Happy New Year!

We got back from our Christmas trip the evening of Dec. 30, and we're still trying to organize our thoughts and pictures, so before I share about that, let's talk about New Year's Eve here in Manila. This was the first year I'd been in the Philippines for New Years (Uche's spent a few here) because I had always been visiting outside the country for Christmas when we lived here before. I've heard alot about the noise, partying, fireworks etc that happen here, so I wanted to experience it at least once. I have to say it was something else!

I've spent New Years with large crowds before, 50,000 for the year 2000 in Portland, OR, and 20,000+ at two different Urbana conferences, but last night was the noisiest ever! We got together with our neighbors for dinner, watched a movie and around 11:30 we went up to the roof to watch fireworks. People have been setting off fireworks here for weeks. All through the Christmas season you can hear and see them; the two big malls near us had a big fireworks show every Saturday throughout December, but the climax was last night. It was pretty noisy during dinner, but we could still carry on a normal conversation with each other. When we went up to our rooftop at 11:30 the noise of the fireworks and firecrackers was deafening. We had to shout in each other's ear to be heard! It went on like this for at least an hour before it settled down a little. I have no idea when it stopped because it was still pretty noisy when we went to sleep around 1:00 am.

I'm glad I was able to experience New Year's Eve here. I've never seen anything like it before, and I'm not sure where else I celebrate quite like that. According to our friends this year's celebration was a little subdued because people aren't doing as well financially as in years past, plus there were major national tragedies that occurred here during 2009. BUT if that was subdued.... I can't imagine what normal is like....

This is the group we had dinner with. We enjoyed tasty food and lots of laughs.

This scene was repeated on thousands of streets throughout the Philippines. So the noise was coming from the street and from the sky.

During the height of the fireworks. From every angle on our roof this is what we saw. It was pretty amazing.

Two worlds

Within the last week we went from one side of the metro area to the other. It began with a trip to Manila to go to immigration. We actually live in Quezon City which is bigger and more populated than Manila, but is part of metro Manila. When we have to go to Manila we always combine as much as possible in the trip. Immigration trips are often paired with trips to the barber for Uche. There's one guy in the city that cuts most of the black men's hair here- they've trained him! Then we usually head to a Middle Eastern restaurant for lunch. I LOVE hummus and we tried a new place last week, and it was fantastic. We then headed to a Christmas bazaar at the World Trade Center where I was hoping to find Filipino handicrafts- I'll tell you about my disappointment in a bit.

You can see the hookahs behind me. While we were there a few different men came in to chat and have a smoke. They're really cool looking I think.

I was excited when we walked into the Christmas bazaar and saw this display. I saw the traditional Filipino huts with the poinsettas and I thought how the whole place must be full of local handicrafts. I was specifically looking for a very Filipino looking nativity. Then we walked into the hall, and I was soooooo disappointed. It was full of stuff you can find at any market- cheap t-shirts, cheap plastic toys and no Filipino crafts to be found. I was bummed, but glad I hadn't made a special trip for it!

A few days later we headed to the total opposite end of the metro area to a place called San Mateo. During the floods this area was hit really hard. A pastor who has been planting churches in a couple different communities there has been working to help people to rebuild their homes that were destroyed in the flood. We went to go see what has been done in the recovery and try to see if there's the possibility of us doing our internship in one of the communities.

The last community we visited is really on the edge of town, and the name of the community translates as edge of the town. It's hard to believe we were still in the metro Manila limits, because it felt like it was worlds away. The people have to cross this rive to get from the town of San Mateo to their homes. Many people living there have carabaos (like these in the picture above) which are water buffalos that they use in farming.

There're also cows. We had to keep reminding ourselves we weren't out in the province (rural areas).

We took a boat ride across the river. I was ready to wade, but the boat ride was nice. This little guy was helping his dad transport people back and forth.

I was a little concerned how low the boat sat in the water with all of us, but no worries, the driver was very good and we made it safely across without a drop of water getting in.

In the community there some homes like this one. With the second story the husband of this family was able to stay on the roof during the flood to watch their home while the rest of his family fled, with many others from the community, to a nearby hill when the waters rose. This family was fortunate to have that second story and a house built with cement blocks.

This is an abandoned home that a woman in the church plant is considering buying because her home was totally destroyed during the flood. It was in pretty bad shape. It's hard to imagine a family living here.

This little girl was too cute not to photograph. Her family lives on the edge of the community and their living conditions are horrible. It's hard to see people living in such dehumanizing conditions.

Here's her little brother retrieving the tire he was playing with. I kept trying to get him to smile for me, so I could take his picture. He never did. He did smile when I showed him the pictures I took of him and his sister- he got quite a kick out of that.

All in all this week was kind of normal for us. There's such a contrast of wealth and poverty in this city. We have our feet in both worlds. We hang out in restaurants and enjoy fun activities around the city, but we also visit with people who live in conditions that depress you. This is how we see our future- being a part of these two worlds.

