A Basketball Game, A VIP Lounge, and yes, Our Jobs

Well this past week was a BUSY one. In the last post I had talked about FINALLY starting work last week, which was SO GREAT! Not to say that Matt and I haven't been enjoying our time here, but it was really fantastic having to do some research again, putting together a power point, teaching, and basically having 6 classes HAVE to listen to you. Ohhh the power. How great it is! But no, seriously, the classes went fantastic. The topic I was talking about last week was a comparative study between the U.S. branches of government and election processes and the Filipino branches and elections. Turns out, they're pretty similar, being as the U.S. wrote the Filipino Constitution! Don't worry, though, it's not exactly the same, thank goodness! I think the best part of the class, though, was the question and answer period at the end of the power point, in which I was asked a broad array of questions including, "Are you a monk?", "Are you married?", "Do you have a girlfriend?" then followed by, "Well, then do you like Filipinas?" Great, thanks kids. The best questions though were actually regarding politics, and focused mostly on the U.S. perception of Obama, a few questions on the upcoming election, and frequently asking for the U.S. perspective on the War on Terror. Smart kids! 

Now, recall, if you will Dear Readers, that one of the Rules of Benedict is doing all things in Moderation. Well, the monks didn't want us to get too caught up on working without some fun. So, we again ventured to the Basketball Arena to see our San Beda Red Lions take on one of their top rivals. Well, throughout the course of the game we shot somewhere around 35 or 40 free throws, the other team had 5, yes FIVE players foul out. Needless to say, we won the game handily with an 18 point margin. We're not 15-0, our last game of the regular season is on Wednesday, and if we win that we'll have swept the regular season tournament. What that means is that we're automatically seeded as the #1, and in order to win the Championship we only need to win 1 game, whereas to lose it another team will have to beat us 3 times. Yes, 3 times. So...chances look good! And I know you're all wondering, no, I did not bring my camera this time and thus I did not get a media pass this time. I know, disappointment, but time was short and we couldn't afford more confrontation with security guards.

Again, all things in moderation meant that once our week of teaching had ended, we deserved another ridiculous experience. This time it translated to going and visiting the Law School students on Saturday night who were staying in a 5 star hotel in Manila prepping for the Bar Exam, which would conclude the next day (After 3 weekends of testing). Well, when we walked into the hotel everyone was in a big ruckus, which left Matt and I alert, but then were told that there was a Senator and a Movie Star in the lobby. Holler. Well then we went up to the floor that the Bedans were on and the Abbot and one of the Fathers gave them a blessing for success for the next day, we gave moral support, and then the Abbot took us to the 27th floor, the top. And what was on the top floor, you ask Dear Readers? The VIP Sky Lounge, complete with the Sky Lounge Band. And oh how amazing they were! They ranged from Prince to Frank Sinatra, Van Halen to Air, and provided great comedic relief in between hits. So there we were, Matt I and, the two Benedictine Volunteers, in the VIP lounge with the Abbot, a Father of the monastery, the Dean of the Law School here in Manila (THE top law school in the nation), the Dean of the Law School in Alabong (the #2 law school in the nation), one of the top narcotics judges in the nation, and one of the top case judges in the nation. Matt and I have begun to realize that we're basically in a giant fraternity now, the San Beda fraternity, which ranges from those I've already spoken of to 2 Supreme Court Justices, the Mayor of Manila's largest borough, Quezon City, and the wealthiest man in the Philippines. We're in good hands.

Now, again, I don't want to make it seem like we only have fun, and that everything is just AMAZING. It is, of course, but at the same time there is a great level of danger here, which is one of the challenges that the BVC promises-challenges, that is. I've never lived in a dangerous place, ever in my life. I grew up in White Bear Lake, a safe suburb of St. Paul. I went to SJU, one of the safest places in America. I worked at a Boy Scout Camp for 8 years. I studied abroad in Tokyo, Japan, often referred to as the safest city in the world. So, naturally, the Philippines, and Manila, are a challenge to me, because it's one of the first times that I feel relatively unsafe when I'm out in public. Again, I'm always with monks, and so nothing would ever happen to us, but still... So, what this all translates to is that Matt and I are still leaving with a chaperon to ensure our safety, and after this past week this has continued to be justified. Late last week 2 Americans and 1 Brit were gunned down in different parts of the Philippines, 2 of them in the north, though, which is not common. Then, two nights ago there was an off-campus explosion that wounded 47 total people, 44 of them Bedans. The 44 Bedans were waiting outside of the University that the Bar Exam was being held at, waiting for the examinees to come out when they were finished. Apparently the bomb was intended for another University and accidentally went off near our students, but all the same, the fact that someone bombed a group of future lawyers was SO foreign to Matt and me. It's been hard to wrap our heads around it, and the fact that it left so many of our students injured has sent a real shockwave throughout the college and monastery alike. So, I realize that this did take a somber turn, but we're still safe, we're still fine, so don't worry for us. Pray for the students and their families. This is all part of the challenge of the BVC, dealing with new situations and scenarios, and all we can do is be thankful for the time we've had here so far and hope that our students heal quickly. 

