The summer course 2007 takes place from June 16 till July 31

Ever since the summer course students left home to travel from the Netherlands or from Cabagan to Manila to meet with their fellow students, they have kept a small dairy. Below a selection of these dairies up to June 11, that provide impressions of the activities undertaken as well as of reactions to shared experiences. (To be continued!)

A small impression of the first part of the summer course. please read the diaries for the full story.

Week 1, 16 - 22 June
Week 2, 23 - 29 June
Week 3, 30 June - 6 July
Week 4, 7 - 13 July
Week 5, 14 - 20 July
Week 6, 21 - 27 July
Week 7, 28 - 31 July

16 June by Glory T. Canete

Dear diary:
Hello! I am very excited today! It is my first time to have a diary. That’s why I want you to know me better.
Diary, just call me Glory…. That’s my name. I am 30 years of age and already married. I’m taking up Bachelor of Science in Development Communication and I am already at my 3rd year. My field of specialization is Journalism.
I really don’t know how to start talking to you but here I am. After all we did meet! I hope we’ll have a good time together.

Your pal, Glory.

PS: I am really excited. We have traveled to Manila and here I met students from Leiden University (the Netherlands)! I am looking forward to meet all the rest. In two days our group will be complete.

17 June BY Angelica mendoza

The Philippines adventure started yesterday in Holland when, for the second time since I came to Holland, I went to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam (I am from Colombia). Landing in the Philippines is quite an experience and the feeling of almost landing over people’s ‘houses’ is quite scary. Of course rich people do not live near the airport. This is the first contact (at least for me) with poorness in the Philippines. It made me realized how easy it is to forget these conditions as soon as your situation starts to get better. With this I mean that the Philippines reminds me of my home country, Colombia, but I must be clear, I have never and will never forget my country.
At this first approach to the Philippines, we came into contact with people:

1. Immigration
2. Change money
3. Getting luggage
4. Getting a cab

Typical routine issues when you arrive in a new country. The way to Pension Natividad, our first destiny, was quite an experience and my first view of Manila felt a kind of familiar to Colombia. We arrived at the perfect time for the first official meeting of the course. A beautiful dinner at Manila Bay finished the day and made us feel very welcome this very first night.

June 17 by Jasper H. Wester

Manila is much poorer than what I could ever guess. At least, I saw some parts of the city and already heard some stories that where quite contrasting.
The Philippine students are great, really friendly and I am sure that we are going to have an interesting and good time with this group. After a 20 hours’ flight and a four hours’ of sleep everything still is a bit fuzzy.

June 17 by Marco van Beest

Let’s talk about the Filipinos: they are really wonderful. My wallet was stolen in the Rizal Park today and as soon as I realized, my fellow Filipino students did so much effort for me. They really did all they could do to help finding it back, but unfortunately this was not the case. They felt really responsible for ‘their’ country  and we were quite sad about it. I felt a lot of warmth from them on this first day and strangely enough I felt so good after this accident.
I am really exited about the project and feel already so comfortable here!

18 June by CHRISTIAAN OOSTDIJK

6.00 am: wake up call! My new Philippine room mates all rose very early in the morning and I, although somewhat unwillingly, got up with them. I opened my still puffy eyes and was greeted by a whole bunch of smiles, the same smiles I think that are typical for Filipino hospitality as you see them everywhere.
At 9.00 am we left our Pension Natividad for a visit to the UNDP and the Royal Dutch Embassy.

19 June by Lemuel D. Dao-Ayan

9.00 am: we go to the DENR-PAWB (Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau) and Dr. Norma Maliyawe gave information about the management of National Integrated Protected Areas System and other biodiversity conservation projects as well as the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. After the briefing we went around the PAWB and we saw the different biodiversity projects which are presented in the zoo. We took our lunch there, after that we went to the office of PAFID (Philippines Association for Intercultural Development) and Dr. Dave de Vera gave information about the PAFID. He discussed the issues and problems about the indigenous people, especially the Ifugao people who are migrated in the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. After that presentation and briefing we traveled to UPLB (University of the Philippine Los Baños) and we went to the Trees Hostel.

20 June by Allan G. Panao

It was really an amazing day again after visiting two agencies. We also listened to good lectures and received a lot of information and explanations about our activities. This is our last day in Manila. Our professor treated us on a wonderful restaurant where we had our last dinner in Manila with a lot of delicious food.

21 June by Kathrine Vad

Today the long bus trip to Cabagan began. Departure at 8 am. It was funny to observe all the small cities and villages that we drove through. But to be honest, a journey of 15 hours in a bus can be very boring. We slept a bit, sang both Dutch and Filipino songs, read some of the documents offered by the different organizations visited…
The more North we came, the more nature we started to see. The Philippines is a wonderful country. The landscape is mostly composed of that rice terraces with mountains in the background.
When we entered the mountains, I was surprised to see how the palm trees are mixed into the forest, the Filipino students also showed us the land slides due to the fact that all the trees had been cut down.
When we arrived at the campus, we were all really happy! I feel impressed and thankful to the drivers we had a safe trip thanks to them.
We still had to install the mosquito nets before going to bed. This was quite funny because it was my first time to sleep under such a net!

