Day 2: The Beauty of Perspective

Ahhhh, Day 2 in Shanghai.  Despite the challenges of Day 1, Nick and I were determined to start this day with a positive attitude.  To get things kicked off on the right foot, we decided to indulge in a delicious breakfast at the Sofitel.  :)

I particularly enjoyed the dessert buffet, which made up 1/2 of my meal selections.  Sometimes I just LOVE being an adult!  :)  Doesn’t it look scrumptious??

The coolest part of the buffet was that it took place on the 47th floor of the hotel, which happened to be a rotating restaurant.  I was way stoked about this concept and couldn’t wait to enjoy the varying views of the city from our ringside seat – alas, I forgot to consider that the smog would make the views negligible (note the picture above – you can vaguely make out the shape of buildings).  Oh well, great views are over-rated anyways!  On to the Expo…

Now, before we get on to the Expo, I should set the scene a bit.  I failed to mention yesterday that both Nick and I had mysterious ‘pains’ that started plaguing us.  I had this perpetual foot cramp that ached with each step and Nick had a knee pain that was bothering him.  We are quite the pair, aren’t we?  We were also “homeless” for the remainder of the day, having had to check out of the hotel after brunch…

We arrived at the Expo around 1 PM.  We were told to expect horrendous crowding, but were pleased to find otherwise.  Little did we know that we had started on the unpopular side of the Expo and the crowds were waiting for us across the river….

For those of you not familiar with the Expo, it’s essentially a collection of 200 Country Pavilions where individual countries show off the best of what their nation has to offer.  They may show a movie, display artifacts and traditional costume or have a performance.

There is also a “Passport Booklet” in which you can collect stamps from each country.  Somehow, that got turned into an unspoken contest to collect every stamp, because we saw numerous examples of people coming into the pavilion, collecting their stamp and running out the exit.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the Expo, doesn’t it???

The thing that surprised us most was the lack of foreigners that we saw at the Expo.  It was about 98% Chinese attendees.  As you might imagine based on yesterday’s post, we ran into much of the same bad behavior that we’d experienced the day before, only on an amplified scale due to the massive crowds.  The umbrellas were back in full force, as was the pushing, line cutting and spitting.  Nick’s patience expired in about 30 minutes and I spent the afternoon reminding him that it was a waste of energy to yell at our impolite friends as they a.) didn’t care and b.) couldn’t understand him.

The lines for many of the pavilions were nightmarish.  Some, like the Chinese Pavilion pictured above, gave out ticketed slots at the start of the day, so that wasn’t even an option for us.  The Saudi Pavilion was the most popular, with wait time ranging from 2-6 hours.  Many people had collapsible stools that they’d pull out when stopped.  There was also a lot of card-playing going on.  Nick and I decided that there wasn’t anything inside those pavilions that we wanted to see bad enough to wait in line for 2 hours.  By hour 3 we were both starting to reach our max (pathetic, I know).  It was the combination of the heat, crowds, and lack of manners that really got to us.

Then, in the distance, we saw it – the Philippines Pavilion!  We ran towards, needing something, anything really, to lift our spirits.  And just as expected, it came through for us!  It was by far our favorite pavilion, really capturing the essence of what the Philippines was all about – Food, Shopping, Massage and Performing.  The had a cute cafe offering all the Filipino favorites, a Hilot Massage room where you could try a sampling of this indigenous massage style, and an entire market area of fun Filipino wares for purchase.

The highlight of the Expo for me was going up to get my picture taken with a group of Filipino Performers.  When it was my turn I walked up to them and said Good Afternoon in Tagalog and they immediately replied, “You speak Tagalog!” and started hugging me and shouting in typical Filipino fashion.  When they found out we lived in Manila it became a major love-fest.

After days of being pushed and stepped on, I can’t tell you how good it felt to be embraced in the arms of a Filipino.  It didn’t matter that I only knew 20 Tagalog words or had white skin; all that mattered was that we shared a love for the amazing country that is the Philippines!

It was on that high note that we decided to leave the Expo.  We were both feeling nostalgic for Manila and ready to get on the airplane.  Too bad we still had 7 hours to kill before our flight took off….

We decided to kill a couple of hours with dinner.  We found a curry restaurant near People’s Square that appeared to have recognizable food.  No luck on communicating though, so we resorted to the old “Point and Pantomine” method.  Everything was going fine until I created an international incident, as my husband loving put it, by asking for a fork.  Granted, I know this isn’t the culturally savvy thing to do, but I’d had a long day and damn it I wanted to enjoy my food with a fork, not chop sticks!

This request was not understood by my server, but the guy at the table next to us (who was apparently eavesdropping on our conversation) started laughing out loud.  Oh sure, I thought, we finally get someone who understands English and all they choose to do is laugh at me, not assist.  Being the nice midwestern gal that I am, I flashed him my brightest smile and EUREKA – he translated for the waitress!  YAY – SARAH GETS HER FORK!  The night was looking up.

All of a sudden a 3 piece band starts playing (singer, bongo drum, guitar).  It was very haphazard and they were basically standing in the entryway of the restaurant, so they had to move frequently for people to enter and waiters to go by.  That said, they were absolutely entrancing despite looking so out of place.  Not a Chinese person in that restaurant was looking at them but boy were they rocking out.  I felt so bad for them that I started bopping my head and smiling at them, letting them know that someone appreciated their efforts.

It was somewhere in the middle of Alicia Keyes’ “No One” song that it dawned on me – this band had to be Filipino!  They were radiating too much JOY not to be.  :)  I ran up there and over-enthusiastically asked them where they were from.  My hunch was right: Filipinos!  Nick and I were beaming as we left the restaurant.  It was the second time that day that joyful Filipinos had pulled us out of our slump.  You would have laughed to see us – we kept hugging each other and whistling Alicia Keyes.  We even started talking about a timeline for adopting a Filipino child of our own!  :)

And that, my friends, is why travel (even when painful) can be a very good thing – because it reminds you of exactly what resonates with you and helps you fall in love with it even more.  In our case, that just happens to be what we already have, our beloved Philippines!

