High Above Our Comfort Zones

It's been QUITE an adventurous few days in Cebu. We have so much to share that we were overwhelmed to even begin this post. At the moment we are sitting on the floor at the Mactan Cebu Airport. We are fighting back our yawns, but we really want to write to you all. 

On Wednesday we woke up very early to drive three hours south to Oslob where we'd visit the whale sharks and waterfalls. When we arrived we received instructions on how to interact with the whale sharks. The most notable being that touching them could result in 4 - 6 months in prison. Whale sharks are the new black. Nicki was brave enough to get in the water with these bus-sized beasts while Arelys manned the tiny boat and looked pretty. Nicki thought this would be a peaceful experience, but her bruises prove otherwise. The guides controlled the underwater camera that had unlimited photos and they made sure we took advantage. They shoved Nicki under water about 100 times and kept reminding her to look "normal". For those of you who know her well you know this was a struggle. Now we know how difficult the girls on America's Next Top Model have it. On that note, we've been watching Asia's Next Top Model before bed every night. We received our whale shark photos on a disk but don't have a computer to upload them yet. Enjoy these pictures from the Internet in the mean time. 

Our next stop was Tumalog Falls. While everyone claimed that these were not the "good waterfalls", we thoroughly enjoyed them. We got to ride motorcycles on a mountain! 

Please note that we are wearing bathing suits. 

The rest of that day was spent recovering because we were exhausted from the morning's activities. 

The first thing we did on Thursday (aside from finally sleeping past 6 am) was get our laundry done. We had 30 lbs of laundry and it was done for $4.00! We felt very successful. The rest of the day consisted of visiting the Cebu City Museum, eating turon (banana egg rolls) on the street, and buying bracelets at the Anthill Fabric Gallery. This gallery showcases traditional weaving with a modern twist. The first time we tried to visit this gallery we ended up on a small street filled with roosters and Filipino people staring at us. Don't worry moms, as soon as we felt unsafe we booked right out of there...after a photo or two. 

As George pointed out to us, we have been doing a lot of eating here. On Thursday we had traditional Filipino foods for dinner at the Golden Cowrie. We enjoyed chicken soup with a sour broth, spinach, scallops baked in garlic, lechon, and chorizo. It was delicious. 

We woke up early on our last day in Cebu to get in as much as possible. Some of you will receive some postcards...eventually. We may already be home by the time they get there. No worries though! If you weren't in our first batch, we still have lots of time! Make sure to send us your addresses. 

We walked over to the Cathedral Museum and received a short tour on Cebuano religious history. 

That afternoon we had our biggest adventure yet. The Sky Experience at Club Ultima consisted of three activities that were 40 stories above the city. We completed these activities in order of terror. First we did the Sky Walk. Strolling on the open walk-way seemed terrifying at first, but it was the most amazing view of the city. We were even brave enough to dangle our feet off the side. Next, we went on the Sky Coaster. This was more of a sky carousel than a coaster, but we were able to tilt our cart to a 55-degree angle. We felt on top of the world as we looked down on Cebu (even though we were screaming te entire time). Finally, we went on the world's first urban zip line. We hung upside down in our harnesses as we glided between buildings. This has inspired us to create Arelys's Bachelor audition tape as these are the types of activities that really win a man's heart. 

After our adrenaline rush, we went to meet our two new Filipino friends at Yayoy,s Grill for dinner. We thought we were being stood up, but instead we were greeted by 15 new, amazing friends. We ate (again), laughed, and sang as we bonded with these great people. Nothing brings people together like a good Mariah Carey sing-along.

Today we head back to Manila, and tomorrow we leave for Vietnam. Looking forward to the next chapter of our adventure! 

-Your Frizzy Girls 

Cebu, Cebu So Much To Do

Sorry for the delay in posts, but we've been up to quite a bit in this amazing city. After our last post we took a very long walk to go to one of the most well-known seafood restaurants. While we felt safe and surrounded by many locals throughout our walk, we later found out we were not walking through the safest part of town. We passed many street vendors, stores, and even a casino (for you, George!). There was an area that may have looked like Cebu's own Times Square. 

We made it to STK Ta Bay where Nicki thoroughly enjoyed shrimp in a garlic sauce and Arelys ate fried chicken. 

