Liebe Lea,
an dieser Stelle soll mal gesagt sein:
Ein freundliches und fröhliches Glückauf gehen hiermit an dich!
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Getting involved
A lot of things have been happening for the last couple of days. The team from England left which was sad but I´m happy and thankful they were here so I could be part of their adventures and touching peoples` lives. After saying goodbye to them at church I went on a motorbike trip all by myself on Sunday. I had a banana and pancake picnic at a nice lookout viewing the tops of thousands of coconut trees and rainforrest in the distance. I also stopped several times breathing in nature at other spots. Having the freedom to do so is great! The destination of my trip was a place called the "Hanging garden" in Pilar. That garden is beautiful. The setting is right at the cliff next to the ocean. It offers great views and silence and relaxation which I needed that day.
Sometimes life in this place can be surprising with taking things from you that you would usually take for granted. For example there are cases when we have no electricity for a while. You never know when it might come back once it´s gone. That was the case again on Sunday. Not only light is gone then. Also the running water we have, which is already luxury in this place. The water is being pumped from the ground and electricity is needed for that. So if the tank, which is tiny, is empty it can not be reloaded. Life without electricity can get quite inconvenient. At least we still have the option to take a shower, fully clothed though, out of the well next to our house. This time electricity came back Tuesday afternoon. I felt really relieved. I appreciate things like that so much more since I live here.
This week I started being part of an association that was founded by the local resort owners and all people being involved in the tourism section. The association is interested to be part in the progress of shaping this place in terms of conserving nature, the beauty this place offers and making it a better place for local people and tourists, too. It is just new and so it´s only in the baby shoes but I´m excited to be involved in terms of getting information and being able to raise my voice. The first meeting I attended reminded me of the meeting the local people always have in TV series "Gilmore Girls". The mayor of our place is also taking part in the meetings.
I was also being offered to be a German teacher for two girls this week. Their parents are also resort owners. I will take the challenge. It makes me excited to be able to use my knowledge of my studies back home and I´m glad I also took courses on teaching German for non native speakers.
Today we had a lot of talks about our restaurant which is soon going to be finished. It´s going to be a great place to hang out. I can´t believe it´s really happening and I´m all excited for it to start!
All in all, this week I feel like I´m getting more and more involved into life here and being part of a Siargao community and lifestyle.
Tomorrow I´ll be on my way to Surigao again to renew my visa and enjoy the city with a visit at the hairdresser :)
Sometimes life in this place can be surprising with taking things from you that you would usually take for granted. For example there are cases when we have no electricity for a while. You never know when it might come back once it´s gone. That was the case again on Sunday. Not only light is gone then. Also the running water we have, which is already luxury in this place. The water is being pumped from the ground and electricity is needed for that. So if the tank, which is tiny, is empty it can not be reloaded. Life without electricity can get quite inconvenient. At least we still have the option to take a shower, fully clothed though, out of the well next to our house. This time electricity came back Tuesday afternoon. I felt really relieved. I appreciate things like that so much more since I live here.
This week I started being part of an association that was founded by the local resort owners and all people being involved in the tourism section. The association is interested to be part in the progress of shaping this place in terms of conserving nature, the beauty this place offers and making it a better place for local people and tourists, too. It is just new and so it´s only in the baby shoes but I´m excited to be involved in terms of getting information and being able to raise my voice. The first meeting I attended reminded me of the meeting the local people always have in TV series "Gilmore Girls". The mayor of our place is also taking part in the meetings.
I was also being offered to be a German teacher for two girls this week. Their parents are also resort owners. I will take the challenge. It makes me excited to be able to use my knowledge of my studies back home and I´m glad I also took courses on teaching German for non native speakers.
Today we had a lot of talks about our restaurant which is soon going to be finished. It´s going to be a great place to hang out. I can´t believe it´s really happening and I´m all excited for it to start!
All in all, this week I feel like I´m getting more and more involved into life here and being part of a Siargao community and lifestyle.
