Before I begin, I just want to say a HUGE welcome to the RD members of the Yale Class of 2012, and a special shout out to all my fellow international kids! Boola Boola! Hope you enjoy my blog, I write about everything from model UN, to ballroom dance competitions, to election monitoring during the past Kenyan presidential elections, to middle school themed dances. Kenya Take This? ;-p


Branford it the most aesthetically pleasing residential college (I think), and I like to tell myself that good looking buildings means good-looking people, and since I am in Branford, by the process of deductive reasoning, I am good looking :-)
2) Our Master, the woman/man responsible for your social welfare (he or she hosts Master's Teas with famous people - Howard Dean, Sophia Copolla, Barack Obama's legal counsel, Hanson..., hosts ski trips for $25.00, visits to the Opera...) is called S. Diddy, as in P. Diddy because he is just that cool.
3) Our college-wide t-shirt design's winning entry was "Squirrels Gone Wild", an ode to our college mascot
4) Rory Gilmore is in Branford College
5) My bestest friend, and roomate is in Branford. I am literally part of her family now, and her mom is our mom. I have clothes over at her house in Delaware and we spent the whole of Spring Break, all two glorious sunny weeks (thank you , thank you, thank you Yale Calendar makers for giving us 2 whole weeks + a weekend for SB) with the fam in Puerto Rico...


6) We have the most incredible tailgate at THE GAME, year after year...
7) We host Crushes and Chaperones
8)....
9)....
1000)....(you get the picture)

Okay, now back to Crushes and Chaperones (C n C)...Some of you may be familiar with the famous 80's Dance Party that happens at Yale - Safety Dance. But really, Safety Dance is going to be taken over by C n C. There is even a whole process about how to go about attending C n C:

1) Dress Appropriately


For the ladies, that means bringing back those great yellow leggings, chunky white sneakers, ruffled skirts, pigtails and obscene amounts of blue eyeliner/eyeshadow. For example:


For you dashing Yale gentlemen, that means "don't touch my ankle" jeans, and tucked in t-shirts. Chuckle Chuckle.

2) Prepare yourself for the masses, and Britney Spears (almost bought one of the "Save Britney" t-shirts the other day...hmmm...)



4) Stay up the whole night after the Party sharing all your pre-college and post middle school memories
Add in a Pizza (or two, or three), and a milkshake from Yorkside that doesn't close until 4am, and your totally good to go until the sun rises on Sunday morning, and your reminded that yes, you go to Yale, and have one of the most spectacular views of Branford College from your bedroom window.

I always tell people that I only need 5 things to live a happy life - family and friends, Yale, food, sleep, and dance. Why?
i) Family and friends - because everyone needs some loving (speaking of which, its Valentine's day in two days and my love life is a PROBLEM!)
ii) Yale - I can't wait for you all to come for Bulldog Days to see for yourselves
iii) Food and sleep - the only two things in life that I cannot get enough of, and I therefore count as one :-)
iv) Dance: See picture below. It says everything.




At Yale, I am member of two competitive dance groups - the Yale Ballroom Dance Team (which you will hear about soon, my Dean is competing in our Dancing with the Stars competition...), and Rhythmic Blue (RB), the premier Hip-Hop and contemporary dance group at Yale. Being a member of these two teams has really had an enormous impact on my Yale career. Whether or not your a big dancer, I found that taking part in any sort of extra-curricular activity is THE best way to get the most out of the social scene at Yale. So your only in class with the same people for one semester at a time, and when your in class you really should be studying and not passing notes back and forth discussing how cute your Math TA is....So you have the most time to make friends and hang-out with them outside class when your engaged in a fun activity. I met my two closest friends through RB.

So a couple of reasons why my RB buddies are some of my closest friends at Yale (and your buddies on the Debate Team/Culinary Society/Anime Society/College Council...) will be too:

1) YOU GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, LIKE REALLY KNOW EACH OTHER
RB and many other campus groups go on retreat together once they tap their new members.  A co-ed sleepover with food, movies, dip-dip, hot-seat and numerous other games, what more bonding could you ask for? This semester RB tapped 11 new dancers, so retreat was soooo intense...