For now, though, I hope you all enjoy your week, enjoy fall (which has apparently hit Minnesota in full bloom), and talk to you all soon! Be well, do good!

My ACTUAL Address

So there was a little mixup with our address last week. This is the ACTUAL address to send me things:

Corey Friend
Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat
638 E Mendiola St
San Miguel, Manila, Philippines

Hope all is well!

"Anything is possible"

Pay attention, dear readers, to the quotation marks engulfing the title of this blog post. Yes, dear readers, that is a direct quotation. Allow me to explain!

If you recall from the last few posts, this past Friday was my first basketball game cheering on the San Beda Red Lions. Welp, being as it was my first Filipino sporting event, and would promise to be a game filled with action and eventual success, I decided to bring my camera with. During the summer I did quite a bit of research on quality, reasonably priced Digital SLR cameras, and opted to go with the user friendly Nikon D3000. So, the majority of the pictures from my experience have been and will be taken with my Nikon. I digress...I brought it with to the game, hoping to capture the magic and domination that is Bedan Basketball, but as Matt and I were walking into the arena, with the Prior of the monastery, no less, I was stopped by the police officer/security guard at the door. Well, dear readers, I'm still working on my tagalog, and to this point I only know words for foods and 'bahala na', which means "Whatever will be, will be!" (Look for a post with that title as time progresses). Regardless, none of the tagalog I know is what she was saying, nor does any of it help with a police officer. 

Thankfully, Father Prior Raphael (aka Father Ralph (possibly one of the ninja turtles (I'm not kidding, he's INTENSE (but he's a softy on the inside)))) came to my aid and reasoned with the woman. Apparently cameras are NOT allowed at those sporting events. Who woulda known!?

Throughout the exchange I was stuck halfway in the door, halfway out, with the woman holding onto my camera bag and me holding it as close to me as possible. I wasn't letting go. Finally, after a minute of heated conversation, he finished talking, smiled, and she let go and said, "Have a good day, sir" (but rather sternly, not kind at all). Once I was finally in the arena Father Ralph took Matt and I directly to the Administrative Office of the arena, and again a woman stopped me once inside and I assume she was telling me (again in Tagalog) that I couldn't have a camera. Again, Father Ralph handled it for me, and a minute later I was handed a pass that said, "MEDIA"! That's right, I had become a member of the media somehow during the few short moments I had been at the arena. Needless to say I ABSOLUTELY accepted it and frequently asked Matt where his MEDIA pass was, only to be reminded that I was the only one who'd received one. Point: Corey. As we left the Administrative Office, regaling at the fact that Father Ralph had really outdone himself with this one, he turned to Matt and I and said, "Anything is possible". Matt and I chortled at that, but as time has progressed since the basketball, we've found that quote to be especially fitting for our time here in the Philippines. Everything that we've sought out to do or see has already been seen to by them. They just continue to make sure that we're absolutely comfortable.

We won, by the way!

On that note, as many of you know, Matt and I were treated, again by the monastery, to a great adventure on Saturday night. What adventure, what event could it be? Oh, dear reader, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you were channeling the finesse of one Laurence D'Olivier! Well, I'll tell you! It was, in fact, SUPAFEST 2010! That's right, 4 hours of Sean Kingston, Kelly Rowland, T-Pain, and Flo Rida! IN MANILA! UN. BE. LIEVABLE! And for those of you out there that would assume that it was in fact 4 hours of Autotune taking a giant dump in our ears, it was, in fact, not! There was hardly any autotune at all, thank goodness! Sean Kingston was AWESOME, and had a full band to back him up, Kelly Rowland was surviving (get it..the Destiny's Child Song) off of her Destiny's Child fame, T-Pain did a LOT of dancing, and Flo Rida...well..he actually kinda sucked. He started a half hour late, just kept GOING ON AND ON AND ON, was FLAT all night, and ended every single, I kid you not, EVERY single song with the sound of glass breaking. Three outta Four ain't bad, though!

Matt having fun!

Sean Kingston!

 

Guess the song!

T-Pain!

