Hello, ma'am!

We started yesterday off in Manila and ended in Boracay in the late afternoon. It was quite the adventure getting here, but it was completely worth it.

Our morning in Manila consisted of a delicious breakfast of garlic vegetables, fried rice, and lots of bacon. Due to our vicious Jetlag we had a lot of extra time and found ourselves at the Rizal Park by 7:30 am. Jose Rizal is a Filipino hero who supported peaceful reform and whose 1896 execution helped end Spain's rule of the Philippines. Fun fact: Irving Park in Chicago has an honorary name of Jose Rizal Avenue! We took a tour of his execution site which has many statues of his accomplishments, the events that led to his death, and his final moments. 

We then walked around the park which has many beautiful features such as a fountain, statues, a music pavilion, and an outdoor art exhibit by the Art Association of the Philippines. All along we were serenaded by Celine Dion's music playing in the background. 

The next part of our day seems like a day all on its own. We flew to Kalibo airport on our way to Boracay Island. We imagined that the trip from the airport to the island would be easy...we were wrong. As soon as you step out of the bite size airport you are bombarded by transit agencies offering transportation to the island. We found our reservation and boarded a very crowded bus which proceeded to play "Red Red Wine" for two and a half hours. We thankfully had Friday Night Lights to distract us from the windy, hilly terrain (thanks, Pedro!). For such a small island we were surprised to pass about ten elementary schools where the kids were happily enjoying recess time outdoors. 

We then boarded a, for lack of a better term, "ferry". There we heard electronic dance music as we sat alongside a 100 year old woman. We then schlepped our bags to a crowded minibus that took us to our hotel. The roads on Boracay island are quite narrow. It felt like we were going to hit other cars and pedestrians the entire way to our hotel. We made it! 

We were starving so we had a delicious late lunch of chicken afritada and prawns with pasta. The staff here is unbelievably friendly! We also made friends with a man named Jay on the beach selling religious artwork. Arelys told him her name was Monica and Nicki appropriately caught on and said her name was Rachel. 

We sat on the beach for a while before taking a walk in the refreshing, pouring rain. Seeing the beach change from high to low tide was almost frightening. This is no Lake Michigan. 

Everyone seems so happy here despite the lack of luxuries we're accustomed to in the US. This reminded Nicki of one of our fellow grant winners. She was inspired by the documentary "Happy" to travel to Europe to study happiness. 

We made it till 9 pm and finally feel like we have a handle on our time change. 

Our next stop is Cebu City. 

Until next time!