For RB, once retreat is over, work on the semester show begins. Last semester I signed up for 10/12 dances, and therefore saw my RB buddies 10hours a week minimum. I can comfortably finish off the sentences of several RB members because we now roll that deep :-)

2) YOU CAN ACT A FOOL, WHENEVER
So acting a fool is not appropriate behavior for class, but is entirely accepted and welcome at RB practice, RB dinners, when RB buddies become your roommates....

Most importantly though, is that you can act a fool, and still look good :-)

3) YOU PERFORM TOGETHER
How many times have you wished that you were able to take the SAT's or AP's in groups of at least 3? That's exactly what performing with a group is like. Your all in the performance together. Your there for each other through the 'studying' period of learning dances, right down to the last minute of the final 'test' - show time.



4) YOU WIN TOGETHER
Winning is not everything, but is sure is sweet, especially when you can share it with people who really understand what went into the victory. RB has won several competitions in the New England Area, and its always such a pleasure to share the winners podium at Ballroom competitions with fellow Yalies.

Competing on a team really is a win-win situation; even if you don't place at the top, your team always has your back, and your always looking out for the team!


5) YOU EAT TOGETHER
You cannot undermine the power of eating together with a group of friends. Friends that eat together, stay together. I'm always grabbing meals with my team buddies when we leave practice, or grab food in preparation for the night ahead, or just when I'm craving a mango gelato from Ciao Bella! Some of the best conversations you will have at Yale will happen as you eat, trust me on this one.

So, the title of my blog entry is not false advertising, I promise :-) The whole idea of an Ode really appealed to me because I've just been reading Keats (fyi, I love Keats), but then I realized that I can't really write them...Oh well! My intent remains the same, to reflect on why I love this place so much!

I was giving a tour to a group of really interesting HS juniors today, and when the inevitable question popped up "So why did you pick Yale?" for the first time in a year, I actually had to think about it for a while. I realized that being here, experiencing the amazing resources (from professors to facilities), the contagious Yale atmosphere, and most distinctively living and interacting with some of the most talented, energetic and genuinely nice people I know, makes the idea of being anywhere else right now really foreign. I'm a Yalie through and through the 'picking' was done when I decided to apply EA.

After my tour today, I decided to go through the photos I've taken during sophomore year and see whether the reasons I chose to come to Yale are the reasons I love being here (hmm...that's sounds sort of metaphysical, but its not really!).

1) Not changed: MAD YALE PRIDE!!!!

Nothing can describe the incredible feeling of being at The Game, all decked out in Yale garb, face paint on, shrimp kebabs on the grill, music blasting from the van, and basking in the glory of being a Yalie :-) Its not about the football (I still don't understand the rules...), its not about the fact that we get a 10 day break for Thanksgiving following the game (though that is a perk that is quite unique to our academic calendar), nor the sheer number of incredible festivities of all sorts surrounding the Game (Talent show anyone?). Its the fact that each and every single person around you wearing blue and chanting "Bulldog, Bulldog, Bow Wow Wow!" absolutely loves being at Yale. Period.

2) Not changed: MY DISPOSITION TO DO SILLY THINGS
Silly is my middle name. I love to laugh at anything really, and sometimes say  and do the darnest things.  My sister always tells me "Amandla, you smart people actually lack common sense like 90% of the time, and you laugh at things that aren't even funny". If your anything like me, and really bad Math jokes crack you up for a good 30mins - you will not be alone!


I remember coming for Bulldog Days my Senior Year in high school and feeling compelled to do cartwheels down the street. So I did. No-one judged me, one other person joined me, and when I was done, I was done. I love the feeling of being my silly 'ol self, and fitting in without conforming to ideals of what other people think I should say, or do, or think.

3) Not changed: GETTING IN TOUCH WITH MY TWEEN YEARS
So maybe this is just me trying to compensate for the fact that I am in my final year of teenage-dom (OMG, I feel sooooooo old. I actually remember what happened in 2000 when some kids were being born....), but is it ridiculous for me to confess that the most memorable Master's Tea I have attended so far was when Hanson came to Branford, my favorite big social event at Yale last year was the 90's dance (where the DJ's played everything from the Spice Girls to Backstreet Boys and it was sooo much fun because everybody could sing along to every song), or that I really wanted to go roller skating at a skating rink in nearby Waterbury and do the chicken dance on skates?



7) Not changed: admits.yale.edu STILL ROCKS!
I spent like 2hrs a day on average on this website...I couldn't wait to come to Bulldog Days and meet all the people I had been messaging since January of Senior Year. And I did. And then I got to work for the admissions office, enough said!

