The Journey So Far

I'll never be the travelogue keeper I want to be.  Deal with it. 

I arrived in The PH real late Sunday evening.  Tito Elmer and his family fetched me at the airport.  It was kind of a mess trying to find each other.  I was told to meet at Bay 5.  Simple enough, as everything is labeled as it should be.  It took me about 15 minutes, however, to realize that his car wouldn't be parked there, as he was standing amidst the hordes of Filipinos across the parkway.  Oy!!  We eventually spotted each other.  Don't ask me how. We happened to make eye contact despite the literal hundreds of people standing around him.

The 1.5 hour ride through Manila to Pulilan, Bulacan was easy enough, as his kids are outspoken, intelligent, and humorous.  I mentioned elsewhere that the first Tagalog word I was taught in The PH was "mabaho," or "stinky."  I've had plenty of opportunities to practice this word so far. 

In the morning, Lola Nini brought me around her community to meet, oh, I don't know, probably 20 different relatives I didn't know that a) I was meeting and b) I was related to.  It doesn't matter if they're your fourth cousin or first; they are all family and all excited to meet  a new relative. 

We had lunch with a few other relatives (Titas, Lolas, I'm not sure, and am still in the process of learning the ropes of Pilipino kinship ties) and after some subjection to squid pancit and being told that I would be converted from atheism to Catholicism by the time lunch was over, Tito Edward, Tita Jane, and their adorable daughter Sam retrieved me for a trip to the mall. 

Now, if you know me even the slightest bit, you might realize that malls generally make me want to fake a seizure just so I don't have to endure the experience.  NOT SO IN THE PHILIPPINES.  Oh my word.  I mean, OH MY WORD.  I will never again take mall foods for granted.  The bibingka: stupendous.  There are a ton of built-in restaurants, not only the food courts like we have in the states.  I had my first legit Pilipino halo halo.  I'd like to say that my family knows where the best ice cream in the world is, but the second best is definitely here.  Maybe it really depends on the brand, but I've had two flavors since arriving here, and it's sooooo creamy, it'd give Kate Winslet's thighs a run for their money.

At night, Tita Elsie and Tito Jowell treated me to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants in town.  Pork and other fried fare were involved.  Now, there was evidence that Elsie and I are related when, before this trip, via email, she clued me into the fact that she'll eat anything so long as it's covered in cheese.  This relationship was verified when she and Jowell told the server that it was my birthday so I could get free dessert.  Really, I feel at home here.

The next day, Tita Jane and Tito Edward picked Lola Nini and me up for a getaway to Subic Bay.  We saw a dolphin show, a sea lion show, and went through a tiger safari.  As far as the dolphins and sea lions are concerned, I can imagine that they are treated well here.  The message at the end of each show was for the kids: treat our animals nicely and do not pollute our oceans.  I mean, it was really more than just fine print at the bottom of a pamphlet.  I felt like less of a jerk being wowed by the agility of these animals.

This morning, after a breakfast buffet of bangus (heh) fish, Four Seasons, and garlic rice, I found myself sunbathing at 8 am with Jennifer Toth's The Mole People against the backdrop of mountains and hazy skies.  I am gonna come back home more nut-brown than anyone can ever believe.  I almost feel like no one bothers wearing sunscreen here because it's so damn hot that sunscreen melts right off the skin. No point in putting the lotion on its skin.

It's a 2 hour leg from Subic Bay to Pulilan.  I read more under the nipa hut Lola Nini and Lolo Carling have in their front (side) yard before Lola Nini and I hopped in a hired tricycle (a rickety type of sidecar, very common form of transportation) to meet more relatives and meet Tita Elsie at the grocery store.  But wait--THERE'S MORE!  How could I have ever expected that this trip would be complete without a visit to church?  I'm no poono (fool, or tree, depending on inflection) and I didn't actually think I'd get away without it.