05 June 2008
Okay, I know that I haven’t written for a while, but there is a good reason; I haven’t really felt like it, nor have I had any experiences that I truly felt compelled to put into words. Mostly it is just work and sleep. We are hoping to finish a 1500 square foot building in about a month, most of which is concrete and block, a feat that will be something if we can accomplish it. We are closing in on it, but it is still in doubt whether or not we will make it by the 12th. We need the 13th and 14th to wash, organize, pack, and load our gear on the next set of flights. I have been told that I will be on the first flight back to Japan (this time that’s good) where I will take up residence in a new barracks room (hopefully the last time I have to switch rooms when we go back). Because I mentioned the roosters, I will elaborate on the topic. I cannot even begin to count the number of people that I see on a daily basis walking or riding in the pedal taxis that are carrying a rooster. Every time that I see these people I wonder if they are taking the rooster to the vet, the fights, or simply just taking the family rooster for a stroll. Everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, you go, you see roosters, chickens, and whatnot, but I only see people getting serious about walking the roosters.
I have seen all manner of things being walked, water buffalo(?), donkeys, fleas, lice, etc., but for some reason that I cannot fathom, the rooster is king. I have been invited to go to the local cock fights Sunday afternoon and will probably go just for the curiosity factor. In the meantime, I have to go walk my new rooster. I will try to keep this more updated, but can make no promises as the rooster is getting me up early in the morning.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
getting around town
19 May 2008
Well, we didn’t quite finish the pharmacy, there were some material issues and we didn’t get the door and windows until almost noon. We just have some cosmetic details to take care of tomorrow and will be out of there by noon one way or the other. I don’t know which job I’ll be off to after that, probably back to the big block job at the main clinic that we are building, it’s probably about time I went back there and see how the electrical is coming. The pharmacy is about 45 minutes away from our compound which gives me a good chance to observe the driving here in this part of the Philippines.
Driving here is more of a contact sport than navigation. I have been to places where lane markings and signs are suggestions, but here they are wishes more than anything. There is a hierarchy on the roads here that must be observed at all costs. Right of way goes first and foremost to the largest vehicle, then the fastest, then the one with the most insistent use of the horn. In the States, the horn is generally used to signal your displeasure to another driver who has done something stupid; here there is an entire vocabulary contained within a few short bursts. I have been able to decode much of what is being said in this morse-like code – one short honk means “I am coming up behind you”, (this is reserved for slow moving pedestrians and human powered tricycles), the longer single honk is meant for engine powered tricycles and is a warning to move to the right. Two honks is the signal for “I’m passing you regardless of safety and road conditions because I’m faster” – this one also doubles to let the oncoming driver know that the vehicle couldn’t care less about you, so you better move to the right or you will be pushed off of the road. Three honks is serious and means “ move you slow moving a** or you’re going to get run over” – again, this one is reserved for pedestrians (even the dogs seem to understand this one) and pedal bikes and this signal is usually given approximately 6-12 inches from the offending party’s rear end resulting in an immediate jerking movement out of the vehicle’s path. Four blasts is so far the most serious that I have seen and is only utilized in the most hazardous of situations and usually only occurs every 100 or so feet of travel, this one means “pardon me driver of a larger vehicle, but I did not see you when I blindly pulled out from behind the vehicle that had the nerve to travel slower than I wished to, I would pull back in, but I have not yet had the chance to push the slower, smaller vehicle (pedestrian, bike, pig, cow, rooster, etc.) from the roadway, and would you please slow down momentarily to allow me to do so.” I know that that seems like a lot to cram into 4 toots, but they do it somehow.