Disclaimer: This blog contains an INCREDIBLE amount of photos. Keep going till the end or you'll miss all the fun!

So, I just got to Dubai International Airport, and I'm bracing myself for a 9hr layover before my 17hr flight to New-York :-).
Here is the game plan: I'm going to write this blog and then log onto admits.yale.edu for the first time in 3 weeks, and hopefully by then it will be time to board my plane!
By now, you've probably been bombarded with all the images of post-election violence in Kenya following the controversial election of incumbent President Mwai Kibaki, and the contesting of the electoral result by his closest rival, leader of the oppostion, Raila Odinga. It was really difficult for me to board the plane leaving Nairobi today knowing that my country is not yet at peace. But I have faith that the political stalemate will not ensue, and the trust the Kenyan people put into the ballot on December 27th will be honored.


PRE-DEPARTURE PREPARATIONS
I was sooooooo excited when I found out in late November that I had been selected to take part in the Yale Election Monitoring trip to Kenya. Since May 2007, an incredible group of Yalies (Aniket - my second boss at the admissions office, Shaz - MUN buddy, Julie - possibly the nicest senior ever, and Eliot - my International Studies TA) had been planning to monitor the Dec 2007 elections in Kenya. The planning team had prior experience with election monitoring, an infectious passion to make this one of the best student orchestrated trips ever, and a determination to have it funded mostly by Yale. This made for one of the most enlightening and enjoyable experiences I have ever had in Nairobi (this is says a lot, considering the fact that Nairobi is my home town...). Shaz's incredible work fundraising and full exploitation of the numerous sources of Yale funding for student run/organized initiatives, also means that I will not be completely broke when we start off the coming semester.


Before we all left for Kenya, we spent a good amount of time learning about the political climate in Kenya, what our role as International Election Observers would be during the election, and getting to know each other. I must admit I was a bit intimidated to be the only sophomore and one of only two non-Poli Sci. majors on the trip, but once I got to know the group better, my insecurities quickly disappeared (plus I was one of only two people on the trip with a Kenyan passport, which in my book gives me bonus points!).

We had several group meetings, completed an online International Election Observer (IEO) course, and met with Prof. Susan Hyde, an election observer heavyweight in the Poli. Sci dept. We were even invited to the UNICEF headquarters in NYC to meet with several people who had helped Aniket + Co. plan the trip. We were really lucky during this time to get a chance to meet the  Kenyan Ambassador to the UN.


When I boarded the plane on Dec. 24th from JFK, incredibly excited to be home-bound after my econometrics final (why did my hardest final have to be on the last day of exams, Saturday 23rd at 9.00am???), I could not wait to be back in Nairobi!

24 HOURS TO ELECTION DAY: DECEMBER 26TH
I finally met up with the rest of the group on the 26th of December. Nairobi was very calm this day. In preparation for D-Day, we began the day by getting acquainted with all our IEO paraphenilia.


Doning my accreditation badge and the Electoral Commission of Kenya bag (full of documentation like "The Electoral Code of Conduct for International Election Observers"), definitely drove the point home that this was real, and not only was I about to witness the democratic process of voting in my country first hand for the first time, but as an observer of the election, I was going to be part (however small) of the process.


Being an IEO on this trip put me in a really interesting position. I am a Kenyan national who has never voted before (because during the last elections, I was a minor). But  coming on this trip, I was an IEO with ties to the US Embassy mission. I had every intention to vote (and did!) now that I am of age, and I was also determined to fullfil my duties to the international community as an IEO.

After getting all our ECK stuff, we spent the rest of the day visiting areas of Nairobi where some of the polling sites we would be observing  the following day were located.


Through the sheer networking power of the Aniket + Co. (by the way, a really important skill I'm trying to master during my remaining time at Yale, is the skill of successful networking to initiate and maintain contact. The trip organizers were pros at this, and managed along the way to amass contacts of everyone from Amnesty International to UNDP, to Raila Odinga's right hand man...), during the course of the day, we also managed to meet with Gladwell Otieno, current CEO of AfriCOG (Africa Center for Open Governance) and her team. They were able to answer our various questions on how best to tackle our job on election day, and further answered our questions on what to expect while in Kibera the following day.


