so this past weekend was fantastic. it was tiresome but fantastic. CFSI (community and family services international), the organization where i work, planned a staff get-away retreat which took place this past weekend. we went to this town, tagaytay (ta-guy-tie), about 2 hours outside of smoggy, dirty, overcrowded manila. it was just what the doctor ordered. there are two claims to fame for this city. one there is a stunning view of a large volcano that houses a smaller volcano in it's mouth. of course this volcano is on another island but that is to be expected in a place that possesses over 7,000 islands. anyways, it was really beautiful.
and the other claim to fame is the buko (coconut) pie. and we did eat the buko pie!! there was booqu buko pie.... hahahaha get it, get it? (yeah i know it's bad) anyways, this was my first time having coconut pie and it is quite good if i may say so myself. not a huge fan of coconut milk straight from the nut but buko meat and buko pie are both quite exquisite.
what has been interesting to witness here is how U.S. culture has influenced the philippines. there are three factors that immediately come to mind: fast food, basketball and reality tv shows. i plan to write about the first two some other time but for today let's spend some time on the tv reality shows.
part of the retreat time was staff development, or a fancy word for forced fun with coworkers (in actuality it was quite fun). what comprised most of these activities were CFSI versions of american reality tv shows. first was american idol and then was amazing race. my contribution to american idol because of course everyone was forced to participate was my housemate jen and i teaching native filipinos classic early 90's dance moves. go ahead laugh it up chuckles!! they seemed to enjoy it and got really into the running man!!
now i am a huge fan of amazing race. personally i would sign up for that stress in a minute. CFSI version was great. we had to work as a team to accomplish specific tasks and the last task was eating a whole buko pie. yes folks a whole pie. there were five people in my group and we were not messing around by any means. i have never inhaled a pie so fast. i think we downed the pie and a liter of caribou milk in about 3 minutes it was amazing. (note to self- caribou milk tastes VERY similar to non-pasteurized cow milk) considering this was my first taste of the buko pie i didn't really get to truly enjoy the experience but CFSI amazing race was definitely on par!!
after the retreat i dragged by ragged self into my bed not to emerge until 12 hours later. boy did it feel good to sleep. good thing i rested because my sunday afternoon adventure was not for the faint hearted. now normally my sunday afternoons consist of eating some lunch, NAPPING, reading or do some low-key activity. not yesterday... one of my coworkers took my housemates and i to divisoria market. a place that is chalked full of anything you ever would want to purchase. pots, underwear, dvds, jewlery, knock-off pumas, ipods and the list goes on. it was amazing... so much stuff. that doesn't even mention the amount of people present. i think there were times when my feet were not touching the ground but instead i was "floating" with the crowd. it was an experience. (i think i may write that every time i blog.... ah well.)
so that was this past weekend. also CONGRATS to JULIA on graduating from high school. i am very proud of you and wish i could have been there for the celebration. you were thought of many times.
"girls don't sweat, they glow" well if that is the case i am a little glow worm!!
blessings...
oh and check out my pictures on the right side of my blog page!! enjoy.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
adventures in the land of malls
so, it is my impression thus far that shopping malls carry quite a bit of weight here in manila. i could totally be misreading this but the mall is the place to be. it is a grocery story, an eatery, a cool (as in temperature) place to duck in from the heat and just a place to see and be seen. for all who know me well know that malls are not my thing. seriously do you really need to shop that much?? but the closest grocery store is located in mall thus the need to visit frequently.
last evening my housemates and i (three including me) headed to eat some dinner and go to the grocery store. the grocery store experience was pleasant, dinner not so much. we ate at this chain chinese restaurant call "chow king" bad news bears. needless to say we won't be returning there. anyways we are heading out of the mall and one of my housemates decides actually take one of the myriad promotional handouts people shove in your face throughout the mall. this little flyer is actually a scratch off- very fun!! she scratches the little square and WINS!!! yeah... she wins a personal alarm system. now who really needs a personal alarm system is beyond me.
as we find out she won about 6 similarly dressed men rush over to congratulate her and we are quickly ushered up to this smallish store. seriously it is almost a blur. the store appears to sell all the necessities of life- lavious chair and personal massagers, sparkling pans that have medicinal benefits, super duper air and water purifiers. one of my housemates is ushered to a lazyboy chair complete with a massager as myself and the other housemate are seated on a couchlike thing. thus begins the sale pitches.... i never knew so much about purifiers nor massagers but after i left the store i felt like an expert. during the sales pitch about 6 more people joined the sales force. seriously i think there were more sales staff than products in the store. eventually they found out that my housemates was from utah and the men were in love. i am assuming they were in love with her beauty not the fact she is from utah but hey you never know. anyways, they started calling her miss utah and miss universe. meanwhile my other housemate and i were cracking up.
