For those of us who have lived in the US for most in not all of our lives we have seen that a dollar will not get you as much as it used to. We can buy three packs of gum before tax or buy a piece of fruit or vegetable, maybe a few pencils or other small items, but there are not many everyday things that we can get with a green back ( i know there are others you can think ofbut that is not the point). A dollar as you might guess can go along way in the Philippines. Here is a list of a few things that you can get: $1 is 45 pesos - I can eat a semi hot lunch and a coke for around 70 cents. - i can get a round trip ticket to the capital city about 30km for 60 cents - A pineapple is around 30 cents - Sam Miguel (Budweiser of the Philippines) is about $1.10 a Liter - A bottle of Rum is less (sadly enough) - A massage is $5 an hour - A taxi in the capital is 20-30 cents I did not tell you all those of kicks. One week ago i had a conversation with a local fisherman while completing one of my assignments and the talking soon turned to income. Come to find out that the average income per day for a fisherman in San Jose is around 35 Pecos (around 80 cents). With that money they have to feed their family, keep up their boat, and house, not to mention the other things that come with life. Now look at the list above again and look at a few more items listed below - A #1 (Big Mac Meal) at McD's is 115 pesos or $2.50 - A liter of milk is 64 pesos - A pizza is for one person is 250 pesos - A stick of deodorant can be up to 157 pesos - A generic supply of an average antibiotic for seven days will cost 1,300 pesos (infections are common for of the tropical climate) I is hard to complain about living off 90 cents a day here and soon, when i am living on my own i will be paid more than a teacher (whom will in many cases will teach a whole grade). This is not meant to make anyone feel guilty or anything of the like. It is only a chance show a little bit more about life here. The reason i am here is to help create and maintain coastal resources management projects that will in turn help fisher folk be able to better provide for their own families. This is not a process that will be able to happen within the time frame of my service it is one that will take many many years. But the realiality of life here push me more to be a part of creating something sustainable for future well being of the fishermen and the families. ------------------ This past week was a good a very exciting week because of the events that took place after language training. My other Cluster mate and I (there are only two of us in tech training in San Jose now) had a chance to spend time with school children to gauge their understanding of coastal and land resources around them. It was a blast! i had there complete attention for an hour and had a chance to show pictures of my life back in the US of which many of you where in. The school is small and un-air conditioned as you might expect and the high tide brings water right against the outer walls of the buildings as the ocean feeds minerals vital to the many Mangroves in and around the school. It will be hard to forget the experience. On Saturday all 13 of us went to Bias City to go Dolphin watching and "man was is cool!" we watched in amazement as large pods swam with and around the boat for about an hour until we retreated to a white sand bar for some swimming and lunch. We also visited a recycling program that the city had started and was highly successful ( this is a rare thing to see in the Philippines). The following day many of us had our first chance to preform an open water scuba dive. I know i have used amazing and cool before in this email but they are the best words to describe the event. For the first time i was 35 feet underwater swimming along side a wall of coral, watching a Bat fish the size of of large TV swimming next to me while also looking up at the seemingly distant surface that merely blurred into a florescent blue. Next week will be our final swim and test as we return to Apo island to preform two 1 hour dives. It has been 3 months since i left Portland, 2 Months since i arrived in the Philippines, and two weeks before starting a new life. There is still a lot to do but time is coming to a close for training, and soon i will encounter a new set of challenges and tribulations that will test me even further than i already have. Thanks again for your support. Talk to you soon Prayer Requests - Continued Motivation and desire to serve the Philippine people - Continued understand of language - For the other PCTs as they also prepare for the end of training -- David Walker Lumsden PCT San Jose Neg. Or. Phil. Batch 266