Relief Op with Pilar LGU

Yes. That was a month ago. But I still can't believe how I did it on my own for the first time. Right after the house-to-house collection of relief goods I did with the VSO-ICS team VI082, the morning after, I headed to Loon to distribute it. I was also in hope to see Rex, a VSO-ICS deaf volunteer, living in Loon to hand some of the relief goods we collected.





Me together with Pilar youths






Other group bound to Inabangga



Around 8 o'clock in the morning of Oct. 24, 2013, I got on the dump truck bound to Loon. With me are some of the youth groups from Pilar and a few Municipal Officials to accompany us on our route. It was also my first time to finally see Loon before and after the earthquake. On our way there, we are welcomed with series of damaged houses, fallen rocks, landslides, and broken bridges. And as we got to the place where all goods were deployed, I had the chance to take a closer look at the damaged house of the Brgy. Captain of the place, and ask a few questions.








Filling the water bottles of the Brgy. Captain's Wife








Me: Te, pila namo kaadlaw way tubig ngare? 


Captain's wife: Sukad ra atong paglinog day. Naa man pod mi tabay nga among kuhaanan ug tubig, pero nalubog man sukad pod atong nilinog di na namo mainom. Daghan man gani tig kawsanan diri sa amoa before sa linog kay tin-aw man unta nang tubig sa among tabay.


Me: Unya te, unsaon man ninyo pagkaligo?


Captain's Wife: Manghimasa ra mi day usahay kanang gikan sa tabay nga tubig. Bahin ug imnonon magsalig pa jud mi karon sa ipanghatag.


During the time we were there, the captain was out attending another relief distribution in another area so their barangay could also benefit. Her wife was left in the house to stand on his behalf in case of help comes. The captain's house was seriously destroyed yet amidst the tragedy he hasn't forgotten his responsibility with the people in the place. It was known during those times the relief goods hoarding, that only people close to government officials are abundant beneficiaries of the help received. I think it was also an advantage that goods were directly given to barangays instead of going to evacuation camps, at least there was an assurance that smaller community far from the relief distribution areas were regarded as well.












There were two more barangays we've been after our first stop. And as I see the goods slowly vanishing, I figured I would never have the chance to see Rex as all the goods we have are all accounted for and our route was slowly moving away from where Rex is. The bridge that broke down also hindered us from going to Loon Poblacion or Proper, where Rex is living. I let the chance pass as I cannot insist on my own intentions of being just a volunteer. I informed Rex about this and was glad enough he understood my reasons.





It was about lunch when we had a contact coming from Antequera (one of the municipalities severely damaged by the earthquake). Surprisingly we were not there to give out relief goods but to be guests of the house celebrating their fiesta. I found it absurd as we came to the other municipality to help but there we were making ourselves a burden of an earthquake-affected area. But the owner of the house was more than happy to have us there (the way I saw it). You can't see that they were out of something to eat having prepared a variety of food on the table that they shared without hesitation. This is probably one way of showing how important fiesta is for Boholanos, that even in the middle of crisis they will still find a way to praise and thank the saint and the Lord for everything.





 We headed to Tagbilaran after our heavy lunch and we had the chance to pass through few affected municipalities. It was another purchase of additional relief goods for the next batch of relief distribution.

Relief Goods collection with VSO-ICS Team VI082

I've said that I have been helping out with relief operations starting in Ubay. So when I was invited to help out with the current team's Mini-CAD which is a house-to-house collection of relief goods, I didn't hesitate to say yes. This time I helped out as a Returned Volunteer (RV).

I was with Fidel, an RV from the cycle before us. The team never made us feel awkward towards them that we were able to fit in well. Some of them were curious about certain things so some of them asked me of how my volunteering went. While waiting for the dumptruck, we also played the "Indian War Sign", a game where you need to create your own sign and pass it on to another by doing their sign. That was a bit hilarious since some volunteers did funny signs that I was no way of considering doing. Because of this, I didn't win. (Sorry RVs I turned you down) hahaha

I hopped on the front seat as soon as the truck came, and after the bumpy ride we were later dropped off in Brgy. San Isidro, Pilar. Per groups, we were assigned in certain areas by the CAD committee. We started off collecting right away and in our first stop-- we were given half sack of rice.  We went on each houses, gathering different types of donations-- money, rice, canned goods, noodles, and clothes. I saw how generous my fellow Boholanos are, even the place has been affected by the earthquake too, they still have a heart and kindness to share what they have to people largely affected.

