The Adventure Continues

Well I haven't blogged since I returned from the Philippines in July. The purpose of this blog was to keep folks posted while I was in San Carlos City as a volunteer with Bridge of Life. Little did I know that the trip would be so transformational. The experience caused me to do some serious reflection about how I wanted to spend my time these next few years....in a surprising development (to some) I applied for the Director of Operations position with Bridge of Life. The last few months have been a gradual transition , interviewing candidates for my replacement for Davita and taking on more responsibility for Bridge of Life. Effective March 15 I am 100% Bridge of Life and it's a dream job. I am the only full time paid employee of Bridge of Life but luckily because its a Davita Village program I remain a Davita teammate with full benefits. Bridge of Life is non profit so this is a whole new world for me. I will be writing more about all the upcoming missions but I can tell you for sure my next international trip will be back to the Philippines. This time we are working with the wonderful Sisters I met on my last day in San Carlos. I'm sure I was meant to meet them - they are just inspiring women. They certainly inspired me. Stay tuned!

We are on You Tube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y93RXl8t5X0

More photos of the real stuff plus our reinforcements

Team 2- Anthony (Biomed) and Lee (RN) - the flowers were placed around their necks by nurses in white caps when they arrived for the dedication ceremony . The ladies had corsages pinned on,
More Team 2- Amabel (RN) and Connie (PCT) with Manny(PCT) in the background. if you ever get the chance you should hear Connie's accent- it's awesome- she is from the Philippines but has lived in North Carolina for over a decade so she has a southern drawl along with her original. It is an amazing mix of accents- I love it! This was taken at a restaurant called Enzo my last night in the country- We had a pretty large group and the musicians dedicated We Are The World to us. Of course we sang along- We are Davitans after all.

Okay- I get that I may seem a bit obsessed with the bathroom shots but really the shower was fascinating and yet so difficult to describe. I got pretty good at managing the heat and volume. If you are wondering what the red bucket on the back of the toilet is for just ask me when you see me. Poor Neil- I asked him while we were out shopping and he graciously told me but the look on his face was priceless (how did I end up being the one she asked said his face?)

Taxi Cabs Philippine style

This belongs to the husband of one our patients. He drove her to treatment in it and then gave a group of our teammates a ride they all seemed to enjoy. (at least it wasn't raining when they rode)

Called a Jitney- not sure of the spelling but they are all over and no two seem to be decorated the same. This one is pretty conservative comapred to the others. Fortunately no one who lives there is very tall so they don't bump their head when they board (like I would) Big city, little city- they are everywhere

San Carlos Photos

This is one of the nicer "Tricycles" They are motor scooters with sidecars and are essentially the Philippine version of taxi cabs ( as you get deeper into the country some are actually bicycles instead of motor scooters) All have umbrella tops for the sidecars in preparation for the frequent rain. No helmets at all and there appears to be no limit to the number of passengers that are allowed to pile in

Provincial Resolution NO. 320-2009