A Day in the Life

The national religion here is Catholicism and oh boy, it shows. There are pregnant women and kids literally everywhere. The religious imagery at the stores is a bit overwhelming and elaborate. Of course, I live in a mainly Hispanic neighborhood back home, so it’s not complete culture shock. Here’s something strange: every day at 6 pm, there is a moment of prayer. The first time Mike and I witnessed it we were at the grocery store and this disembodied voice came over the loud speaker which caused everyone to literally stop in their tracks. We just looked at each other not really knowing what was going on and if we should keep shopping or what. Total wtf moment. Apparently it happens in all the public areas like stores and malls daily. The girls in the cafeteria at work listen to Christian radio every morning, so we’ve started joking that we eat breakfast with Jesus. It’s actually quite surreal but sometimes when they’re on the “thought of the day” part there’s a message there for me. Gu...

More picture links for those not on Facebook... Our Halloween party: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=233578&id=588038946&l=9bbee5f156 Island Hopping: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=234517&id=588038946&l=80b5c8c176 Downtown Cebu and Magellan's Cross: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=235583&id=588038946&l=64dcc26208 The Amazing Show: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=236115&id=588038946&l=ccb7fad2b1 Day of the Dead Cemetery Tour: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=237122&id=588038946&l=7bda504e83 General Pix of the Trip (updated): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=226582&id=588038946&l=5010c126ca I'll try to do an actual blog soon. :)

We chartered a boat and spent a day out on the ocean and wow...it’s breathtaking out here! It’s so beautiful I almost can’t get my head to register that it’s real. I’ve been taking lots of pics but they really don’t do the reality justice. It’s like a movie or a video game or something, heh, Philippines the video game. LOL! Everything is crazy cheap…we got the boat rental for $50 for the whole day. Six of us went, so we split it and it became ridiculously inexpensive. We made friends with a local who lives near our house and he organized the whole thing for us. Francis is totally the man for that, and we’ll most definitely be using his services again. I’d really like to do this boat thing at least once a month while we’re here. We got a late start because we went the morning after the Halloween party at the house, that’s also the reason for the small group. The flake factor was high that morning. I wasn’t a hundred percent myself, but there was no way I was gonna miss the adventure. Ev...

Hey all! Sorry I'm having trouble finding my voice right now...my cat back home passed away and I've now basically missed celebrating my favorite holiday. In the interest of not saying anything if I don't have anything nice to say, I'm staying quiet. I hope to be able to change my attitude soon and get back on track. In the meantime, for those who aren't on Facebook, here are some links to my photo albums: Our overnight in LA: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=226579&id=588038946&l=b5f20aa0be Us at the airport in Korea: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=226581&id=588038946&l=d1689d94e3 The neighborhood we live in: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=229634&id=588038946&l=1b65144242 General pics of the trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=226582&id=588038946&l=5010c126ca

Yes, it’s true, I have been mostly starving since I’ve been here...which, with my blood sugar issues, is definitely not a good thing. Let me see if I can explain why. I have an overdeveloped sense of smell and when things smell bad to me it throws my appetite off. The smells here are very strong and mostly fish-like, whether it’s the local food or the tide being out, it’s all fishy and therefore stomach turning to me. Thankfully the longer I’m here the more I’m getting used to it, so I’m now able to eat in spite of the smells. Also, the local fare has a lot of fish/squid/random sea creatures so it’s like having my nose assaulted at every turn. The food being mostly Asian of all types (Filipino, Korean, Thai, etc.), it doesn’t sit heavy on you or stay with you. No matter how much rice I eat, I’m having trouble feeling full and when I do feel full I’m hungry again in a few hours. Normally I eat about every 4-5 hours, but here I need to eat every 2-3 and I almost never feel full. I never ...

I'm finally back in my body again after finding protein bars at the health food store. Having my blood sugar crashed while adjusting to culture shock and dealing with homesick is definitely not a good thing for me. Wow, crazy Jen BAD! LOL! And now back to the blog... They have really reliable public transportation here, called Jeepneys. Basically they’re small flatbed trucks that have been modified to have a roof and they pack people in the back like sardines. I swear one day I thought someone was gonna sit in my lap, LOL! It costs pennies to ride them and they have a regular route around the island. There are no regular stops so when you want to get on one, you flag it down and when you want to get off, you tap your change against the roof or make kissy noises so the driver knows to stop. The best part about these vehicles is that they’re all art cars and each one is different. We’ve seen Hello Kitty, Bob Marley, and Pink Floyd just to name a few. I’ll start getting pics of them s...

I’m truly sorry I haven’t been blogging. I’ve been trying to get situated with work and adjust to the extreme culture shock that is living in a completely foreign country. I feel hungry all the time because the food is so different here that I almost never feel full, which is jacking my blood sugar in a totally unhappy way. I have an overdeveloped sense of smell and omfg there are so many smells out here that are vomitous...I’m working to find a solution to this issue. I’m incredibly homesick which is making my attitude suck and rather than sharing all those feelings, I’ve been trying to keep it to myself. I’m making a valiant effort to adjust and find things to be excited about so I can share again in a positive way. Sorry I’m experiencing technical difficulties but please give me adjustment time and I’ll be back and better than ever soon. Miss you all like crazy. :-(