We assembled before one o' clock putting everything we have collected. And as the rain poured down while eating our lunch, it didn't bother us as we were more delighted with what we have gathered.

After our relief collection, we did the packing at Pilar, LGU. Everyone helped out that we finished earlier. (With all our hands put together, relief goods were too little for us for packing, like in a snap! Its done!).

Photo taken from Twiggy Gatuteo' Facebook Account

I'm soo happy to be with everyone and looking forward to participating in more activities this team will organize. :D Ajja!

Assessing Her

Probably, the most irritating case is when people look down on you. Being sensitive as I am, this is one thing that I'm always careful about since I don't want to make people feel down about themselves I try not to be treated the same. But being in a place where people have preconceptions of where you're coming from was a barrier in making yourself feel better and confident of who you are. Cause people judge, that's how they are. The challenge is how to break that barrier that limits them from knowing me as a person.

I do judge people, but in most cases I don't want to make them feel that. So in the middle of knowing them in depth, I certainly assess whether I like them or not. I'm sensitive about not making them feel awkward towards me by asking questions they don't want to answer. Cause I feel the same, I don't want to be caught in that kind of situation as well. Just so I'm careful about all this kind of situations, I met a person who definitely challenged my patience on how well I'm going to stand strong to being myself. The feeling of awkwardness and questions I don't want to answer bombard me when she's around. At first I thought, it was just her way of dealing with people that she's not aware of. So the first time she did it to me, I ignored it. Until it kept on happening that I pretended I didn't hear nor feel anything. Of course it was never right but I chose to be quiet. Yet now that I have talked to people who know her better. Maybe what I felt was true, maybe she's really was unfair to me. 

Questions?? Don't ask.

I'm starting to live my life without bothering how people might react to what I'm doing. It feels relieving and seemingly surprising how much burden was taken out of me- it is so much better now, but problems are always there of course. Regardless of how free I am now, I still can't forgo people who question me a lot. Those are the forbidden questions I hate to answer. Like "What are you doing now?, Where do you work?, What would you do next?" Shhhhhhh.. The moment I hear these queries, I want to disappear for a moment. Because I don't know the answer yet and I see judgement in their eyes which affects my optimistic view of life.

So I see avoidance as the most effective way not to encounter questions like those. Cause as much as I try to explain my side they will never understand my reasons. It will be just a waste of time so I decided to keep my mouth shut and talk only to those people who can empathize and understand what I'm doing. I live my own life not to impress other people after all. Might as well do the things that I want to do with consideration that it doesn't get out of the line. :D

Totally Embarassing!

Debrief was the last team social that we had, and so much of the feelings hidden inside of us were released on this very day. I didn't want to be too emotional towards everybody because I don't want to look like a crybaby but the part where we need to give tribute to our supervisor Piso, I gave in. But this isn't why I was really embarrassed, it was the last thing we did during our last stay at JJs Seafood in Tagbilaran- that was the real embarrassment.

Imagine me together with my co-volunteers sneaking into a prestigious hotel and resort in Tagbilaran pretending we are risk assessing the place. For those people who know me, I couldn't have probably done that but guys I did. And it wasn't just that. But before I tell you the details of what happened, I'm telling you that I am not the source of the idea, I just drag along knowing that I couldn’t shop with everybody else. And I have never expected what happened next ever.

