Random Pictures

 Airport

 LOVE this monkey... Picture on the phone book ha ha

 BIG OLE Fork/tongs lol  not sure why they gave those to me. Is my mouth that big ha ha?

Food Anyone?

Over the past couple of days, the people at work are starting to get comfortable with me and the other "trainers/ambassadors". They are asking if they could take us to have some local food and do some Videokie (sp?) like karaoke... I am up for the karaoke but am a bit nervous on the food part. For those of you that know me well, know that I even have issues back home with eating certain foods. So asking me to try something new will be interesting here. I was prepared for them to ask me to try balut.. I know for a fact, I will not. I already told them that I won't fall for that. Even some of them won't try it...  Here is what it is.

A balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. In some cases the embryo is already growing feathers some some people have commented that you can feel them when you swallow. Imagine how easy it is to make me gag.. I can just imagine what I will do if I see them eat one.. ha ha.. that would be video worthy ha ha ha.

NOT going to happen... ha ha. I will try some other things but this will NOT be one of them.

 Sarsi is their version of rootbeer. It tastes like drinking black licorice.   The other can is Coke Zero, but I like the print.

 The smallest Wendy's every.. It was at the Aquarium food court.

 My new favorite food. 

 

 

Left to right.. Baby squid, Lobster, prawns

Raw chicken and eggs. It is rare to find them refridgerated or cold.. They seem to always be out in the open. This chicken, however was at least wrapped.

Fruits... I tried Jack Fruit today... It was ok, but not something I would crave.

I love this bread.. It is made with purple yams..

 No I didn't eat this but just had to take the picture.

 

Tired...

The time difference and the new atmosphere is finally catching up with me. The initial excitement/adrenaline is wearing off and I am now tired.... Things are still good and I am having a good time with just being here and I like all of the people here but tonight I am going straight to bed and sleeping in. I am not used to talking so much so my throat is sore/scratchy and need to rest :)

This weekend we are planning a day trip to go to the Manila aquarium. They have a thing that you can do and get in a suit to go in the tank.. no sharks are there so count me in..

 

Next weekend, we are off to Boracay... The fine white sand beaches. I plan on laying on the beach with some drinks and sleeping for a couple of days. I can't wait!!!!



Well I am off to bed so I will touch base again later.   xoxox.

10/1/12

Well as of today, I have been here for a few weeks and the tiredness is still here. Working the night shift seems to be hard to get used to. I force myself to stay awake as much as I can on the weekends but by the time they roll around, I am exhausted so I just sleep and get on a day schedule. That way I can actually do something on the weekends to enjoy my time off.

First Day at Work

Today was the first day at the office here. We are working a swing shift this week. 3:30 pm - Midnight. It wasn't too bad getting up this morning but I could have slept a bit longer with no problem. On the way to the office, I was a bit scared to watch us drive through traffic. I swear that we almost hit someone or were almost hit multiple times. People do NOT have the right away so if you don't move, prepared to get run over.  I had to just look away before I started hitting the imaginary brake pedal on the floor. I don't know how they do it but they do.. and I guess that was nothing. It is worse other times during the day/night.

The office building is huge. I guess there are multiple Embassy's are in there so it is full of security and dogs etc... They are everywhere There is security even at the hotel. Bags are checked going in an out of work and the hotel. At work, riding the elevator is normal but we go up so high that I have to decompress my ears like I was diving.... going up and down, I am popping my ears. It is a strange sensation that  I am just not used to. The "jet lag" if that is what it is, makes my head a bit fuzzy so I almost feel a bit disoriented or dizzy but I guess that will go away over the next few days. So Starbucks/coffee is my best friend right now ha ha.  The view from the building it awesome. You can see far out and it is weird being that high up. 40+ floors.  They have a Mall of Asia  ( I think that is what it is called ) here that I guess is just huge so I hope to go check it out.

The people here again are just so nice. They are so polite and helpful and just a genuine group of people. I wish everyone was like this. I don't hear, see or feel any negativity and it is such a refreshing change. The group that I am training are so smart. I guess out here, you have to be really educated to get a good job. I think that some of them have degrees in engineering, architecture, etc... SUPER smart. They are doing great and I really had a good time today working with them.

