Health Report

It's early Thursday morning and though it's hazy outside it looks like we should have decent weather.  So far, we haven't had too much rain since arriving in Bacolod even though we're still in the midst of the rainy season.  However, I just noticed in my in-box there is another Typhoon warning for Central Luzon--which may hit Manila; hopefully, they won't see too much damage.  Back in Loveland, my family has been busy collecting school supplies for children those impacted by the storms.  They have pulled together lots of supplies and Maralee is now working on the shipping details.  Thanks to anyone who has been able to contribute! 

In my last post I mentioned that I've been limping around on a bad knee: luckily it started to feel better yesterday.  I'm pretty sure I have a tear in my meniscus, and Brett (my physical therapist brother-in-law) gave the same prognosis over the phone.  I'll get it checked out when I return home.

Speaking of medical care, last week I was talking to Kooks about health care in the Philippines.  He said that the majority of people here are unable to afford medical services due to poverty.  They have traditional herbs that they use to rely on for remedies.  I asked what happens if that doesn't work; he said "they pray hard".  If they have some money, a doctor would be the last option.

Today we plan on wrapping up our work with the IT Center at the school.  Things have been going pretty well--yesterday we worked with them to install some software in their test lab to help improve their IT monitoring and management: we installed Nagios for monitoring and CVS for their development version control.  Today we'll continue some of that work and try to get a wiki installed to help them with documentation.  The IT guys seemed excited about the new tools and are eager to learn.

Flexible

Prior to heading off to the Philippines, I had the chance to talk to several IBMers who were in the Corporate Service Corps program. They shared their experiences and some advice: I remember one saying that you need to be "flexible".  This has proved to be the case this week for me.  The plans to head back to Manila were very slow in materializing.  When the IBM team finally gave confirmation late Friday that the trip was still on, it became difficult to get the travel arrangements sorted out.  I was supposed to fly out Monday but that spilled into Tuesday and this afternoon I learned that the agreement with the NDCC needed some more work and the project had been delayed.  So, bottom line, I will now be in Bacolod for the rest of the trip.

I had mixed emotions because the Disaster Relief effort sounded like a nice project to be a part of; however, it's also nice working with the La Salle University and the rest of the IBM team.  I need to rethink what I can do some of the additional time I have available.  Tomorrow, I'll join Guillermo to help with the IT assessment we have planned at the school.

Today I spent the day at a seminar our team put on in conjunction with BNEFIT; of course, I was only a listener this time since I hadn't expected to be in town.  One interesting thing about meetings here in the Philippines is they often begin with a prayer.  I wasn't too surprised that was the case at the University, since it is a Catholic school, but it has been a pleasant surprise in other meetings.  The link to religion here is much stronger than in the US.  Approximately 80% of Filipinos are Catholic, and from what I have seen, Mass is well attended.  The strong Christian influence makes the Philippines very unique in Asia.

On the first two Sunday's of my stay I was able to attend my church's services: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It was nice to be able to get to meet the local congregation--it didn't appear that they were very accustomed to having visitors from out of the country.  I've been quite impressed by the volume of LDS churches in the Philippines: it seems that most every town has a well maintained chapel.  In Bacolod alone there are 15 wards.  When I talk to others about they church they are all very familiar with the church and have positive things to say.

Yesterday during lunch Guillermo and I went to the local "wet" market to see what it was like.  The best time to go would have been in the morning when there is more fish.  But we got a good feel for what it was like (along with the strong smell of fish parts baking in the heat)--quite a difference then the European markets I'm accustom to.  We also explored a local alley way and ran into a basketball court that had a large pickup game going on.  We created quite a stir: all of the guys stopped the game and started yelling "hey Joe" (the name they give to all Americans).  I couldn't resist and joined them for a brief game in my flip flops--which is the standard basketball footwear here.  It was fun but I severely aggravated my knee--I've had pain and been limping ever since.  Hopefully, this is a temporary problem but I may need to get a first-hand experience in local medical care.