22 June by Christopher M. Telan

Today we listened to a very long welcome speech given by Dr. Quilang and Dr. Macaballug and some other faculty members of ISU Cabagan.
We are all happy while coming around the campus and visit some projects of the various colleges.
I am very happy after I saw my classmates and we could talk to each other. I consider myself very lucky to be part of this group, and that I am now exposed to all the activities that we are going to undertake. I am happy to be here.

23 June by Sarai Alons

Today was very special. We have been to the Callao caves, North East of Tuguegarao. So beautiful! It was a bit of a hike up to the caves and it was 45 degrees so we were all drenched when we reached the caves but it sure was worth it. When we had looked around for a while inside the caves, we went back down and took a boat that brought us a bit further upstream (the caves are next to the river) and here we had a swim. After a while it started to rain so we found shelter under an overhanging rock. From our spot by the river we had a good view on an opening in the caves. It was getting dark already and when the rain stopped, the bats came flying out of the caves. The whole sky was filled with millions of bats, like one big black cloud. They just kept on coming, I was completely overwhelmed, it was so special that it almost seemed surreal!

24 June by Cyntia B. Malayad

The last six days were a lot of fun. Listening and taking notes and also making reports during the presentation.
And exactly today it is Sunday. This is our free day and we can decide to do whatever we like to do. So, we (the Filipino and Dutch students) decided to go in Tumauini Market and going to the Vayma’s house. I am excited because it might be very nice to go there. It is my first time to mingle and join with the Dutch girls.
The family of Vayma is very hospitable, they entertained us and we took our lunch there. I was very hungry at that time, so I ate a lot and the food is delicious, especially the chicken…. I really like the food because it is so yummy!
I don’t expect that the Dutch girls really likes the Filipino food.
After a few hours spending in the house of Vaymas family we needed to go back to Cabagan because it was already 2 pm. When we were at ISU, we decided again to go to the river. Some of us went swimming and some others were not going to swim because some of the Filipino girls/boys don’t know how to swim!

Back to normal again. Today we will have one of the presentations and also talk about problem definition and research assignments, and the bad thing was that I came late and the presentation had already started and I missed some of it.
Sir Jan did the lecture and it is all about Ifugao in the NSMNP, in Ifugao settlements where the sitio’s was included in the bufferzone of the park He also discusses with us the working in San Mariano and gave some basic information of every site.
And at around 9.00 a.m.William Sarella came to discuss the NSMNP. He talked about the legal framework, jurisdiction, land use, habiatst and the ecosystem’s biodiversity. And again after the discussion the students had a lot of questions to him and he answered them clearly but in very long answers. So I was getting very sleepy at thattime. So it was time to have a break for all of us and relax. Mt stomach was also complaining at that time. I am hungry. Dr. Gerard Persoon also arrived and Jose van Santen and Mr. Snow (I forgot his name) and after the discussions we went to the orientation programme to welcome them.

Another lecture was given by Dr. Dante on resource management of the indigenous peoples. Later Dr. Persoon lectured on data gathering through observation and interviewing. We also did a workshop on problem definition and research questions. At 3.00 p.m. we had a lecture by Mr. Arnold Macadangdang about the guidelines in doing fieldwork. We have also film viewing: Katutubo, and we very much enjoyed the dinner party with karaoke at the CML house of Sir Jan.

27 June by Noortje van Geenen - Schrauwen

We got up really early and left towards the Sierra Madre hills. We sat on top of the jeepney and drove on a really bumpy road with a spectacular view. The jeepney was parked on a basketball court of a small village where our several hours long walk was started. It was quite exhausting because of the heat and the sun. We kept our speed and enjoyed the landscape around us. We saw grasslands, rice fields and at some distance we could still see some of the original forest. We arrived in the village of Balete with some bamboo huts. We talked to people, who kindly provided us with coffee, and we played volleyball with the youngsters. We saw carabaos pulling logs from the forest, but the only thing I felt was sympathy. After all the critical lectures about biodiversity, I saw these people were just making a living, not aware of the rules set by other people. When we left it started raining. I really loved it because it was refreshing. We had to cross some rivers and in the last one we swam, so good!

27 june by Sanne van der hout

Today we have visited Balete, one of the barangays (villages) where we will do our anthropological research during the next couple of weeks. The trip was very exciting. Balete is a lovely village and our hiking tour was very adventurous, especially when it started to rain. We have seen such beautiful views! Thanks to our trip I know better what to expect from the work in the field. It is less primitive than I thought, which is really a relief!
Moreover, I have both a better and a more realistic picture of the problems in the ASMNP: we saw some pieces of land that were completely destroyed as a consequence of slash-and-burn practices. Besides, we saw a lot of people who were involved in illegal logging practices.
Our trip to Balete inspired me to come up with an interesting ‘research concept’: death. Information about the location where people are buried and stories about the funeral ceremony might give some interesting data on what is left of the old Ifugao rituals.

28 June by Jenifer gatan maquinad

We had a lecture by Dr. Persoon and a workshop on this day. On operationalisation. And we had to choose a topic for our own research. It was so difficult to choose a topic and then formulate some questions. And then we had a lecture with Dr. Santen on the relationship of women with the environment. At night I did not watch the movie because I went home.  

