Video - hopefully it should work :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyYwB2sBwgM
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Project development. Hopefully.
OK, so another day in Bakhawan eco-park..
These first few days (and indeed those which will follow from now) are (for me and Joe anyway) mostly about grounding ourselves, and learning as much about the community we can from people in key positions. I was really struggling with my project as I've spent so much time with my nose in the literature that I had forgotten how different it was really going to be in practise. My project has changed so many times over the last six months as I've received more information about the community and the mangroves, and it is only now that I can properly create a final draft proposal.. although to be fair, there isn't really time for that. Lisa is struggling somewhat as the areas she planned to sample in are not as she thought they were (she was going to be sampling within three different types of mangrove; pristine (naturally grown and undisturbed), disturbed (by over-harvesting etc) and planted but relatively pristine. The problem is that not all the mangrove are coastal (one of them is a basin, inland mangrove) and this introduces a hoard of confounding factors. So in many ways we are at the same stage in project planning and confusion. There is the possiblity that she could do all her sampling within this mangrove (the orginal 'planted' mangrove discussed) as the three areas which she would like to assess do in fact exist here, but possibly in not as large an area as she would prefer. There is an area of clearly planted mangroves, there is an area which was previously disturbed (by typhoons) mangrove which has naturally regenerated, and there are areas of heavily disturbed (by illegal harvesting) mangroves. Fingers crossed that this could work.
Today really opened my eyes (and Joe's too I would imagine). Avit, a 21 year old from Kalibo (barangay of New Buswang where we are currently based), who works in the eco-park and has been involved in the mangroves through his parents from a very young age, took us (all 4) out to meet some members of the community. We were all under the impression that this was just going to be an informal meet and greet, until he asked me if I had my questions prepared..... We managed to work it well however. We spoke to two different people (with differeing views on the mangrove) in a reasonable amount of depth, just explaining why we were here, and asking a few questions of them. I recorded these sessions and Joe and I transcribed them this afternoon (poor Joe got landed with the longest one, he isn't called my skivvy for nothing :D). We gained quite a lot of insight from these, and possible directions for when it comes to data collection in earnest. Later on I decided it would be a good idea to have a chat with Avit, just informally and ask a few questions. I ended up recording it and we spoke for over an hour, gaining some fantastic insight into the workings of the community and KASAMA, and really contexualising everything which is exactly what we've been needing. Following this I made poor Joe (who isn't actually just a useless primary teacher :P) listen over the recording (and I re-listened) and together we identified the key issues that came out, and started formulating a new direction for my project. Instead of coming at it from a totally theoretical point of view and making a lame attempt to marry that to the community issues, we are taking the community issues and trying to find a theoretical framework which fits them (if indeed one exists - I'm almost sure there will be one). I intended to do start doing a bit more literature review tonight, but we ended up talking too long about possible directions for this project, and muddling together all the previous ideas from my old proposals into something sparkly and new. Instead of taking the angle of whether both development and conservation objectives are being fulfilled, we are going to (potentially) look at putting this project under an umbrella such as incorporating sustainable development and the reasons for lack of participation. Whilst I obviously do want a good grade for this project, I also really want to do something which can help these communities and assist in future development of KASAMA as they are looking to expand the mangrove area, expand the boardwalk, and recruit new members. Ultimately (this came from Avit) they want the community to understand what the mangroves do for them, and what they can do for the mangroves. They don't want for there to be any segregation in the community, and for everybody to reap the same rewards. In order for this to happen, they need to know what is currently standing in their way. Maybe this project can elucidate some of these issues, perhaps not. We reckon it can, so do the park staff and that is all that matters.
More on the actual methods/key ideas over the next few days when we've bounced them around a bit and I've done a few more preliminary interviews with the KASAMA executives and the barangay captains.