Also, as promised, Matt and I finally began working! On Thursday we sat in on a few classes to see what they were like, Friday we talked with the Department Chair of the College of Liberal Arts and planned out this week's lectures, this morning we met the professors, and this afternoon we started lecturing! That's right, I have FINALLY earned my title as Special Guest Lecture Professor Friend. My first lecture was for a 4th year (seniors) General Poli Sci class. All of the students were management majors finishing up their general requirements for graduation (in March). My first topic was a brief study of comparative politics between the Philippines and the U.S., namely looking at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches as well as Elections and Voting. All in all it went fantastically! Oh, and the professor was sick today, so I was the prof! Holler! I'll have another 5 lectures this week, and then on Thursday or Friday I'll get another topic to research over the weekend for next week's lectures. That's right, folks, the honeymoon has ended and we're finally starting to earn our way here (to the relief of most, I'm sure). No worries, though, because Matt and I still have a lot of mischief to accomplish and incite, and our friends in the monastery have many adventures and excursions planned for us.

But, alas, good luck, dear readers, and enjoy the week!

Friends! Yes!

I know that this is a real two-for-one deal. I won't charge you for it. Plus, if you read both of Al's posts about scoring soccer goals you can read this...although...it may not be as monumental as finally scoring your first soccer goal...

Since the last post we've been taken on quite a few excursions around town, and in those excursions I've begun to start to get a feel for Manila and for the Philippines. First off, there have only been a few times, but there have indeed been times where I've felt a little uneasy with some of the places we've been to. Even though Matt and I can be intimidating with our size and height, we stick out like sore thumbs. Not only that, but most of the time that we leave the monastery we're still wearing our church clothes, and occasionally I have my camera with me. Translation: We look like rich stiffs on a vacation. What adds even more to this illusion is that we've continued to be escorted by the monastics, and so it looks like we have guides assisting us. But, alas, the monks continue to reassure us that we'll be just fine here, especially when we're with them. It's reassuring.

For those of you that don't know, the Philippines have been plagued with crippling poverty and corruption for decades, something that continues even today. For example: The last 2 days there have been massive demonstrations throughout Manila, and especially near the Presidential Palace (which..we're 3 blocks from) with thousands of people angry at the new President for cronyism and nepotism continuing to run rampant. While to Matt and I this seems a little crazy, the effects of decades of corruption can be seen, really, wherever you go in Manila, let alone the Philippines. There is so much trash around the city, and not just garbage like wrappers and McDonalds cups, there are literally houses that just wore out and crumbled. People are living on the streets EVERYWHERE. This past weekend Matt and I had the privilege to go with the community to their nearly-finished $3million retreat center in Tagaytay (a pretty standard resort area), and the entire way from Manila to Tagaytay (a 3 hour car ride) was filled with poverty. As soon as we left Manila it was pretty evident that these people had little to live on. Nearly every house was made of concrete bricks and tin roofs. If a house didn't have a tin roof, it had a blue plastic tarp. At the risk of sounding trite, it truly was a fascinating juxtaposition between the lives of these people and the monastery, and especially with my background of coming from such a plush and comfortable life to seeing the desolate conditions of these people was really eye opening.

But it really is amazing to see the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. You can tell who has money in this country simply by seeing that they have a wall around their home. Matt and I have talked about how feudal-esque it seems, each wealthy person surrounding their castle with high walls and a big steel gate, with the serfs and peasants living in between estates. Is this the case? Unknown. Matt and I have continued to see our relationship and friendship grow, whether it be over discussions and quotations of tv shows and movies, discussing politics and education, or, quite simply and most frequently, discussing the ever present threat of the Zombie Apocalypse. Wherever we go, we always seem to both veer instantly into that mindset-rating the defenses of the location for survival and standoff, what weapons are best, simply surviving. We make a good team, to say the least.

I digress. I think it's very safe to say that I have my first Filipino friends now! Father Rembert, the guest master of the monastery and our personal handler has continued taking us on excursions of the city, and is now a friend of ours. In our adventures we've been introduced to Don Maxi. I personally like Matt's description of Maxi: "Rembert’s partner in crime is Don Maxi. Maxi bases his life around laughter and travel. So naturally we get along famously. Whenever we travel it is generally with Maxi and Rembert and the combination of all four of us is trouble brewing. Maxi also acts as a sort of mascot for the monastery and for us BVC'ers- whenever he comes around the mood immediately lightens." I couldn't have said it much better. Maxi is another friend. Our third friend is Dom Maurus, who has begun accompanying Matt, Rembert, Maxi, and I on our adventures. Yesterday the five of us went to the Intramuros, which, for times sake I'll let you wikipedia. But, in short, it's the oldest part of Manila that is still remaining after WWII. It was built by the Spanish back in the 1500's and is a MASSIVE fully enclosed section of the city. Our adventures yesterday took us to St. Agustin Church, the only structure that survived the U.S.'s carpet bombing of Intramuros during the war, which was built in the early 1500's. That's right. That church is OLD. Maurus, gaining our friendship and trust, had one of his schoolmates, who is now a friar at St. Agustin, give us a personal tour. Jackpot.