29 June by Jasper H. Wester

Waking up here is really peaceful. The Agta people are making funny noises and working a little bit in the household.
This village is right in a valley so it takes a while before the sun is over the mountains, this is nice because of the cool morning temperature stays a little bit longer. Yesterday evening I was told that this village is here for around 4/5 years now and they migrated to this place because this family wanted to split from some Agta in San Marina.

We got up really early to go to the CROC project. We went by bus to San Mariano to buy some water, food and other stuff. Then we sat on an old (logging) truck and drove on the most bumpy road to the project. The trucks tires went flat four times, but they were able to repair it!
Then we arrived at the place and ate a good lunch which our hosts prepared for us. After that we went up the hill to plant Narra and Acacia trees, that felt so good! I planted around 15 trees. Then we went back again and rested a little bit.
They showed us how to use a GPS, which was quite difficult.
Then we went to our village were we would spend the night. We put up our tents and had some dinner. After an adventurous search for a shop we were able to buy some gin. A good night followed…

30 june by Jayma M. Bicera

Today we visited San Marino. First we went to the crocodile sanctuary and Mr. Dominic gave some information about the crocodile. Next, we went to the Narra project and we proceed to San Isidro Elementary School. From the school we also went to the crocodile lake the next day. We swam into the lake together with the crocodiles. We did not see one animal however!

After a short sleep in our tent we went hikinh to the lake where we could spot the Philippine crocodile in the wild. It was surrounded by slash and burn practices where they cultivated upland rice and yellow corn. There were a couple of villages and the lake itself was quite small. It is a miracle that the animals survive here although caves are a good hiding place. Unfortunately we did not see them.
Because this was no success we hiked under the guidance of Sir Jan to an Agta settlement. Theyare the indigenous people of the Sierra Madre who have a completely different livelihood. Their houses were not what we call a ‘house’. It was only a windscreen. No domestic sphere here. They live of hunting and fishing. They look completely different from mainstream Filipino’s, they look like aborigines.
It was really a good experience to have seen them and it give you a lot to think about. It is unbelievable how Filipino mainstream society looks down on these people while I am fascinated about their maintenance of their lifestyle and resilience. I have never seen a culture like this and, nowadays it might be unique.    

We discussed the questionnaire and the separate research topic, I had to leave class after this discussion because I was feeling sick and had to throw up. I was shaking and had a horrible headache. I rested a bit but went for a walk in the afternoon. Ante Pasing rubbed me with scented oil after she saw I couldn’t shop shaking.

The others have left for the field. Glory and I stayed behind. In the morning we visited a private clinic. I had some blood tests done and the doctor told me I had an infection and that it is probably the flu. Wednesday will be spent on resting (recovering) and preparations for the field, we decided to leave on Thursday.

3 July by Novie U. Buguina

This day is hard for me; we go to our designated area in Managa Masipi East. We have a long hike ahead of us. Our tour guide is Amkel Tony, he guides us to Managa, to the host family. I think they are nice to us. But I am lonely because I am home sick! I miss my family and friends.

3 Juli by Jenifer M. Gadan

Today we shall leave for our fieldwork sites in various sites with Ifugao people. It was so exciting because I have not been here before. We took our lunch to the village councilor’s house and we went to the captain’s house at Bungy, Batong Labang, Isabela. We are the first persons to be dropped at Coop, a 30 minutes hike up to the area. We met our guides at the councilor’s house. When I saw the area I really want to come back here. My counterpart is so jolly, Noortje. We visited a citrus plantation, 1 km hike and the road was not good.

My hips hurt because of the hard floor. My feet too are swollen and covered by blisters. They don’t look very healthy and under these conditions they will not heal fast either. Because we only went to bed at around 11 we only woke up at 6 which is relatively late. After breakfast and strong coffee we left. I was told to wear closed shoes and long trousers because of the mosquito’s that were waiting for us in the forest. After a tough 1.5 hour hike we arrived at a little shed at the top of a mountain. Ruben asked us whether we would like to come along. ‘Sure’. It slowly became clear that cutting trees was the purpose of the trip. We had discussed illegal logging extensively over the past few days and now our host turned out to be involved. His chain saw was hidden under some shrub vegetation. A 4 meter long tree trunk was waiting to be sawn into planks.
The view from the top of the mountain was breath taking. I tried to get a signal of Mark and Christiaan in the nearby village. We decided to do some of our assignments. We are not used to doing nothing. Restless people like us, used to a continuous flow of distractions, don’t simply let the time slip away. In the afternoon we play volleyball. My length is a big advantage. Because of the heath and my painful feet, I withdraw after only one game. We have forest vegetables, fried egg and tinned beef for lunch. In the evening I play chess. Ruben plays fast and does not allow me time to think. I loose. Bed time. The cockroaches and rats are having a party. Jointly they even play the guitar hanging on the wall while they dance on my bag. Once more the floor is hard and my hips and back ache in whatever position I fold my body. It is going to be a long, restless nights in the forest.