These first few days (and indeed those which will follow from now) are (for me and Joe anyway) mostly about grounding ourselves, and learning as much about the community we can from people in key positions. I was really struggling with my project as I've spent so much time with my nose in the literature that I had forgotten how different it was really going to be in practise. My project has changed so many times over the last six months as I've received more information about the community and the mangroves, and it is only now that I can properly create a final draft proposal.. although to be fair, there isn't really time for that. Lisa is struggling somewhat as the areas she planned to sample in are not as she thought they were (she was going to be sampling within three different types of mangrove; pristine (naturally grown and undisturbed), disturbed (by over-harvesting etc) and planted but relatively pristine. The problem is that not all the mangrove are coastal (one of them is a basin, inland mangrove) and this introduces a hoard of confounding factors. So in many ways we are at the same stage in project planning and confusion. There is the possiblity that she could do all her sampling within this mangrove (the orginal 'planted' mangrove discussed) as the three areas which she would like to assess do in fact exist here, but possibly in not as large an area as she would prefer. There is an area of clearly planted mangroves, there is an area which was previously disturbed (by typhoons) mangrove which has naturally regenerated, and there are areas of heavily disturbed (by illegal harvesting) mangroves. Fingers crossed that this could work.
Today really opened my eyes (and Joe's too I would imagine). Avit, a 21 year old from Kalibo (barangay of New Buswang where we are currently based), who works in the eco-park and has been involved in the mangroves through his parents from a very young age, took us (all 4) out to meet some members of the community. We were all under the impression that this was just going to be an informal meet and greet, until he asked me if I had my questions prepared..... We managed to work it well however. We spoke to two different people (with differeing views on the mangrove) in a reasonable amount of depth, just explaining why we were here, and asking a few questions of them. I recorded these sessions and Joe and I transcribed them this afternoon (poor Joe got landed with the longest one, he isn't called my skivvy for nothing :D). We gained quite a lot of insight from these, and possible directions for when it comes to data collection in earnest. Later on I decided it would be a good idea to have a chat with Avit, just informally and ask a few questions. I ended up recording it and we spoke for over an hour, gaining some fantastic insight into the workings of the community and KASAMA, and really contexualising everything which is exactly what we've been needing. Following this I made poor Joe (who isn't actually just a useless primary teacher :P) listen over the recording (and I re-listened) and together we identified the key issues that came out, and started formulating a new direction for my project. Instead of coming at it from a totally theoretical point of view and making a lame attempt to marry that to the community issues, we are taking the community issues and trying to find a theoretical framework which fits them (if indeed one exists - I'm almost sure there will be one). I intended to do start doing a bit more literature review tonight, but we ended up talking too long about possible directions for this project, and muddling together all the previous ideas from my old proposals into something sparkly and new. Instead of taking the angle of whether both development and conservation objectives are being fulfilled, we are going to (potentially) look at putting this project under an umbrella such as incorporating sustainable development and the reasons for lack of participation. Whilst I obviously do want a good grade for this project, I also really want to do something which can help these communities and assist in future development of KASAMA as they are looking to expand the mangrove area, expand the boardwalk, and recruit new members. Ultimately (this came from Avit) they want the community to understand what the mangroves do for them, and what they can do for the mangroves. They don't want for there to be any segregation in the community, and for everybody to reap the same rewards. In order for this to happen, they need to know what is currently standing in their way. Maybe this project can elucidate some of these issues, perhaps not. We reckon it can, so do the park staff and that is all that matters.
More on the actual methods/key ideas over the next few days when we've bounced them around a bit and I've done a few more preliminary interviews with the KASAMA executives and the barangay captains.
Maayad-ayad nga pag abot Joe's first blog (Welcome to Joe's first blog)
Hello from the Philippines from me! Finally getting round to posting up something on here, sorry for the long wait! It has been a very busy few days for us, it feels like we have been here so much longer than 2 and a bit days...we have crammed so much in already. So, today we have had our first walk around the community of New Buswang, which is the Baranguay that the Eco-park is right in the heart of. Escorted by Avit, one of the people looking after us, we met a few of the people that will be involved in our project and we are starting to get a good picture of the make-up of the community here and the important groups within it. They seem very interested in what we are doing over here and especially Esther's community-based project. We will hopefully be able to achieve some really good results and give something back to the local people that they can use to develop the Eco-park and the community in general.
