Part of a series of posts from Bachelor of Commerce student blogger, Danny Hertz, written during a Loran Scholarship outreach project in the Philippines.

While the Philippines does not have anything close to a Canadian winter, I would have to disagree with the experts who say that it does not have a “harsh climate”. The remarkable heat and humidity has given way to the rainy season, and with the rainy season comes typhoons. After joking with my co-workers for the past month that I wanted to experience one while I was in the country, my wish was granted. Typhoon Conson struck the city in a big way last Tuesday night, and it was indeed quite an experience. Winds as strong as 120 km/h came through the area and the rain seemed to be quite relentless. The combination of the two knocked out the power for 3/4 of the nation and claimed the lives of 72 people. Apparently the 3rd floor hostel that I’m living in was just the right size, and was too high to be flooded while too short to be damaged by the wind. Additionally, the bugs in the building must have realized that this was the safest floor to be on as I found a cockroach in my shower the next morning! The locals seemed much less concerned about the weather than I was, and said typhoons hit the country on average once every two weeks. While it certainly was interesting to hear and see the winds and the rains last week, I’ve now crossed it off my bucket list and am hoping to be out of the country before the next one comes along…