When I woke up this morning I could feel that a kind of routine had started to settle. We got up, tidied the room (put our sleeping bags away etc), then we have breakfast with Rovena and Raphi. We do the dishes and take a bath. I feel more relaxed when the morning is organized and then I know that the day is going to be a nice day.
Our 1st objective was to finish Manang Tomasa’s interview, which we did in the morning. She is a really nice woman, always smiling and waving at us when she sees us in the village.
In the afternoon, we had planned to go on with the interview of Hanag Mailyn but Gerry interrupted us, and we finally ended up interviewing him!
At the end of the afternoon, the village was getting ready for the market in Masipi, which was going to take place tomorrow. They were all preparing the carabao sledges with bananas. Then we played a game volleyball with some of the young people. I enjoyed it very much!
This evening we decided to take it a bit easy and we went quite early to bed.

5 July by unknown

These people work so hard, physically, to get food on the table. Auntie is drying the rice, then crushing it and then separating the corn from the husk. Uncle is harvesting the bananas and then brings them to the market (3 hours walking), luckily he has a carabau (water buffalo). What a difference with the way we live!
This afternoon we had a discussion about being rich or poor and about the relations between people in the Netherlands? How do we conceive the differences between our countries? Is it in any way comparable in terms of wealth, happiness, etc?

Today it is Friday, so it is already our fourth day in the field. We arrived here on Tuesday but because our village (Sinamnana/Dipugpug) is very far from Cabagan we were quite late to arrive at the house of Luis Bagoi. We had to wait for Anita, the lady of the house, because she was still working in the field.
That day we couldn’t start our fieldwork anymore, so we decided to go to bed early. We both slept outside, because I could hang my hammock there, but that wasn’t a very good decision, because it was very cold at night. We slept terrible.
The next day we woke up at about 05.30 am and immediately started our work. We walked uphill to the place where the most houses are, hoping we could find people to interview and make a map at the same time. Although the houses were mostly abandoned (everybody is at work) we did find three people we could interview and make the first part of the map. Not a bad result I think for the first day. In the afternoon of that day we met Arnel, a nephew of Luis Bagoi. He told us some interesting things about the people here, prepared us a delicious pineapple and even hang my hammock inside. I slept much better that night.

6 july by Marco van Beest

While we were relaxing in the hottest time of the day, there was an unexpected nice surprise coming. Gerard, Arnold, Sarai and Joseline came to visit our village and see how we were doing. It was a nice visit and I really enjoyed their company. While they were almost leaving, Gerard had some wise words for us: “expect the unexpected during your field work”. And indeed, these were wise words!
After dinner we invited the men in the village to have a drink with us, and suddenly, while talking and laughing, in a split second the men gathered some pans and some spoons and another metal artifact: they were transferred into music instruments and before we knew it, we were joining a cultural happening. The men were playing, dancing and we joining in a “traditional Ifugao dance, with traditional Ifugao music”.
It was a fantastic experience, suddenly in the same house where we did not expect anything like this. Then children and women came in and joined while I could try to play “Ifugao percussion” with a spoon and a pan. This atmosphere was surprising me so much, but I wisely thought: expect the unexpected…
N.b.: while I was writing this in the afternoon of the next day, a little boy came to me to show me his catch of the day: he caught a really small turtle and proudly showed it to me. A lot of excitement in this small village!

It is our fifth day of field work here and guess what! We are almost finished with our assignments. This morning we had already made the transect of the village and went swimming at the river for a while. Ha ha ha. Very nice, right?
But do you think it is always a good day here for us? Oh no!
Because last night was a very messy night I have ever had in life because we can not get to sleep well because of rats and cockroaches that are playing inside our room and besides of that there is a lot of small insects biting us. So it is hard to stay in a place like this. Ha! But don’t worry, we can still manage to do our assignment here. The family host is still doing fine with us. So still we are lucky enough….

7 july by Jocelyn Baggay Pagalilauan

Today we went to Lolo Alberto and Kuya Samuel to interview them. We asked Lolo Alberto to show us the medical and edible plants found in the house and village and likewise also those found in the forest. And actually he gave the best of his knowledge. We also talked to Kuya Sammy about the activities he is doing in the farm. In what months do they perform the land preparation, weeding, planting, processing and harvesting? We also interviewed him with the general questions about the settlement. In another way he is the first person that we interviewed. We took 2.5 hours for interviewing him. After that we came up to our house. I am too tired right now and need to go to bed!

8 July 8 by enRico m. mabazza

It is Sunday and it is raining so hard today. The only thing we do is waiting for the people to go for mass because the church is next to the house of our family. Maybe because it rains no people of the village are ready to go to the mass. So Victor and I stay in the house for the whole day but around six o’clock Mr. Arnold arrives at our place to visit us and the guys that are in Kimalabasa as well. But Mr. Arnold decided to stay in our house because it is too dark to walk from Tapuakan to Kimalabasa. So during the night we had a conversation with the host family and some people of the village. And then I think that is all! Because after all the talking with them we decided to go to sleep. Thanks and God bless!

This is my happiest moment since we came in our village Balete. We wake up early and we were not able to take our breakfast because we were so excited to go back to ISU and meet our friends again. Even though the road was muddy we really enjoyed the trip. But I will really miss my Filipino companion. When we arrived here in ISU Novie and I went to our boarding house to see our friends and to listen to all their stories.

