Team Swangelista in November

I am still amazed by how fast time goes by here in Palawan despite how much slower than NYC the pace of life is. I know it is because we have so much to do for Roots of Health but it still surprises me sometimes to realize how many weeks have gone by since we arrived in Palawan (14) and how few weeks are left in 2009 (5). 

So, highlights of November...


November 4 was the third anniversary of our second wedding :)


My favorite brother came for a visit in the first weekend of November. Photos from his trip are here.


A week later, my dear friend Megan came for a few days. We met almost 15 years ago and are so happy that getting her to the Philippines finally became a reality :) I went with Megan to Sabang and we also enjoyed the sites of Puerto Princesa. Photos from her visit are here.


A week after that, another dear friend, Archana, came to stay for a few days. I was bummed not to be able to take more time off and join her in El Nido, but we had a really nice time together in Puerto Princesa. I don’t have the photos yet from her visit but will put them up soon.

In the midst of all this we’ve been working, spending time with my parents and our puppies, and hanging out with our new Palawan friends. Life is very good - we are so blessed.

And now it is December - and I can officially start celebrating my favorite time of the year! :)

Gifts with Meaning - Support Roots of Health!

I wanted to let you all know about a unique opportunity to help raise funds for Roots of Health.

A friend of mine who lives in Australia, Frank Mathisen, has started an online store selling Christmas cards to benefit select charities. Roots of Health is one of the featured organizations.

Each packet of 10 cards is AU$20 (or about US$18.50) and for each packet sold, AU$10 is donated to Roots of Health. Shipping to the US/UK is AU$5 and the cards are mailed within 24 hours of receiving the order and payment. The postal service estimates that it takes 4-6 working days to ship the cards from Australia to North America/UK.

I would really appreciate it if you would consider purchasing your holiday cards this year from Gifts with Meaning to benefit Roots of Health. The website address is http://www.giftswithmeaning.com.au/.

We're trying to spread the word and reach as many people as possible, so if you feel comfortable forwarding the Gifts with Meaning information on to your family and friends, that would be fantastic.

Thanks so much for your continued support!

Ditchay's

Wow, it’s really November. I still can’t believe how fast time flies! I understood it more when we were living in NYC because the energy levels there are so high and everyone is always so crazy busy and on the go. In Puerto Princesa, we’re busy, but this city is a very sleepy small town especially in comparison to NYC. But somehow we continue to not have enough hours in the day to get everything done. I suppose this is good though. Better to be busy than bored.

Yesterday Marcus and I celebrated the third year anniversary of our second wedding (we got married first at city hall in NYC on August 3rd then again with our family and friends joining us in Arizona on November 4th). We usually celebrate our anniversaries by going out for a special dinner and past locations for our dinners have included Nobu, Babbo, and One if By Land, Two if By Sea. It seemed fitting to try out Puerto Princesa’s finest dining experience on our special day so last night we had dinner at Ditchay’s Cafe. We’d been looking forward to it all day and it did not disappoint. My mouth is actually watering now as I remember our meal. Ditchay’s is all about locally and organically produced meats, veggies and fruits. The food is French with an Asian twist - and it is all so delicious. Our meal started off with bread (it looked homemade) with the best pesto we’ve had in Palawan. After that we had a salad with warm bacon and fantastic beef carpaccio. Our entrees were a delicious native chicken dish with mushrooms and olives and roasted pork belly. Both entrees came with delicious veggie sides including creamed spinach, garlic potatoes, mashed pumpkin and this really fabulous sweetened pickled cabbage (I think it had apples mixed in - it doesn’t sound awesome but seriously it was so good). All this amazing food was washed down with a great 2004 Bordeaux (the only thing Ditchay’s imports is their wine). We were stuffed after all this food but had to try the mimosa tarte. And as if we hadn’t had enough already, we were given a delicious homemade mango ice cream to enjoy while waiting for the tarte. Everything was perfect and we were so happy we went there for dinner. Looking forward to celebrating more special occasions there...

What happened to October?

Wow, so yet another month has gone by without any regular updates on this blog. I just don’t know where the time goes. Seriously. I know I say this all the time, but I am still shocked by how quickly time flies by. I mean, it’s November! How did that happen? This is the first November in 11 years that I haven’t been in the US and it feels so weird to not have the change in seasons. We left NYC in the summer so being in the heat here didn’t feel that different. But now that all my friends in the US are complaining of the cold, and as we move into Thanksgiving and the Christmas season it just feels so strange that it is always still so hot and sunny here. Not complaining. As much as I *LOVED* NYC in the fall, I have always preferred the heat to the cold. But I do miss cool, brisk air and feeling cozy inside a warm apartment after a cold walk outside.

Anyway… October was another really busy month for me and for Marcus.

Things with Roots of Health are moving along nicely and we’ve been keeping really busy with all our work. We’re in the process of wrapping up our needs assessments of the communities in which we may start our services, and we plan to begin conducting our service delivery this month (hopefully!) To stay up to date on Roots of Health, check out my ROH blog.

Highlights from the month included our trip to Manila to celebrate my sister Sara’s birthday as well as to meet some repro health superstars in Manila – Carlos Celdran, Mike Tan, Chi Vallido and Ben DeLeon. Check out Marcus’ FB photos from the trip.

Later in the month we also celebrated my mom’s birthday here in Palawan. Those photos are here. On my mom’s birthday, our dear friend Suneeta arrived for an almost-weeklong-visit. It was her second time in Palawan so we skipped Sabang, but we did do some sights in Puerto Princesa, and of course went island hopping in Honda Bay. It was so lovely to see Suneeta and we are so glad she was able to come visit. Photos from her time in Palawan are here.

We have lots to look forward to in November including visits from my brother, Alex, friend from my high school days, Megan and Wellesley friend, Archana. I really will try to update this Team Swangelista blog more often this month, so stay tuned :) Happy November everyone!