Week 3!

Hello everyone! For my third week in the Philippines, I wanted to stay local and plan for upcoming adventures outside of my internship.

Before sharing some thoughts from this week, I want to share another adventure from last week. After going to Pagsanjan falls last Saturday, I swam for a short period of time before preparing for afternoon adventures. One adventure last Saturday was thanks to an invitation from ma’am Cean from FNRI. Cean invited Jessica and I to her brother’s coffee shop, Plaza Cafe. Plaza Cafe is a beautiful cafe with a black and white painting of a mountain. There is also another painting of the gate of Pagsanjan Falls in Plaza Cafe.

Back in the U.S, I love going on coffee adventures with my friends – a tradition of sorts that I want to continue when I return later this summer. At Plaza Cafe, I ordered an iced latte with sugar candy on top. As the sugar candy gradually melted, it sweetened the latte nicely.

This past week has been slow, though these upcoming weeks should gain more traction with events. I enjoy how I’m interacting with my co-workers a little more and becoming more comfortable with my internship. I have also gotten a better sense of the lunch menu, which I’ve learned has really good chicken curry. A few weeks ago, a small mistake was made.

On my first full day at FNRI, I ordered bitter melon. I appreciate certain elements of Filipino meals, though bitter melon is not my favorite (my small mistake).

On Wednesday, I ordered fried chicken and rice for lunch, which was quite tasty even though it’s definitely not the healthiest meal. After Jessica and I found the pantry room after our meal, we talked with a co-worker who showed us a beautiful bento box with homemade sushi. A highlight of my week was being offered some sushi from this co-worker, which I happily accepted. 

During my junior year of high school I needle felted sushi for an art project.

I did laundry upstairs in my condo Wednesday evening, so now I don’t need to pay to get my laundry done. I didn’t think doing laundry would be unsettling, but I made the mistake of doing laundry in the evening. Therefore, I did my laundry in a small space with poor lighting – the laundry room for my residence unit on the roof. Kind of random, but I’ve seen stray cats and dogs in my residence complex too.

On another note, Catholicism is a very common religion in the Philippines and the religion is usually incorporated into daily tasks. Work meetings and work days usually include prayer. There is also a small room of worship in the building my internship is in. I don’t pray at work since I’m not Catholic.

One interesting event occurring in the Philippines this week will be the inauguration of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., with considerable controversy due to the actions of his father, Ferdinand Marcos. “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will be formally inaugurated as the 17th president of the Philippines on June 30 in Manila. Sara Duterte, the 16th Vice President of the Philippines, has already been sworn in.

In terms of living in America, I’m shocked the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade this past Friday. We need to be adding social services and improving healthcare in America, not dismantling systems that many Americans rely on.

I’m relieved to know some friends back home have been participating in protests, considering my actions are somewhat limited in the Philippines.

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