Taal

Last Saturday Uche and I joined our friend Holly for a day trip a couple hours outside the city. We didn't know exactly how it would all work out, but we just decided to head down and try to hike the volcano Taal. It ended up being a super fun stress free trip. Sometimes it's crazy traveling in foreign countries when you don't know exactly what you're doing. But with help from a lot of friendly people we met along the way we got to hike the volcano and enjoy a day in a beautiful place. Holly was super fun to hang out with; we were sad to say goodbye as she headed back to Nor Cal a couple days after our trip, but maybe we can hike another volcano with her in California!

We had to take a banca (boat) across the lake to the volcano. Taal is a volcano that sits in the middle of Lake Taal.

This was the last picture we took on the boat ride as soon after this was taken we were getting soaked from waves of water hitting us. The lake was really choppy and water would just fly in, fortunately the water was warm!

The hike wasn't too long, 4 km or almost 2.5 miles up. It had some pretty steep parts, but it wasn't bad. You could rent a horse if you wanted to so they would have to do all the hard work. This guy on the horse kept riding by us trying to convince us to rent the horse. We kept assuring him we were fine and wanted to walk. I noticed he always showed up on the steep parts! I guess he was hoping we'd see the lunacy of walking ourselves up the steep path, come to our senses and rent his horse. The lady up ahead of us did succomb to the temptation of sitting on the horse and enjoying a ride to the top.
Part of the way up. The views were fabulous. We had to keep stopping to take it all in.

The three of us. See we're still smiling, so the hiking must not have been to hard! :)

View from the top.

Once you're on top of the volcano you can see another lake inside the crater. So, we were by a lake which is inside a volcano which is in a lake. Did you follow all that?

Yay! We're at the top. There was a fabulous breeze blowing and it was just a perfect place to relax after the hike and enjoy the beauty around us.

Uche took this cool picture. I just love it.

Fore!

Yesterday was a holiday, so our landlord invited us to join him and two of his kids to go hit some golf balls at a driving range near our house. We enjoy doing this at home, so we were excited to join him. Uche has gone once before, but this was my first time going to the driving range here. I'm not sure I'll want to do it again in the States.
At home I have to haul my own bucket of balls to the area where I will hit. I also have to set up each ball I want to hit- not so here. See the girl in the picture below. She not only arranged to have bucket of balls delivered there, but she also set up each and every ball I hit. She would set up a ball on a tee, or if no tee was needed, she would set the ball on a little mound of packed dirt. Pretty much I just hit balls over and over. No bending over for me! I was a little scared at first that I would hit her, but she was unfazed. I guess she's gotten used to it since she does it all day, six days a week! Oh, she also cleaned the clubs when we were done and hauled them out to the car. Seriously, golf courses in the States have a long way to go....

I'm quite proud of this picture I took of Uche during his follow through. I used the sport setting and I like how it turned out!

I hope this picture was captured when I hit a ball, and not one of many swings and misses! You're not allowed to make fun of my form.

Can you see a spot of green past the 75 yard sign and a little to the right? This was one of my favorite things at the driving range. That's the guy who has the unfortunate job of collecting all the golf balls. He has a shield (the green thing) he holds while he does his job. I managed to hit him once when he was a little closer- it cracked me up. He probably didn't think it was as funny as I did. It was great to have something to aim for!

Fiesta!

This past weekend was fiesta time in our barangay (neighborhood). I'm not quite sure what the celebration is for, but it has something to do with the Spanish culture that was brought to the Philippines during their colozination of the islands. It is also related somehow to the Catholic church down the street. I should google it! Anyhow, fiesta is party time. The week leading up to the fiesta had many groups like the one below going up and down the streets. They're loud so you hear them long before you can see them. They dance some dance routines and bang on drums, making a big ole ruckus. They also hand out envelopes so people can make donations to their group. They tried to hand us one, but we put on our dumb foreigner face (sometimes we manage this look without trying) and they moved on.

On Sunday evening the parties were in full swing. The streets were closed to traffic and people were out in the streets eating and enjoying hanging out. There was a live band playing on the street behind our place. At one point we could hear the band playing and two different karaoke songs going on in two different places. It was worse than it sounds!

The owners of our building had a nice party up on our rooftop (we have a great covered rooftop garden on our building) so we went up to join the merriment. The karaoke was going strong and the lechon baboy (a whole pig roasted) was ready.

Up close and personal with the baboy.

Karaoke provides many hours of entertainment in the Philippines. Filipinos love to sing and perform, so a karaoke machine is a must have.

We had a good time eating good food and visiting with our neighbors and listening to people butcher songs.

I suppose that's an appropriate picture to finish off this post.

Time in CA

We're back in Manila and excited to be starting our last semester of school. We arrived late Monday night and started classes on Tuesday. We're still trying to adjust to the time, and are way too acquainted with 2:00 am! We had a great month long visit at home, and we enjoyed surprising people. Here's some highlights from our time in Nor Cal. Sorry, they're out of chronological order, but I can't be bothered with moving them around... I got to get ready for class!

