Living Leyte People Features: Jo Ah Yow, Engagement Coordinator, All Hands

  Jo (R) and Moi from Living Leyte (L).

Joanna Ah Yow, 24
Originally from: Mauritius and has been living in Coventry, England, a graduate of Coventry University.

LL:  So Jo, Can you describe the place and vibe where you come from?
JAW: I originally came from Mauritius but I went to university in Coventry England, I have lived there for the past 4 years but when I finished I went back to Mauritius before coming here. Mauritius is multi-cultural, multi-racial, it’s a mixture of Chinese and Indians. It was colonized by the French then the British, the trade there was sugar cane, local rum made from sugar cane; tourism is big there because we have nice beaches, like the the one in Kalanggaman. It’s relaxing, it’s not a big city but traffic can become intense. Cuisine is mixed there, Chinese, street food, Indian food, one can find french bread in the shops for example. A majority of the population is of Indian origin. Hindu is the majority religion, the official language is English, Creole and French. My great granddad went to Mauritius when he was 17 years old and we are the 4th generation.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
JAW: As I said I went to school in Coventry University for 4 years. My major was in Disaster Management. When I finished I went back to Mauritius to catch up because it had been 2 years since I’d been back. I caught up with old friends, everything changes when I go back home.
LL: True, nothing stays the same.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
JAW: I love it here, I have been to the nice beaches, it’s not really the physical aspects of things, it’s the people, the people are respectful. Whereas back, home people swear.

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
JAW: A lot of it came from my parents’ influence, they are traditional Christians and I grew up with that. I volunteered with a Christian organization in England and I discovered that's what I like. Volunteering came along and it’s the obvious thing for me. This gave me a perspective that’s why I majored in Disaster Management and not engineering which is what I was planning on.
LL: How long can one volunteer?
JAW: It depends on the funds, I am lucky because my parents support me. I volunteered with All Hands and I am now an Engagement Coordinator.
LL: What does an Engagement Coordinator do?
JAW: It has anything to do with fund-raising, engaging the community with our organization.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
JAW: Definitely. Example, I am so used to things like air-conditioning, shoes, nice clothes. Now I think twice about what’s important in life. I am less materialistic now.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious upheavals between countries an ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
JAW: Yes. I feel like if there’s no hope then we won’t bother but we can see that people volunteer for example and it restores faith in humanity.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
JAW: The war in Syria, the refugee crises. I feel that if the main issue will be resolved then the surrounding issues will be resolved around it.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
JAW: Music, acoustic guitar, My favorite song is “Superstition" by Stevie Wonder.

LL: What’s next for you?
JAW: We are going thru the end of February with the project. We’ve had collaborations with Street Light, CRS (Catholic Relief Services). I’m looking to go to Nepal and I heard of new people from another outfit dealing with refugees in Europe, I may join that.

LL: Wanna play one-word-answer questions and Bonus Q?
JAW: OK.
Moon or Sun?  Moon
Monochrome or Colored?  Colored
Iceland or Australia?  Australia
Fútbol or Football?  Soccer
Coffee or Tea?  Coffee
Eagle or Dolphin? Eagle
Bonus Q: If you were given the power to spend 2 hours with someone who has passed on, who would it be and why?
JAW: Nelson Mandela. I would talk to him about his life. He is just was an inspiration to so many people. I’ve been to South Africa and I knew about him growing up. 

LL: There's just one thing left, I need to take a photo of you.

Jo is reluctant but concedes and agrees to this but only if I am in the photo with her too. I guess this is not a bad bargain, after all she's done for the community. ;-) .  

Jo  obviously has this kind heart that extends towards us and I believe even further beyond. Jo, from all of us, Thanks very very much!

Living Leyte Interviews: Daniel Rød, Anthropologist

Daniel Rød
AGE: 26
Born in Manila, Philippines,  grew up in the middle part of Norway,
Daniel was taken to Norway when he was 1 yr old by his adoptive parents along with another Filipino baby girl. 

The cue cards I had for this interview was practically thrown out the window, as it turns out, Daniel is an anthropologist who is currently working on his post-graduate thesis. He admits that part of his objective in coming to Leyte was to do research about our cultural structure in addition to doing volunteer work. The knowledge I was able to glean from this man in the hours I spoke with him was nothing short of remarkable; during the process, Daniel drew models and diagrams that pertained to his scientific observation about the dynamics of our culture and mind set as a people. Without further ado, here it is.

