First Day in Manila

Well here I am, in a mega mall (5 stories high) in Manila. It sure was an adventure getting here. My flight leaving Calgary was delayed by an hour which caused me a bit of worry that I wouldn't make my connection in San Francsico but that worked out just fine. I made friends with a 5 year-old in the airport in Calgary so we kept each other entertained for the extra hour.

The three hour flight to San Francsico was good, I made a friend, Neil, who has one semester left at the U of L. I talked his ear off and he enlightened me about San Francsico. I discovered that going through customs is just fine unless you try to "sneak" a water bottle through. Honestly though everyone I met in the airports were very helpful even when I was trying to get stressed out. The international flight was good. We left at 12:30 am Calgary time which meant that I had my first night away from home sleeping on a plane. We had supper at 2:00 am Calgary time, they were trying to get us prepared for Manila time. The layover in Guam was cancelled and we flew straight to Manila which was awesome, it put us there an hour early even though we had left an hour late.

While waiting to board the flight to Manila, I recognized the feeling of being a visibile minority. At first it was strange and I didn't like it to much. Since then however I have realized that all of the Filipinos I have met have been extraordinarily nice and complimentary. Though I get mistaken as an American, apparently Americans are loved here so it's not so bad for me.

Raymund picked me up at the airport and we drove north across the city. It took us about an hour to get to CERV Philippines. The drive was interesting. The first thing that hit me was the humidity. It wasn't near as hot or sticky as I had anticipated (even though it was 35 degrees at 5:30 in the morning) and I love all the vegetation that grows in this city. While we were driving though I noticed huge disparity. There were huge, new skyscrapers and a couple of blocks later the slums were clearly evident. Even within the neighbourhood that I am in right now there are some gorgeous houses right across from little shacks with dirt floors. Unfortunately I will not likely be able to post pictures while I'm in the Philippines so those will have to wait until mid August and good old Facebook.

The traffic and driving here is crazy. In general lanes don't matter, signalling is really overrated an if there is room for your vehicle (or not) you fit in. There is a ton of blaring horns always and the buses and old army jeeps (which are like mini buses sort of) weave continually in and out of traffic and loading areas even when there is no lane present there at all. It makes me nervous and yes I am happy that I am not expected to drive here!

The group that I have met at CERV are awesome. I will be staying with a family in San Augustine who actually have a shower (though only cold water) and I met Peter, who is from New Zealand, who just finished staying with this family. Layton is also from Canada and we will be staying with the same family though he will be building while I am teaching. I will be meeting the rest of the people that I will be staying with in Romblon this week. Unfortunately it sounds like I don't get to go to Romblon until next Monday, but I'm hoping for sooner.

That's it for now. I can barely believe I'm here and that I am still awake!!
Love you all!