Diary,

Good morning! We have no schedule this morning. It is great! I slept well. You know what? I really enjoyed my small conversations written to you. This summer course contributed a lot to me. I really can not forget it.

11 July by: Angelica Mendoza

Today we had a long trip to the Ifugao province where most of the migrants we are studying in the villages come from.
We took a bus in the morning directly from the ISU to Banaue, one of the mayor towns in Ifugao. We first crossed the valley and the lowlands and when we enter the Ifugao province we started going up the mountains. The road was getting thinner as we approached Banaue and at the end it was just s tinny road were the bus barely fitted.
We stopped at midday to get lunch at literally “someone’s” house. Sir Arnold asked a gentle family if we could take our lunch in their house and they gladly said yes. This is how people are in the Philippines. Finally in the afternoon we arrived and settle in two places, one for the girls and one for the boys.
We (the girls) had a very nice view of all the rice terraces in Banaue right in our balcony. The boys where placed in the town so their view was not that good. Tomorrow will be and amazing day travelling to Batad, where the rice terraces and the landscape leave you speechless… they say.

12 July by: Kathrine Vad

I woke up quite early this morning because there were a lot of noises in the hotel already. But it was actually quite lucky because I sat on the terrace and enjoyed the sunrise over the rice terraces. It was really beautiful.
Around 9 o’clock, we took two jeepneys that brought us to Bata’an. From there, we had to walk to Batad. Jesse, Anna and Geyma stayed behind because they were sick, and the walk was going to be quite long.
The walk was indeed long (3 to 4 hours) but it was really funny to walk on the border of the rice terraces, although it felt like quite dangerous as well sometimes. We all arrived in Batad quite tired but amazed by the view. I really enjoyed the cold beer while looking at a whole side of a mountain covered with rice terraces and the little village built completely at the bottom! It was fantastic.
Today was also Marco’s birthday. We celebrated it with pancakes in Bata’an, but the real party took place that night. He was offered a traditional Ifugao g-string which he had to wear the whole evening!! Then we all gathered around a fire. An old Ifugao man taught us how to dance while 3 Ifugaos were playing gongs. We sang songs from different countries. I think everyone had a lot of fun.

13 July by: Bess Doornbos

We just came back from a 3 day trip to the Ifugao province (first Benaue, than Batad). To reach Batad we had to hike for 3 hours on an adventurous path. If it had rained I would have called it a dangerous patj…We walked through the rice terraces, the views were fantastic. It was the first time the Philippines really amazed me…

14July by: Bess Doornbos

According to the schedule I should already be on my way to the field again. Instead I chose to postpone the fieldwork to Sunday. This way I can easily do the gift and grocery shopping in Tuguererao and maybe even go to the cinema? I think it is important to take a rest now and then and to not rush into things. Our programme is busy and the conditions we work in are difficult: don’t push yourself to hard….

15 July by: Angelica Mendoza

Magamian is quite a place. Our second day here started with the formal interviews. We first interviewed Manan Anna, one of the neighbours of our host family. We had to start very early in the morning like at 6 AM, because most of the people in Magamian go at 7 or 6 AM to their fields to work and come back until the afternoon or evening, so they are not available at any other time. Afterwards we return home to get our breakfast of rice, coffee and usually some other wild vegetable.

In the village time seems to stop at certain hours in the day and in some others every body seems to be rushing. The bingo, the cards, the night talk and of course all the meals and some “meriendas” are the ruling activities during the day. Most of the men are not in the village during the day and the woman stay taking care of the babies and other activities in the house. At night after dinner we had a little meeting with the “guys” in the village that invited us to a fire they made and to eat some “pulutan” with them. They played the guitar and sang. It was really nice to share with them and learn a bit more of Ifugao language, even though they are always laughing of my pronunciation. I also taught them some Spanish which they like a lot. I am very glad to have returned to Magamian for two more weeks.

15 July by: Jesse Bruins

As I wake (too late) most of our fellow students already left for the field. The reason for not setting the alarm was simply that the Jeepney leaves only once a day, giving us no reason to hurry. At 9.30 we are the last couple to leave the Campus, we take the bus to Tumauini. We return to the same supermarket as last week to do our shopping. Lemuel has to do all the shopping because the shop owner keeps shaking my hand and keeps teaching me ugly Philippino words. Just before the Jeepney departs from Tumauini, Lady Jane joins us to check out the barangay Dy Abra. After arriving we decide to take a swim in the river. We are not the only ones who thought it was a nice day. The river is filled with little children, women washing clothes and some boys who are drinking liquor in secret behind the reed. The only downside in this idyllic picture is that the corn on the opposite side of the river is dying due to the drought. Though they try not to show it too much, our host family is really worried about losing their crops.

