We All Get Older, We Don't All Get Grown.

We pretty much slept in for most of the day, only getting up to eat. The plan was to play some basketball with the locals but it started to really pour around the time we were going to. At night we had a hardcore karaoke session until around midnight. At the end of the song it would judge your performance and give you a score...apparently I lost all of my singing talent once I hit puberty. We got to spend time with Alex's cousins and the rest of the family. One of the cousins is this little 10 year old girl named KC. If I were ever to have a younger sister or daughter, I would want her to be just like KC. She reminded me a lot of my cousins back home, Hannah and Rylee. She has cracked me up quite a few times since I've been here. And I nicknamed her "Tarsier", which is the smallest monkeys in the world and live only here in the PI.

After karaoke we went out to Makati around midnight. I was really surprised we were even going out because of how late it was, but it was totally worth it. All I can really say is that it was one of those, "What happens here stays here" nights. We started off at the Hard Rock, had some drinks, and watched a cover band do American Pop songs. Then we made our way to this bar called "Absinthe" and danced around there for a little. Apparently the manager or bartender thought we were cool so they started pouring us shots. It was my first time having Absinthe, but I didn't see any green fairies like the story goes. We did some more partying after that, got split up for a couple of hours, and then ended up getting home around 7am this morning. After we met back up, all I know was that we were somewhere in Manila, it was raining super hard, and we spent about an hour trying to get a taxi. Most of the taxis were already occupied due to the fact that it was already morning and people were going to work!

Once we got back to Alex's house, everyone was already up having breakfast so we sat down and ate. An our or so later I was already back in a cab and off to the airport. No aircon and I went to the wrong terminal, once again! Sounds about right...

What a fun night to end my trip here in the homeland.

I flew into Manila from Puerto today and took a taxi to Pasig. On the plane over here, I met a couple who basically pimped their daughter out to me. They were extremely nice, wealthy looking people who were on vacation as well. During our conversation, once they found out I was single, they busted out the camera and started showing me pictures of their daughters, haha! So funny!

So once in Pasig, I waited at a Jolibee close to where the house I was visiting was, for Chris and Alex to pick me up. Even though I was expecting them, I was still kind of shocked when they showed up. It's just so crazy that we're here on another continent, 7,000 miles away from home, just hanging out. I haven't seen a familiar face in a month, which is probably the longest ever for me, and it just felt good. I'm really glad I came here to finish off my trip.

As soon as I walked into the house, I got back the feeling that I left behind when I left my grandparent's house. Once again it was a big house, full of a lot of family members. I've really gained an appreciation and love for family since being here in the PI. Even though nothing exciting was going on around me, I just loved every second of it.

Tonight we went out to some club called Manor. The music was good and current and it was fun having some friends with me. I haven't really got to enjoy "going out" as much because I've been by myself. But being with friends takes away that added pressure of meeting random people. I'm glad I got to see this side of the Philippines.

Well, I couldn't catch a flight to Northern Palawan as I originally hoped. Because I had to come back to Puerto Princesa, I left myself with a couple of options:

#1- Drive 9 hours north to El Nido, only to have to make the same drive back a day or two later.
#2- Fly from Puerto to Manila and then fly to Busuanga in hopes of getting to spend a day or so there.

I've been feeling a little under the weather since getting back from Sabang, so I'm not extremely motivated to do either. Luckily tonight I got a call from my good friend from college, Chris Sisson who just so happens to be visiting the Philippines as well with his Pinoy best friend, Alex. They are in Manila so I decided that I would hangout with them for my last few days here. Alex's aunt lives here and they are cool with me staying, so that is another huge plus.

After thinking about it, I'm not really sure why I even asked to stay. I have enough money to afford a nice hotel room for the rest of my stay and I'm not the "couch surfing" type. I really don't want to be a burden on the family and I hope they won't have to go out of their way too much to accommodate me. I guess I just miss being around family. Eating meals with people. Making plans to do something with someone else. And I am SUPER excited to see some familiar faces! I can't wait! It should be a good ending to a great trip.

Other than deciding to go back to Manila early, not much else has really happened the past couple of days. My main highlights have been living with a mouse in my room that I decided to name "Marty", figuring out the "local" cost of a tricycle ride, and not being able to find a body wash without a "whitening" agent. I know its not much, but not everyday can be a huge adventure!

Marty the mouse decided to come out one night and run around when I was trying to go to bed. I kept seeing his head pop out from under the other bed and then hearing him scurry across the room. I got up, somewhat freaked out, and tried to get him out of my room to no avail. I caught him mid-scurry once and he literally jumped in the air, landed awkwardly, and then hid again under the bed. The look on his face actually made me laugh and from that point on I decided I wasn't afraid of him anymore, so I named him. Wait...I just re-read what I just wrote...I must be going a little crazy after all this solitude.

So with the tricycles, when I first arrived they originally said I had to pay 50 pesos per ride. But then I started noticing that some drivers were less bold and were charging 40. And then another only 20! So I finally decided I was going to figure out the REAL charge for a tricycle ride. My strategy was that I was going to be silent. From all my research before the trip, I was told multiple times to ask "How much?" before taking a taxi, to avoid being ripped off. It turned out that is exactly what you should do if you want the locals to know you are from out of town and you have no idea how much stuff costs around here. So I got a ride and was completely silent the whole ride. I decided I would let the driver initiate the payment process. I got out and handed him 20 pesos, waited for a second, he looked at me, i looked at him, he reached in his pocket, and gave me back 10 pesos! So from there on out I just gave everyone 10 pesos and nobody said a word about it, nice.

Lastly, since I'm going to be visiting a family, I decided to clean myself up and shave(for the second time during this trip). I went to the drugstore and the only size shaving cream was a Costco sized can that would probably last me a year. So instead of being wasteful i'd have to figure something else out. I also ran out of body wash, but literally every single bottle they sold had some sort of "skin whitening" agent in it. Since I value my brown skin, my only other option was Johnson & Johnson Baby Bath. It worked out pretty good too, because now my skin is baby soft, I was able to use it to shave, and if it gets in my eyes: No Tears!

