Manila, Day 1, 11 July 2010

I would have honestly just written this in real time in the actual blog, but as I can’t find the internet connection password, that progress is delayed. Along with writing emails to let everyone know I’ve hear safely. So, I apologize. I should have written last night, but it was almost two in the morning and I wanted to go to bed and everyone else was on line anyway. So, let me back up.
Friday morning, I woke up at 5 15 am, after sleeping for three hours in my bed at home. I’d already packed, but needed to throw some snacks and things in my backpack still. Gavin was going to come pick me up at 5 30, so I got completely ready and moved all my stuff out to the front porch. The idea was that we’d only have one checked bag between us, and we had to add still some toiletries. Well, let’s just say I ended up having enough time to eat some cereal, wander around the house, and unload the dishwasher. And then sit on the porch quietly.
But he came and we loaded up and drove back to his apartment. On the way, the cab driver called and hung up after about three rings, which wasn’t enough to allow Gavin to answer the call, and of course we couldn’t call back. Every other time Gavin’s used Laclede Cab Company, its taken them a half hour to get to where he was. So, he called on the way to pick me up, figuring the cab would be there about the time we got back to the apartment. Laclede chose today of all days to be early, and of course left by the time we got there.
So, we added what we needed to the suitcase and called again. It took them 45 minutes to arrive, and two phone calls to the dispatcher. Our original plan was to take the cab to Metrolink and take that the rest of the way to Lambert. At this point, we were running out of time, because it takes about an hour with the train to get up to the airport. Not a good feeling. The cab finally came and she said that with the $65 between us, she could get us to the airport. So away we went, and it only cost $40 for the both of us. And there was no traffic and we checked in on time.
Checking in was another adventure. Basically, we wanted to have the suitcase transferred to our other flights, without us having to find it in baggage claim in Chicago to have to re-check it in there for the other flights. We eventually succeeded in doing this, but it did take a while. The lady at American said she couldn’t look up our Delta itinerary to transfer out bags, but the Delta people made Gavin wait so long in line, the American people just did it for us anyway.
Getting to the gate for the Chicago flight was a big relief. It meant we’d make all the other flights. I don’t’ really remember if anything noteworthy happened on that flight. It’s quite short and they all are beginning to blend together. But once in Chicago, Gavin called Noel to see which gate he was at, and we took the train to get there. Oh, no, we didn’t…I’m misremembering the train I took in Atlanta. So, no, we walked to the Gate in Chicago. Once we found Noel and Jazzie, we talked for a bit, checked in, and then went in search of breakfast. I ended up getting some chicken tenders and Gavin ate a sandwich from Quizno’s; it was really more of an early lunch, since I’d technically eaten breakfast already at 5:30 that morning.
The ride to Detroit was pretty good. We were all in the same row. The main event was that a fly managed to get on the plane with us. I personally think it followed the absolutely horrendously smelling baby (that screamed a lot). I’m not sure why the diaper wasn’t changed, but it really needed to be. But, the fly was a source of annoyance, especially to Gavin and Noel, who had the aisle seats. So, they went on a fly hunt. Armed with rolled up Sky Magazines, they waited at ready for the fly to land within their vicinity. They were unsuccessful. Luckily the other passengers were quite tolerant of their brandishing weapons and attempts, though no one came close to any danger.
The notable thing about the Detroit airport is that their train is red, inside and elevated. Very cool. Our time was rather short, which was fine, because I was ready to go. The plane we took to Tokyo was humongous and had two storeys. I’d never seen one before, except in a few movies and it was insane. I didn’t get a chance to go up to the second story, because its reserved for the first class people and its where the cockpit is. But taking off took a little longer than normal and you could really sense the weight of the plane in comparison to other ones.
The flight was somehow okay. I expected myself to really super get sick of it, but I was all right. It definitely helped that I wasn’t alone; all four of us sat in the same row and had a lot of catching up to do. We were promised four movies by SkyMall magazine, but they only showed one very late at night, which I didn’t watch. I went back to sleep at that point. But, dinner was really good (soy sauce chicken with rice and carrots) and I made sure to drink plenty of water. Gavin and I played the Turkish card game we learned in Vienna. I won more than he did. Then he later taught it to Noel.
The conversations we had were all really good. Mostly it was just catching, but also teasing each other about random stuff. Like how I fell off the ladder of my bed freshman year and couldn’t dance with Noel at First Friday’s. I still feel bad, but the fall really did hurt. I was so bruised I couldn’t wear shoes or do any of the lifts. Anyways, I think the flight from Detroit to Tokyo was about thirteen hours. Then we had some madness getting out of the plane (it took a while) and getting to the next gate. We had to go through another security checkpoint, which was really painless, and then charge down to the next gate.
