First Week

It's been a week now since I arrived in the Philippines. I always knew it was going to be hard to adjust to this place after 2 years in the relative comfort of Singapore but in the current economic climate, beggars can't be choosers.

I came to Cebu in the Middle of April for a weekend to have a preview of what the place was like and I supposed I could have backed out then, but as I'd already made a commitment to run the project I felt duty bound to see it through. I'd done some research via the Internet, principally on Google Earth so I had an idea from the images I'd seen that it was going to be pretty basic but coming here for the weekend I was hoping for the best. Whilst I wasn't exactly disappointed I was rather hoping it was going to be better than what it actually is.

If you haven't been to the Philippines, and I don't mean the tourist traps, I mean the real Philippines, you perhaps won't know how incredibly poor it is. I remember when I spent 2 months working in Manila 2 years ago how I was shocked at the abject poverty. Bear in mind this is not my first "hardship" posting, having worked in Africa, Iraq, Falkland Islands and rural Malaysia so I have an idea of how poor poor is.

Staying in Makati City in Manila to an extent shields you from the true level of deprevation but during the several trips I made to Cavite I was able to see and was shocked at the sight of the slums that lined the side of the road and seeing how people live.

However, I'm not in Manila but Toledo City on the island of Cebu. Toledo is located on the opposite side of the island from Cebu City. I'm not sure what qualifies Toledo to be called a city as it's a very, very small town and not particularly well equipped. Basic needs are catered for but that is about all.