Picture before we went inside! :D

And so, we went on inside the resort to the reception area. It was the very effective acting and good reasoning of my company that allowed us to see the whole place. Well the idea of going was just to ask if we can use the pool and if we can't we'll go back to JJs- at least that's what I thought of but not my company. I found myself going with them showering ready to dip into the pool. I was confused "like guys what' happening, why are we doing this", but the two of them just laughed at me telling me to undress and join them. I felt a bit of excitement in me so I undressed myself leaving my shorts and shirt and was about to go to the pool when the guard called our attention.  I stood there in a moment in a sense of panic but my company was just so calm and converse with the guard answering his questions. It was a lot of lies!!! Hahahaha! But the guard didn't let us use the pool cause we are not guests (which we already know). It was a really awkward situation with the guard and I was lucky enough  not to wet myself since we need to leave in an instant. We were all laughing as soon as we got out of the resort. IT WAS SOOO EMBARASSING! I hope they won't tighten their security because of us, intruders! I don't want to find pictures of me hanging on their walls , I might not be able to go there ever!

This is the kiddy pool! :D

But that was lots of fun, and a new experience for me…. Now I know my company has a hidden wildness in her. :D

Visayan Treasure Hunt

Since my volunteering experience was already done, some things are worth reminiscing from the beginning. Consider this throwback volunteer post I did, this was during the month of June back when we were still at training. :D

Going back to the month we have started which was during the training, this was the event that I enjoyed a lot- Treasure Hunt. 

We were divided into groups to explore the city of Tagbilaran finding the clues in the buildings that were of much use for us. And this was my team...

Tom, Me, and Isaac

 There was the great hope of winning in our team since I'm from Bohol. hahahahaha. It was not hard for my teammates to talk to the locals since I did much of the talking. :D

We posed, jump and run most of the time. We even got across competing teams!! 

In the end we were second best! hahahahaha... can't help it if one team got ahead of us. :D But the smiling faces and the wild adventure that was definitely some of the best things I had in the program.

Note: Photos are not mine, photo credit to my friend Tom who gave me a copy. :D

My new favorite blog site!

Cant help to blog about this site I newly discovered! Ha Ha

Well, well. this ain't about a Korean-related blog or something. But it does sell cute stuff! It is a design company that sells cute cards and tees. Yeah! owners are Asian (but I'm not sure if they are pure or half foreign though), I figured because of the Japanese characters on the site and on their designs..:D

Here is the blog site!
I hope they won't sue me by just cropping a picture of their site cause I was sooo captivated, t'was really cuteeeeee!  (I actually used the print screen)

tomandtee.com

Mind you the cards are sooo cheesy too!! and the tees are also good for couple of shirts! :D
But for pictures, I think you need to visit their Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/TwoAndTee. Check it out. :D

Goodbye to youth groups!

 (Late Post)

Had our last meeting with the youth groups today. I enjoyed working with them. Seeing their very enthusiastic faces makes me feel happy inside. But I don't know if my workmates appreciate their company. So sad we've never been of much use to them when they are so active in everything and just needed guidance to walk them through it.

Goodbye pose.. 

Our last habal-habal ride.. :D

We could've done more, you know. I could see a lot of opportunities in my mind which entails a lot of work of course but a satisfying outcome in the end. But I don't think my work mates see the same way I do. Cause every time suggestion for activities are made it is turned down. For me, maybe it is not a matter of questioning what we need to do when we can do something more like going the extra mile. Which we can do actually cause we've got ample time to do activities. But once a person gives no interest and the other person agrees to it, I can't do it on my own without someone's support.

Attitudes (Reflection)

(Late Post )

New people, new challenges. I consider these as the main theme of my volunteering. Though I'm towards the end of the cycle I'm still puzzled about how my co-volunteers think of things so differently. They are way beyond what other people like me might think, do and deliver.

It amazes me when they sometimes comment about certain things like being advised about things they do which is not good for the team. It's good that they practice voicing out their thoughts and criticisms but in my own point of view, those kinds of advice are understandable and not need to be taken offense of. Maybe the issue is about how you assess yourself or maybe highly accomplished people are harder to humble themselves down.

I just realized that I'm an average person and I am happy with that. At least, I'm able to balance things and deal with people in good ways.