I woke up this morning around 6:30am, even though I set my alarm for 9am. I knew that at some point I had to get to the San Jose Bus Terminal to catch a ride to Sabang, which is a 2 or 3 hour drive. Lonely Planet and the people around town aren't very helpful about times or who to see once I get there, I just know I need to go to the terminal and plan on asking around. Instead of going to check it out early like I should have, I decided to stay in until noon while I watched the Lakers/Nuggets game. The games are on at 8am or 9am here so it's a little different experience. I was glad to be watching when the Lakers won :)



Once I got to the Bust terminal, all the actual buses had apparently left. So my only other option was to take a Jeepney. I thought, what the heck, I might as well get the experience. So I asked the conductor when we were leaving and he said 12 o'clock, ha! The jeep had a few seats open so I figured we would wait until they filled up. Since I skipped breakfast, I grabbed a couple Pan de Coco (bread roll with sweet coconut), a banana, and a coke...then I checked the time on my phone and saw it was a little after noon, so I grabbed a seat in the back and got ready to go. Little did I know I would be waiting for 3 extra hours! Looking back, I find it really funny that I was in a rush. Nobody seemed to be complaining so neither did I, but wow it sucked. Not to mention it was going to take 3 hours on top of that just to get to Sabang! Since it's their livelihood, they don't leave the terminal until the Jeepney is full, because that way they make more money. And when I say full, I mean packed to the brim full.



So finally we seemed like we were getting ready to go and things started to get a little crazy. All I could really do was laugh. This jeepney wasn't a typical jeepeny, it was more of a hybrid bus/jeepney. The front half had seats facing forward and the back half was like a typical jeepney with a bench seat on each side. In america, it would probably seat a maximum of 25 people. But not here. In the Philippines they REALLY pack people in . I counted 65 people, and that was just in the seats! There were people hanging off the back, on top, and kids were laying in the middle aisle on out feet. Not to mention many of the people on the jeep were actually doing their grocery shopping, so they had sacks of rice, grocery bags, and fish with them as well.



So we finally took off to Sabang and within 2 mins we stopped at a gas station where a lot of people who just packed themselves in, got out and filled little jugs full of gasoline. Oh and I should also mention that instead of taking one of the many open seats in the front, I chose a bench seat in the back, which just so happened to be where all the action was and the heart of all the commotion...i would only recommend this seat to the most adventurous of my friends. Honestly, the only reason I was sitting there was so that I can jump in and out to check on my backpack that was on the roof. So we leave the gas station and immediately we hit a bumpy dirt road, I thought to myself, "Oh crap! If we continue on like this I just might vomit on all of these people...but at least we are getting somewhere." And then, all of a sudden, we stop again. This time at the Puerto Princesa Ice Building. They covered one side of the jeep with a tarp and I immediately thought something shady was going down. Even the locals seemed to not know what was going on. Then some guys placed a metal ramp going from the roof of the jeep to the dock and pulled out 3 humongous blocks of ice. Last I checked, the roof was piled high like one of those Ikea half-yearly sale commercials...how were they planning on fitting them up there? But they did. So we got going again with 65+ people, luggage, blocks of ice, and all.

20 minutes later we stopped again! This time was so that the passengers could have a merienda...wow, really!? So after everyone got their snacks, we were off again. The road was paved for the most part, but a lot of the time the road became a one-way for both sides of traffic, due to lack of road. It was pretty interesting going full speed and hoping the other cars heading the opposite direction would hear our horn and stop for us to pass. I'm just glad it was so packed that I could barely see. From what I did catch glimpses of, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. To make a longer story short, lets just say that we made like 50 more stops on the way to Sabang, so that people could get off and on, and so that the Jeepney workers could make home deliveries. Oh yeah, and every time we stopped, someone hanging off the side would bang something metal against the metal roof, right above my head. It was as if I had a bucket on my head and people were taking turns throwing rocks at it.

The trip was insane, but quite an adventure. And as we got farther away from the city, some of the kids that got on were absolutely precious looking. There was one little girl in particular that I would have adopted right there on the spot if her mother asked me too.

Finally, we got to Sabang as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. It's just a small little town with cottages and one resort along the beach. There are a few restaurants and a little docking area. Also the "town square" is made up of one big basketball court. As I do in all the places I've visited, I started wondering around deciding where I wanted to stay. This time as I was walking, I was joined by a gay couple from Amsterdam. It was european guy who looked much older who was with a filipino guy who was probably a little older then me. They were nice though, so I walked with them looking at the options until we got to the end of the beach, then I split to go check out the most northern cottages. Since nobody was there, I left and once again was walking way too much for this heat and all of this luggage. I was drenched in sweat when I finally decided on a place which all pretty much sucked...no electricity, small little huts, crappy CR's (comfort room aka bathroom), and if they did have electricity, it only worked from 6pm-10pm.

The first room they showed me to, I said no. It's the first time since being here that I made a fuss about where I was sleeping. The guy showing me the room did not speak any english and seemed to not even understand my hand gestures either. I talked to the only english speaking person that worked there and was confused as to why she just didn't choose to help me out since I clearly only speak english. But I should mention that the guy I got frustrated with was very hospitable and kept a big, toothless smile on his face the whole time he was dealing with me.

Luckily, my hut had a mosquito net because inside had a bunch of bugs flying around the ceiling and the floor...which by the way was made of sticks! The sand is literally right below me and the ocean is right outside my door! This should be an interesting night...

After a long drive to Manila and a sad goodbye to all my family, I was on a plane again, alone. This time I was heading to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. As I sat in the airport and on the plane, I couldn't help but think about if I should have spent more time with family while I was here. I know I will be back though, so I was reassured that I should stick to my plans and see as much of this country as I can during this trip. My "adventures" kind of stopped while I was with family, but the feeling of excitement started to come back once we landed here in Puerto.

Once again, I had no idea where I was sleeping tonight, or where I was going when I wake up tomorrow morning. But to me, that's the fun of it all. I don't know whats wrong with me, but whenever I arrive some place new, I don't like taking a taxi or tricycle. It would be so cheap, but I learned that I like seeing the whole town i'm in and getting a feel for what direction is what. Plus it is a great workout and after the week with family, I definitely need it. While walking to the place I decided to stay at, I got turned around quite a few times. This was when I realized that I packed way too much for this...but at least my pack is getting good use.

