
LIFE IS LIKE SAILING
One of the highlights of mid-phase review was the surprise boat trip. I was shaken from my sleep (at 5am!?!) to find that there were two...

THE BEACH BREAK
I can't believe how quickly time is passing but I've now been living in the Philippines for over 6 weeks. As is customary of all ICS...
SONGS AND SEASONS
I'm sat in my local 'coffee shop' (which is in reality just an eatery where I drink coffee) and once again John Legend's "All of me" is...

THE WAKE SINGER
My host-family invited me along to the wake of one their recently deceased relatives. A wake is essentially a week long, food-filled...

ONE PUPPY TWO MUCH...
I was just offered a kitten to add to my mismatched litter. This time I politely declined- because one tiny animal is already proving to...

PRACTICING PATIENCE, PART 3: YES AND NO
Why can't people say what they really mean? Why do people hide what their true feelings? Why do people say "yes" but mean "no" ? What has...

A BRILLIANT BIRTHDAY!
So yesterday I turned 23. Which felt a bit strange because there's not even a Taylor Swift song for me anymore. On paper, my age places...

PRACTICING PATIENCE, PART 2: FILIPINO TIME
Filipino Time: a relaxed approach to the constraints of 'real' time. So if you arrange to meet up at 8am (in real time) that will...

PRACTICING PATIENCE, PART 1: PUPPIES
One of my personal goals for the programme is to develop patience. Real patience. Not just the patience to wait for a delayed train...

CAN I BE YOU FOR A DAY??
I wish I could be Filipino for a day. I want to blend in on my walk to work. Be left undisturbed as I sip my morning coffee. Go unnoticed...
SOME SAD NEWS...
I regret to pass on the news that barangay Captain Romeo- the man who gave me the puppy- sadly passed away last night. Captain Romeo of...

COMMUTING IN CABIAO
I never thought I'd say the words "Mum I'll have to call you back, I'm about to catch carabao to work." A carabao is a type of water...

THE ONE WITH THE PUPPY AND THE PRINCESS TOUR
I don't even know where to start. But by the end of the working day I had adopted a puppy and had been signed up as 'Miss Santa Isabel'...

THE WITCH DOCTOR
It was probably a bit naive to think that I had already become immune to Filipino food and insects. After spending the last 3 weeks...

IT'S TOO DARN HOT
It's the first week of October. And it's averaging 38 degrees. It's also my first week on placement with my work counterparts: Lizzie,...

CRYING OVER SPILT...SOY SAUCE
I think one of the biggest cultural contrasts that I am experiencing is emotion and how it is perceived. Filipinos do not share the...

IT'S TOUGH BEING A VOLUNTEER
I was going to keep this next blog to myself because it doesn't exactly fit with the volunteer profile of living in a developing country....

I HAVE NO WORDS...
This is a bit awkward but here goes. I want to formally apologise to all 100 million Filipinos...for calling you Filippinos (thanks to...

A DIFFICULT DAY
I think today was the first really 'difficult' day. 10 days into our adventure and the trip is starting to seem less like an exciting...

BLENDING IN...
There are no maps in Cabiao. So I decided to go for a run around my local barangay as a sort of community mapping exercise. And as...

MEETING MY HOST FAMILY
Our ICO training week has come to a close which means that the team will no longer be living together anymore. All of the UK volunteers...

WORKING IN A CROSS CULTURAL TEAM
I am quickly falling in love with the Filipino culture. And I can confirm that the stereotype is true- they are nearly always smiling :)...

SO WHAT AM I DOING HERE...?
I think it's finally time I explained myself.... We are currently in the midst of our ICO (in country orientation) training and are...

THE BRITISH EMBASSY
Looking like something out of a James Bond film, you could not miss the British Embassy amongst the slums of Manila. But the embassy and...