And just in case that wasn’t enough gushing, you will be pleased to know that our Filipino stewardess on Cebu Pacific had handed in Nick’s Kindle to the lost and found and it was waiting for us when we returned to the airport!  :)  A sweet ending to a bitter-sweet trip…

Day 1 in Shanghai: In Over Our Heads

I desperately tried to like you Shanghai, I really did.  I know it’s cool to like China right now, with you being a rising super power and all, but I just wasn’t into being a part of your 20 million person free-for-all.  You see, as a mid-western girl I place high value on things like smiling and saying sorry when you hit someone with your umbrella.  I’m not trying to be a complainer, I just want to give my blog readers an honest impression of you.  My mom always says you should sandwich the bad with some good, so let’s start with some of your positives…

Things You Have Going for You:

1. Stunning modern buildings in a vast array of geometric designs
2. A FABULOUS, clean subway system
3. Good infrastructure – roads, sidewalks, etc.
4. A Clean and Safe Environment
5. A Great Circus!

Ok, now that we’ve put that out there, I think I’ll take a moment and explain to my readers why we just didn’t click.  Here goes…

Nick and I took an 8:30 PM flight out of Manila on Friday night, so we got to our hotel around 1 AM.  Not the best way to start a trip, but the tickets were so cheap that it seemed like a fine compromise ($150 round trip).  Not sure I would do it again, especially the return trip on Monday morning which went from 1 to 5 AM.  DOUBLE YUCK.  I would have slept well that first night had Nick not realized (once we got to the hotel) that we had our first “casualty of travel” – he had left his $300 Kindle behind on the airplane.  AWESOME honey.  Not a good way to start our trip.  We took a moment to say thanks for the insurance we had purchased on the item, but I still couldn’t seem to shake the fact that this was a bad omen.

Saturday morning arrived too soon and we set out to explore the city on foot and subway.  We were struggling to find anything that remotely looked like a breakfast food, so we ended up indulging ourselves in a little Starbucks as we got our bearings.  As I’ve mentioned before, Nick does everything in his power to try and blend in a city (which I never excel at, by the way) and even this early in our trip we were recognizing that we were horribly out of our element.  The shot above is one of my favorites – zoom in on 2 glaring white people in a sea of Chinese sipping our Starbucks and attempting to decipher the biggest city map we’ve ever seen.  It was not a pretty picture….

With some food in our bellies, we were ready to attack the city.  First up: The Shanghai Museum, full of classic Chinese art forms.  Let me start by saying that the building was stunning.  The lines however, were not.  We queued up only to realize that the Chinese weren’t so much into the concept of lines.  In fact, they thought it was perfectly acceptable to lift the rope and enter the line ahead of you.  Or try to bypass you on a corner.  And don’t even get me started on the umbrellas.  Hats or sunglasses are not in fashion, so they all carry umbrellas instead.  This would be fine if we a.) weren’t in a line and b.) squished together like sardines.  Nick started to lose his cool really fast after getting poked in the head by the umbrella prongs close to a 100 times.  Things were rapidly going south and we were only at our first stop of the day!

At this point I attempted to ask a guard how long the wait would be and he put his fingers together in an “X” formation and held them in front of my face, apparently signaling that he was not a question-answering guard, just one that was there for decoration.  It was at this point that I started to lose my cool…..thankfully, we finally got into the museum a few moments later.  Lots of pictures on SMUGMUG of the museum and its historical contents.

Next up was a stop on the Bund, which is a beautiful walking area on the river.  According to our map, the distance to the Bund seemed relatively short.  It was not.  Add to that the 95 degree heat that was emerging and you were left with two sweat-drenched tourists (who did not have an umbrella).  It was approaching 12 noon by the time we got here and since this was supposed to be one of the biggest tourist areas, I assumed we’d have no trouble finding lunch and some water to hydrate ourselves.  Wrong again.  Not a restaurant in sight.  We walked for 30 minutes down the riverwalk (which was not looking beautiful to me anymore) and I started to get delusional from the lack of hydration.  No kidding, I was losing it….and Nick knew it.  I just could not fathom how there could be no restaurants.  Didn’t the Chinese need to eat?  Apparently not!  There are a lot of things I can do without, but food is not one of them!

We did eventually manage to find a cafe for lunch and then proceeded to get stuck there as we waited out a 2 hour down-pour.  I didn’t mention this yet, but take a look at the above picture and you’ll see that it appears like the city just stops after that first row of buildings.  Oh yes, the smog was that bad.  It was like nothing I’d ever experienced, even in Manila.  The air always seemed to be filled with fog and when you looked at the sun, it was covered by a yellow-orangish haze.  We didn’t even wear sun screen because we decided the sun couldn’t get through that muck.  And did I mention that I even started having random coughing attacks?

I don’t know if I was just being a naive American or what, but I was not expecting the language barriers we encountered.  I figured, hey, this is an international city and Chinese students are all learning English in school, so how hard can it be to communicate?  Answer: Damn near impossible.  Take our dinner experience for example, where we were supposed to look around a cafeteria with 200+ plates of plastic food to choose from.  I recognized maybe 5 things out of 200 and there were no translations on the description cards.  Meanwhile, once you had decided on  your choices, you needed to flag down a roaming lady who would write down your selections.  We tried politely waiting our turn near the lady, but inevitably someone would cut in right before our turn and steal her away.  We were seething….

When we finally snagged a roaming lady, we ordered a few dishes, one of which was the item pictured above which we thought was Sweet and Sour Chicken.  Turns out it was battered chicken feet or something like that.  It was DISGUSTING!  Gritty, impossible to bite through.  Let’s just say that we didn’t eat it and that left me with noodles and a pastry puff for dinner.  SOMEBODY FEED ME PLEASE!

The one high point of the day was going to see the ERA: Intersection of Time Show at the Shanghai Circus World & School.  It was a remarkable performance; far beyond anything I could have imagined.  It was simply mind-blowing to see the various ways they could contort their bodies!  I’ve been told this is similar to Cirque De Soleil, but at an even higher caliber level.  It definitely met and exceeded our expectations and would be the one thing that I’d recommend as a “must-do” to visitors.  I did manage to find a highlights reel of the acts from our show (note: it was illegally filmed so the quality is not the best).  It will give you a good sense of what we experienced.

Sorry for the negativity in this blog post – it’s very unlike me!  I feel better now that it’s out of my system.  Tomorrow I’ll put together a review of day 2, when we went to the World Expo.  Lots more to come!  In the meantime, check out the pictures at SMUGMUG.