There isn't much to do in Puerto, it's more of a gateway to the other sites, but once I stepped off the plane, I was able to smell that the air is noticeably cleaner here. They call it the "Last Frontier" because Palawan is virtually untouched compared to the rest of the PI and they are very conscious of preserving the land here. Also, this was the first place that there wasn't a rush of people trying to get my attention to spend some type of money. I appreciate so much more the fact that there aren't a hundred people trying to offer me a ride somewhere or to do some parasailing or snorkeling. People are always looking at me here still, but probably more because of my huge backpack and the fact that I am walking around aimlessly, then because of the way I look.

The first place I went to was fully booked. And the second. And the third. The worst part were that they were all scattered far apart from each other. After looking at the map, again I decided to keep walking. I learned that Kilometers are still a long way to walk. But once again, because of my stubbornness, I kept turning down tricycles rides because in my head I told myself, "I've already come this far, I might as well finish." After walking until the sun already set, I finally found a place with a room available. The place is called Abelardo's Pension, and I was staying here out of lack of choices more than anything else. It's not bad though, I have cable, a shower that works (cold water only of course), and aircon...which are all things I didn't really have at my family's place.

I'm pretty sure, Lynn, the girl that showed me to my room likes me because she keeps knocking on my door for random reasons and starting up a giggly conversation...it's actually pretty annoying. Also, there is one of the family members here that is a dwarf and speaks with a nasally, high pitched voice that I almost completely cannot understand. She is obviously handicapped, but I would be lying if I said it didn't freak me out a bit. I couldn't help but imagine waking up in the middle of the night with her standing at the side of my bed staring at me. It was enough to give me nightmares, haha!

I got to meet the owner who is a nice old lady that reminds me a little of my Lola. She is smart and gave a little attitude to another guest in front of me. She was showing me pictures of her family that is abroad and showed me a picture of her half filipina, half swedish grandaughter...she was absolutely gorgeous and it took everything in my power to stay respectful and not tell her that I want to marry her apo, haha!

Other than that I was too tired to go explore at night, so I just stayed in. I had "Hopia" for dinner, which is like a little pastry dessert. I picked it up on my journey to get here to Abelardo's and it was all I had. Much different from the dinners that my grandparents provided me with!

I haven't really had much time to myself since being in Paniqui, so I'm just bunching the past 4 days into one entry. My days here have seriously revolved around our daily meals. Typical day: Wake up at 6am(everyone), eat breakfast, Do something, Merienda(snack), Do something else, Lunch, Do something/relax, Fellowship w/ pulutan, Dinner, Sleep. Every meal is really good though and has been a real highlight of my time with family...nothing else that i've eaten here during the rest of my trip can even compare.

This morning we woke up, check out, and headed to breakfast. My grandparents said they wanted to take me to a "real" breakfast, while everyone else ate at Jollibee. It was some expat restaurant called Margarita Club. They spoil me like I am still a little kid, it's funny. Breakfast with them was cool though. We talked a lot about random stuff and they assured me that my Dad is doing much better now that he is here. He told me that last night, but it was nice to gets some confirmation from my grandparents. My grandma is a really cool lady. She has good style, she is funny, and she gets pissed off pretty easily, which is funny to me. And my grandpa is probably one of the coolest people I know. He is pretty much the most lovable, crazy old man i've ever met. He talks slow, he is goofy, and he cracks me up quite a bit.

After breakfast, we met everyone else at the mall and then headed to their hometown in Paniqui. Paniqui is about 3 hours north of Manila, in the Tarlac province. They told me that Paniqui translates to "Bat" in English. I honestly didn't know what to expect about their home. My grandpa would periodically bring up that the house isn't finished yet. And then the rest of the family would mention it too, but they also explained about how big the house was. My family here is pretty well off since my Grandpa is retired US Navy and he gets money every month that goes much farther here in the PI. They have two cars, when most others don't even have one and they have a maid. As we drove through their town, it looked pretty similar to all the rest of the smaller towns i've seen. The first thing I noticed was that there was way too many tricycles here.

So as we pulled up to their house, I can honestly say I was in a bit of shock. Obviously, I didn't show any concern because it would have been disrespectful, but on the inside I was like "Get me out of here!!!" In my head, I imagined something different and this situation was worse than what I had originally thought. Being that I already downplayed it alot in my head, made it worse that it was worse than my expectations. The only thing that is really done is the roof. Everything else is concrete, the floors, the walls, everything. Some windows are done, but mostly all the openings in are covered with netting. The roof and the walls are fully attached to each other yet, so that that all around the house had to be covered with netting. But it obviously really doesn't work given the fact that there are a bunch bugs and a few lizards running around inside the house!

Once I got inside the house, a very real feeling of culture shock set in. This is my family and this is how they live. The makeshift kitchen is outside, where they cook all their meals on a wood stove. The dishes are done outside and hung to dry. They have a little farm in the back, so there are some ducks and roosters running around. They have a pet cat that just had 3 kittens, and they have a pet dog, that had 3 puppies. Oh yeah, and my Dad warned me that there are huge toads that jump around the place at night. Yuck.

There are 3 different families that live here at my grandparent's house, but that is pretty normal in this culture. The 3 families are: My Grandma, Grandpa, and their adopted son Marc, my 12 year old uncle. My Dad, his wife Gia, and their son/my little brother Quentin who my grandpa nicknamed "Jampong", long story. And my Auntie Gigi, her husband Uncle Bog, and their daughter Joy. They also have a made named Dai.

As expected, dinner was great. My grandparents are great cooks and even planned out a rough menu for all of our meals while I am here. Keeping in mind that its somewhat disrespectful to turn down a meal, I have a feeling all my time in the gym is going to be countered with the time I spend here. Before dinner and after dinner, my Grandpa, Dad, Uncle Bog and me all sat around outside by the kitchen and had some beers and brandy. While we were waiting or helping out with the meal, we also have what they call "Pulutan". It translates to finger food and Pulutan is basically the equivalent to what peanuts are to beer in a bar setting. It's just not right to drink without having some sort of Pulutan.

