Pharewell to the Philippines!

I've reached my last few days in the Philippines and it has certainly been a whirlwind! What started with cyclones and major flooding in Manila has ended with a few days in stunning sunshine and tropical beaches! Because so many of the islands here in the Philippines are quite small I guess I never thought about what a huge area the country covers and what that means for it's climate!
Its been another fun week, not as busy as there have been a fair whack of public holidays here over the last few weeks, including yesterday.
I spent the end of last week visiting the English language centres around Cebu, including Niners which is the sister company of the one in Manila. It was actually really fun - Janice and I got to sit in on some lectures and take part in the mock tests they were doing. I'm not going to lie - I was expecting that I would score 9 across the board on my first try and amaze everyone. I barely scraped a 7 which means I would qualify to work in the UK (put that P45 back in the drawer, Emlyn) but only just! And I've been speaking and learning through English my whole life!

With Dianne, the manager of Niners in Cebu

One of the other things I've noticed both in the centres but also in health care facilities is how bashful and embarrassed many Filipinos are about their level of English. Many nurses have been beyond shy when it has come to speaking to me because they think their English isn't good enough and almost like they will be letting the side down if they aren't up to standard. I find it so hard to understand as everyone's English has been so good! Most people I have spoken to whether in hospitals, shops, my accommodation have been completely or almost fluent. I feel we've become arrogant in the West, especially those of us from English speaking countries. We just assume that it's normal that everyone else will learn English and adjust to us but can you imagine any one of us going to Spain or Greece for our sun holiday and just bursting fluently into their local language!? I think the majority of us can say that that is definitely not what happens! (Although myself and a couple of other Irish here did enjoy meeting up and talking Irish occasionally in Notts, mainly to confuse people in the pub who always assume you are English when they see you😂).

The high achievers board from JROOZ, another of the language centres

Before the bank holiday weekend I visited one more clinic with Janice. Every nurse I met there wants to come to either the UK or Ireland so they were all well up for a chat! Don't think the nurse director was sorry to see the back of us, I reckon she thought half the staff would leave with us and try to smuggle themselves back in my suitcase!😂

Some very enthusiastic potential recruits!

As for my bank holidays and weekend, I've had Gareth over this week which has been lovely. He arrived with a few hours left in my birthday and we have spent the weekend just gone on Bantayan Island just north of Cebu. We weren't sure where to go but decided somewhere not too touristy and pretty chilled would be good and that is definitely Bantayan. Top tip: if you want to go somewhere that's easy to get to, don't come to Bantayan! If you want to go somewhere that's a bit of a pain in the ass to get to but totally worth it then this is the place for you!

I hadn't actually checked when bank holidays and things like that fell in the Philippines so it's been a really great bonus that there have been 2 of them while Gareth has been here! 

We've not done anything very touristy or adventurous, lots of beaching, swimming and hiding from the sun at certain times of the day! We stayed in a hut on the beach though and my highlight was definitely this morning when we got up at 5am to watch the sun rise. It was glorious. A lot of the islanders were out fishing or pearl diving which actually made it all the more picturesque as what is unique and exciting for us is just part of the daily routine here.

Fishermen at work while the sun rises over Bantayan Island.

Only a couple of days left here in the Philippines and I will be off the Hawaii on Friday for a quick stop off at another QMC half way around the world! After that it's off to Vancouver where I will be spending 4 days with the nursing students of the University of British Colombia! That's if the hurricane over Hawaii has calmed down and the wildfires around Vancouver and Seattle don't get me! Of all the things I had worried about leading up to this trip never once did natural disasters or extreme weather enter my head! It's definitely a change from the "It'll probably rain but be fairly mild" line that we are used to at home no matter what the season!

So, that's it from the Philippines. I would love to come back some day when I have a bit more time to chill and maybe visit a few other places. The people here are just lovely and so friendly and don't even get me started on the food!👌😛

By the time I next write I'll have said Aloha to Hawaii and will be sampling maple syrup like a local in Vancouver, although I bet the locals don't actually do that!🙈😁

Slán

Kate