The vast majority of vehicles on the road are not motor powered, they are human powered (I did see a kid with a roto-tiller tied to a wagon, he had leaned it back and had the tines in the air, I still haven’t figured out how he steered, but I digress), there are bikes with a third wheel and a cab everywhere you go. There are also motorcycles with the requisite cab also. You could not believe the amount of stuff that can fit into one of these cabs (I say into, but what I really mean is into, on top, below, off to the side, etc.), I even saw one that had the cab converted into a moving livestock cage and contained two pigs, I have no idea how the pigs paid for the cab but since sausage and bacon are delicious I don’t really care. The do have some busses that look like something that Scooby-Doo and the gang painted (picture the mystery machine with about 50 people in it, and again I use the term in loosely).
I have more to say about the transportation here, but will try to save further posting until I have completed more in-depth analysis. I do have a theory as to why people stare at me everywhere I go, and contrary to popular belief, it is not because I am 6’4”, 220lbs, and have red hair – it’s because I don’t walk around carrying a rooster - but more on that next time.
Well, we didn’t quite finish the pharmacy, there were some material issues and we didn’t get the door and windows until almost noon. We just have some cosmetic details to take care of tomorrow and will be out of there by noon one way or the other. I don’t know which job I’ll be off to after that, probably back to the big block job at the main clinic that we are building, it’s probably about time I went back there and see how the electrical is coming. The pharmacy is about 45 minutes away from our compound which gives me a good chance to observe the driving here in this part of the Philippines.
Driving here is more of a contact sport than navigation. I have been to places where lane markings and signs are suggestions, but here they are wishes more than anything. There is a hierarchy on the roads here that must be observed at all costs. Right of way goes first and foremost to the largest vehicle, then the fastest, then the one with the most insistent use of the horn. In the States, the horn is generally used to signal your displeasure to another driver who has done something stupid; here there is an entire vocabulary contained within a few short bursts. I have been able to decode much of what is being said in this morse-like code – one short honk means “I am coming up behind you”, (this is reserved for slow moving pedestrians and human powered tricycles), the longer single honk is meant for engine powered tricycles and is a warning to move to the right. Two honks is the signal for “I’m passing you regardless of safety and road conditions because I’m faster” – this one also doubles to let the oncoming driver know that the vehicle couldn’t care less about you, so you better move to the right or you will be pushed off of the road. Three honks is serious and means “ move you slow moving a** or you’re going to get run over” – again, this one is reserved for pedestrians (even the dogs seem to understand this one) and pedal bikes and this signal is usually given approximately 6-12 inches from the offending party’s rear end resulting in an immediate jerking movement out of the vehicle’s path. Four blasts is so far the most serious that I have seen and is only utilized in the most hazardous of situations and usually only occurs every 100 or so feet of travel, this one means “pardon me driver of a larger vehicle, but I did not see you when I blindly pulled out from behind the vehicle that had the nerve to travel slower than I wished to, I would pull back in, but I have not yet had the chance to push the slower, smaller vehicle (pedestrian, bike, pig, cow, rooster, etc.) from the roadway, and would you please slow down momentarily to allow me to do so.” I know that that seems like a lot to cram into 4 toots, but they do it somehow.
The vast majority of vehicles on the road are not motor powered, they are human powered (I did see a kid with a roto-tiller tied to a wagon, he had leaned it back and had the tines in the air, I still haven’t figured out how he steered, but I digress), there are bikes with a third wheel and a cab everywhere you go. There are also motorcycles with the requisite cab also. You could not believe the amount of stuff that can fit into one of these cabs (I say into, but what I really mean is into, on top, below, off to the side, etc.), I even saw one that had the cab converted into a moving livestock cage and contained two pigs, I have no idea how the pigs paid for the cab but since sausage and bacon are delicious I don’t really care. The do have some busses that look like something that Scooby-Doo and the gang painted (picture the mystery machine with about 50 people in it, and again I use the term in loosely).
I have more to say about the transportation here, but will try to save further posting until I have completed more in-depth analysis. I do have a theory as to why people stare at me everywhere I go, and contrary to popular belief, it is not because I am 6’4”, 220lbs, and have red hair – it’s because I don’t walk around carrying a rooster - but more on that next time.