After dinner and after more drinks it was time to shower before bed. This was probably the hardest adjustment of all. The shower does have a shower head on it, but my grandpa warned me that more often then not the water pressure is so low that it doesn't work. When we first arrived I took a shower and it worked, at night when I took a shower, it did not. So when it doesn't work what you have to do is fill up a bucket from a spout that is closer to the ground, and use a little plastic pot to pour the water over you. The water comes out of the spout slowly, so the whole process just flat out sucks...and oh yeah, no hot water either unless you boil it first.

My sleeping situation was that I shared a bed with Marc in my grandparents room. It's the only room in the house that is almost done and the only one with air conditioning(or as they say in the PI- "aircon"). And actually, it is the most comfortable sleeping situation since the 5-Star Dusit in Manila. Hopefully tomorrow I can figure out how to adjust to living here or just get out of here asap!

I left the island this morning for my flight to Clark, in Angeles City. I was much more comfortable this time with the process of tricycles, paying fees, boat ferry, more fees and tri's, etc... While I was in the airport in Caticlan wiating for my flight, the power went out multiple times. The problem with that is that the aircon and fans turned off in a small waiting room full of 100+ people...on a hot day...not cool. Finally my plane got there and it just so happened to be the smallest plane I've ever flown in. I've never been on a flight where I could actually reach over and tap the pilot on his shoulder. There were no pre-flight instructions, no intercom, and the funny part is that I was the closest person, on the whole entire plane, to the Emergency Exit. I had to teach myself what to do in an emergency, haha! And although I was inhaling exhaust the whole time, suprisingly it was one of the smoothest landings ever.

Prior to being in the PI, I was most nervous about this particular leg of my trip. The part where I would be spending a lot of time with my family after many, many years. Now that I am here, I am much more comfortable and I have much less anxiety. Honestly, I just want to be around people that aren't complete strangers and i'm excited to see how my family here lives compared to what i've seen. I waited at Clark for about 10 mins since my flight arrived early, but then I caught a glimpse of my dad and grandpa in the van and I went to greet them. I was suprised to see the WHOLE family came to pick me up. My grandparents, Dad, Aunt Gigi, and others that I had never met before...more on that later.

They ended up coming down from their home a few hours earlier to go to the mall and casino. We left the airport to pick up my grandma at the casino. My grandpa and I had lunch while we waited for her to finish playing slots, and the rest of the family waited in the van. It was kind of weird, I didn't understand why we all split up like that. Right away, I felt closest to my Grandparents more than anyone else. Probably because I saw them a little over a year ago, but more so because they acted so comfortable with me. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that they spent so much time with me and my brothers when we were babies. It's crazy that I hardly ever saw them in the past 20 years, but they are still typical Grandparents that wanted to spoil their grandson.

Next thing I know, Grandma ordered some snacks, grandpa was now on the slots, and I was at the mall with the rest of the family. I honestly just wanted to lay down and rest after my flight, but it was a nice little day trip for them, so I didn't want to ruin the fun. After the day was all said and done, my grandparents were still gambling, so we ended up getting a couple of rooms here at the Hotel/Casino. My dad and I went for a drive to get some Litson Manok (rotisserie chicken), down on the strip. Angeles City used to be where all the US military were stationed so there are a lot of old white vets walking around with young pinays. I've seen it here more then anywhere else. My dad parked the van almost in the middle of the street to get the chicken, while I waited. As I was waiting, the biggest cockroach ever, slowly creeped into the driver window. Other than that, nothing too eventful. Eating dinner with the fam, felt very familiar for me. Having to be resourceful with what you have around you for dinnerware. And eating with your hands is pretty common here as well. If you ask me, its much more efficient. There is actually a technique to it. And when they do use utensils, they typically hold the fork in the left hand and spoon in the right. It's also an interesting technique where you use the fork to push everything into your spoon.

So back to my family out here...well I guess the only way to explain it is that it is kind of messed up. I have an Uncle that is younger then me at 12 years old. I have an 8 month old little brother, which makes our age difference over 24 years apart. He literally is young enough to be my son. And My "stepmom" is younger than my younger brother. It's like a scene straight out out the movie, "Don't Be A Menace To South Central, While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood." And you know what, as messed up as it seems, it really just is a testament to what my Mom and my brothers have made of our lives. Plus its not as bad as I am making it out to be. And I just think its funny more than anything else. I guess you can say that it makes my life more unique and interesting. I'm playing it by ear on what my next move is for my trip. But i'm excited for the experience while I'm here.

I like to wait until the last minute to get things done. Some call it procrastination, but I like to think of it as efficiency. There is no room for failure and I get things done in a shorter amount of time. Staying true to who I am, I decided to do this PADI certification course very last minute. Like if I fail, there is no redo and I have just wasted a good bit of money. The course takes 3-4 days typically and I started it with only 3 days left in Boracay. In that time we have to do 4 open water dives(ocean), 5 confined dives(pool), 5 chapters in a book as well as DVD's to watch on each chapter, 4 quizzes, a 200 meter no-stop swim and 10 minute float, and a final exam. And not to mention, it takes typically 4 days to do it with more than one student. But with all that said and done...I passed! I am now an Open Water Diver. It wasn't easy but after a jam packed day today, I took my final exam and got an 88%. We started at 9am and I wasn't done until 8pm. Crazy.

We went on our 3rd dive at about 1pm to a dive site called "Friday's Rock". The viz still wasn't that great, but it was the best so far. We went down to 17 meters/56 feet and went around this big rock covered in coral. Our maximum depth that we are allowed to go at our level is 18 meters so we were just about there. I saw a puffer fish, lion fish, which are dangerous if you touch, a school of Snapper that were huge, a crazy scorpion fish that camouflaged itself to look exactly like the rock, and a Titan Trigger fish. Right before the dive, our instructor told us about the Trigger fish and how they are at the site, but hard to find. He also let us know that they are super aggressive when they just laid eggs, but assured us that it's only mating season. So when we saw them my first reaction was to panic, haha. Those bastards can bite through your wetsuit and supposedly hurt pretty bad, so I didn't spend much time watching them. I just swam away as fast as possible, which isn't the correct thing to do. I can only imagine my reaction after the first time I see a shark. After we were done I got seasick, but did everything in my power to hold in my lunch.

