Friday, November 15, 2013

Outpouring love and compassion

DE-2151770, Sender: Uwe
Sent: 5 May 2013 from Speyer, Germany
Received: 23 May 2013, Traveled 10,337 km in 18 days

I am a bit lost as to where to start for this post... I've been extremely busy since last weekend. I'm not feeling well. Last night that the gravity of the tragedy brought by Typhoon Haiyan is sinking in hard to me... Some noticed I'm zoning out the past few days; I'm frustrated I can't really do much more to help because of professional responsibilities.

The good part is that the outpouring love and compassion from many parts of the world is overwhelming, too. I consider myself lucky that I'm able to witness in grand scale, such admirable characters of the human spirit. In my personal experience, I'm grateful for all those friends I've made through blogging and postcard swapping who expressed their warm thoughts and concern over what happened. It's also a beautiful surprise that some random postcrossers sent messages to check if I'm 'ok'. 

Except for the physical and emotional toll of the events lately, I'm 'ok' here in Manila. My family in the province were affected. The damage on our part is insignificant though, compared to the damages in provinces of Samar, Leyte, and Palawan. Chills run down my spine every time I hear news of the situation there. Yet again, I get re-assurance that things will get better because the whole world is helping.

On a different note, for those who are constant readers of my blog: I'm happy to share that by Saturday morning last weekend, the typhoon was past Manila. We're able to push through with the second part of our celebration of the International Day of Medical Physics. The sky was still gloomy but I was impressed with the number of attendees. The discussions were very informative. All in all, it was worth the effort on our side, the organizers!


On Sunday, I was finally able to take the board certification exam for my sub-specialty. I'm really anxious for the result now. From Monday to yesterday, the Philippines hosted the consultancy/ assessment meeting on the implementation of the clinical residency training programs of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was such an honor to brush elbows with some of the best individuals in my field coming from different organizations.


I got several unattended tasks because of these recent activities so I gotta run for now. I'm sharing this for blog hops of sisters Clytie and Beth -- thank you so much to both of you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers, and asking about my situation after the typhoon. My sincere apologies if I made both of you worried due to my lack of posts.

Happy (belated) Guest Heart Thursday and Postcard Friendship Friday! Wishing all of you a nice and quiet weekend!

~maria

4 comments:

  1. Oh sweetie, I am so glad to hear from you! I had heard the typhoon didn't hit as hard in your area as in others, but I know the emotional aftermath is still severe. You and your beautiful country and its people are continually in my thoughts and prayers.

    I hope the results from your tests are favorable!

    Love and Peace to you today, dear friend!

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  2. Hello, darling girl--I've been so worried for you. I'm so glad you are alright. ((hugs)) lol You are such a dear. Our prayers and warm thoughts are with you and those you love. ((hugs)) Be sure to let us know the results of the board certification exam!!! We are all so excited for you.

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  3. I'm going to write again, just because I'm so happy to hear you are alright--and that your family is okay, too. ((hugs)) You are such a bright light, my dear.

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  4. This must have been a nightmare for you all. The Philippines was at the front pages of all the newspapers here in Holland and the pictures were really shocking and making us sad. The losses must be terrible, but I hope your country can recover of this drama soon. Love and support from Amsterdam!

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