Meet and Greet with the Aetas. :)

One of our subjects in our Master's program at the Development Academy of the Philippines is Social Marketing in relation to Health Systems. We conducted a practicum in the form of a medical mission at different far-flung barangays here in Luzon. Two groups went to Bulacan and the other two at Pampanga. After the activity, we were tasked to submit a reflection paper. Here's what I wrote. 

The recently concluded medical mission as part of our HSD Practicum under Social Marketing was something I wasn’t personally prepared for. Per instruction, we were only told to bring our stethoscope, sphygmomanometer and diagnostic set. Nevertheless, being a doctor to the barrio and having conducted multitudes of medical missions in our respective areas, we somehow know already how to do about it. Upon orientation, doubts and queries as to the intention of the medical mission slowly dawned on me. The relevance of the activity in relation to social marketing was a bit blurry, especially the timing of the medical mission now that it is election time. My idea of a social marketing practicum would be that, we, the students are the ones who would create or think of an activity by coordinating with different stakeholders to partner with. In the medical mission that we did, everything was laid down to us requiring only our presence and our service so I don’t see the essence of doing a practicum when we’re already honed in doing medical missions. When the specific flow of the activity including deworming and vaccination were raised to us, people began grunting because those services were already being given by the RHU. But we still went with the flow by waking up as early as 1AM to go to our respective areas.

Our patients patiently waiting in queue. 

Our group was assigned to Brgy. Nabuclod, Floridablanca, Pampanga. I never expected the place to be that far, perhaps because of the idea that Pampanga is a nearby province. To my surprise, it took us almost four hours to reach the area and much more I was surprised upon seeing the Indigenous People (IP) we would be providing health services for. During the whole activity, I believe there was inadequate coordination with some partners. We were told primarily that we will conduct it in a school for proper compartmentalization, however, we were informed when we were already there that we cannot utilize the school rooms due to a prior commitment. We conducted the medical mission in an open space where there is, well, a perfect view. There were notable flaws but we were able to manage. The number of patients did not meet our expectation, in fact we were expecting more. In other words, our services were not maximized. 

A typical Aeta family. Most of them are farming their lands to sustain their  basic needs. Some of them are able to go to school but rarely finishes high school until they get caught up in what seemed as "natural course of life"~~~having kids. 

Doctors at work. 

I was asleep inside the bus for most of the travel time so imagine my surprise upon opening the curtain to see this body of water greet my sleepy eyes! Lol! Yes, we crossed a "little" river to reach the area. 

Doctors to the Barrios and a member of the army who made sure of our security in the area. Thanks, Sirs! 

During consultation, I asked my patients if they have sought consult at their RHU prior to our arrival. Most of them have not been seen by a doctor due to the distance, their RHU is located at the town proper which is quite a number of kilometers from them. I can relate their situation to the patients I meet at my area of assignment in Talitay, Maguindanao. It was my first time to meet the Aetas and was pleased by their behavior around us. Unlike with other med missions I attended, the Aetas are not demanding as to the services we offered. They listened to our health advisories and participated in our "dagdag kaalaman" games. They seemed to be compliant patients as well. :)

 We may have been "forced by circumstance" to do the mission, but being too rational made us overlook the positive impact of our presence among our Aeta friends. There are instances when we should put our personal clamors aside and look at things at different perspective. Only then we can fully understand what is going on around us from a macro level. At the end of the day, all of my doubts as to the intent of the medical mission vanished leaving me with a fulfilled heart and a sense of joy. It was really nice to meet our Aeta friends. :)

P.S.
I owe you an article on my DTTB (doctors to the barrios) experience. It's been six months since I signed the contract with the Department of Health. :)

The Best Half

Hello there. Yes, I'm still here constantly thinking of blogging and after countless attempts, I finally mustered the courage to gather photos and hit the keyboards. Now don't blame me if this post consumes your time because I shall post a lot of photos to make up for my absence----uncollaged photos, these are. Heehee. Well, nothing philosophical, just some what's-going-on-with-my-life entry. My relationship with this blog is like an old friend with whom you kind of lost in touch with but you perpetually think how they've been but preoccupation with current important stuff eats your time and then you accidentally bump into each other somewhere down the road and go back to being good friends again as if time never passed. :)

So, since this entry is mainly about how my life has been and to give a sequel to my recent post about my wedding frets, well....here. Yes, I got married last March 9!! *insert kilig smile here* One of the most enormous mystery of my life is now revealed. 