while all this fun was going on i was asked to pick a raffle ticket. next to the jar were countless tickets stating "thank you for playing" so i just figured that would be my fate. boy was i wrong.... from my raffle ticket i won the lavious chair massager AND a personal massager. oh i was tempted.. and i mean tempted... but they were free, right?? yeah not some much. basically i would have to buy another product and then they were free. okay to wrap this story up... i didn't buy anything, we didn't get the chair massager nor the personal massager but my housemate was able to keep the ever so valuable personal alarm.
what a whirlwind it was.... so much fun and so many laughs. i know the text version of the story does not do it justice but trust it was a memory. unfortunately nobody had their camera so we could not formally document this occasion... lesson learned: bring the camera, everywhere.
still laughing.... still exploring... and as always enjoying life.
blessings.
last evening my housemates and i (three including me) headed to eat some dinner and go to the grocery store. the grocery store experience was pleasant, dinner not so much. we ate at this chain chinese restaurant call "chow king" bad news bears. needless to say we won't be returning there. anyways we are heading out of the mall and one of my housemates decides actually take one of the myriad promotional handouts people shove in your face throughout the mall. this little flyer is actually a scratch off- very fun!! she scratches the little square and WINS!!! yeah... she wins a personal alarm system. now who really needs a personal alarm system is beyond me.
as we find out she won about 6 similarly dressed men rush over to congratulate her and we are quickly ushered up to this smallish store. seriously it is almost a blur. the store appears to sell all the necessities of life- lavious chair and personal massagers, sparkling pans that have medicinal benefits, super duper air and water purifiers. one of my housemates is ushered to a lazyboy chair complete with a massager as myself and the other housemate are seated on a couchlike thing. thus begins the sale pitches.... i never knew so much about purifiers nor massagers but after i left the store i felt like an expert. during the sales pitch about 6 more people joined the sales force. seriously i think there were more sales staff than products in the store. eventually they found out that my housemates was from utah and the men were in love. i am assuming they were in love with her beauty not the fact she is from utah but hey you never know. anyways, they started calling her miss utah and miss universe. meanwhile my other housemate and i were cracking up.
while all this fun was going on i was asked to pick a raffle ticket. next to the jar were countless tickets stating "thank you for playing" so i just figured that would be my fate. boy was i wrong.... from my raffle ticket i won the lavious chair massager AND a personal massager. oh i was tempted.. and i mean tempted... but they were free, right?? yeah not some much. basically i would have to buy another product and then they were free. okay to wrap this story up... i didn't buy anything, we didn't get the chair massager nor the personal massager but my housemate was able to keep the ever so valuable personal alarm.
what a whirlwind it was.... so much fun and so many laughs. i know the text version of the story does not do it justice but trust it was a memory. unfortunately nobody had their camera so we could not formally document this occasion... lesson learned: bring the camera, everywhere.
still laughing.... still exploring... and as always enjoying life.
blessings.
Monday, May 21, 2007
manila... such good envelopes (get it?)
magandang umaga folks!! (it means good morning or actually beautiful morning. i am still trying to master that actual pronunciation.) so obviously i have made it to my new home for approximately the next three months and let me say it feels good to be here. my shiny face has been smiling since i got off the plane.
my journey here was completely uneventful which was fantastic. i watched “dirty dancing” three times and “music and lyrics” twice. quality entertainment!! ;) read a good chuck of a book and tried to sleep (key word being tried) i was amazed at the fact that my legs still worked after sitting for about 13 hours… wow that was quite a flight. let me just add the flight attendants for japan airlines are awesome… so much better than any flight i have ever been on in the U.S. once again the lessons to be learned!!
hmmm… so this weekend i have attempted to get used to the complete 12-hour difference. i knew it was going to be a challenge but being a pro at napping/sleeping has definitely aided in the adjustment. i look forward to the day when my body accepts that it is time to sleep NOT eat lunch. not that i am eating too much…. if you didn’t already know it’s a bit warm here and by warm i mean hot and humid (90’s with oh i don’t know 80% humidity) a recipe for BEAUTIFUL tropical scenery but also a recipe for constant sweating. (thanks mom and dad for the excellent cooling system… ☺)
also this weekend we (my housemates and i) were able to explore manila a bit. what a vibrant city. our apartment is definitely not in the “ritzy” part of the city, which has its positives and negatives. yesterday, in search of a wi-fi area my housemate and i ran across this hotel. we entered with fond expectations of opening our laptops and reconnecting with all those who have emailed since we have been gone. (by the way, for those who have- thanks it was great to read them!!) back to the story, so we sit down and eventually discover this fancy and well-to-do establishment rents rooms by the hour. so here are two american women sitting in this hotel witnessing the ever so present reality of sex tourism in the philippines. i found it to be a slightly uncomfortable situation but that’s another entry. Anyways, so we logged on and the internet works for maybe 10 minutes then stops. moral of the story i read a few emails, didn’t write back to any but had a wonderful plate of adobo chicken….oh what an experience.
okay so i think i should probably wrap up this entry. there is more to share but i must leave something to the imagination. tomorrow starts work, YEAH!! (and that is not sarcastic I am really excited about it) until whenever…
Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!! You were thought of many times this past Saturday.
