A volunteer is home. Pictures of home.

In my new uniform

Returned volunteers need to get  a medical clearance within 3 months from arrival in their home country.  Except for some dental problems, I  passed the lab tests with flying colours. Resuming my life as a returned volunteer was not easy.  I still carried with me the life style of a volunteer who had lived in Africa for two years.

6:00 am

Cloudy 7:30 am

I need to eat only when hungry.  At home, I just want to have one full meal of rice and one viand – nothing fancy.  I prefer to walk whenever I could using the technique I developed in my previous life in Uganda. 

Mid-day activity in the neighbourhood

Neighbourhood noise.  24 x 7, one floor each week (left) is completed  

But there were things that I could not resist.  Having a frequent dose of sweets – chocolate cake from Red Ribbon, caramel sundae from McDonald’s.  Re-acquainting my taste buds with the variety of food cuisine available – Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, regional Filipino food.  I am back to my weight as I recovered the 25 pounds I lost. 

St. Padre Pio Shrine in Libis

5:45 pm

I don’t tune-in to ANC news anymore because Angelo Castro is no longer around.  I get my local news from Facebook instead.  I enjoyed Argo (with Ben Affleck), and Skyfall (with Daniel Craig) – and I look forward to watching more movies on the big screen.

6:00 pm

Despite the noise and haste of my surroundings, I manage to experience silence and forget the rush.  I find time to admire each beautiful day from my window - from sunrise to sunset.  It is like retracing the dawn to dusk of my life.  I find time to visit God at the EDSA Shrine and lately at the Padre Pio Shrine in Libis.

I know that soon I can figure things out.   

Sunrise 6:00 am

Sunset 5:30pm