LL: Can you describe the place and vibe where you come from? (Daniel shows me a scene of a pristine lake surrounded by snow-peaked, deep green mountains on Instagram to clearly illustrate to me where he comes from. The photo of his hometown was picturesque and breathtaking, the sort we see in calendars).
DR: I grew up in Eresfjord (pronounced Eres-fyord), it's a very small town with 300 inhabitants, everyone takes care of you, people are helpful but at the same time you can’t escape gossip. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. It's frigid during the winter months and when it’s Christmas, snow comes down from the sky. You always have to shovel the snow in the wintertime. It snows from Nov - March. Currently though, I live in Tromsø which means land of “Troms", where it snows from October through June, sometimes through July. (Daniel also teaches me that the Nordic letter “Ø” is pronounced the same as “oe”).

LL: So Daniel, what was your life like before you came?
DR: I am doing masters in Anthropology in University of Tromsø
LL: Is there a sort of an Ivy League grading for universities in Norway?
DR: We don’t have that in Norway but I am familiar with the concept. Our university is in the top 5
LL: Is there a famous alumna that comes from your university?
DR: I’m not sure. The Norwegian language came from the Germans. Tromsø is a beautiful place I lived there for four years now, my girlfriend is there. Have you seen The Lord of the Rings?
LL: Yes.
DR: Well, Tromsø is like the Shire, the shire of Shire where the Hobbits live.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
DR: Tacloban is very full of beautiful people. I am here on a scientific quest, one can sense that Yolanda only happened two years ago. I find Tacloban to be both modern and traditional, I think a lot of the foreigners get caught in their own bubble and don’t experience Tacloban for what it can be, there are challenges here and I hear many of my co-volunteers tell their experiences of changed life and I am happy for them. It’s both beautiful and sad at the same time though all in all I find people beautiful.
LL: A dichotomy.

LL: Have you learned anything from here? From us?
DR: Oh, where to start... Filipinos really value their families, they value group opinion, this is something that goes really deep and this is different from the culture I grew up in, example, in Norway there is a welfare system that works; here, your family is your welfare system. Filipinos choose very differently, a lot of Filipino ways are different and people pick up on them but in the end, they are just as rational as what we do back home even though it’s different.

… Daniel draws the Grønhaug Model of his cultural observation:
PLEASE CLICK ON ILLUSTRATION FOR BETTER VIEWING:

DR: Typically, the focus of the Filipino does not extend outside of this two inner spheres; Filipino traits such as “bayanihan” and "utang na loob” are typically exercised within the inner two circles. The outer circles of the Filipino are the local community and the outermost sphere are the environment, political landscape or the financial realm of the country, but this is a far extension already for the Filipino. Interaction and involvement with the outer spheres are very rare.
LL:  If not nil (I agree). Now, given this scenario, how can this society survive in the long run, especially if there is lack of concern by the individual for his world?
DR: It works for now, but in the long run, it might not.
LL: How can we improve our place and as a people in general?
DR: Hard to say. To improve is relative because the Filipino is happy the way it is. What I think of as “good" is very different from what the Filipinos think as “good.”
LL: What about corruption? corruption here is practically institutionalized. Vote buying is the norm and I have seen where people register to vote so that when the election comes, they are ready to receive money from a candidate. 
DR: About corruption.  A lot of Filipinos like to have good relations and as what I understand about corruption here, it’s people giving favors to each other. One gives favors in exchange for favors. Even if it’s money that’s on the table, it’s still favor. Understand though that the longer the people sell their votes or cheat with their taxes for example, the longer the process is abused and it will all contribute to the collapse of the society.

… Daniel then draws another diagram called the Bourdieu - Grønhaug Model.
PLEASE CLICK ON ILLUSTRATION FOR BETTER VIEWING:

