TC and I awakened and ate a nice breakfast at our "usual" table. In fact, the hotel just takes us there now. It is funny and nice. Immediately following breakfast our driver, Mario, arrived to take us to Banilad and Paril. Why do we need a driver? Well, it is really easy to explain but easier to show. The traffic is crazy. The driving culture is very different to us world travelers. But the biggest reason is we'd get lost trying to get wherever we needed to go, if not find an accident.
After 40 minutes we arrived in Banilad barnagay and met Judith, Marichu, and Erra at the elementary and high school. We also had the pleasure of meeting Marichu's husband, June, and her youngest toddler daughter. She was a beautiful little girl. Because there isn't a place to really eat between Banilad and Paril, we went to a local restaurant to eat an early lunch. We ate Chinese and it was delicious.
Following lunch we returned to the school and the kids helped us pack the van. The 45 minute drive up steep hills and dirt roads lead us ultimately to Paril Barangay. There we found all the principals we would be working with waiting to receive us. As a group they all are very appreciate of the university not only choosing their schools, but our willingness to collaborate with them and their teachers. As I hear comments like these from these leaders it tells me we really have a fantastic interdisciplinary model built around incredible collaborative partnerships across the world. We have come soooo far.
After we reviewed the schedule with the principals it was also nice to hear of our advance work between our faculty coordinators (Dr. Joy Hart and Dr. Kandi Walker). These two, along with the principals, have sent many emails arranging the program. All that advance work and preparation is really showing. Following our meetings we retired to the computer lab at the school to inventory some of our supplies and begin to put together some items that will be needed on Sunday when the students set up the dental clinic. We built the extension cords, attached the different air fittings, and assembled different lights. The local teachers assisted as well as made us homemade corn on the cob. That was delicious.
After a few hours we completed what we needed to do but realized we had other supplies we still needed. We returned to the city in search of a pressure regulator, which we ultimately found, before returning to the hotel. TC and I arrived back at the hotel at 7 p.m. It was another long day. Again, I was so tired I fell asleep in the van. The only reason I woke up was we arrived at the hotel. As soon as we got into our room I laid down and didn't wake up again until 12:30 a.m. I checked emails and the internet to see if our delegation made it out of Louisville. I also called the office. TC was out cold. To my surprise I fell promptly asleep after an hour and didn't wake up again until sunrise, as did TC. Today (Friday, December 11, 2009) we have an off day since we met all of our objectives the past two days. We canceled our driver and simply went to breakfast, where to our surprise, the special events manager was waiting for us to talk about our groups arrival. TC and I are beginning to think the hotel has installed chips in us. They seem to know wherever we are at all times. Even in the cafe the wait staff was asking about the ISLP and appreciative of our university's work. The manager joined us for breakfast and we went over some of the items on her list. Like all things vice presidential, I know little about all the wonderful arrangements Laura Mercer has already arranged. The logistics of the ISLP is very demanding and Laura has been fantastic.
After breakfast TC and I walked outside of the hotel to get a better idea of the immediate area. We know our students will want to explore and outside of the hotel are several small vendors that would be happy to sell items to eager tourists. We also walked to a nearby Japanese restaurant we might consider for next year. During our walk we took more pictures and did some video interviews before returning to the hotel.We both are sitting in the lounge. TC is reading and I am typing. Again, to our surprise the General Manager (Harrold) came up to say hello to us. He was very grateful for our business and looks forward to our delegation arriving. He has been a part of the Hilton family for 20 years. We also had a pleasure of meeting local college students who are completing their internships at this hotel. They, naturally, are looking forward to seeing some U.S. students.
Later today we meet again with the special events manager and then just wait until the large group arrives. We have a small surprise for everyone and a few surprises for our faculty.
Written by Tom Jackson, Jr.
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