Day 9 1/12/16 (Thursday)

I slept outside last night because it was a bit cooler and I was in the mood to see the sunrise. All was going well until 6am where a blast of noise erupted from the church next door (not affiliated with the college). A choir joined in and a very shouty pastor did too.

On the upside I had a friend join me this morning when I was writing my journal: A very nimble gecko shot past my foot and I spent 5 minutes chasing him round with my iPad camera. I finally got an okay picture for you guys… But he was fast.

The dorm lads and I sang carols around the ukulele. It was beautiful as we had musicians who could sing harmonies (alternate tunes that still somehow work). I actually wasn’t playing the uke for once, a dorm mate I taught was determined to make every song imaginable fit into 3 chords. C, F and G. To his credit he managed it for most of them.

At the conference today Session was 1 challenging. It discussed music and in particular the problems with contemporary Christian music. Something I listen to a lot. Hmm… Sorting out what music is acceptable to listen to in life might send me into therapy. I guess I’ll chat to others and see what they think as well. I made it through session 2, though I was nearly nodding off in the pews, warm and sleepy means a near guarantee of at least a small doze.

I went for a walk to the shops and now that I’m spending a bit more time roaming the streets of the Philippines (on my own) I notice a few things. I can say that if you don’t like being stared at because you’re white then don’t come here. Everyone does it. Staring isn’t considered rude here. Occasionally it does make me question whether I’m about to be mugged or something when you see a large group of twenty somethings all looking at you… But on the other hand you get a real sense of pleasure when some smiling street kids look up at you and say good afternoon. One kid and his buddy were riding past me on a bike and both of them turned around so far to keep me in sight that I feared they would crash and/or fall off. There is some unpleasantness on the streets, keep a sharp eye for the “mines”,  a term coined for the dog poo littering the streets. There are a fair few strays, both cats and dogs, and both in sorry states occasionally but although I know I can’t magically wave a wand and make all this go away I can appreciate everything in Australia. I always considered myself to be a grateful person, however as grateful as I might have been, I could not grasp the extent of my blessings until I witnessed the streets and shacks of Quezon City. Enough gloomy stuff for now I think.

 

I’m starting to experiment with the Merienda (snacks) and the most prevalent form of this delicious Filipino culture is the bread. There are many Pan De Sol’s scattered around (bread places) and I’ve just finished off a bread snack which tastes of a particularly sweet pancake with a consistency of marshmallow. They’re about the diameter of a coffee mug and half as short, but let it be known here and now that the human cavity known as the mouth is capable of such marvellous feats as eating one in a single gulp.

Back at the college as part of the anniversary tradition the students and alumni play against the directors and apparently it is the once a year embarrassment that the directors have to endure. Luckily for me I snapped a rare photograph of Mr B (one of the directors) in basketball mode:

I was roped into playing in the first quarter against my will (I already knew the Filipinos were unbeatable). A shirt and sandals were not ideal to play in either…

After a quick dip shower (it always takes 30 seconds standing there with the water poised above your head thinking this is going to be quite a shock to the system…) and I was all set.

Set for what you ask? Funny… That’s exactly what I was wondering too.

One of my “brothers” from Myanmar offered to go for an evening stroll as he needed a hair cut and he decided to go monk style:

Before …and after. The lighting makes it appear that he spent a good few hours in a tanning bed as well

You know, just as I was writing this I heard my name called from below the balcony. Kuya Anthony, Ate Mich and Ate Janet have very kindly visited me to give me some new food to try. Just as you should use “Kuya” for an older male, “Ate” is appropriate for an older female. One of the foods was sticky rice pudding and here is a slightly artistic picture of it:

Notice that the nibble represents the incompleteness of sweetness in a persons life. The underlying themes of this artistic work highlight and emphasise themes of loss, despair and is a brilliant example of artistic nonsense.

Something else which has just occurred to me is that I’ve talked about Jeepneys and tricycles but I’ve never actually shown you guys a picture of them. So here you are:

I learnt some Tagalog in the evening while Sir Lem practiced his calligraphy (such an amazing hobby!) and then I prepared my luggage ready to travel back to Olongapo. But I actually do sincerely plan to go to bed early tonight. Sweet dreams to the rest of you.