Celebrating my birthday a few days early with a German chocolate cake with two cans of frosting- my favorite! It looks like it's on fire! :)

Slagle family get together. A little pre-Thanksgiving dinner. We'll enjoy another Thanksgiving here, but one can never eat too much turkey and stuffing.

Uche on the river trail. We enjoyed being outside in the cool air and exercising without sweating profusely. Of course, in Manila we sweat without exercising....

Trick or treating with my niece and nephews. They're too cute.

Uche and I got to work together washing windows. It was pretty fun and we enjoyed the time we got to do this, and we were so blessed to see God provide work for us. I have decided that manual labor is not for me, and look forward to many happy years working in an office! :)

Because I am my mother's daughter I enjoyed the fall colors. Sometimes fall doesn't happen in our area- summer just suddenly turns to winter, but our month there was perfect fall weather. We enjoyed every second of it!!

Uche's grandma

Today, my grandma is being laid to rest. She sojourned in this world for one hundred and six years! She lived a great and successful life and was loved by almost every one in the village. She was strong and lived by herself till about a year ago. She was one of the strongest and most hardworking women I have ever seen. I lived with her till I was twelve. She loved me as every loving grandma could love their grand kids, but unlike most grandmas, she was a disciplinarian too. I'm glad she was firm with me that's why I turned out the way I am.

She lost her husband many years ago but refused to remarry, instead chose to stay and raise up her only daughter, my mom. She was devoted Chatholic and we used to go to early morning masses together. Till she died, I called her mma (mother), and called my mom Nda (auntie), or ate in Tagalog (Philippines language).

My grandma was the best grandma in the world and I love her dearly. I'm looking forward to seeing her in heaven someday.

Adieu Mma Anna! We your 6 grand children, 24 great grand children and your 2 great great grand children love you.

Our first meal

We arrived in the States last Saturday to surprise Sarah's family for a month long visit. We flew into San Francisco and rented a car and headed north. On our way we stopped in Williams and had a little lunch. While overseas we always talk about how much we miss Mexican food, so we were really looking forward to a burrito. The tacqueria did not disappoint- the burrito was fantastic!!



Enjoying the beautiful fall weather while I anticipate the carne asada burrito... My mouth was watering before it showed up!

Our burrito. It was huge. It's like the size of Uche's head. We cut it in half and gobbled it down. In Manila we have Mexican restaurants, but they're not as good, and the burritos are not this humungous. This was the first of three Mexican meals we've had this week!

Uche lived to tell....

Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in my life! I never had any reason to go to the dentist before because I never had a toothache or hole or whatever. It's not that the thought of going for a dental check up (is there anything like that?) or the popular teeth cleanning has never crossed my mind. But there is a saying that who ever goes to the witch doctor must come back with some kind of news, good or bad, but mostly bad news. Same also with the dentist; once you visit them, you have started a long journey that you don't know where it will take you. You will have no choice than to keep going back again and again. You can't quit going once you start.

Anyway, being a brave man, I decided to take advantage of the affordable dentists here in the Philippines. There are Dental Clinics on almost every street in Metro Manila. All I can say is that I enjoyed my first trip to the dentist. The lady was friendly and knows her job. I was sure there would be an accident or something that would result to me getting a surgery, but thank God she was under the power of the Holy Spirit.

The only weird experience was the dentist yanking on my teeth. I thought she would pull my entire teeth out but sure she knew what she was doing. I was also disgusted to see what she was scraping off my teeth (yucky!), I won't offend you with the details. If you have never been to dentist, let me encourage you to visit one soon. You got stuff in your mouth.

My entire jaw was frazzled after the trip, but then I had to sit in a four hour class afterward and I even had to give a report in the class. Like I said, once you go there, you will keep going back; she asked me to come back in a month! for another cleanning!! Others see their dentist once or twice a year, but mine will be monthly!

Aftermath

Ondoy left a mess that is now being cleaned up. The past couple days we've been able to go to parts of the city badly affected by the flooding. Yesterday we were able to help clean inside houses that are covered in the mud now that the water has gone down. Today we visited some pastors and their families whose homes were completely destroyed in twenty minutes from flooding and they escaped with their lives and the clothes on their back. The water came in and covered the first floor completely and up to their knees on the second floor. They managed to swim out by holding onto rope to get to higher ground, to safety. They're now trying to move into new homes and starting all over as they've lost everything they've owned. The vast majority of people here do not have insurance, so within a few hours everything they owned is destroyed and now they're starting over with nothing but the clothes on their backs. We've only seen a few homes, but the loss of life and possessions is staggering.

These pictures are taken from inside the van we were riding in, so they're a little blurry. We spent hours on the road because of traffic. Many people are trying to get in and out of the affected places, and some of the roads aren't the best.

These pictures are from the compound of the two pastors' homes. There's no water or electricity there right now, so clean up is not going to be able happen anytime soon. Cleaning up all the mud with water would be challenging, but without water, not possible. The first picture is from inside one of the pastors' homes.