The Reunion

I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t excited about the stop in Davao. I get to reunite with my worship mentor, Kuya Rey, Ate Minette and their entire family. I’m very excited to see how they are doing back in the Philippines and what they have been up to.

They pick me up and take me back to their place where the rest of the family is waiting to greet me: Mama Perla, Papa Rudy, Ate Micah, Kuya Rey’s children, Sheng-Sheng and Nette-Nette, Ate Melissa, Kuya Jonel and their son Alec. It was great to see them all again, I had seen them all over the years but not altogether. I had no idea what to expect for the next four days, but I was sure they would be eventful and exciting.

The next morning, they took me to a very nice and authentic Filipino breakfast buffet. They told me during my stay in Davao, they would take me on the “tour”: a list of restaurants and resorts where they normally take all of their guests. Along with that they would include things they thought I would enjoy. To my pleasant surprise, right after breakfast they took me to a zipline where I enjoyed an aerial view of Davao. We returned back to the house to pick up the kids and then we headed to Jack’s Ridge, a scenic restaurant up in the mountains.

After a great lunch with nice scenery to boot we headed over to PISD, the school founded by Mama Perl. The school started a little over 10 years ago with just 40 students for the 1^st grade. Now PISD caters to students grades K-12 and has grown to over 1700 students with a preschool being formed in the near future. I got to tour around the high school campus, asking questions about their curriculum (especially in math!) and other school logistics.

We end the day by going to Abreeza, the newest mall in the city (as well as the only Starbucks in the city). After some delicious coffee and banana bread we called it a night, quite a lot for my first day here.

It’s Sunday and Kuya Rey forwarns me that today is going to be a day-long affair. It turns out that the church they attend is so big that there are three services: one at 7 am, one at 9 am and one at 7 pm and he tells me that we are going to the later two. To top that all it is also Nette-Nette’s birthday today.

We get to the church where Kuya Rey and Ate Minette mic check with the band while I am being introduced and take in the surroundings. To make a long story short, the service was a very powerful experience that I really needed at the time (I’ll go into more detail about this later).

We then proceeded to go back to the house where the party was thrown for Nette-Nette. It was a pretty small party in Filipino terms, the whole family plus the pastor’s family, around 15 people or so. However there was enough food for probably 60+ people, it was crazy! They had lechon (roasted pig, a staple for any Filipino party), chicken, fish, beef plus desserts, quite the feast to say the least. We have lechons in the U.S. but they pale significantly in comparison to the ones here in the Philippines. The meat is so tender and the skin is so crispy, oh it’s lamit!

After the extended lunch we go back to church for the night service. However instead of holding it at the sanctuary in Buhangin, it is held at the school, PISD. The service ends around 8:30 and by then I am just dead. Kuya Rey wasn’t kidding about Sunday being a whole-day affair. Nevertheless, it was a spirit-filled day with some great food to boot.

On Monday, we go to one of the resorts, the Mergrande. The cool thing about Kuya Rey and Ate Minette’s location is that since they live close to the middle of the city, everything is accessible. The beach resorts are only 30 minutes away, the malls are only 10-15 minutes away, it is really convenient.

I first went to the dagat (the ocean) since I haven’t been yet, but the water looked pretty filthy so I passed and just settled for the pool at the resort. I don’t know what it is but there is something very calm and serene about the water. I would just float in the water and stare upwards all day if I could. There were a couple of slides there by the pool but other than that nothing extravagant. However it did not matter at all, I just had a great time with Kuya Rey and the family there.

Mama Perl and Ate Micah met us there for lunch at the beach. It was the perfect ambience, eating right beside the beach in beautiful weather with the wind blowing at us and the mountains in the distance. To top that all the food was fantastic. I know I keep ranting on the food here, but it truly is delicious! But Mama Perl is really trying to kill me, serving me more and more and more food. She told me that I was not to leave Davao unless I gained 5 lbs. The way she is feeding me I don’t think that’s a problem ;) Afterwards we go back to the pool and swim for another couple of hours, then we go back to the school as they all need to get stuff ready for the first day of school on Wednesday.

It’s Tuesday and my last full day in Davao L Kuya Rey and Ate Minette decide to take me to the Eden Gardens. It is up in the mountains, but from there you can see the entire city of Davao, it was quite a spectacle to see.

