Team Field Trip #1

The team's first field trip this weekend proved to be a fun and full day.  We spent the day exploring at Hacienda Escudero, a coconut plantation, where we perused a museum, had lunch in a river (yes, our feet were IN the river as we were eating!), and caught a show that illustrated Filipino folklore and traditions.  Then it was off to check out a town where beautiful pottery is made.

My favorite photo of the day:

My favorite photo bomb of the day (thanks, guys!):

All in all, a great day!

Let the Adventures Begin!

Hello!  It's officially been a week since I left the Big Apple for the Philippines for my IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) deployment, and so far, it has been an amazing whirlwind of new experiences.  But, before I delve in to those, let me back up a bit.  Some of you might be wondering the following questions:

• Wait, you left - why? The weather is finally nice here!
• What about the baby?!
• Who's taking care of your husband?

These are all great questions.  Let me address each of them one at a time.  Yes - I did leave NYC a week ago and if I didn't really tell you about it, please don't feel offended.  The truth is, I struggled internally with this trip the weeks leading up to it.  Between wrapping up work, preparing for the trip, and mentally getting my head around the fact that I'd be away from my family for a month, my brain decided to ignore the fact that I was leaving until the last possible moment.  "Professional Becky" did all of the packing and preparing while "Mommy Becky" continued on with life as if nothing was happening.

Now, why did I leave?  Surely it had to be for a good reason if I was going to leave my family!  It was. The IBM Corporate Service Corps is a leadership development program that sends global teams to emerging markets to perform community-driven, economic development projects - working at the intersection of business, technology, and society.  My team and I have been assigned to work in the city of Santa Rosa in the Philippines, and the people that we've met here have been nothing short of amazing.  Everyone we've met (including the Mayor herself!) has been incredibly welcoming, accommodating, and friendly.  No grumpy cats here (take note, NYC)!  The food has been adventuresome and delicious - this past week I've been getting my Anthony Bourdain on (I hope I'm allowed to say that) and trying as many new things as possible. I will say that not everything has been completely new - I've had bubble tea about 3 times now! 

My team's assigned project is super interesting and we believe it has the potential to make a great impact on the community here (more on this later).  I'm happy to say that we've hit the ground running and our client is truly passionate about what it is that we're trying to help them achieve. 

So now this leaves me with the final 2 questions.  Yes, leaving Baby A and Hubby T was tough to do.  I miss them terribly.  But, after a week here, I am confident that accepting this opportunity was the right thing.  The work is meaningful and being immersed in a new culture has always been something that I love to experience.  Besides, I know Baby A is in great hands and I hear she's taking good care of Hubby T =) 

I will leave this post with a photo to give you a taste of what I've been up to.  As they say - it's more fun in the Philippines!

 

Testing new blog!