One Year Ago Today: The Top 40 Milestones from Our First Year Overseas

Since it’s become obvious that I can’t stop time and prevent the one year mark from happening, I’ve decided that for today’s 1 Year Commemorative Post we’ll take a more positive slant instead and celebrate all the milestones that have happened in the last year.  Kind of a “Year in Review” with links and pictures… thanks for joining us on the journey!  It’s been so much fun to share it with you all…  XOXO, Sarah

Here’s the audience participation part: Please leave comments as to which were your favorite to read about and why!  I’ve made it really easy for you by linking to the posts/milestones referenced!

Milestones from Our First Year Abroad

1. 9 Trips within the Philippines including: Batangas, Puerto Galera (twice), Bohol (twice), Donsol, Batanes, Boracay, and Cebu
   
2. 5 International Trips including: Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Bali and Bangkok
   
3. Learned to shoot with a Digital SLR and can now officially call myself an amateur photographer
4. Received 52 massages and can articulate what the finer points are of each different style
5. Can tell the difference between different types of rice (and now own a rice cooker)
6. Embraced eyebrow threading and swore of waxing for good
7. Learned how to select a good set of pearls and put those new skills to use when purchasing my 3 sets!
8. Witnessed the death of Corazon Aquino and the Inauguration of her son NoyNoy (both major historical events in the Philippines)
9. Fit WAY TO MUCH SH*T into one tiny condo (and started the process of simplifying our material life)
10. Successfully hired and managed a household staff of 2 (whom we adore and everyone wants to steal when we leave)
    
11. Found Corn Dogs
    
12. Determined that I was NOT meant to be a SCUBA diver
13. Found Friendship Home
    
14. Survived my first Typhoon
15. Mastered the art of drinking High Tea and noshing on scones
    
16. Attended my first Hoe Down
17. Survived the Neighborhood Shoot-out Unscathed
18. Custom-designed my very first Chaise Lounge!
    
19. Picked up the ‘Manila Crud’ and started visiting the Emergency Room (a lot)
20. Attended my first marine ball
    
21. Chose our first Xmas Tree as a married couple
22. Rode an elephant
    
23. Watched Nick fall in love with the Friendship Home Kids (and realized he’s going to be a great Dad)
24. Survived my first Christmas Away
    
25. Welcomed 5 guests: Rachel, My Parents, Sarah J, Jenna and Karolanne
    
26. Survived another MELTDOWN
27. Successfully made it through my first year of marriage (and enjoyed every minute of it with my amazing partner)
    
28. Had our wedding published in MN Bride!
29. Swam with the Whale Sharks (and didn’t die!)
    
30. Taught Norma how to make Tator Tot Hotdish (a proud moment indeed)
    
31. Witnessed poverty on a level previously unimagined and allowed it to change me
    
32. Turned Blog Readers into Friends (instead of vice versa)
33. Enjoyed my first Earthquake
34. Found Carewell!
35. Swam with Dolphins!!!
    
36. Celebrated as the last Miller graduated from CSB
37. Rocked my first Corporate Retreat in Malaysia
38. Started the spiritual practice of tithing
39. Stepped into my calling as a Cancer Coach
40. Tried Acupuncture!

Day Tripping to Villa Escudero

As many of you know, my friend Karolanne is in town for 6 days, following her 2 week tour of China.  Given the short duration of her stay, we’ve been cramming in the fun double-time.  We’ve already checked off haircuts, the 1st massage, eyebrows, a historical tour, the Mall of Asia, a movie experience and a day trip.  Still to come in our last 48 hours: massage #2, a facial + diamond peel, acupuncture/acupressure and pedicures.  Wish us luck!

Today I’m going to tell you about our day trip to Villa Escudero.  The traffic Gods were with us and allowed us to make the trip in a little over 2 hours.  A comparable trip with Sarah J to the same area took over 3 1/2!  We arrived in a good mood and were delighted to find that the place actually looked like the website (never assume anything!)

Villa Escudero is a self-contained coconut plantation that was founded in the 1880s by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Dona Claudia Marasigan. Originally planted as sugarcane, the crop was later converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneer in many ways, he built the country’s first working hydro-electric plant to supply the coconut factory.

One of my favorite parts of the day was getting to enjoy lunch next to the hydro-electric power plant.  The water was dammed up above and flowed down a 20 foot “waterfall”, at which point it cascaded over our feet as we sat partially-submerged at picnic tables enjoying our lunch.  Coolest damn feeling ever (pun intended)!  Of course lunch wouldn’t be complete without playing in the waterfall a bit.  The wall had a nice curve to it, so there were hundreds of fun ways to interrupt the flow of the water by laying against it.  We had a blast, as evidenced by these great photos…

When we weren’t busy getting wet, we took time to explore the rest of the plantation.  The scenery was stunning – lush and green with a gorgeous lake to enjoy.  Definitely a feast for the eyes!

We tried our hand at paddling a bamboo raft and determined it to be even more stable than canoeing (which is shocking considering that it looks like it should sink instantly).

And we even managed to get in a ride on a carabou-pulled wagon (doesn’t he look fake?)  Karolanne kept giggling at the band of 3 singers who’s job it was to ride on the cart and provide music!  Only in the Philippines…

All in all, it was a memorable day.  Stay tuned for a blog post from Karolanne about all the pampering experiences she’s had here.  In the meantime, feel free to peruse all the photos I couldn’t include here at the SMUGMUG site!

Sri Lanka: Now on My List of Must-Visit Places

A week ago I couldn’t have even told you where Sri Lanka was (right of the Southeastern tip of India, by the way) but now I’m checking out flights there.  Why, you ask?  This beautiful picture!  Doesn’t this look stunning?!

Katie (of Rock Star in Dhaka) posted it on her blog recently and it’s now been upgraded to a must-visit destination for me.  Doesn’t it look like Africa?  But it’s not!  It’s the Pinnewala elephant orphanage actually.  Just thought you’d like to know so that YOU can add it to your list of future travel spots!  You’re welcome…

A Weekend at the Bohol Bee Farm

Bohol has long been at the top of our list of “Favorite Places in the Philippines”.  We love so many things about it: the undeveloped nature, the quality of the diving & snorkeling, the friendly people… the list goes on and on.  The only thing we weren’t so hot about was the resort we picked on our first visit over New Year’s.  Happily, last weekend the world was righted when we found ourselves perfectly at home in our “cottage by the sea” at the Bohol Bee Farm.

This charming place is the closest darn thing to a cabin that I’ve been at in a LONG TIME and let me tell you – IT FELT GOOD.  Truly, I loved every minute of it.  The veranda area overlooking the ocean, the open-air living room, the outdoor dining – it was the Anti-Manila!  For only $150 a night, we were able to share this lovely 2 BR place with our friends Andrea and Brian.  What a steal, huh?  Nick’s parents are already eyeing it for their visit here… any other takers?