We woke up early the next morning to indulge in all that Cebu has to offer. Our first stop was Fort San Pedro. It is the oldest and smallest fort in the Philippines. Before it became a heritage site it also served as a prison, zoo, school, hospital, and camp for soldiers. Our tour guide was so nice and told us all about how the Philippines had been conquered by Spain only to be taken over by the US and Japan before they were truly independent. One of our favorite details were the many models of Magellan's ships created by prisoners out of newspaper and phone book pages. 

On our way to the next museum we stopped by the street market to pick up some fruit to enjoy during our walk. We have yet to try our mangostin but really enjoyed the rambutan. 

The next museum is one of the oldest existing residential houses in the Philippines. The Yap-Sandiego was constructed by a family of Chinese merchants in 1675 and has survived much destruction in the city. The house is still 95% original and is filled with artifacts of the many generations that have lived in this house. We were fortunate to meet the current owner of this living museum who still sleeps there on weekends. One thing that stuck out to us, which we happened to see a few times, was the birthing chair that looks like an ordinate rocking chair with extra long armrests. 

Casa Gorordo is also a historic house museum but it's meant to capture what life was like for a Cebuano-Filipino in the 19th century. The artifacts displayed here demonstrated that the family that once lived here was very wealthy. 

As we returned to our hotel we received notice that our flight to Tacloban had been canceled due to "force majeure", otherwise known as an act of God. Locals had told us that the area we were planning to visit was unsafe. We had thought it would be more developed after the typhoon and now understand why there was only one hotel available to stay at. While we are disappointed to not visit, we are enjoying every minute of our time in Cebu. 

Our new hotel is close to the Capitol building and is surrounded by restaurants and activities. As we began to venture out, we made the unfortunate mistake of crossing the street half-way while the light was changing. We ended up trapped on the median for about 10 minutes until we could safely pass by the very aggressive drivers. 

That night we decided to dine with the locals. Jollibee is the Philippine's response to McDonald's. Our burgers were very tasty but they did not end up agreeing with us the next morning. 

After dinner we ventured into a comedy/video karaoke bar. We thought there would be karaoke to music videos but instead it was song lyrics displayed over the Victoria's Secret fashion show from at least seven years ago. When people signed up for songs they sang from their table with no applause at the end. We were fortunate to meet two very nice men that work at city hall. After waiting about an hour for our turn to sing, we gave up and went to another part of the bar. This featured another type of video karaoke. While we were finally able to sing "Waterfalls" by TLC, we were accompanied by videos of animated dinosaurs and acquatic life. This section of the bar had a host/comedian who was quick to point out that we were the only Americans in the bar. He continued to showcase this for the remainder of our time there. We also sang another one of TLC's greatest hits and then Arelys was asked by the host to sing a love song with one of our new friends. We left shortly after to wake up early for the next morning's activities.

Next up: Whale sharks and waterfalls! 

Welcome to Cebu!

We finished up our time on Boracay Island. After our few days on the white beaches, we fully understand the meaning of the rainy season.  We even got to skip a few showers because Mother Nature helped us out. 

Luckily, our journey off the island, while much wetter, was a lot easier than the way in. We happened to get on an earlier flight than planned, so it had been nice enjoying the day here. 

Our first stop in Cebu was not far from home. We went down two whole floors to the hotel's "glam" spa to get six-dollar, hour massages. Arelys would like you to know that manicures are $1.50 here. 

The two-block radius surrounding our hotel is filled with sights, smells and sounds. On the way to the Basilica de Sto. Niño, we stumbled upon a small street market where you can buy everything from dresses to cultured milk.

Then, we headed to the beautiful church. While it was jam-packed with tourists, we managed to find solace in the church's peaceful gardens. In the church was a Catholic school. We felt right at home surrounded by the young students. 

Next up was Magellan's cross. This was the original cross brought to the island 500 years ago. The cross itself in encased by wood and surrounded by prayer candles. 

Missing everyone at home led us on a hint for Filipino post cards. It took us quite a while to find the right store, and even then it was a challenge. The first time we asked for post cards, a very helpful, young man brought us a push cart. We stuggle with the language barrier for a few minutes until we were led  in the right direction, sort of. We found ourselves surrounded by stacks of "vintage" 1970s post cards. Look out for these messages from the past soon. 

