Our Team

Since we are a little more than halfway through our visit, I think it would be an appropriate time to reflect on my fellow GSE Team members. Full Disclosure: as much as I would like to say I'm cramped in my room writing nice things about the team, I'm actually poolside at the 5 star Sofitel Manila.

Many of you have already had a decent intoduction to our team members from just reading the blog. Lew is certainly making the most of his educational and cultural experiences, Tim is learning more about Filipino urban planning and farming than I think he expected, and Cliff has fit in some quality golf while watching in amazement the flurry of activities of his fellow Rotarians. As for me, I am trying to take as much of it in as I can without having sensory overload.

Our team leader Cliff has been a good sport through our experiences so far. One thing we all needed to pack before this trip was our patience and flexibility. Our hosts have been very gracious with their hospitality. The days have been filled with unique cultural experiences, but as with anything in life, schedules change and things move around. When such changes occur, Cliff manages to hold down the fort and get us to where we need to be. As a result this has given us a reputation among the Filipinos as the most laid back Americans ever--completely going against the characterization of Americans as stubborn, overworked, and stressed. At the end of the day, who really has time to be stressed when the lifestyle of the Filipino has flexibility and flux built right into it. It comes standard with any plan you make.

Lewis is a fun character to travel with. His committment to his family and career is something we all strive for. As we visited a village in Antipolo, we were able to bring along new textbooks for the school children. I don't believe there could be a greater moment in an educator's career than to improve a child's educational experience in an instant. By just leaving the books there, we were able to affect the livlihood of the children (well, they were Algebra books, so for me, my livlihood would have decreased. Har har.) Lew has been lucky to have a few similar experiences on this trip. Typically he will go into the classroom and tell the children about his classes in the US. He is very eager to bring the American experience to their classroom and, upon his return, bring the Filipino experience to his children. I very much enjoy his enthusiasm and credit him for much of the opptumism we have encountered along the way. Hopefully his students at home will realize how lucky they are to receive even the basics of an American education.

Tim is our in-house scientist. As a soil conservationalist, Tim has been in paradise since just about every Rotarian starts their conversations with, "You're an environmentalist? Wow, so am I!" I don't Tim has met so many environmentalists outside of a Grateful Dead show. For a person who talks about dirt, he is certainly able to make the topic very interesting and I think we all are amazed by how many Rotarians want to talk about dirt themselves. The country is moving with new trends in urban planning and organic farming through earthworm composting. This type of education is helping Filipino villages learn the best way to make the most of their resources. By recycling their biodegradables they are able to compost the trash to produce nutrient rich soil. Clearly this better serves the environment and the farmers. They are also teaching the Filipinos how to literally market the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. Tim is eager to begin to teach folks back home about these techniques. Currently, First Lady Michelle Obama is leading the fight against childhood obesity. Community farms that utilize this type of composting is a part of her plan. Even at my new home, I have plans to brgin my own composting pile to grown my own herbs....with Tim's help of course!

As for me, as Lew commented the other day, a walk down the street is a vocational outing for me. I have been taking in all I can when it comes to their political trends and local policy challenges. The schools, entitlements, proper employment and decent pay is just a short list of problems here.

In a nutshell, that is our team. We are a nice group of young professionals who are finding it increasingly hard to prepare for our departure from the Philippines. There is certainly still a lot more to learn. From the looks if it, our team is prepared to learn all we can from our daily experiences.