We didn’t do much of substance all weekend – it was mostly composed of eating, napping and reading and snorkeling (check out those sea urchins below!).

The Bee Farm has a unique story.  The owners are a Filipina and an American (a married couple).  The place began with the cottage we stayed in and a small restaurant.  Due to the high-quality nature of the organic food they were producing, more and more people started showing up.  Eventually they started asking to stay overnight.  This led to the building of more overnight lodging and you could say it has grown organically from there (pun intended!)  It’s a wonderful example of a self-sustaining livelihood project.  The Filipino families that staff it are provided with stable jobs for all members of the family and they also get a place to live.  You could see on their faces how much they enjoyed working there.

So as I was saying, not only do they have the resort, but the organic food and product production as well.  They grow all the herbs and vegetables they serve at the restaurant and make a variety of food products as well.  They also do weaving and crafts, both of which are sold in the store.  It’s a brilliant concept that’s hard not to fall in love with.

Our good friends Andrea and Brian joined us for the weekend, along with their travel-savvy baby Leni.  Let me just say that Nick was more than a little bothered by the fact that we DID NOT blend when we had that adorable baby with us.  And here’s the wild thing – perfect strangers would just walk up to her and put out their arms and try to take her and hold her.  Ummm… we don’t do that in America!  UNCOMFORTABLE.  But that’s the thing, this is a baby-loving culture, so of course you would hand your baby over to any interested party…. glad I wasn’t the mommy making that decision!

My camera absolutely LOVED this baby.  She’s just so darn photogenic!  Here are a few of my favorites…

And here’s the part where we try being “fake parents” and then decide it’s exhausting and hand her back as soon as the crying starts…  :)  Doesn’t Nick look the part though?  Check back at a later date and see if we feel like forfeiting our nap time yet…

The low point of the weekend would be when Brian lost his wedding band snorkeling!  BOO.  Our hearts were warmed though when the local dive shop came and spent 90 minutes in the water looking for it, FREE OF CHARGE.  Did I mention that this place rocks?  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be found…

I think I’ll leave you with one of my favorite shots of the weekend – yet another stunning Philippines sunset.  The beauty of this place never fails to astound me!  And if you like these, you’ll definitely want to check out the remaining 200 pics at SMUGMUG.

Going Corporate

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of presenting my first Corporate workshop.  It was a DREAM gig because I  a.) got flown to a resort in Malaysia to present and b.) spent 4 hours identifying core values and writing life purpose statements with the 50 participants.  Doesn’t get any better than that in my book… But not only was it an AMAZING professional experience for me, it was also a fascinating cultural one.  Here goes…

I arrived at the airport at 3 PM last Friday.  Since my sister was in town still, I had coordinated activities for Nick and Jenna in my absence so that the two of them could B-O-N-D.  No sooner had I walked into the airport than I was greeted by my “attendant” from the company.  They walked me through the check-in process, got me some dinner and paid my terminal fees.  I was on the flight with the majority of other participants, so they also made a point of introducing me to everyone.  I felt like a celebrity (and I LOVED it)!

First random moment of the day: I get to the customs window and the officer stamps my passport.  Just as I’m turning to leave, she says, “Were you at the airport last week picking someone up?”  Well, yes indeed I was.  And I’m thinking: “And how many people go through your line in a day??  How is it possible that you remember me?”  I swear, I must be the only short-haired blond in Manila!  It’s official – I’m changing my hair.

Second random moment of the day: I get to the gate and am deluged by workshop participants wanting to come up and take photos with me.  No lie, I’m sitting in my chair just minding my business and all of a sudden there are 15 people surrounding me and someone has a camera out (and that was just the start of it – I had to have been in 50 pictures over 24 hours).  It was such a classic warm, Filipino welcome.  Totally made my day.  All I kept thinking was, “Don’t you want to wait and see if you like my presentation before taking all these pictures with me???”  Apparently that’s irrelevant!

Third random moment of the day:  We arrive in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia at the Pacific Sutera Hotel, the place where Nick and I had coincidentally stayed in last fall.  I had just walked in the door and was standing in the middle of the lobby (not checking in) when a staff member walks up to me and says, “Welcome Back Ms. Novak.  We’re so glad to see you again.”  Okay, this was too much for one day.  I just stared at her with my mouth open and said, “How do you know my name?”  She replies, “Well weren’t you here with your husband last fall?  How is he, by the way?”  Pure shock.  Again, I need to change the hair!  It’s one thing to be recognized in Manila, but an entirely different thing to be remembered in foreign countries.  How freakin’ bizarre.  And might I add, what amazingly good customer service!

Day 2:

Woke up on Saturday morning at 4:30 AM to get ready.  Breakfast was a 6 and then I went to scope out my presentation room at 6:30.  It was rush, rush because the attendees were arriving at 7 AM.  Despite the tiredness, my energy was sky-high.  I was so pumped to be a part of this historic day (the company’s first international workshop)!  Now, I’ve told you before that sometimes I think I should have been born Filipino.  Never was this more apparent than at the workshop.

Take the music, for example.  Every time the doors opened and participants walked in and out, Celine Dion’s “I’m Alive” was pumped from the stereo system.  And they didn’t just walk in each time, they sang and moved their bodies (even in suits).  These are my people!  :)  Oh, and did I mention that I had my own entrance music and it kept playing when I got to the front of the room (because they were still clapping) and I didn’t know what to do then so I just danced.  Yup, that’s how I began my presentation… we were going for authentic, not professional!  And we sang the National anthem and sang the opening prayer.  And I got an award (even though I was paid to present!)  Can you see why I enjoyed myself so much?

And so we began.  I told my story.  I enlightened them about all the things I adore about coaching.  We dug into their values.  Tears were shed.  More pictures were taken.  Snacks were had.  Life Purpose Statements were written.  Powerful truths were shared.  People were moved.  And success was had.