Debrief

I came not really prepared. Uncertain of my emotions and reflection was so bleak. I don't consider it as mostly good experience cause most of it often entailed realization and understanding on other people. Which means easing the negative perception I have with them. I am neither happy nor sad, maybe because I still haven't completely analyzed my own experience.

But as for my co-volunteers, I know that I will miss them after this. They gave me a lot of things to think about and helped strengthen my knowledge about myself. There will be a time that I can use this experience effectively, hopefully. :D

Team Sharing

(Late Post- Volunteering Experience)

Monday was team meeting day. Sometimes I hate the sharing part for normally I would prefer not to speak and just listen to what everyone's gonna say. But didn't I say I want to gain confidence to speak in my personal goal? Which means pushing my self more to appreciate team sharing.

I've never been good at opening up to people I've never been for a very long time (I mean for years) so  I tend to keep the grudge and problems to myself. But the best thing about this programme is being able to identify your own weaknesses and being able to face it. So let all the fears set aside and voice out everything worth saying. And I did it. Getting a long with British people is getting better than I thought. :D

Jokes

I've never been good at jokes. So, don't bother joking at me cause I might take it seriously. But jokes that goes way out of the line is not nice and funny at all. Where could I get people who have the same thinking as me? Oh God!! Where are those people, I just miss people who can relate to what I'm saying.

I still love to be on my own. Really...

DjANGO Unchained

I have never seen movies pertaining to black slaves before but this movie gave me an overview of how brutal they were treated in history. I have known few stories about slavery but haven't really paid much attention in all of them. Maybe because when I hear and know something, I tend to forget it eventually. I can’t imagine that selling people is a means of being rich. That people can hold your own freedom and all the things you want can't all be yours. People's greediness and inhumane doing are the main reason of uprising and rebel. The reason why people search for equality and freedom. And that equality and freedom is what we have now.

So if you ask yourself why we pay tribute to heroes and some people in history, always remember that without them we won't be having anything that we have now -may it material, spiritual and emotional satisfaction.

 Having seen this movie also  made me realize some point in history that we need to always remember- never discriminate. 

SPW: With the Carood Girls

I wasn't able to do a story about this due to the fact that I don't feel like writing. But I regret that I didn’t write about it right after it was done because the feeling of happiness and accomplishment would have been overflowing so I could've written a story better than this. Well, since it's been weeks now I think I'll just try to remember the things that happened and what we felt about it.

Strategic planning workshop is one of our deliverables. The plan was actually from our VPS which is part of her action project after having visited Nepal for a month as an observer. She was tasked to apply those things that she have learned and so she come up with the strategic planning workshop. She vaguely mentioned to us the purpose of the workshop but I believe that it is for strengthening the Union of Carood Youth Organization (UCYO). The key outputs of the workshop are a crafted Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives (VMGO); Constitutional by Laws; and Action Plan. I'm not gonna mention the process how we come up with those outputs since it can be quite technical. Anyway, it was quite a blow to us having a really bad weather, few participants than expected, and a facilitator who wasn't able to come due to miscommunication. Those were the unexpected things actually but we still went on hoping for it to be successful.

I thought that it could be a very messed up workshop considering the problems that we had. Yet it turned out that our participants were able to appreciate our efforts during the evaluation. I've also known few people in my place which I'm not familiar with. See how anti-social I am that even  people living meters away from our house are unknown to me. Maybe this is an implication of my lack of effort to be an active youth in our place I should've participated in lots of youth activities and organization. The workshop just made me realize that it is a lot of fun being with the people my age.

In the end, we went home really satisfied. I just hope that we should have done activities like this more than once. Well, there could be a next time for them of course but it will be with the another set of volunteers. 

A day with the VPS

I'm a very thrifty person so highclass and expensive restaurants are not my type unless someone who is generous enough will take me to eat in those kind of places.

When we were in Tagbilaran to buy stuff for the strategic planning, me and our VPS stopped by a restaurant in ICM mall to eat. I was really hesitant at first and kept on saying I wouldn't eat on my own in this kind of place. But she paid my lunch which was so much relieving.

