Settling In

Tuesday, June 6 – Saturday, June 10

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I slept in long enough on Tuesday to wake up with the distinctive feeling of “Where am I?” washing over me, as I was still getting used to my new surroundings. The five of us IWU interns at IRRI, which included Sam, Hannah, Jessica, Jessica, and I, would be picked up later to meet the other IWU students at their hotel for an introductory orientation on the Philippines, Filipino culture, and a crash course in Tagalog.

Soon enough, Tito Mon arrived to take us to the next step of our journey. On the drive over, he told us about his own years working at IRRI and the many great experiences and opportunities he had. It was nice to hear a personal account of what it is like from someone who had extensive experience there. 

We arrived, slapped on our name tags, and got settled in, quickly meeting Kuya Gillian, who would be conducting a portion of our orientation. When the other interns got there, Tito Mon began. He told us a lot about Filipino culture, social practices and relationships, staple pastimes like basketball and karaoke, as well as the importance and length of the Christmas season here, which, as he put it, lasts through all of the “-ber” months (September-December). Then, he moved on to food, showing us examples of traditional Filipino foods, as well as the specific words used to describe them and their flavors. And after making our mouths water, we were rewarded with a break and some buko pie. Buko is a pie made with coconut meat and milk, and it is absolutely delicious, or as Tito Mon taught us to say, masarap! He also explained that it is quite common to eat a lot throughout the day here in the Philipines, with a diet not unlike Tolkien’s beloved hobbits. After my time here so far, I can attest that there regularly is breakfast, a midmorning snack around 10:30 am, lunch an hour and a half later, a midafternoon snack at 3 pm, dinner, and the occasional late-night sweet. 

The orientation soon resumed with Kuya Gillian and we dove headfirst into the language of Tagalog. There were charts of the numbers and body parts, as well as several fun activities and games to test our knowledge. After receiving and reviewing four packets full of vocabulary, we broke off into groups to create our own unique skits using our new language skills. My group, Abi, Jessica, Jessica, and I, developed a story of a foreigner arriving in the Philippines and meeting two strangers on a jeepney who help her go to the market to do some bargaining. Each group performed in front of the room, with less than flawless execution, but everyone had a good time learning and practicing this new language. 

We made our way to the center pavilion where we would be having a feast of traditional Filipino cuisine, much of what Tito Mon had described to us in our orientation. We ate with our hands on plates of banana leaves, eager to try all of the new food in front of us. There was fish broiled in coconut milk, pancit, barbecued meats, fruit, and lots of rice.

I tried a little bit of everything, and thoroughly enjoyed it all! For dessert, we had halo-halo, a popular treat that makes it easy to cool down in the summer heat. We talked and laughed and shared stories and expectations for our time here as a group before we eventually had to go our separate ways. We said our goodbyes and good lucks before the 5 of us piled back into Tito Mon’s car to return to IRRI.

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On Wednesday, the 5 of us had another orientation, this one focused specifically on IRRI. We met with Mr. Frolian Fule at IRRI Education whom we had been in contact with while preparing to apply for our internships. After a Safety and Security briefing, and some information about potential outings or places to visit, we were on the move once more. We boarded one of the IRRI shuttle buses to take a short driving tour of Los Baños. The streets were narrow and packed with traffic and people navigating the thin sidewalks. Frolian pointed out some notable spots for us and then we soon arrived at the lake. From there, there was a much better view of Mount Makiling, the larger mountain in our area, and the shimmering water looked like a refreshing escape from the heat and humidity. We snapped a picture with the “I ♡ LB” letters and resumed our journey. Frolian stopped to pick us up a much-needed buko pie for later, this time from the Original Buko Pie shop. We continued through to the mountains, where there is a shortcut to get back to the IRRI facilities. On our drive, we encountered a locally famous road where, even though it angles downward, when you put the vehicle in neutral it drives backward, as well as a fruit stand run by local female farmers, where we each bought some fruit. 

After another orientation, I retired to my room to rest up for the first official day of my internship. 

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I woke up nice and early, had a full breakfast, and walked to my building, conveniently located right across from my dorm. This building hosts many important offices for IRRI, such as the Director General’s, finance and legal counsel, and my own, just to name a few. There was another round of introductions, as the office schedule often rotates as to when people come in person or work from home. I met another one of my managers, Ms. Rhodora, who would help me throughout the day, and two other interns near my age, Aine and Rylla, who invited me to go out after work. It was Aine’s last day, so we had a celebratory lunch together as an office in the conference room with lots of Vietnamese food and what everyone proclaimed to me was the best chocolate cake in Laguna. 

After work, the three of us interns boarded an IRRI shuttle to take us to the gates at the entrance of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, or the UP Gate, which opens up to the main street of Los Baños, Lopez Avenue. We walked to a bakery for some cream puffs and eclairs, and then back to the UPLB campus to get drinks and a spot to sit in Freedom Park. We sat and chatted for hours, talking about our internships, our schooling, plans for the future, and our various interests. I felt so nice to have made friends, and both girls were so welcoming and easy to talk to. So far, I hadn’t had the chance to talk to many people my age, outside of the IWU students I came with, and it was comforting to be able to exchange perspectives, get advice, and swap stories. Even though were from different places, we had many things in common and weren’t really as different as we previously thought we’d be. After exchanging socials, the girls walked me to the shuttle stop and waited with me before saying goodbye as I boarded my ride back to IRRI. 

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I was able to work from home on Friday, and even though my 2-month temporary home is only a short walk from my office, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and work from the comfort of my room. I briefly went into the office to meet my head supervisor, Melinda, before resuming work from my room.

Later that night, the 5 of us IWU interns decided to venture out and explore a bit of Los Baños. We boarded our faithful shuttle and took it past the UP Gate to the smaller, quieter, Raymundo Gate. With much less traffic, both auto and foot, the walk was very enjoyable and allowed us to admire our new surroundings. We found what we looking for, a Korean restaurant called Seoul Kitchen, and patiently waited for an available table.

Once inside, we settled in, ordered, and began talking and getting to know one another better. We planned some ideas of what we would like to do together during our time here and were all very excited to explore. Our food arrived, and the table became quiet as we got straight to eating. The only Korean meal I had tried before was tteok-bokki, so this time I ordered the dolsot bibimbap, and it was absolutely delicious. Although the food in the IRRI cafeteria was tasty, it felt amazing to have a fresh, hot meal made especially for me. Ice cream was debated, but we chose against it in favor of wandering Los Baños. 

While the directions are all very straightforward, the humidity hanging over you makes the journey slightly more uncomfortable. After my time here so far, it doesn’t bother me as much as it did this night, but I am certainly still getting used to being coated in a thick layer of sweat after a day outside.

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Plans were made for Saturday morning, and Hannah, Jessica 1, Jessica 2, and I walked over to Baker Street, which runs parallel to Freedom Park, for the Saturday morning market. Every Saturday morning from 6:30 am to 11 am, vendors line the street with food, drinks, clothes, and handmade goods. We made our way up and down each stall, carefully sizing up each to see what we wanted to spend our precious pesos on. With the mid-morning heat and humidity, it’s no surprise we unanimously landed on some freshly made boba milk tea. I decided to try the melon flavor, which the vendor said was her personal favorite. Not only was the cool drink nice and refreshing, but the conversation made with vendors was equally as pleasant. We tend to stick out as foreigners and so many will ask us what brings us to the Philippines, then sharing their own recommendations as to where to visit or what food to try. I also purchased a sandwich for later that was grilled cheese and pesto with pili nuts, local nuts that grow all the way down the road we walk to get to town, Pili Drive. 

We waited for Jessica’s drink to be made, overheard a mother correcting her daughter’s mix-up of “beach” and its not-so-child-friendly homophone, and then began trekking through the UPLB campus to get to our favorite street, Lopez Ave. Jessica needed a sim card for her phone, so we were all on the lookout for pharmacies and 7-11’s, although that mission didn’t stop us from mentally bookmarking places we found interesting for later. We took refuge from the heat, as many Filipinos do, in one of the local malls, and although Jessica had yet to find a sim card, we found plenty of other useful purchases, most notably face masks for an imminent girl’s night. 

We wandered the streets some more for the sought-after sim card, and finally found one in one of the several 7-11’s we had checked. To reward ourselves, we stopped at a small cafe for some pizza and cold drinks before walking back to IRRI. I was really grateful for the shopping trip, not just for the laundry detergent, but for the opportunity it provided for us girls to get to know each other. We weren’t really that close at IWU and honestly didn’t know much about one another, but this little trip opened the door for wonderful friendships. 

We ducked down the street of the Raymundo Gate and found a little place tucked away on the third floor of a dorm and restaurant building. 

As we walked up the stairs, it sounded as though there was a professional performer present, her heavenly voice drawing us into the establishment. When we walked in we saw a man and a woman sitting down, casually belting out a ballad in the most angelic voice I had ever heard. The place was quite cozy, with only the two singers and a table of maybe four people present. We got ourselves a table and listened to the performers, patiently waiting our turn.  After they were done, the couple left, followed by the other diners not long after.

When we decided Los Baños had been sufficiently graced with our voices, we headed out to continue the birthday celebrations before making our way back to IRRI and the comfort of our beds, closing out the first week of our travels with a night of good fun.