Dare I say that lives may have been changed?  I dare say YES!  It rocked.  On every level it rocked.  I was nervous and excited and I had to repeat things 5 times because I talked fast and have an accent and don’t speak their first language but it didn’t matter because WE WORKED IT OUT.  And what I can say with certainty is that I helped 50 people understand THEIR TRUTH more deeply.  All in a day’s work people, all in a day’s work!  :)

Chillin’ in Cebu

Just got back last night from 4 peaceful days in Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines.  Now I should clarify, we weren’t actually in the city, we stayed on Mactan Island, which is connected to the city via a bridge.  The trip got off to a bit of a rough start unfortunately.  We checked into our original hotel to find that they were throwing a party for 500 people that night (mind you, this is a 16 room hotel not a mega-hotel complex).  We were very disenchanted by the chaos, especially since we weren’t given a head’s up.  That, in combination with a few other factors that we were less than happy about, resulted in me negotiating to be let out of our 3 night reservation the following morning.  They were not pleased, but hey – neither were we!

And so we were off to the Hilton, where we knew exactly what we were getting (usually I try to avoid big US-based chains, as I think they lack local charm, but we were needing something familiar by this point).  Thankfully, the Big Pink Palace did not disappoint.  We let them know our sob story and were happily rewarded with an upgrade to an ocean view deluxe room.  YAY!  Things were looking up…

We spent the next few days primarily at the hotel rotating between sleeping, eating and tanning (or shall we say, burning).  It was delightful not having any pre-set plans, as it allowed us to settle into a deeper state of relaxation than we’d normally have.  That being said, I didn’t feel like we got the same cultural experience that I’ve gotten in my other Philippines destinations.  It just felt more touristy and there was far more scamming than I usually find.  In fact, by the last day it was making me quite crabby.  I swear, I should have just worn a sign that said, “Take advantage of me.”  Grrr… thankfully I’ve had some practice with scammers.  I could tell Jenna was impressed when I fiercely defended our right to pay a normal price.

Highlights of the trip included a cultural show where we got to go up on stage and dance the Tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance where you jump between bamboo sticks.

We also had a marvelous final day aboard our own private banca for a snorkeling trip!  It was more expensive than I’ve paid in the past, but I just chalked it up to the fact that we were in a bigger tourist destination.  Little did I know that for my $100, I had just rented a 30-person boat with 5 crew members for the next 5 hours.  Oh goodness, how excessive!  Seriously, it was quite comical to have such a big boat for just the two of us… such a classic Philippines experience.

We loved every minute of it though.  The fish and coral were plentiful and it was easily the clearest water I’ve ever snorkeled in.  We were in a protected Marine Sanctuary, so it was all beautifully taken care of.  Our snorkeling guide (yes, he was included in the price too) had brought a basket of bread for us to feed the fish.  I had never used bread before but was delighted to see how many fish would swarm around you when you started putting it in the water.  It was the coolest thing to be so up-close-and-personal with varieties of fish that I’d never seen in my life.  Definitely a worthwhile experience!

Now we’re back at home and easing back into city life with a little pearl shopping today.  More posts coming soon!  And you know the drill, if you want to see more pics, head on over to SMUGMUG.

The End of an Era

May 8th, 2010 was a day of mixed emotions in the Miller household.  It was on that day that Jenna Miller (#4 in the line of great Miller gals) graduated from the College of Saint Benedict (CSB).  While we are immensely proud of her double major in Psychology and Spanish, she leaves a tremendous void in what has been a 12 year continuous presence of Miller girls on the CSB campus!

Here’s how it all began back when I was a Senior in High School:

I began the College search the summer before Junior year, spending hours upon hours at the Library looking through the Barron’s guide to the Best Colleges Book.  It was a glorious, information-filled summer and I could rattle off the retention rates of any school you listed (yes, I was borderline scary).  The information started pouring in via the mail that fall and I had narrowed my list down to 15 schools by the summer before junior year.

It was then that we began THE CROSS-COUNTRY COLLEGE CRUSADE (VIA CAMPER).  Oh yes, it is hard for me to believe that they all agreed to this, but I convinced the entire family that we should take a cross-country tour with our pop-up camper to look at Colleges for me.  My sisters were less-than-thrilled when they learned that they’d be sitting in the car as Mom, Dad and I went on 6 tours over the course of a week.  Boy were they champs, thanks girls!

I would not, could not stay in MN because I was destined to be an international gal and needed to spread my wings.  Mom and Dad said that was fine and dandy, but I had to apply to a few local schools as well.  We had no prior connection to St. Ben’s, but they insisted that it be one of the ones I applied to (we’d heard there were good scholarships).  And so I humored them knowing that I’d NEVER go there because anyone and their brother could get in (in my opinion) and I was going to a big name school that was far, far away.

Fast forward to December when the acceptances started rolling in.  There was a good mix of schools that I had to choose from and CSB was among them.  I was adament about not going there, but once the significant scholarship came in, I was required to book a visit to campus.  And that’s when everything changed.

I went up and spent an overnight with my friend Caroline, who was a first year student.  I went to her classes, stayed in the res halls, and tried the cafeteria food.  And yes, I had toured a lot of Colleges by this point, but there was something entirely new and magical in the air at St. Ben’s.  It was intoxicating.  Everyone hugged each other and smiled, people held doors (even for me, a lowly high school student!) and monks and nuns moved around the campus on their old-school bikes.  I was completely enchanted by this twilight zone world that felt too good to be true.

And so in the span of 24 hours, I changed my tune and started singing the praises of CSB, my chosen College.  As I look back, I can now see that this was the first time that I practiced intuitive decision making and went for what was good for my heart, not what my head thought I needed.  I have no doubt that this fantastic decision I made as a 17-year-old changed the trajectory of my life.

St. Ben’s rocked my world.  From going on service trips to being a CSB Senator, planning campus events to managing 50 first-year women; each experience changed me and introduced me to a new part of myself.  There were new spiritual role models, feminist friends that I was in awe of, an emerging sense of purpose and the desire to make MY impact.  Independence came in the form of 5 months abroad in Greece and Italy and personal insights often showed up in 2 AM conversations with a roommate.  There was no right and wrong, just the constant pursuit of trying to understand myself and my world better.

It was only a matter of years before Emily felt the same pull I did and submitted her application.  Beth was 2 years later, followed by Jenna 3 years after that.  I couldn’t have been more proud of their decisions.  How many sisters can say that they share a unique bond of this nature?  I love imagining the time when we’re old and gray and we can reminisce about our shared experiences at our beloved Alma Mater.