Despite the fact that we were really focused on the task before us the following day, we shared many light-hearted moments together. My personal favorite,  and I quote an exchange that took place in the car later on during the day.


T-0 hrs, ELECTION DAY: DECEMBER 27TH
So I don't know about you, but I am never fully awake until at least 9.30am on any given morning. This is something I learned the hard way freshman year when by the 5th week of school, I couldn't make it to 9.00am English until about 9.20am. I still could not hear a word the Prof. said until about 9.33am. I will forever make sure that I do not have class before 10.30am for the rest of my time at Yale. I'm also really trying to not have class on Friday either. Any way, I digress. The point is, on election day, we were up by 4.00am, ready to "Open" at our first polling station by 6.00am! Thank goodness for adrenaline (and coffee).

The first polling center we visited was a relatively small one with just over 1,000 registered voters. It was a nice way to start off the day because we were able to walk in and out of stations with ease, locate the polling officials within no time, and see all the voters at one go.

It was a good warm-up, but nothing could prepare us for walking into Old Kibera, the polling center where Raila Odinga was registered. Even when we were about 5kms away, (I'm sorry, I only work in the metric system), we could sense the burning desire of the people to cast their vote at any expense. The lines at this polling center were unbelievable and stretched out a good 7kms.


Ben continually commented that the area was no less crowded than Times Square right after Thanksgiving (yeah Thanksgiving shopping sales!), but it was pretty crowded in there. Things however really heated up when Raila came to cast his vote!


The crowd, urged by Raila's supporters literally parted (just like the Red Sea, no joke), to clear a path for Raila to come through. Frank and I were 'gently' plastered to the side of a Reuters van...


and the media had a field day with his arrival...


Raila's appearance left us charged for the rest of the day, and we visited half-a-dozen other polling centers during the course of the day, constantly being reminded of the determination of the Kenyan people to vote, sensing their desire for change, and witnessing their belief in the electoral system and their right to vote.





POST-ELECTION WIND-DOWN: DECEMBER 28TH
The 28th was our day to unwind. Completely exhausted after election day, we spent the 28th watching the hourly updates of the vote tally on TV, recollecting our thoughts on the observation process, and preparing ourselves for a series of meetings on the 29th. We topped off the day with a visit to Carnivore Restaurant - the best meat eatery in the world. We had everything from ostrich, to crocodile, to lamb. "We" minus Aniket who is vegetarian and settled for rice and veggies :-)


We had a really relaxing night out on the town, and were ready for post-election briefs the following day.



ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE: Dec 29th-present: What you don't get in the media
The situation when we awoke the following day could not be more different. Our meetings scheduled for the 29th never happened. When the tables turned and Raila's 2million vote lead was surpassed by the incumbent Kibaki, the people of Kenya took to the streets. 300+ people dead, 75,000+ people displaced. The images across global media have been horrifying. The lack of dialogue between Kibaki and Raila has greatly disappointed the Kenyan public who elected them. The pleas of the Red Cross for humanitarian aid are being made to the international community. Gordon Brown, Desmond Tutu and Ban Ki-Moon are involved.



I refuse to believe that this post-election turbulence will remove Kenya from her position as one of the most stable democracies in Africa. The media has since the 27th obscured the tranquility of election day when 71.4% of registered voters in Kenya showed up to the polls. The shocking headlines cannot capture the belief of the Kenyan people held in the ability of a democratic process. The headlines say nothing of the fact that Kenyan voters today are more educated about their rights as voters than ever before. But most importantly, they cannot capture the desire of the Kenyan voters to make the leaders they have elected respond to the political crisis and bring peace to our country.

I will keep dreaming of a Kenya at peace, because I have faith that the people of Kenya have the power to ensure that our political leaders honor the trust we put into the democratic electoral system when we voted.

If any of you would like more information on the current situation on the ground, or more specific details about our trip, just drop me a message/send me an e-mail amandla.ooko-ombaka@yale.edu.

NB: All the pictures in this blog are at the courtesy of Julie and Eliot. Many thanks.

First things first...CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2012! Welcome to Yale and to the most amazing website that WILL become the bane of your existence. I spent a sum total of the ENTIRE senior year of high school on this website. And you think facebook is procrastination.... I'm an international kid (born and bred in Nairobi, Kenya; lived in a buttload of places) and a sophomore at the BEST residential college at Yale- Branford (if any body says their residential college is better, they are lying). Before coming to Yale I wanted to be a Math major. Today I'm an International Studies major, because I just had like the best final ever! I will probably be an International Studies major tomorrow after I take the most impossible Econometrics final...For all other biographical info and favorite movies et all, please check out: My Profile.