I got to go yet again on another zipline, not as long as some of the others, but still another thrilling experience. Afterwards Kuya Rey and I tried the obstacle course as well as the “Indiana Jones” (pretty much a rope sliding thingamajigger). Later on we got to look a little around the gardens. To be honest, I’m not much into flowers and all, but the gardens there are absolutely beautiful. Since the garden has trees surrounding the whole place, the colors are really vibrant and look amazing.

We end our stay at the Eden Gardens by going fishing in some of the ponds. However instead of using real rods and smaller fish for bait, we used bamboo sticks with fishing line and real worms for bait. In spite of the lack of advanced fishing equipment, I caught my first fish in literally 30 seconds! I was pretty proud of myself, given that my previous fishing experiences have not been too successful. However my success was overshadowed as later, Nette-Nette went on to catch three fish in the duration of like 3 minutes. Here I am, a recent college graduate being outperformed by an eight-year in fishing, not one of my finer moments. I was able to redeem myself and catch another fish.

Before leaving we ate lunch there, the main course being the fish that we just caught. It was a simple preparation, the tilapia was just deep fried, but it was some of the best fish I’ve ever had in my life. Probably it was just the combination that the fish was really fresh and it was one of the fish that I caught, but it was some pretty solid fish. Being a true Filipino I used a dipping sauce of soy sauce, calamansi (small citrus fruit, like a lime) a couple of small chilies and some vinegar, ooh it was delicious, so much that I ate virtually the entire fish, head and all only leaving the bones left. Yes it sounds weird, eating the head, the eyes and all but hey, it’s the Philippines.

After heading back home and taking a small nap, I was informed that we were going to eat at a buffet for dinner. I tell you, Mama Perl wasn’t joking about me gaining weight and all. In the Philippines, you eat and eat and eat… and eat. I’m not complaining about it, I know for myself if my clothes are still going to fit I can’t gain too much. It was a pretty good buffet and a nice way to cap off my stay in Davao.

What an amazing time I had in Davao! As busy as they all were with school stuff, Kuya Rey, Ate Minette, Mama Perl, Papa Rudy and family all made me feel so welcome and were so accommodating. They are truly a family who love to serve God and to be able to see that manifested in their ministries, both in the school and church was truly admirable and encouraging. I will miss them all dearly, but it’s time to move on. Next stop is my parents' hometown of Cabadbaran!

Gotta Love That Exchange Rate!!!

Being a math major and a numbers guy, I have been comparing the prices of things here in the Philippines to their respective prices in the US. Here is the exchange rate to begin with: 1 US Dollar = 43 pesos (Yes, they also use pesos in the Philippines). 

It probably will not surprise you that most things in the Philippines are WAY cheaper than in the US, especially the FOOD :) Whereas $5 in the states you might be able to get a second-rate lunch special or just get a few things off the dollar menu, $5 will take you pretty far in the Philippines. You can still go to a fast food restaurant and it will cost you no more than $3, or you can go to a sit-down restaurant and probably order two entrees, a couple cups of rice, a drink AND a dessert for $5! And in my opinion, the food here is better :) Also, other things like outdoor activities are so much more affordable (at least I think...) My four-hour whitewater rafting excursion was only 800 pesos (<$19), 4 zip-lining experiences amounted to 1150 pesos (<$27) and my tickets for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and Kung Fu Panda 2 cost just 220 pesos (>$5). Additionally, other things like clothes cost less here. My aunt took me to the mall and she bought me 5 Lacoste shirts and a pair of shorts for 2650 pesos (<$62), which is just ridiculous. Yes, one can argue that the quality is not as good as in the states, but it's still pretty legit and a steal nevertheless! This is just some of the many things that are cheaper here.

However there are a few things that are more expensive here than in the US. The first thing that I noticed that was more expensive was the gas. The price of unleaded gas here in the Philippines is roughly 46.85 pesos/litre so after a couple of conversions gas turns out to be $4.129 per gallon (I'm hoping gas is still sub $4 in the US!) As well things like electronics, cars and even toiletries are more expensive here in the Philippines, sometimes twice as much more as in the US. Practically anything imported from outside of Asia is more expensive here.

The cost of labor is so cheap, therefore things in the Philippines are a lot cheaper... as long as you have the money. Coming from the states, the value of our dollar is "strong" therefore all these things are very affordable. However for most of the population of the Philippines, the things I mentioned above are luxuries. According to my relatives, the average family earns roughly 175 pesos a day (barely over $4) so to just go out to a restaurant would be back-breaking monetarily. It truly breaks my heart as I ride through the cities and the mountains to see families that are barely making it day by day. To see children who wear the same filthy clothes every day. Knowing these children will never have the opportunities like we do back in the states. I can only pray that they will somehow break through the cycle of poverty.