From a personal point of view it is really interesting to be involved with the local people and I am beginning to get an understanding of how society operates over here, the community-led projects of which the Eco-Park is one of, are so important for developing the area. From an education point of view the ideas of citizenship and community based learning that are so relevant back at home can benefit a lot from the approaches taken here. I am really looking forward to developing my own understanding of these factors and gaining a lot of insight that I can take back into the classroom and beyond in Scotland.
I am really enjoying my time here so far, it has already begun to feel like home, with the cafe being used as our base of operations. The people are so friendly and eager to help us! Speaking of which, Annie (who is our surrogate mum over here) has just made us lunch, so I had better go eat :) As you can see from the pictures (more of which will be coming soon) the place is amazing too, its my first time in the tropics and the weather is just awesome, we are slowly getting used to the heat and humidity. The scenery is fantastic too, the mangroves just take your breath away I can tell you. So much effort and time has gone into this project and the changes from how this area looked 20 years ago are just staggering, the variety of wildlife that the mangroves have encouraged are mindblowing.
Anyway, that is enough of my gushing about how amazing this place is just now, it is time for me to eat some lunch (breakfast time for you at home?). Keep a look out for photos and more posts very soon!
From a personal point of view it is really interesting to be involved with the local people and I am beginning to get an understanding of how society operates over here, the community-led projects of which the Eco-Park is one of, are so important for developing the area. From an education point of view the ideas of citizenship and community based learning that are so relevant back at home can benefit a lot from the approaches taken here. I am really looking forward to developing my own understanding of these factors and gaining a lot of insight that I can take back into the classroom and beyond in Scotland.
I am really enjoying my time here so far, it has already begun to feel like home, with the cafe being used as our base of operations. The people are so friendly and eager to help us! Speaking of which, Annie (who is our surrogate mum over here) has just made us lunch, so I had better go eat :) As you can see from the pictures (more of which will be coming soon) the place is amazing too, its my first time in the tropics and the weather is just awesome, we are slowly getting used to the heat and humidity. The scenery is fantastic too, the mangroves just take your breath away I can tell you. So much effort and time has gone into this project and the changes from how this area looked 20 years ago are just staggering, the variety of wildlife that the mangroves have encouraged are mindblowing.
Anyway, that is enough of my gushing about how amazing this place is just now, it is time for me to eat some lunch (breakfast time for you at home?). Keep a look out for photos and more posts very soon!
Friday, June 25, 2010
blogged nose...
hello ladies and gentlemen!
i was asked to contribute to our blog and shall offer you my thoughts on our expedition so far, so here i go!
before i start, excuse me for my running and blocked nasal passageways (unfortunately i sniffed too much london dirt and dust before adventuring over here!).
