Unseen Faces, Unheard Voices

I have been blessed by the Goddess of Abundance. I found a pizza place which is a 5 minute walk from Edjin Pension House (hotels are named after the investors here). Well, it is right smack along the Mat'L Hi-Way, Tacurong City. It has quite an extensive menu considering it is a modest eatery. I whooped with joy and gratefulness when I saw almost 5 things which were vegetarian. I intend to go there every night I am here. The price is very reasonable. a 10 inch diameter pizza (small) can cost about 50 - 80 Php. The mozzarella cheese here is very good and is sprinkled lavishly on pastas, spaghetti and pizza. Western food in general in the Philippines is very good and affordable. My pizza had a thin delicious crust with a tangy tomato base and topped with slivers of onions, green bell pepper and chunky tomatoes. The vegetarian delight beckoned me when I glanced through the menu for what I may eat tomorrow. I finally am warming up to Tacurong now that I know I can survive on PIZZA

I keep coming across women/men who ask me where I am from, I tell them that I am from Ateneo de Manila University. Ateneo has campuses all over Philippines, the closest being Davao. When I mention to them that I am attached to the one in Manila. I usually get blank stares which could mean two things:- (a) That I was privileged enough to buy a ticket and fly to Southern Philippines. Many of them probably never been to Manila which is a 2 hour plane ride from where they live. They are outside the confluence of power, at the periphery. (b) Philippines is enormous physically and you realize a lot of people may never have traveled outside their region even though they may have traveled all over the world. There are also many harmful stereotypes being perpetuated about a number of things especially of the southern region, poverty and violence. Many people from Manila have no idea how people in Tacurong City for example live. I can see many parallels between Malaysia and the Philippines in

I must say I have never ever been petrified to the extent that I was thanks to the warnings of some well meaning souls. The minute I landed in Cotabato airport which is very small and low tech, I had this immense fear suppressing my rationality. It was a wonder that I could actually understood sole taxi-driver who approached me at the airport, Piong. "Taxi, ma'am?" he asked. I must have looked practically white in the face. But I recovered quickly enough when he told me what the cost was. It was Php 2500.00. This was exorbitant I thought, but it was the only way to get to Tacurong unless I wanted to squeeze in with 10 other people on a very unstable van with luggage. This is not a reflection of class either I just had too many bags to manage. Yes, luggage can make life miserable. In total I was carrying about 30 kg of basic amenities to sustain me for 6 months. 2 kilogrammes of spices and curry powder which my partner is convinced is unnecessary. It is early days yet and

WAGI, DAWN and Miriam College Today was an exceptionally fabulous day of mining for contacts. Yes, I said mining, akin to excavating for gold! Super highlights in the day are as follows:- Tesa De Vila    I met Tesa in 2010 as a participant of a wonderful programme - Kartini Sephis - Feminist Action Research Programme. It was an unusual experience which lay teh foundation for the proposal I submitted for the API Fellowship 2012 - 2013. The idea germinated at this wonderful workshop which was intense and very rewarding. I met Tesa for a wonderful lunch and she spoke at length about the women's movement and her experiences being involved. She is as busy as ever, teaching, actively involved in NGO work and raising a beautiful child who is 9. She has this wisdom that grounds me, helps me develop a better perspective of work, life and scholarship.  ' Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love ' She mentioned the quote above by Mother

Well, Day 1 was sleep, eat and find more edibles. Curry withdrawal syndrome has led to a voracious appetite for all sorts of contraband.  Seafood pancit which some gooey noodles. I made a lousy choice and ended up with something I will NEVER try again. Day 2 was super optimistic and lived up to its promise. Met the wonderful Miss Shyl Sales who is effiencient and resourceful, administrative wonder at IPC. I will be taking her for coffee later. She was kind enough to show me a directory of all the work which has been produced by the Institute of Philippines Culture (Ateneo de Manila University). The researchers there are so prolific and do such seminal work. I managed to pick up a great book by Jeanne Frances I.Illo & Cecile C. Uy "Members But Not Leaders - Finding a Niche for Women in Cooperatives". Met the director the amazing Dr. Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu - powerhouse of brilliance and very approachable. She was surprised to know that oil palm plantations existed in