Even though we were all on the same row again, for some reason Noel and Jazzie were in loading zone one, and Gavin and I were in zone four. So we just snuck in with them. The flight from Tokyo to Manila was four hours and seemed a little longer. Gavin slept a bit again, but I think I did too a bit. Noel said we’d eat dinner once we got back to the house, so we didn’t eat any of the dinner on the plane. I did eat a granola bar, though, because I’d missed breakfast on the other flight and it’d be at least four hours before we’d be at the house. This plane was another two storey jet and had a screaming baby for the last half hour.
Once in Manila, we were really glad to be done with planes. Especially me. But, Noel’s guard met us before we even reached customs or baggage claim. We’d already filled out our immigration paper work and he took care of that for us. Somehow we’d all forgotten to sign one part, but it was all right. It was weird to be escorted through all the quicker lanes and whatnot, though. At baggage claim, Noel’s and Jazzie’s suitcases came right away. Gavin and mine took another half hour to arrive. I did start feeling a little nervous, but the number of other people waiting for theirs made me feel better. There was a lot of cargo that came with the suitcases, too. Which was odd seeing these giant cardboard boxes tumbling down the conveyor belt and smashing into others and whatnot. I wonder if anything inside broke.
Finally we got our suitcase, which Noel sprinted to get. This meant he was hungry. We then went to find the car. This also took a bit, because of all the traffic and people. There are very few rules that are followed when it come to traffic here. It was insane to watch…all these cars just going and ignoring the police man and people wandering out into traffic. But we finally got into the van and our luggage followed behind us. I think it was almost an hour drive to the house, which was strange but fun.
I say strange, because it was so dark (we landed at ten pm) so we couldn’t really see much outside of the street. Its weird knowing there are buildings and everything but not being able to see them. And people would wander into the street, motorcycles weaving in and out of the cars, and bicycles acting like cars. And the amount of traffic was akin to that of our rush hour. But this was almost midnight. Crazy.
The house was quite a surprise, though I didn’t have any expectations. Both Noel’s parents were there, along with his brother, Mike, and fiancée, Precious. They’re all very nice and there was a lot of food waiting for us. We went and set our things down in our rooms first and then went down to dinner. Dinner was insane, but somehow not entirely surprising. There were two kinds of crab, which were very big. I believe one was a garlic crab and the other a Singaporean crab. I actually ate the claw of one. Usually crab makes me feel nauseous, but this didn’t. Then again, the only crab I’ve ever eaten came from Red Lobster. I was a little worried that my initial dislike for crab would be frowned upon, but I tried it and liked it, so it worked out.
There was also some spaghetti, which was very good, rice, and some snack cakes that I don’t know how to spell. It was all very good and we just talked about our travels and what we’d want to. The Puno’s also have two dogs, the chocolate lab’s called Portis, and the beagle’s called Princess. Mr. Puno said Princess was a gift from a policeman who hated him, “He could have given me a watch, instead he gave me a dog.” Princess doesn’t behave all that well, is energetic and barks a lot. But she seems sweet.
After dinner, which it was about 1 in the morning, we started the long process of getting ready for bed. Mike showed us his new guns first, then we put our large suitcases in the room, sort of figured out the internet connection and then everyone else got stuck online. I just wanted to shower and brush my teeth and go to bed. So I did. Jazzie and I are sharing a room and a bed, which we were so tired I doubt if we were even all that aware that the other was in the same bed.
Noel decided he wanted to go boxing at 8 in the morning. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it, with my large amount of jetlag, so I said I’d see how I felt in the morning. Everyone else went, though. I need some rest. But, I woke up to Noel brandishing a lightsaber above the bed and then rolled over and went back to sleep. They went and ate some breakfast and I just slept. When I finally dragged myself out of bed to tell them I wasn’t going, Noel’s mom decided we were going to eat breakfast at that moment. So, I was swept down to a traditional Filipino breakfast.
In short, there were two kinds of sausage (a bit crunchy for my taste), a tuna kind of fish, a milkfish, some wonderful pork, fried eggs, rice, snack cakes and mangos. It was amazing. I had shitty food for two months, and now I’m eating some of the best food in my life. So, now I’m just sitting in bed writing. It shouldn’t be too long before everyone else gets back and I may take a short nap while waiting. We’re going to go to an open air market later and walk around after lunch. I’m looking forward to it.