I'm still amazed that it's even possible to obtain a "cold" in these warm countries! it's soo bloody hot that i don't even dare to touch the touchy mousescreen thingy cause it would boil the first skin layer of my fingers! also i have a small reddish/brown ant running wild across my keyboard which risks being drowned by the droplets of sweat dripping off my forehead. well, actually it's not that bad, i'm not really sweating buckets yet, wait until we start the actual work :P
had our first little walk across the mangroves today and i must say i'm overjoyed to be able to conduct research here! (if it wasn't for that blocked nose... seems to affect my hearing as well,... maybe that's a good thing considering the music here)we went out at high tide and walked along the boardwalk admiring the beauty that these mangroves display! trust me, it's really cool! :D the weirdly shaped trees, the even more weirdly shaped mudskippers and their habit to run over water, the "fish-fingers" (eloooongated fish), the cool crabs, birds and just the variety of life forms that i've never seen before. as you can tell, i'm pretty excited !!! :D this is like a massive playground for me with undiscovered treasures (undiscovered to the extend that they don't know much about the ecology of most things here) no one some peops stay here for long after their actual work is done. if i wasn't stuck in uni i would do the same ;P
that brings me to my relatively poorly dissertation which has to be tackled very very soon (now?!). can't wait to work with the beasties here, although i'm not sure which ones yet. there are some really really tiny white/yellow/orange crabs. they have a so called nursery here only that the little crabs are actually everywhere. they have tiny burrows and make wee mud balls. the males do this little dance (will try and document in a more visual way at some point!) where they lift their larger claw and wave it :) have only seen a couple of large crabs and some hermit crabs sitting in their coneshaped shells. what other amazing stuff have we seen? a small sea-snake taking a break on a wooden log, brown little thing and i hope we won't get a chance to bond with these fellows too much. the most peculiar things however are those mudskippers! muhahaha! amaaaaazing! gotta absolutely love them! they are so funny with their eyes on the top of their head and their fins which magically seem to glue them to even the most vertical piece of wood! they also have the tremendous ability to jump/walk/fly over the water!
also seen quite a few birds in the morning like the massive kingfisher ( alot taller than ours), a sunbird, that fantailed birds (huge tail!) and sparrows (i wonedr if they were introduced here?) oh and that stupid rooster that just crowed now! (i bet he knows when i am planning to have a nap!) i shall keep my eyes and ears open and discover further peculiar and new lifeforms :D
for now i need to wash that grimy sweaty layer of ehm sweat and salt of my face (the feeling of freshness only lasts for approx 2 minutes only) before venturing to town to meet even more people :)
anyhow, i've written enough so i'll bore you a bit more later on with the discoveries of one that goes shopping in a filipino market ;)
until then, cherio!!!
L
PS: sorry for any mispellings, grammar mistakes and such likes, comes with being a foreigner ;)
i was asked to contribute to our blog and shall offer you my thoughts on our expedition so far, so here i go!
before i start, excuse me for my running and blocked nasal passageways (unfortunately i sniffed too much london dirt and dust before adventuring over here!).
I'm still amazed that it's even possible to obtain a "cold" in these warm countries! it's soo bloody hot that i don't even dare to touch the touchy mousescreen thingy cause it would boil the first skin layer of my fingers! also i have a small reddish/brown ant running wild across my keyboard which risks being drowned by the droplets of sweat dripping off my forehead. well, actually it's not that bad, i'm not really sweating buckets yet, wait until we start the actual work :P
had our first little walk across the mangroves today and i must say i'm overjoyed to be able to conduct research here! (if it wasn't for that blocked nose... seems to affect my hearing as well,... maybe that's a good thing considering the music here)we went out at high tide and walked along the boardwalk admiring the beauty that these mangroves display! trust me, it's really cool! :D the weirdly shaped trees, the even more weirdly shaped mudskippers and their habit to run over water, the "fish-fingers" (eloooongated fish), the cool crabs, birds and just the variety of life forms that i've never seen before. as you can tell, i'm pretty excited !!! :D this is like a massive playground for me with undiscovered treasures (undiscovered to the extend that they don't know much about the ecology of most things here) no one some peops stay here for long after their actual work is done. if i wasn't stuck in uni i would do the same ;P
that brings me to my relatively poorly dissertation which has to be tackled very very soon (now?!). can't wait to work with the beasties here, although i'm not sure which ones yet. there are some really really tiny white/yellow/orange crabs. they have a so called nursery here only that the little crabs are actually everywhere. they have tiny burrows and make wee mud balls. the males do this little dance (will try and document in a more visual way at some point!) where they lift their larger claw and wave it :) have only seen a couple of large crabs and some hermit crabs sitting in their coneshaped shells. what other amazing stuff have we seen? a small sea-snake taking a break on a wooden log, brown little thing and i hope we won't get a chance to bond with these fellows too much. the most peculiar things however are those mudskippers! muhahaha! amaaaaazing! gotta absolutely love them! they are so funny with their eyes on the top of their head and their fins which magically seem to glue them to even the most vertical piece of wood! they also have the tremendous ability to jump/walk/fly over the water!
