A few pre-flight notes from the Philippines:

It was an absolutely amazing week-and-a-half in the Philippines.  And the strangest and most comforting thing was that it felt like I had never really left.  I have felt completely at home.  I was able to pick up the culture, language and--more importantly--relationships, right where I had left off.   More and more I am becoming grateful for the solidarity that I have in my Barkada both at home and abroad.   

In some ways, this has been a reassuring visit for me.  Last August, after leaving the Philippines and taking on my old job as a waiter and a substitute teacher, I had these irrational fears that--this would be it. I feared that I wouldn't find something else and I would eventually just settle into doing something for which I had no passion or calling.   Although, I still don't have a career--this summer is just an "internship"--my short visit back to the Philippines has been a much-needed reminder that everything is stil here.  There still more left to be done, and the story is not over.  

That... gave me a great deal of rest.  

I've stayed with a very close friend and colleague of mine, Glen Loyola (he's the one giving the "peace" sign to the left there).    Glen is one of a number of super-ultra-high-quality individuals at APNTS, with whom I am very close, who share with me this incredible, passionate belief in the dramatic potential of human beings--regardless of who they are, what they've done, or where they are from.  Socially active and insatiable thinkers, we never seem to tire of sharing thoughts and ideas, no matter how late into the night the conversation goes.  So many quality conversations have marked my progress through the last two weeks, this had been precisely the prelude that I have needed as I enter into my research over the next few months.   For this, I can be nothing but thankful.   

There are a number of thoughts and themes that have been circling through my head, over the past few weeks--subjects that Becca and I have discussed and debated, and a few things that have simply been hanging on my heart.   Many of these thoughts and themes have to do with personal transparency and community.   I feel that many of these thoughts have some very real connection to the issues that I will be researching this summer (Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Boys),  however, I still have to figure out how to best articulate what I have been thinking.  

As I write this very sentence, my flight for Malaysia is boarding in front of me.  There is much, much more to be said, but nowhere near enough time to write it all down before my flight leaves. 

This evening I will have a 12 hour layover in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.  I am going to try to use the time to make it out ti the city and see a few sights.   I'll do my best to finish a few of these thoughts when I'm back on the ground.  

Mabuhay!