Hey everyone,
Hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL Father's Day! It has been awhile since I have blogged. I have been pretty busy with work and last weekend, I did not do a whole lot. I had someone pick up and do my laundry and it cost about $10. I went shopping for some things that I needed because I really did not have any clothes while my laundry was out. I found some great clothes and a fun new pairs of shoes. The mall is pretty expensive here, but cheaper than in the US. Any one want Havaianas because they run about $20 bucks here?? I live about 5 blocks from the store. Although, I have more than enough of those flip flops. Last weekend, I also had sometime at the big grocery store. I noticed the produce section is smaller than the Candy, Cookie, and Chips aisle. They surely do have a junkie tooth - if I have not mentioned that before - it is kinda crazy. thankfully for me - I have a great place for free breakfast with fresh fruits, eggs, pancakes, and toasts, freshly squeezed orange juice and a salad if I feel like eating it. They also offer rice, meat, veggies and hot soup for breakfast - I have not yet ventured into that section, but find it crazy how heavy their meals are here and just plain HOT. Megan and I went to an Italian Restaurant for dinner last Sunday and it was great.
Restaurant Service in this town is not something we can ever get used too - they are extremely slow in the Philippines. They bring out the food all either at the same time, which means we get appetizers the same as the main meal or else sometimes they bring out one meal at a time, maybe they have just one cook or something. Also, they do not bring the check unless you specifically ask for it and then wait until you pay and wait until you tip. They must have many people who dine and dash. Megan and I are fussy Americans and greatly appreciate the customer service in the United States.
This week was tough because I was kinda of put in the dark with one of my teams. I finally was given some information and realized I have a lot of work to do. Work has been frustrating but I finally have all the tools and hope that I can get it all done and ready within the next month so I can get home by the 16th. I might end up staying until the end of the week, but I know I won't need to be here much longer after that - both for my sanity and for the need for me to be here. Hopefully, I will finally get an answer this week. I am thankful for all of you whom support me throughout this journey and I know I will come out of it with wonderful memories and a great learning experience about myself and what I can do.
This weekend was my time to shop, shop, shop. Carmela, one of the managers here in Manila, took Megan and I to a bazaar mall with a ton of shopping, the store has pearls, knock off purses, bags, clothes, shoes, souvenirs, and religious articles. I have a lot of things to bring home now! How am I going to get it all home!?! It was really cheap, but I know it meant a lot to the Filipinos because they don't get money like that very often. I did not sleep after my night of work and I had such an adrenaline rush from all the stuff in such a small area!! Megan and I were productive and it felt great to think of others and to finally buy some things. I am going to have to leave my old back pack here and to buy a bigger carry on. One odd thing that they sell is Frog purses - they are real frogs who look like they are cauterized (sp) and turned into purses- it was quite disturbing. Check out my facebook page after this as I will be adding pictures.
We ate a another Italian restaurant with Oven Roasted Pizzas across the street from our hotel. Then went home for a much needed nap. Afterwards, Megan was still in the mood to shop and I thought it best to show her the other area to get Filipino souvenirs, near our hotel. It will be a nice place to get anything last minute. It was a little more expensive then Greenhills, but is of a little better quality. We ended up buying some more things around the mall. The mall had a Healing Mass when we were there with people being healed by a priest who was touching people and many fainted. There were hundreds of people waiting to be touched by this priest and it was something I have never seen before.
After tha mall closed at 10pm, we decided to go to our famous Greenbilt to eat dinner. We were finally ready for some American food - so we ate at the Bubba Gump shrimp Company - the food looked amazing and it was great to know that the food was safe to eat. Sunday was supposed to be a day for me to relax and lay out by the pool. I ended up sleeping the entire day today - which makes sense because now I have to stay awake to get back on my regular schedule for work this week. I actually feel great right now, the most sleep I have gotten since I have been here.
Megan and I are hoping to plan some flight trips and day excursions for the rest of our trip. I will let you know once we plan those weekends! It is much needed as we have been busy with work and finally are feeling the effects of too much work!!
I hope you all have been enjoying my blogging and I am so excited to think that I have passed my halfway point or will be this week!! Love and miss you all!