We went to this Bee Farm Restaurant were all foods are served with honey in it. They use honey as an ingredient to everything. They also have this cookies with honey (which I wasn't able to try unfortunately). I had the chicken-honey glazed which was really delicious (wasn't able to take a picure of it :( ). And for dessert I ordered "Halo-halo" in durian ice cream flavor. That was a really large bowl of Halo-halo that eating it all was really hard for me so I ended up with left-overs. There were a lot of ice cream flavors you can choose from but the unique ones for me were durian and ginger. Probably, I'll try the ginger flavor when I get back.

This was a free food courtesy of the restaurant.. the cream on the side was really good.. :D

Well then, eating in expensive restaurants is nice sometimes. I might consider eating to some places I've never been. :D

GCD on Eskaya

We did a Global Citizenship Day for the Eskaya Tribe last week. This was organized by Pilar volunteers fitting it to the celebration of World Indigenous Day for the month of August.

We head off to Pilar early in the morning and had a bumpy dump truck ride to Lundag where the Eskaya tribe resides. They were not an uncivilized tribe wearing their cultural dresses which you might first think they are but a tribe already influenced by modernization and acquire the same privileges from our government.

The GCD gave us a chance to know their culture, history and language. And at the same time for them to know the UK culture. There was a long exchange of thoughts regarding the practice of divorce in the UK, the process of courtship in the Eskaya tribe and religious beliefs. The exchange of cultural information has lead them to understand each others differences.

I'm glad enough to be given a chance to be the translator. It wasn't really an easy task but I hope I delivered the message in the same context to people and to my co-volunteers. 

Coastal Clean-up (CAD)

We had a packed schedule last weekend, aside from doing the GCD on Eskaya Tribe we also had a Coastal Clean-up in Guindulman as one of our Community Action Day (CAD). 

We organized a talk about environment and Solid Waste Management to the local people. While adults were listening to the speaker, some of us also facilitated fun and games involving small kids. I enjoyed being with the kids and playing with them. Bet they enjoyed the whole activity too. :D

CAD Success!

Community Action Day (CAD) is one of the highlights of the VSO ICS programme. For the past weeks, we have been planning our CAD, been busy giving the letters, meeting youth groups, scouting for participants for Carood Got Talent, and making sessions for the workshop. When the day before the event came, everyone has been occupied with printing sessions, schedules and posters; making backdrops; preparing the venue; finalizing contestants, and making last minute calls to youth groups and transportation. You can't see anyone not doing anything since all have been working onto something and been going back and forth from here to there.

 

This was us making ourselves busy the day before the CAD

I'm happy enough to be given tasks that I can handle. Especially riding shotgun on a dump truck despite the heavy rain. Nevertheless, have I been expecting that youth groups will still feel ecstatic with the bad weather. But they kept the fire burning for me and as one of the organizer that means a lot. My session together with a British volunteer might not sound that interesting but we were happy enough to see their happy faces. I also found that evaluation forms are the most entertaining thing to read when you are tired. (funny comments are a must read!)

Participants of our session- doing an activity!

I faciliated a session during the CAD too which is the "Recruitment and Retention of Members". Which is an added point for myself----- still have a long way to go for self development. :D

Our Youths from Mabini- posing before going home :D

So beside entertaining everyone with our Gentleman Dance, ( yeah, completely making fool out of ourselves which was really fun BTW) we ended the CAD well. We have made a day for everyone to remember.

We did a great job

It was weeks of preparation and making sure that everything is in place. That was my MPR committee experience. I have been to planning and organizing events before but this one was probably the most systematic and smooth event that I have ever organized due to the fact that little changes have been made.

