Project Development and Management Training

Lina Bisnar, our Municipal Planning and Development Officer

 After a week of Reef Check training we were sent to a second week of I-Service Training (IST) and Project Development and Management (PDM) training at Lima Park Hotel  http://www.limaparkhotel.com/ where we had our Supervisors Conference In August, 2012.

 We knew what we had to look forward to; hot showers, comfy beds, air con, swimming pool, good food and being together with all our Batch 271 batchmates. Still. it was kind of a let down from heavenly Bontoc on Batangas. We were able to tell the second CRM group ALL about it and I know they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Everyone, CRM, Education and CYF Volunteers with there counterparts

We had a couple days of In-Service training before out counterparts joined us for the project development part of the training.I thought Lina was awesome. We worked well and hard together developing an alternative livelihood project. I know she enjoyed the stay at Lima Park. I think all the counterparts enjoyed it.

Once back in Inopacan we continued working on the Small Project Assistance (SPA) grant proposal. Without going into too much detail, the grant would train people to run a new facility funded by the LGU housing a new bio-reactor that speeds up the process of turning bio-degradables into compost/fertilizer and a concrete hollow block making area where plastics and cellophanes are shredded and added to the process.

Lina left for an extended visit to the US but  I presented the proposal to the Solid Waste Management Board and was told the funding for the machinery wasn't yet approved and there's a problem with finding a site for the facility.

This has become one of those PC learning experiences I've read about. At this point there are too many roadblocks and not enough support. I've shelved the idea for now at leas,t and have pushed forward with another proposal on strengthening Marine Protected Area (MPA) management.

No Fooling- Reef Check Training Was Fantastic

April 1, 2013

Kenzie's two. I love you Kenzie

We had to split Reef Check training into two groups going two different weeks so I signed up for the first session so I’d be doing something memorable on my granddaughter, Kenzie’s second birthday April 2^nd. I’m missing so much; so many of her ‘firsts’. I’m super grateful and happy when I get to see her and talk to her on Skype.

Here's Andrew Horan, Andrew Wynn, Allison Hoffman, Russ Halliday, me and our counterparts, Country Director Denny Robertson, AC and Francis and PCV Trainers Elliot Lam and Ben Stacy

Ben giving me and my counterpart DenDen our certificates

The training was held in Mabini, Batangas, across the bay from where all 13 of us CRM PCVs visited and  snorkeled or dove in August during Pre-Service Training. It's a beautiful and popular place for divers. We saw dolphins and tea turtles!

This is where we went down to the boats that took us to the dive sites

I'm a Scuba Diver Now!

March 21, 2013

Thank you Dr. Montes (June)

I spent a few days at the Visayan University outside of Baybay earning my Open Water diving certification with Dr. Humberto Montes. I stayed on campus again at the Alumni House which was conveniently close to the marine lab where I did the book work and listened to the lectures before we hit the pool and then the sea.. It’s only 100 pesos a night, just right on a PCV budget = $2.50.

The Alumni House

My first time here we had a surprise evacuation drill and were intructed to get to our consolidation point ASAP. We were timed. I think I made it in less than an hour. Laura lives there but the other five had much further to travel. It was great! seven of us in this gigantic room with 14 bunks. This time it was just me except one night I made two new girlfriends Pew and Ann who spent the night. Ann was there as a sales rep for a company that provides scientific equipment to the university and Pew is a diver and works at an oyster farm in Palawan. She dives 80 feet three times a week to clean algae off the oysters. If it’s not done they can’t feed. Dr. Montes was her diving trainer too.

Ann and Pew

My breakfast waiting for me; skyflakes, an orange and Starbucks Via coffee

I love this crazy mushroom frog fountain in front. It reminds me of my home at Frog Creek Organic Farm in Port Angeles

The campus is on beach front where I was able to watch the sunset and some little girls sang for me.

 This was great but the sad news was my favorite new puppy GelBoy got poisoned and died while I was gone and Swift went into premature labor and gave birth to three stillborn puppies. Then the other new puppy, Toffee died from dysentery. The mortality rate for dogs here is so high and sad.