Tomorrow I´ll be on my way to Surigao again to renew my visa and enjoy the city with a visit at the hairdresser :)
Friday, 6 May 2011
Ups and downs in a land far, far away
How many things can you pack in a day?
The last week has been exhausting. Starting last Wednesday when my friend Jasmin and me set out to buy things for the restaurant in Surigao which is a three hour boat ride and many more sacrifices away. The day started early then cause the boat leaves at 5 in the morning and the pier where it starts is also another 30 mins away from where I live. Well, we had good seats which is great already. the boat ride can be cramped with hundreds of people on a very small boat sometimes. Elmo was with us cause he needed to get his last vaccination!
On arrival in Surigao we left Elmo at the vet where he could stay the whole day and also during the night thanks to the nice doctor there!
Jasmin and I decided we need to have breakfast before starting our hunt for stuff we need. So we got some sweet bread from the bakery which we had along with a good coffee in the local coffee shop.
Being energized we looked for the palma store that has all the things we wanted to get. It took us a couple of hours to sort out what we wanted but thanks to the helpful staff they have we managed to get everything we looked for and got it readily packed for our departure the next day, already. They even offered us to bring it to the peer. What a good deal!
Our heads were spinning after that...Lunch was a good idea. The we decided to check out our little pension where we would spent the night. Entering the room that reminded us of those on military bases, we thought: well, that´s why it´s cheap! The bathroom was yucky but we decided we could handle it for one night and just leave shoes on at all times.
Since a couple of weeks I have had boils on my skin. In my face, on my arm, on my leg and now on my neck. They were quite nasty. Locals call them hubak! they start like pimples but are much more painful and fill themselves up with a lot of pas. It is very painful to have them and it takes long for them to fully develop and then burst. The one on my neck was just growing and getting infected. When I showed it to Jasmin she told me to go to the doctor cause she found the size and the look alarming. I went, since I knew that on my island I wouldn´t have a proper way to take of it. I had tried in the local health center but they even ran out of plaster...waiting for the doctor was an experience with many, many people waiting as well! Because I´m a foreigner the people working at the doctor were concerned to get me taken care of quick. I told them I could wait and I don´t need a special treatment there but anyway they still did their best and wouldn´t listen to me. So I was taken to doctor who had a look at my neck and decided that I would need an operation right away. I thought I would need to stay in a hospital and all that but he was talking about a small operation with local anesthesia. So, i was taken to the operation room and the doctor set injections right into my boil. The pain was terrible. tears ran down my cheeks but I was relieved to know that after times of suffering the pain on my neck would finally disappear and I would be able to sleep again! While he was getting out the dirt and pas he showed me what came out of my wound. It was terrible. But I left the clinic equipped with things to clean my wound, some antibacterial medicine and the feeling that I would be OK now!
So, Jasmin and I could continue our things. We still had to find some things. After finishing that we visited a friend in hospital. she had lost her baby and was now finally taken care of after she had experienced some struggles with doctors already. The walk to her room which she shared with a lot of people lead along many other rooms and people who just slept in their beds on the corridors. There were so many people! The hospital itself reminded me more of a garage.
When the day came to an end, we had dinner at Jollybee which is a local fast food restaurant. Then we entered our lovely accommodation, took quick showers, started watching a movie and slept soon. For a while I could still hear the noisy music from the bar downstairs which belonged to the our pension. Outside you could read: Stay where the party never ends. Gwapo!
For the next morning we had a plan how to organize things for departure. But sometimes plans can be good and still not work. So it was that morning. When we got to the peer we were told that our boat is not going cause something was broken. So now we had to take a bigger boat which also meant more hassle for us cause on that one you need to claim the stuff that you ought, pay taxes for it and go to many different offices to arrange everything. We went back to the shop to inform them about the change and luckily they offered us their help now to arrange what was necessary. Thank you so much! We put the things on a van and were taken to the peer. After two hours it was all sorted out. We could now pick up Elmo and then enter the boat which was packed with people, rice sacks and shopping already. When we got back from the vet we saw how three massive waterbuffaloswheatherconditions were fine so we did not have huge waves like on other boat rides before. The only unpleasant thins was that Elmo needed to go to the toilet after just one hour of the trip and so he was struggling on my lap for two hours, scratching my legs and keeping me busy to hold him still.