It’s true, I’m going to miss my on-site connection to the pulse of campus life.  Yet deep down I know that the experience was bigger than that.  It was a visceral, transformational 4 years of my life when I fell in love with learning and realized I was capable of anything I set my mind too.  It is a shift I hope everyone experiences at some point in their life and I thank God that my sisters were blessed with a similar experience.  Now it’s just a matter of convincing my future daughter to carry on the tradition…

The Sunsets of Boracay

Lots more where those came from at SMUGMUG!

Boracay Bliss

Wow, we’re just gearing up to head out from 4 days in Paradise.  Everyone told me that it would be sensational, and oh were they right!  It was the finest sand I have ever stepped on – think powder sugar sand – and no one even bothers to wear shoes because seaweed and rocks are pretty much non-existent too!  And there’s really not much to get worked up about, because you really only do 1 of 5 things: sleep, eat/drink, lay on the beach, swim or do water sports.  I am happy to report that we experienced all 5!

And did I mention the insane clarity of the water.  This shot is one of my favorites, as it shows the light refracting off the bottom!

Sunset was one of our favorite times of day to enjoy Boracay.  One night we did an hour-long sunset sail.  We loved it so much we booked another longer sailing cruise for the next day ( let’s just say our second ride was a bit too adventurous for us).  Here’s a shot of our boat, the Rising Star.

Guest Blog Post: Dolphin Dancing

Note: This guest post is by Sarah J, who is staying with us right now.  This is her second contribution to the blog!  Maybe we’ll even get one more!

On the list of things to try in life, swimming with dolphins has to make my top ten.  As it was a Sunday morning when we departed for Subic, Nick was able to drive “like in the U.S.” which was a good thing since there were two women in the car who couldn’t hardly wait to get to Ocean Adventure where dolphins awaited us!

Never to be one to pass up a good show, Sarah made sure to time our arrival so that we could fit in the High Dive Show and the Sea Lion Show prior to our swim.  The dive team put together a fun routine with a mix of kid-humor and showy stunts, the most shocking being a dude who got his protective suit lit on fire before diving off the board.  The Sea Lion show was a total throwback to the days of the Como Zoo in St. Paul and the Sparky The Seal Show, so it was great for the memories but to be honest I could barely sit there knowing that there were dolphins right around the corner in the ocean.

Our dolphin swim lasted about 30 minutes and included: being carried across the pool while holding onto the fins, assisting the trainer with commanding tricks, learning the proper feeding technique (head first), “dancing” with the dolphin (you hold her fins and wrap your legs around her middle as she spins you both in a circle) and play time where you just swim together and splash back and forth.  Our dolphin was Misty and meeting her was such a powerful experience, that I nearly started crying!  The pictures do speak volumes, so I will let them tell the rest of the tale. Woo-hoo!

Teas & Trees: The Yin and Yang of our Last Two Days

Our last two days have been pretty bi-polar.  Friday was devoted to our first (of two) day trips.  We were off to see Hidden Valley Springs, a stunning rain forest paradise a few hours from Manila.  Both of us were excited, as the website said it was only 1.5 hours away (and this was a first-time visit for me as well).  As is typical of our Manila life, that 1.5 hour estimate wasn’t very accurate.  In fact, it was actually 3.5 both there and back.  Which left exactly 3.5 hours for playing in the Rain Forest.

We climbed out of the car in a pretty sour mo0d, but watched our frowns turn to shouts of glee as we took in the beauty of this lush paradise!  We had 6 fabulous spring water pools to swim in, a hike with a waterfall at the end, and cheap massages to indulge in.  Life was grand and we weren’t going to waste a minute of our 3.5 hours!

We managed to be quite successful.  We took a dip in all 6 pools, made the hike, enjoyed our lunch and even managed to get 1 hour massages.  It was a glorious day and despite the nightmarish traffic, we both agreed that we’d do it all over again.

Now fast forward to Saturday, where we’re back in the city, far removed from the sounds of birds chirping.  Yet all was not lost, as there’s plenty of magical experiences here as well.  We started our day with a trip to the Salcedo market, the closest thing we have to the St. Paul Farmer’s Market.  Then it was back home to shower and change for our afternoon of High Tea at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati.

This is one of my absolute favorite activities and it never fails to enchant my guests.  Sarah was no exception, oohing and aahing as the 14 piece orchestra played in front of us.  And when you layer on a flourless chocolate cake and a beautiful tea service, we’re nearing perfection again.  Truly, that is what I most enjoy about our life here.  We’re able to get such varied experiences without having to travel very far – I LOVE that I’m able to expose Sarah to the Yin & Yang of Manila life while she’s here.  It helps her understand the richness and complexity of this culture!

There are lots and lots of photos awaiting you at SMUGMUG.  Do take a moment and check out the ones I couldn’t showcase here.

Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of our wedding.  To celebrate, we’re taking a day trip to Subic Bay to cross off one of the must-do’s on our Bucket List – a swim with a dolphin!  Seriously, I’ve been wanting to do this for years and it just so happens that it was at the top of Sarah’s list too.  If we’re lucky, we should have not only some fun pictures, but a little video as well!  Stay tuned…

An Idyllic Afternoon in Bulacan with my Carewell Friends

Life doesn’t get much better than spending an afternoon in the country with my new-found Carewell friends.  And although the gathering was set up “just because,” there ended up being much to celebrate that day, including a cancer-free scan that had come back for one attendee!

Isn’t their place adorable?  I should start by saying that this is not at all what typical houses in the Philippines look like.  It reminds me more of a MN cabin than anything I’ve seen here… maybe that’s why I took an instant liking to it.  My absolute favorite part of the house was the SECRET BATHROOM, which was hidden behind the closet.  Ingenious space saver for the main floor!

And allow me to begin by introducing you to our gracious hosts, Remy and Danny (pictured above).  Remy truly was the “hostess with the most-est,” serving us a table full of Filipino delights.

And yes, that’s Kuya Rudy (our driver) partaking in the delicious fare.  On a side note, Rudy recently told me (with pride, mind you) that he is the second oldest expat driver (the 64 year old driver beat him out).  We couldn’t be more proud Rudy!  Enough of that… back to the party!

Filipinos love their food and they are MAJOR food-pushers.  Just as you’re about to puke, they’re kindly offering you another plate that they made up “just for you”.  I’m starting to set down some serious rules because a girl only needs so many calories a day… good thing I had a chance to work it off as I rocked the karoake mic for a solid hour!

