Manila Mania

Mabuhay! We've been in Manila for over a week now and it feels like I've been home all this time. Corvallis feels like a distant, snowy dream. Manila oddly feels like home. Vincent and I left Corvallis in a hurry because of all the ice on the roads. I can drive through madness and typhoons, but I cannot drive on ice. Must be the Filipino blood in me. Don't get me wrong... I loved the beauty of the snow and can tolerate the freezing weather -- I am just not very mobile on ice.

The adventure of making it to Portland was worth it. We've been enjoying our stay here. Vincent has been loving the food, being with family, and the f

ood. He hasn't even taken his handheld videogame out from his carry-on luggage. For those that know Vincent, they know that this is quite an accomplishment and very out of character for Vincent. He has enjoyed walking to the mall to get to stores and restaurants, swimming, and hanging out with his two-year cousin, Malina. He's been caught feeding Malina cereal, setting up the video player so that they can watch a movie together, and holding her hand. I love it! He has also had lengthy conversations with other family members and relatives, which they all enjoy.

The weather has been perfect. We're definitely not missing any of the snow that has covered Oregon these past couple of weeks. The clouds have been with us most of the time, but we've only seen rain once since we've been here. Most of the time the weather is within the 80's -- we're not complaining!

The places we've been to have been quite diverse. We go to the mall across the street from time to time. When I say "across the street", it's not like crossing the street in Corvallis. We have to go down to the underground walkway to avoid having to cross eight lanes of traffic. The mall alone is bigger than the Corvallis downtown; a series of buildings all connected with bridges for your shopping and dining convenience. The stores range from groceries to mid-level department stores to high-end department stores to small stores to boutiques to all kinds of restaurants to food courts... It's quite a dizzying experience that I don't miss when we're in Corvallis. For now, it's a slight distraction that can be tolerated since we're only on vacation.

One of our adventures was to a trip to Quiapo (kiyapo). It's the Old Manila and is located right next to Chinatown. We walked from Chinatown to a great restaurant and then over to Quiapo. Quiapo has an old Church that I am assuming has been there since the Spanish times. Behind it are streets lined with shops. Along the streets there are vendors selling all sorts of items -- food, clothing, pirated DVDs, housewares, knick-knacks, etc. Initially it looks like the streets are blocked off because of the amount of people and stalls. Then you see the sea parting to make way for a tricycle or a car trying to make its way down the street. People yell on megaphones to get you to buy some of their China-made products, vendors try to convince you that you're getting the best deal from them, and some even have demonstrations on how to use their gadget that you can't live without. This market is not where your typical Makati resident would go to because of the mass of people, the dirty streets, the inconvenience of getting there, and they don't carry department store items. I was quite happy, though, to buy my guitar there.

In contrast... We had gone to a "market" located in Makati (the city we are living in, which is considered the Central Business District and the city where all the posh villages of the Philippines are located). The stalls consisted mostly of cooked food that ranged from your typical Filipino fare to American food (one of which was a hamburger stand that challenges one to eat their biggest burger under 20 minutes and you win a prize!) to Spanish dishes and more. Plants, herbal concoctions, snacks, and more were among the other items sold here. This market is held every Saturdays in a park that sits in the middle of condominium buildings. Lots of space, everyone around you is speaking English, and a good place to spot acquaintances of the same caliber. I'm being a bit facetious, because in my mind this is NOT the Philippines. It's a nice place to visit, but it gives me this feeling of being in a fabricated environment. Sort of to make you feel you are in solidarity with the Filipinos, but really it isn't. There are quite a bit of very Filipino items and it's a fun place to visit, but just not what I would declare as a Filipino experience.

We've had plenty of family gatherings and it's been fun spending so much time with my own family. Today we are off to visit my grandparent's beach property, but just for the day. I am still hoping to get to spend some time at the beach, but will have to wait and see when.

I was hoping to post pictures, but our DSL connection is too slow for me to efficiently upload pictures onto a site. As soon as I have this up, I will let you all know. I apologize if this update is quite limited still, but the activities never stop and we'll be taking off in a few minutes. I will post again when I'm able to!