First Impressions

I  arrived in the Philippines after an 11 hour flight to Tokyo and a 4 hour flight to Manila. We are at a training base that is two hours south of Manila called the International Institute for Rural Development. The first day a rooster woke me up at 5:30AM, I used a bucket to take a shower and some fellow volunteers and I discovered a huge spider hanging in a 5ft web (which now we are quite certain was poisonous). 


Today we have been busy filling out more paperwork and attending lectures. We were given spending money and cell phones although we haven't figured out exactly how to load them yet. It's extremely humid and any excessive amount of time spent outside results in an immediate layer of sweat. Some people have found cockroaches and frogs in their rooms. I am sharing a room with another CYF (Children Youth and Families) Volunteer and so far no creatures have been able to penetrate our borders, although I'm sure it's only a matter of time. 

The best part about being here? Not once have I had to justify or explain my reasons for serving. We are all in this together and we have all been anxiously waiting for this moment for a very long time. I am already blown away by the wide range of highly experienced professionals I have met. There are a fair number of social workers and we will all be serving together in the CYF sector.