Later

The open air market wasn't exactly open air...it was mostly just a bunch of tiny tiny kiosks and stalls crammed into a mall. It was still really cool and I wish I'd had more time to look around, but it wasn't quite the "market" I'd had in mind. Let me try and give you an image of how busy and crammed it was...OK: the average stall was about the size of a closet. Jam packed full of things. Then, the number of people there going through these tiny spaces between the stalls, was akin to the amount of people leaving a Cards game after the 9th inning. I kept my purse close by.

There was also a policeman at the door of the mall, who scanned each person as they came in. One of the bodyguards got stopped for his gun, but was then Okayed when the situation was explained. I'll talk about the security that accompanies us later. The only thing I bought, that I had a good amount of time to spend choosing, was a pearl set. Pearls are really cheap here, and they're real. I spent less than $20 on a necklace, ring and earring black pearl set. Of course some haggling was done (I couldn't help think of Life of Brian). Oh, if I didn't mention it before, Noel's future sister in law (Noel's brother's fiancee) came with us and she's more or so less fluent in Tagolag, so she did our haggling for us, especially since we're white.

Which, brings me to another point. I don't' think I've ever truly been somewhere where I honestly stick out. I can blend in perfectly in Europe until I open my mouth.
But here, with so many Filippinos everywhere, and no white minority, I stick out like crazy. I am fairly tall, for once, here, and then my hair's curly. Its kind of weird, but worse for Gavin since he's blonde. One lady called out, "Hey, handsome" and everyone, including us, just stopped and stared. It was funny.

But once we got home, we just chilled out. Noel's parents had gone golfing and then his brother and Precious went to church at some point. Mostly we just hooked our laptops up to the WiFi and wrote emails and whatnot. Noel decided we'd get Jollibee for dinner, which is a take-out, pick-up and delivery fast food. By fast food, I mean fried chicken and burgers, and burger steaks. Noel said the burger steaks were the best...they were Salisbury steaks. I tried a piece and didn't like it at all, but then he'd gone ahead and ordered some chicken which sufficed. Then the ayah's brought us some rice, too. But, we ate dinner at about 10:30...we all took naps in the evening so we could watch the World Cup Final, which was at 2:30 in the morning.

We watched some tv and bummed around the internet until the game. I think Jazzie went to bed before the game started, which was fine. But we found a good station and began watching. I won't really comment on the game, because it had a stupid ending and by the end of it, wasn't really worth watching. I decided to stop watching after the first fifteen minutes of over time, because by then, I had only an hour to sleep before we had to wake up for the next day's adventure.