Yesterday we spent 1/2 the day at DOST (where we managed to capture a great group picture in front of our building!) Everything is going well so far and we are getting accustomed to the office culture. I am also continuing to eat more and more everyday…everywhere I turn there is some new food or merienda (snack). We learned about merienda on our first day here…Filipinos usually enjoy a morning and afternoon merienda which is always enjoyed with friends and colleagues. I am loving all of the personal time spent amongst colleagues in the workplace, and certainly don’t mind some delicious food for merienda time twice a day (at least!).

Group shot in front of DOST STIIMerienda with Director Richard

In the afternoon yesterday, we drove to the IBM Philippines HQ in Bonifacio Global City area. Although it was not far distance- wise, we were sitting in a lot of traffic to get there…even in the middle of the day. I could write a whole other blog post about the traffic in Manila! It seems there is tons of traffic all day, every day. Actually I heard that traffic is the worse on Saturdays, because at least during the week there are some restrictions on cars on the road. Anyway….

We arrived at IBM in the afternoon and were swept up to the 28th story of a new skyscraper. I have been to Manila for a work trip (about 3 years ago) but never visited this building. The building and the entire surrounding area felt as if I was in New York. It was a completely different feel from the rest of the metro Manila area we have seen so far. We could have been anywhere, everything was very modern and new. We had a meeting with the IBM Philippines General Manger who has only been in this role for a few months. It was really nice to have some time with her, and she told us a lot about the country and IBMs presence here. Here are some facts that we learned that stood out to me:

Out of 106 million Filipinos, 1 in 3 are millennials

9% of Filipinos work overseas

IBM has been in the Philippines for 81 years

IBM Philippines is 51% women (significantly higher than global IBM population).

After some merienda (obviously), we were able to meet some other local IBMers as well and then walked around the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) area. There were tons of upscale shops and restaurants and we all went as a big group to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was a long, busy day but it was a really good one. Then we had a van ride back to the hotel which took about 1.5 hours (gotta love Manila traffic)! But some group singing made the trip go by faster 😀

Today was a productive day at work which ended with a 1.5 hour massage ($13!) and some box salad from the grocery store across the street. It feels nice to have a break from the restaurants out and the grocery store has everything you could possibly need. Off to bed now..another busy work day tomorrow and then we are off for a weekend away in Punta Fuego which is about 2 hours from Manila. It will be nice to relax and get some time in the sun (fingers crossed for no rain!).

Meeting with IBM Philippines General ManagerView from the 28th floor (lots of construction everywhere)STARBOOKS team at the office (it was beige day…there is a color code for clothes each day of the week)Bonifacio Global City at night Merienda (my fav)Panorama view from the hotel penthouse

Let me tell you a little bit about the agency I will be assigned to work with throughout the assignment, and then will get into a recap of the first day on the job! Over the course of the next 4 weeks, the 14 IBMers in the group will be working with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). DOST is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the coordination of science and technology-related projects in the Philippines and to formulate projects and policies in the fields of science and technology in support of national development. There are several agencies within DOST, and my small sub-group (consisting of me, Malwina from Poland and Dmitry from Russia) is responsible for working with the Science and Technology Information Institute.

DOST: http://dost.gov.ph

DOST STII: http://www.stii.dost.gov.ph

The project which we have been assigned has to do with a system in place called STARBOOKS which disseminates science and technology information to students across the country…either online or offline via stand alone kiosks which are being deployed in schools and institutes across the country. About 75% of the Philippine population is without internet connection, so it is important to be able to provide these resources to remote areas in an offline capacity. Our job is to determine how to scale this to allow for more kiosks and more users in the future. We have a lot of work cut out for us, but it is definitely an exciting project and something which is providing a great deal of value to students (and teachers) across the country. I can’t wait to get started! We had a very warm welcome in the office today and had an extensive tour of the building as well. And it was a very nice surprise to sit and have a delicious lunch with the Director, consisting of local fruits and a buco pie (baby coconut) which was out of this world. I have a feeling we won’t be eating like this every day at the office, but it was a nice treat! Back to the DOST office tomorrow morning and then we are visiting the local IBM office in the afternoon. It’s been another long day today, so I’m off to bed now so I can wake up and get some face time with the kids in the morning (who I miss very much!).

first day on the jobScience and Technology Information Institute (STII) core values STII Library and mascot “Smarty”Digitizing books (700 pages scanned per day)Office canteenMy team in front of the STARBOOKS kiosksLunch with Director Richard Finished the day with some ramen 😀

