Philippines Day. 9: Among the Natives

Friday, July 19, 2012. Already an eventful day and it's not yet 10 A.M. Punctually at 5 this morning we were awakened by a rooster crowing that sounded like it was inside our room. Poor Jacob had come to bed only 2 1/2 hours earlier as he has had to stay on U.S. time for work.   Before long the kids were up and ready to rock and roll. We all piled on the "tricycle," driven by Bogart.The tricycle is a Japanese motorcycle which has been retrofitted with a Filipino side-cab. Remarkably our whole family fit in one! We went to breakfast in town at Eva's. Our driver stood outside, shaving, and must have told a couple of friends that he was driving Americans around because they came in to take a look and then went right out. We then walked through the market with its pig heads, chicken feet and livers. We bought some overpriced tangerines that were delicious. The paler the skin, the higher the price, as Jacob says.

We drove past the call center on out way back to the Manila East Resort Center. We rested for a bit in our 3rd-world hotel until called to a feast out by the pool. Vivian's sisters had cooked and were serving whole crabs and prawns, chicken adobo, seafood curry, Filipino bananas, and rice. They hired a man to bring coconuts which he hacked at with a machete then carved a small circle in the top so we could drink them. An hour later spaghetti, fried chicken, Asian noodles, fruit salad, another meat with sauce, and pork skewers were delivered. Some of the call center employees came over to help eat all the food.

 There was still ample food left so Viv and Ade suggested that Anna invite her entourage over to eat. They were thrilled and incredibly polite. Their favorite was the spaghetti. William struggled to get some rice on his plate and Jarom, an 11-year old boy, took the serving spoon and served him some. As soon as they were finished eating they hopped up and started clearing the dishes, washing them, stacking the chairs, and wiping the table. Our kids noticed and began helping too. Anna got their phone numbers and the kids all thanked us repeatedly and then headed home to their families. They all have the most beautiful smiles.