The rest of the afternoon saw us go to a cafe for an afternoon snack (meal 4 of the day (remember, they eat A LOT here in the Phils)), then to a National Liturgical Conference to see a professor that the three had (and a monk of the monastery) launch his new book.

NOTE: It's a small world.

As the hype of the conference began to build as the announcement was beginning to be made, who else than Mr. Peter Dwyer, the Director of the Liturgical Press in Collegeville, MN, came forth to introduce the author. Incredible. Naturally, Matt and I conversed with him afterwords and exchanged pleasantries about St. John's...from the other side of the world. So fantastic.

Then, as if we haven't been spoiled enough and as if we hadn't eaten enough, Don Maxi took the group of us to dinner at the Mall of Asia to a NICE Chinese restaurant, complete with dimsum, shrimp poppers (our name for them), chicken feet!, snapper, and, yes, that's right, Peking Duck. Needless to say the five of us were still in mild food comas throughout the day.

So, as it turns out, the completion of our first whole week here in Manila has been quite good to Matt and I. We're both VERY excited to finally get working, but even still the monks here are making sure that we won't be working too hard, or too long, without some fun and food. They've continued to plan trips around the town and around the country for us, they continue to amaze us with their love and hospitality, and they continue to amaze us with their hospitality. One of the Benedictine Rules is to receive all as Christ, and they have just continued to blow our minds with their reception

Every day we've counted our blessings, and thanks to these incredible men of God, our blessings have only continued to multiply. And we were worried...

It's PROFESSOR Friend!

Well folks, it finally happened. Matt and I finally have our

jobs! Thank goodness, because all of this free time was getting a little tiresome. Ha…just kidding. But, yesterday morning Matt and I met with the Rector-President of San Beda College, and then the Vice Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences here at San Beda. It was truly one of the moments that Matt and I were pioneers for BVC-Manila. For those of you still outside of the 'know', this is the first time that the Benedictine Volunteer Corps has sent volunteers to Manila, let alone all of Asia. Matt and I are the pioneers of Asia! Anywho, the Vice Dean's name is Brian, he graduated from San Beda College with a degree in...social sciences (I think?)...but then got his Master's in Public Administration and is in the process of completing his Doctorate in Philosophy. He seemed like a pretty smart guy, anyway. The meetings with both the Rector-President and Vice Dean were exactly as you would expect them to go. There were formalities exchanged, introductions, and then discussing what Matt and my purpose is here in Manila and what our backgrounds are. Well...it was a lot of talking about our degrees (Matt is Communications and Philosophy, I'm Poli Sci with strength in History). We'd talk for a bit, then the Rector-President would leave for 5 minutes. He'd come back in with more questions and then leave. Finally he turned us over to the Vice Dean, who has, what seems to be, the entire catalog of courses memorized. So, when we told him what our strengths were, he instantly suggested a course to Matt and another to me.
 
So! What we determined was, with Matt and my monastic schedule still needing to remain intact (which I'll cover in a minute), we'll be teaching primarily here at San Beda College, which is contrary to what we'd been told over the weekend. You see, this past weekend we were told that we may be teaching at a High School in northern Manila, which would have required a 20 minute train ride, then a 40 minute bus ride. As the Abbot was telling us about this endeavor we'd take every day to tutor the athletes at the high school, he said, "But don't worry, we'll send a monk with for the first week to make sure you don't get kidnapped! Ha!"
HAHA. NOT FUNNY.
So, after praying and fretting a little bit about it, everything turned out fine in the end. So, again, due to our monastic schedule and the University schedule, we'll be Special Guest Lecture Professors. What this means is that we'll both be assigned to a class, Matt to an Art Appreciation/Philosophy Class and I to the Filipino Constitution/History class. Each week we'll get a topic to research over the weekend, and then sometime during the next week we'll present our topic/lecture in one of the classes (which run from 9-1030, 1030-12, 130-3, and 3-430). As you can imagine, 4 classes a day for 5 days a week of us lecturing would be a bit much, so we'll be giving our lectures to different classes on different days. Translation: We'll be floating around a bit, but it'll all work out just fine in the end, with quite a bit of time to experience other fascinations of our locale.
Today we began our research by sitting in on a class this morning (a management class) and this afternoon (Matt's Art Appreciation class), so we could see what Filipino College classes were like. Answer: pretty darn similar to the U.S. Tomorrow we'll have a half day consisting of observations in the morning, because in the afternoon we're goin' off to the San Beda Red Lions Basketball game! They're 12-0, #1 in the country, and facing our cross-town rivals. It stands to be quite a feat of athleticism, or so I hear.

So, as for that illusive monastic schedule, here goes.
Wake up is at 5:30am, which is signaled by an iron bell that is rung just outside of Matt and my rooms (not just for us, it's for the entire monastery). The bell is then rung 5 minutes before every prayer time for the remainder of the day.
Morning prayer is at 5:50 in the church, with Mass following immediately after. Breakfast follows mass.

