Lately, I’ve been writing about life in general, my reflections, my musings, so I thought of adding another entry to the FSO topic.

What goes on at work?

Definitely, it’s not your typical 8-5 job, especially in a dynamic office such as ours, the DFA – Office of Cultural Diplomacy.

Allow me to share with you a glimpse of my FSO life in a span of two (2) weeks:

Monday (Sept. 31) – (AM) Meeting with the Bids and Awards Committee about a major cultural project; (Afternoon) Attendance in the Creative Nation Summit as part of the Philippine Creative Industries Celebration (PCIM)

I presented the Terms of Reference of our project to a group of about 15 people, answered some questions, and noted the significant dates.

Tuesday (October 1) – (AM) Attendance in the Creative Nation Summit until lunchtime; (PM) Venue arrangement and technical dry run for our cultural event next day

Wednesday (October 2)– (AM) Final check of the venue, guests, caterers, registration table & sheets, final coordination with the tech/protocol/documentation/program teams; Opening of the Bazaar as part of the Heritage Talks event; (Afternoon) Heritage Talks on Itneg Texture, Design and Meaning; ensuring that the venue is back to its original state

Photo credits: DFA-OPD Royce Vann Paul Pantua and OPD Intern Patricia Buhay

The focal team for this activity was the Cultural Resources Division of DFA -OCD composed of three (3) pretty ladies, including me. Haha! We were finally able to “breathe” after the event was finished and took photos with our resource speaker, Dr. Norma Respicio, one of the country’s leading Art Studies scholars.

Thursday (October 3) – (AM 7:30-8:30AM) Meeting with batch mates, desk work; (Afternoon) Attendance to an Exhibit in UST

Photo credits (of photos with batchmates): Ms. Aprilfleur Galima-Mejia

The photo exhibit in the University of Sto. Thomas featured the ancient road system Qhapaq Ñan as part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between Peru and the Philippines. I was mesmerized by the photos and had the realization that there are ways by which human development/progress can be achieved successfully without tampering adversely on the natural terrain. I also had the pleasure of meeting for the first time Peru’s ambassador to the Philippines, Cecilia Bazàn, a very charming, intelligent, and enthusiastic lady.

Photo credits: Ms. Berlyn Louise T. Dayacap

Friday (October 4) – (AM) Desk work; (PM) Attendance to an Exhibit in Taguig where I had the pleasure of meeting Filipino artists Danny Rayos de Sol (Galerie du Soleil owner) and Elmer Nocheseda (whose drawings are exhibited; he also authored several amazing books on Philippine art and culture).

Monday (7 Oct.) – (AM-PM) Desk work

Tuesday (8 Oct.) – (AM) Meeting on Targets, Budget and Procurement; (Afternoon) Desk Work;(Evening – personal) Wake in General Trias Cavite 😦

Wednesday (9 Oct.) – (8:30 A.M.) Meeting with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA); (Afternoon) Desk work

We discussed several areas of collaboration and clarified matters on current projects.

Thursday (10 Oct.) – (AM-PM) Work from Home: Draft Communications; Phone coordination with our event partner for the Pasay City Food and Heritage Walk next week; (Late evening until 1a.m. -personal) A quick getaway to Angono, Rizal.

The sudden decision to go, the long drive with beautiful music, the night view of the city, the toasted almond coffee, and the bonding with family members made for a lovely, unforgettable escape.

Friday (11 Oct.) – (AM) Draft Communications; (Afternoon) Visit to ManilArt 2024 in SM Aura Taguig, then back to the Office to finish some more work.

This presentation is a summary. There are tiny details which are not included. Amidst all these events, there were reports to finish, presentations to submit, emails to respond to, issues to address, speaking engagements to prepare for, cultural events to schedule. But the DFA-OCD team is amazing and I love being part of our Office and the work we do for the country. We also welcomed a new Officer as part of the Office.

The day after, Oct. 12, was a Saturday. I still did a bit of work in the morning. Then attended my Toastmasters Meeting in the afternoon (and the post-Toasties at night). I was quite tired; added to that, there was some sort of traffic situation along Roxas Boulevard, which changed a supposedly calm 1-hr commute to an adventurous afternoon, with a long walk, heavy rains, etc. But I had to come. I wanted to support our club’s (UP Manila Toastmasters Club) Open house, meet our guests, and meet our keynote speaker, the 1991 World Champion in Public Speaking, Mr. Dave Ross.

Photo credits: Toastmaster Jonathan P. Miclat

I included the few personal events that I was able to squeeze in in my schedule (Wake, Rizal Adventure, Toastmasters). This also includes (but not anymore included in the narrative & photos) a chapter each of three (3) different books, which I’m reading alternately, 2 episodes of a Netflix series, and a picnic in Tagaytay’s Picnic Grove with my family the Sunday before this busy two (2) weeks. We also brought 7 pets to PAWS for neutering and spaying; 2 pets for medical treatment; and 1 cat named Chili, one of our rescues, for surgery, because of her inflamed gums and cavities.

What are your thoughts about the work sched? Do you think that the foreign service life would be fun and fulfilling for you?

If yes, I encourage you to join the Foreign Service. 🙂

If it does not yet seem appealing for you at the moment, still, I invite you to consider taking the Foreign Service Exam and be part of the Philippine Foreign Service in the future. 😉

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Author’s Notes:

Behind the scenes:

This is not to dampen the spirit and enthusiasm of the entry, but I had to grapple with some emotions within this same period.

Not even completely over from the death of a colleague, I learned about the demise of Mang Danny, one of my work colleagues at the Philippine Embassy in Paris, the night before our Itneg event, on my way home from work. I had to control myself so as not to be affected, only grieving about him in the building’s chapel, a week after.

Mang Danny who calls me Ne, with his chinky eyes, his laughter echoing in the pantry as he recalled some funny stories, complete with antics, including the time that he was “forced” to swim across a river because he had to escape from a bolo-wielding man. Mang Danny is I think in his 70s, but he remained active, his stride purposeful, with a ready smile on his face. We had plans to meet. He told me about his apartment business, about his address. But things got in the way and we never met since our Paris stint, except for a brief surprise meet-up at the Department’s hallway.

Prior to that, it was the aunt of a family friend, only in her early 30s; then our neighbor in Albay, one of our kumpares; then my elementary teacher’s son because of a motorcycle accident; then my brother-in-law’s dad. It was just too many in a span of 10 days.

Also, I am navigating an emotion that I hope would not grow. It is simply complicated and I don’t need that right now.