Sarai Alons
Pulang Lupa, 16 July 2007

Life in the mountains is free… Jocelyn and I both agreed on this today. We have everything we need and we can do as we like. This morning we got up early and took the road down to Sammy’s house, where we interviewed his mother and afterwards we went on for an interview with Christina, who teaches the children in the little school of the village. We ate fresh papaya and bananas and shared some chocolates, I made pictures and we came home with pineapple and avocados. We brought more then enough food when we came here and last night auntie gave us cassava and mungobeans. We’re never going to be able to finish it all! It’s so wonderful to get everything you need from the forest and the garden.
At the moment there are lots of dragonflies playing around and I’ve been hearing a chainsaw going all day… In front of our cottage there’s also a pile of logs that wasn’t there last week. When we came back here yesterday I was still not feeling well, but I’m good now. I think being outside the whole day, eating fresh fruits and fresh air instead of exhaust fumes really helps!

Bess Doornbos
Field, 17 July 2007

Noortje van Geenen
18 July 2007

Today we went with Eleonora, the mother of our hostfamily, Ilagan to see the market were she buys her supplies for her sari-sari store and her family. We got up early, as usual, but this time to dress as nice as possible because we were going to ‘the city’. We were not so lucky when it comes to transportation: we had to walk 1,5 hour to Bintakhan because there were no jeepneys. We climbed upon the truck and drove off to Ilagan, and made one stop halfway to drop off some logs.
We did the shopping and saw the big market of Ilagan. Be bought soda, candies, rice, bread and some other food. Eleonora explained what she bought and why, which was really interesting. But after that we felt like doing something for fun, so we ate hamburgers and went to a hairdresser surrounded by drag queens. Jen got her hair straightened and Eleonora and I chose curls. We had some fun conversations, but it was time to go.
We got on a jeepney and got back all the way to Bintakhan, till the truck stopped. Just the tree of us had to go further. Because of the huge amount of groceries we had no other option to pay the driver money to drive all the way to Coop, and about 30 people joined us to our village to sit a bit and left then again with the jeepney. That evening we talked to two young water loggers who stayed at our house for some days and agreed that we could join them on one of their water logging trips in Minuma. We had a nice evening with some guitar music, but we had to rest for the day after because our hike into the mountains was going to be tough.

Christiaan Oostdijk
18 July 2007

Today our translator, who had been with us for two days now, left to go back to the neighbouring village, where others from our group were staying at her house. Seeing as most of the people in our village speak only Ifugao, her help was a great asset to our research. We did some really good interviews today. Where before some villagers had been very shy when we were around things changed a bit when we had our translator there. We had been trying to get some of the younger ones to let us interview them, but they were very reluctant. Our translator knew the people from our village and so they were more willing to participate and open up and this resulted in some really fun interviews with two of the younger inhabitants of Quimalabasa. Both had only arrived here from Ifugao in the last 9 months, so it was very interesting to get the chance to talk with them about their experiences.

Elisa Trepp
Magansimid- 19 July 2007

I was a bit sick today, had a fever last night and a headache when I woke up this morning. I decided to take it easy before lunch and do my laundry. Everything takes so much longer here- boiling water, bathing, walking to the neighbor’s house, or even having a simple conversation. It makes that day more peaceful though, I really like it. When I do laundry I take my washing in a large metal bowl, and carefully walk/climb down a mountain path to a creek where we also take showers under a bamboo pipe that concentrates the water at one point. Sam taught me how to do my laundry by hand, but I still can’t do it as well as him… I’ve been too spoiled by washing machines my whole life.           
Our host made fried bananas at lunch which tasted delicious, and one of the other villagers brought some bananas with him, which had been cooked in water with their peel and all… the upside of living in a village of banana farmers! After eating a nauseating amount of bananas, I talked to Orlando for a while, who speaks some basic English and could tell me more about the banana buying and selling system they have here. He explained that prices fluctuate per season, and that there are three main buyers in Masipi that buy bananas from Magansimid and surrounding villages twice a week. We talked some more about problems in the village and the situation about the fact that there are almost no women living there. I tried to get more information about Ifugao traditions and customs, but he told me he did not know anything about them, and that his father had taught him that they were “bad” and that he should just believe in God instead. Everyone is very surprised that I find their cultural heritage so interesting, and start laughing every time I ask.

Bess Doornbos
19 July 2007

At first I thought we wouldn’t be able to do all the assignments and interviews within the limited period of fieldwork. It turned out to be OK though. The general questionnaire was, in terms of quantity, too hard on the respondents: we took too much of their time. It made them come up with quick answers which after observations or informal talk, turned out to be (partly) false. It’s not that they intentionally lie, they just don’t know the correct answer yet (at time of interviews)…
Me and my Philippine partner are on our way to Masipi now where we arranged a new host family ourselves. We finished all the interviews in the village we were assigned to (Managa) and want to spend the last few days doing research in a nearby village.

Kathrine Vad
20 July 2007

We had a really calm day today. We have one assignment left (the one concerning the artefacts) and we still need to finish Manang Adela’s interview. But Manang Adela is only available on Sundays. The other days, she is working on her field. Our host family, Manang Saling and Manong Romy, could not help us either with our assignment today. So we spend the whole day chilling. In the afternoon, the daughter of the chairman came to visit our host family. She can speak English, so we had a really nice conversation with her.
Then, Sheryl proposed that we could take one of the badminton set out to play a bit (it was supposed to be a gift to the village). We had a lot of fun playing and soon some people from the village joined us. It was really cool to see how much fun they could get out that game. They basically played until they couldn’t see the ball anymore.
At diner, we had fresh fish from the market (milk fish). It was delicious, I really enjoyed it!