We then would have from 7:30-9 to prepare for class. This is also ideal time for Skype dates for those of you back home (wink wink(because it's a 13-hour time difference(which means it'd be 630pm-8pm(what else would you have to do?))). Then it'd be class from 9-1130. We have midday prayer at 1150, then lunch immediately after that.

The great thing about the Philippines being a former Spanish colony is that many of the colonial traits still exist in today's culture. One such trait is the siesta. Yes, that's right, scheduled naptime. I couldn't ask for more! So, from 1230-130 we have Siesta. Then, the afternoon is class from 130-430. We have break from 430-545, and then at 545 we pray the rosary. Evening prayer immediately follows the rosary, with dinner following that. After dinner we have about a half hour off, and then we have night prayer at 750. Then, the night is ours...but being as we'd woken up at 530 and will have to do it again in the morning, bedtime is usually 9 or 930 (if I'm feeling especially rambunctious). It's the first time in the history of me that I've woken up this early this consistently (7 times) and gone to bed this early this consistently. It's truly been a different existence here.

But, as with all things here in Manila, there is a GREAT catch. The only time the schedule is deviated from is over national holidays and...weekends. Wake-up time on 

weekends is 610 and morning prayer is 630. What a treat!

My Address!

Corey Friend

Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat 
Mendiola, Manila, Philippines‎

Update: Manila

Welp, folks, I made it. The trip from Japan over to Manila wasn't too rough at all. We were delayed about an hour in Narita as we waited for a typhoon to pass over us, but then everything was just fine. I finally got into Manila at about midnight on Thursday morning, and after waiting for baggage and going through customs and immigration, I made it to the curbside at about 1am. Welp...I wasn't sure if Matt was going to pick me up, so when the police officers began asking who was picking them up, I had to say..."umm...I'm not actually sure. I've never met the people picking me up." Thankfully, Matt was there, so when I saw him run up to the curb, I issued a great sigh of relief.

Well, we didn't actually go right to the monastery. The Father who picked me up, Father Rembre (sic?), was worried that I hadn't eaten enough on the plane (I was fine), but we stopped at a restaurant on the way back and I had some tempura, a Filipino desert (the name escapes me) made of rice, cheese, sugar, and coconut, and a Mug root beer. I couldn't complain. This has been a common thread so far- the monastics are VERY worried about making sure we have enough to eat, so we end up eating about 5 or 6 times a day. Now, each meal is about half the size of U.S. portions, so it all works out, and the other thing is that the food here is, without question, AMAZING. 

Before we left SJU some of the monastics that had been here before had told us that it would be the best food we've ever eaten. They weren't lying. We have rice with every meal, which I am VERY fine with. We also have some type of fish/seafood item, usually a chicken dish, and more often than not a beef dish. So, on any occasion we have about 4 different dishes to choose from. Not bad. We also have FRESH fruit with every meal, whether it be bananas, cantaloupe, watermelon, or pineapple. LOVE. IT. On Thursday night we had crab for dinner. I don't mean crab meat, I mean they cooked up crab, put it on a tray, we came by, picked it up, and then cracked open the legs and sucked out the meat. Yesterday for lunch we had jumbo shrimp, the kind where you have to peel off the exoskeleton and THEN you eat it. They are spoiling us.

Oh! That's right! I forgot that I had posted those things that we hadn't figured out yet. Well, obviously they knew we were coming. We have 21 day temporary visas, so early next week we're going to file for extended visas. 

As for the other two, well, allow me to elaborate. First off, Alec Torigian I am SO sorry about the next part. I read your post about your housing situation. Please don't hate me.

Our digs are pretty...darn...amazing. Matt and I each have our own rooms. We each have our own bathrooms and showers. We have A/C, internet, and TV. We are SO spoiled. You see, it's pretty humid out here (maybe an understatement), but it hasn't been unbearably humid (did somebody say bear?!). Still, the monks here have fans or A/C in almost all of their buildings, so we've basically been shuttled from one cool place to another. So great. Here's a few pictures of where I'll be living while here.

The view from my door

My bed!

The Bathroom

Starting to make it feel just like home

Go Twins!

The hallway out my door/Cloister Walk

The monastic residence

The Courtyard/Cloister Walk

The Refectory

Ref Pt. 2

Lizards on the ceiling!