I tell you, these women (and Danny) are pure joy to hang out with each week.  They have taught me so many lessons about gratitude, spirituality and living life to the fullest.  I mean, look at these pictures – would you guess that they all have cancer (with some even in stage 4)?  I think not!?!  They are vibrant and alive, eeking out every last moment until their final breath (whenever that may be).  Suffice to say, it’s intoxicating to be around them.

What I now understand is that you may not be able to control your circumstances, but you can ALWAYS control how you’re going to BE WITH your circumstances.  They may not have the full range of options on the table (no chance of getting that breast back), but they live each day as empowered individuals committed to living.  It is amazing to see how much power resides in letting go of the outcome and just focusing on being in the here and now.  Powerful lessons for this 29 year old…

To see the rest of this BEA-U-TIFUL gallery of pictures, head on over to SMUGMUG!

Part 2: Easter Week in Batanes – Sabtang Island

Zoom in on me, looking VERY CRABBY as I waited to board our boat to Sabtang Island.  Here’s the back story…I woke up at 5:30 AM so that I could be ready to join the group at 6 AM to leave for our tour.  We drive 30 minutes to the boat dock and proceed to sit there for another 45 minutes, at which point we’re told that no boat is coming there today and we need to go to a different dock.   ARGH.

So I’m wishing and hoping that we’ll just waltz over to the other dock and hop right on the waiting boat.  WRONG – I should have known this would be a cluster-f***.  Our trip had gone too smoothly and whenever things go too smoothly, there’s bound to be something that explodes.  Zoom in on the new port where 70+ individuals are all waiting to get on a 30 person capacity boat.  I start digging through my memory banks to recall all the tragic stories I’ve read about Filipino ferries sinking after being overcrowded.  I make a decision that I will NOT get on an over-loaded boat and die at sea today.

Turns out I wouldn’t have the choice to get on that first boat trip.  I had the opportunity to wait two hours for the boat to go there and come back for us.  Warning: UGLY AMERICAN characteristics starting to come out.  I just couldn’t help it.  I had gotten up at the crack of dawn, waited at the wrong dock and was now told that it would be another 2 hours!  Beam me back to bed, Scotty…

We were encouraged to go to the Honesty Cafe instead, so I thought we might as well make the most of it and check it out.  Let me just tell you a bit about the Honesty Cafe – it’s owned by an elderly couple that stock the shop, but here’s the crazy part – no one mans the shop.  It’s an on-your-honor thing where each item has a price on it and you write it down in a ledger and deposit your money into a box.  And here’s the craziest part…it works here!  Why?  Because the island has a ZERO crime rate, a stat they are very, very proud of (who wouldn’t be)!  Can you imagine?  Oh, but you better have small bills for the honesty cafe, because no change is given.

Little did I know that the fun hadn’t even started yet…when we finally got on the boat at 10 AM with 30 other individuals, we were told that the ride would be a bit rough since we were out on the ocean.  A bit rough was a severe understatement.  The boat was more like Noah’s arc than a ferry.  It had a wide berth and would roll from side to side with the waves, so there were times when you’d be laying at a 45 degree angle with your back plastered against the ship’s side.  A good mental image to describe it: the pirate ship at Valleyfair.

The beginning was okay but when we reached the mid-way point it started to get rough.  The swells were astronomical.  There were several times when we’d be down in a trough between two major waves and I couldn’t see anything but water.  It was insanity…. I should probably tell you at this point that I am a bit of a puker.  I didn’t used to be, but since meeting Nick and starting our “high-adventure life” I’ve puked roughly 4 times at sea and 2 in the back of a van.  We now carry a puke bag for me every time we travel (sorry if this is too much information) so I reached out my hand and he knew to fish it out of the bag.  I had it  positioned right over my mouth, that’s how sure I was that I wasn’t going to survive this boat ride sans puking.  I am incredibly proud to say that somehow I managed.  It did come up the throat, but I held it down.  Yay me!  And now I think we’ll move on to a new topic… is that okay with you?

Now I mentioned yesterday that the main island was rustic, but this one was even more remote, with many more of the original Ivatan practices still being used.  In the above picture you’ll see the construction of their houses, which last close to 100 years.  The thatched roofs are still impressive, lasting 25 years.  The picture above shows me sporting the traditional Ivatan head-dress.  Sexy!  I think I look like Shakira…

Thankfully, the scenery was well worth all of the hassles it took to get there.  We spent 4 glorious hours enjoying the beauty of this island.  A must-do if you’re going to come all the way to Batanes…just don’t forget your puke bag for the boat ride!  I leave you with some great shots of our beach “photo shoot”!  PS – Did you check out the SMUGMUG gallery yet?  There are oh-so-many sensational pics you still haven’t seen…

Easter Week in Batanes – The Main Island

Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about our recent trip to Batanes.  What a stunning, remote location!  It was like something that time forgot, but in an oh-so-wonderful kind of way.  It reminded me most of Hawaii and what I imagine it would have looked like before all the hotels moved in and the lush, rolling hills disappeared.

Throughout the 4 days we were there, I vacillated between shock and delight.  Shock that the man we just passed is really riding on a Carabou (see above), delight that my cell phone gets reception, shock that I cannot get a drop of hot water to come out of the shower, delight that I had more animal subjects than humans on this trip, and so on.  It was by far the most remote location that I’ve ever visited on our travels abroad and it was a refreshing change of pace.

Highlights of my visit included:

• Wearing a light sweater!
• Breathing in crisp, clean air
• Driving with the windows open and the breeze blowing through my hair (in fact, they took it one step farther on our tour and drove with the side van door open – “Safety Sarah” had some initial issues with that but decided to just roll with it)
• Seeing the Big Dipper!
• Eating beef that was killed that morning

We arrived in Basco, Batanes at 10 AM on Wednesday morning.  We were able to check into our accommodations at Shanedel’s Inn, located right on the waterfront of Basco.  It was definitely not the most glamorous accommodations I’ve ever stayed in, but it was clean and we were taken very good care of by the family that ran it.  Not that there were many choices though!  This was one of only 5 places on the island (4 that are under $30 a night, 1 that is over $200).  I was quite happy that we ended up here- it was a good fit for us.  Very authentic and simple, a reflection of what life on the island was all about.

On Day 1 we went exploring on foot.  We walked around the town, taking in the beautiful Catholic church that was being readied for the Holy Week festivities.  The most common thing we saw on the streets were big, huge smiles.  I never thought this possible, but we got even more “love” here than in Manila.  Hellos, smiles, waves – we were practically celebrities.  Have I mentioned that I love the hospitality and warmth of Filipinos?  Because truly, it is SO INCREDIBLE to be treated that way!  Another surprise was all the English that was spoken.  So not only did the majority speak Ivatan (the local dialect), but many also knew Tagalog (spoken in Manila) and English.  I was floored!

