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.