God tells us to count our blessings, to name them one by one. Each day of this trip has truly been showered with blessings upon blessings, even some that I probably will not comprehend until months, even years from now. I am so thankful to my parents for giving this opportunity to back to the Philippines. I hope you all are having great summers! Take care and God Bless!

Jam-Packed 15 Hours

Thanks Ate!

I wake up at 6:30 to get ready to go the Delta office, my brain is awake but my body does not want to respond. We get breakfast downstairs in the hotel, where Ate gets a discount at all of the restaurants as well as extra food. It is truly a five star breakfast as the two egg sampler came with 3 sausage links, 6 strips of bacon and hash browns. With that and drinks, and thankfully Ate Mae’s discount, I ended up paying only 860 pesos, or roughly $20 for four people. As well I go to pay for the room which is for sure at least $250. With the discount Ate Mae gets, I end up paying just $75 at the Marriott, which is insanely cheap. Truly a blessing from Ate, thanks so much! Uncle Jesur was able to call my Kuya Sarion, another friend of my dad’s, to take us over to the airport.

More Craziness at the Airport

We arrive at the Delta office to go get some certification paper that I need to show Philippine Airlines. Unfortunately I was the only one who was allowed to go there, so I had to try to communicate to these two ladies who spoke limited English. Eventually I was able to obtain it. Next I headed back to the ticketing office at Philippine Airlines to get my e-ticket except I encountered another problem: Mom faxed the wrong credit card information! They secured me a spot on the plane, but they could not issue me an e-ticket until they got the information. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, my parents are frantic as dad goes to FedEx to fax the right card. They eventually get the fax, but they tell me to go to the supervisor’s office on the other side of the airport to get a waiver. I go to the supervisor’s office, only to find out that they no longer give out waivers and that I have to return to the ticketing office again and get in contact with the supervisor over there. I meet with Angie, the supervisor and she notifies me that I still have to pay 4883 pesos ($115) for my ticket. After running around the airport for two hours, I still ended up paying additional for the ticket that was paid for already. I am completely frustrated and annoyed and was genuinely on the verge of tears, the only reason I held back was because my uncle was with me. He could sense the stress I was under, and he was able to console me and explained that all of this was for some reason and that I would grow from it all. At this point I wasn’t really thinking about the reason for why this happened; I was just ready to get to Cagayan. Before I go check-in, I treat Uncle Jesur, Auntie Bennie, and Kuya Sarion to lunch. I give them 1000 pesos to spend and they come back with a plethora of foods to choose from. While we were eating, I asked them questions about my dad and my grandparents. Both the grandparents on my dad’s side passed before he even got married and also my dad really does not talk a lot about his younger days, so I was just fired away questions. Kuya Sarion talked about how my dad took him in during his senior year of high school and that he was an integral part of his relationship with God. As well Uncle Jesur talked about the competitive nature of my father and how you can never win an argument with him, which still holds true to this day. It was the most peaceful time of the trip thus far, just spending a good meal with family whom I haven’t seen in 5 years. Afterwards I check in to the airport and thankfully, the flight starts on time and I am on the way to Cagayan!

A Time of Reflection/The Arrival

The flight from Manila to Cagayan is only 75 minutes so I do not bother taking a nap, instead I reflect about the whole fiasco of the last three days just like a teacher should do. I began questioning the happenings of it all, why the hassle, why this flight, only to realize that it wasn’t doing me any good since all of those things were beyond my control. I reflected on the things mom told me while I was stranded in Japan and also what my uncle Jesur told me at the airport. I started to look back and see all the blessings that had gotten me to this point. Although it was significantly delayed, God kept us safe throughout the entire duration of the trip. As well once I reached the Philippines, I was well taken care of courtesy of Kuya Federico, Kuya Sarion, Ate Mae, Uncle Jesur and Auntie Bennie. After thinking about all of these things, I had a better sense of peace as we neared Cagayan.