Before coming back to the hotel, we enjoyed a nice snack of mango juice and spaghetti-flavored chips in the City Hall square while taking in the Spanish architecture. We love it here so much already, that we are extending our time here for a few days. Lots more to come! 

- Your favorite ma'ams

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!

Hello, Jetlag! Please go away.

Good morning! Or afternoon! Or whatever our internal clocks think it is. 

It's 3:45 am in Manila right now and we both happened to wake up. Yesterday was our first official day in the Philippines and boy was it hectic, crazy, and fun. 

First off, we made it safely to the hotel. Did we get ripped off by the transportation from the airport? Definitely. Did we have many options at 1 am in a country where we don't speak the language and we've been on an airplane for sixteen hours and essentially feel like we just skipped Wednesday alltogether? Absolutely not. 

Our hotel is centrally located and right away we felt like we were in an entirely different place...even though we are staying at a Best Western. There is a prominent sign in the bathroom that says the drinking water is not safe. However, we both managed to find ourselves screaming after we brushed our teeth without bottled water. Breakfast was a mix of American and Filipino foods such as rice, beef with pineapple, croissants, and frosted flakes. 

Our first mission was to obtain the necessary visa for our travel to Vietnam. We decided to go to the US Embassy where we made many friends during our three separate visits. There was a looping video playing while you waited that explained what to do if you were American and married a Filipino person. It starred a man named Homer, his wife Marge, and their son Bart. 

Eventually we headed to the Vietnamese embassy. The cab ride was an adventure in itself. What should have taken all of ten minutes ended up in a half hour fiasco where our driver asked everyone and their mother for directions to the embassy. As expected, women and children continued to knock on the windows of our taxi to beg for money. It's extremely difficult to ignore, but we know this will be an ongoing situation we'll find ourselves in. Who knew there was so much traffic in Manila? It doesn't help that the road is filled with Jeepneys, pedal taxis, motorcyclists, horse and carriages, cars, and massive trucks. 

Eventually we made it to the Vietnamese embassy. Arelys would like to note that if there was a Yelp account for this agency, she would write a scathing review. The good news is that we are all set for Vietnam! 

In between our government field trips we were able to stop by the historic Rizal Park, named after the Filipino hero Jose Rizal. On our way we happened to stumble upon a small market/job fair. The market was 98% male and was very crowded. It consisted of people holding up signs for positions, an outdoor eye doctor, and other presentations for various remedies that were halted to say, "Hello, ma'am. Welcome to Manila." Don't worry moms, we did not talk to strangers. 

We had a nice lunch of beef adobo and traditional flakes. Can't wait to try more new foods! Unfortunately, due to our Jetlag, we've skipped some meals. 

We came to take a nap at 4 pm after our very busy day and accidentally slept for 12 hours with the lights on. 

In the morning we leave for Boracay. 

PS Nicki's new "favorite" beverage, Pocari Sweat, is sold everywhere. 

It's 4 am...we really don't know what to do. 

20 minutes in Tokyo

We made it! Even though we missed our connecting flight we were immediately put on the next flight to Manila. In the 20 minutes we had until boarding we decided to be adventurous...well, Nicki did. She bought green tea Kit Kats and water. 

Unfortunately the water was not water but her face was priceless. It's actually called "Pocari Sweat". She says, "it's kind of water," but her face says otherwise. 

We also explored the bathrooms and Nicki experimented with the convoluted Japanese toilet. 

Her favorite part was the flush sound button. 

Talk to you soon! 

We're on our way! Well...almost

Despite all of the stress and anxiety we had been feeling the last couple of days, we were super excited to begin our adventure! Our first glitch was starting in the wrong terminal, but once we figured out where Japan Airlines was we felt invincible. We board the flight, post the obligatory goodbye picture on Facebook...and then we were asked to get off the plane. Well that was a short trip! Luckily we're boarding in 15 minutes and should be in Tokyo around 4:00 am Chicago time. The airline offered snacks while we waited, but Nicki was shoved by all of the people. We did not get snacks. 

We'll chat with you all from Tokyo!