While I might have left Africa almost two weeks ago, I am not home yet. My first stop was Dubai, where I stayed three days with my friend Shermaine. When I first got to Neema House last June, Shermaine was my roommate and we made friends quickly. Shermaine is originally from the Philippines, but is currently living in Dubai with her Belgian husband. One of the other volunteers commented how funny it was that two people from completely differently places in the world, who had completely different lives, could somehow find such a good friend in a little orphanage in Africa.
My first day in Dubai I experienced extreme reverse culture-shock. I had gone from witnessing abject poverty, to extravagant wealth in the space of a few hours. I hadn't even had the more average experience of my home in New Zealand in between. That first day, Shermaine took me to the Dubai Mall, which was an interesting experience. I hadn't seen a mall in eight months and suddenly I was in the biggest one in the world. I hadn't even seen clothes shops really as almost everything I bought in Tanzania came from a market. It wasn't uncommon there to see clothes stacked in a pile, taller than I was. The first shop in the mall we went into, I didn't even want to touch anything. I'm too used to the African thing where you never touch anything unless you want to buy it. If you do touch something, the shopkeeper or stall owner will usually harass you to make a purchase, so you learn quickly to look with your eyes only. However, I got used to it relatively quickly thankfully, so I was able to enjoy it!
Inside the Dubai Mall is several "world's biggest" this or that. There's the largest candy store, the largest aquarium viewing panel and nearby is the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
The aquarium inside the Dubai Mall.
This is one of the reasons I felt so culture-shocked. The day before I had been standing in a schoolroom with thirty children, mud covering my feet, their clothes barely adequate to cover their bodies, all of them hungry. 24 hours later I was standing in front of shops like Burberry for children, Armani Junior and Gucci baby.
I couldn't stop thinking about how even the very cheapest item from a shop like this would be more than what the average Tanzanian would earn in a month.
The Burj Khalifa - tallest building in the world at 828m.
On the first night I was in Dubai we had dinner at a restaurant on a balcony overlooking the Dubai Fountain. Every thirty minutes there is a show with lights and music.
Shermaine and I spent a day at the silk and spice souqs (markets).
To get to the silk souq we had to take a boat, like this one, to get to the other side of the river. In most places Dubai is modern and extravagant, but down by the river, where the markets are, feels like taking a step back in time.
Shermaine and I on the boat.
Dubai was absolutely amazing to see and experience, but I don't think it is somewhere that I would care to live. A couple of the things I liked best were very simple - a shower with good pressure and as much hot water as I wanted, and a comfortable bed to sleep in! It was also really nice to eat good food - we had everything from French to Pakistani to Polynesian. Even though it was a shock to go straight there from Tanzania, I'm so glad I went as it was lovely to explore a new place and to see my sweet friend Shermaine again.
From Dubai it was on to the Philippines. With my flight leaving Dubai at 4am and only getting one hour of sleep on the plane, I was pretty tired by the time I arrived in the Philippines eight hours later. In the Philippines I am visiting and staying with my lovely friend Jill and her very kind family. Jill is a paediatric nurse who I have known for the past five years - it's been really nice to spend some time with her!
Mostly in the Philippines I haven't been doing much besides resting. I was very tired because since the beginning of January, I have been working 7 days a week as I was spending time at both Neema and Havilah. I have also been sick on and off since the beginning of December, with one thing after another, which has been tiring. Jill has been working, so I've been staying at home and not doing a lot for the most part. Something I have done a lot of here is trying of new foods! It's been very interesting and there have been quite a few things that I have really liked.
The local transport here is known as a "jeepney" and, in terms of looks at least, is even more interesting than a dala dala!
On one day we went to Tagatay to do some sightseeing. We left at 4am so that we would miss the traffic (Manila traffic is crazy busy) and we got there about 6:30. It was up in the mountains and after spending the past almost-year in sunny Africa, the cold was a bit of a shock!
We stopped at a local restaurant for breakfast (rice, poached eggs and whole fried fish) and this was the beautiful view from the roof as the sun was coming up.
I probably only wore this jacket half a dozen times since I left home, but I was very grateful for it that morning!
Edith (Jill's mother), Jill and I.
Valentine's Day with Edith and Annie (Edith's friend) at a small botanical gardens in Tagaytay.
We went to Sky Ranch, a small amusement park, so that we could ride on the ferris wheel overlooking Taal Lake, in the middle of which is the smallest volcano in the world.
The view from the top of the ferris wheel. It was a bit hazy, but you could clearly see the volcano, which has a crater lake.
At the top.
Jill.
Tomorrow afternoon I leave the Philippines, which will be sad as I have had a lovely time here. It has been really interesting to visit some new places and I have absolutely loved catching up with and meeting some new friends. As for now though - onward to Singapore!
xoxo,
-Hannah
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