mabuti (pronounced my booty!)

mabuti mean "good or doing well". it is the response given to kumusta (pronounced exactly like como esta) or how are you? it is the generic phrase given. you know like in english you say fine whether or not you are fine. anyways so have been mabuti in the true sense of the word this past week. giving the appearance of being good, fine, pleasant yet internally dealing with the departure of the honeymoon stage of culture shock.

what is the honeymoon stage i speak of? well for me it's the portion of time normally at the beginning of a new experience when wild horses could tear me away from where i am or what i am doing. okay maybe not wild horses but i am enjoying the experiences i am having. there are little to no annoyances, everything makes me smile. (not that that is too difficult but that is beside the point). and then time passes and little nuances to a different culture surface and irritate me a bit and i long for the familiar.

another way to think of it is like a relationship... you meet someone, infatuation follows for days, weeks or months. you think during that time there is nothing that other person can say or do that will annoy or anger you. however time passes and eventually reality sets in. you realize there are differences, annoyances and "flaws" and you make a decision whether it's worth the effort to continue.

so i have officially left the honeymoon or infatuation stage of my time in the philippines. three weeks... that's about the correct time frame...:) i no longer think it's neat to try to cram myself onto an already packed train, i find it a bit annoying to be stared at CONSTANTLY where ever i go, and i am over the novelty of changing currency. however, the mangoes are divine, the people are kind and the country is beautiful. so the philippines and i have worked things out and i think it's worth the effort to continue on this journey. wow.. i am totally stretching this metaphor to no end.

thanks for the emails this week... they were most appreciated.

also CONGRATS to jacob on graduation from THE OHIO STATE!!! yeah that's right.... go BUCKS!! i wish i could be there to celebrate. you are awesome and you should be proud of your accomplishments.

blessings....