also seen quite a few birds in the morning like the massive kingfisher ( alot taller than ours), a sunbird, that fantailed birds (huge tail!) and sparrows (i wonedr if they were introduced here?) oh and that stupid rooster that just crowed now! (i bet he knows when i am planning to have a nap!) i shall keep my eyes and ears open and discover further peculiar and new lifeforms :D
for now i need to wash that grimy sweaty layer of ehm sweat and salt of my face (the feeling of freshness only lasts for approx 2 minutes only) before venturing to town to meet even more people :)
anyhow, i've written enough so i'll bore you a bit more later on with the discoveries of one that goes shopping in a filipino market ;)
until then, cherio!!!
L
PS: sorry for any mispellings, grammar mistakes and such likes, comes with being a foreigner ;)
First morning in Kalibo..
Well firstly I would like to apologise to anyone actually reading this that all you are getting is my updates.. I shall convince the others to write some stuff soon.
I've just woken and it's a little past 7am, our first morning staying in the eco-park. Outside is already buzzing, probably never stopped.. Last night it was all cicadas, geckos and the drone of mosquitoes.. strange screeches and barks with occasional amourous giggles emitting from the depths of the mangrove somewhere (there is a boardwalk through it, no romantic strolls in knee-high mud). This morning is unfamiliar bird song, some very insistent cockerels, bikes, trikes, water-running, somebody busying themselves in the canteen..cats, dogs, pigs snorting, singing.. it's fantastic.. although Lisa was woken at 5.30 by said relentless cockerels.. (we still haven't quite got over our jet lag and probably could have done with a few more hours!).. on the upside she's been nature observing this morning whilst we all slept and saw some mud-skippers doing their thing in the mangrove. She also saw a kingfisher, a sandbird, a fantail.. we'll (try) to keep you updated on bird species (mum!).
This place is fantastic. We are all in an extreme state of happiness I think. I need to keep this relatively short because I need to get moving.. but I want to get a sense of place across! Better done with pictures which should be up later today (we are eight hours in front of you guys). Perhaps even a video, or a recording of the tropical cacophony.
We flew out of Manila yesteday at around noon, and it was only a 50 minute flight to Kalibo. We arrived and were greeted by Bullitt(sp) (the manager of the park here), Avitt(sp) (not quite sure of his exact position, but also a key player) and Cody (a texan looking at the charcoal briquetting business out here). The heat is insane, but it's not quite as humid here as it is in Manila (or it doesn't feel it, can't scientifically back that up Dr. Barker..). We were driven to Avitts aunts house for our lunch, and she had laid on a feast, including a whole pigs head! I am officially a carnivore for the next two months, I think there is no getting away from it. So far no ill effects from the mountain of meat I've already eaten I don't think, no meat sweats :) Annie our cook is very lovely, we are going to be giving her a list of likes and dislikes today, however, I feel being able to cook meat for all of us will be the most convenient, just as long as there is no fish.. or tamilok worms (we tried to lay down the law about these yesterday!). Anyway..! Lunch was great, we ate with Bullitt who told us all about the park and the communities. He has a very sarcastic sense of humour and it was an entertaining afternoon! The beer was out almost immediately as we arrived (extra-strong red horse (!) or pilsner). Poor Lisa, our non-beer drinker ended up drinking a whole red horse, which comes in a rather large bottle :) Cigs here are insanely cheap, I think around twenty pence. So much for quitting right? Bullitt chains his cigs, and me and Joe are following suit. I think we may have to apprehend that situation .. perhaps a daily run at high noon will be required, so that we have to stop!
