I'm leaving in 9 days! I'm excited and anxious to leave already and I'll be there for 2 months and 1 week. It seems like a long time, but with all the things I want to do, I don't think it's enough time.
July 07: arrive in Ninoy Aquino Int'l Airport at 9:55 am
July 08: check out the room I'll be renting for 2 months in Quezon City (Q.C. from now on)
July 09: move in to my place
July 10: check in at PCIJ, go to UP Diliman
July 11: fly to Cebu
July 11-15: beach, family, check out the Cebuano Studies Center at San Carlos University, save some coral reefs at the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, have a mango shake, and catch a fish.
July 16: fly back to Maynila
July 17: begin my internship with PCIJ
July 27: Black Eyed Peas concert
August 4: Joseph (my oldest bro) arrives in Maynila, we both leave for Cebu for the weekend.
Sept. 4: my 22nd birthday
Sept. 13: return to Seattle
In between these dates I plan to write some articles for PCIJ, do some research for my Fulbright proposal, get letters of affiliations for my Fulbright application, interview Filipino activists, hang out with PADD folks, travel, read some books, buy some books, and update my blog. Can I honestly do all of this?
7 comments:
The more I think about it, the more you're right: two months is not a lot of time to do stuff, especially when you have to grapple with that constant tension of serious work (PCIJ, Fulbright proposal, etc.) and happy fun time (Cebu, "PADDventures"). I'm beginning to wonder how much you're going to get out of the Philippines this time around - it's become apparent that you're actually in this great precipice and you're really having to come to terms with a lot of profound life decisions. I hope you try to enjoy life, but I'm not going to try and pull a Bonus on this one and say that spontaneity is the key. You're gonna have to take active steps in finding out what you really want out of the Philippines.
What do I want out of the Philippines? What is my role in Philippine society? This is why I think I've packed my schedule so much because I do not have answers to these questions...Is this jam-packed schedule a way for me to filter through and try to grapple with these questions or is my schedule a distraction from what I should really be doing? Will I ever find what I really want out of the Philippines or will I come back disappointed?
This is Rick Bonus, posting through Edward's blog identity (which apparently means that I am not allowed to post; tears!) Edward, what is this quote that you said about me? Hmmmm, I didn't mean you have to be completely spontaneous about the trip; maybe what I meant was to balance active planning with just being open to what's gonna happen. Oh well, did I even say what you said I said? I can't remember; and Carmel, I'm sure you miss my sexy bedroom voice by now. Enjoy the Pilipinas and make sure you get transformed!
i'll most definitely try Bonus, and yes, i do miss your sexy bedroom voice already. i text your cousin Renato and will be meeting with him next week. thanks for the advice. oh and by the way, i have changed my settings so you can now also make a comment without using edward's user name.
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