a filipino christmas.

have you ever wondered why philippines is spelled with a "ph" but when you say filipino (like a filipino person or a filipino meal) it is spelled with an "f?" i have.

i have been in the philippines 10 days now and am preparing to head back to korea tomorrow morning. to avoid turning this post into a short novel, i will try to give a brief summary of the past week and a half:

i arrived in the philippines on saturday, dec. 22 and spent from then until dec. 26 at my cousin's apartment in manilla with his wife and 4 year old daughter. they live in an BEAUTIFUL apartment complex, with an amazing pool in the backyard, which is where i spent most of my time. it was nice being with a family for christmas since i wasn't with my own. the morning after christmas, i took a 3 hour bus ride to batangas pier, trying to pretend that i wasn't being stared at the entire time. (i was most definetely out of place as the only white girl and blonde on top of that.) i then hopped on a little boat that they call a "ferry" but i do not b/c when i think of a ferry i think of a big white ship with people hanging off the rails waving to their people on shore and places you can sit inside and a deck where you can stand outside and little men in boat uniforms saying "matey" and a big horn they toot as we sail away. the boat i took was about the size of two canoes put together run by 3 filipino boys who are younger than my little brother. and it rained the whole time.

so after a 2 hour "ferry" ride, i arrived on the shore of puerto galera, on the island of oriental mindoro. as i gathered my bags and made my way from boat to beach, i was bombarded with filipinos asking me if i had a place to stay or if i needed a ride, and i was led by a young man who said he could take me to my beach via trycicle. i was brought through very suspicious looking alleys and told to "wait here" and 10 minutes after standing in the rain being stared at by every passing filipino, just as the panick was starting to set in, my faithful ride came with his trycicle. i will put up pictures when i get back to korea, but the only way to describe this thing is a moped from the 1970s with a barrel attached to the side, which is where i was to sit as he took me on the worst, most pot-hole-filled, most up-hill down-hill, windy roads i have ever seen.. i'd like to say i was scared, and i was, but mostly, i was so full of adreneline and excitment that i was doing something that felt so appropraite to traveling in country like this, that i had a huge smile plasterd to my face the entire time. there was also a little sticker inside my little barrel that said "God bless our trip," which just made me smile more--the driver must realize the fear they often instill into their riders.

i got to talipan beach and the bamboo house that i was staying in and although i was relieved to be out of the rain, my little room i was staying in was much like camping. no frills, no toilet seat, a trickle of cold water coming out of the shower head, which completely soaks the entire bathroom everytime i use it, no air conditioning (and it was VERY humid--i woke up every morning bathing in my own sweat), and it looked liked i could get attacked by any number of bugs at any moment. but this, too, just made me smile, b/c it felt so appropriate to the experience. (and i was only paying 10 bucks a night so what do you expect, really?) but all the filipinos were so kind right away and did everything they could to make my stay unforgetable.

so the island. wow. i have seen many beautiful places, but this was the most exotic. have you ever seen the show "lost?" the island was so lost-ish i nearly started listening for big roars from the jungle and keeping my eye out for "the others." it was mountaineous and full of palm trees and rocks jutting out into the ocean and there were little huts made of straw everywhere and it felt slightly surreal. but there were no frills. the beach i was staying on was not the kind with resorts where you order pina colados from the middle of the pool, it was quiet, authentic, and restful.

what was maybe the best part of my trip was the people i met. i spent a lot of time with a couple from denmark who was staying at the bamboo house. we went out for dinner every night together (there was an italian place just at the end of the beach jutting into the ocean with AMAZING food that people come from all over puerto galera to eat at--seriously, how is there such a good italian chef in the middle of an island in the philippines?) and they were fantastic. i also spent some time with a family from manilla who are missionaries. we took a boat out to the reef and went snorkeling (which was really more like "dodge-the-jelly-fish" b/c they were EVERYWHERE--just little jelly fish floating around stinging us everywhere not enough to make a scar and did a little beach hopping. we also went hiking up to some waterfalls (guided by three 12 year old filipino boys who made us all look like fools as they climbed the rocks and hopped through the rivers with no shoes as we held onto the rope they had for us with dear life) and those were fantastic. on our way there we went through some areas where really poor filipinos were living--their "houses" were smaller than a kids' tree house and the kids running around were so skinney it made me want to cry.

i read 3 books--prep by curtis sittenfield (or her last name is something like that), into the wild by jon krauker (his last name is something like that) and a spot of bother by mark haddon. loved all of them and they were all very very different. i also got a killer tan. i look like a chocolate bar. milk chocolate not dark chocolate. that would just be an exageration.

and now i'm back in manilla and tomorrow i leave for korea. i'm eager to get home and get back to my normal life. it will be very interesting to see what school is like when we get back. hannah and raquel aren't coming back, which all came about the day before i left for vacation, so my apartment is absolutely covered in stuff that they couldn't take back to canada with them--dishes, food, pans, detergent, fans, drying racks. and we have gone from 4 teachers to 2, and my guess is they haven't found anyone in the time that we were gone, but i could be wrong. vacations are wonderful, but coming home and getting on with normal life is wonderful as well.

we're leaving early tomorrow morning for the hospital where asli (my cousin chad's wife) is having her baby (a c-section). i may even get to see her before i have to leave for the airpot. cool. :)

happy new years everyone!!! whoop whoop for 2008!