After lunch we had another five min journey in the car to eco-park. This place is amazing. We are right on the outskirts of the city of Kalibo in the barangay (community) of New Buswang. The park starts from the road, with a bamboo walkway on stilts. Set back from the road is the canteen, which is a largeish building on stilts. The canteen/kitchen are completely open, but our room (Lisa and I) is off to the back and has 4 walls and shutters. The boys are staying further back into the mangrove at the top of a bamboo building in the attic, large room each with a balcony. We girls aren't allowed to stay back there because they often get undesirables into the park at night. Like I said, we'll get pictures up soon which will be far superior to my rubbish descriptions. Dinner was served at 6 yesterday, and we ate with the founding members of KASAMA (Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association). It was a brilliant evening, we learnt so much about the community, and the problems which they have encountered and are still encountering. It sounds as if our projects could be quite useful here, everyone seemed very enthusiastic about them. We met Allen Quimpo, former mayor, present governor(?) .. very influential and respected gentleman in these parts, and indeed the Philippines (he was part of the presidential campaign). He has such great vision, and it's very refreshing to see someone in a position of power who actually considers his environmental responsibility as a priority. Apparently they are having a press conference about the park, and the mangroves in general on the 5th of July, and we four are to be a part of that..!
The rest of the evening was spent with these people, drinking rum from Manila and learning lots. Drinking is an integral part of life here it seems from what we were told before we came, and from what we have seen. Whilst it is pleasant on occasion, it's going to have to be something we are quite strict about.
I seem to have written rather a lot. Sorry! There is really so much more, but I should get on with my day. Pictures to follow later :)
I've just woken and it's a little past 7am, our first morning staying in the eco-park. Outside is already buzzing, probably never stopped.. Last night it was all cicadas, geckos and the drone of mosquitoes.. strange screeches and barks with occasional amourous giggles emitting from the depths of the mangrove somewhere (there is a boardwalk through it, no romantic strolls in knee-high mud). This morning is unfamiliar bird song, some very insistent cockerels, bikes, trikes, water-running, somebody busying themselves in the canteen..cats, dogs, pigs snorting, singing.. it's fantastic.. although Lisa was woken at 5.30 by said relentless cockerels.. (we still haven't quite got over our jet lag and probably could have done with a few more hours!).. on the upside she's been nature observing this morning whilst we all slept and saw some mud-skippers doing their thing in the mangrove. She also saw a kingfisher, a sandbird, a fantail.. we'll (try) to keep you updated on bird species (mum!).
This place is fantastic. We are all in an extreme state of happiness I think. I need to keep this relatively short because I need to get moving.. but I want to get a sense of place across! Better done with pictures which should be up later today (we are eight hours in front of you guys). Perhaps even a video, or a recording of the tropical cacophony.
We flew out of Manila yesteday at around noon, and it was only a 50 minute flight to Kalibo. We arrived and were greeted by Bullitt(sp) (the manager of the park here), Avitt(sp) (not quite sure of his exact position, but also a key player) and Cody (a texan looking at the charcoal briquetting business out here). The heat is insane, but it's not quite as humid here as it is in Manila (or it doesn't feel it, can't scientifically back that up Dr. Barker..). We were driven to Avitts aunts house for our lunch, and she had laid on a feast, including a whole pigs head! I am officially a carnivore for the next two months, I think there is no getting away from it. So far no ill effects from the mountain of meat I've already eaten I don't think, no meat sweats :) Annie our cook is very lovely, we are going to be giving her a list of likes and dislikes today, however, I feel being able to cook meat for all of us will be the most convenient, just as long as there is no fish.. or tamilok worms (we tried to lay down the law about these yesterday!). Anyway..! Lunch was great, we ate with Bullitt who told us all about the park and the communities. He has a very sarcastic sense of humour and it was an entertaining afternoon! The beer was out almost immediately as we arrived (extra-strong red horse (!) or pilsner). Poor Lisa, our non-beer drinker ended up drinking a whole red horse, which comes in a rather large bottle :) Cigs here are insanely cheap, I think around twenty pence. So much for quitting right? Bullitt chains his cigs, and me and Joe are following suit. I think we may have to apprehend that situation .. perhaps a daily run at high noon will be required, so that we have to stop!
