July 24th
Final Team Transfer & Dengue Fever: This morning Ma’am JJ made eggs with a side of MEATLOAF for breakfast which actually tasted pretty good. I have also noticed that I have eaten a lot more rice than usual so it makes me believe I am slowly turning into a Filipino. Mimi and I joined our final team and located some houses. Later we stuffed ourselves in yet again another trike and went to the market with Rachel. One of the things that I learned about the nursing profession this evening while talking to a previous hospital nurse, is that nursing is not valued by the Filipino government. Nurses in Public hospitals are paid about $6 a day and each nurse is responsible for 30 patients! The team nurse explained that he gets paid more working in the field and is relieved from lots of stress. I also learned earlier that he was one of the team members that had gotten Dengue fever! Essentially, Dengue fever is a virus that is transmitted by mosquitos which can cause symptoms such as headache, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, etc. It was debated as to whether he was going to get checked into the hospital at one point because his Hematocrit and platelet levels kept fluctuating. The team member finally got his appetite back (after not having it for a week) and was slowly gaining back the eight pounds that he had lost with the sickness! One of the healthcare workers who I had spoken with in Benguet, had shared with me eating ripe papaya including the seeds, other than sleep and healthy liquids, is good with treating Dengue fever.
July 25th
Sexy Beach Day: The funniest part of my day was learning about the name of the beach we were going to. Instead of pronouncing the word beach as it normally should, Filipinos tend to pronounce the letter ‘e’ as an ‘i’ sound and ‘ach’ as a ‘tch.’ So this morning at breakfast while I am eating my dried fish and rice, my supervisor comes up to me and says… “Are you ready for Sexy B*tch?” I just looked at her in shock and then we laughed hysterically after realizing what she just said. Before going to the beach we made courtesy call to the municipal major, who turns out upheld a 70-year lineage of being major in that barangay. Neato! When we went to the beach we ate lunch boodle fight style. A boodle fight is named after how men ate army eating with their hands and a palm leaf is used to put the food on. The milk, eggplant, and buko (coconut) water was yummy! After I was done with our lunch, to no surprise I was the first in the water to ride some waves! The fresh coconut water was so refreshing after accidently drinking some of the Philippine Sea. At dinner tonight I tried squid with the ink for the first time. After eating at least ten squid, I was busog (full) and had a mouth full of black teeth! Masarap!
July 26th
7 hours of KTV & Boodle Fight: Today is our last official day out in the field. We got up at 5 AM and walked over this narrow footbridge to get to the respondent’s house. On the way back from the respondent’s house, we briefly went to the beach and tried to fish in the river for tilapia borrowing the respondent’s 10 foot fishing pole! It did not take us very long to realize that fishing was not our calling in life and quickly gave up. Later in the morning, Kenneth and Rachel took us to a poultry farm and sea salt refinery. We the girls and I went to our farewell despedida (party). I had so much fun, we played games and had a boodle fight. Now what made my stomach uneasy about the boodle fight was that we ate Lechon, broiled pig, right after we went to a poultry farm full of baby pigs. The pork was so good! We had a feast! After the teams went back to work, the girls, Ma’am JJ, and I all played KTV for 7 hours straight! I didn’t think I could karaoke for that long…
July 27th
Sand Dunes & Flight home
As I swept the barangay hall, I thought about the impact the field researchers made on my life. Just as the team left the barangay hall better than they found it, the same could be said for each team’s impact on my life. With every team I encountered I was showered with unconditional love and laughter. It was so easy to connect with the team members who I am thankful for helping me learn and grow. Not only have I learned the whereabouts of fieldwork but the living environment that comes with it. I will always cherish the memories shared with team members. By sleeping on the floor together, sharing meals together, and working around the clock together it didn’t take long to create bonds with many I can call my friends. I wish I could share one more ‘rest,’ one more boodle fight, one more mountain hike, and one (million) more selfies with these beautiful people of the FNRI. I am forever thankful for everyone who made me feel at home and loved and will all have a very special place in my heart. After the goodbyes and before our flight, Ma’am JJ took us to BACSIL ONSE REEF Sand Dunes. Dune buggying was a BLAST! Never would I have thought I would have been standing on the back of a jeep that I am pretty sure had no shocks and no seatbelts! I would love to do this again. Thankfully we survived the dunes and finished the adventure sandboarding! I will definitely try to recreate their sand board at home and try it at Warren Dunes. We made our flight back to Manila wishing I never left Ilocos Norte.
July 28th
Attended my first Catholic Mass in the Philippines conveniently located in the clubhouse of my condo. Spent the rest of the day at the mall where I had a delicious croissant and saw the movie “Yesterday” with the girls.
July 29th
FNRI Data analysis & Encoding Tutorial: Update, if I haven’t emphasized it enough already, I miss my co-workers in the field and wish I could go back right now. Instead of going back to the field, we have the opportunity to learn how the NAMD researchers encode, clean, and analyze the data that I helped collect in the field. The key word to this job is meticulous, it takes a special person to edit this data for hours on end and actually enjoy it.
July 30th
More Data Analysis at FRNI: Today in the office, we were able to work hands-on with data encoded in 2018. We got a crash course on how to use STATA software which was kind of fun but also kinda stressful. I was thankful that the NAMD workers took time out of their day to try and explain how encoding and analysis works.
The Art of Adventure 