DR: In this model, we see the very rich people with the famous family names, politicians and the financial people on top, over here (at the bottom) are the poor or working class and the middle class, there is a divide between these groups of people. The ones on top mingle with each other and the ones on the bottom do that as well. The people at the top will not mix with the ones on the bottom unless maybe in church or through NGOs and when there's something that happens like big disasters, a good example is when I big company will do charitable work.
LL: Can a poor person or working class person go up the chain or cross over within the classes?
DR: Yes they can.
LL: But this is aberrant. 
DR: Yes, it's not the norm. 
LL: At that, really there are still classifications, the old rich will not accept the nouveau riche as their own. 
DR: Correct. 
LL:  Will this society last in this dynamic?
DR: It will for a short time, but as the gap grows bigger, it will eventually collapse.
LL: Wow, we haven't talked about the level of materialism here, our brand-name-worship. I know of some people who go in debt just to buy these brand name bags or shoes. Personally, I think it's a façade. 
DR: You are right, it's a façade, it's also a way to get "love."
LL: Love? How? 
DR: They think that by getting prestige (through these expensive things), they get power and people would love them more. They do what's called as strategic chores on to the society, then the society gives them feedback. See, prestige or pride with one's possessions is nothing if nobody sees it.
LL: That's sad.
DR: It may be a warped way to get love, but it's still "love."  The Filipino's agenda includes minimizing risks, maximizing profits and happiness in relations. by trying to please their family through money or doing things for them, they minimize risk even if it will cost them or it may even become abusive. In this aspect they maintain happiness in relations. They also like to maximize profits, an example is when they do favors for many people, these people in return are indebted to them and when the day comes when they are in trouble, they have a lot of areas to go to for resources. They are doing this for that one "big day." In this culture though, it works when there is big trouble, such as a big disaster like Yolanda. You have the culture for it. If something of this magnitude happened in Norway, I don't think we will have the culture for it. 
LL: Wow. I am astounded by these things because I really can see it for myself! 

At this point I see that I could speak to Daniel for days and he would have an adept representation of our ethos and he would be correct for it. Mind you, he does not postulate that all of his findings are gospel, merely scientific observations and there are individuals who are exceptions to the rule. I see this too, a lot of us do have the heart and the selflessness to extend ourselves outside of our social strata. 

If I had the means, I would commission Daniel to do talks all around the different areas of our community if only for educational purposes. I believe that if all of us can identify the areas by which we could be better then we might just be keyed up to pay attention and make changes. A part of me has hope for us yet a bigger part of me feels that this is a pipe dream.

LL: Well, I certainly learned so much by just interviewing you Daniel. And since I see that this interview has gone on to another direction, I am already happy with what you’ve imparted. I mustn't waste your time any further, you have so much to do. Just to end on a lighter note, wanna play one-word-answer questions?
DR: OK. *smiles. 
Moon or Sun?   Sun
Monochrome or Colored?   Colored
Iceland or Australia?  Iceland because I know the landscape.
Fútbol or Football?  Futbal
Coffee or Tea?  Coffee
Eagle or Dolphin?  Dolphin. 

The following day I learned that Daniel has also been consulted by other organizations to assist in the evaluation process of programs that have been implemented all over Leyte. This is not a surprise of course. It appears that this man is a windfall of knowledge and I am happy to have been a recipient of it.

 * Drawings were done by the blogger based on Daniel's illustrations of the models. 

Living Leyte People Features: Jayson Alexander Carr, All Hands Volunteer

Jayson Alexander Carr
AGE: 22
Originally from: California, USA
Position held prior to coming over to the Phillipines: Graduated in May of 2015, worked under a government contractor company cleaning up after the Avian Flu epidemic in the US for USDA.
 
One would need to do a double take on Californian Jayson Alexander Carr because he could very easily pass for Liam Helmsworth with a beard right? But make no mistake, this gentleman is worth his weight in California gold because of his big heart. Jason volunteered here in the Philippines because to put it in his own words, he wasn’t happy not doing anything at home in a humanitarian sense. This is his interview. 

LL: Can you describe the place and vibe where you come from?
JAC: I come from Orange City, California, a suburb, I live in a track home or a cookie cutter home where everything looks the same, it’s a  small, safe and nice little bubble of a neighborhood. 

LL: What was your major in college?
JAC: I majored in psychology.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
JAC: I was the intermediary between contractors and the government, we were in place to make sure there was no over charging of equipment and services. Life was great, my parents provided for everything, I had a private catholic education. I had plenty of opportunities to take. Living in Southern California, the weather is amazing, there’s the ocean, it has a relax feel.

