Manila

after the biopsy, the DR agreed i could go to manila, which was one of my last trips for the year. the group i work with was co-sponsoring a workshop for 8 country teams, and it was pretty exciting to be a part of it.

i learned 3 things on this trip:
1. a UN agency-hosted event is very formal;
2. belgians think it's OK to drink at 8am; and
3. filipinos are GG.

i'm sure i don't have to elaborate on point #1, but let's just say that i'm amazed by the ritualistic way people torture themselves. i'm sure it's suppose to allow for people to feel represented and equal, permit order, blah, blah, blah, but it's really just a pain in the butt. at least that's how it looked to me, tho that might've been cuz i had to sit at the head table where all the protocol comes from...

point #2 came up on day 2 of the workshop. i was the facilitator for the vietnam country team, which consisted of 3 people. one of the 3, a belgian guy who might've been younger than me (making me only the 2nd youngest person there by a decade), showed up at 8am stinking of beer. and he sat next to me ALL day... at first i thot maybe i was missing something. i mean, who shows up at an official WHO-hosted event smelling like he just had a 6 pack???

for obvious reasons i was pretty unimpressed w/the guy, and swore up and down that if he showed up that way again the next morning, i was going to kick his butt. unfortunately for me he didn't. instead he showed up stinking like vomit...

as for point #3, i was taken out shopping my first day in manila by 3 of the lovliest filipino women i have ever met. they were truly a welcoming committee! among the items suggested to purchase was a wooden guy in a barrel, which when lifted, reveals the biggest wooden erection ever. lol!

filipinos are hilarious. and perhaps a bit perverted. jl - you are definitely GG...

and yes, of course i bought it! it's going straight to another GG in TX...

overall it was a very good trip, and i was kinda sad to have to go. i would've really like to see more of manila, and explore some of the beaches in the north. and since it's one of the last major things i'll be doing on my current assignment, it's just another reminder that things are coming to an end and i need to figure out what i want to do next.

i hate decision-making...

(top to bottom, L to R: hotel TV noting our workshop; walking oceanside in manila; very dirty water; malaysia country team chatting during a reception)