As I said, so far Matt and I have been absolutely SPOILED. On Thursday we were taken on a full tour of Our Lady of Montserrat (the Monastery we're at) and San Beda College (the school it runs). The monastery runs 3 different universities in the Philippines: There's San Beda, which is the Law School, Medical School, and School of Theology. There's another school in South Manila that is the arts school, ie history, art, communications, english, etc. Then there's the third school in Mindanoa which is the Liturgy School. The U.S. government is probably not gonna let us visit the liturgy school...which is probably ok. But, I think it looks like Matt and I will be probably teaching, that's right, TEACHING at the arts school. We find out at the end of the weekend, but my ego is already inflating with the sounds of "Professor Friend". Apparently our qualification is that we have college degrees from America. Updates to come.

Yesterday we had the morning off, which I used to take a cat nap and read. Then, in the afternoon, we were taken to the Mall of Asia! It's like the Mall of America..but very different also. First off, in order to park, the police check underneath every car. Apparently bomb threats are pretty common there. Then, to get into the mall, you have to walk through a metal detector. You know...these are great cultural differences to note! Once inside, though, everything was just fine. We walked around for a while, Matt got a guitar and I got some new kicks. Then, Father Rembre (remember, our chaperon) asked if we wanted to go see Resident Evil 4 at the movie theater. So there we were, Matt and I, in Manila, for BVC, going to a movie. Unbelievable. Then, if only to make it seem more ridiculous, he wanted us to go to Jollibee, the 'McDonalds' of the Philippines to get a burger and fries for the movies. So, our afternoon snack was the movie and a value meal. Un. Freaking. Believable. Oh, by the way, he picked up the checks...actually...they've picked up every check so far. Also, if it wasn't crazy enough already, the U.S.S. George Washington (a super aircraft carrier) is parked right out in the harbor right now.

There are a few REALLY interesting aspects of Filipino life that have made strong first impressions thus far. First off, the people here are incredible. The monks are SO friendly and are SO happy to have us here. We're kind of a breath of fresh air to them, so I think they appreciate our being here just simply because we're new and different. Secondly, they have siesta every afternoon from 12-1. After working all summer at camp in the HOT, HOT heat, it's been great to be able to just take a break and get a quick snooze and escape the heat.

As far as Manila is concerned, there is a great juxtaposition that I've begun to notice. The Philippines are in the process of modernizing, case in point the Mall of Asia. So, the new buildings are all large, new, and pristine. They look incredible. That accounts for about 1/4-1/3 of the buildings. The rest of the buildings, or so it seems, are the old ones. They are derelict, run down, shabby, tattered, and falling apart. So, for there to be these great, multi-million dollar skyscrapers with shanty-towns surrounding it is quite an interesting sight. About 1/5 of the population controls more than half of the wealth of the nation, which doesn't seem that substantial, but when you think about how poor the citizens are, it's really incredible. I'm sure that as Matt and I spend more time here and we venture further and further from the monastery we'll be able to see more, but right now it's just such a crazy sight to see hundreds, probably thousands of people living in little shacks and tarps. IN THE DOWNTOWN. Truly another cultural difference.

Anywho, after the movie we ventured a little further into Manila to find a bar called the "Hobbit House". I had found it online a while ago and Matt is a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan, so we asked if we could go at some point while we were here. They took that as...ASAP. So, after the movie we went to the Hobbit House, walked in through the circular door and saw a TON of LOTR memorabilia on the walls. 

After puttin down a Sam Adams at the Hobbit House we went back to the Mall of Asia to see the Friday Night Fireworks. That's right, we went and saw a fireworks show. All Matt and I could think about was how unbelievable this was. Our life right now is probably more exciting than most college kids'. And to think that we're volunteering. 

So, to say the least, things are pretty swell here. We're both REALLY excited to start working next week. Tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Montserrat, so we'll be in for another great celebration to start off our time here. Oh! The San Beda Red Lions, the college basketball team here, is undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. They play again on Wednesday, so naturally we are going to the game. Ridiculous. Anywho, hope things are well for all of you, take care, and talk soon.

6 Hour Layovers

Welp, I'm in the Tokyo-Narita airport right now. I had a 6 hour layover here that I had intended to leave during, but when I tried going through customs it was a total crap show. A real Lost in Translation moment. I tried explaining that I had a 6 hour layover that I wanted to leave during, then come back. My japanese wasn't too rough, either, it was pretty spot on. But, they had NO idea why I would do that, then eventually told me I had to just go to my gate. So, I'm using my 6 hour layover to respond to emails, catch up on all the Twins news, and read one of the books I brought.

This morning I left the house that Sarah and Angela are staying at at 7:15, got to the train station at 7:40, then took a train from 7:40 until 9:00. I changed trains then, and rode another train from 9-10:10 to the Nagoya airport. I had stowed my luggage in a coin locker there, which apparently is not 600 yen to rent, but is instead 600 yen per day...which meant that I paid 1800 yen ($18) to stow them. But, it was WAY easier than lugging them around. Welp, my flight left at 1130, so when i checked in at 1030 the flight people rushed me RIGHT through check-in. I got to the gate with plenty of time, though, and the flight was only 45 minutes long. Really not rough at all. And so, now here I am, with another 2.5 hours until boarding and another 3.5 hours until flight time.

