How do you tell someone that they smell? 1
The last few days were great. I hung out at the children’s home and came away with a lot of questions, and a new appreciation for the work that the staff and volunteers do there. It’s like camp, except the kids are there for years, and there’s a bigger age range. And they don’t have families that love them outside of the home. It was really hard to see, but at the same time a blessing to know that they’re loved in the home.
I hear that there are over 200, 000 street kids in Manilla. This home is making a difference.
Today was one of those crappy travel days. I got up at 5:30 am, to do the hour long drive to the airport. Philippine Airlines always oversells their flights so it’s good to get there early so they don’t give your seat away. I couldn’t afford to miss the flight, so I got there early. 3 hours early. My flight wasn’t till 10:30 am, and I got there at 7:30. The airport is terribly boring. There isn’t much for food or entertainment there, and it’s strangely really cold. 2nd time I’m really glad I got the Ipod.
At 10, I look over at the gate and think to myself… “self, there’s no plane at the gate, you’re going to be delayed.” So I wander over to the counter and ask the guy how long it’s going to be late. He tells me 2 hours.
There’s a guy sitting a few rows away muttering to anyone that will listen, how inconvenienced he is by the 2 1/2 hour delay. It hasn’t been that long since the delay and he’s already stretching the truth. I took a stab in the dark and guessed he was American since he had this arrogance to him, while at the same time nervousness about him. At any rate, annoying… once again, thankful for the Ipod.
Just before noon, about 12 guys walk in with bagged lunches. Philippine Airlines did the right thing and got us lunch! Unfortunately, or fortunately if you’re Laurel, it was KFC… in typical Filipino style. Piece of chicken, Ball of rice, and gravy. For some reason they like to smother their rice with gravy here. I don’t get it… it’s almost offensive.
We finally board the plane sometime just past one. Guess who was seated next to me? That’s right.. the American. I really don’t have anything against Americans. Just this one…and a few others. He proceeded to continue his complaints about the delay to myself and the rows infront and behind us. Looking local, I decided to pretend I didn’t speak english and just answered him with a short yes or no.
We also played the armrest game. You know, the one where someone claims the common armrest and the other person tries to snag it every time it’s vacated? Eventually he tuckered himself out with all his whining and bragging about how he got better deals in Manilla than from the on board duty free boutique. (Seriously, how can you not get a better deal than from the onboard duty free boutique?) But I digress.
At this point, a tremendous smell (yes, of biblical proportions) came over me. Quite sure it wasn’t me, I looked over at the now, smelly, arrogant, annoying American. At this point, I was tempted to wake him up and say “Um… Can you go check your pants, you may have crapped yourself cause you smell like *ss” ... But I didn’t… If there was a film crew, I might have… just to complete the moment on film.
The Philippines was a hard place for me to be. There are so many things about Manilla that bothered me. But I’m back in Bangkok now. It’s started feeling more like home. Maybe it’s the familiarity, or the modern amenities. Or the food that doesn’t come straight out the other end. I’m not sure… but I kinda like it here. I don’t think enough that I would move here… at least not yet.
Why Does This Feel Like North America? 2
I got to the Philippines on Friday night. My flight was on time… unfortunately Megan and Julia were not… aparently they got caught in traffic… or they forgot… I buy the traffic excuse though… the driving is just as crazy as Bangkok, just slower… It takes forever to get anywhere.
The first day and a half were quite north american. Saturday is Megan and Julia’s day off, so we did what girls do… we shoppped… in these malls, that happen to be everywhere. Everyone speaks english and Christmas is just a commercialized as it is in the west… It just feels different because it’s 30+ degrees out and you sweat lots. Still it feels really western and for some reason, really wrong… like they’ve sold out on their own culture for materialism, wealth, and progress.
Today was better though. We went to church this morning at some mega church here. Probably the nicest building I’ve been to in the last 4 weeks… possibly longer. I’ve never seen a church with escalators. The whole thing looks like an office building in silicon valley… I’m still not sure what to think of the whole thing, and I spent much of the time wondering about where their priorities were.
But then I caught myself. Who am I to judge how they worship? Or say what they do is right or wrong? In anycase, it was different from what I was used to.
This afternoon was cool. After watching some random Philippino movie, we headed over to the children’s home for their Christmas party. It was pretty cool… to see all these kids… so happy with their simple toys. It’s heart breaking to see them all here, but at the same time, a relief to know they are in a good home, with tons of people that love them.
The kids are unbelievably adorable. I’m excited for the next few days of hanging out with them and playing with them. It’s a difficult place to be though as I know I’ll be leaving in 4 days, so I don’t want to get attached and be left by another person.
God give me your love for these kids.