But we did it. We got back safe and were picked up by our friends in Dapa. They had already arranged a jeepney for our transport.
I spent the rest of the day eating bratwurst and drinking beer in Siargao Inn.
Friday and Saturday I headed out with friends to the game fishing competition in Pilar where people set out to catch blue marlins.
Visitors from England
On Sunday I started my day very relaxed and not knowing what will be ahead of me. But that morning I felt lonely and uneasy about where I was at. I was complaining about my situation and I did not feel happy. I wanted to go to town to get some breakfast and then I met the son of the friend who i had visited in hospital. he told me she was back home and in church right now. That morning I did not plan to go to church but I changed my mind now and went. Getting there I met a couple of people from England who were running the service today. I was reminded of an email from a friend who had suggested to go on outreaches with this group of people to some of the villages around the island. I thought about it many times and kept forgetting to reply. But now, being in the service, experiencing the joy and the passion of those people I knew I was meant to come along with them. I was inspired by just who they were and the way they smiled and my mood changed for the better!
So I went with them on little mini outreaches on two days of the week and found myself happy. I had good talks with Heather, a lovely young lady. I enjoyed to see the faces of happy kids playing games with us and sharing food they were given. I am especially thankful for some precious moments I shared with a very tiny boy who was already four years old but was the size of a two year old. He seemed shy at first but throughout the day we made contact and became friends and in the end he played with me in a very open and expressive way and showed me his wild way of dancing!
The team from England will be here until Monday and I´m looking forward to spent more time with them.
Some more things to share...
In between being busy with my everyday stuff and those outreaches I am taking Elmo and kids from the neighbourhood to the beach for some playful times. That is always fun. Also, I´m still doing gardening, taking pictures and much more.
I´ve been missing my family and friends a lot lately. I miss Bielefeld and Brockdorf and everything that belongs to it. Some of my university friends are already moving on to other places, too. It´s strange to not witness that from up close. I wish I could be closer sometimes than just sharing live on the internet. So I´m looking forward to visit Germany in September and be with people there again.
Something that definitely belongs to my downs are the parasites that I have got now. I have had lice for a while already but I think I will get rid of them soon by letting people check my scalp and crack them! Oh, and I think I have worms, too. But they will hopefully die soon cause I took a deworming tablet today!
Another unpleasant thing is the rain that drops on my head during the night and keeps me from having good sleep. But the sun will come out soon anyway and I´ll be alright then.
Well, that´s it for today. Thank you God, for ups and downs and for always knowing what is best for us and having good plans.
The last week has been exhausting. Starting last Wednesday when my friend Jasmin and me set out to buy things for the restaurant in Surigao which is a three hour boat ride and many more sacrifices away. The day started early then cause the boat leaves at 5 in the morning and the pier where it starts is also another 30 mins away from where I live. Well, we had good seats which is great already. the boat ride can be cramped with hundreds of people on a very small boat sometimes. Elmo was with us cause he needed to get his last vaccination!
On arrival in Surigao we left Elmo at the vet where he could stay the whole day and also during the night thanks to the nice doctor there!
Jasmin and I decided we need to have breakfast before starting our hunt for stuff we need. So we got some sweet bread from the bakery which we had along with a good coffee in the local coffee shop.
Being energized we looked for the palma store that has all the things we wanted to get. It took us a couple of hours to sort out what we wanted but thanks to the helpful staff they have we managed to get everything we looked for and got it readily packed for our departure the next day, already. They even offered us to bring it to the peer. What a good deal!