After months of preparation, reviewing statements of work and information about our client, we finally had the chance to meet them for the first time! We were all a little bit nervous about the first meeting, especially after so much information about cultural norms, etc. I think we were all over thinking everything and trying to plan too much. One thing we were informed of is the fact that first impressions are important and also that it is important to connect on a personal level before talking “business.” Oh, and also that selfies and taking group photos are a way of life here 😀 I walked into the room to a swarm of IBMers and Filipino government officials and immediately could feel the energy and excitement. It felt slightly odd to spend most of the morning talking about our personal lives, families and our ages (that was a first, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone ask me my age in a professional setting). But I must say, I really loved it. It felt really great to immediately form a bond with the team we will be working with and it definitely helped to form a connection right from the beginning. In the US, we are so used to cutting right to the chase without getting to know someone first, and I really love this about Filipino culture. In addition to some quality face time with the new team, we got to also hear from the IBM Philippines Country General Manager and the Peace Corps Philippines Country Manager. We spent the day on Monday getting to know the client and preparing for our first day of work at the site on Tuesday. We finished off the day by walking across the street to have a delicious Korean BBQ meal, complete with some soju too! I feel like all I’ve been doing is eating non stop since I arrived! Here are some pics from our meeting with the client at our hotel on Monday.

After a long 24 hours starting with my arrival at JFK late Thursday night, I arrived at my home for the next 4 weeks – B Hotel in Alabang which is in the metro Manila area. Although the long journey started in a bit of a panic mode (I’ll spare you the details, but it has something to do with credit cards being left at home and my husband having to drive all the way to the airport at 11PM to bring everything just in time for me to board the flight. To say I was stressed is an understatement!). BUT it all ended well and I made the flight and managed to sleep most of the way. I met two CSC team members in Hong Kong (Ashley from Boston and Mary from DC) and we boarded the flight together to Manila. Please excuse the “I just finished a 16 hour flight” look 😀

Most of the other team members arrived here on Friday night so they were all together in the morning and about to go shopping and out to lunch. Unbeknownst to us, they were all waiting for us in the front of the hotel when we arrived. All I really wanted to do was to sneak into my room for a shower, but instead we met the rest of the team before we even stepped into the hotel. It was great to meet everyone for the first time, after several months of only seeing each other through video meetings. We have a team of 14 – 6 from the US, 2 from Brazil, 2 from India, 2 from Australia, 1 from Russia and 1 from Poland.

I finally got to the room and was able to organize a bit and then we went to meet the rest of the crew for lunch and some shopping at a nearby shopping center. There are a lot of shopping malls and a whole lot of traffic in this area. We learned from our local contacts that the only way to cross the street is to hold your hand up to stop the traffic, otherwise cars won’t stop. So that was a little scary but I’m sure something we will get used to! We finished the day with a team welcome dinner at the hotel and met the local development organization (ABV + Dev Concepts) who is organizing our stay here as well as the Peace Corps volunteers whom we will be working alongside. And got to try a local beer, Red Horse, which almost knocked me out after 1/2 of one since I was so tired! It was a LONG day but it was very nice to meet everyone and it seems like such a wonderful group. I think we can learn a lot from each other and will have a lot of fun too. Here are some photos from the day yesterday.

So after the long day on Saturday, I slept like a baby and then got to wake up and talk to my “babies” back home which was a great start to the day! They love seeing outside my hotel window because it is light here when it is dark back home. I think they are somewhat understanding the concept that I am far away on the other side of the world. Luckily my husband seems to have everything under control and is enjoying spending quality time with the kids (he even is ambitious enough to start his own blog!).

Anyway, today was also a busy day. We had a full day of orientation in the hotel which was jam packed with information. We learned about everything from the political climate in the Philippines (some interesting convos about current President Duterte) to classifications of natural disasters (typhoon season now in the Philippines 😳) to the cultural norms in the Filipino workplace. It was a great day which ended with a quick dinner with some of the girls at a local restaurant that felt more like a Texas steakhouse, followed by a 60 minute massage which was a whopping $8! Now I and feeling nice and relaxed before meeting with the client tomorrow for the first time. Some of the key players from the agency will be coming to the hotel to meet us tomorrow. We will be working with the Department of Science and Technology and we will discuss more about the scope of our work, etc. tomorrow. I will give some more details about the agency and the work in another post. For now, I’ll leave you with some pics from today and then I’m off to bed. Will share more tomorrow!

