First Impressions

The Philippines. A place like no where I've never been; yet it feels so familiar. The 1 am drive from the airport to the guest house felt like a small taste of everywhere I've been. The airport's craziness reminded me of what it felt like to try to find our ride, just off the plane in Guatemala. And as we packed about 21 of us in a 15 passenger van I remembered the crowded bus we took tothe volcano in El Salvador. But soon we were off! After a 20 hour journey and the longest, and most uncomfortable flight most of us have been on, we were thrilled to finally be there. We drove through the streets of what felt like Addis Ababa, Ethiopia... without the goats and cows darting in front of us around every turn :). It was the middle of the night, yet the streets were busier then many of our cities in the middle of the day. I had been warned about the crazy traffic in Manila and truly believe that it is the most denselypopulated city after this drive. After we passed through the dusty area city, all of a sudden we were driving through Caracas Venezuela!! The once dirty, bustling, and small sized buildings were quickly replaced by tall buildings, and a cleaner, well kept version of the city. It felt somuch like driving through the city that I once called home, that for a second I was sure that I saw the apartment buildings where we lived. We were thrilled to finally get the "Kids International Ministries" location where we will be staying and were warmly welcomed by our friends that had come about 10 days eariler to help in the orphanage over Christmas. And after barely sleeping for the past day, all I needed was a shower and I was off to bed!

Later that morning we woke up and had breakfast :) The meal of eggs and toast was perfectly delightful and a great way to start the day. The 9 of us social workers went out for the day while the elementary education group spent the day in their class rooms as they will over most of the trip. We met up with several other girls staying at our guest house that were with an organization called "The World Race". They spend 11 months in 11 countries and will be here with us must of the time that we will be too. Their group sounds really cool and I'll keep it in mind if I still dont know what I want to do after graduation.

We spent most of the day between 2 locations handing out food and water (or as they say in Tagalog, Toobig. Some girls at one of the locations, tent village, taught me this word for water along with several others that were too difficult for me to pronounce, so my chances of recalling them are slim. As we learned about how this village it became emotional to hear. There was a flood about a year ago that stripped hundreds of families of their home, belongings, and their farmland for their source of food. The government stepped in and set up tents for them to live in, and eventually built them very small boxes, barely able to be called houses, and not nearly enough room for some of their large families. One girl, about 10 years old wanted to take me to her house so Christy and I went up the hill past rows and rows of the same small house duplicated across the fields as far as we could see. When we got there her family of 7 was living in a small space the size of most living rooms. It's great that they at least have a place to live, but after they were settled the government has not provided any source of food for them! So they are stuck there, without any land to farm or clean water, and many are getting sick and dying. Kids International Ministries came to the rescue and

gotten the funds to feed the people several times a week. It's enough to keep them alive. It was so fun to see all the kids come running out of their "houses" with their little bowls and spoons ready to eat, but heartbreaking to have to turn some away after not having enough to feed them all...

The second place we went to was a small elementary school. The drive there brought back more flashbacks. The tropical feel and mountains in the background reminded me of the roads in rural Guatemala. Around every turn I held my breath as we squeezed past another truck. I remembered the drive I took with my family on the narrow roads, clinging to the sides of mountains, making our way to the waterfalls at "Semuc Champey" and the school "Rosa de Amor". And the kids here only solidified this Guatemalan memory with their slightly Mayan Indian look and their joyful smiles and cute personalities. Sarah and I were TRYING to make conversation with a small group of the kids, but after "What is your name" and "how old are you", we could no longer really communicate. They were giggling as we tried to pronounce their names and we laughed as we noticed a 3 year old boy rocking a rat tail! We were all having fun, not really knowing why kids were whispering and so tickled by whatever they were saying. We were too able to join in the laughter when the orphanage director told us that the kids thought our noses were "so long and pointy"! Haha, Through all the places I've been I've never heard that one before! Haha, It's really hard not to compare my past experiences to this one but I hope to be expose to more new experiences such as this one!

Haha... long point nose... So precious!