Once we land at the airport and I’m leaving the plane, I look in the crowd for Mama Nene and Papa Romy, the people I would be staying with in Cagayan. Here’s some background: When my mom went to college in Cagayan, she stayed with them through the insistence of their only son, Ian. They saw my mom as their niece so to speak and she stayed there throughout her college years. When Ian got sick and needed an operation in 1999, they came to Atlanta to stay with us and that is when I met them. Unfortunately in January 2004, Ian passed away, leaving Mama Nene and Papa Romy without children. So when I came to Cagayan in 2006, they treated me as if I was their own son, like Ian. They still hold him very very close to their hearts.

I find Mama Nene as she is recording my arrival and greets me with a necklace she made. We leave the airport where Papa Romy is in the car waiting for us, where there is water and Gatorade for me.

The Wedding Singer/Match Game

On the way back to the house, they inform me that we will be going to the wedding of my cousin Esboy and that I am expected to be singing. SAY WHAT?!?! All I wanted to do at this point was crash, but I was eager to see Esboy and I could not disappoint since this singing thing was already planned out. We arrive at the house and I am greeted with welcome signs and other goodies. I am staying in Kuya Ian’s room and Mama Nene gets me all settled. I’m sleeping on a waterbed, I have a table for water and snacks, they set up my laptop that I’m borrowing, they show me a refrigerator full of drinks and other snacks to partake in, it honestly is like I am staying in a hotel. The best part is that it’s all FREE J

We head over to the hotel for the wedding reception in traditional Filipino style, i.e. we’re an hour and a half late. I go to the bathroom to fix myself up and when I come back Mama Nene is there with a girl next to her. I’m thinking to myself, “Let the matchmaking begin....sigh” After brief introduction we go to the wedding reception where the program is already taking place. We begin to eat dinner and no more than 10 minutes into eating they are calling me to sing a song. I look through their song selection list and I choose to sing “I Will Be Here.” However as they introduce to go up and sing the song, I realize that I do not have the words down! As the song begins, I am trying to remember just the first line and as I sing each line, I am trying to think of the next subsequent line. Thank God I am able to get through the song. Afterwards I meet up with the relatives of my Tita (Aunt, so to speak) Lalang and we converse a little before returning home.

We arrive back at the house around 9:30 pm. It has truly been a long day full of non-stop action since 6:30 in the morning. My brain is trying to take in the happenings of the day while my body has completely shut down. Once I get to the room, I crash and call it a night.

A Weary Traveler

Finally on my way to the Philippines!!!

Here is my flight schedule:

ATL to Detroit: Leave at 11:00 am, arrive at 1 pm

Detroit to Nagoya, Japan: Leave at 3:55 pm, arrive at 3:30 pm, May 24

Nagoya, Japan to Manila, Philippines: Leave at 8:15 pm, arrive at 11:30 pm

Manila to Cagayan de Oro, Philippines: Leave at 6:00 am, arrive at 7:15 am, May 25

Flight DL629: The flight from HELL

I arrive in Detroit on schedule and get something to eat before flying out to Nagoya @ 3:55. As departure time approached, we got a message that the flight would be pushed back 30 minutes due to maintenance problems. So no big deal, 30 minutes isn’t anything to cry over. However after 30 minutes elapse, they say that they still need another 30 minutes to fix the problem. By this point I’m a little annoyed,

So I buy one of those puzzle game books from one of the shops, just trying to do something as time goes by. Then at 5:15 the lady at the desk says that the problem is going to take another HOUR! Ugh!!!!! They give out vouchers so I get a pretty nice dinner and get back just in the nick of time, only to return to them saying we are still delayed... The problem now is that there is a law that concerns the flight attendants and because of the delay they would be considered illegal to serve us therefore we had to wait for a new crew. We finally start boarding at 7:15 however we are still without a full crew. I befriend the person sitting next to me and we start talking about college, our majors, and Filipino cultures which was enlightening for myself. Unfortunately this was all while we were still on the ground in Detroit. We don’t end up leaving for Japan for another couple of hours.

Supposed time of departure: 3:55 pm

Actual time of departure: 9:37 pm

A delay of 5 hrs and 42 minutes....

