Shovels and Starbucks

I open the gate and am hit with the heat of a February afternoon. It is the start of the Filipino summer, which lasts for four months before it starts to cool off and start raining- so i hear. But like a Canadian summer on the west coast, the latter part of the summer is the hottest- so i have something to look forward to.
Most people, when they heard I was going to Uganda following my time here, seemed to associate it with extreme heat. However, upon talking with a roommate of mine (in Manila) who has done the trip before, I've learned that i can expect it to be a bit cooler in Africa. Plus, "no pollution."
As i continue down the street i snap a picture, one of the first I've taken since I arrived. Its the one at the top of this post. The pictures hanging across the road are election posters for the big election coming up. The motorcycles with side cars are what we call "tricycles." They are a means of transport through smaller communities. They will take you to commercial strips where you can catch a jeepney. The jeepney will take you through a million near misses to wherever you want to get off. Its an efficient system in many ways... in need of refinement in other ways. But the same could be said for the transit back home. The measureless difference between the two might be what makes me miss the latter however. But despite that, I think the difficulties of home-withdrawal are beginning to fade.

One recent experience, however, was such a transition into familiarity it was utterly surreal. A couple ladies came over from Canada this past week, and one of them, having spent considerable time here in the past, knew where to find a Starbucks.
Same menu, same tables, same music and same decor. The air conditioning was so good that it could make you forget the heat outside. It didn't stop me from buying something cold though. The prices weren't much less than back in Canada either. Put it this way $5 Can is about 200 pesos in the Philippines. My drink was about 145 for a small. It probably would've been 200 for a "Vente."

I went back to the construction site this week. Things were much better when i took the job as a chance to experience Filipino culture rather than trying to just get the job done. The Filipino work style is more about community than production I think- and that's what I needed to accept. Still, its mindboggling, the difference between Canada and here. In canada, if you need a chainsaw and you don't already have one in your garage you borrow one from your neighbor, and if they don't have one you go down and rent one for $12 a day. Here, you hack at the tree with a machete the best you can. Although I wouldn't bypass the possibility of a chainsaw showing up yet. The organization we were working with brought new shovels and wheelbarrows on my second day, and that was quite encouraging.
My days consisted of working, standing, working, standing, eating, tv ( American Idol if i'm lucky) sleeping, repeat. I was a volunteer, whereas many of the other laborers were paid. A decent wage I'm told. 200 pesos a day.

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