Fieldwork Experiences in Different Municipalities of Northern Mindanao

My first and second job is the same—a research project under the data processing team. The first project was a 5-year project, which I happened to be hired the last year. The second one was a 2-year project focusing only on the different regions of Mindanao.

However, the travels I had on the first project were full of the conference and a side trip. For the second job, I only had a conference once, right before the project ended. Although, I was able to travel to different municipalities of Northern Mindanao because of fieldwork.

As mentioned, I was under the Data Processing Tea. However, our team was pulled out from the office work to help the field survey team; although the major fieldwork was done by the FST.

In this case, I was able to experience working in a field. The funny thing that happened was, they paired me to our head chief. Hahahuhu. Luckily, Sir D was cool. He would even tell me to take a pose, and he can take a picture of me.
We were sent out to week-long fieldwork twice. Expenses were all paid by the project and the LGU. After the exhausting week, we were able to roam around the municipality and visit resorts and the food market.

This is part two of my travel experiences as a researcher. For the first job, you can read my previous article: Places I’ve Been to on My First Job.

Here are the places I've been to during my fieldwork experience:

KAUSWAGAN

Okay, I shouldn't include this one since it is where my hometown is located. But, it's my first fieldwork experience. The main reason why I was paired with our chief is I live in the area. It was two-day fieldwork, but after three weeks, we were sent back again to gather more data. I was able to go to the places in my hometown that I feel like I haven't gone to.

Before heading to our designated location, we had our courtesy call to the Municipal Hall, and then off we go. Since I was assigned to my hometown, it was awkward for me. There was a time Sir D asked me where the pin is located, and I just answered, let's ask someone, sir. And that someone is my mother.

After that, we headed to the Municipal Hall and then went to the longest boardwalk in the region. We walked for at least 5 mins from the Municipal Hall and then stayed on the boardwalk end for an hour. We watched the beautiful sunset and felt the sea breeze touching our faces. It was a long and tiring 2-day fieldwork, and we all deserved that kind of relaxation.

ALORAN

The municipality of Aloran, Misamis Occidental was the second place we went to. We traveled early in the morning since we need to catch the first trip of Ozamis barge, for a faster route. We arrived in Aloran after more than 3 hours of butt-cracking travel. The company rented a van, super spacious, by the way. We had a stop-over in Ozamis for our breakfast, enjoyed the aesthetic view of trees in Clarin. Lastly, we stopped in Oroquieta and enjoyed the park's sea view.

It's a municipality, so we didn't expect to sleep in a resort or a fancy hotel. We stayed in one of the buildings of the elementary school near the Municipal Hall. I can sleep everywhere, so it's not a big deal to me.

After dropping our things, we had a courtesy call, and every team was accompanied by an LGU or someone who's known in the area to guide us.

My first Aloran fieldwork was for keeps. Some points in our map and GPS were located near a river, mini falls, and irrigation. The orchestra of nature was the best part. It was lovely to hear it while walking under the scorching heat of the sun or the shade of towering trees.

While my second one was still fun but more exhausting. Not all of us were sent back to the field because some were chosen to handle training. I was up for new fieldwork because of the allowances. This time around, I was paired with Argine, and we were not accompanied by someone. We had to walk for the whole day - from the main road, barangay road, and even the rice fields.

I even fell because I lose my balance. Thankfully, I secured the GPS and my phone. When we were near our destination, I buried half of my left leg to I-don't-know-what-is-the-name-of-it. Argine was laughing so hard and took a video of it. Someone helped me, and then I was able to cross. It was fun!

In both fieldwork, we ended our day with good food from their food hub. The design was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, and the food was cheap and delicious.

CALAMBA

After the two-day fieldwork in Aloran, we headed straight to Calamba, Misamis Occidental. We only had an hour to rest while on travel. After that, we had a courtesy call again to the municipal hall before 5:00 PM.

We stayed in Sa Bai Bed And Breakfast Hotel for the remaining days of our work. We still have Lopez Jaena and Plaridel. I was roomed with two of the other girls, Argine and Rachel since we're only three in this fieldwork. We decided to have a rest first before having our dinner.

The next day, before we started our fieldwork, we all had gone to Plaridel for the courtesy call. Then the designated team for the municipality started already. From Plaridel to Lopez Jaena, it was half an hour travel time. Since Sir D was the head chief of the project, he needed to be present in the courtesy call before the Lopez Jaena team can start. After that, we went back to Calamba and started working.

It was two-day fieldwork. It was the last municipality and yet my body had started to feel the exhaustion. Walking in the summertime for the whole day was not a good time, but we had to. We didn't walk for the whole day, but the majority were walking.

But even when my legs were about to give up, I was always serenaded by the sound of nature. True enough, nature is the best remedy for exhaustion. We also crossed in a hanging bridge, not sure if it was Toril or Solinog bridge.

PLARIDEL

After week-long fieldwork from different municipalities, the Plaridel LGU offered us to have a staycation in a resort. It was a tempting offer, but Sir D and the DPT supervisor declined the offer since the data need to be simulated. The project was about to end. We were aiming to finish the deliverables weeks or days before the project ends. Else, we will be working without pay.

Since it was still around 3:00 PM when we wrapped things up, we decided to go to Baliangao. The first destination was an old port with a view of mangroves. It was just a quick site-viewing, then we headed to Bless Amore Sunrise Resort. We watched the sunset and stayed there until 7 PM. I decided not to swim because my leg muscles were exhausted from the walking.

When we arrived at the hotel, the girls and the boys decided to have a drink session. It was a mini celebration for a job well done. Though, we girls decided to stay in the room. Even though I liked the idea of drinking outside the room, I didn't want the idea of dragging the two girls one by one into our room.

The next day, we went to Shang's Resort and had a quick dip in their pool. We planned to depart after lunch, so we went early in the morning to enjoy some swimming sessions.

At night, before we call it a day, we need to save and partially simulate the data we gathered.

What we did is just a small fraction of the field team's work, and yet I was already exhausted for a week. I was wearing my thick LiDAR jacket under the scorching heat of the sun, and my sweat was dripping nonstop.

Even so, we were pampered with good food that I ended up devouring much to compensate for the energy I spent for the whole day.

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