Now that I’m finally starting to get things lined up and my head on straight I’m putting some thought into my trip to the Philippines. Lets seee.. its 10:43 PM and I was planning to be in bed by 10:30.. shucks.. that’s not happening ;). Alright, I’ve got some good stories to tell so its time to start telling ’em.
Day One –
After a 30 hour drive/flight/drive to the Philippines through treacherous airports (LAX), uncharted islands (45 minute stop in Hawaii), and a short hop over the pond (Pacific Ocean), we landed in Manila, Philippines. We left on Tuesday, late in the afternoon, and wound up getting there very late on Thursday night. Gotta love international datelines..
Alright, so we’re there and we’re hungry.. time to try out some of the local delicacies! We spend a few hours waiting for our baggage.. or rather, the girls are waiting for theirs. Gotta love ’em, each one brought along their own entourage of luggage and, sure enough, a few of ’em got lost in the wonderland of airport transportation. Once that was taken care of and we’d gotten some money exchanged, off we went.
… The Security!
These guys are QUITE serious.. there were guards ALL over the airport and they weren’t messing around. We saw quite a few M-16’s and one guy was wielding a really big mop and a bucket.. had to keep your eye on him ;).
So with that, we found our way into a tiny little restaraunt underneath the airport.
“Do you have anything vegetarian?” She looked at me for a moment then nodded emphatically, “Vegetables! Here!” She pointed me down the line to a lone pot of spinach.. it didn’t look quite right though. I asked if she had anything else. She said no, waited a moment, then asked if I liked.. tofu! “Yes!” I said.. and she dished me out Tofu and went on to the next eager American.
… I didn’t suspect a thing..
Of course you never find out till after you’re done eating..
..One of our group walks over to our table.. “Man, they’ve got pork in the tofu”.. Suddenly the not-so-fond memory of the squishy stuff in the center of each tofu square came back to mind. I had innocently assumed the best.. “They prepare tofu differently here!”.. And then my supporting cast of friends began chiming in.. “So, what’s it like?”.. “You liked it.. didn’t ya!”..
My stomach felt violated =P.
Yeah, so THAT was very interesting.. not too long after and we began our 8 hour bus ride to Baguio City.
..The philippine drivers are AMAZING.
These guys have some serious skillz.. they know their vehicles! They’re driving these HUGE buses like its a casual outing in a sportscar! And then their was our driver who made LA drivers look like sissies. It was really amazing.. and you completely trust them too. They drive like they know what they’re doing and so you sit back, relax, and hope for the best.
“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” – By Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand.. hmm.. I listen to interesting things at night ;).
Off I go.. tomorrow’s a biiig day! Goodnight World!
-Jonathan Wold
Daily Action Step:
Today was Ted’s birthday! We went out and saw some friends of his.. it was cool! He’s 41 years old.. and we’re gonna play basketball tomorrow ;).
P.S. My good friend Paulie Sabol has opened up for internships this summer! I can vouch for it as DEFINITELY worth your time to check it out if you’re interested in a life changing experience :). It definitely changed my life and I’m proud to call Paulie a friend. Check it out at http://www.pauliesabol.com – I’m also happy to answer any questions ’bout it!