 

I love finding out about things that differ between cultures and I will be trying to make sure to add those differences on here as well. One of the things that is different is the restroom.  I was told of this before hand so at least I was prepared. I have never heard of this or seen it but in the restroom, there is a sprayer next to the toilet. I guess that some of the people out here were raised to use that instead of toilet paper. So when you go in a stall, beware of water on the floor. So you want to squat ha ha so you don't get wet just in case it isn't completely dry/clean. It is still clean, but just in case but just be aware. Also I guess we have to bring toilet paper with us if we travel around. I was told that not every location would have toilet paper so you want to make sure and have some with you.

 

Today was a good day. I should probably make myself sleep now. Still messed up time wise. So look for more to come :)

 

Night night.

 

xoxo

I am here. I have had a CRAZY time getting here but I made it. This will be a long post and they won't all be this long but a lot happened.

The day started on Friday 9/7 in Phoenix and right now it is 9/9 or 9/10 depending on how you look at it since it is after midnight on Monday. I lost a whole day. Saturday was bypassed and I got into the Philippines at 6 am on Sunday.

My Godparents gave me a ride to the airport and I had to keep laughing because they kept commenting on how much I packed. I guess I need to learn how to pack light. But 6 weeks and being a girl made me want to have options ha ha. They came with me into the airport to make sure I got off ok. I go through security and no issues.

I sit down to make phone calls and I can't find my phone. I start to go through all of my stuff and even asked someone to call my phone to see if I could hear it..... no sound. So I start to get a bit flustered. I don't know people's phone numbers since I have them all in my phone. My mom is on the road travelling and I couldn't think of anyone else that would have my Godparents cell numbers. So I call my brother collect to see if he had it.. no luck. I keep calling my cell phone thinking that it would be in their car and hope it was so they would hear it ring. I get ahold of my mom but she had bad reception... While talking to her, I hear my name being paged over the intercom for "lost item". I was so happy, I go to get my phone at the gate. The lady tells me my Godparents were outside of security waiting for me so I go out to meet them. I had close to 3 hours to spare so why not... We say our good buys again and off they go.

I get back in line to go through security and can't find my organizer that had my boarding pass, passport and drivers license. It is no where. I start getting a bit frantic and realize that I must have left it at the payphone by the gate. I couldn't go through security... Long story short.... the lady at the ticket counter downstairs went the back way to the terminal and found police officers with my organizer and she brought it to me. I was in tears... I hadn't even left Phoenix yet and all this has happened... grrrr.

I finally get on the plane and now the flight is delayed. We were delayed about 40 minutes so when we were close to Los Angeles, there was a chance we were not going to make our connection. I would have had 30 minutes to get to another terminal and catch my flight to Tokyo.   Well that didn't work out and there were about 8 other passengers that were supposed to be on the same flight. The airline crew was nice enough to ask others to stay seated so we could rush off the plane once the door was open. I was thankful for that. Well right before they opened the door the Captain gets on the intercom saying we now need to go to the rebook counter.. So yes, we missed our flight.

There wasn't another flight until 10:30 Friday night and at this point it is noon. So I figured, I wasn't going to leave the airport and chance anymore "issues". Others got a hotel room and re-booked on the same flight. I was walking to the other terminal for the international flights and started to see all of these camera flashes. I couldn't see what all the commotion was about so I kept walking. Well I almost got ran over when they come barreling through the exit door that I happened to be walking past so I stopped and let them go. More camera flashing and I hear Hey Liza.. I then realize that I was looking at Liza Manelli (sp?)

I had to go get my luggage so at least I didn't loose that.  I made some calls to let others know I was going to be delayed, but I couldn't call anyone at work because they were already in PI. It turns out that my Mom was already in CA driving to AZ to stay at my house. Now, she lives in NM so it was a fluke that we were both in CA at the same time. It also turns out that she was 30-40 minutes from LAX so she decided to come spend time with me at the airport while I wait. That was nice and it made the waiting time much better. We had dinner and caught up and it was nice. THANKS MOM!!!.