Our heads were spinning after that...Lunch was a good idea. The we decided to check out our little pension where we would spent the night. Entering the room that reminded us of those on military bases, we thought: well, that´s why it´s cheap! The bathroom was yucky but we decided we could handle it for one night and just leave shoes on at all times.
Since a couple of weeks I have had boils on my skin. In my face, on my arm, on my leg and now on my neck. They were quite nasty. Locals call them hubak! they start like pimples but are much more painful and fill themselves up with a lot of pas. It is very painful to have them and it takes long for them to fully develop and then burst. The one on my neck was just growing and getting infected. When I showed it to Jasmin she told me to go to the doctor cause she found the size and the look alarming. I went, since I knew that on my island I wouldn´t have a proper way to take of it. I had tried in the local health center but they even ran out of plaster...waiting for the doctor was an experience with many, many people waiting as well! Because I´m a foreigner the people working at the doctor were concerned to get me taken care of quick. I told them I could wait and I don´t need a special treatment there but anyway they still did their best and wouldn´t listen to me. So I was taken to doctor who had a look at my neck and decided that I would need an operation right away. I thought I would need to stay in a hospital and all that but he was talking about a small operation with local anesthesia. So, i was taken to the operation room and the doctor set injections right into my boil. The pain was terrible. tears ran down my cheeks but I was relieved to know that after times of suffering the pain on my neck would finally disappear and I would be able to sleep again! While he was getting out the dirt and pas he showed me what came out of my wound. It was terrible. But I left the clinic equipped with things to clean my wound, some antibacterial medicine and the feeling that I would be OK now!
So, Jasmin and I could continue our things. We still had to find some things. After finishing that we visited a friend in hospital. she had lost her baby and was now finally taken care of after she had experienced some struggles with doctors already. The walk to her room which she shared with a lot of people lead along many other rooms and people who just slept in their beds on the corridors. There were so many people! The hospital itself reminded me more of a garage.
When the day came to an end, we had dinner at Jollybee which is a local fast food restaurant. Then we entered our lovely accommodation, took quick showers, started watching a movie and slept soon. For a while I could still hear the noisy music from the bar downstairs which belonged to the our pension. Outside you could read: Stay where the party never ends. Gwapo!
For the next morning we had a plan how to organize things for departure. But sometimes plans can be good and still not work. So it was that morning. When we got to the peer we were told that our boat is not going cause something was broken. So now we had to take a bigger boat which also meant more hassle for us cause on that one you need to claim the stuff that you ought, pay taxes for it and go to many different offices to arrange everything. We went back to the shop to inform them about the change and luckily they offered us their help now to arrange what was necessary. Thank you so much! We put the things on a van and were taken to the peer. After two hours it was all sorted out. We could now pick up Elmo and then enter the boat which was packed with people, rice sacks and shopping already. When we got back from the vet we saw how three massive waterbuffaloswheatherconditions were fine so we did not have huge waves like on other boat rides before. The only unpleasant thins was that Elmo needed to go to the toilet after just one hour of the trip and so he was struggling on my lap for two hours, scratching my legs and keeping me busy to hold him still.
But we did it. We got back safe and were picked up by our friends in Dapa. They had already arranged a jeepney for our transport.
I spent the rest of the day eating bratwurst and drinking beer in Siargao Inn.
Friday and Saturday I headed out with friends to the game fishing competition in Pilar where people set out to catch blue marlins.
Visitors from England
On Sunday I started my day very relaxed and not knowing what will be ahead of me. But that morning I felt lonely and uneasy about where I was at. I was complaining about my situation and I did not feel happy. I wanted to go to town to get some breakfast and then I met the son of the friend who i had visited in hospital. he told me she was back home and in church right now. That morning I did not plan to go to church but I changed my mind now and went. Getting there I met a couple of people from England who were running the service today. I was reminded of an email from a friend who had suggested to go on outreaches with this group of people to some of the villages around the island. I thought about it many times and kept forgetting to reply. But now, being in the service, experiencing the joy and the passion of those people I knew I was meant to come along with them. I was inspired by just who they were and the way they smiled and my mood changed for the better!