Friday, May 16, 2008
getting an eye opener
16 May 2008
Yesterday I was moved to another project – remodeling a “pharmacy”. Myself and two other Seabees were tasked with painting it inside and out, replacing four windows and a door, and building two sets of shelves for medication. The pharmacy is only about 50 square feet and barely has room for all three of us inside at the same time. We spent most of the day yesterday preparing the building by pressure washing it and scrubbing it. We had a hard time getting the pressure washer going. The only water source in town is a set of spigots by the town well, yes THE town well. We had to take a piece of hose and jam it over the end of the spigot and then jam the hose into our American hose which we then connected to the washer. There were already a bunch of the villagers out there watching us when we started, but they came out of the woodwork when we fired up the pressure washer. For the most part, the locals aren’t too impressed by out tools, a hammer may be nicer than another hammer, but it is still a hammer. The one thing that they are fascinated by is our power tools. Once we got the building squared away, we spent the rest of the day painting the outside in front of another huge crowd. Paint isn’t unheard of here, but it is fairly uncommon. Most of the buildings are made of unpainted block and stucco, while the majority of the homes are for lack of a better word, shanties. They are made of pieces and parts of all manner of things, old signs, pieces of plywood, corrugated metal, and of course bamboo and palm fronds.
Today we finished painting the inside of the building and second coated the outside. We again drew a huge crowd when we pulled out another of our mysterious wonders, a circular saw. One of the Philippino Seabees that we are working with stated that he had never run one, let alone seen one. The village was just amazed at how fast we were able to cut the plywood and pieces for the sides of the shelves. The villagers are extremely friendly, most of the men are gone during the day out working in the rice paddies, picking cutting and drying the rice. They put the rice on the side of the road because it’s hot and then sweep it up into sacks and cart it off. Almost none of the houses have electricity and none that I have seen have any type of running water. Everyone has big plastic jugs that they bring to the well pump to fill up. Some of the houses with electricity have televisions, you can tell which ones by the huge bamboo poles with rabbit ears on top in the yards and by the crowd of kids standing in the window to watch. We should be done there on Monday, and off to the next job.
Yesterday I was moved to another project – remodeling a “pharmacy”. Myself and two other Seabees were tasked with painting it inside and out, replacing four windows and a door, and building two sets of shelves for medication. The pharmacy is only about 50 square feet and barely has room for all three of us inside at the same time. We spent most of the day yesterday preparing the building by pressure washing it and scrubbing it. We had a hard time getting the pressure washer going. The only water source in town is a set of spigots by the town well, yes THE town well. We had to take a piece of hose and jam it over the end of the spigot and then jam the hose into our American hose which we then connected to the washer. There were already a bunch of the villagers out there watching us when we started, but they came out of the woodwork when we fired up the pressure washer. For the most part, the locals aren’t too impressed by out tools, a hammer may be nicer than another hammer, but it is still a hammer. The one thing that they are fascinated by is our power tools. Once we got the building squared away, we spent the rest of the day painting the outside in front of another huge crowd. Paint isn’t unheard of here, but it is fairly uncommon. Most of the buildings are made of unpainted block and stucco, while the majority of the homes are for lack of a better word, shanties. They are made of pieces and parts of all manner of things, old signs, pieces of plywood, corrugated metal, and of course bamboo and palm fronds.
Today we finished painting the inside of the building and second coated the outside. We again drew a huge crowd when we pulled out another of our mysterious wonders, a circular saw. One of the Philippino Seabees that we are working with stated that he had never run one, let alone seen one. The village was just amazed at how fast we were able to cut the plywood and pieces for the sides of the shelves. The villagers are extremely friendly, most of the men are gone during the day out working in the rice paddies, picking cutting and drying the rice. They put the rice on the side of the road because it’s hot and then sweep it up into sacks and cart it off. Almost none of the houses have electricity and none that I have seen have any type of running water. Everyone has big plastic jugs that they bring to the well pump to fill up. Some of the houses with electricity have televisions, you can tell which ones by the huge bamboo poles with rabbit ears on top in the yards and by the crowd of kids standing in the window to watch. We should be done there on Monday, and off to the next job.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
getting to work
13 May 2008
Yesterday began work in earnest. We had to take a little time to get started, but once we got going, it began to fly. The Filipinos are great to work with and are extremely eager to get the work done. By the time the first day was done we had laid over three hundred block and core filled everything. It was interesting working with people who don’t really speak your language, but some things are easy to communicate, work (especially construction work) and sports are international in nature. At the end of the day it began to downpour and hasn’t stopped raining since.