Blessings…
my journey here was completely uneventful which was fantastic. i watched “dirty dancing” three times and “music and lyrics” twice. quality entertainment!! ;) read a good chuck of a book and tried to sleep (key word being tried) i was amazed at the fact that my legs still worked after sitting for about 13 hours… wow that was quite a flight. let me just add the flight attendants for japan airlines are awesome… so much better than any flight i have ever been on in the U.S. once again the lessons to be learned!!
hmmm… so this weekend i have attempted to get used to the complete 12-hour difference. i knew it was going to be a challenge but being a pro at napping/sleeping has definitely aided in the adjustment. i look forward to the day when my body accepts that it is time to sleep NOT eat lunch. not that i am eating too much…. if you didn’t already know it’s a bit warm here and by warm i mean hot and humid (90’s with oh i don’t know 80% humidity) a recipe for BEAUTIFUL tropical scenery but also a recipe for constant sweating. (thanks mom and dad for the excellent cooling system… ☺)
also this weekend we (my housemates and i) were able to explore manila a bit. what a vibrant city. our apartment is definitely not in the “ritzy” part of the city, which has its positives and negatives. yesterday, in search of a wi-fi area my housemate and i ran across this hotel. we entered with fond expectations of opening our laptops and reconnecting with all those who have emailed since we have been gone. (by the way, for those who have- thanks it was great to read them!!) back to the story, so we sit down and eventually discover this fancy and well-to-do establishment rents rooms by the hour. so here are two american women sitting in this hotel witnessing the ever so present reality of sex tourism in the philippines. i found it to be a slightly uncomfortable situation but that’s another entry. Anyways, so we logged on and the internet works for maybe 10 minutes then stops. moral of the story i read a few emails, didn’t write back to any but had a wonderful plate of adobo chicken….oh what an experience.
okay so i think i should probably wrap up this entry. there is more to share but i must leave something to the imagination. tomorrow starts work, YEAH!! (and that is not sarcastic I am really excited about it) until whenever…
Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!! You were thought of many times this past Saturday.
Blessings…
Thursday, May 17, 2007
okay i'm off...
okay folks... i am off. in less than 30 minutes i will start my journey. i know i can tell you are just sooo excited. blessings, thoughts, prayers requested!! (and that is a command.)
blessings...
blessings...
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
it's official
so it's official... i am going to the philippines. not that it wasn't official before but now i have a visa, i have taken out some mad cash for traveling and i am actually going in a little over a week. dear lord, what am i getting myself into?
i have been given a bit more information about where i will be working for my spell in manila. the organization is called community and family services international and their website is www.cfsi.ph/p_phil , check it out if you are interested. all i can say at this point in time is WOW... such good, great, wonderful work they do. i will be my honor to part of the CFSI family for 11 short weeks.
oh and i will be graduating on saturday- YEAH!! not so much yeah for the ceremony part of things but a definite YEAH for getting to see my family for 2 or so days. the word on the street is i will be getting a digital camera for a graduation present so prepare yourself for some pictures... ;)
hmmmm... well that is me. until next time.
blessings...
i have been given a bit more information about where i will be working for my spell in manila. the organization is called community and family services international and their website is www.cfsi.ph/p_phil , check it out if you are interested. all i can say at this point in time is WOW... such good, great, wonderful work they do. i will be my honor to part of the CFSI family for 11 short weeks.
oh and i will be graduating on saturday- YEAH!! not so much yeah for the ceremony part of things but a definite YEAH for getting to see my family for 2 or so days. the word on the street is i will be getting a digital camera for a graduation present so prepare yourself for some pictures... ;)
hmmmm... well that is me. until next time.
blessings...
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
i'm done
so i'm done... i'm done... oh did i mention I AM DONE!! i have attended my final class, completed my last paper and emailed in my final exam and, let me tell you, it feels darn good. now my focus will shift to preparing for my philippines adventure which will commence in 2 weeks. 2 weeks.... geez!
these days i find myself wondering where i am headed in life... what will the next few months or years look like.... what does my path look like... am i making the correct decisions...what if i am not... is my place in dc or another location on this globe? wow okay let's just stop there. see i have been out of academic commission for just over a day and already my brain is speeding ahead.
goal for tomorrow: enjoy the time off, get the minimal tasks completed and otherwise just be. hmmmm...sounds like a recipe for paradise.
blessings...
these days i find myself wondering where i am headed in life... what will the next few months or years look like.... what does my path look like... am i making the correct decisions...what if i am not... is my place in dc or another location on this globe? wow okay let's just stop there. see i have been out of academic commission for just over a day and already my brain is speeding ahead.
goal for tomorrow: enjoy the time off, get the minimal tasks completed and otherwise just be. hmmmm...sounds like a recipe for paradise.
blessings...
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