At first I honestly felt that I have chosen a wrong committee for myself but it turned out that it gave me a lot of things to learn and improve-from haggling to being really keen in terms of services and needs. Personality wise, my thriftiness have contributed much to achieve everything within our budget. So much credit for my negotiation skills by doing a lot of haggling to people just so to have cheaper costs. :D For being keen to detail, Maybe I'm the person who accepts whatever offer people have for me. That's the downside of being kind and nice to people I guess since I can no longer distinguish when will things go wrong. Or maybe I just hate complaints. But being with people who are really OC with every detail, I have seen that the things I thought would be fine aren't that perfect at all. They have shown me that there are far more things I need to consider which I failed to do so.

MPR Committee

The end of the MPR was the time I realized that my contribution have made a great impact to our committee's success. Although it is not completely perfect, positive feedback from our co-volunteers gave us more reason to acknowledge our effort in making things organized and fun for them.  

My Co-volunteer's Birthday

This is my first time celebrating a birthday cross-culturally and it was not largely different than what we Filipinos are used to. Well, different or not I had fun anyway. :D

I was just glad that everybody was really into Karaoke. We actually had a chance to listen to our Brits volunteer's voices. Though most of them were not used to it, they'd actually participated actively to get along with us.

I had been to thinking that what a typical foreign teenager do is far different from what we Filipino do. But now that I have experienced living and working with them regardless of industrialization and innovation, in some ways  we do, think, act, laugh, and sing in common. That was the better part of it, beyond differences there is unison in each one of us. :D 

Favorite Blogger Confession

Maybe it is good to mention this right now. I've been active on blogging since last year and my blog always make  me look forward to the things that I can write and blog about. I've been meaning to focus my attention to blogging cause it gives me the freedom to everything (without hurting someone else's feelings I hope). Through this people might be able to recognize what I love doing and the things of my favorite. I would really be happy seeing my blog flooding with comments from the people who thinks I've been meaningful and making sense to them.

Being a blogger goes with reading other blogs too to get ideas from them. I've been looking at three different blogs right now for a start. But the blog of my favorite is jamieliew.com. Discovering this blog was a coincidence cause originally I'm checking on a korean-related blog which I read in sparkling magazine. When I visited this blog, the author made some lists of the blogs she's been reading often. Jamie Liew's blog was listed and from then on I've been reading her blog a lot. Jamie's studying in korea and her immersion to korean culture, school and living has made her blog interesting for korean-fascinated reader. (Which is why I'm enticed of course). But it is not just that, maybe everyone can check out her blog for trip tips to Korea and foods that are gastronomically good ranging from a cheaper budget to expensive ones.

I wanna make mine a more personal and relatable to people by sharing my travels and experiences. I wanna be me in my blog. No intruders, I'm the boss. 

Volunteers on the Beach Yeah!

Did I say that I hate beach? Well I might not have said it but I'm not totally a beach- hater it is just that I'm not a beach buddy that you can hang out with. I am a bit boring when it comes to that so I woudn't probably sell out myself to people who are craving for the beach.

BTW, We've been to Anda beach resort weeks ago and I had fun with everyone. 

Photo Credit: vsobohol2013.tumblr.com

Well, this is everyone of us including the Supervisors posing before going home. :D

Volunteer journey: The start of it

The opportunity of being a part of a volunteering programme came as a surprise. The moment I sent my application, I never expected to get an immediate reply from them. Deep in my heart, I have always wanted to be part of the program not just to practice what I have learned from my degree but also to deal with the things I'm scared of within my self.

So the assessment came and I'm grateful that I got selected. I processed the requirements and days went by for the In-Country Orientation. British counterparts came, and we got to meet them. But one thing that I was really greatful about is meeting co-batchmates in college whom I can talk to most of the time. Unfortunately, they need to leave after serving as Returned Volunteers (RVs). Their journey just ended and I am just about to start with mine. 

And now, I'm currently working with my new friends. I have been adjusting and acquiring a lot of new knowledge from them. :D More stories about my volunteering will be posted soon. (Well, I have posted already about the MPR so..it goes on and on)

This is where we stayed for one week training and orientation. Had a great time and fun together with the other volunteers as we are still on the stage of getting to-know-each-other.