This morning we decided that only a few people needed to go to the main job site, but I volunteered to go to our inside job and help strip linoleum tiles and replace them with some nice new ceramic tile. The tile that was in place was the color of dried blood, a poor choice for a health clinic. We are also tasked with placing a concrete pad for an outdoor waiting area so that we can add another treatment room inside. The reason that I volunteered to go to that job is partly because I didn’t want to be bored all day, but mostly I heard that there was a monkey at the next door neighbor’s house. I will post pictures of the monkey on the dropshots site. We spent most of the morning wading through mud and trying to dig some form of drainage to keep the pad from flooding. I don’t know what job I’ll be on tomorrow, but it should be interesting.
Yesterday began work in earnest. We had to take a little time to get started, but once we got going, it began to fly. The Filipinos are great to work with and are extremely eager to get the work done. By the time the first day was done we had laid over three hundred block and core filled everything. It was interesting working with people who don’t really speak your language, but some things are easy to communicate, work (especially construction work) and sports are international in nature. At the end of the day it began to downpour and hasn’t stopped raining since.
This morning we decided that only a few people needed to go to the main job site, but I volunteered to go to our inside job and help strip linoleum tiles and replace them with some nice new ceramic tile. The tile that was in place was the color of dried blood, a poor choice for a health clinic. We are also tasked with placing a concrete pad for an outdoor waiting area so that we can add another treatment room inside. The reason that I volunteered to go to that job is partly because I didn’t want to be bored all day, but mostly I heard that there was a monkey at the next door neighbor’s house. I will post pictures of the monkey on the dropshots site. We spent most of the morning wading through mud and trying to dig some form of drainage to keep the pad from flooding. I don’t know what job I’ll be on tomorrow, but it should be interesting.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
getting back together
11 May 2008
The rest of our group joined us yesterday here in the Philippines. All of our stuff arrived safe and sound and we all have cots to sleep on now. I spent the morning out at the airfield with a few other guys unloading the second plane in the morning and just relaxing in the afternoon while the reinforcements unloaded the third a final plane. We did have a reception dinner at the local hotel, hosted by the mayor. The food was good, I found some kind of meat roll that I filled up on – they said it was an egg roll, but there were no eggs in it. It was pretty tame, they did give us all the beer we could drink, but we were only there for a couple hours and didn’t get into any trouble. Today we are just going to wrap up some of the details about our main project and catch our collective breath before we begin work.
The rest of our group joined us yesterday here in the Philippines. All of our stuff arrived safe and sound and we all have cots to sleep on now. I spent the morning out at the airfield with a few other guys unloading the second plane in the morning and just relaxing in the afternoon while the reinforcements unloaded the third a final plane. We did have a reception dinner at the local hotel, hosted by the mayor. The food was good, I found some kind of meat roll that I filled up on – they said it was an egg roll, but there were no eggs in it. It was pretty tame, they did give us all the beer we could drink, but we were only there for a couple hours and didn’t get into any trouble. Today we are just going to wrap up some of the details about our main project and catch our collective breath before we begin work.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Getting there!
09 May 2008
We were actually able to get off the ground today in Okinawa and make our way to the Philippines. We were too heavy to land on the airfield in Calbayog, so we had to stop at the old Clark AFB and shed some load. Unfortunately, we had no control over which box we were leaving behind, we just had to dump the ones in the rear. The good news is that our MREs (meals ready to eat) made it, the bad news is that our cots did not. I have to sleep homeless style, I couldn’t find any cardboard, but did manage to get a piece of plywood to break the contact between me and the concrete floor.