On our second dive of the day and final dive of the course, we went on a Fun Dive to "Santo's Place" since we had finished all our skills previously. This one was the best yet! The viz was 10+ meters and even though the certified divers at my level can't go deeper then 18 meters, our instructor took us to 22 meters/72 feet...and for good reason. Some of the other divers spent a lot of time by this one coral and Phil decided to take us down deeper to see it as well. On the coral we're Pygmy Seahorse, which I later learned is one of the two rarest things you can sea here in Boracay. They were difficult to spot, but luckily I was able to stay neutrally buoyant enough to stay still and wait for them to pop out. All the other divers seemed to have an out of the ordinary dive as well cause they got to swim with Sea Turtles and other not so common sea creatures.

As I was signing my final paperwork it started pouring rain. Since it was my last night here, that was cool by me. I spent the rest of the night hanging out with Julie and some of her friends. It turns out I am a pretty good promo guy for San Miguel, haha. As sad as I am to have to leave Boracay, I am also glad at the same time. It's harder than I thought to travel on your own and I am looking forward to spending time with people who love me, my family.

Today was my second day of diving. I feel much more comfortable today then I was yesterday. The first day I couldn't help but think the while time if my equipment was faulty or what if I were to panic and forget to do something. But today things just slowed down a bit and I was able to be more calm. I guess it's just like any sport, at first everything goes very fast and you have to think about what it is you are doing. But with practice and repetition it all slows down, you think less, and everything just becomes more natural.

Also like any sport, I get competitive. I always try to be the best and I know some people hate me for it, but that's just how I roll I guess. My life would be totally different if I was one to settle or if I didn't give everything my all. In diving, I can't help but compete with the other guy in the course with me. On all the quizzes I've got 100% and on most all of the skill exercises i've got them right on my first try. Too bad diving doesn't work that way. If someone else does not do good on the skills or doesn't know the correct procedures it could cost them their life. So i've had to change my mindset around and make sure we both are the best.

Today we did our second dive at this site called "Angol Point". This time we went to about 12 meters or 40 feet deep. The visibility wasn't that great but I did see some pretty cool stuff. I like seeing the ridiculously big, giant clams cause they are straight out of a cartoon! Now I have to do some homework before a long day tomorrow.

I was able to breathe under water for the first time ever today. No, i'm not a superhero or anything, well at least not that I know of, today was just my first day of my Open Water Diving Course. I woke up this morning after my worse night of sleep yet. I really dislike my new hotel. My room just feels dirty and last night I got attacked by mosquitoes. I also saw a mini tarantula running around the lobby, so naturally that was all I could think of last night.

Today for class we got all the paperwork out of the way and watched a couple of dvd's on the basics. We also had a little training in the pool and then in the afternoon we went out on our first beach dive! My instructor is this English dude named Phil with an Australian accent and there is one other student named Simon, who is from Switzerland. On our dive we went as deep as 6 meters, which is about 20 ft. It was pretty crazy, I saw a lion fish, eel, different kinds of sea urchin...and I found Nemo! It was crazy to think that all in one day I swam deeper than I ever had before, breathed under water for the first time, and saw hundreds of different species i've never even seen before. I'd say it was a good day.

Today I switched from my cottage in boat station 3 to a hotel room in boats station 2. Last night I had an epic battle with these annoying little flying bugs. They are harmless but these things just kept coming and coming. It was like a video game or playing Halo or something, how the aliens just kept getting into my room, but I had no idea where from, and with no end to this bombardment in sight. It all started when I was laying on my bed trying to journal a little before dinner and they became attracted to the light above my bed. But soon they started to hit my ceiling fan and would drop onto my bed, my journal, and me. I killed them one by one until I started talking out loud to myself...which signaled to me that I've started to go crazy. This went on for far longer than I would like to mention and I was all over my room, swatting these things with my flip-flops until the floor was covered with them. My floor looked like a WWII battlefield. But still, they slowly started coming back, so I took my bug repellent and sprayed every possible entrance. I don't think that's how bug repellent works, but it seemed to be working. Thank you DEET!

It was sad this morning when I left the Dave's Straw Hat Inn family. We took pics, hugs were exchanged, and I was off to La Carmela Resort Hotel. Boracay is pretty much dominated by White Beach, which is a long white sand beach(go figure), on one side of the island. It is separated by Boat Stations 1, 2, and 3, which are basically imaginary lines on the beach. BS-1 is where all the partying is done, BS-2 is shopping, and BS-3 is more relaxed and cheaper. La Carmela is in BS-2, so now I am more in the middle of everything. My new room isn't much better though and the staff is not as cool, but there are more people, a pool, and a bar. Plus its not as long of a walk to everything now.

My stomach is still pretty messed up, but I found a place in D'mall where the food is actually pretty healthy and easier on my tummy. I went there for lunch yesterday and today and ordered the exact same thing: a bottle of water, a pineapple & coconut smoothie with no sugar, and an asian chicken salad. I'm such a creature of habit, I do the exact same thing back at home, haha.

One of my favorite things to do has been journaling on the beach and listening to music...which is actually what I am doing right now. The sun is setting and the water is still full of people. Oh and I tried my hand at bargaining again today. But this time I was successful, thanks to some genius negotiating tricks! You'd think after getting my degree in Marketing and having years of sales experience that i'd be able to pull it off. So what I did was found two vendors who were selling the same item that I wanted. First, I went to one who had only one color of the item that I wanted. I told him that I bought some earlier from another vendor(which I didn't) and the only reason I was coming o him was because he has a color I wanted(which he did). My target was to pay 800 pesos total for 8 of the same item in different colors. The item was originally offered to me for 200 pesos, but I told him I paid 100 at the other vendor. I admitted that since I wanted the color that only he had, I would pay a little more. Too bad this kid was as stubborn as I am. But luckily his Tita, a massage lady from across the beach path, said something to him in Tagalog that persuaded him. Finally we agreed on 130 pesos. From there I took my one item to the 2nd vendor who had more of a selection, but denied me a few days ago. I told them I paid 110 for mine, but I will buy more from them if they give me each item for 100 pesos each. After a few attempts to get me to pay 150 for each, they agreed to my terms. And in the end I made friends with them as well. So after it was all said and done, I paid an average of 103 pesos each. Not bad if I do say so myself.