 

Pictures From Our Weekend Trip to Sipalay

Capacity Building

I just got confirmation that I will be headed back to Manila on Monday to begin work with the Disaster Relief project with the NDCC (the Philippine equivalent to FEMA). The timing is not a surprise but since it took a while to get the specific date finalized I wasn't sure if today would really be my last day working at St. La Salle University.

My last day with the client was a good one. I gave my third training session to the faculty and IT support team: two different Project Management sessions and one on IT standards (based on ITIL). Each presentation was a couple hours long, so much of my available time away from the campus over the past couple weeks has been spent preparing materials. The objective of the sessions has been to provide material they can use in their courses next year and share best practices they can implement in their on-campus IT support.



The primary objective of our Corporate Service Corps program is to build the local capacity, so training of the faculty aligns well with our mission. We're also sharing IT trends in the market to help with their future curriculum, performing an IT assessment and sharing some business planning recommendations. It has been a real pleasure working with the leaders of the University: their hospitality has been amazing and they are always very appreciative of the work we're performing. As I left the office they gave me a model Jeepeny and a rain stick--very cool. Finally, this evening Kooks and Shiegfred took Jaydip and I to dinner at a fun restaurant on the coast. I will miss working with these guys.



Tomorrow at 5am our team is heading a few hours south to enjoy the weekend at a beach resort. I'm sure we'll have a blast and since this may be the last time I'm with the team I will be making the most of my time.

Contrasts

What a difference a day makes. Last night at this time I was feeling miserable; something I ate or drank got the best of me. Luckily the prescription the doctor sent with me seems to have done the job: I felt good enough to eat this evening and so far so good. Maralee read somewhere that 80% of travelers to the Philippines experience some level of sickness, so you can add me to the majority.

Tuesday night our team was treated to an evening at a local real estate developers home. It was quite a palace in a gated neighborhood. This was probably the nicest home I have ever visited as a guest: an elegant Asian-style home made from exquisite materials throughout. The dining room floor was rimmed with a pool filled with fish--to enter you cross a small bridge. The walls of the large sitting room in the back opened completely to create a wonderful atmosphere. However, there were a couple things that made me a bit uncomfortable during the visit. As we drove up one of the first things you see is a guard with a machine gun in hand. I was also unaccustomed to having so many hired people in the home to help with the arrangements.

The husband, Charles, is a member of an organization named BNEFIT our team is working with that is working to promote more IT jobs in the area. He has plans to build a huge office park with retail, residential and office space; even plans for a large convention center. He shared the plans with us while we were there--quite a vision considering the general business environment here in Bacolod.

After enjoying an evening of hospitality and a wonderful dinner, we headed back to our hotel. Of course, I couldn't help but think of the huge contrast displayed by this experience. Each day as we walk the streets outside of the gated community we see so many people with nothing in homes that look like they will collapse with a strong wind. It's a different world.

I hope Charles is successful in his plans for the business park. Certainly that would significantly add to his wealth; however, it would also bring many good paying jobs to the city. It takes people with vision and aspirations like Charles to help bring a new level of prosperity to Bacolod.

Monkey

Today was a holiday in Bacolod City so we got to extend the weekend. Since most of the team hadn't yet gone to the Mambukal resort we decided to rent a van with a driver for the day and head in that direction; our friend Maricar Dabao was kind enough to make the arrangements.

I got to play tour guide since this was my second visit. This time we went further in the hike (to the sixth waterfall instead of the second) and we enjoyed the swimming and thermal (or as they call it "dipping") pool. The weather was great and everyone enjoyed themselves.

On the way home we took a detour and headed over to the Pandanon Valley Resort. We all enjoyed the drive through the scenic countryside and we played around in the river. Guillermo and I had fun walking up stream through the rapids and on the boulders. However, my highlight of the resort was when a ran into a group of monkeys near the parking lot...very cool! . Our day of running around ended by viewing "the Ruins" in town: an old mansion that was burned to the ground in 1945 in order to prevent the Japanese from using it to their advantage during WW2.

Tomorrow it is back to work: we have a couple meetings and I need to finalize a presentation I'm putting together for a lecture on IT Standardization based on an ITIL framework for Wednesday. We have a busy week ahead of us and next week it still looks like I'll be returning to Manila for the Disaster Relief work.

