I’ve been in the Philippines about a month now. November 1st was ‘All Saint’s Day’, a big holiday in the Philippines. Relatives go to the cemetery to visit their relatives that have passed. And put flowers on the graves and light candles. It’s a big celebration though. Relatives will get up at dawn and spend the entire day at the cemetery. They set up tents or umbrellas around their loved ones graves and spend the day with family.

F.B. & I woke up around 5:30am and left around 7am to go meet up with his family who was already at the cemetery. It was a pretty cloudy and rainy day though. Lot’s of traffic and detours on the roads. Tons of people were at the cemetery, almost like a festival, they were selling stuff, there were food stands. F.B. & I met up with his family and made an appearance. It was still raining so we hung out in the car for most of the time. Then I had to use the restroom, which was flooded. Ewww.

Around 10:30am F.B. & I headed off to the mall. First we stopped at Starbucks since we were both sleepy. Then we went to Sta. Lucia mall so F.B. could look for a game. Then we headed to Market Market so I could get a pink Coca Cola t-shirt I saw there last time. I got another Pepsi t-shirt too in black. The last one I got was red. I already have 2 soda t-shirts from the USA. A Dr Pepper one and another Pepsi one, so I added to my collection.

We had lunch at Tokyo Tokyo, (the place we had our first date.) They have Japanese fast food. We both had chicken teriyaki and we ordered California Maki sushi. In the USA they put avocado in California Roll, in the Philippines they put mango and it tastes 10x’s better. Philippines Mango’s are amazing! We headed to Mega Mall for church around 5pm. They have a chapel right in the mall. It’s a big church too. Then we headed home around 7pm because we were exhausted from the long day.

Friday we went out to see 'City of Ember' at SM Marikina Mall. The girl that plays Briony in 'Atonement' is also in this movie. It was okay. I had a cold though and my throat was pretty swollen so when we ate out at KFC I just had mushroom soup and mashed potatoes, hehe.

Here are some silly photos we took the other day. F.B. & I posing with my pretty umbrella I got at Watson’s drugstore in Mall of Asia. (I know… its bad luck to open an umbrella indoors! Haha!)
















And here is F.B. in the parking garage at Market Market. We parked next to pole F3, but F.B. covered the 3 to look like a B. It’s his own personalized pole. Heehee!













And some of us being silly with Miss Daga (rat) the stuffed animal F.B. gave me.

















































This weekend we are heading to Tagaytay for the day. We’ll take pictures of Taal Volcano and later in the day go to the amusement park ‘Enchanted Kingdom’. Should be fun! I think later this month we are also taking a day trip with F.B.’s parents to Baguio for F.B.’s father’s birthday.

Today F.B. & I went to Market Market so I could check out the Converse store there. I liked a pair of sneakers at the Converse store near his house but they didn’t have my size so we went to the other Converse store at Market Market in Bonifacio Global City. I got pink and black Converse sneakers for P2600… about $54 USD. Pretty much what I’d pay in the U.S. They match my tattoo! Think I will change the laces to black when I get home though!






























Saw this place at Market Market… the name just seems unusual to me… haha! (Get a high and your munchies fix at the same time? Hmm...)











F.B. and I went to church later that evening and afterwards headed to the new SM Marikina mall to have dinner at Gerry’s Grill, one of our favorite places. I thought the spaghetti meals on the menu were interesting. Spring rolls and spaghetti? Barbecue pork and spaghetti? I see spaghetti on a lot of menus here. You can go to KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King and get spaghetti. Heehee! You can’t do that in the U.S. so much. I guess Americans don’t like spaghetti quite as much.















After dinner we went to Starbucks; (we’re addicted!) I usually get my white chocolate mocha, (hot, iced or frapp.) and F.B. likes to get caramel mocha frappucinos. I did a lot of shopping today. Besides the Converse sneakers, I got a cute Victoria’s Secret t-shirt at a surplus store in SM Marikina and I got a Pepsi t-shirt at Market Market.

Ooooh I almost forgot! I LOVE the supermarket at Market Market! I think I ranted before about not being able to find pretzels in the Philippines and only seeing Rold Gold pretzels… well I found my most favorite pretzels at Market Market! Whoo Hoo! Snyder’s peanut butter & cheese sandwich pretzels! Got one of each! Yay! We also got some other snack foods… looks like we’re having a party, huh? F.B. loves his ruffles and we like these new chips called Tempura. Yummy! Tastes like shrimp tempura. And I got regular peanut butter because I want F.B. to try bananas with peanut butter. Heehee.













We always drive past this goat place when we are around F.B.’s neighborhood. I have a thing for goats… I like them. I’d like to buy one live though… not as meat. I tasted goat before though here in the Philippines. It tastes like beef. Poor Goat…




























Here are some pictures of us with Miss Daga. (“Rat” in Tagalog.) F.B. gave her to me the night I arrived.











































I injured F.B. the other night. I was having one of my weird nightmares where I’m half asleep and half awake. I remember dreaming I didn’t know where I was and F.B. said I was saying, “Where am I?” I accidentally elbowed him really hard above his right eyebrow during my “nightmare”. He has the bruise to prove it… oops… sorry…. I’m dangerous when I’m sleeping.

New Years in the Philippines: 2007

This was my first New Years in the Philippines. F.B. & I went to church on New Years Eve. It's an open church, and there were so many people we sat on a bench outside the church. It was so noisy outside though, with people setting off firecrackers & fireworks in the air. F said it would sound like a war zone around 12am. There was a doggy in the church, he would lay down and listen, and then scratch himself and walk around, and he came to the outside part where we were, that was my entertainment, haha. Cuz most of the church stuff & music was in Tagalog.

