Letter to Students 10th September 2007

Dear Reader

It is seven thirty on Monday morning, and I am sitting in the Richmond Hotel lobby in Pasig City, looking out at a fountain which breaks my view of the steady line of cars which stream along the congested streets.  The Philippines is a land of stark contrast, but I am very much enjoying being in Asia again.  Although it is hot and humid, I love being able to wear light clothes, and my only complaint is that the air conditioning is set too cold.  This hotel, in which I stayed for two nights, is sheer opulence compared to the poverty on so many of the streets, and my heart strings are pulled every time a little girl comes up to me begging for money through the car window.  The first girl, about seven years of age, said that she would be killed if she didn’t get any money as she dangled threaded flowers at us, and then got angry when she was given money but we didn’t take her flowers!  The second girl, about the same age, had a glorious looking baby on her hip, and asked for money to feed the baby.  I had no Philippino money, but gave her a bun I had been given at the seminar we had just run.  She took the bun, but said it wasn’t money for her baby.  I said how gorgeous the baby was, and with a big grin, she said I could have the baby!  I was momentarily tempted.  If I could take all the babies that needed love home with me, I would need all of New Zealand to have a place to put them!  Apparently, many of these girls are groomed to beg, and then at the age of twelve they are dressed up, and are sold off to men.  What a life!  I really wonder if death is not a better option.  However, having said that, we must never give up hope that attitudes will change, and that these precious girls will be given the love they so deserve.  I just want to reach out and give my own children a hug and tell them how much they are loved.

I wonder what you are doing at this time.  It is 11:40 on Monday morning in New Zealand, and it is hard to believe that this time last week I was with you, beavering away in preparation for my trip.  Air travel is a remarkable thing as it transports us so quickly to worlds so different from our own.  I love it.  I love the change of pace, the different food, the different lifestyles.  It gives me a chance to step away from my own life, and reflect; something I have so little time to do in my daily routine.  Having said that, I do consciously look at my life, but it is from the perspective of my life in Dunedin.  Coming away, I have none of the day to day responsibilities, and I am able to look at my life more objectively.  I never take my family, friends and life in Dunedin for granted, and coming away, reinforces how lucky I am.

I have had little sleep this past week, and I think all my senses are heightened.  I have had horrific nightmares every night I have been away, and yet I have awoken feeling clear headed.  Life here seems a little surreal, and vivid images stay in my mind.  Flying in to Singapore, I took advantage of a free shuttle bus to explore the inner city, and ended up sitting by the water on a calm evening and looking out across the bay to a spectacular old hotel, with the distinctive lion fountain in the foreground.  I had thought of walking round to the historic hotel, but my shoes had become uncomfortable in the heat, and blisters prevented me from walking any further than back to the bus.  I was very tempted to walk barefooted, but remembered that it is against the law to do so.  On the same bus, there were two young women from Sri Lanka, and I struck up a conversation with them, as is my way.  When I found out they were studying in Japan, I started speaking Japanese, but they said they wanted to speak English as they had little change to interact with foreigners.  We laughed at the multi cultural flavour of our exchange, and it was a remarkable coincidence that we met again the next day in the airport.  They called out to me, and it was nice to be recognised in such a huge airport.  This mini city which is Chiangi airport works like clockwork, with the quiet precision for which Singapore is renowned.  Queuing at one stage, I turned to see an Indian gentleman who made eye contact and I smiled.  He greeted me, and I asked him where he was from.  He proudly said, in his broad Indian accent, that he was a New Zealander, and when I told him that I was a Kiwi as well, he said he knew that.  When I asked him how he knew, he replied that it was because I appeared so friendly! Isn’t that a great attribute to have attached to your national identity?

As I write, the mango smoothie I had ordered has just arrived.  I will sip it as I write to you, and savour not only the taste, but the moment.  I have indulged my passion for exotic fruit since being in the Philippines, and yesterday tasted so many kinds of fruit which were new to me.  Although I was booked to stay in the hotel for four nights, I really wanted to get out and experience the “real Philippines.” I had been in contact with one of the mothers of one of our Filippino nurses, and she had invited me to stay.  Because my main objective in coming to Manila was to give presentations for our agent, I didn’t want to offend anyone by making my own plans.  However, when I found out that my commitments were only on the Friday night and all day Saturday, I quickly accepted the kind offer to stay in a Filippino home.  I feel very privileged to have been able to do so. 

Although I have travelled extensively, the experiences I have had here have reinforced my belief that the world is a wonderfully dynamic, and ever changing place.  (I wish you could see the traffic at the intersection outside this hotel. There are no traffic lights, and traffic is just inching through.  I am amazed at how drivers do U-turns on busy roads, and somehow, they manage to inch their way into the flow of traffic with no disruption except a slowing of the oncoming car which patiently lets them in.  There is no road rage here, and I think that Kiwi drivers should come here and take a leaf out of these drivers’ books!)

While being here, I have burnt the candle at both ends, but happily so.  Each morning I have arisen early and gone for a swim in the hotel pool on the fourth floor before having a buffet breakfast, and at night I have explored the massive malls and markets.  We were taken to an outdoor market where everyone could sit under a huge canvas roof, eat from a variety of stalls and listen to live music.  The two groups we heard were famous in the Philippines, and the first group sounded so like James Taylor I almost cried!  I wished that Han had been with me as he often sings the songs I heard. I sat and shared a beer with a colleague from Dunedin, and ate delicious grilled food off a taro palm and felt very blessed. (Straight ahead of me is the glassed shelving which displays all the cakes and savouries for the café.  This place is a mecca for those with a sweet tooth and a weakness for pastries!  The cakes and pastries are very continental, and very good.  I can understand why diabetes is a serious problem here, and why middle aged woman are the same size as many overweight Kiwi women.  This surprised me as the young Filippinos are so incredibly slim!)  As we ate at the market, two very slim girls came up to us and asked us if we wanted to try one of those sweet alcoholic drinks which target young drinkers.  Even if I had wanted to try the drink, and that was highly unlikely, the fact that they were using the same plastic glasses for everyone to taste certainly made me politely decline the offer.  However, I saw them approach a table of young people who had been drinking light beer, and thought how corrupt it was that they were tempting them with harder drinks under the guise of sexy sweet drinks. 

…………….

I am now back in my office at school, and I have just reread what I wrote in the hotel lobby.  That trip seems a dream to me now, and I feel a month has passed since I wrote the above, not just over a week.

Love

Sharron