Sarai Alons
Pulang Lupa, 20 July 2007

Noon
I feel like I’m getting to the point that I don’t mind leaving again… I like it here, very much. But the afternoons are so long… and so hot…! All I long for these times is a nice cold drink, a jump in the river and a real toilet to sit on. Even though I must admit that the view from the comfort room is very nice J
And I’m just so itchy itchy itchy! Everywhere! I have red bumps even on my ears. I suppose I could wear long pants the whole day but every movement I make is making me sweat already. I think I have never been sweating so much in my life. My whole face is covered with pimples because of the combination of dust and sweat. I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t need any luxury, and I don’t really and I do enjoy all of this very much… and at the same time… I think it’s mostly the heat though.

Bedtime
I just took a bath, accompanied by the light of the moon, the stars and the lightning only J makes me feel all happy and fresh again!

Bess Doornbos
21 July 2007

We’re now in Masipi, staying with the brother and sister of the Barangay captain. It’s so different from Managa! Masipi East is a big village with lots of children (and they all want to see the ‘americano’) The financed by a relative working in Canada house we’re staying in is big but, like all Philippino houses, not finished yet. People have showers and sinks, but no running water; stone walls without any paint: beds but no matrasses, electricity but regular fall-outs. I think I prefer the house in Managa: it’s cleaner, more quiet…

I am so tired and sick of interviewing! I did not sleep walk, the last few days. The anti-malaria tablets are probably partly to blame…But in this conditions working with a Philippine partner, doing interviews, the heat, staying in a host family, being the centre of attentions…
Pfff I don’t know if I’ll make it through the last couple of days!

Elisa Trepp
Magansimid 22 July 2007

Arnold stayed overnight, and only me, Sam and Arnold slept in the house because Joel, Orlando, and the others had eaten bat in a cave yesterday, which supposedly gives very bad flatulence, so they slept in the neighbor’s house to spare us… Arnold left after breakfast, and Sam and I headed to do our last interview with an Ibanag woman who had come back to the village after being gone for some time. She only married her Ifugao husband a few months ago, so she was happy to speak to a person who speaks Ibanag and to see a woman in Magansimid since there are so few. The interview took about one and a half hours, and then we went back to our house to have lunch. I finished half of the artifact assignment today as well, and Sam worked on the transect. We only have a few days left now; time is really passing by quickly.

Jesse Bruins
Monday 23 July 2007

Though it is not the official day yet, Lemuel and I decided that we are finished and it is time to return to Cabagan. Although the jeepney leaves at 7.30 A.M. I’m still able to experience two anthropological mistakes. One, not the last supper but the last meal is more important for saying goodbye. For this occasion another chicken is slaughtered for breakfast. Leading to my second problem, I’m still not used to drinking chicken blood soup, and therefore I cowardly don’t. After saying our goodbyes to everybody in Dy Abra we head for Cabagan. At the campus we meet Sanne & Celestino and Linde & Cynthia. When Christiaan also returns we decide its time for pizza, this unfortunately results in stomachache because we are no longer used to eating such ‘heavy foods’. To celebrate our return we drink some Matador at Mark’s auntie’s house, to share our field experiences.

Noortje van Geenen
24 July 2007

After the water logging trip we went back to Coop and made a stop in Dendro, a small village between Coop and Minuma. We had slept there in a house of a very kind family the guys introduces us to. Jen was already out when I woke up. This night I managed to keep the insects away from me, which meant a good start of the day to me. We drank some milo, very popular chocolate milk, and packed our bags to leave before breakfast so it was still fresh and good to walk.
The walk was hard although it was just two hours and it got hot anyway. We managed to find the path back to Coop, and when we arrived at our house, Eleonora welcomed us with open arms. Good to be back home!! We ate breakfast with them and took a bath down the hill. We felt much better!!
Arnold called us to ask if it was ok to drop by with Jane, Jocelyn, Sarai, Marco, Victor and Enrico. Till the time they arrived Jen and I wrote a bit in our diaries and relaxed a bit. Then we heard Arnolds car and there they were, it was really nice to see them again! After some drinks and food we decided to visit the waterfall halfway to Dendro. After a nice walk we arrived and had a really refreshing swim in the clear water.
Later in the afternoon we picked up some lunch and went to the Santa Victoria caves to find some cool shade and to enjoy our lunch. It was a nice and relaxing day afterall, but in the evening we were all so tired that we went to bed after some drinks, and our guests also stayed.

Elisa Trepp
Magansimid 25 July 2007

Today we woke up at 5 am and left Magansimid with two of the villagers as our guides. We said our goodbyes and hiked for two hours down the mountain to Masipi. It was strange to leave the village, knowing that I most likely will never come back. I learned so much there, and will miss it in a way although I am happy to be back at the university with everyone again. In Masipi Sam and I went to see the barangay captain, but he wasn’t there. Bess, Novi, and Marjon were still in Masipi though, so we decided to all go swimming together on our last day. It was nice to relax and talk about our fieldwork period in a small group before heading back to the EIC. In the evening we got a ride to the university and had dinner with a whole group who had also just returned from the field. Tomorrow we have to start writing our reports and presentations, so the coming days will probably be very busy.