And I don't feel bad either cause they obviously wouldn't have sold it to me if they weren't going to make a profit. They just sold it to me for much less than they do to other tourists! So it's a win-win in my eyes, they make some money, and I pay $16 total for something I would have had to pay at least $20 each at Nordstrom's.

I'm all set up for my PADI Open Water Diving Course now too. Tomorrow I start my first day of class and tests I guess. Then in the afternoon we have out first open water dive. I'm excited that this is something I can add to my resume, but even more so that it's something I can add to my lifestyle. Now anytime I am traveling, if they have diving, I can join in as well. I look forward to a fun and educational day tomorrow!

Well, it seems as that the Gershitis epidemic also exists in the Philippines. I've had stomach problems for about 24 hours now and its no fun. I had to delay my PADI Open Water course because of it. I imagine that a wetsuit and the poops = no fun. I'm not exactly sure of the cause but I think it has to do with the Balut I ate and the excessive beers.

Not much else really happened today, except that I decided to search for a new place to stay starting tomorrow. I decided to extend my say here for another 5 days. I bought my plane ticket to Clark and talked to my Grandma and Grandpa on the phone about picking me up, so I'm glad that all of that is finally all scheduled. I'm actually more excited now to see them all. I'm looking forward to seeing how my family lives here in the Philippines.

Oh and also, late tonight I talked to my Dad on the phone as well. It's the first time I've talked to him since being here and he seems really excited to spend some time with me. I guess we'll see on Sunday when they pick me up at Clark.

I had another great night last night. I went to dinner with 3 of the SMB promo girls and had a seafood buffet on the beach...pretty cool. It was a little awkward because of the language barrier, but I got to learn a lot about college life here and the mannerisms of filipinos. I've decided when I get back I'm going to learn Tagalog for sure. I thought it would be more like spanish, but not really. After dinner I had a drink at Summers Place. They have the best beers because they are "double chill", which means they are kept cool at below zero. I chatted with Loraine for a good hour or so about how she ended up in Boracay, filipino marriage, the education system, her family, etc...

Then I headed to Hey Jude to kill some time. I ended up meeting a cool bloke named Jay and watched the Arsenal/Chelsea match at the bar. Being from Northern London, he naturally supports Arsenal. Even though they lost, I've still decided to become a supporter myself. I've been trying to decide on a team to follow for a few years now and after watching a bio on the team earlier in the day, I decided that meeting a supporter the same night must have been a sign.

Anyways, Jay happens to have been traveling all over Asia for the past 8 months. He has been getting jobs as a dive instructor at each place to stay financially on top of things. After Hey Jude we started walking towards our cottages that happened to be close to each other and ended up stopping off at some outdoor lounge that was pretty busy with people. We met some more Filipina's while we were there and ended up eating their food, haha.

For some reason yesterday happened to be the day I did a lot of "Experimental Eating". For lunch I had a Shawarma, which is like a middle eastern thing. Since there are a lot of Muslim vendors here I think that's why they have a few Shawarma stands on the beach path. It was basically like a gyro, but not as good, and I had no idea what the meat was. Then I had a BananaCue, which was a plantain with melted brown sugar and deep dried on a skewer. There are a popular snack here because they are pretty cheap. I've seen them back home but never tried one...not bad, but would be better with an actual banana i think. And lastly, to top it all off, I was talked into trying my first ever Balot by Jay and a couple of kids selling them. If you don't know what it is, watch Bizarre Foods or something. It's basically a duck egg that has an 18 day old duck embryo inside. It's a snack here in the PI, that most people find delicious. Umm, I wouldn't call it delicious, but I handled it fine. It basically tastes like a juicy hard boiled egg, with a hint of poultry. I have to be honest though, I didn't really savor it like Andrew Zimmern did his first time, it was more like I shoved it in my mouth and chewed as fast as I could so I wouldn't feel the feathers or beak.

Lastly, I visited D'Talipapa today which is basically an outdoor market. They have an endless supply of souvenirs that pretty much consist of the same stuff: shirts, bracelets, little decorations that say Boracay, and other random stuff. Its like the same stuff as you see in Mexico...there must be an international "souvenir" supplier because how the heck would they have the same souvenir stuff thousands of miles away?! They also have a food market there full of seafood, fresh fruits, and meats. At one point I almost threw up from the smell, so I just held my breath until I got out of there. The also have a bunch of cooking services that offer to cook whatever you buy..pretty cool. Also, here in the Philippines, you can try to bargain for everything, just like in Mexico. And just like in Mexico, I'm still no good at it. I negotiate way too hard for these people! I'm not sure they are used to people low-balling them as bad as I do, but that's what I do cause its worth a try! The only problem is that I actually wanted what I was bargaining for. So now, before I leave, I'm going to have to swallow my pride and go back there and try again. I'm sure i'll figure something out.

Last night was great. I had dinner at "Summer's Place" where they serve all-you-can-eat Mongolian BBQ for about $4. While I was there I met a San Miguel Beer promo girl named Julie. Her english is somewhat broken, like most of the people here, but she basically is a college student from St. Augustin in Iloilo City(pronouced ee-low-ee-low), and she "models" here in Boracay part time. We hit it off pretty well and buying a cell phone turned out to be a good decision since she became the first phone number that I got here, haha.

About $5 for a chicken sandwich, fries, and 3 San Miguel Pale Pilsners ain't that bad. And when you throw in the fact that I got to enjoy that on the beautiful white beach of Boracay, that's pretty much priceless. Today was a nice day. The rain stopped for the most part so I walked all over the island, bought a cell phone, and had some beers on the beach. Tomorrow I'm going on an island hopping tour from 10am-4pm. I'm really looking forward to snorkeling and using my new underwater camera! Also I think this will be a good opportunity for me to meet some other people.

