Rotary Group Study Exchange 2013 District 5110 U.S. to District 3850 Philippines: Our First Week in the Philippines: Zamboanga!

"It's More Fun in the Philippines!"

Zambaonga City, Philippines

"Asia's Latin City"

We arrived in Zamboanga on Friday, February 8th 2013...after a very long flight starting in Medford, Oregon to San Francisco, California, to Manila...a 12 hour layover in Manila airport was enough to drive one mad, but we handled it like champs and had a good time. We even practiced our dance there.

This is what we looked like in the Manila Airport...they turned the a/c on high, so we were trying to stay WARM in the Philippines! Who would have thought?? Ha ha!

Upon arriving to Zamboanga's airport...we were greeted like celebrities by all these wonderful Rotarians and family members!! Everyone was so very excited, as were we! Oh, and it was HOT and Humid!!

We enjoyed our first Filipino feast with the Zamboangan Rotarians at the Lantaka Hotel restaurant outside on the beach front. Hello friends!! From here and for the week, we were to meet our host families and go to many amazing places in the city!

We went to many places including the Pasonanca forestry park where the Rotary Watershed project was installed along with many other neat parks and recreational areas. We were able to see the Chinese School's annual Chinese New Year's Lion dance team perform at Paseo Del Mar!

Paseo del Mar; perfect for Valentine's Day couples to stroll along the water and watch the sunset :)

My host family (minus my Host Brother, Roel and their daughter Kayla)

Nanay, Patay, Me, Minette, Gaby

My Host family again! Roel, Minette, Gaby, Kayla...we're all going to Santa Cruz Island!

Hello ladies! The GSE Team and the Fabulous Anna ...Santa Cruz Island, across the way from Zamboanga.

Lyn serving up some delicious crabs! Sea food here is amazing and plentiful.

And we were plenty protected...with a bunch of Coast Guard guys escorting us the entire time! Plenty of armed guards around the Philippines! However, right now in the Cities they have a Gun Ban for the duration of the upcoming elections.

Yes, we went to a real cockfighting arena, filled with so many (mostly men) people! It was both sad and yet induced a feeling of hunger within us. Chicken...yum...

We met the Mayor of the City of Zamboanga! That was a nice time.

We visited many schools, hospitals, and other vocational areas. A very nice thing about Zamboanga City is the mixture of cultures and religions in a peaceful manner here...Many Muslims and Roman Catholics are located in this area and there are no major conflicts with the locals here from what we observed. :)

This is John bringing the 4 of us (Lauretta, Beth, Emily, and I) BALUT to try for the very first time. Balut is the duck embryo of an egg that hasn't hatched. These were 18 day old duck babies. WE ALL DID IT. I had the hardest time, look at my face here! But...we did it! Feathers, beak, and all.

OREGON!!! Go Ducks! (Not Balut ducks!)

And then I attempted durian (sp?) ...stinky fruit with a sharp spindly outside and a creamy inside and the smell of funky feet! They say "It smells like hell, but tastes like heaven!"....we beg to differ. :)

Our first Governmental/Public hospital visit. Very eye opening. Very understaffed, too many patients per nurses (50 to 1?!?!), and so much old equipment, technology, and just not enough resources to provide excellent care. The private hospitals are much better, but it's only for the people with $$$ who can pay...

The ICU...these nurses work 6 days a week...every week.

Their Crash Cart. Cardiac arrest, anyone? That's their defibrillator.

Well, overall Zamboanga was a wonderful stay, and this post doesn't even do justice to the amazing people we've met and new friends we have...nor to the area and the beauty of Zamboanga. Everyone is so hospitable and friendly, even the curious local onlookers and bystanders. I will hopefully have more time to do a better post about this area in the future. :)