manila: the first few days

we're home!


Well, our other home. To be honest, the philippines no longer feels 100% like home which isn't a good or bad thing. it's nice to be able to identify with multiple places especially in this day and age...the world is flat, di ba?  =)


Michelle has adjusted quickly to everything around her. She's been to the wet market (palengke) and ridden the tricycle and pedicab. She's questioned the absence of toilet paper from public restrooms and refuses to go potty without my reassurance that i have a roll of TP in my purse at her disposal.  flies still freak her out (kahit sa san francisco, takot sya sa langaw) and she's having a blast stomping at ants around the sidewalks (pag nakagat ng langgam ito, siguradong madadala!) 


we spent our first day with my family and she's really bonded with her ate gela who is just a year older than her.  yesterday, we spent time with paul's family. since her cousins are older, she hasn't made quite the same connection but she was thrilled to see her tito jon's african love birds (he has like 20 of them) and she got to hold a baby bird and saw eggs that are just beginning to hatch.  kuya jon had a more interesting pet, an albino python, but we skipped that one.  we're here for a vacation, we're not here to freak our selves out.  =)


we're staying at the marriott in manila for a few days (thanks to my marriott points, i'm hardly paying for the stay) and i'm impressed with their service and facilities.  maganda!  and the casino/mall right next door will remind you of the hotel/casinos on the las vegas strip.  


most of money has been spent on food.  paul and i noticed food is more expensive now.  in an effort na makatipid dahil parang ang mahal ng last several meals namin, paul and i decided to just eat at sm sucat's food court.  natuwa kami kasi our lunch would only cost P200!  that's $5 for the 3 of us!  after michelle's first bite, she refused to eat any more.  after my first bite, i looked at paul...after his first bite, he looked at me and took a big gulp of his sprite...he looked at me again and said, 'sprite ba 'to o tubig?'  we pushed the food away and tried to find the nearest jollibee.  jollibee has changed as well. di namin alam if it was just that branch or the whole organization has changed.  =(  after our lunch disaster, paul and i agreed na wag na magkuripot pagdating sa pagkain.  kakain kami kung san namin gusto kumain basta reasonable naman ang presyo at hindi presyong ginto.  


by the time we got to our car, i was exhausted.  lunch lang, nastress na kami.  nakakastress pala yung gutom na gutom ka tapos hindi mo makain yung pagkaing nasa harap mo. 


tonight, we're meeting paul's friends from sykes and tomorrow i spend time with my gamols.  =)