After lunch we had another five min journey in the car to eco-park. This place is amazing. We are right on the outskirts of the city of Kalibo in the barangay (community) of New Buswang. The park starts from the road, with a bamboo walkway on stilts. Set back from the road is the canteen, which is a largeish building on stilts. The canteen/kitchen are completely open, but our room (Lisa and I) is off to the back and has 4 walls and shutters. The boys are staying further back into the mangrove at the top of a bamboo building in the attic, large room each with a balcony. We girls aren't allowed to stay back there because they often get undesirables into the park at night. Like I said, we'll get pictures up soon which will be far superior to my rubbish descriptions. Dinner was served at 6 yesterday, and we ate with the founding members of KASAMA (Kalibo Save the Mangroves Association). It was a brilliant evening, we learnt so much about the community, and the problems which they have encountered and are still encountering. It sounds as if our projects could be quite useful here, everyone seemed very enthusiastic about them. We met Allen Quimpo, former mayor, present governor(?) .. very influential and respected gentleman in these parts, and indeed the Philippines (he was part of the presidential campaign). He has such great vision, and it's very refreshing to see someone in a position of power who actually considers his environmental responsibility as a priority. Apparently they are having a press conference about the park, and the mangroves in general on the 5th of July, and we four are to be a part of that..!
The rest of the evening was spent with these people, drinking rum from Manila and learning lots. Drinking is an integral part of life here it seems from what we were told before we came, and from what we have seen. Whilst it is pleasant on occasion, it's going to have to be something we are quite strict about.
I seem to have written rather a lot. Sorry! There is really so much more, but I should get on with my day. Pictures to follow later :)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Manila baby!
So we have arrived safely in Manila (one of the most humid cities on the planet!) after a rather tiring journey. No hiccups so far hopefully, except that I (Esther) managed to freeze my online accounts where all our expedition money is stored. Hopefully that situation will be rectified in the next couple of days.. or else we are a little screwed! The heat is unsurprisingly rather oppressive, but it's still brilliant, its about 2am just now, lightning cutting across the pitch black sky but no rain. We are staying in the 'Friendly's Guest House' for tonight, then flight to Kalibo at noon tomorrow. Everyone is knackered, Lisa just went to bed. Football is on though, so Joe is a happy chap, just writing his journal. The three of us (Joe, Marv, Esther) just having a beer before we hit the sack. It's going to be quite an acclimitisation process I think, getting used to the heat, the culture, everything, before our projects commence. It's exciting though.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Pre-departure jitters by Esther
So I eventually got round to setting our blog up.. Probably only because I'm trying to find anything to do which avoids directly confronting my project, which is completely up in the air at the moment. I don't know about the rest of the guys but I'm more scared right now than I have ever been in my life.. no exaggeration. My insides are eating themselves and I'm struggling to do anything but sit and flap my arms and squeak intermittently.
Joe and I are taking the megabus down to London on Sunday at 7.30am (13 hours!) and we all fly out from London on Tuesday evening. I have great plans to visit the NHM whilst we are there, and I think we are all planning to visit the Royal Geographical Society headquarters as they are financially supporting us. Hopefully they should be able to give us some expeditoney-type advice as well.
OK well, nothing too interesting to write, maybe the others can contribute something further. I really need to stop procrastinating and kick project butt.
Joe and I are taking the megabus down to London on Sunday at 7.30am (13 hours!) and we all fly out from London on Tuesday evening. I have great plans to visit the NHM whilst we are there, and I think we are all planning to visit the Royal Geographical Society headquarters as they are financially supporting us. Hopefully they should be able to give us some expeditoney-type advice as well.
OK well, nothing too interesting to write, maybe the others can contribute something further. I really need to stop procrastinating and kick project butt.
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