There's fun to be had by all.

Hello world. Welcome to another exciting edition of my life.

I know you can't get enough of it, and that's ok. As long as you know you have a problem, that's the first step to recovery. However, I actually encourage this addiction.

Moving on...

School has been... well... eventful. It seems like everyone is having a grand time with an American classmate.

You ever get the feeling that people are talking about you, but you're not sure, cause you can't hear them? Well that's how I feel, except... I can hear them. I just can't understand them. And after someone says something that you're pretty sure is about you and the whole class gets a big laugh from that... you know.

But it's all good. I can handle that. And they say it's in good fun.

The truth is, thought, that a lot of Filipinos are ashamed of their english speaking skills. They become very self-conscious when they're required to talk in english... so I can feel for them.

It seems that the language barrier works both ways.

I decided to stick to my Marketing Management class. (The one where I can hardly understand the professor because of his very thick accent.) I figure if two Korean girls who don't understand Tagalog and have english as their second language can manage, I can too. Actually, the three of us and two others are in a group together for an assignment.

My History class has to be one of my favorite classes. Only because of the teacher and the students. They're really making an effort to reach out to me and make me feel comfortable and at the same time, have a good time. The teacher is cool. Even though I probably failed my quiz today, the class still rocks.

Funny story. The teacher is about 5'5'' or something. When she sits behind her desk, most of the time, she sits with her legs on the chair, probably sitting on her legs. From the our view, you can see the legs of the chair behind the desk, but you don't see the teacher's legs. So it looks like she's either floating or she's very short and is standing on the chair. I kinda chuckle everytime I think of it.

Here's an interesting fact: 85% of the Philippine population lives below the poverty line. I believe that.

Also an interesting fact: The new Harry Potter movie comes out on the 18th in the States. It came out today (the 16th) in the Philippines.

Being here in the "Homeland" has been great. Even for the four weeks that I've already been here, I've learned a lot of the language, I've been introduced to new concepts, and I've really gained an appreciation for what I have in the States (hot showers being one of those things). It's truly humbling, being out here.

Now... what you've all been waiting for...

PICTURES!

This is the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila:


This is me, bored during my 5 hour delay in Manila:


This is some family at my great grandpa's grave:


This is the cemetery:


My Grandmas:


Some of my cousins:


Me, bowling a 172. YESSS:


There are a lot of chicks at our house:


Also at our house, these dogs have learned the art of lazy fighting. Their names are Doggie (left) and Waggily (right):


At the mall, for their Halloween promotion, people would get inside these pumpkins and dance for 30 minutes:



Crazy eh?

Well that's it for now.

Cy