LL: What's your impression of our place?
JAC: I was in Manila first, then when I came to Tacloban, there was this welcoming party of the porters who would clap (a rhyme) and bid us welcome. When I arrived, the sun was just rising, the fishermen were already out to sea. It was a great welcome. I find that the shops are distinguishable, the sari-sari shops, it’s redundant but it makes sense. I’d never seen the living conditions I have seen here, I visited in the coastal towns and to see so much trash… I saw toilets that are on the beach with kids just playing underneath it. It doesn’t make sense to me why there’s poop where you play. I also saw these signs on some barangays which said, “this is a public feces-free barangay,” I didn’t understand why the sign was even there. The way I see it, you start with a clean bedroom, your begin and end the day somewhere clean, then you extend this to your entire house, then your neighborhood, then your community.

LL: How can we improve our place and as a people in general?
JAC: Knowledge on cleaning up trash.

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
JAC: I heard about All Hands from a friend who went to Nepal, also a big reason was that I never traveled, and I think when you travel and make a home in a place, it would involve you in making a place better. Also, I am a huge follower of humanitarian efforts. Personally, I wasn’t happy, I was only sitting at home.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
JAC: It has definitely helped me because it has actualized an idea I had with traveling. I didn’t know what I could do with my own hands. Regarding NGOs, you get ideas about how to do work and coming into All Hands, it’s different because you are doing labor, though I was expecting more locally sourced help, I didn’t realize the projects would take the whole day for the team.

LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?
JAC: I’m an advocate. I spread the knowledge that way.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious upheavals between countries an ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
JAC: Yes, I feel it in myself, everyday when I can control myself. Then I know that someone else can control their own selves. For me, there’s empathy out there, every human has the same biological grain and if i can do it, it’s possible for someone on the opposite end to do it too, if there’s a little hope than theres hope for the general sense. If you can do it in your way then anybody can do it.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
JAC: The refugee crises in Syria through Europe.

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
JAC: Reading and writing, I like essays, I write from the stream of consciousness because that’s what people are, that’s why I studied psychology.
LL: What have you written?
JAC: Letters to people, essays from my own stream of consciousness.

LL: What’s next for you?
I have a flight booked to Vietnam and I will go to the Northern province to teach English in Hagiang (pronounced Hazhing), then I will go back home to pay my student loans and I want to help in the Syrian refugee crises.

LL: Wanna play one-word-answer questions and Bonus Q?
JAC: OK.
Moon or Sun?   Moon
Monochrome or Colored?   Colored
Iceland or Australia?  Australia
Fútbol or Football?  Soccer
Coffee or Tea?  Coffee
Eagle or Dolphin?  Eagle

Bonus Q: If you were given the power to spend 2 hours with someone who has passed on, who would it be and why?
JAC: Earnest Hemingway, I just want to know how did it, how he get there, what made him write what he wrote. I’m not even sure if I can say anything, it will be more like he will be the one who would talk and I listen. 
LL: Good choice.

As we conclude the interview, we wish Jayson all the best in the world and all his endeavors. What a fortuitous circumstance that we first got to know him while he was extending himself to us in such a selfless way. 

Jason, from all of us, Thank you very much!

Living Leyte People Features: Jaime Martín Grau, Hardworking Volunteer from Spain

Jaime Martín Grau
Age: 24

From: Barcelona, Spain
Currently going to a university in Denmark where he is majoring in Architecture/Engineering and Law

I met Jaime in a coffee shop where he would hang out in between his volunteer work. I found him to be warm and affable. Very engaging not just in conversation but also with life. It was inspiring to see a young man be very committed with helping people he’s never met and are not familiar with. All these were palpable throughout the interview.

LL: How did you start off with volunteering?
JMG: I did volunteer work at home with the homeless, the elderly and people without families but that was when I was very young, then I wanted to do something else.  At University, I became a member of an architect NGO made up of students but we were not able to do a lot and we didn’t have tools;  I also wanted to do volunteer that had to do with my home in Spain and I wanted to help in the poor countries. In Barcelona, I was working in a “Comidor Socíal” a kitchen not necessarily for homeless people but also for people who were down and out; you could see that some of those people just fell on hard times, they were embarrassed to be there.  Also with my grandmother, she had Alzheimer’s disease, she was in a home for old people, we got involved easily, me and my sisters, it came naturally for us. We took our grandmother home to live with us and we when we saw that there were other elderly people in the care home who didn’t have families that could take care of them the way we did our grandma, we helped in the old people’s home. 