Originally, this was the room where girls are supposed to stay. I was the first one to arrive in Crab House and happened to stay for a while in this room before being transferred to the Dorm type. (Strictly no bed-sharing policy)

The pathway that goes to the room I mentioned above. Used to stay here on the couch (which is not shown in the picture) to access the wifi. :D 

Just taking a picture upon arrival. This is when all the Returned Volunteers were out of the room. Lucky enough not to be caught by them. hahahahaha

So, this was the dorm type I was talking about. Got transferred here after all Filipino Volunteers arrived. Thankful enough that it was so cozy. 

Our picture while eating. Managed to take a picture together with co-volunteers through a waiter's kindness. :D

MPR on site visit

As part of the MPR committee, I visited the venues that I canvassed in Panglao. I wasn't alone I had the whole committee with me that was Aprille and James together with Piso, our supervisor.

It was considered as an official business which means we had no time to visit some beautiful sites, buy some stuff and have fun. That was what I thought at least for the first few hours. :D

We are suppose to commute, which I had decided actually since it is cheaper, however due to time constraints we ended up hiring a taxi anyway. It was a bit of fuss though when the driver made as pay for the fare when we hadn't even gone to the place we are suppose to go.  Just to settle everything we paid the fare , which is 8.00 Php for each one of us by the way.

First stop. Bohol Coco Farm, Libaong Panglao Bohol. This was the cheapest bargain that I had due to the help of a friend of mine. He helped me a lot in negotiating. It was even lowered down after they happen to see the rest of the canvass I did ( which I'm not meant showing). But it served us a good deal. Rooms were not really extravagant but appropriate enough for two nights stay. All food are organic and we were even accommodated with a lemon grass juice to quench our thirst. It was a bit of a "nah" cause we have expected to see more of the place but everything was provided though, and it was a good place for MPR considering all other matters excluding the room.

We managed to take a look into their coconut-made menu. Kinda creative.

Bohol Coco Farm Menu

 So this is where we gonna have the MPR sessions. Really spacious and comfortable provided with a sound system.

 Coconut made products for display. Basicallly the farm promotes the use of coconut. And this one, is just one of the examples of it.

Coconut Decor. They have a specialized coconut puncher to make those holes.

The viewdeck. This is my favorite area of the farm.  Probably, because eating will be here. :D

View deck

Tried the coco sky walk. Which was really fun.

The bridge was shaking but the owner said it was safe and can hold at least 10 people. Glad I tried

 it!

 Second stop. Chiisai Natsu Resort, Brgy. Tawala, Panglao, Bohol. This was a really nice resort to begin with after having seen its pictures online.  It is a Japanese inspired resort which I really liked. A swimming pool is surrounded by the rooms. But the downside of it is- not ideal for our MPR. Vegetarian food option is not available and the activity area won't accommodate us all. Hmmmpf, next time maybe!

Nice CR.

Swimming pool in the middle is really enticing!!!

Better check the rules before plunging in.

Single Beds.

We came by for lunch at Oasis Resort at Alona Beach. Food was really expensive and I was lucky enough to get a free lunch. Who said that we are only on official business?? We actually had a really nice lunch, a good chit-chat and a walk on the sand. All of these with pictures of course. Cannot leave my camera in times like this. Better prepared than not. All things were caught in action. :D

This is what I ate. It was kind of a chicken-burger, but honestly there was a lot of adjective on it that I only remembered those two words. :D I don't know the names of the rest of the food except for Greek Salad. :D

My company ordered the greek salad and tried the olives (green and black ones) for the first time. That was the weirdest taste I've ever had. But I'm glad that I tried it, at least I'm no longer ignorant with it. :D

Greek Salad

Well back to business. After our "really" heavy lunch we made our last stop for our on site visit at Villa del Pueblo. This was the same with Chiisai Natsu only that it is bigger and spacious to conduct our activity in. But basic things were not provided for the activity area plus no catering for lunch, dinner and snacks. This resort was crossed.

I never expected a whole day of risk assessing the venues. We are too exhausted to get off the car in front of ICM. But for the sum up, it was a fun official business with our supervisor, being not fully official. :D