone.

            We were warmly greeted by our student guides, Zherluck, Noraisa, Paolo, Peter, and L.A., upon arriving at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) half an hour earlier than scheduled. The girls checked into the Gender and Development Program Building and were served delicious slices of banana and tapioca coated  in caramelized brown sugar before we were all shown to our rooms. Everybody reconvened in a room downstairs where introductions were made all around, and we had a brief orientation with Professor Diane Aure and her staff from the Gender and Development Program Building.

            Led by our student guides, we went on a walkabout of UPV. We were especially taken with Lozano Hall, the central building, which had once been the American City Hall and contained dungeons beneath it, but the ghost stories had to wait for another day. Another interesting stop was at the Oblation statue, which represents sacrifice and selflessness. According to Peter, there was a belief on campus that taking a picture with the statue meant that one would not graduate on time. Since no one among us was particularly faint hearted, we all posed beneath it for a picture:

Bravely posing in front of the Oblation statue.

            After eating lunch together a short way away from UPV, we headed back to our respective rooms for some much needed  rest. At 4 pm we gathered once again for our first session of the study trip, on philanthropy in Iloilo. First, Professor Bruce Hall gave us a brief overview of the history of philanthropy in the Philippines and shared a little about the Rotary Club of Iloilo West and Operation Yuhum, which helps facilitate surgery for children with cleft palates. After that, we heard from Professor Ruben Magan Gamala on shifting the passion for international volunteering to local volunteering, and learned about active citizenship and the definition of being a volunteer. Finally, James Sharman spoke to us about the Gamot Cogon School, and some of his philosophies on education, development, and civil society.

           

       Following the session, we had dinner with Professor Hall and enjoyed some delicious local food including garlic rice and fragrant seafood soup. We then retired to our rooms to finish our various tasks and get ready for tomorrow. Watch this space!