Exhausted today. We travelled for most of the day, beginning with a 7am departure from Manila, which meant we woke up at 4am to get there in time. The Nino Aquino International Airport has a little coffee cafe where Joel and I had our first taste of Kaya toast. Why hasn’t this made it big in the states yet?! It’s a coconut jam, or as I call it- “yumminess in a jar”. And they had the best powder Korean coffee! The barista asked if I wanted condensed milk or evaporated milk, and since I don’t really know the difference, I randomly chose one, and I have to say that coffee beats a Starbuck’s syrup-y coffee any day! I bought some and will fix it for you if you want to challenge this, along with the Kaya toast. They have a poster on the wall that says, “If you want a skinny latte, just drink half a cup” and I thought that was a good one!
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| Super Yummy |
The flight into Dumaguete was nerve-wracking. Dumaguete is located right on the coast and the landing strip begins just beyond the water edge. The plane has to descend to nearly landing on the water before actually touching down literally right at the edge of the pavement just as it rises from the water. Then the pilot stopped on a dime. Apparently this is a short runway and recently it was lengthened. I wanted to cheer.
We were escorted by a counselor of the city of Bayawan to the hospital for a tour. This district hospital is like heaven after being in the Labo District Hospital. It has two functional operating rooms (although never used except by outside missions because they have no anesthesiologist), a labor and delivery room, a lab/xray department, a pediatrics department, a med/surgical department, and even a dentist! They only have five or six physicians total for a town of almost 500,000. The hospital is a fifty bed capacity hospital, but we were told that it runs past that capacity at all times. I believe it- there were patients placed in the hallways, and even in the back patio area with their IV bottles hanging from hooks on the awning. Beds were not covered with sheets.
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| Mission statement of Bayawan District Hospital |
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| Next mission, January 2013... Who's with us? |
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| Overflow "wing" in Bayawan. Notice the IV's? |
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| Bayawan District Hospital |
Dumaguete is a quiet city, with a very laid-back feeling to it- like in Hawaii, but not expensive or full of tourists. It is surrounded by mountains and is on the southwestern tip of Negros Oriental, and on the shore. Most people that live here make their living from farming or fishing. There are people walking, riding tricycles, pedicabs, and motorcycles. Traffic pattern is just as crazy as in Manila, but to a smaller scale. How do little kids here play in the streets and avoid getting run over? In the US where there is no traffic, but all the traffic safety rules, kids still get hit by cars! We should learn from this.
Joel and I went to the market. I love this place. After you get used to the mixture of smells from fresh fish, dried fish, fresh pork, fresh fruits and vegetables, and all the spices of course. I think the market is exciting, and the sights, sounds, and colors are amazing. I love talking to the farmers and fisherman and learning about their wares. These fish were caught today. These vegetables were picked today. These fruits were picked today. These people work hard for a living to provide for their families. It’s admirable.
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| Produce market. bags of oil, soy sauce and yummy veggies |
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| Dinner.... Freshly caught, chopped and eaten! (Swordfish) |
There is so much beauty that surrounds this sleepy little town. The beach is pristine, untouched, undeveloped. Fisherman have simple boats that line the shores. The sunsets here are picturesque. It’s lush, green vegetation yields so many fantastic things to eat- mango, papaya, star apples, banana, guava, coconuts- and this is just in our backyard! We are here during the rice harvest so there are farmers in their fields bent over, bandanas covering their heads, hand-cutting the rice. The fields are golden yellow when they are ready to be harvested (I learned this fact today!. It’s beautiful.
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| Lovebirds on the beach in Bayawan |
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| Sunset in Bayawan |
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| Coconut trees |
For the next medical mission, this location is ideal- plenty of room for our needs. I can imagine where we would have patients register and wait to be seen. I can see the operating rooms being used to their capacity by our team. I can see the people we would be serving and I know they would be grateful to have us here.
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| Joel's new friends |
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| Possible future patients.. Baluuuuuuuuuuuut! |
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