Flying Foxes and Giant Poppers

After a week of going from the hotel, to the University, to dinner and back to the hotel it was nice to have a chance to get beyond our five block radius and see a little of the Island. In fact, our exploring started a little earlier than planned when our friends at St. La Salle University (Kooks, Jeff and Shiegred) took us out for an excursion to the mountain resort of Mambukal once we finished our morning meetings. We had a fantastic trip. I loved getting out to the country side and seeing the fields of sugar cane and rice. I was fascinated just observing the locals in their daily routines from our the van window: transporting the sugar cane, placing the rice on the roads to dry, catching a nap in the back of a tri-cycle, working in the road-side shops, etc. I would have loved to stop many times and capture the scenes on film.

We arrived at the lush resort and the first thing we noticed were the "flying foxes": the nickname they give to the enormous bats hanging from the trees. There were hundreds hanging from the trees.



We enjoyed another delicious lunch (some more great seafood) before exploring the resort.



After lunch, Duke, Janna and I played batman by taking the zip line ride which had only opened a couple weeks earlier. We got a great view of the lake and terrain from above. Then we all headed up the trails to the first two waterfalls. It was great to get some fresh air and enjoy the view. After the falls we took a quick look around the rest of the resort before heading back home.

The rest of my weekend was spent enjoying the MassKara festival. It's the largest festival of the year for the Island of Negros. It was started 30 years ago when the Sugar Cane industry here took a big hit: they decided to have a festival with smiling masks and bright colors to demonstrate their optimism for the future. Friday night we enjoyed the Electric MassKara: there must have been a couple hundred thousand people filling the streets to see the various team dance on four stages with their costumes and lights.

Saturday and Sunday I went to the town plaza to see the street dance competitions. Most of the Barangays (or districts) of the city had a team of 50 dancers with elaborate costumes, props and giant poppers that sent streamers in the air. The reigning champion went last and they put on quite a production. We didn't stay around to hear the final results but I'd be quite surprised if they didn't hold on to their crown.

Chill'n out in Bacolod

I was too tired to blog last night: after dinner a group of us went to the pool for a dip in the unheated pool. The pool probably feels great during the hot day but at night after a rainy day it was fairly chilly: it was the first time I felt cold since arriving. The pool was cool but it was nice relaxing with members of the team.

Transportation around town is always an adventure. Traffic is quite heavy and very few intersections in town have traffic lights. I asked our friends what the rules were for unmarked intersections and they confirmed it’s basically a free-for-all. I guess the one saving grace is that no one can go fast enough to do too much damage. Somehow it all works.

On the way home from the restaurant we tried to take a Jeepney but found there wasn’t a direct route back to our hotel area. So, instead we hopped onto the motorcycle with sidecar cab (three of us on each). It was a fun alternative to the taxi.

Jaydip and I have been busy with La Salle University. Yesterday we both spent the bulk of the day creating presentations: I prepared an introduction to project management for the CS and IT facility. Additionally, we drafted our project scope and schedule: this was key since we have many contacts at the university, each with different requests. We were literally on our last plan item when Jaydip noticed an incoming email from a couple of our key contacts with several new requests: that figures.

Today we had a couple more reviews and I think the plan is now basically sorted out. I also gave the project management course: it was well attended (about 30 people—six from other universities) and seemed to be well received.

After our busy day, I joined Guillermo (Spaniard living in Ireland) and his client another local university for a basketball game: it was the championship game for the neighboring islands. Hoops is definitely the national sport and the crowd really gets into it. What they lack in height they make up in quickness: the speed of the game is entertaining to watch. The local team, Negros Occidental University, won the game and will advance to the next round of Philippines championship in Cebu.

Namit

The streets are quieting down here in Bacolod. I'm sure in a few days when the MassKara festival is in full swing the streets will be anything but quiet. I'm wrapping things up after an evening at a welcome dinner for our team put on by a local organization that is working to attract more IT jobs in the city. They treated us to a meal at a restaurant named "Time Out"--as usual the food was "namit" (delicious). The specialty of the house was a dish made from pig cheek and ear: put in those terms it doesn't sound too enticing but it was very tasty. We enjoyed fish, fried pork, beef marrow and chicken dishes.

