9 - A Day in the Life

Now that I’ve been here 2 months (wow, time flies!) I thought it might be a good time to share with you what a typical day looks like (although, to be honest, no day in the Philippines is ever typical!).

My alarm wakes me at 6am and Aruna and I walk to the gym we have joined just down the road from our place. I work out for about an hour and a half to the program the trainer prepared for me. One thing we have come to understand is that Philippinos are quite open in talking about such things as weight, age etc, and the trainer had no qualms in telling me I need to loose weight! But I knew I should take it in the cultural context in which it was delivered! By the time I’m walking back home, a blonde foreigner in gym clothes seems to create quite a spectacle for the early morning commuters.

After a refreshing cold shower (fingers crossed that the water pressure allows more than just a trickle) I make myself a tropical fruit shake for breakfast while watching the news on channel news Asia. Before heading out the door I make sure I’ve packed my umbrella and toilet paper and then lather myself with suncream and insect repelant. Malaria is present in the Philippines but not a big issue in the urban areas, dengue however is, and that’s the daytime mozzie. Despite my daily ritual I’ve been bitten many times, but none as yet leading to a fever (touch wood!).

From the coffee shop on the corner, I grab a take-away espresso and jump in a trisikad (the Philippino answer to a rickshaw). For P10 (25c) he pedals me to the main road (1km) from where I get a jeepney to the office. Jeepneys are quite a unique Philippino icon. They actually began as surplus army vehicles left by the American troops after WWII which were modified to carry passengers and are flamboyantly decorated. It was an inexpensive way to re-establish public transportation which was virtually destroyed in the war. When they became widely used, the government began to impose specialised licences, regular routes and reasonably fixed fares. It costs me P8 (20c) for the 3km trip to the office. I’m still trying to work out the all routes and make myself a map.

The office is situated on the first floor of a commercial building. The space they ‘rent’ for P1 a year is actually the Couples for Christ Centre which GK uses as a base. It is also used by the Kids for Christ, Youth for Christ, Singles for Christ etc for prayer meetings and so on, so there are different groups coming and going all the time. It is open plan with simple wooden desks and plastic chairs. The minimal spend on admin related items in favour of channelling the funds directly to the poor where it is needed is very much in keeping with the GK motto “Less for self, more for others, enough for all”. My desk is in the middle of the main space that fronts the busy street, between Uncle Molo (the QS) and Marj (Singles for Christ Coordinator). Closer to the window sits the head of the health program (Uncle Russel), the head of partnerships (Aunty Mik Mik), the head of values formation (Uncle Johnny), and the head of shelter (Uncle Butch). There is one air conditioned room where the older workers sit.

As I walk in I say goodmorning to all the ‘Aunts’ and ‘Uncles’, turn the fan on and take out my laptop from my backpack. Despite the rustic appearance, the centre is actually Wi Fi enabled. I check my email and chat to my colleagues. I might work on a site plan or do some reading. By now the R&B music from the sound system will be mixing with the noises from the street of traffic, jeepney horns, barking dogs and street vendors calling out their wares. If there’s a prayer group in the other room, add to that the singing of songs of praise accompanied by acoustic guitar. And of course, the non-stop txt message alert tones, as everything is done by sms in the Philippines. It is about now, mid morning, that the lady comes around selling her basket of goodies for merienda. We might have some slices of pineapple or a caramalised banana on a stick (‘banana kew’) - yum!

Then it’s time for lunch! A group of us will go to either Margie’s down the road or head to the food court in the mall where P60 ($1.50) will buy you a serve of rice with a topping, a small bowl of soup and a soft drink. The lunch break is usually about 2 to 2.5 hours. We make the most of the air-conditioned mall and do a bit of shopping. When we head back to the centre we usually find the Aunts and Uncles having their siestas – heads down on their desks. At 2.30 or thereabouts the music and the lights are switched back on. If we’re lucky they will stay on for the rest of the afternoon, but most likely will be interrupted by brown outs.

In the afternoon, Butch and I might make a site visit to check on progress on one of the GK villages. Butch will drive us there in his well loved 4x4. I wouldn’t be game to attempt to drive in Bacolod – there’s no other way to describe the traffic but organised chaos! Alternatively, we might have a project meeting with a benefactor at one of the cafés in the uptown area. 4.30 and it’s time to pick up Marbie (Butch’s daughter) from school (school hours are 7.30am to 4.30pm!). Sometimes I’ll go with him and we’ll take her to have some pizza or an iced chocolate before they drop me home.

If it is a Wednesday, I’ll be heading to our language class at 6pm with Aruna. Our 1 hour lesson takes place in a tutorial space set up by one of the full time GK workers to earn some extra cash on the side. After class, if we don’t feel like cooking, we’ll probably grab some BBQ chicken with rice and kalamansi (small lime the size of a cumquot) which Bacolod is famous for. We might also drop into Café Bobs and use the Wi Fi to update our blogs or skype with family/friends. In the cool of the evening it’s a pleasant walk back to our apartment, although, we’ll be dodging the planter boxes, parked cars, fruit stalls etc that take over the pavement, and politely refusing multiple offers of taxi’s or trisikads to take us to our destination – why would we want to walk?

Sitting at our dinning table, we debrief on the days challenges, sharing the funny and the frustrating moments. And that was a typical day in my life in the Philippines!