Typhoon Emong is hitting the PI, but the news is saying that its weakening, so hopefully that is the case. I guess Western Pangasinan(wherever that is), got hit pretty hard. It killed 10 people and 12 others are missing. And I think the news just said 80% of homes are destroyed, whoa...i hope I misheard heard it.

On a lighter note, if I don't make it onto the Amazing Race, I just discovered that there is an Amazing Race Asia and I would probably have a good shot at making it on that. In fact, when I was walking on the beach today, two locals stopped in their tracks and just started smiling at me from ear to ear. I looked back every once in a while to see that as I walked like 5 mins down the beach, they were still watching me! It really just freaked me out. But they waited for me to walk all the way back, and at that point I was kind of nervous, so I avoided eye contact as I walked by. I thought that maybe my boardshorts we're ripped at the crouch or their was a jellyfish on my face or stomach, but after I thoroughly checked, I came to the conclusion that they thought I was a celebrity, haha! Pretty big headed of me huh?! Well, it wouldn't be the first time actually. When I was at Lisa Filipino Cuisine back home, a Filipina lady said that I looked like a famous PI dancer named John Brown. After a little research, I figured out she was actually saying John Prats. When Filipino's speak english its really hard to tell the difference between their "B's" and "P's". Anyways, so maybe the locals thought I was him. It's better then the other option...there are a lot of gay's and tranny's(or guylady's as the locals call them) running around here. Some times there is way too much eye contact for my liking!

Another observation i've made is that Filipino's are always singing! My Lonely Planet book mentions that just like other asian countries, Karaoke is big here. But what i've learned is that it is much more than just karaoke. I've noticed people are always singing while they are working or just walking around, or doing just about anything really. At night time, just outside the path to my cottage, there are a group of locals who sit around every night and play guitar and sing. And when I was in Makati, a group of guys busted out "Still of the Night" and I had to hold back from joining in. And honestly, I really haven't heard a voice that is bad yet! Most of the time people are singing A Capella and seem to know all of the words to whatever they are singing. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they show the lyrics on the music channels here and karaoke. I think those are some traits that I have picked up. When I was younger I used to be really into singing in public. In fact, I was even in the San Diego Honor Choir one year. And even now, singing is a huge stress reliever for me. I haven't been the same since puberty, but I still don't think I sing all that bad. The only difference is that I'm not as open to sing in front of others anymore...except when I am doing Karaoke. Maybe that is something I can get back from this trip. I also have always had an interest in song lyrics. I always go to lyricsmania.com or songmeanings.com whenever I like a song, because I really can't like it until I know what the song means and I can sing aalong to it. Even when I was younger I used to record songs from the radio onto a casette and then play it back line by line and write down all of the lyrics. To this day I can still rap all of the lyrics to "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems", haha! I never knew it, but maybe a lot of that comes from my filipino side.

I definitely feel like a foreigner here. But its much different. It's not like being an American on vacation in Mexico. Its like I feel foreign from everyone...even the other people on vacation. I haven't met anyone from the states and all the others here are Euro or Korean or Japanese.  Its just crazy that its easier to communicate with the locals! I'm hoping I meet someone similar to me soon. Today was the first day I actually felt lonely and missed home. I'm so used to being surrounded by friends and this is a bit of a difficult experience for me.

But on the other hand, that is why I am here: to step out of my comfort zone and grow. And of course i'm not complaining , this place is gorgeous. It would just be nice to share it with someone else.

I've killed a good amount of mosquitoes in Boracay. And the power has gone out a few times due to the story weather. I pictured it to be super sunny and hot, my whole time here, but instead its wet, humid, and bearably warm. The power just went out again, haha! I am writing this entry from the light from my porch. I did see on the news that there was a level 1 typhoon watch. That was kind of my only fear and its looking to have come true. If that's the case I am glad I believe in Jesus :) Ok, i'm going to go venture into the storm now.

(4:30-ish PM) This morning I woke up in Manila.  At around noon, I was on a plane to Boracay.  I got up, worked out, went to the bank, repacked, and forgot to eat breakfast.  At Ninoy Aquino Airport, I had my first opportunity to eat Jolibee.  Think McDonald's and KFC combined to form a mega-chain of Filipino fast food restaurants.  It wasn't bad.  I got the 2 piece "ChickenJoy" with rice for 122 pesos.  I flew Cebu Pacific to Caticlan Airport.  Scariest Landing Ever.  From Caticlan I took a Tricycle(motorcycle with sidecar) to the boat ferry that takes you to the island.  After paying a bunch of random fees that added up to about $8, I finally got on a boat to the island of Boracay.  Wow!  As I write this, I am sitting on the powdery, white sand of "White Beach".  When I got here I checked in to my "hotel".  It was down a hidden little path about a 45 second walk from the beach in the middle of a barangay (or little neighborhoods/barrio).  I'm staying at Dave's Straw Hat Inn for about $35/night.  It was rated #1 on Trip Advisor so I decided to give it a shot.  There are about 12 cottages, all surrounded by one big garden.  It kind of feels like having a little hut in the middle of the rain forest.  The family that runs it is very friendly and seem as if they are looking out for my best interests.  Christine is one of the staff and we talked for about 30mins.  She is a really cool lady and everyone has made me feel like family and very comfortable already.  It was refreshing to carry on a conversation and it felt even better to make someone laugh.  I've realized that is something that makes me very happy and I haven't had that for days now.

After relaxing in my new home and watching the Arsenal/Manchester United match, that brings me to now.  It is so beautiful here and everyone is smiling again.  There is a big restaurant behind me bumping R&B classics and that brings me inexplicable joy.  They've also played some Filipino song, The Backstreet Boys, and Eminem, Ha!  Some local kids just came up to me and asked if I was a filipino.  I let them know I was half and that my mom is American.  They let me know they were headed home after swimming.  I wonder if they know how good they have it?

