A little over eight months ago, Nate and I returned home after a year in Manila. In those early weeks of re-entry, there were long lists of old pleasures that were suddenly new again: real Mexican food, redwood-shaded trails, our own car, clean air. Months later, most of these have become routine, and we have to remind ourselves how lucky we are to have them. But there is one thing that hasn’t stopped feeling like a treat: hot showers.
Posts Tagged ‘Philippines’
Global Hunger Fast Day 2: Feeling the Heat (or not)
Posted: April 5, 2012 in Life in the Philippines, Who we areTags: fasting, global, hunger, Philippines, poverty
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Global Hunger Fast Day 1: Thoughts From a New Mom
Posted: April 3, 2012 in Life in the Philippines, Who we areTags: fast, global, hospital, hunger, infant, medical, Philippines
When this year’s Global Hunger Fast fell on the third week of my son’s life, I reluctantly agreed with my husband and family to sit out this time around. But as I think about my Filipina sisters at Samaritana (and women in developing countries worldwide), I’m acutely aware of how privileged I am for this [...]
A New Year’s Reflection
Posted: January 10, 2012 in Life in the Philippines, Who we areTags: california, life, manila, Nate, perspective, Philippines
Growing up, I never thought I was that fortunate. I was short, skinny, and had glasses: shrimp, four-eyes, not exactly precocious with the ladies. That was me.
The Difference a Year Makes
Posted: July 7, 2011 in Life in the Philippines, Our workTags: aging, Nate, perspective, Philippines, prostitution, trafficking
We’ve only been gone a year, but my friend says I look older. At age 34, that’s the first time anyone’s ever said that to me.
The Crazy Lady
Posted: January 27, 2011 in Life in the PhilippinesTags: culture, Laura, manila, Philippines
“Manila is like a crazy lady,” one of our new friends said to us our first month here, and then quickly added, “but eventually you learn to love her.” With its mishmash of Spanish, American, and Asian cultural influences (the product of centuries of colonial rule), its two extreme seasons (hot and wet; hot and [...]
Going to the Source
Posted: December 21, 2010 in About slavery/human traffickingTags: IJM, Philippines, poverty, Samar, trafficking
If this isn’t your first visit to Free Is a Verb, you probably know by now that human trafficking victims, like a flesh-and-bone version of the Matrix, are a secret hidden all around us: on big farms, in small restaurants, high-class escort services, low-rent massage parlors, and lots more. These victims may have been moved within a country, or–to [...]
First Week in Manila
Posted: August 3, 2010 in Life in the PhilippinesTags: culture, Laura, Philippines
We’ve only been in Manila 9 days, but it feels like much longer since we’re taking in so many new impressions and experiences every day—many of which will merit future posts. In the meantime, we’ve made a list of five things that have struck us as new, interesting, or just plain hilarious: 1. That’s ok; we weren’t [...]
7,000 miles, 21 hours, one new life.
Posted: July 26, 2010 in Our workTags: Philippines, sabbatical, travel
Friday 7/23 After getting a last-minute e-mail from France saying the visiting Berkeley scholar (who was supposed to wire the deposit to us) had a family emergency and wasn’t going to come after all, we scrambled to call some others, and 24 hours before we leave, new tenants sign lease. Cue big sigh of relief. Saturday 7/24 5:00 [...]
Dear Friends, Although we’ve been preparing for this journey for almost a year, we knew that our lives had truly become consumed by it when we were at Walgreens at 11:49 p.m. on a Thursday night getting passport photos for our visas. With less than a month to go, initially strange things now seem almost [...]
Our 8 Minutes of Fame
Posted: May 18, 2010 in EventsTags: Interview, Laura, Philippines, trafficking
We were honored to be interviewed by Rosy Chu, host of the Bay Area People segment on KTVU channel 2. We discussed human trafficking and modern-day slavery generally, as well as Taste for Freedom, our fund-raising event. We’ve got the link to the video here, or you can find it on Comcast On Demand.