LL: What made you decide to volunteer in our place?
JMG: In April, during the earthquake in Nepal, I wanted to go there but I couldn’t  because there were already a lot of volunteers helping, so  I asked my university  some time off to do volunteer work, but after internet research I couldn’t find an outfit with which to volunteer. I needed to go somewhere, so I went to visit Cuba for the break that I had, I also visited Central America. I researched about Latin and South America but I couldn’t find any for which to volunteer, I didn’t know where to go.   I did more research in the internet, then I remembered Yolanda (Haiyan), the typhoon in the Philippines, the faces of the people, it came to my mind and I found "All Hands” (NGO) and I saw that they were doing the rebuilding phase;  All Hands has been here for 2 years already and there were projects for  building  houses, many volunteer outfits were here only for the emergency phase, but All Hands has been here for the rebuilding.  I also wanted to continue with the human experience.  I was disillusioned in a way with plainly doing architecture because I didn’t just want to work in an office.

LL: How would your field of work connect with doing good in the world?
JMG: I really believe that architecture will improve the people’s living condition. These points are connected, people need to live in a place that is healthy for them, they have to be careful with that and they need to live in a place that is comfortable  and they should have dignity with their home; it has to have proper conditions that they can live as a human, not as an animal. When I saw this in Tacloban, it was a match for me, it had the need for rebuilding as well as an element of humanity.

LL: How was your volunteer work for Samar and Leyte? How did you find the people?
JMG: I think people are doing good. In my goodbye speech for All Hands when my time to volunteer was up. The biggest thanks that I have is for the people I’ve met. There is really something about this word “resilience” here in the Philippines. People have been through so much but they carry on, they continue.  During the 2nd anniversary, there was this candle lighting, I saw people who were sad but I also saw people who were positive, they gave candles for the dead. I saw this old lady, who wanted to talk to me, she was happy. I asked her why she was happy? She said "the bad things are gone now, the city is even looking better, there were many people who helped and it was good." I think the people are positive and want to move on. This is also connected with my own life personally. One of the mottos of All Hands is "rebuilding lives", not just homes. It made me admire the positivity of the people, they are thankful with what we do for them. Sometimes people don’t understand that being a volunteer, one does not earn while volunteering. But they are thankful.

LL: Has your experience here given you more desire to volunteer?
JMG: Of course, because volunteering makes you learn many things. How to work with the city, with different people, different cultures. I have seen nature destroy but I also have seen how people can rebuild. And I learned many things. I will volunteer again.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, there are political and religious upheavals between countries, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
JMG: Thanks to the social media and the internet there is more information within the people, so that the population are more able to criticize their own governments, they are able to say “ you don’t represent us” to the leaders of their country. The panorama right now for the world is bad but there will be pressure from all over the world. Syria for example, the government was using the lack of education of people; they should be more proactive though, especially the rich countries. They should be more involved. In connection with this when the time comes, I want to help rebuild Syria, just because the conflict is manmade, doesn’t mean we should not help. When I am talking about hope I am not being unrealistic, don’t just say "everything is sh—" ; you need to face the truth and do something about it. I have been lucky with travel, I have been in 55 countries in my 24 years. I have seen many things, poverty, disasters, dictators, I don’t trust the media on how they influence us. The best education is to see it with our own eyes. Example Iran, it was surprising , we have a bad perception about Iran but in terms of the people, they are the most amazing people you will ever meet - The Persian people. How cynical we are, but when you travel you are able to understand. I really have hope in young people because they are saying a lot now. Social media helps them to express that. It’s still far in terms of connection but with the leadership, it’s about the power struggle, the youth is now saying to their governments “You don’t represent me, this is not the government/country that we want.”

LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?:
JMG: Advocate. I am not militaristic.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one disaster or conflict going on in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
JMG: I would show the reality of the the guns, I would show them that the people who are behind guns are people, like co-workers. I would build more schools instead of guns.

LL: Do you still find time for your personal life after all the travels and volunteering?
JMG: Yes, yes i do.

LL: What’s next for you? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
JMG: I am also studying law, I don’t want to be a lawyer for the sake of being one, but it (law) is important for everything. I am interested in human rights, people’s lives, if I make good with engineering and architecture then I also want to help improve people’s human rights, to improve dignity.  In university, I had this paper about helping the slums in India, in terms of architectural and things that will improve lives.

Jaime did volunteer work in Leyte and Samar for 3 months, he helped build and rebuild homes in Leyte and helped rebuild  schools in Hernani, Samar. After his work in the Philippines, he will take a break and go back to the university to finish his studies in Denmark.

