Off to a ___ start

I didn't expect to post again so soon, but the past few days have been so full and I want to get it all down while it's fresh!
I'm going to try to break it up by day, like a journal, for now anyway. Even just now as I wrote the dates down, I couldn't believe that it had only been 3 days. Probably the most loaded 3 days I've ever lived consecutively!

1.27.14, Monday

It's my second day in Manila and we're still staying with Nathan's Lolo Peping and Lola Esen, and their caretaker Sister Marygold. Their community, Ayala Alabang, is gated and very affluent, with homes as luxurious and extravagant as Beverly Hills.
We took care of a lot of practical needs today, getting cell phones and exchanging currency, at the nearby mall/community center Alabang Town Center. We were lucky to step outside the house at the same time the neighbor and her driver were leaving, and were given a ride! On the way back we took a Jeepney- something I had long been anticipating after hearing so much about them before I left home!
Jeepneys are US military jeeps left here after WWII that have been converted into a form of public transportation. They're known for their eye-popping paint jobs and can be taken all over the city at a very low cost- we paid 10 pesos, about 20 cents, for our 20 minutes ride home from ATC. The Jeepney waits at it's initial stop until it is "full", which is actually about 4 people past the point where everyone is sitting comfortably. Then it takes off on it's route, and you ask the driver to let you off when you're at your destination (no set stops).

Notice the driver's feet on the dash- sleeping between shifts I guess!

This is the one we'll hop on when we're ready to go back to San Francisco

1.28.14, Tuesday

We spent the first half of today hanging out in Ayala Alabang. It's actually a bird sanctuary and there are so many beautiful, unfamiliar bird songs playing throughout the day and night. The house is directly across the street from a beautiful Catholic church-

In storage, the off-duty nativity figures fawn over the adorable farm animals

In the afternoon we packed up our things and got in a van headed north to Quezon City, which is part of Metro Manila and is where we'll be living and working most of the time we're here. The drive was a huge shock to my system. The first couple days in Ayala Alabang had lulled me into forgetting that I was actually in the most densely packed, impoverished, polluted place I'd ever been, and I was quickly reminded. On the highway cars moved completely erratically and I felt like there was at most 3 inches between us and the cars beside us many times. We drove past huge slums and people selling peanuts for 5 pesos in between the lanes of fast moving traffic. I was still not convinced that we would be living in this Manila and not the Manila of the past few days, and when we exited the highway I was filled with anxiety, praying that we were still a long way from the place that we were supposed to be stopping.

Driving on EDSA, with Manny watching over us 

But then we parked! Right in the middle of it. It's just so tight, with so many people walking in the street and on the sidewalk, cars and Jeepneys and taxi-tricycles moving in a completely arbitrary way through the intersections. It was jarring in comparison, and I felt embarassed for having been tricked into thinking that our peaceful bird sanctuary was indicative of life in Manila- I don't think bird sounds will be the most prominent noise at night anymore.
We met the people that were in our office at SIBAT, and were told that we would be able to start working on Monday- they'll be traveling to the organic farm to meet with the Department of Agriculture tomorrow and Friday is Chinese New Year, so we'll hit the ground running next week. I'm glad to have a few days to get acclimated!
Finally, we were able to see the apartment that Nathan's cousin Nika had found for us. In his directions the owner told me that it was the one with the "brown gate with faded white graffiti", which after my traumatic car ride  seemed like a very bad sign and I immediately jumped to the image of us living in a filthy shack on the side of the highway. Luckily, I couldn't have been further from the truth- the graffiti is actually quite nice, it's just some spray paint calligraphy showing the number of the house. There are 2 other couples, plus another woman, that we will share the 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with, and the kitchen is as nice as any I'd seen in the US. It's immaculately clean and cozy and better than I could have possibly expected, and I am reminded how huge a blessing it is to have (Nathan's) family nearby to help us with things like this.

New digs!

1.29.14, Wednesday

Without work or real responsibilities to tend to we were able to spend all day walking around our new neighorhood- I'm so glad we are starting this adventure in January, as people keep reminding us that in a few months we won't want to walk anywhere because of the heat. Already it's quite hot, maybe mid/high 70s during the day, but these temperatures are unusually low, even for winter.
The walk to SIBAT is only 5-10 minutes, and there is a grocery store even closer.
We walked to a nearby mall and though I felt like I had seen a lot from the car ride to Quezon City, it was taken to a whole other level when we were walking along the busy street in person. There were so many people sleeping on the side of the road, in Jeepneys or wooden carts that you would sell produce from, or just on the dirt. One small wooden cart, placed just off the sidewalk on the highway, contained a young woman with a toddler asleep on her chest. The poverty is not like anything I've seen or could have imagined, and it's everywhere, all the way up to the gate of the mall that was just as extravagant and excessive as any mall I'd seen before. The juxtaposition of affluence and near-death-poverty was something Nathan had tried to describe in the past but didn't make much sense until I'd experienced it.
Mall, taxi, home, nap, coffee.

At the University of the Philippines

We spent the evening with Nathan's grandpa (Lolo Jerry) at University of the Philippines, seeing the most incredible cello performance. I had kind of thought I only really enjoyed classical music when it was played by people with the last name Dadap, and I was proved wrong. The concert was called Neo-Baroque, and the cellist was named Renato B. Lucas. Lolo Jerry knows him, as he is also a musician and has performed with him in the past.

With Lolo Jerry before the concert

Three tiny kittens playing on the roof outside the concert. "There are lots of tiny cats here, they're Filipino sized!"-Lolo

For all of the crazy, shocking things I've seen in the first few days of being here, I'm nonetheless thrilled to have finally arrived and so excited to see what this year will bring. It's already been an eye-opening experience, and I know I've only just scratched the surface of what this country has to offer, in both beauty and brokenness. Thanks for reading and sharing in this journey with me!

And now, for the Tagalog phrase of the day! So you can learn along with me :
Nagugutom na ako, kain  tayo!  I'm getting hungry, let's eat!

Day 1!

After a very long journey, I've finally arrived in Manila!

I had heard mixed reviews about Saudi Arabian Airlines but I ended up liking them just fine! It helped that I got mysteriously bumped to an XXL business class seat for the second leg of the trip :)  It was like flying in a Lazy-Boy recliner!

Once I arrived & got my bags, Nathan, Sister Marygold (his uncle's caregiver) and his uncle's driver picked me up and whisked us off to Alabang village where we will stay for a couple days. The community is really beautiful, with lots of palm trees and gorgeous homes. It's nice to know that it will be here if ever we need to take a break from the rest of the city- it really feels like we're on a resort!

Tomorrow we'll seize the day, we have to buy cell phones, exchange currency, figure out our apartment- but for now I think I could sleep indefinitely. Of the 28 hour trip, I had only about 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I wasn't tired enough during the first flight and was way too excited during the second flight. It was beautiful to see some of the lush, mountainous islands of the Philippines as the plane was landing, followed quickly by my first taste of the insane driving that takes place in Manila! The initial adrenaline rush is beginning to die down and the sleepiness is hitting hard.

I'll post again once we're settled in our apartment and hopefully I'll have a better idea of what projects we'll be working on! We're planning on stopping into the office tomorrow or Tuesday.

Nathan, Kobe and Mr. Dadap at JFK before we left!

On the ground in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia Runs on Dunkin

Lunchbox for my layover! They came around and gave out dinner boxes too, which for veg was the same as the lunch. Luckily it was delicious!

Nathan's Lolo's house in Ayala Alabang, where we're staying for now