A Warm Introduction



Region map



This week we received such a warm greeting from the hosts at Zamboanga! Their city will be our first entry point (after Manila) and our first opportunity to meet and greet people there. Our hosts wrote so invitingly and in such a welcoming tone that I felt any nerves I had about making this big trip melt away.  Now there's just excitement left! And a little more prep work to do with our group...then we will be on our way....



Zamboanga night scene by the sea



Getting ready for the last meeting before we head to the Philippines!

As we are getting ready for our last meeting, we want to make sure we have everything checked off of our list.  We will be practicing our presentations and experimenting with cooking traditional Filipino dishes.

Here is our Menu so far:

Tofu Sigsig
Shrimp Adobo
Pancit
Sinanglay
Taho

Let us know if you have any other menu suggestions!

Camille and I will also be setting up an American dish or two that we can easily prepare for our hosts in the Philippines.

Kendra and I were discussing the possibility of helping with some relief work after the destructive typhoon which has devastated many villages in the south.  Please let us know if you want to help in any way, or if you have any aid ideas of your own.

Typhoon Bopha

December 3rd, 2012 Super Typhoon Bopha hit the Southern islands of the Philippines, with the most devastating impact hitting the Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and the Mindanao regions.

This picture shows the path in which the Typhoon Bopha traveled through the south up through the Philippines islands.  The typhoon waxed and waned between class 2-5 in strength, reaching a class 5 typhoon when it first hit the islands.




The storm induced flash flooding, dangerously high winds, and fallen objects, all resulting in injury, mortality, and displacement.  Over 600 people are confirmed dead, 700+ people are still missing, and thousands are out of homes.

Now remains approximately $200 million in damages are done to local crops and land.

With disaster relief and aid being provided for numerous people displaced out of homes, injured, or with lost family and friends... one piece of good news is PEACE and TRUCES have been made at this point between the government and rebel fighters in the Southern regions of the Philippines.  Read the article below for more information regarding the peace truces:

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/10/15810761-philippines-rebels-declare-truces-in-typhoon-devastated-areas?lite



The GSE District 5110 team is hopeful for everyone's safety and for adequate disaster relief and plans being formed for the people in these devastated regions.  Despite this horrible natural disaster, we are very hopeful to be able to continue with our GSE travels to these southern regions as planned (Panay, Negros, Mindanao).  Perhaps there will be opportunities for us to volunteer or provide some extra hands for those in need while we are there.  :)

The seriously attired team and then the goofy team with the O for Oregon!!

Hi all,
So I'm looking up places we're going online and I found that there's a wikitravel!  Here are some good links:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Negros_Occidental

http://wikitravel.org/en/Bacolod

let's go

Getting ready with the team

Looking forward to jumping rope, dancing, singing, and showing them what Oregon is all about!