I am REALLY glad I got to come visit Japan. I've been calling these few days my Japan Greatest Hits Reunion Tour. In the last 2+days I got to re-experience most of my favorite parts of study abroad. I also had A LOT of time to think about a lot of things, which was great having time to think, but I've started getting antsy and know that I need to start spending time with people again. So, I am very excited to get to Manila and start hanging out with Matt and start meeting the monks. The entire time on the train this morning, and the first chunk of the plane ride from Nagoya to Tokyo I was just SO, SO nervous to get to Manila. One might call it a crisis of faith, or a crisis of conscience, or even just fear and nerves. It was basically just me feeling really uncertain as to why I was going to Manila and not staying home or working or doing grad school or basically...just why was I doing this? In the end it boiled down to me feeling SO UNBELIEVABLY nervous about doing this, because of how challenging and difficult this 8 months is going to be. I think a huge part of that is that I still don't know what I'll be doing, so I really have no idea what to expect. A week ago that was great. Now that I'm on the trail, it sucks. I think it will be a lot better once I finally get there, once I get into a bit of a routine, once I start meeting people, and once I get busier. Life would be so much less challenging if I wasn't doing this, but, I need to do this. I need to try. It's not impossible, because people have done this before, maybe not in Manila, but in other countries. I have friends who are going to be gone for a full year and are on their own in another country. I have a friend who'll be gone for the next 2 years. In the end, 8 months is not forever, and I should have a really solid support network in Manila once I get there. For now, it's just the fear of the unknown, the fear of great challenge, and the prospect of triumph.

Even though I don't really know what I signed up for (because I don't know what I'll be doing), I know what I signed up for. This is labeled as a challenging personal experience, and these are all great challenges for me. I have a great opportunity to grow, a great opportunity to learn, and a great opportunity to enjoy a completely difference lifestyle and culture. Things are on the up and up, I know I'll be fine, but sitting here in the airport hearing flights to Minneapolis being called out makes it hard to keep my eyes on the prize. But, things will work out, and again I take solace in the verse a dear friend sent me last week:

Romans 13:12- "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light"

and:

Ephesians 6: 10-18- " ¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." 

So, things'll be alright. Anywho, hope things are well and talk to you soon!

The Japan Greatest Hits Reunion Tour

Welp, good news folks! I made it to Japan unscathed, and actually, in a very smooth manner. The flight from MSP to Tokyo was about 11.5 hours, and I slept about  5 or  6 hours on the plane, which SERIOUSLY negated the effects of jet lag. I'm all set, rip roarin' and ready to go thanks to the plane ride. I had about an hour and a half layover in Tokyo, then another 45 minute flight to Nagoya, Japan. Once in Nagoya I went through customs, which was GREAT. I am staying in Tsu City, near Nagoya, with two friends of mine from CSB/SJU (Angela Tate and Sarah Haugen). Welp, I don't know the address they're at, which was essential to the customs form, so that the government knew where I'd be going. As you can imagine, writing down 'Tsu City' as my address didn't cut it...and then confusion ensued...which was then resolved by just putting down their names as my contact. Also, my student visa and travel visa from my study abroad experience (in 2008) was still valid, so they just let me go right on through with that! Holler!

I got into Tsu City via high speed boat from the airport at about 10pm local time on Sunday night, and the rest of the night Angela, Sarah and I sat up talking and reconnecting.

Yesterday, however, began my Greatest Hits reunion tour. I've been reconstructing and reliving the favorite parts, memories, foods, and experiences of my 4 months here, just doing it in a 2 day window. So far I've had Pretz (quite possibly the best snack invented), Pocky (another great snack), my Van Houten's cocoa, umeshu (plum wine), gyooza (dumplings)...wait...this is all about food. Alright, so I've been eating my favorite foods. Now we've got that base covered.

But, yesterday I hiked to the train station from their apartment (about a 1 hour walk (because I got lost and walked to the next station)). Once I got there I hopped on the train and rode it for about an hour and a half to the Ise Shrine, one of the larger shrines in the country. It was incredibly serene and peaceful, which made sense being as the town of Ise is labeled as the spiritual hub of Japan by some. Ise is also known for it's Udon noodles, which were supposedly fantastic. I can honestly tell you, after having Udon for lunch yesterday, that they're not kidding. 

On that note, there have been a few things that have rekindled my love for Japan while here. My language skills really haven't gotten that much worse since I was here last a year and a half ago. I'm not as proficient as I used to be, but I can get around just fine here, when I've been lost I've been able to get directions just fine, and ordering food and buying things are still easy for me. The language barrier has been overcome yet again! Also, I COMPLETELY forgot how UNBELIEVABLY kind and helpful Japanese people are. ALL DAY yesterday, whether I was lost or just needed directions or help, people would drop everything and help, whether it was pointing it out on my map, getting maps of their own and giving them to me, or even helping me get on the right trains, they were incredible.