Toffee

GelBoy

I hope they're frolicking in dogie heaven, happy, free, healthy, never hungry or thirsty or bothered by fleas and ticks or other parasites.

My First Trip to Cebu, Second largest City in the Philippines

March 15, 2013

View of Cebu from our room

I came home after being at the office only an hour and a half to find my laptop had been stolen out of my room. Up until this time I hadn't been keeping my door locked but from this point onward I sure do. Now we’re all more careful about locking the front door and the gate to the street. Someone must have been watching me and the house   very closely and knew everyone was gone and/or busy out  back at the restaurant.

Norma and Anita BFF

This same day I was leaving for Cebu with Anita and her friend Norma who was flying back to the States.  Norma has been living in Arizona for over 30 years working as a nurse like so many Filipinos living and working overseas.It was stressful. I had a couple hours to deal with changing passwords to different accounts and found my system had already been hacked. I had everything backed up on an exterior hard drive, thankfully they didn't take that, and regularly transfer photos to it. #1 Lesson learned-don't have your computers set up to automatically log you in to everything on start up. Keep it so a password is needed before anything else opens.

Wow. It's Been Five Months

My laptop was stolen out of my room on March 15th. It took four months to get the insurance claim money and buy a new one. And a month to get caught up on overdue business like PC reports and school loan nightmare paperwork.

I'm very grateful for the new laptop and hopefully I'll grow to like it better than I do now. Technology keeps changing and a person needs to adapt or be stuck and left behind, right?. I didn't really have options on systems. Windows 8 it is and I'm in with the people who say it sucks. Trying to be an Apple when you're not isn't going to make you an Apple.

This is my first blog with it and there's much to share. I got my Open Water Diver's Certification. hit the one year mark and now the half way mark, but who's counting?

I must have OCD. I went to look at old blogs and discovered pictures blocked? WTF? Figured out what happened. I was using Picasa and got a message saying my space was used up, I'd have to pay money for more use. So I looked at my pictures and saw so many duplicates. How'd that happen? I don't know. I deleted all the duplicates not realizing I was deleting them from my blogs as well.

Guess what I've spent a couple hours doing? Putting the photos back in the blogs even though no one will be going back to read them. OCD?
 Now I see I'm not forced to use Picasa like I was before.

Filipinos Hip Hop

America in 3D was an American Embassy event at the Robinson Mall in Tacloban, Leyte, March 2nd and 3rd.
Some of us Leyte PCVs were there representing for the Peace Corps.

On the 3rd the International Hip Hop Champions, the Philippine Allstars, gave people a chance to learn a choreographed dance.

In less than 30 minutes this is what they could do.

Pretty incredible and so fun to watch in amazement.

After 15 minutes they had this down.

After about 30 minutes they had this much down.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Keep Dancing

this was an environmental awareness mural and yes I painted on it

Peace

Norwood Cares

February 23, 2013

Alex and Anita in pedicab as we make our way to the site

 

 It’s the third Saturday of the month and time for Norwood Cares Feeding the Children in Brgy. Atabay, Hilongos. Alex, Anita and I took a van to Hilongos and then pedicabs to the feeding site.

the 28 graduates

The program is for kids up to eight years old and 2012 was the first full year of the program. Today we graduated 28 kids. They received gifts and special recognition.

 

It's mostly moms and kids but there was one dad tending to his child.

they're patiently waiting to be served

 Four older boys were hanging near me rubbing their stomachs, saying they were hungry, not so subtly asking for food. One of them was so animated he was in an ongoing dance move and then he started doing gymnastics.

Four dancing acrobatic hungry boys

 I was happy when there was enough leftover food to give them some.

This guy was hanging out above me. I haven't seen a lizard like this before. Alex said "yes its a 'green lizard'."

My involvement with this program has nothing to do with my Peace Corps Coastal Resource Management position. It’s about being included as a family member of my host family. Actually it IS helping coastal resources because at least for this ONE meal, these families do not depend on the day’s fish catch.