A day of firsts

We didn't have any plans for the morning so some of us went to the children's home (orphanage) to spend time with the kids. And as I expected I loved it :). They all called us "Tita" which is an endearing term for "big sister". They grabbed us by the hand and showed us around and spent the day having fun with us. I found the nursery and the babies just melted my heart! They have the biggest eyes and are so playful. I was talking to the director about how adoptions are done in the Philippines and as it turns out, it is very difficult for Americans to adopt. The younger kids are given to Filipino families while only special needs and older kids are allowed for adoption to America. And even then, a lot of family's aren't approved due to strict regulations. It's very sad but the nannies here love them and only want them to be happy.We still had time on our hands so we decided to make our way to the market. It was exciting as I got to take a trike for the 1st time. It is essentially a motorbike with a side cart to the right where they put some of the passengers. We were told by several people that it's make to seat 6 so we will all fit in one. "Oh yea" one girl said, "we've done this before. We can do it.". Looking at the thing I thought "there is no possible way!". 2 people sat sidesaddle very cosily on the back of the bike and 4 squeezed into the cart. It couldn't be wider then 2 1/2 feet and we were supposed to fit 2 in the back and 2 in the front? I just laughed and repeated over and over again, "you've GOT to be kidding me!". I'm pretty sure they didn't account for the fact that us Americans are about double their size! The ride probably wasn't more then 15 minutes long but it feels longer when your leg is going numb... :P. As we got out we POURED out of the cart like soda from a can that had just been shaken. It was good to get out and experience more of the Philippines. And although I didn't buy more then a few snacks to hold me over during the day it was a nice time.

Then there's the Jeepney. That's another experience worth mentioning. These colorful buses were modeled after vehicles used in World War 2 and were modified to be a little more hospitable to the traveling public. Each vehicle is unique in it's coloring and each driver takes pride in their designs. They add an exciting look to the streets of Manila as we point out the fun images we see painted on the sides of them. They remind me so much of what "The Magic School Bus" looks like

that I half expect Ms. Frizzle to be driving. Instead we found a smoking man asking for money. There's 2 benches each facing inward on either side of the car. And you climb in and scour for a space on one of the benches that you feel you can actually fit into, and then, what feels like the theme for today is, we squish! I immediately felt like Alice in Wonderland as I had to tilt my head to the side to be able to fit. This particular Jeepney had Filipino music blasting and although I could tell that it was annoying many of the passengers I was LOVING it! It was fun to look out the window, that was at my shoulder height, and notice many of the other beautifully painted cars. They were so detailed and colorful! My favorite so far has to be the Superman one, and although I didn't snap a picture of it I'll keep my eye out for it again :).

There was more to this trip however then just experience the most common form of travel in the Philippines. The Destination for this particular trip was Samaritana. This other "first experience" for me was a safe house for female prostitutes. The organization is similar to the one that I will be working with so it was really cool to hear about. The women don't sleep at the house, which surprised us to hear, but come at 8 am and stay until 5 to work and learn trades that they can use to get real jobs. They learn how to sew, clean, cook, make paper and pottery, and give massages. They are all great skills and they are able to make money while learning them at the same time. But one of the rules for most jobs in the Philipines is to have a hight school diploma. Even to flip burgers at McDonalds you have to be a high school graduate. So every Thursday at Samaritana is a school day to eventually get the equivalent of a GED in America. They work a lot with helping the girls heal and improve their feeling of self worth because many of them feel that this life of shame and poverty is what they deserve. By spending so much time with the other 19 girls at the home they find healing through seeing what other girls have been through. While working at this place the girls are prohibited from working at the bars. They are usually dismissed if they are, but they try to show as much grace as they can b/c they really should be in an environment of healing. There is so much more that I can write, we talked about so much there, so feel free to ask me more! The ministry that I will be working with is very similar to Samaritana.

Afterwards we Jeepney-ed over to a shelter where we would meet the rest of the group fro another feeding for the homeless at a different location then the last. The kids were so awesome and so much fun and from the pictures we took you would never guess that they slept on the side of the road every night. But when you notice their tattered clothes and dirty, calaced feet it's hard to even imagine what kind of life they've had or what they've been through. When the day was done and everyone had their bellies full, we felt pretty happy with the work we had done and pretty good about ourselves... Until we walked down the street afterward... passing the beautiful children we had just met curling up into balls on the side of the road where they would spend the night, looking forward to when we'd be coming back the next week.