We are living in an elementary school compound that is fenced on all sides. I didn’t realize that this was a big deal to the people who live here. We were met by what I assumed was most of the population (it wasn’t, they were all on the street riding bicycles powered by many every conceivable means). It was a treat watching the local forklift operator try to unload our box off the back of the C-130, let’s just say that his concern for speed and smoothness of operation isn’t exactly what the military likes to see around multi-million dollar planes. Once we finally got it on the truck, we were hustled into a couple of moving sardine cans that pass for vans here and whisked off to our home for the next month. I was shocked when we were met by a group of dancing locals and a band. The welcome that we received here was unlike anything that I have ever experienced, it was almost like we were conquering heroes. Once the hullabaloo died down we had to get to work unloading the box and putting our stuff in order for the next day. We had to leave one of our seabags behind to follow us the next day on another flight. Unfortunately, the one I chose to leave behind is the one with my tent, sleeping bag, poncho liner, etc. in it, so I have to rough it for the night. Tomorrow hopefully we will get our other bags, cots, and mosquito nets. Apparently we have all been invited to the mayor’s house for dinner tomorrow, so I will let you know how that turns out.
We were actually able to get off the ground today in Okinawa and make our way to the Philippines. We were too heavy to land on the airfield in Calbayog, so we had to stop at the old Clark AFB and shed some load. Unfortunately, we had no control over which box we were leaving behind, we just had to dump the ones in the rear. The good news is that our MREs (meals ready to eat) made it, the bad news is that our cots did not. I have to sleep homeless style, I couldn’t find any cardboard, but did manage to get a piece of plywood to break the contact between me and the concrete floor.
We are living in an elementary school compound that is fenced on all sides. I didn’t realize that this was a big deal to the people who live here. We were met by what I assumed was most of the population (it wasn’t, they were all on the street riding bicycles powered by many every conceivable means). It was a treat watching the local forklift operator try to unload our box off the back of the C-130, let’s just say that his concern for speed and smoothness of operation isn’t exactly what the military likes to see around multi-million dollar planes. Once we finally got it on the truck, we were hustled into a couple of moving sardine cans that pass for vans here and whisked off to our home for the next month. I was shocked when we were met by a group of dancing locals and a band. The welcome that we received here was unlike anything that I have ever experienced, it was almost like we were conquering heroes. Once the hullabaloo died down we had to get to work unloading the box and putting our stuff in order for the next day. We had to leave one of our seabags behind to follow us the next day on another flight. Unfortunately, the one I chose to leave behind is the one with my tent, sleeping bag, poncho liner, etc. in it, so I have to rough it for the night. Tomorrow hopefully we will get our other bags, cots, and mosquito nets. Apparently we have all been invited to the mayor’s house for dinner tomorrow, so I will let you know how that turns out.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
getting sunburned
I would like to take back my premature statement of it being a “pretty down day”. As I finished typing the first entry, I got a knock on my door and had to go to work. The Marines/Air Force had originally stated that they would do all of the tie downs and palletizing of our equipment, but somehow there was a communication snafu and we (the Seabees) had to do it. We had to haul all of our equipment out to the airfield, chain all of the boxes onto 463L pallets, chain down our mortar mixer, etc., then stand by for an inspection of it to ensure that it was okay to be loaded onto our flight tomorrow. Long story short, we spent the entire day on the flight line making adjustments, finding chains and tie-downs, and standing by. Apparently one of the side effects of the malaria medication that we are on (doxycycline)is a decreased ability to be in the sun. I don’t think that I have been this sunburned in a long, long time. I never even came this close in Kuwait, Senegal, or Bahrain. There are many other side effects that make me wonder whether the cure isn’t worse than the disease. Hopefully the body will get used to the pills and I’ll be fine, in the meantime, it takes my mind off the itching smallpox growing in my left arm.
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