So I went with them on little mini outreaches on two days of the week and found myself happy. I had good talks with Heather, a lovely young lady. I enjoyed to see the faces of happy kids playing games with us and sharing food they were given. I am especially thankful for some precious moments I shared with a very tiny boy who was already four years old but was the size of a two year old. He seemed shy at first but throughout the day we made contact and became friends and in the end he played with me in a very open and expressive way and showed me his wild way of dancing!
The team from England will be here until Monday and I´m looking forward to spent more time with them.
Some more things to share...
In between being busy with my everyday stuff and those outreaches I am taking Elmo and kids from the neighbourhood to the beach for some playful times. That is always fun. Also, I´m still doing gardening, taking pictures and much more.
I´ve been missing my family and friends a lot lately. I miss Bielefeld and Brockdorf and everything that belongs to it. Some of my university friends are already moving on to other places, too. It´s strange to not witness that from up close. I wish I could be closer sometimes than just sharing live on the internet. So I´m looking forward to visit Germany in September and be with people there again.
Something that definitely belongs to my downs are the parasites that I have got now. I have had lice for a while already but I think I will get rid of them soon by letting people check my scalp and crack them! Oh, and I think I have worms, too. But they will hopefully die soon cause I took a deworming tablet today!
Another unpleasant thing is the rain that drops on my head during the night and keeps me from having good sleep. But the sun will come out soon anyway and I´ll be alright then.
Well, that´s it for today. Thank you God, for ups and downs and for always knowing what is best for us and having good plans.
Friday, 22 April 2011
A lot of new seasons
During the last couple of month a big project has started. Together with my friends I´m gonna be the owner of a restaurant which will be part of their "La Luna island resort" soon. It is exciting to see the progress of the building and the garden around it which my friends and me are continously planting. We just go around and ask people for plants and flowers or hunt them in the jungle. Little by little we gathered a huge collection of tropical plants. Amongst the a lot of hibiscus and frangipani and birds of paradise flowers.
So many things have happened, so it´s quite hard now to review everything. One of the most exciting events has been the visit of my mum at the end of march. She stayed for two and a half weeks and it has been amazing to share my life here with her. We´ve been visiting a lot of places and friends. In the mornings we got up early for walks at the beach or getting fresh coconut bread in town. During the day we cruised with my new motorbike which was scary for my mum cause of our roadconditions here. My mum was overwhelmed by all the impressions she got and it touched her many times to see the differences between the life of people here and Germany.
While she was here we talked a lot about my future here. Now that she has seen my life my options and my friends here, she can understand what makes me happy about it :) She is happy, too, to see me in my new home and to know that I am safe and being loved.
The best experiences were the ones with getting to know people. Their joy, their struggles and thier dreams.
We also toured around the whole island in a group. There are many nice spots like lonely beaches, waterfalls, a natural pool for swimming and much more.I am so blessed with the moments me and mum shared. The many times of laughter and also the times we cried together. I can´t wait to see her again. She definitely wants to come.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Visitors the rain brings
Still, times were good. I kept myself busy with some really nice things. It also helps that in this place you will always find company. Whether it´s my family next door or it´s visitors. One of those visitors was Elmo´s brother. The two of them had fun playing and I was really glad to see elmo being active in between the long times of rest the rain gave him.
Another visitor was my three year-old friend Be from the neighbourhood. We decided that we wanna do some painting to be productive. With music and some snacks we created beautiful things.
Be´s picture shows a "Carabao" which is the local word for waterbuffalo. She also put her family in the picture, Elmo and me!
