I can't believe it's been a month since I landed in The Philippines! What a crazy whirlwind adventure it's been (no, not a typhoon pun) and I'm finally in a place with good enough Internet that I can write a blog post!
So let's begin.
Too much has happened to expound too terribly much on any one thing, so here's the Cliff'sNotes version (with pictures!) I'll do one week/chunk of my experience at a time so far over the next couple of weeks and then I'll be caught up on the past and ready to move on to the present and beyond!
Before I get to that though, I will say, broadly, that my expectations of what I was getting into now seem like a distant memory in the face of the reality of my life here (told you so, self) and if you'd like to talk more about that, then feel free to Facebook message, What'sApp (+63 09055514155), Skype (AtxEric86) or email me because it would take much, much too long to go into here. For the general reader though - it's been in a good way, just in a different way.
Pictured: Different
"Week" (5 days) 1 - Manila/Baguio/Atok
Steamed missionaries: WOW it is hot in this place! Well, hot I'm used to, but it is more humid here than anywhere I've ever been. It was immediate and overwhelming.
The good ole' 4-lane 2-lane road: I read somewhere that in Manila, every single drop of paint marking the lanes on the roads is utterly wasted. They were not incorrect. Even on the first night and all the way up through our return to the airport, I was perpetually stunned not only at the level of traffic, but at how little attention was paid to anything resembling driving rules. Chalk it up to culture shock, I guess.
From the ECP (Episcopal Church in the Philippines) Compound
Green Living: There are tons of trees and bushes and all other forms of assorted flora in Manila. Even for such a massive and crowded city, it's still very green. (I mean, it *is* a tropical island, so...)
Cock-a-doodle-DO YOU MIND?!: Early starts are totally a thing here in The Philippines. Part of it is that the latest that the sun ever sets here is 6:30 pm and for my time here, it's been setting at 5:30 pm and rising again at 5:30 am. What I at first assumed to be jet-lag induced early-rising has become a permanent state of existence. Also, there are roosters EVERYWHERE. And according to Attorney Floyd, the National Development Officer of the Philippines, they used to have at least a few hours where they would keep quiet (also a time for sacred rituals), but because of climate change or some other invisible force, that is no longer the case.
I see what you did there....
ECP Compound Kitties
Flexibility is our motto here at YASC: So I finally figured out the first night that what I had been told my placement would be was not entirely accurate, and that I would actually be in Bontoc, Mountain Province in work similar to what I thought, but still different. More to come on that.
Nom nom nom: You think you know movie snacks? At the mall near the compound, not only could you take in any snack or drink you wanted (and the theater remained remarkably clean despite that fact) but they had restaurants right next to the entrance where you could buy chips, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, popcorn, even fish 'n chips - and that's only at one restaurant. Just delightful.
Chinese cake display outside of one of the department stores
Buffets: Totally thought that buffets were an American thing only. Turns out, nope. We actually went to two within our first few days. The second time we went, the place we initially went to had a wedding going on inside. You would think that since we were with the Prime Bishop of The Philippines, that we'd be able to jump right in! No such luck.
Did I mention some things are different?
Speaking of early starts: The best time to get out of Manila is around 4-5 am. No traffic! God be praised! So that's exactly what we did. Out the NLEX (Northern Luzon Expressway) and out to visit the E-Care (Episcopal Community Action for Renewal and Empowerment - waaaaay more on that later) Store and Marketing Center in Atok outside of Baguio City. It wasn't quite where it needed to be for the soft opening that was planned, but it was looking good. Too bad the view outside was obscured by clouds. To follow the present and future exploits of that center and the work E-CARE will be up to there, check out my cohort Catherine's blog at http://ccbelous.blogspot.com/
E-CARE Marketing Center and Coffee House (well, a small part of it anyway)
Up the hill a bit from the center. Basketball is enormously popular here. As evidenced by the fact that this old basketball goal is the only thing in this field.
Travel time: We dropped off Rebecca (doing the UK version of YASC) in Baguio and then when we got back to Manila, Andrew and Carlin went ahead to Korea leaving Catherine, Tristan and I to roam freely about the city. So we went to the mall to pick up the things that we would need like a SIM card and pillows and such. It was a great mall right on the bay. It even had a church in it! Definitely a one-stop shop. The mall is 9 miles (15 km) from the compound, and it took us 45 minutes to get there. But the cost of even that long of a cab ride was 500 piso ($10)! And it was only that much because we didn't heed Carlin's advice and insist that the cabbie run the meter instead of fixing the price - but since it was only 500 peso and we'd been waiting for several minutes, we decided just to go for it. (For reference the same 45 minute cab ride back was only 250 piso ($5). One of my first forays into just how incredibly cheap things could be here. I've even seen hotel rooms advertised for 250 piso)
Then the next morning it was off to the airport (17 km (10 mi) and 2 hours later...) and into the air towards Korea!!! That trip will be for my next blog post, so stay tuned!
Holy crap it really IS international!
I'm just-a' shoppin' on the dock of the bay...
My cool bay. (get it?)