We end up landing in Nagoya Tuesday around 11:30 pm. Yes, 11:30 PM. As you cross the International Date Line you gain 12 hours. We have a two hour stopover in Nagoya with the intention of leaving for Manila at 1:30 a.m. With this I still thought that I could make my connection flight to Cagayan that’s at 6 am. Little did I know that I was in for the longest and most stressful day of my life.... As we are all waiting at the gate to board around 1 am, a little musical refrain to call people’s attention chimes and a lady from the front desk tells us, “We regret to inform you that flight DL629 from Nagoya to Manila has been delayed due to a maintenance problem. Please wait until further notice.” I was thinking to myself, “Could this possibly get any worse?” .... 30 minutes later the same musical refrain returns and the lady responds with the same answer. By this time it’s already 2 am and I was getting pretty restless along with all the other passengers. Again the refrain comes and we are all hoping for better news, only to be given the same response as the two previous times. They began to give us refreshments as we eagerly awaited for the new time of departure, checking off our boarding passes as we received snacks and drinks. It’s now 2:30 and the refrain comes back. Again, “We regret to inform you that flight DL629 from Nagoya to Manila has been delayed due to a maintenance problem. Please wait until further notice.” Ugh.... Now any chance of me making my connection flight has gone out the window, as well as half the passengers on the plane. People start to complain to the front desk, telling them that they are going to miss connection flights. Unfortunately only one of the attendants spoke English, and it was broken at best. As well there was nothing that they could do about it. While that was ensuing, I found a computer and notified my parents of the situation. At 3:15 am while chatting with them another guy came on the intercom and told us that they found the problem, but it would take at least an hour to fix it. Right afterwards came a huge wave of screams that continued on and on. I did not see what was happening, but I inquired someone and they said that around 100+ people came storming to the front desk, screaming and complaining to these people who can barely understand any English. It was so hectic that the airlines had to bring four security guards up to the gate. By now we’re all delirious and just wondering if they are just going to cancel the flight. Over the next two hours came the same announcement music with the same response from the lady with the same reaction from the people.

Finally at 5:15 am Delta finally came to a decision, postponing the flight to 4:15 pm. I was in utter disbelief and anger at this point. I would have rather them tell us this three hours prior instead of just prolonging the inevitable. But what can you do? To compensate for this, Delta offered free board at a hotel just 5 minutes from the airport and two meal vouchers totalling 1600 yen to use in the airport. However the pilot informed us that we needed to return to check-in at 1:15 pm. Since the gave vouchers in the same order as how they let people on the plane, I did not receive my vouchers until 7 am. I did not see the point of going to the hotel, taking a short nap and returning to the airport at 1 pm knowing that I still had to go through customs & immigration so I opted just for the meal vouchers. After getting through customs around 8 am I just roamed around the airport for the next 5 hours, getting a meal at a bistro and a frappuccino from Starbucks, just trying to pass the time. I’m at this point just ready to get out of the airport and on a plane. Thankfully everything went according to plan and we left around 4:15 to Manila. 

Supposed time of departure: Tuesday 8:15 pm

Actual time of departure: Wednesday 4:15 pm

A 20 hour delay.....

THANK GOD FOR CONNECTIONS

After getting on the plane, I am just thankful to be on my way to the Philippines. As well I am just spent, for what was supposed to be 24 hours of travel to Manila turned into 57 hours. Additionally within those 57 hours I only got about 6 hours of sleep total. I honestly do not remember a lot of this flight from Nagoya to Manila except that I went to sleep before we even took off and I only woke up twice: to eat dinner and once we finally landed.

Thank Jesus, I finally arrived in Manila. Although I still had one more flight to go, I was just relieved to be in the Philippines. Once I got in the Philippines things started to look brighter. My dad informed me that a friend of his, Federico, who is in the Filipino military was going to meet me at customs. As I head towards customs, Federico and one of his military friends are there to greet me. Once there I saw that I had two customs checkpoints to go through, which I thought would take me a good bit. However Kuya (prounced koo-yawh, means older “brother”) Federico gave them my passport and I went past the checkpoint in no more than 10 seconds, I was pleasantly surprised. After getting my luggage I passed through the next checkpoint, again in no more than 10 seconds. Apparently Kuya Federico has a good amount of pull or something, being in the military. Once exiting the airport I met my Uncle Jesur and Auntie Bennie. They informed me that my Ate (older “sister”) Mae had gotten me a room at the Marriott where she worked at and that we would be staying there. But first we headed over to Philippine Airlines so I could get a new ticket. However I was missing some certification paper that I needed to get from Delta so I had to return the following day. We proceeded to go to the hotel and I got the key from Ate (pronounced ah-teh). We get to the room and it was amazing to say the least, it’s probably the fanciest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. Once Ate Mae meets up with us in the room, I fall dead asleep, just hoping tomorrow would be a better day.