The feast was on the tails of a fantastic seafood lunch: shrimp soup, scallops and grilled marlin--all excellent. Our coordinator from Australian Business Volunteers (the NGO IBM is partnering with) told us we can count on coming back a few "kilos" heavier: based on the kindness and generosity displayed by our Filipino friends, I'm sure that will be the case.

Teaming Up

Our Service Corps work has finally lifted off the ground: after a few months of preparation activities and the long travel to Bacolod City, today began with the introductory meeting with our clients. Jaydip and I have been paired up to work with the University of St. La Salle who also happened to host the event. In addition to the University, the team is working with a handful of local government agencies.

It was nice to associate the faces with each of the organizations as they provided background information and a summary of their objectives. Bacolod City is known as the "city of smiles" and the clients all lived up to that nickname.

Our team also spent some time with introductions. We are a team of 10 IBMers from all over the globe: US, Brazil, China, India, Finland, Spain, Belgium and Russia. I've worked on 'virtual' global teams for most of the years spent at IBM; however, this is really a great learning experience to have everyone together at the same location. This is definitely one of the big bonus' of the assignment.

St. La Salle University is a non-profit, private school that covers all educational bases for approximately 13,000 students: elementary, high school, undergraduate, and graduate classes. The school is looking to improve their IT support: they provide several basic IT but do have a ways to go to have mature services. We spent the afternoon reviewing a laundry list of potential projects and narrowing that down to a reasonable set. It was encouraging to that the experience Jaydip and I bring match well to several of their key needs. My key concern is that I only have two weeks before I head back to Manila to help with a Disaster Response project: so time will be very limited--especially since the city is about to begin their major festival of the year: MassKara....more on that later.

Another World

"Toto, I have the feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." On the drive from the airport to our latest hotel in Bacolod City it was clear I'm a long ways from home: 7,454 miles to be exact. Out the window were fields of sugar cane, with lush mountains in the background. Every few miles you'd see a farmer using a water buffalo to help with the work. On the outskirts of town we started seeing trucks being piled 15 feet high with stacks of the sugar canes. The closer we got into the city, the more our driver weaved around motorcycles and bikes with sidecars filed with passengers.




I've done a fair amount of traveling in the west, but this is a different adventure and I enjoyed soaking in the sights. I arrived in Manila late Friday night and took a short taxi ride to Makati City were our team of IBMers would meet. Makati City is the financial hub of Manila and it was clear from the luxury stores nearby, that this is where people with money like to hang out.

Jaydip and I spent Saturday morning getting familiar with Makati City before the bulk of our team arrived. When they arrived, we enjoyed lunch together at a Filipino restaurant (Ebun). We were glad they had a picture book to go along with the menu or we would have no idea what we were ordering. We shared a mix of fish, prawns, chicken dishes to go along with our Filipino rice: it was a nice meal. I had the bright idea of ordering a mango shake and most of the team followed the suggestion. I thought it would be milk based but quickly learned it was mango and ice. So, it took about an hour for most of us to break the rule of avoiding ice in our drink (luckily no one is sick yet).

After lunch we headed off for a very quick tour of downtown Manila. We had six of us crammed in the hotel's SUV and only two hours to get a feel for the city: so we only had a brief taste of the sites of Manila. We saw the San Agustin Church (the oldest in the Philippines), drove by the old Fort Santiago, and got a feel for life outside of the financial district. To be honest, my favorite sites on the trip were the Jeepney driving by. Jeepnies must be the inspiration for the "pimp my ride" series because many of these war jeeps turned mini-buses are truly works of art.

We also stopped briefly at Manila Bay and the first thing we saw were enormous piles of trash in the bay. In one section, the trash pile must have gone out 50 feet. It took me a minute to realize most of this came from the recent typhoon/flooding. On the piles, were people rummaging for anything worth salvaging in the trash. Throughout the drive in Manila we saw many signs of severe poverty but this touched me the most. This truly is another world from my normal environment. I hope our limited efforts can have some impact on those suffering in this area.