Onto my actual blog now...
So being a Branford College Council (BCC) Freshman Rep. was a pretty sweet deal.  Yes, there was all the administration involved - I did have to write a letter of application, and be voted in by the current board (along with the three other BCC Freshman Rep's), and we had weekly meetings to discuss the Branford Activities the Council was sponsoring, and/or organizing. But those were probably the most static aspects of the responsibility. As a rep, the application was necessary, and the meetings (where we had Pizza and Chicken Tenders every week...and here I was trying to avoid the freshman 15!) were mandatory; but everything else I did was to fulfill the will of the Branford Freshmen (literally!). It's was a pretty dynamic job! I loved it soooo much, that I decided to run for executive board this year, and was elected Secretary of the council! Working as BCC Secretary is AMAZING. This year we have organized a whole plethora of activities including THE BEST TAILGATE at the Yale-Harvard game ever. More on all this stuff next time...But I as first semester sophomore year draws to a close and I am 3 months closer to declaring a major I have no idea about (given my confusion enumerated above...), I cannot help but reminisce about the good 'ol care free freshman days and my incredible residential college experience, despite living on Old Campus that year.


So what does the BCC actually do? We plan events such as courtyard parties, ski trips, study breaks, movie nights, Independence Day, the Branford screw....and just before Christmas, we plan a Christmas Party for nearby Hamden Community Center kids. We get funding for our activities from our Master's Office (can I just take this as an opportunity to say that Branford has the coolest Master -> Steven Smith, otherwise known as S.Diddy, the Yankees #1 fan), and we vote within the council on how the money is allocated. The Council itself is comprised of the board - the Chair, Vice-Chair, ME (a.k.a secretary) two Co-SAC (Student Activities Committee) Chairs, a Treasurer, and the class reps. However most of our meetings are open to whoever wants to come; but if your late, you miss out on the pizza and chicken tenders from Yorkside...). Because we organize so many activities, and I would love to tell you all about them (but that would turn into a meta-blog), I'm going to give you a glimpse of the Branford College (BR) activities I had a big part in organizing my freshman year.

1) The first ever (hopefully) Annual Freshman Ultimate Frisbee Competition
I like to refer to this as my baby. So I get to the Yale campus in August, having played Frisbee maybe twice in my life, and I learn that the quintessential Old Campus sport is Frisbee. It is taken so seriously here that we have Ultimate Frisbee TEAMS that train and compete...check out Superfly, our men's Ultimate Team. Its crazy! But Frisbee is so much fun, and the perfect way to socialize on the O.C. quad when the weather is really good. After been voted onto the BCC on the second week of school, the President, told us that  in addition to  being there for BR 2010'ers (OMG, that makes me feel soo old...) to give us suggestions on changes they would like to see within our Branford Community, that we were encouraged to organize as many activities to build 2010 camaraderie as we possibly could. So I thought - why not have an Ultimate Frisbee competition?

It was the first time we were organizing an activity of this scale at Yale, and I was amazed how simple (which doesn't necessarily mean easy) it was to get stuff done. I just needed to run all my ideas past Sean first, if he okay-ed them, then we were good to go. As freshmen reps, I suggested we split up the tasks. I was in charge of food/drinks, and getting hold of a prize. All I had to do was:
1)  Tell Sean that we wanted some soda and water, and he was able to get these (plus paper cups e.t.c) when he did BCC shopping
2) Sign out tables to put our drinks on from the Master's Office
3) See Alicia (she is literally my lifeline in the Master's Office), S.Diddy's Senior Admin. Assistant for a 'prize'. She suggested a $50.00 voucher for Yorkside, which was perfect.

I learnt that if you have a well thought-out plan for a college activity,  and are willing to do the running around to make it work, you can get whatever support you want (financial and otherwise) from your Master's office. I <3 Yale.

The competition was such a hit! I even managed to get one of my high-school buddies who goes to NYU to come join in on the fun (that's her in the foreground of this photo.


