The Philippines

My first trip to the Philippines was...

Hot: Summertime, and the livin' ain't easy for this Washingtonian

Humid: My poor hair poofed and limped at the same time

Beautiful: Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, mountains, volcanoes, trees, plants, beaches

Eye-opening: From the vastness of MegaMall to the presence of poverty

Sunny: I got sunburned ... yes, despite my attempts to protect my skin with sunscreen

Fun: I met many relatives. If you're reading this, hi!!! Thanks for everything!

Educational: Visited Mom's elementary school, high school and college and Dad's college; stayed at a hotel really close to Dad's high school

Moving (1): Hi, Lolo Ven, Lola Jane and Tita Cely. Miss you.

Historical: Learned about Vinzons (formerly Tacboan and Indan) from a town yearbook and visited Intramuros in Manila

Long: Spent 10 relaxing days in Vinzons (loved the beach, eating-sleeping-eating schedule and Wowowee [an afternoon game show])

Cool: And when I say that, I mean, how cool is it to live on A. Guinto Street in Vinzons? I kept saying I'd like to live on Cabellon Street. :) A. Guinto Street is awesome.

Spiritual: We visited a lot of churches -- and I do mean a lot -- and it was interesting to attend both Tagalog Masses in Vinzons and a Taglish Mass at St. Andrew the Apostle near the hotel. Salamat sa Dios.

Short: Spent 5 days in Manila (the time seemed to go by faster)

Moving (2): Planes, vans, jeepneys, taxis, tricycles, pedicab, MRT, car

Delicious: So much good food all the time (yay for fresh lumpia, eggplant, Jollibee, Max's, fresh seafood, pili tart, pusit, sinigang, bulalo, sisig, sotanghon, mangoes, etc. ... yay for Filipino food! And yay for the Mandarin noodle soup at Next Door North Park Noodles.)

Musical: Uncle Jonas introduced me to Christian Bautista and Mark Bautista -- plus other artists such as Sarah Geromino -- via Mark Bautista's first major solo concert at Aliw Theater


(I'll post pictures soon.)