From all of us, thank you Jaime.

Living Leyte People Features: Sian Mackey aka The Duchess

NAME: Sian Mackey
AGE: 30
Originally from: Brighton, UK
Position held prior to doing volunteer work: Traveler

Sian, is at times called “The Duchess”, and because of her larger than life presence, we’ll call her that. The Duchess has a constant smile on her face and that joie de vivre that we only wish we have for ourselves. I bet, everyone wants to be her friend and us Taclobanons are most grateful for her advocacy and her efforts for gracing us with her hard work and efforts in helping to rebuild our community.

LL: Sian, (pronounced ‘Sean') you have an unusual name, where does it come from?
SM: It’s Welsh.
LL: And your last name?
SM: It’s Scottish.
LL: Those two heritage of yours are pretty strong.
SM: Yeah, yes they are!

LL: Can you describe where you come from?
SM: I come from Brighton, it's like London by the sea, it’s young, vibrant, lots of clubs, bars.  It’s a fun place to be. There’s no place I’d rather live in England.

LL: What was your life like before you came?
SM: I’ve been traveling for 2 years now, I worked in farms in Australia, a banana farm, worked in a cattle station and in a farm for beans where I washed the green beans.

LL: So, what’s your impression of our place?
SM: I love Tacloban, I love the Philippines, people are friendly and loving all the time, I feel like I’m Lady Gaga (laughs), because there’s not a lot of white people here. After the horrible disaster, people are still very happy, they have managed to build up. 

LL: What pivotal moment made you choose to become a volunteer/aid worker?
SM: I’ve volunteered for charities in the past in England. Helping out elderly people, there is a program there where they pair you with old people who cannot go out and you spend time with them. I have this older woman I visited and we have become best friends she’s so lovely I’d sit and talk to her, she would love it. I’ve been away for 2 years now so I e-mail her and her son reads the letters to her. A friend of mine introduced me to All Hands and that’s how I got to volunteer.

LL: Has your experiences here affected or changed you as a person? And do you think that your experience here will be useful for you in the future?
SM: In the western world we are just all consumers and we  waste too much,  we don’t need all the things that we have, yet, people here don’t even have a bathroom or a bed, but are still happy. The kids play this game where they hit cans with their flip flops and they are more happy.  Kids in the west have things like iPhones, video games and so on.

LL: I am happy that we have that impression on foreigners, and since nobody is perfect, what are the ways you think we can improve? I myself realize that a lot of garbage is thrown all over the place.
SM: Yeah, there are trash all around. 
 
LL: Are you an activist or an advocate?
SM: Activist, yeah.

LL: Given all that has happened in the world, the news we see, the political and religious wars between countries, ideologies, there’s terrorism and the natural disasters which we cannot control. Do you feel there is hope for the future of our planet?
SM: Yeah! we always come back, I mean look at this place, this is an example.

LL: Given an opportunity to resolve one global issue or conflict happening in the world right now,  which one would you take a gander at?
SM: Terrorism, it’s a big problem. I mean why would you kill?

LL: Apart from volunteer work or being an aid worker, what’s the next best thing that makes you eloquent or effusive with words?
SM: Fiction stories mainly, I write fiction stories, mostly about dreams. I write a journal at times, my dreams give me ideas for things to write.

LL: What’s next for you?
SM: I will keep traveling, I am going to Hong Kong, and  I want to go back to Australia. I also want to help with all Hands in Detroit (Michigan), there has been bad flooding there. Next year I plan to live in Germany.

LL: I have a few one-word-answer questions I want to ask you, you must choose one answer from the choices and you are not allowed to explain why. Shall we have a go at it?

SM: Yeah!

FEMALE:
Moon or Sun?  Sun
Monochrome or Colored?   Colored
Flats or Heels?   Flats
London, New York or Paris?  London
Beach or Shopping?  Beach
Coffee or Tea?   Dahling, I drink nothing but tea!
Eagle or Dolphin?  Dolphin

Obviously, The Duchess is the quintessential modern English girl, she has claimed royalty, awesome hair, loves tea and has a free spirit. As Sian heads to her succeeding adventure beginning tomorrow, we are thankful for all that she has done for us, we are touched by that exuberant life that emanates from her. I can also see that her life may be more interesting than so many of the fiction books we read.

Sian, from all of us, thank you.