Hello, Hello.
This week has been great.
Most exciting adventure for the past seven days was visiting the Hot Springs in Laguna. Michael and I helped take the children from the social centers swimming at the hot springs. The kids were so excited about going, many of them arrived two hours prior to departure! We crammed about 25 kids, and 3 adults per jeepnye (a total of 3 jeepnyes) and traveled into the furnace that is metro manila. The hot springs were great, although different from what we expected, maybe something like a pond, in a remote area, surrounded by trees? These hot springs were basically like pools that receive water from a spring up the hill. I wasn't so sure of the water, so I mostly waded...but Michael jumped right in, only to feel a little uneasy afterward, haha. The other swimmers at the pool were excited to see Americans and often commented on how handsome Michael's nose is. They were also shocked to see me spread a towel out and try to get some sun, it is more common for the Filipinos to want fair skin, and to avoid the sun. It was funny to see their reaction!
We also learned how to eat mangoes from the kids, pretty much just like a banana. They peel and go right at it, Michael and I certainly enjoyed this experience and have vowed that this is most definitely our favorite way to eat this delicious fruit. (Just a side note, as you can imagine, the mangoes here are so extremely delicious...like nothing I have ever tasted in the States.)
Michael and I have discovered that the ability to communicate is not as easy as we always expected, even though many people speak English fluently. For example, the Filipinos will very often raise their eyebrows in order to say "yes". Not knowing this I would ask questions, get no verbal response, or shake of the head, so would repeat myself many times, or walk away confused! They also say "uh-oh" instead of "uh-huh". Also very confusing when asking a question. They find it very rude to point at something with your finger, so they use their lips. Something I just discovered very recently!
Miss you all.
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