London Needs To Step Up Its Game

24 hours after leaving my house I finally arrive in the Philippines!

For my first day I spent the afternoon at the local school where there is an antenatal checkup. This was a fairly standard clinic where women would be weighed and have their blood pressure, heart rate and temperature taken. As I’m not trained in anything, I’m expecting most of my time here in the Philippines to be observatory which is perfect for me – just watching and taking it all in is an incredible experience in itself so at this clinic I just wrote down what the midwife told me! The women’s bellies were then measured and we were able to hear the babies’ heartbeats using a monitor which was amazing. Some of the women had to do extra tests, such as urine and blood tests – one woman’s blood was put in a centrifuge which I recognised from my A-Level Biology (maybe it wasn’t such a waste of time after all) and recognising it made me feel smart!!

Although the school was local, myself and the midwife I was with had to get public transport which was an adventure in itself! We got a tricycle which is completely different to an English tricycle – it’s a motorbike with a side car with a roof attached!

This roof came in useful when believe it or not it started to rain… It amazes me just how confident everyone is on the roads; if you don’t have this confidence I can imagine you’d never get anywhere on time if you’re always waiting for a comfortable gap! You’re also able to fit 4 to 5 people on one tricycle and it’s fun to ride around in this little car or sat on the back of motorbike and is a brilliant method of public transport, and is so cheap. Only cost me the equivalent of £1 for a return journey; London needs to step up its game.

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