Despite my inability to gauge the correct curl of the Frisbee, and Chaka's (who can do a flip then catch a Frisbee) accusation that I have no hand eye-coordination, (but I do, I play a mean game of tennis!) I am sooo looking forward to taking part in IM Frisbee next semester...


2) The Branford Screw
Okay, so this wasn't solely a freshman event, but it was definitely one of the highlights of my first semester. To borrow a definition from my entry-way mate - "For the uninitiated: A college screw is a dance where the suitemates of Person A get together and pick a date (Person B) for Person A. But to get Persons A and B together, the suitemates of Person A tell the suitemates of Person B. Thus Persons A and B are set up by their suitemates. (Basically, a blind date)". And your suitemates come up with the most outrageous ways for you to meet your screw date...Either your suitemates can be really nice and set you up with someone really hott (like my screwdate, who was also an incredible dancer, I had a *lovely* time), or they can literally screw-you.

The Branford Screw had the most amazing theme - S. Diddy's White Party: Respect the Sexy.

I can't believe it. Freshman year will be over in 3 weeks. OMG! I feel such a sense of accomplishment being so close to surviving my first year at Yale. After the sheer craziness of the past 3 weeks, I feel like I can handle anything anyone tries to throw at me. But I'm sad to have to leave Yale for an entire 4 months. This is the first time since September that I will be away from the place that has become my second home for such a long period of time.


But I've learned so much this year, I'm eager to step out of the Yale bubble and  re-immerse myself in the real world to test for myself  the theory that a Yale education prepares you to take on the world head first! What I'm most excited about though, is finding the 'new' me, understanding the metamorphosis from super excited-somewhat naive freshman -  to independent, free-sprited, 'that-much-more-wiser' rising sophomore.


Boola Boola!

And so the plot thickens....week two in the Philippines over Spring Break :-)

Before I start off, i just want to say a BIGGGGG CONGRATULATIONS to all RD admits. Welcome to the best place in the world to spend 4 years of your college life! Just for you guys, i'm writing this blog a bit differently that I usually write them. This time, i'm using some of the most ridiculous things people said during our time in Metro Manila to sign-post my blog. Have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

"Is rice pasta?"- Drew
"No, its a plant" - O'Hagan
We we're all really sad to leave Pandi and the little village we had grown to love and head to Metro Manila. Back to the hustle and bustle of the city, traffic, pollution, and general madness that comes with living in the Big City, wherever in the world you may be. But  Metro-Manila has a whole different plan in store for us....

The first site we visited was Payatas, this massive landfill site in Metro-Manila. Landfills we're declared illegal by the Filippino government a couple of years ago, but sooo many people earned their livelihood scavenging on the landfill site for food, old trinkets to sell...that they still wanted landfills to remain in use. Sadly in 2000 at Payatas, there was a massive landslide that killed so many of the families that lived near the massive hill created by the garbage. It signaled a time of change for the whole area, and a different livelihood for the people




The volunteers took us round the organic farm and we're so open to answering all our skeptical questions about herbal medicines :-) And many of the volunteers spoke really good English,  so we had no problem communicating. But it was really nice to have Ryan's  (our team leader) mom with us because she is a native Tagalog speaker. She was on holiday in the Philippines, but Ryan hoodwinked her into orchestrating the second half of our trip :-). She knows a lot of people in the Philippines and was able to get us the personal tour of Payatas, as well as organize other really cool trips like the one to the Presidential Palace (the Philippines equivalent of the White House)....

"Although, if you do something minor like cut off your finger, you would still have come" - Jamie
The first week in Pandi was amazing! But we we're really tired. We came straight from mental exhaustion of mid-terms into physical exhaustion of building houses, to the all out tiredness of waking up at 6.a.m everyday (i don't even do that when I'm at school) to take our day trips in Metro Manila. We we're discussing the obligations of each of us to going along on all our day trips. We decided that it would need to be something much more serious than sleepiness for someone to stay home. So we began throwing out random examples of what constitutes minor and what constitutes serious, when Jamie declared cutting off your finger minor....

Anyway, back to the Presidential Palace.


"Corregidor is no longer just WWII memorabilia, but its a theme park as well!" - Random lady on the video
During our week in Metro-Manila, we visited a ton of historical monuments, museums and the like, including Intramuros (the city within the city) and the St. Augustine Chapel (gorgeous). But by far the most fun to visit was Corregidor, an Island off the coast of Manila that was an American military base during the second world war.