It’s the final countdown before deployment! I will be on the long flight to Hong Kong during this time next week. Right now I am also on a plane, but heading in the opposite direction…down to Austin, Texas for a family wedding. Luckily I have free WiFi and some good reading material! We were each sent a book in the mail by the ABV (Australian Business Volunteers) team who is our local partner for the assignment. It will be important to learn about customs and culture before we jump into the office building on October 2nd so I am thankful to the ABV team who has been helping us prepare for the assignment I’m so many ways!

It has been interesting to read about the American history and influence in the Philippines. I have been to Manila once before for a work trip but it was a quick trip and I didn’t spend much time learning about the Filipino history. I’m sure we will learn a lot more once we are there, but I feel like I’m getting a little bit of a head start now.

We had out last team meeting yesterday and I could sense the excitement of the team, and also lots of last minute questions about packing, etc. I must admit I don’t feel too prepared yet but am starting to think of all the things I may need for the trip (thanks to Amazon prime, I have been hastily ordering last minute things over the past couple of days). Once I get back from the wedding this weekend, then the real packing will begin.

I’m looking forward to meeting the IBM team in person next week, as well as our client. We are already planning some group excursions including volunteering with an organization providing relief after the typhoon there last week. Let’s hope the weather holds out while we are there. It is rainy season now so I’m sure we need to expect lots of rain. That reminds me, I need to add a rain jacket and umbrella to the packing list!

Ok, back to coffee and reading before we land in Austin. I’m sure I won’t have a chance to write another post until after we arrive in Manila..so stay tuned 😀

I want to start by saying I am not at all experienced with blogging.  But this experience is all about going outside of my comfort zone and embracing the unknown…so I figured I should do my best to go all-in and just start writing (even if no one out there is reading it!).  So here it goes…

Manila is pretty close to the opposite side of the world from New York.  If you dig a tunnel through the middle of the earth from New York, you would actually end up in the ocean off the coast of Australia…but close enough!  In just 16 short days (eek – that snuck up fast!) I will be flying to Manila from New York, by way of Hong Kong, to work with a government agency in Taguig City which is in the metro Manila area.   Let me first tell you a little bit about the team and the IBM program that is sending me to the opposite side of the world for four weeks 🙂

14 people. 6 countries. Years of service with IBM spanning from 2 years to 23 years. So many different personalities and perspectives, yet we all share more things in common than meets the eye.  All of us applied to IBM’s Corporate Services Corps last year (and many of us for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time) and received word around October 2017 that we were accepted into the program.

Let’s take a step back. What is the Corporate Service Corps (CSC)?  It is a program that was launched by IBM in 2008 primarily as a vehicle for global leadership development, but also to provide necessary pro-bono services to organizations in emerging markets. I am proud to be part of a company that makes this kind of investment on the leadership development of its employees, but am most proud of IBM’s dedication to providing these types of services to local communities across the globe.  In case you are interested, you can find more info about the program here:

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/

https://hbr.org/2014/11/why-ibm-gives-top-employees-a-month-to-do-service-abroad

I have always been passionate about different cultures and how people from different backgrounds interact with one another. Since June 15th, when the Philippines 19 Team was formed, we have been working hard completing group activities and learning how to work together as a group. We have developed a group Code of Conduct and completed various exercises around cultural adaptability and conflict resolution across a wide range of scenarios. We have created profiles outlining our backgrounds, hobbies, strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an intensive experience getting to know a group of people in such a short amount of time! I feel as if we know so much about each other already, although I know this is just the beginning.  Something that has stood out to me is the fact that all of us have so many things in common, despite our different backgrounds.  It has been so much fun getting to know the group through our 24/7 whatsapp group chats, weekly team video meetings and smaller-group team building exercises.  We all share a similar passion for helping local communities in need as well as a certain love for adventure.  I am looking forward to meeting everyone and working together on our assignment – I’m sure we have lots to learn from each other.  It will also be so great to have this new network of IBMers from around the world!  If we weren’t brought together through this assignment, it would be unlikely that our paths would have otherwise crossed.

I’m sure these next 16 days are going to fly by with everything I need to do to prepare for the trip and to wrap up current work commitments.  Right now I am feeling excited but also sad about leaving my family for four weeks!  Side note – I have the best husband in the world for being so supportive of this opportunity (and taking on the challenge of being a single parent to three kids under the age of five – which is no small task!).   I wouldn’t be able to have this experience if it wasn’t for his full support and commitment to our family.

I will do my best to keep updating the blog throughout this experience and hope you enjoy following along!