Officially misis. (c) Doc Saino

With our families. (c) Val Candole

Back in my singlehood days, the man I'm going to marry has always been a mystery I never knew when to happen. Never did I expect that he will come around the time I was reviewing for the board exam, the most unlikely time to flirt around. Haha! It was a typical Meranao parental set-up, but lucky us, we find each other suitable for a spouse. Well, primarily I didn't think of it THAT way when I met him. We have a common first cousin (we are also blood related, his father is my third degree cousin on my Mom's side) who introduced us. But apparently, prior to our personal introduction, he met up with my parents first to subtly ask if he can  visit me. They (him and my cousin) visited me at the review center after a long negotiation, I was so much under pressure of passing the boards I need not anyone to bother me. But I give in to my cousin's plea, I sure didn't know he's with him. We had a relatively good conversation over dinner that our first meeting didn't end there. I learned that he's a CPA who works with the Philippine Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria as a finance officer. Since he was on a vacation and was scheduled to go back to work few days after our meeting, he frequented his visits without my cousin. No resistance came from me thinking that he's leaving soon and I must admit I enjoyed his company. I thought his last visit would be the last and when he leaves, no further communication will occur. I was wrong. Even we were continents apart, his overseas phone calls became persistent and regular until I find myself expecting it almost always. I kind of get used to it, and while I was driving myself crazy studying for the biggest exam of my life, he acted as a shock absorber listening to my rants and, in his own little ways, comforted me. While those things were happening, his parents were also communicating with my parents about the two of us getting married. It took time before everything was settled and I had to ask myself a hundred times if I want it too. Our parents obviously do. I prayed hard and asked for signs, and when I felt that my questions were answered, I wholeheartedly accepted the marriage. Choz. Andami ko pang chorva e 'noh? Obvious naman na like ko din siya. *winks*

In retrospect, I love our lovestory. Yes, I'm a fan of my very own lovestory. Haha! We are not boyfriends/girlfriends, but we allowed fate to work everything for us. There wasn't too much obstacles along the way making our story run smoothly. Everything I was praying for were answered. Alhamdulillah.

After the wedding, we had to make the most of our time together because he would be leaving again for Nigeria. We traveled around Mindanao from Marawi City (our home base) to Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, Davao City, Cotabato City and back to Marawi. During those travels, we slowly revealed the quirky and fun sides of each other. In him, I found the best travel buddy! :) 

Sipping his durian frappe in a non-beachy outfit under the sun at Samal Island, Davao City. 

Who goes to Davao without devouring durian, huh? Good thing we both love durian!! 

A month later, we fled to Manila to work on some of his papers at DFA main office while I also took a leave from my work to be with him. During one mundane afternoon, he suddenly thought of going to Baguio, telling me that he's been living in Manila most of his life but never had a chance to go the Summer Capital of the Philippines. As wanderlusts that we both are, we took the bus and off we go relying only on the internet for directions.

Overlooking the City of Pines at the terrace of SM Baguio.

The first name of the hotel that appeared on the search engine was Casa Vallejo which is located at the Upper Session Road. We checked in without thinking twice and off we walked down to main Session Road until we reached Burnham Park. I'm the kind of traveler who keeps an itinerary either in writing or in mind, while hubby goes for absolute spontaneity. We walked around wherever our feet brought us. 

Burnham River at night. 

Night market. 

We woke up to this chilly environment. I felt like I was in a non-tropical country. 

Waiting for our breakfast at Hill Station.

Energizing ourselves in preparation for a loooong day ahead.

Typical Baguio sights.

Our first stop was the Strawberry Farm at La Trinidad, Benguet. We were both excited to hand-pick strawberries that we did it like it was not our first time. Haha! 

From there, we went straight to Camp John Hays for lunch and did some window shopping. 

Since it was his first time in Baguio, it's a must for him to see Mine's view Park. 

Another must-have is a photo with the Igorot natives at Baguio Botanical Garden. Look at the oldies so cute with their peace-out hand sign!! :) 

Per Ate Diane's suggestion, we visited Tam-awan Village which reflects the culture of the different northern tribes. We had a lot of fun taking each other's photos. Haha! 

A typical Kalinga hut.

From the native Tam-awan Village, we drove to another mountain called Tuba in Benguet to visit BenCab Museum which houses modern sculptures and paintings. 

Our eyes feasted to these beautiful works of art contemplating on how they were made and the emotions of the artists who did them. 

"WAG MO DAMDAMIN ANG MGA BAGAY DAHIL ANG MGA BAGAY WALANG DAMDAMIN". 

Terracota.

I'm sorry I have a bad camera. :( 

At the basement of BenCab is a cozy restaurant called Cafe Sabel....

...which opens to this magnificent view! The most romantic place EVER.

What we loved about Cafe Sabel is that their food were purely 100% organic. They're preparing their herbs from a nearby garden that they maintain. We had minty pineapple frappe and mouth-watering basil pesto pasta which were both absolutely delicious! :)

From BenCab, we hurried to the bus station and went back to Manila. It was just a quick but worthwhile trip. We visited most of the must-see places in a day and a night. Greeaaaat!!! Looking forward to a lot more travel sprees with you, Jab! :) Inshaa Allah. 

Alhamdulillah for all the blessings that God has given me. I am truly grateful beyond words. Ya Allah, thank you for my family, my friends, my work, the travel opportunity with my husband, and thank you for bringing Jabar in my life. Please shower us with more of Your blessings as we walk Your earth worshipping You alone. With him, there's nothing I can ask for (handsome and intelligent children na lang. haha!). 