Yesterday ended up being a 15 hour adventure. I was lost for over 4 of those hours. It gave me a lot of time to think. It also reminded me SO much of my camping trip a la 2008 (see also: Monaco 2007). How could I be upset at being lost when it was SO nostalgic for me. I mean...seriously...some of my best and greatest life experiences have come from being lost. 

After I left lunch, I was on a mission to find the sakakibara onsen. Finding this onsen was one of the biggest reasons for coming back to Japan (also to see Angela and Sarah). But, I digress. For those of you who don't know, an onsen is a hot springs spa. Amazing, right? You go in, shower off, then go sit in hot springs tubs for as long as you desire. I was there for an hour and a half. Talk about amazing. Talk about relaxing. It brought me right back to 2008. I felt like I hadn't even left. 

Another thing that I truly missed about Japan was the public transit system. I LOVE RIDING TRAINS. Thank goodness, Manila has its own lightrail system, so this love will only continue being fueled. The trains are great people-watching times. They're also great for doing some reading, for thinking, for sightseeing. I spent a lot of time on the trains yesterday, and all of it was great.

So, it's VERY safe to say that my time here in Japan has been well spent, it's safe to say that I'm feeling incredibly content about my mini-vacation, and now I'm getting SO anxious and excited to finally get to Manila and get started.

Hopefully this finds you all well, I know that some of you are starting your own adventures now, so hopefully those are great. For now, take care, good luck, and talk soon.

Romans 13:12

Woof. Can you believe it!? Time sure has come and gone, the surreality of these past two weeks has sunk in and been overcome. And now, here we are. The night before the beginning of a grand adventure. This past week has been one of great preparation, packing, farewells and friends. After all this time, the Spring at CSB/SJU, graduation, a two week preparation retreat in the monastery at SJU, 2 weeks of Staff training at camp, 9 weeks of Scouts, and 12 days at home, the day...has finally...come....welp...tomorrow.

This past week has put me through the full range of emotions, and after all the farewells and well-wishing, I think I'm finally ready to go. As of a few days ago there were a few...mildly substantial tasks still to be addressed, those being:

-Not knowing our housing situation

-Not knowing our jobs for the next...8 months

-Not having a visa...

-Not knowing...if Manila knows we're coming...umm...ergh...

Well, we ARE getting picked up at the airport. We'll have our visa situations taken care of pretty quickly when we show up. We get a 21 day travel visa upon arrival (due to the good relations between the U.S. and Filipino governments). As for our jobs, the Abbot in Manila wrote that "We have two huge schools(total student population close to 14,000)-- coed students, from elementary to College in 3 campuses. We can always use some help." So, it sounds like we'll be teaching somewhere! Regardless, I found a great quote the other day that, for all intents and purposes, describes my journey in the Philippines.

"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it." (Rosalia de Castro)

  

It truly will be an incredible adventure, and again Abbot Tarcisio describes our purposes well when he wrote, "But I still have in mind your purpose for coming here, a monastic experience in another part of the world and working with people from another culture. I am sure you will enjoy living and working here."

Matt and I have been told by several monks at SJU who've been to Manila before that we're going to be treated SO well, that there is SO much love at Our Lady of Montserrat (the monastery in Manila), and the food is incredible! As Ayn Rand said,

"In that world, you'll be able to rise in the morning with the spirit you had known in your childhood: that spirit of eagerness, adventure and certainty which comes from dealing with a rational universe."

As most of you know by now...or maybe not, the Benedictine Volunteer Corps (the BVC), aka the organization I'll be volunteering with, has been sending volunteers around the world since 2003, is now sending volunteers to 12 locations on 5 continents this year. But, this is the first time they've sent volunteers to Asia and the first time they've sent volunteers to Manila, so, Matt and I are the trailblazers. Another great quote I came upon this week reflects that, this one by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." And, as Voltaire said, "If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new."

So, I think the best way to describe my mood is that it's one of optimism, anxiety, excitement, and readiness. I'm ready to go headfirst into my adventure. I'm ready to get my butt KICKED by culture shock, from the unknown, from the heat and humidity, typhoon season, and monastic life. BUT, I am SO excited for every day to be a new adventure, I'm SO excited to learn every day, and I'm SO excited to just LIVE. Thank you ALL for your prayers, thank you all for your time and love and support. 

This past week a dear friend of mine sent me Romans 13:12 as a comfort, as a charge to go head on into the unknown.

Romans 13:12- "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

And with that, thank you all, good night, and good luck.