The Philippines - A Stream of Thoughts

One night on Bohol, Daniel and I only brought out a certain amount of money for dinner. We choose a beautiful place on the beach that does grilled food. We had wine with our dinner, and ordered whatever we wanted, as it was pretty cheap. Then it was time for dessert ... A few nights before we had ate at the Hayahay Pizza place and had the most amazing apple pie in my life. We knew we couldn't leave Bohol without another slice of heaven so we went back to the Hayahay and this time tried the Mango Pie and the Ube ice cream. Only thing was, we weren't sure we had enough money for both ... So we spent about five minutes calculating the different price combinations we could do with the remaining money ... We told the waitress in advance that we wanted the pie and ice cream so desperately that we didn't have enough money to leave her a tip. It was one of the most hilarious evenings of our trip because we only had enough money for the food and wanted it so badly. We even took a picture of our licked-clean plates.

There is an amazing organic restaurant and hotel on Bohol called the Bohol Bee Farm. If you ever go to Bohol, you should stay there for a few days! And the food was seriously the most delicious I have ever had. Dan and I bought the camote bread and loads of spreads -- pesto and honey butter -- to take back to Cebu. I still have the honey one. It is amazing. I cant wait to go back!!! Plus the place was beautiful, I would love to stay there.

The modes of transportation in the Philippines are either Jeepneys, trikes, or motorcycles. Although I have been on a motorcycle once (I begged my Uncle Rich to take me around the block), going on a motorcycle in the Philippines was really fun. Daniel and I hopped on the back of one for our ride to the cave. Our guide even came down to the cave with us. But riding with our hair blowing in the wind made me think of my future occupation once I move to the Philippines -- I will be the first female motorcycle driver. And it will be amazing!

Trikes are motorcycles with a basket/car attached to the side. You can either hop in the car, or get behind the motorcycle rider himself. It just stops wherever you are standing on the street and you tell the guy to stop wherever you want to get off. Quite convenient! And for the most part there is a flat fee no matter how far/long you go. Jessica, one of the other volunteers, said that she has seen like ... 15 people on one trike. I am glad I didn't have to be on one of those.

The bananas in the Phils are all shapes and sizes. In the US we have this feeling that the bigger and yellower they are, the better. This is simply not the case in the Phils. Indeed, the most tasty of them all are the short squat ones that are completely green. Then you boil them and eat them warm ... and it is seriously the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. It is more delicious than a pie, or any other sort of dessert. It is the one reason I am even considering going to live in the Phils (nevermind that guy... I am going for the bananas!!)

I beat Daniel twice in Scrabble. Thought you should all know. Daniel found this really amazing home-made Scrabble set in the Phils. Each tile carved out of wood and stamped with the letter. It will be a great souvenir I know we will cherish for a long time in our Scrabble-playing lives.

There are tons of stray cats and dogs in the Phils. It is a big problem, as it is in most third world countries. No one gets their pets spade or neutered -- we need a Bob Barker here! Dan's family has an evil cat named Grey that is constantly getting pregnant. For some reason, Daniel choose one of the new kittens to call his own. He started nurturing her and feeding her, and giving her lots of love. Her name is Zoe. She has now become a part of Daniel's host families life and looks up to Daniel as a mother. I was never a cat person ... but I think in order to become a cat person you first have to have your own little kitten. So, now that I have Zoe, I think I'd be alright with a cat. Sorry Mom, I know your girls have disappointed you on this one. (See pictures in previous post).

As previously stated, the Phils is a Catholic country. Dan's host mom, Elena, has these Jesus-wall calendars made every year. They have a slogan on them, accompanied by a huge picture of Jesus. And I guess if you are lucky enough you get to have one? And then the extras are hung up around the house. At first it was surprising to me, to see Jesus' face everywhere (including Daniel's wall clock), but you get used to it. And the wall calenders go really well with the magenta curtains and Christmas themed pillows in the living room. :) It is a cute house and I am so happy Daniel lives there.

You thought illegal DVDs were just a thing from China? Think again! They ship to the Philippines. In the malls and outside on the street, there are DVD stands everywhere. You can purchased a 26-in-1 DVD for the price of about $2 USD. It was awesome! I got Heroes Season 1 and 2, Beverly Hills 90210 Season 3, A "Teenage Comedy" set of 20 movies and a James Bond set. Daniel has promised to bring me some more when he visits ... It is just so convenient! But they have really really funny ones like "End of the World part 4" all with movies about the apocalypse (ie: Independence Day, etc.) Then they have ones like "Stallone vs. Arnold" or "Matt Damon vs. Brad Pitt", with tons of movies from each movie star. You get the point.

Lastly, a note about the Philippines in general. The hospitality is outrageous, the food full of piggies, and the country in a constant state of chaos. But it is like organized chaos. The chaos ensues, but life goes on in this weird, organized way. For example, none of the cars drive in their lanes, they stop whenever they feel like it, and people are hanging off the back and tops of all the cars. But not once did I see an accident, and that is just the way things go. But the best part was when I saw stickers on the back of Jeepneys saying "How's My Driving? Call xxx-xxx-xx-". Hmm here is the how the conversation would go:

"How was my driving?"
"Well, you didn't stay in your lane, you made sudden stops, people weren't buckled in, there were crates of chickens strapped to the top of your truck, and you cut people off."
"Right, well, this is the Philippines. What'd you expect?"
"You asked how the driving was ... perhaps think about taking the sticker off your car? Unless it is meant to be sarcastic. In that case, it was a grand joke! Well played!"