As of speaking time, he's now back in Abuja immersing with his work while I also do the same to shun missing his presence. I can only pray for God to give us strength to stand the distance and courage to face our future together. In God's perfect time, we will be together again. :) For now, BBM and Facebook na lang muna kami. Hehe. 

Pachelbel's Canon and Wedding Frets

This is George Winston's piano rendition of Johann Pachelbel's Canon. There's something eargasmic about it that really soothes my soul, hence, many many years ago, I promised to have this played on my wedding day. I don't care if this has been played in millions of weddings or in movies but this has to be played on my big day! Now that it is fast approaching, I'm fretting about the details such as who's to play Canon while we're walking down the aisle, or the tiny details in the hall prep, or the menu, the wedding invites, the program itself and etcetera. In our culture, it's difficult to have your dream wedding done due to the norms and traditions that we follow (in fact, a wedding song is not important at all), but I want to make sure that those feasible things I want in it to be done. Normally among us, Meranaos, the bride is not supposed to get her hands on the wedding, but I'm a lucky lass to have my parents ask me on how we should go about it. The whole bridal family are supposed to act as wedding coordinators, consulting the groom's family on their suggestions. With ours, I try to inject some of my modern wedding ideas into our tradition and raise it to my parents. If I get an approval then we're good to go. 

I'm getting jittery about this whole marriage thing, not so much with the wedding because the ceremony would only last for some few hours but marriage is supposed to last our whole lifetime together and as we pray, even in the hereafter. Subhanallah. This is the difficult thing about being single all your life and then suddenly, someone comes along to become a part of your everyday life. You used to decide on your own and seek approval from you parents, and now, someone is deciding with you. You used to be only a part of a nuclear family and now you are creating your own nuclear family. I occasionally catch myself absorbed in my own reverie, thinking about the huge leap I am going to make, the enormous detour of my life. With this whole marriage thing, some of the plans I laid for myself went blurry. But as a dear friend told me, we cannot help but make compromises when we're already in the relationship. This is not merely some boyfriend-girlfriend experimental thing that I can easily get out whenever I want to. This is the real thing. And it is a big deal. I can't help but get emotional about all these stuff because of the huge decisions I will have to make in the future regarding juggling my career and my future family life, but I constantly remind myself that we're going to cross the bridge when we get there. I need to calm down myself, there's nothing to fret about, and that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) is the Best Planner, and He shall direct to us to where we are best fit. Ameen. 

But one thing for sure, Canon shall me played while we're walking down the aisle. Wish me the best! *winks*

2012

Hello, blog.
The lack of a constant internet connection forced me to go on hibernation but it doesn't mean I stopped yearning for blogging which has been a part of me for the past seven years or so. :(

InshaAllah, I will write my detailed updates in my next entry. For now, suffice it to say that 2012 had been an awesome year for me. The first quarter was the time I was crawling towards the end of internship after 366 days of residing in the hospital. I finished my internship neatly, without make-up duties or any demerits. in fact, I even made use of my merits in some departments to make up for some deficiencies. Alhamdulillah, I survived Philippine General Hospital! The second quarter was the time I locked myself reviewing for the Physicians Licensure Exam, and yes I literally did that. I threw the world behind while I faced my books for three whole months of jitters and anticipations. And all our hard work paid off. Our Class had a 97.8% passing rate, making us the fifth best medical school in the country. Fifth may sound so behind but we take pride in it, it inspires the younger batches to perform better to climb to a higher post. This was also the time I met the man I am going to marry. This is a premature announcement but yes, I am going to knot the tie soon and that deserves a whole entry. :) I passed the boards during the third quarter of the year and I skyrocketed  and began plummeting on the fourth quarter already. Haha! Yes, that long. Anyway, I bummed on the third quarter, well, not entirely because I processed my DTTB (Doctors To The Barrios) papers, but most of the time, I only stayed at home staring at thin air and contemplating my passing of the board exam. Haha! It sunk in a little longer. The fourth quarter was the time I began to work on my deployment at Maguindanao as DTTB. It wasn't my choice to get assigned to an apparently chaotic area, it was nothing but a twist of fate. Nevertheless, I always believed that God is the best planner so I accepted the challenge. Up to when I can handle this? Only God knows. Haha! Again, my DTTB experience deserves a whole entry. I'm crossing my fingers right now for the series of blog assignments I'm giving myself.

Life has been so good to me, Alhamdulillah. I cannot ask for more. :) 

I'm sitting at Bo's Coffee right now, here in Cotabato City and we only have until 7pm to loiter because no public transportation goes inside the area past 7pm. And it's almost 7pm now. Ok, time's up!

I have come into an expected pause in my life but I enjoy living in heart-shaped bubbles that don't seem to rupture. I have been smiling from ear to ear every single day for the past few months and finally, yes finally, my life is having a bit of color now. <3 <3 <3 

There are forms of happiness worth keeping than sharing. 

P.S.

I so miss the normalcy of blogging and of writing and of being a critic. But when you're mind is fogged with incomprehensible colors, words fade away just like that. They only leave footprints of that peculiar feeling.