Because Corregidor is an Island, we had to take a Ferry :-) Now, i'll wait until you guys get to Yale, and if you decide to travel abroad to a developing country you'll get a travel consultation at DUH (University Health Services), during which your told that Ferry's are a health hazard...wait for it....wait for it...because of...wait for it...DROWNING! Its ridiculous. So, the 7 of us get on the Ferry at 7am in the morning, laughing ourselves silly because of DUH's Ferry travel warning. Everyone is looking at us like we're crazy. And then they played this safety/information video while we were on the Ferry. We we're fully expecting Corregidor to be this sombre war memorial, when the random lady in the video says its a "theme park"!!!!

As we were to find out, her definition of theme park and our definition of theme park were totally different...We we're thinking like roller-coasters. But we found a butterfly park :-) Bummer. Not to worry though, the little carts we rode around in totally remind me of the little train at Universal Studio's that you do the tour in...




The Philippines has been around for ages. And fought a long war for her independence. From the late 1800's when they fought the Spaniards who had occupied the Philippines since the 1600's for nearly 300 years, to the1900's when they fought both the Japanese and the American's for their independence. So while Corregidor is primarily a WWII memorial, there is a special remembrance to all the Filipino men and women who dedicated their lives to gaining the independence of their country



Memorial's aside, you can still see the original, untouched Barracks at Corregidor. These structures are amazing, and I can only imagine how impressive they must have been before they were bombed relentlessly during WWII.




"I'm depressed about the guns" - Jing
"What guns?" - Riana

Corregidor doesn't just have ruins and memorials, but guns, lots of them. And we saw lots of them. I can't remember any of their names, is anyone out there a gun/cannon expert and can give more detailed info these babies? Because we spent so much time checking out the guns, it was the funniest thing when later on that night Jing comments on the guns, and Riana asks her "What guns?"

This one...


And these ones.....


And this MASSIVE one....



"...short of a celebrity" - O' Hagan
During the week in Manila, we met the Prez, toured monuments/museums, and met a lot of political leaders in the Philippines. While in Pandi in the village, we learned a lot about the socio-economic development within GK, and model I really feel should be replicated across the world because it is so successful and brings so much hope to the poorest people in the Philippines, and gives them a chance to restore their human dignity. The week in Manila not only taught us about the history of the Philippines, but we learned a lot about Politics in the Philippines, and how the political structures in the Philippines view development, and the eradication of poverty.

We met with left-wing activist Randy David, one of the most eloquently outspoken opponents to the current Arroyo regime. We met Secretary Alvarez, Cultural and Social Welfare advisor to Prez. Arroyo - definitely one of the most progressive/forward looking and passionate people I've met in a long time. Sec. Alvarez has an incredible history with drama and the arts, and truly wants to ensure that art is part of everyone's life because art and drama are some of the most powerful political tools of expression. We even got to have dinner with Senator Arroyo (not related to Prez. Arroyo).



"OMG! The Volcano is smoking..."
In between meeting important political leaders, and being tourists, we also had time to just chill out and have fun! On one of those days, we went to Taal Volcano, one of the 'not so dormant' volcanoes in the world. It was an awesome day. We got into a boat to cross onto the small Island where the Taal volcano is located before climbing all the way up!



And the view from the top was incredible!


I admit it was a bit discerning to see steam/heat/smoke coming out of random holes in the ground...but the rest at the top of the volcano, wind blowing through our hair, sipping young coconut juice straight from the coconut (called Buko Juice) put my mind somewhat at eas

"If xxxxxx xxxxxx tasted like mango, the world would be happy" - O'Hagan (censored due to sensitive nature of this blog :-). But kudos to you if you guess what she said!)

We grew to love a lot of things in the Philippines, especially the Mangoes! OMG. They were soooo delicious, my mouth waters just thinking about them now...


We also grew to love videoke! Everyone loves it!









Wow, i'm going to stop now, because this is a really LLLOOONNNG blog. Its been so hard to fit so much awesomeness into two blogs. I will totally tell you more about my AMAZING Spring break when I meet you during Bulldog Days/later on in September.

The Philippines, Mahal Kita!

