Sagada

So I've spent the last few days high in the mountains in a little semi-touristy village called Sagada. In Sagada they have the tradition of burying their dead in caves, stacked up in boxes along the cave walls. Unfortunately, due to the rainy season the caves were inaccessible. So I just saw the hanging coffins that are attached to cliffs in the area. I did some hiking, found wild strawberries! and the highlight - I found a place to eat fresh yogurt with guava jam on top. I miss my dairy. Also, I haven't seen a foreigner in 3 months, so it was nice to meet some native English speakers as I toured around the town. I met a woman from Surrey, UK near where my sister lives!

Initially I went to Sagada for some work-related business. Once I got there I just couldn't leave, it was so peaceful. So my companion went on to the other villages and I stayed there. When we arrived we went to meet the students in the village that are sponsored. So we sat down for coffee, as is the custom. Then a neighbour arrived, Manang D.C. and she invited us to have coffee with her as well. So we went to her house, perched on a cliff overlooking the town, her yard was a paradise - a huge array of potted flowers and rock formations/benches/chairs. So we had coffee with her, it was dark by this time so she invited us to stay for dinner. And then she invited me to stay with her and so I did. And it was just what I needed. I stayed with her and her niece for 3 days. Manang D.C. was incredible. On the morning I left she rose at 4am, to collect some vegetables (wild fern, lemongrass, syote, ponkan) for me from her garden. She packed a huge baon (tagalog - means gift/food for the journey) for me. It was the most incredible and timely experience of hospitality I have ever had.

It was so wonderful to have a break from work. And it was great to play with some kids. Healthy playful kids, with no ribs showing. Manang D.C. raises dogs, she has 5 puppies currently, making her yard a beehive of activity as the neighbours and school kids drop by all the time to play.

I returned on Sunday. Yesterday I went back to work. As some of you know there is an ongoing tribal conflict here between Tulgao-Nambaran and Lubo - it's about 3 weeks now. A man was beaten by two men from another tribe. This is what started it. Now there are negotiations going on for a settlement. They are getting dragged out as the victim is delaying deciding whether to accept a settlement or call for further retaliation. There has been a second retaliatory attempted murder. As you may guess this is effecting my work. My co-worker, who has been on maternity leave returned yesterday. We cannot go to Nambaran, as she is a Lubo. This community is getting further and further behind on the Heifer project goals, at our last meeting none of them had worked on any of the tasks, partly due to disinterest and partly due to a recent water shortage. I recently discovered that they were incredibly active prior to receiving the animal disbursement. I wonder if perhaps the animal disbursement should have been delayed.

In case you're thinking I'm in danger due to this tribal conflict, it's unlikely anything will happen to me as it is blood ties that determine if a person is to be targeted.

My work is piling up like crazy. I am working on my thesis, due August 30. I am creating a mentoring program for girls and doing test runs of some of the modules. At the end of the month I am co-facilitating a traveling sanitation workshop where I go to different communities to teach them how to dig proper latrines and establish composting. I am also supervising the establishment of a garden at the dorm and a landscaping project.

That's about it, I turn 25 on Sept 2! I'm looking forward to it.