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Rain rules
It is now rain season in our part of the Philippines. Especially January has been full of rainy days. The roof of my little ouse had several holes so the rain could always make a way inside. At times that didn´t feel comfortable. It caused me a lot of cleaning and restricted the area of my house that I could use to hang out. I missed sitting outside on my balcony. A few days ago my roof had been fixed by the parents of my filippino family. Roofs are made out of leaves being tied together like the pictures show. 
After some years the compartments of the roof need to be replaced cause they get eaten by worms and weather. The material for the roof is called "Nipa". Many layers are nailed to the wood of the roof-construction and will form a good protection from wind and rain.Now that my roof is fixed I feel all cosy again inside my house on a rainy day like today. I am happy to have bought some snacks, hot drinks and a stock of food yesterday so I can just stay here, read a book, spend time with people and relax during listening to the sound of rain around me...
I like the rainy days cause they give me time to do stuff that is more quiet. When the sun is out I´m always outside and I like to be very active. Then I find it hard so stay inside the house and rest.
Elmo was really happy when the "Nipa" was replaced because the rubbish formed a huge playground for him. He loves exploring materials and chewing and biting on things. It made me laugh to watch him going crazy that morning :)
Still, I like the rain! I know it is needed to flood the rice fields of the many farmers in this place and it also waters the plants that I have been planting in the garden of my friends´new place. It is also fun to go out in the rain and just play with the mud on your feet. Absolutely amazing is to swim in the ocean while it rains. It is just gorgeous to see the raindrops touching the surface of the sea. Sometimes there is lightning on the horizon in the distance.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
setting forth
The filippino community is very focused on relationships. Families and friends spend a lot of time being with one another and sharing lives including everything they have from time to material things and finances. To me it is very precious to be part of that community now.
Since I´ve always loved travelling and living abroad it was my desire to live somewhere else than Germany. After spending a year in Australia where my life changed completely because I became a close friend of God I also know that I have the call to make a difference in this world by sharing his life and love with others. My next trip after that was to Panama and Ecuador. I experienced the struggle of people when it comes to very basic needs like food, education, medical help and care for people in society who need it, for example handicapped people. It was when I saw those things that I felt in my heart I want to share my life with people who don´t have all the advantages and the comfort of our western world. I realized how priviliged I am with my upbringing, my financial support, my education and all the possibilities I have to travel and to go around freely! I now want to share all the blessings that come from the background I have. Back home I finished my studies in teaching languages, a little bit of mathematics and a degree for teaching handicapped people. Right now I don´t know how I will use those skills here in the Philippines cause I only just started my journey out here. But I know that if I keep following Jesus and the words he is speaking into my heart, he will use me. And I live with people who also offer their lives to God to serve in that place where he put us.
I missed starting this blog earlier to start telling all about the beginning of my life here. Right now I can say I´ve settled in my little place and the family and also the bigger community arond me. I´m renting in a small house next to the family I first got to know. I made the house my own by putting new paint, decorating it with flowers and a collection of things from nature and I feel very much at home now!
My daily life is attached to the family cause we live very close. Even though I have my own place, I would say we still have shared houses cause we always walk into each others places and share all that is in there. Because of the way our houses are being built we always hear each other. Each house is very close to the other one and it´s as if we he have a camp or something related to that! From the moment I step out of my bed and go downstairs to enter my kitchen I can already expect to meet somebody or at least to be called for breakfast. I share meals with the family most of the time and I take part in their activities and everyday lives. I am happy to be able to get to know people closer now than on my three visits. I really have the time to find out about all the cultural differences and the treasures and the surprises this place has.
Apart from spending time with others I also have a lot of time for living creativity. I love takinng my camera and explore the environment and its´beauty for some good shots that I am using to produce postcards at the moment with hopefully more things to come in the future :)
I created myself a job as a photographer by offering a photography service called "buka mata" which means "open eyes". My first customer is the local "driftwood surfshop". I brought one of my friends to the first shooting we had. The result is that they liked him so much that he is being sponsored by them now.
From now on I will keep everyone who is interested in my life posted on this blog. I am excited to find out how the journey will go on !
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