After that we went back to F's house and played a few games of scrabble before it was midnight, the power went out for a few seconds though & I was like, "Oh no! We're gonna have to celebrate new years in the dark? We'll have dinner by candle light?" haha. Also when we were playing scrabble someone set off a big firecracker out back somewhere, and it sounded like it was coming into the room.

There was a countdown thing on tv & F's mom had horns to blow and I took some silly pictures of F.B. teehee. At 12, it did sound a bit like a war zone- with all the fire crackers going off. It was LOUD. After the countdown we had 'Medya Noche' we had dinner and dessert. The noise died down around 1am.

New Years Day, we got together with all of F.B.'s relatives, a family reunion. And his relatives from Virginia were visiting. We had lunch at Max's this chicken place. And then later in the evening went to his aunts house for dinner and Christmas/New Years celebration. I called home around 12pm Philippine time. It was only 11pm 2006 at home when I called. I'm 13 hour ahead of home.

Tomorrow is my last full day in the Philippines. In the morning F.B. & I will be stopping at the mall, to go to the supermarket & bookstore get some stuff for my flight home. And then we're stopping back at his house to pick up his mom. And we are going out for lunch.

Finished packing most of my stuff tonight and just have to pack last minute stuff tomorrow & the morning of my flight. Probably getting up around 3:30-4am on the 3rd here. Going to get to the airport around 5:30am. And then my first flight is to Hong Kong at 8:10am on Philippine Airlines. Then I take United Airlines from Hong Kong to Chicago- 14 hour flight. And then United from Chicago to Philadelphia. I'll arrive home around 7:22pm on January 3rd. So please pray for a safe trip & good weather. This is my last entry for now, until I'm home. So Happy New Year Everyone! Here's some new pictures!

New Years Eve:

F's "Horny"... lol!

Our Crazy Photo Shoot:

This is Mr. Bernerdork. He's F's alter ego! lol!

New Years Day:

F.B. & I had our Tagaytay Trip on Wednesday (12-31-06). The way up to Tagaytay is about 2 hours, it's up in the mountains. Saw tonnnns of palm trees, and tons of pineapple fields, they are so neat looking, spikey plants growing out of the ground, with little baby pineapples growing off the plants. We were up in Tagaytay from the 27th-29th.

We stayed at the Taal Vista Hotel. It wasn't quite at nice as the Best Western in Makati City, even though it was more expensive. The hotel in Tagaytay was more like a campus. The check in and reception halls weren't even attached to the rest of the hotel. The room part was kinda across the parking lot. F.B. & I had trouble finding our room at first, he asked someone and they were like, "I don't know." Our room was a little smaller than the Best Western, but still nice. The bathroom was bigger, but the shower was more narrow and slippery, bruised my leg up good, haha. And when we left the 'Make up room' sign on the door, and we came back later I said, "Hey we got clean towels!" But it turned out they just folded up the wet towels we had already used?!

We took lot's of pretty pictures of Lake Taal & the Taal Volcano. It was quite windy up in the mountains and much colder at night time. F & I drove around Tagaytay, up into the mountains... wayyyy up into the mountains. It looked foggy, but it was only because we were so high up it was like we were in the clouds. We were on this little narrow winding road, where there were no buildings or anything, and you could see down the mountain side. There's this sky park, where you can take a shuttle up into the mountains, but the road was really steep... and I was scared, hah, so we just drove around instead. Not so much to do up around in Tagaytay though. It's a smaller city. Lot's of places to eat around there though. We had lunch & dinner out in Tagaytay.

I came down with a sipon (cold) while we were there though. My throat was a bit scratchy before we left for Tagaytay but the next morning my throat was all sore & swollen and my nose was stuffy and runny.F.B. & I found a drugstore and got me some medicine. I'm still a bit sick, so we'll have to pick up some more at the drugstore tomorrow. We just kinda hung around at the hotel.

Tomorrow is F.B's mom's wedding anniversary, so I am taking, his mom, sister & him out to this Japanese Buffet place at one of the malls. And if we have time we may stop at a mall close to his house, so I can visit this clothing store & souvenir shop I like.

Here's some photo's from our Tagaytay trip. On the way up to Tagaytay & The hotel:

F.B. & I out back of the hotel where you can see Lake Taal & the Volcano:

F could have pushed me over the wall... but he didn't... aren't I lucky? Tee hee...

More of us:

It was kinda sunny out and we were squinting, haha:

Lake Taal & Taal Volcano:

At the hotel:

In the car (F says I looks Lasing... (drunk...) lol! It's the sun I swear!) & out to eat... and look... they have Banana Ketchup... it's pretty good, they just color it red, haha:

12-31-2006: Today F & I stopped at the mall earlier today & then later in the evening, we took his family out for dinner. It was his mom's wedding anniversary. We went Saisaki, a Japanese Buffet at one of the malls. I had some sushi there, haha. My favorite kind without raw fish, but then some with raw salmon. And other food..I tried quail eggs too... haha. They were like tiny hard boiled eggs. F & I only had two plates each though, and we were full, haha. I only have two pictures. One was at F's house. And the other his sister took of us at the buffet place. They gave away these goofy little stuffed dogs when someone ordered iced tea, so I got F's, haha. He was a purple dog.



F.B. got me a pair of jeans at my favorite store 'Kamiseta' at the mall here in the Philippines. They have rhinestones on the back pockets. I love that store, I'm a small in jeans there, hehe. Tomorrow (Er... today, it's 1am.) is New Years Eve. We're going to church around 9pm, and then having a little dinner thing back at the house here for New Years. F said it's going to sound like a war zone, with all the firecrackers and stuff. It will be 2007 here at 12am- when it's only 11am on New Years Eve Day at home.... and still 2006... weird... haha.

F.B. got a sign on his door now and we took a picture, heehee: