Back from Manila, part dos

Monday we woke up and visited Faith Academy. It seemed like we were being recruited as future teachers!! The school is where the kids go. Faith is a school for missionary families. It's amazing .Wait for the pictures. The school is on top of a mountain that overlooks the valley and Manila City. They had the most advanced classrooms that still had a comfortable, lived in feel. The art room was lighted and open, the science lab was more advanced than my university lab and the kids art and crafts room was every kindergarten teachers dream! I think teaching in an international school would be an amazing experience.

After, we visited the mission where uncle Randy works - Resources for the Blind. The blind population in the Philippines exceeds 500,000 and there are limited resources besides the missions serving the people. They translate and print the bible into Braille among other books to help teach the children and adults. One lady in the office who is blind knows more about computers and how to use them than I ever could. She uses a system called Jaws that allows her to hear what she is commanding the computer to do. Amazing stuff! It was a great experience to hear how the ministry has been provided for and the good gifts that it has received.

We went to another mall and into a meat market. I don't think I will ever get used to seeing meat butchered and hacked at then sitting out in the open air with bugs and flies smothering it. But, another experience in Asia. After being warned several times by Marla about pick pockets, I did not trust my bag even in my own hands. I held my purse closely to my chest.


We took the train around the city, which was great because we got a real feel for Manila and it's skyline. The poor mixes with the old. The city tries in some areas to limit the degradation of the poor but it's so accepted that you will see a fancy building or the train station and shanties outside the doors. The sun was beautiful as we circled the city. Manila Bay is famous for it's sunsets. Our plan was to take some oreo cheesecake down to the boardwalk and watch the sun over the Bay. We made it moments after the sun set, but still caught the beautiful colors in the sky. The Mall of Asia (one of the biggest in the world and completely outdoors) was the backdrop. We took some time to ourselves and had Valentines dinner. We searched for the "perfect" restaurant for about a half hour and settled on an Italian place. The great part about Manila is that it is completely Westernized so we were able to read all the menus in English and experience a great selection of Western food.

Dinner was lovely. We sat on the balcony overlooking the bay and boardwalk. Derek surprised me with a beautiful pair of earrings that have sliver leaves and earth tone jewels on them. They are amazing!!!! I don't know how he did it, but he went to grab my hand and they were sitting on the table. He picked them out in Korea. I don't know how he managed to find something simple that I would like, but he was really considerate in picking them out.

We made our way back in another jeepney and another train. Unlike Korea where all of the trains intersect continuously, Manila has 3 trains that I'm pretty sure do not intersect at all. They are, however, just as crowded.

Back from Manila...

Back from Manila. Amazing experience. We left Korea on Saturday...with massive amounts of snow falling from the sky. Needless to say, we couldn't wait to get to sunny Manila. We had dinner in the airport. Derek accidentally ordered a deep fried ham and cheese sandwich. Whoops.

The flight was 4 hours. We were both so exhausted on the way there. It had been a busy week before. We slept a bit on the plane. So, groggily we woke up and did the customs inspection. Two of his cousins met us at the airport, Seth and Nathaniel. They both were born in Manila. I think Seth is #9 in the line up of 13 children raised by missionaries in the Philippines. Amazing - for real! Taking the 30 minute ride to Randy and Marla's (Derek's uncle and aunt's) house was eye-awakening. The city, at 2am, looked wide awake. So many people were out and about. We were locked in a traffic jam. There were firetrucks trying to weave their way through the traffic. The firemen were sitting on top of the fire engine smoking cigarettes and looking like they were enjoying a lazy day parade.

Seeing the poverty along the way really struck me. I couldn't take it in at first. A few months back, Manila was completely flooded. They had over a foot of rain in one night. The rivers overflowed and reached the third story of some homes in the family's neighborhood. Some damage was still present in what we saw. The shanty homes were replaced. Most of them looked like Popsicle sticks glued together or tied with string to make a 3 or 4 sided home. Political posters or banners made shades from the sun. Where wealth was not in abundance upon our immediate introduction to the city, McDonalds and Pizza Huts were.

We made it to the family home, which is beautiful. Palm trees in the yard, beautiful tropical flowers everywhere. It was so nice to walk into a "home" after 6 months away from mine. Pictures of family on the walls, a big comfy couch. Korea can be quite cold and sparse in their decor, so it was nice to sink into a family setting. The heat made it hard to sleep that night. From 30F to 90F, the change was huge. I didn't pull the covers over me, but managed to sleep feeling warm for the first time this winter without multiple layers. Waking up was an experience in itself. I was immediately aware of God's grace and provision in allowing me time in manila and with Derek and his family and of the birds chirping outside the window. After all, it was Valentines Day.

Sunday we joined the family for church in Manila. The church played Shane and Shane!!! But also songs from 1996! After church, we went to the mall. (By the way, 4 out or the top 10 world's largest malls are in Manila.) Guess what we had, Burger King!! Riding through Manila in the daylight, I was again struck by the shanty homes and the beautiful people that were walking in and out of them. I was also taken away by the mode of transportation in manila, Jeepneys. Google it or wait for pictures. It was great. I couldn't wait to ride in one. We went back to the family home and rested. Derek and I took a walk and saw the damage from the flood in the neighborhood where his family lives.

Sunday night we went to a cultural show and watched native dancing from all over the Philippines. It was great to see the impact so many different people have had on the Philippines. We went through the market and saw the native foods. It reminded me of Korea and the meat markets. Most everything was on a stick. They actually sold chicken ass on a skewer! YEP! True statement. Smoothies were less than an American dollar, so I drank several. Green mango smoothies are delicious. You should try! Derek participated in the show. He danced with a Filipino woman. It was cute. Wait for the video reel! We were given long stemmed red roses from the show and shopped around for take home treasures.

More to come on our great time in Manila...stay tuned.