(7pm-ish)I'm having dinner at Jony's in Boat Station 1.  They enticed me with a 2 for 1 happy hour.  Although it seems like this place is one big happy hour.  I may move here for good.  Nothing beats eating a nice dinner on a beautiful beach, shirtless, in boardshorts, while sipping on a cocktail.  Everywhere is playing music and its hard for me to express in words how much I love that.  The only thing I would change is less bugs landing/crawling on me and less dudes in Speedos.  The bug thing is my fault though, I should've put on the bug repellent I brought.  I assume I won't be doing much journaling the rest of the week since I plan on doing a lot of the same stuff: Beach, relaxing, partying, and water activities.  I'm also trying to decide if I want to spend the $300 to become PADI Certified...it would be worth it since i'll be here for a month...we'll see.

(10am):I woke up at a more decent hour this morning: 7am.  It was still pretty wet outside, but the city is just as busy as ever.  I wonder where all these people are going so early in the day?  I would assume to their jobs, but wouldn't their day already be started by 10am?  It's also really crazy how many people are fully dressed and headed to the mall this early.  My uncle let me know that Makati is basically the Beverly Hills of PI, so that probably has something to do with it.  I'm eating breakfast while writing the first part of this entry.  I'm at this place called "Heaven & Eggs".  It's a pretty "hip" joint for breakfast.  Everything is "rockstar" themed and they have a J.Lo concert playing on the TV and its connected to the speakers and playing as loud as if we are all at the concert.  In the US they might do something like this for dinner or at a bar, but not for breakfast!  Breakfast places back home are pretty stuffy and I literally get headaches when I eat at them...i've been that way ever since I was a little kid...seriously, just ask my mom.  Anyways, so yeah, the malls are super busy, super early.  At 9:45am a line actually starts forming outside of all the multiple entrances.  My plans today are to visit the touristy areas to learn about the history of the Philippines: Intramuros, Rizal Park, Ermita, Malate, etc...  I'm also hoping to catch a famous Manila Bay Sunset during dinner.  But first I need to see if I can get a flight and a room in Boracay.  Talk about last minute.  We'll see what happens, but I might be staying an extra night in Manila.

I woke up this morning at 4am. And even that I had to force, because I easily could have got my day started at 3am. I'm not sure if its just that i'm not adjusted to the time zone or if i'm just excited to get the adventure started. To pass the time I went to the gym here at my hotel and worked out. I decided to stay at one of the 5 Star hotels here in Manila to start my trip off (although it's more like a 3 or 4 star by US Standards). I know that won't be the case for the rest of my stay, but I just wanted a nice place to rest up from my long flight and to adjust to this new country...heck, new continent.

After the gym, I went off to explore Makati. In one word, I would describe the Makati Area as: Mall. The Ayala Center is made up of shops, other hotels, and enclosed malls. It seems like everything here is an Ayala Property- think Irvine Companies. I believe Ayala was a previous President and that seems to be how the politics work here: Money = Power. All of the buildings are interlinked and the whole time it seems like you never leave the mall...cause well...you don't! I spent about 4 hours exploring the malls, the business district, and people watching; and I was often reminded of Las Vegas(interlinked buildings, unable to cross the street by the malls without using a bridge), NYC(sidewalks filled with people walking to and from places and occasional whiffs of the sewer system), South Coast Plaza(think South Coast x 50), and Cancun(tropical weather, similar smells) all wrapped into one city full of smiling Filipinos. I had lunch at "Sentro 1771"in the Greenbelt (mall) District. For my first real meal in PI, I figured it was only right to go with the local cuisine and it only seemed fitting to get the Adobo Dish. It was pretty good, but my Grandma's is better. I also asked for my servers recommendation for an appetizer and she quickly responded with what was basically mozzarella sticks cut into little bite-sized pieces. Wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was alright. Lastly, I finished with a classic filipino dessert, Halo Halo. Yum!

When I was walking around, I really couldn't help but feel that I could really love it here. The weather is great, its not too hot and the humidity is fine by me. This morning I was reading "The Philippine Star" newspaper and you can just tell that this country really is proud of being Filipino and they put a great emphasis on "improving themselves", pleasing God, and making an impact on the rest of the world. The support of Manny Pacquiao is a great example of that. I missed the fight, but I got to see the highlights. It only lasted 2 rounds, so i didn't miss much! Go Pacman!

During the afternoon, I spent some time at the pool. It looks really nice, but the tall standing hotel shadows the whole pool area. I wonder if they did that on purpose because Filipinos are brown and have no need to tan? I actually did see "whitening" sunscreen at the drug store and it boasts that it helps keep skin fair...doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?

I went back to Greenbelt for dinner late tonight. For a Monday night, that place was packed! There are literally like 50+ restaurants and bars and all of them were pretty busy. After dinner, I decided to stop in at the nearby internet cafe and it too was packed with teens/college students playing warcraft, haha! I spent 30 mins there (for only 30 php) and when I got out it was pouring rain! I'm talking POURING...like monsoon rain! That's when I was forced to make a crucial decision, taxi or walk? A taxi would have cost maybe $1. Easy decision right? Well not for me...I decided that it would be SUPER fun to navigate my way back and enjoy the sites. This decision came with some obstacles though. The first one being that the malls shut their doors at 10pm. When they are open, I can literally walk all the way through them to my hotel. That was ok though, since a lot of the sidewalks have some cover. My 2nd obstacle was the fact that I really did not know where I was going. I traversed down some dark, not-so-safe looking alleys and did a few circles before getting on the right path. And then there came a point where there were no longer covered sidewalks to protect me from the downpour. One thing I should point out is that instead of wearing shorts, a tee, and my rainbows, like i've been doing my whole time here, I decided to dress up just a little and where jeans and my white vans. As you could imagine, I ended up getting completely soaked. How could I not when I'm sprinting through Manila in Katrina like conditions, jumping over newly formed rivers, all while doing my best to dodge the crazy manila traffic. When I finally got back to the hotel, the security laughed at me. But you know, after it was all said and done, I am really glad I made that decision. Now I can check it off my list: Took a monsoon head-on in Manila and won.