Disclaimer 2: (I really love all this legal lingo! I'm taking Computers and the Law now, so I feel qualified to drop in a legal term or 2 :-) ) This blog contains an INCREDIBLE amount of photos. Keep going till the end or you'll miss all the fun. Over the entire trip, as a group we took 2000 photos. So picking the 20 in this blog was maadddd hard! ENJOY!

I cannot emphasize how much i <3 Yale and that fact that they 'paid' for me to have what has undoubtedly been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my entire life. Spring Break 2007 in the Philippines  has ultimately changed the way I view the future of international development and the role I have to play in it. I'm always skeptical when after like 2 weeks of any experience someone claims that it has changed their life forever. "Its naive", I've always thought. But having had such an experience over Spring Break, i am much less skeptical. From the moment we stepped off the plane when we were greeted by a Filipino live band before we'd even gone through immigration, I knew this was going to be the experience of a lifetime.




Gawad Kalinga is Tagalog (one of the national languages of the Philippines, the other being English. Did you know that the Philippines is not only the only catholic country in South East Asia due to 300 years of Spanish colonial rule, but it is also the third largest English Speaking country in the WORLD, due largely to American colonization) for Care Givers. Only by working with GK for most of my Spring Break was I fully able to understand the mission and vision of Tony Meloto, the founder of GK. Mr. Meloto believes that for poverty alleviation to be sustainable in the long run, the human dignity of people living in such impoverished conditions must be restored. How can an individual who lives in conditions like this:


The next day, after a night in Manila, we  headed off to the village that we would be working on. While we had previously visited two completed villages, we were going to be living and working at a new site where many of the villagers still lived in cardboard box houses. The reception of the people in Pandi was so warm - I still smile thinking about it.


Can I just say that building houses is fun? Its kind of hard, very dusty, and you have to lift all sorts of heavy objects. But as a group, we were soooo pumped to build houses. We perfected our 'conveyor belt like' system of work. Make a long line of people, and pass the cement down!

After brick laying, comes my favorite part - PAINTING! We were able to fully participate in the entire spectrum of house building activities, and see a house go from nothing but dust , to this:


But building houses was only the tip of the iceberg. We got to interact with everyone in the community. Early mornings were spent meeting everyone from the Mayor to Congress person of the area. And we got to travel in the most delightful vehicles ever - Jeepnies.

Later on at night when we were done with the builds, we would spend time with our host family. Here I am with my host mom. I ate meals with the family, spent time with the kids, and generally got to know my family really well. It was sooo sad when I had to leave, and my host mom wrote me the most moving note I have received in such a long time. She told me that I was the first visitor to her home since she relocated to this GK site and she really hopes I go back because all her kids cried when I had to leave. We grew so close so fast, its almost scary...


Isoyi was very soft spoken, but very eloquent, and very willing to learn anything and everything we tried to teach the kids when we played all sorts of fun games with them. He became my 'personal' translator. Whenever I couldn't understand what one of the kids was saying, I found Isoyi and he helped me out. As true as it was that I spoke no Tagalog, I never once felt like I couldn't communicate with any of the kids. The power of making such personal connections as we did with the kids is so strong, that literary words can't prevent you from doing what you need to do. That sounds really philosophical, but is sooo true!

Behind Riyu, you can actually see the house we lived in while we were there. Riyu here was a bit of a Red Rover super star. One of the many games we taught the children was Red Rover. And they loved it, and wanted to play it all the time!

YIPPPPEEEEEE!!!!!

Its Spring Break! Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you President Levin and the rest of the Yale admin at Woodbridge Hall that set the academic calendar, for giving us Yalies TWO WHOLE WEEKS of Spring Break. As you can tell by now I am incredibly excited to be going on Spring Break, even having slept all of 3 hrs yesterday because I stayed up watching season one of the O.C...I'm addicted, what can I say?

I am headed for the Philippines in less than an hour, and I still have to finish packing, but I'd much rather be writing this blog...I think this the manifestation of my fear of missing Yale soo much when I'm away for Spring Break...Its lovely to get back to the real world where you have no classes, no problem sets to hand in, no 3 hr dance class every other day and just chill out, but I'm really going to is this place...Why?


1) The FOOD!
Okay, so this is going to sound super crazy, but I'm kind of going to miss the food here and the whole socializing aspect of meal times at Yale. I mean who wouldn't miss organic brownies and other yummy Sustainable food goodies made from our very own organic farm nearby? Check out: The Yale Sustainable Food Project!