Philippines II
(10/2007 - 11/2007)
This was a very different trip in that the majority of it was work, not fun. I spent a lot of time training, hiring, interviewing, and meeting. But there were also plenty of mishaps, adventures and fun to keep it interesting.
One characteristic of this trip is that plans were always being screwed up. It was definitely a trip where you had to roll with the punches.
On the flight from San Francisco to Manila we were positioned for takeoff when there was a medical emergency. We had to return to the terminal in order to unload the passanger and their baggage, making us 2 hours late to Manikla with less than half hour to get through customs and make it to my next flight. They told me I could probably make it if I ran but my bags would probably not. As I was running through the airport i caught my sandal on a step and ripped the top off. I took my sandals off and ran barefooted through the airport to make my flight. Of course my real shoes were packed in my bags which arrived a day later so I was shoeless for the first day. Everywhere I went people were laughing at the silly American with no shoes.
While I was still in the airport checking on my baggage three young ladies approached me and asked if I was John Doe (some American name, I can't remember). I told them that I was not. As I was leaving the airport I saw them still waiting and said that he had probably just missed the flight like I almost did and he would likely be coming in a few hours. Towards the end of my stay I was in a restaraunt and one of the three ladies approached me. She said that she remembered me from the airport. I asked her if her friend had arrived and he was there with her.
Probably the most exciting thing was driving in the Philippines. At first it was kind of intimidating but really there is something liberating about driving in a place where they don't even pretend to have traffic rules. And I experienced my first accident-no I was not the driver, I was in a taxi. And of course I'll never forget the late night motorcycle ride down a very rocky road in the middle of a tropical storm. Three of us were on the motorcycle. The lights were flickering on and off as we hit bumps, sometimes we were driving by the light of the lightning. The road was often covered with several inches of water, you never knew when you were going to drop into a hole or hit a big rock. Kings island should have a ride like that!
There is still a LOT of superstition in the Philippines. November 1st and 2nd were all souls day. On this occasion Filipinos will go to the cemetary to pray for the souls of the dead. Some of them will camp there for 2 days and 2 nights singing songs, praying and, looking for ghosts. Very interesting tradition.I asked one lady what she would do if she actually found a ghost and she said, "I don't know, probably run." Apparently they have not figured out that part of the tradition yet.
Probably the most memorable thing was being out on the front porch of Carmela's bamboo hut under the grass roof decorarated with Christmas lights salsa dancing with Marilyn. The neighbors would walk down the street and just stare at us. I just imagined them thinking "what is that stupid American doing to her?" Warde made us some mango daqueries. Mmmmmm.... And then the storms started and turned out to be a very leaky grass roof we were dancing under. I have fanatsized before about enjoying tropical drinks and salsa dancing under the palm trees and grass roof along the beach with a beautiful dark haired girl late into the night. The only thing missing was the beach. Life is good.
My last weekend I gave a lot of money away and bought a lot of things for people who needed them. I actually went a little too far because I did not save enough money for myself. In fact I had to pawn my watch in order to get taxi fare to the airport and money to pay the airport taxes. In the Philippines it is not enough to have a ticket. You have to pay a tax to get into the boarding area. But when I got to the airport the taxes had more than trippled from 240 pesos on my last visit to 950 pesos and I only had enough money to pay the tax at the Davao airport, not the Manila airport. On Sunday I transferred money to my checking account just in case I needed it but it should not have been available until Monday which would be too late with the 12 hour time difference. I thought for sure I would be stranded in Manila with no money and a worthless non-refundable ticket. But when I arrived in Manila at 9:00pm, 9:00 am Monday morning in Ohio) the money was already in my account (thank you PNC for working early) and I was able to pay the tax and board the flight. Whew!!!!
As I was checking in to the flight to manila the attendant told me that the flight was delayed but I could still make the connection in Manila if I ran. He pointed to another American who was also making the same connection and placed us both at the front of the plane so that we could get off more quickly. In Manila a representative of Philippine Airlines met us both and took us to the international terminal. When I explained that I needed to get money he sent the other guy on and escorted me to the ATM machine, through the security check in and up to customs. Then he called ahead to the gate and gave them a description of me instructing them to wait. This is service you would never find from an American airline.
After I went through the immigration I saw the other American wandering about looking lost. I told him to follow me because I knew whee to go and also told him that they were waiting for us so as long as he stuck with me he would be ok.
After arriving in San Francisco we ended up in the same line for lost baggage and also on the same flight to Atlanta because my flight to Cincinnati ws cancelled. As we were waiting for that flight we started talking about all of the mishaps we had. I described the medical emergency on the first flight and he shot back "That person was in the row behind me!" Then he said that he'd missed his flight to Davao because of the delay. I said "You are they guy that the girls were waiting for when I arrived! The came up and aske me if I were you! " He responded "And you were the guy who arrived in the airport with no shoes! I remember now. We were at a restaraunt a few days ago and my fiancee said "I know that guy, he came in on your flight wearing no shoes and I asked him if he was you."