Arrived and training in the Philippines

Four planes later, I arrived in the Philippines late on July 3rd. The plane from LA to Tokyo was 12 hours by itself, I think I spent about 24 total hours in the air since leaving Charleston. There are about 60 of us in "Batch 270" as we are called. About 8 of us are "seasoned" volunteers, over 50. Everyone is very professional and it is an honor to be a fellow volunteer. We have been in very thorough training 8:30-5pm every day. Please know that PC takes our safety and security very seriously and I am very impressed with all they have in place to care for us. Current volunteers are here to answer questions and everyone is so helpful and supportive. I began malaria suppressant medication yesterday and the beginning of our series of shots that included typhoid and rabies. The weather here is so similar to summer in Charleston. We got our training sites today, I will be learning the Tagalog language and training in a rural town Northwest of Manilla. We continue training at our current site, all 60 of us, until next week and then we split up into small groups and head to our respective training sites. My trips to Brazil and Cuba have prepared me for this experience and so far, so good. I will try to get to the internet tomorrow and upload some photos. I am happy and healthy and hope you are the same.