I also found out that the flight had to be delayed because the Manila airport didn't open until 5:30 am and we would have gotten in too early so they delayed the flight until 1:00 am aughhhh.. I was exhausted by this point.. Long day to say the least. I had upgraded my previous flight so I could get more leg room and changed to a low calorie meal so I could try and stay on my diet. We all that went away since I was no longer on Delta. I got changed to Philippine Airlines. The flight was direct though so I wouldn't have to go anywhere and the flight time would be shorter. I saved some time but got in 6 hours later than I would have. I was so tired. I slept maybe 4-5 hours. I looked pathetic but didn't care. I had my neighbor take this pictured because of how bad I looked. I had to laugh and knew you all would get a kick out of it. I was freezing.. 3 blankets and a great scarf that I got as a present before my trip. This was right after I woke up.

So I get to PI and let me tell you that there is no place like I have ever experienced with this type of humidity. It is like a wall I walked off the plane and BAMMMMM instant moisturizer ha ha.

I had no ride because they were expecting me the night before. I was supposed to meet one of the other coworkers in Tokyo since we were on the same flight but that didn't happen. So I got my luggage and got my first stamp in my passport. I was tempted to ask if I could take a picture of them stamping it but didn't want to cause any attention to myself ha ha.

I have to say that EVERYONE is sooo nice here and so helpful. There was a driver from another Hotel and he took it upon himself to help me. He called my hotel, arranged for a driver to come get me and stayed with me to they go there. He was sooo nice. It turns out I was a totally different airport than where I was originally landing.. I had no clue. I was so thankful that he helped. He also refused a tip. That seems to be how they are out here. I insisted anyway though. I would have been lost without him.

They driver crazy over here. Everyone does. Lanes don't matter, what is a turn signal lol.. Thankfully I was warned of this ahead of time otherwise I would have been like????? WTH. I got to the hotel and again, everyone is so nice and helpful. Everyone is calling me Ma'am.. I am not used to that but that seems to be their way. So respectful. Things are so different here but I know that there is so much to experience.

I met some of the ADP'ers for breakfast and then went and crashed for a few hours.I had a hard time falling asleep. I think I was on a adrenaline rush and then just thinking of all the work things to do tomorrow. Luckily some of the girls were going to go to the grocery store and so I tagged along after my nap. I was in a major fog and not quite awake.. We went to the Greenbelt Mall. This place is huge.. I think it is 5/6 malls all connected to make one large one. They had all the upscale stores like Luis Vitton all the way down to really inexpensive items. The money thing is still too new and I have to get used to that...

After we left the mall, we went our separate ways. One of the guys Robert, who I actually know from the Phoenix is having his Bday today/tomorrow so we took him out for dinner. My first meal in the Philippines was Italian ha ha. I thought that was funny.

I go back to hotel and realize that massages out here are CHEAP.. $5-$15 for an hours depending on where you go. My feet were all swollen from the flight still so I took advantage of that. I am now in my room trying to stay up until 5 am so I can get my sleep schedule on track for the upcoming week. I thought I was going to be on the same schedule as the east coast in US, but that seems to have changed. That will be the following week. Seems we will be on a swing shift this week.

So trying to stay awake and figured I would update the blog. Sorry it is so long. I wanted to blog this for me too since I have a terrible memory and will forget a lot of things.

Hope you are all doing well and I will keep writing more updates soon.

xoxox.

Getting Ready

I am mostly packed minus the last minute items. Counting down the days/hours until I get on that first plane.

I am so excited but the nerves are starting to kick in. I am excited because I know this is an amazing opportunity that I am so grateful for. I am going to experience a whole new culture. I was around some of this when I lived in Hawaii, but this will be so different.

I think the plane ride is where I am a bit nervous. So much time over the water.. auughhhhhh. I guess that is what my muscle relaxers will be used for.. calming the nerves. Total flight time 18.5 hours.

I am hoping that you will find this site better than Facebook and/or email. This way you can track/view whenever you want. :) I have never "blogged" before so bear with me.

Russ and Mom, thank you for watching the pups for me. I couldnt do this without you.

I will post more soon.

xoxox.