Finally here

YAY! I made it to Manila, safe and sound. It was a little crazy, the journey. Imagine 14 hours in a cramped seat on a plane where you can't fall asleep except for maybe 1:30 hrs. total. You have your own little television on the back of the headrest in front of you that shows tons of different movies and shows which I ended up watching for most of the time, trying desperately to fall asleep. I did get to watch an episode of CSI I've never seen before, so if you understand my love for CSI, you understand that regardless of the rest of the flight, it was amazing.

So we got to Manila and met Becca our site coordinator. We waited around for awhile, trying to find the other driver; well, waiting for him to "find" us. When we never found him, we piled 8 people and ALL of our luggage (about three bags each) into a mini-van and drove to our house in the city. The house is quite small by our standards. Becca has assured us, however, that eventually we will come to see it as quite comfortable. Really, there is space only for what is essential: a small kitchen, three bedrooms (very small) and two CRs, or comfort rooms, which is what they call the bathroom. I'm living in a room with five other girls, sleeping in bunkbeds and having very little space to put anything. But again I say, before anyone thinks I'm complaining, that it is ENOUGH. There isn't any excess space that really isn't needed. We even share the space with some terrifying bugs. The first five minutes we were there I noticed a cockroach on the wall. Apparently they bite and some fly. I'm terrified. Oh, and then apparently I spent the night with a GIGANTIC spider next to my bed. Thankfully I didn't know it was there until we moved the bed this morning so a carpenter could come in and fix a floor board. The space I'm fine with. The simple living I'm fine with. Everything so far I'm fine with...except the bugs.

We walked around the city today and scoped things out. We're only a few blocks from the bay, which we briefly walked to, and even closer to the mall. The mall is huge. It has four floors and everything you could need in it. Well theoretically "need". There are a lot of clothing stores, some of which you wouldn't even see in your normal town mall. The great thing about the mall is that its air conditioned. The weather here....well...it's muggy, it's quite hot. You step outside and begin to sweat. So the mall is great to go to for a little AC. That's about it. It's very crowded and I don't really have a need to buy anything.

Even though it's the first day, I feel like there is so much to write and say and tell. I wish I could accurately describe the city, but it's just so immense. There are people and cars everywhere. Every ten feet there's a new smell. Sometimes I feel like I'm still in the states. Other times I feel like I'm on another planet.

My mind emotionally and physically is a little turned off right now. Part of the issue is that jet lag isn't a myth, it's quite true. The other is that there's so much to see and take in. It all inundates you every time you turn a corner. I haven't really been able to sit back and focus and meditate and think about it all just yet, my mind won't let me. Sometimes I find myself trying to force an experience or discovery about the city already. As if I'm trying to look at something and consciously say how it's different, or why it's different, or somehow be overcome by it, when really I'm just forcing it. I know for now I just need to sit back for awhile, let it all wash over me, and then extrapolate. For right now I need to just be, and then I can tell how life really is.

The one thing I will say that I have definitely noticed is the insane amount of American cultural influence that is present. One of the first sites I saw coming out of the airport was a KFC and there's a huge picture of John Mayer on the front of the mall. All of the movies playing at the mall, save for one, are American imports (including Snakes on a Plane). I've heard so much American pop music already, there are Starbucks everywhere, and the only fast food I haven't really seen are Arby's and Taco Bell.

You would think that makes me feel at home, but it more just upsets me.

I finally found out at lunch today where my placement will be after the two months of orientation here. Apparently Becca had sent our information to the PCUSA group, but because it was at different times as she got the information for each of us, they held it and didn't send it...even when they got it all for all of us. Because she told us at lunch, I don't really remember the specifics of the assignment. I do know I will be living in Cebu, which is the middle part of the country, close to the coast. I'm working with the PCPR. The funny thing is I made a point to remember it by the acronym, but forgot for what it stands. The PR is for "people's response" but I can't think of the PC part (haha, kind of funny). I know the job has to do with a lot of political activism work, which I am very excited about. I can't say what that will entail, but it sounds exciting. I'm living on a compound with a host who is a bishop of the UCCP church. I'm living by myself right next to the office where I will be working. I'll work there during the week and then with the church on the weekends. It's great to know what I'll be doing, but I'm hoping that doesn't get me thinking about it too much and not being here at orientation. I won't even be there for two months.

Well that's that for now. I probably won't be updating as frequently as this past week since I'm sitting in an internet cafe right now, which costs money. But please keep up with me and keep checking back to see if I've splurged and written.

Peace, I hope