Kathrine Vad
25 July 2007

Today we are going back to Cabagan. The last two nights, Sheryl and I were in Magamian visiting Angelica and Edwin. Then, this morning, we all had to say goodbye to the villagers. As in Balete, this was a very hard moment emotionally. We walked down the mountain to Tumawini where the jeep was waiting for us, and came back to the campus. A lot of people were already there, they had come back the day before. It was great to see everybody again, to exchange our experiences and so on.
In the afternoon, Angelica, Jasper, Marco and I went to Tuguegarao. All we had been dreaming of the last few days with Angelica was a burger, so we went directly to the Jollibee. Then we walked a bit around in the market, but Tuguegarao is always a really tiring experience, because of the noise, the pollution and all the activities around us (especially after the tranquillity of the field) so we went quickly back.

Angelica Mendoza
26 July 2007

What a DAY!... well it was my Birthday and what a Birthday. I must say that at the beginning of the day I was feeling very homesick, I missed my family and friends in Colombia. I was very far away from home… but in the morning I received a call from my parents that really cheered me up. Also a friend from Colombia that was in Manila called me and I felt very happy. Afterwards we had a lecture from Sir Jan and Mrs Merci Masipiqueña about the report and final presentation and I got a beautiful surprise from the group, we got some little biscuits and Ice Cream to celebrate my birthday, and they sang to me. It was beautiful.
During the day we started working on the reporting and final presentation and I received great presents from all the Philippinos and Dutch.
At night we tried to watch Harry Potter´s movie but there was a blackout and we ended up talking and enjoying the warm weather and nice time. I am very grateful to have such a wonderful people around me, they made this day a memorable day… thanks everyone!!!

Christiaan Oostdijk
July 26

The second period of fieldwork ended for everyone in the last couple of days and now the madness of reporting could start. We started the day off with a meeting to hear about everyone's experiences. We heard about some of the adventures people went through, but also about some of the obstacles encountered by others. After this meeting, the reporting was upon us. All the interviews were gathered in the library so that everyone could get the information they needed to write their personal report. The following days will probably be well busy, with preparing for the presentation, writing a village description and a personal report all in the next few days. A challenge for sure...

Jesse Bruins
Friday 27 July 2007

After a couple of long days writing our report, we finally get to go the mansion of Governor Grace <? sorry Gerard, ik ben vergeten haar achternaam op te schrijven> for a reception and fiesta. The reception starts with a couple of presentations from the Governor, Jan van der Ploeg and two from Enrico and Sarai, very well done guys! In the meanwhile we sing the two provincial and regional anthems, and the student choir from Ilagan also gives short musical intermezzos, including the Lion King theme song. Then we finally get to eat! And while eating the nice Philippino foods, a student-dancing group makes the evening very nice, no? During the meal, the Governor takes a lot of time to talk to most of the students, in order to share their experiences from the field. The best part of the evening is, without doubt, that we are also invited to dance along with the dancers! Very nice indeed!

Noortje van Geenen
29 July 2007

Today, again, was a day of making the reports, area descriptions and presentations. Because this was the last day to finish everything, everybody was working very hard. We had some nice food and meriende now and then, but beside those breaks most of us worked the whole day through. In the evening we sat on the roof to relax a bit after a bit of a stressy day staring at the computers. Some people were still working to succeed their writings, other were sleeping to be energetic for the after, the ‘big day’.

30 July

Everybody was to busy wrighting their diaries....

Sarai Alons
Manila, 31 July 2007

This morning we said goodbye to everybody in Cabagan. The bus left early and the despedida party also lasted till early in the morning so our goodbye was a bit too quick for me. On the one hand I was exited because I’m leaving for New Zealand tomorrow, but on the other hand I was sad to say goodbye to the new friends I’ve made here. The bus ride back to Manila was comfortable but long, and the realization that it was all over again hit me very sudden. We have been working so hard the last couple of days to finish our report in time and we have seen and experienced so many things together that made a big impression on me, and now we are back in Manila and everybody is going his or her own way again.
We had dinner in a fancy restaurant to celebrate our last night, and afterwards I went for a drink on the boulevard with Marco, Bess and Marjon. We bought flowers from the streetkids and danced the night away…

Christiaan Oostdijk
31 July 2007 - The End

I cannot believe it has been six weeks since we all arrived in Manila, met our Filipino counterparts and started this adventure together. It's been a summer filled with new experiences, lots of impressions, excitement, hard work, new friendships, hiking, lectures, travelling, a crazy wedding, seclusion from the outside world, achievements, happiness and occasionally some low points and sadness. But most of all this experience has been rewarding and a source for learning new things. We did fieldwork in villages where no other person has been, what more can you ask for?!

Of course all this had to come to an end, and today was that day. The international students said their goodbyes early this morning at the campus, before we got on the bus back to Manila. Tomorrow more goodbyes will follow as we are all moving in different directions. Some will be going home and some are spending more time in the Philippines or elsewhere in the world, but we will all remember our time in the Philippines for a long time to come!