We had also seen a lighthouse from the hotel and decided to try and hike to it.  15 minutes later we were enjoying the view from where it stood.  Lots of good photo ops here (which would be the first of many, I was soon to learn).  We hung out there for awhile and retired back to the hotel for a 3 hour afternoon nap and home-cooked meal.  It was a great way to start off the week.

Days 2 and 3 were spent on tours of the main island.  We were awed by the plunging views of “Marlborough Country” (pictured above) and fascinated by the daily life we observed.  In the picture below, you can see the traditional Ivatan farming method of segmenting plots with hedges to both keep animals contained and dictate boundaries.  Very ingenious, I thought…much easier than erecting fences everywhere!

There were no monuments our museums to see, only stunning natural wonders of the earth.  I couldn’t decide what to shoot first- the rolling hills, the dramatic cliffs or the churning seas!  And so I just took it all in.  I must say, these are easily the best travel photographs I’ve ever captured and they look even more vivid at the SMUGMUG site.  I narrowed it down to the best 250 shots I took and would love for you to enjoy them.  There were so many that I wanted to feature here, but couldn’t!

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the adventure on our 4th day when we battled the fierce ocean to get to the neighboring island of Sabtang.  Let’s just say that I had a bit of trouble keeping my breakfast down…

Easter Preview: The Animals of Batanes

Happy Easter everyone!  I’m in the final stages of photo editing after 4 sensational days in Batanes.  I shot nearly 500 frames and narrowed it down to my best 250 for you to enjoy.  I think you’re really going to like them!  I should have something for you by tomorrow…

In the meantime, I thought I’d give you a taste of the diverse forms of wildlife we interacted with.  Let’s just say that I got a major scolding from Nicholas after going within 5 feet of this horned Carabao in shot 1.  But wasn’t my life worth it for such a great pic??  He looked tied up, even if that wasn’t actually the case!

Ahhhh….Beautiful, Desolate Batanes

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons by Bingbing

I am happy to report that we are off to spend our Easter in a stunning destination called Batanes.  It’s the Northernmost point of the Philippines, about 190 km South of Taiwan.  You can see where it is in relation to Manila in the map below.  The topography of the island group is unlike any other in the Philippines.  There are 4 distinct seasons (YAY!  I’m bringing a sweater just in case I might actually have a chance to layer up!!!) and it is frequently hit by Typhoons.

Because of the erratic weather, there are only 15,000 inhabitants in Batanes, many of whom live in stone homes.  Just to give you some perspective, that’s 0.01 % of the population that lives in Manila.  I am already dreaming of lush green hills and chilling with the cows while we picnic on a hilltop.  I can dream big, can’t I?  I mean, it is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site…AND, it’s earned the nickname of “The Ireland of the Philippines”.  I’m expecting big things (and so is my camera).  I hope it doesn’t disappoint!

See you when we get back later this week!  I’ll have LOADS of beautiful pics for you!  Try not to miss me and Happy Easter!

A Sobering Reminder

There are times when it’s easy to lull yourself into a false sense of security with this lifestyle, telling yourself that there’s no reason the bad guys would want to hurt little old you.  Unfortunately, Saturday was a tragic reminder for Foreign Service Families around the world about the VERY REAL danger that comes as a part of the package we sign up for.

In case you are not aware of the incident, over the weekend, 3 members of the Diplomatic community were killed in Ciudad Juarez, a town just across the border from El Paso, Texas.  The NY Times confirmed that 1 was a pregnant US consulate worker and the other 2 were accompanying spouses.  2 children were seriously wounded in the attack as well.  The attacks happened in broad daylight, en route back to their homes after a party at another consular officer’s house.  The thing that I’m still struggling to process is that it was just a casual afternoon gathering that is typical for Foreign Service families around the world.  It could have happened anywhere…

We have since received messages via our friends that the entire Embassy community in Juarez is in mourning, trying to make sense of these seemingly senseless killings.  Despite our physical distance from the murders, it still hit incredibly close to home.  Seven of our friends (and their families) are posted there and it just as likely could have been us that ended up with that assignment.

As you can see in the map above, our main Mexican Embassy is located in Mexico city.  But since Mexico is one of the highest Visa-processing countries, there are also five Consulates located in the border towns of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey.  The drug violence is not isolated to Ciudad Juarez — in fact in 2008 a grenade was launched at the Monterray Consulate, although it did not explode.  Hard to believe that something so close to our borders could present such a safety challenge.  It is a blessing to currently feel safe here in Manila, but I know that will not always be the case over the next 20 years.

I know that if these murders had happened a year ago when we were just going through training, I would have seriously questioned our decision to join.  In the 9 months we’ve lived overseas though, I’ve acquired a true sense of patriotism and pride for what our Embassies and Consulates do overseas.  It is vitally important work that is worth dying for.  That doesn’t make it any easier to process what happened on Saturday, but I can now say with confidence that I willingly accept the risks that come with this lifestyle.

For my part, I will commit to utilizing the appropriate security measures, continue living each day to the fullest, and remain grateful for all that I am experiencing on this global journey.  Our prayers are with you Juarez.

Up Close and Personal with the Butandings

On Monday we got back from what could surely be titled one of those “once in a lifetime” adventures.  We had left early Saturday morning and flown to Legazpi, on the Southern part of Luzon, the island where Manila is located.  When we disembarked the plane we were greeted with a view of stunning Mount Mayon volcano.  She was even in a good mood, letting us have a view of her famed tip, often referred to as the perfect cone.  It was breathtaking and hard to believe that she was ready to explode less than 2 months ago.  Our thanks to her for letting our trip go off as planned!

From Legazpi it was a 1 hour drive to Donsol.  Donsol is the intersection of a large river and the ocean, creating an area rich with plankton that the whale sharks love to feed on.  And this is why they camp out here for so long, because like humans, good food is worth hanging around for!

We stayed at Woodlands Resort, one of the  3 in the area.  Nothing fancy, but it met our basic needs.  You should have seen our excitement when we got a solid 3 minutes of hot water (something we’ve yet to experience at the 3 other Philippines resorts we’ve stayed at)!  Between that and a decent bed, we were set.  Basic needs aside, it was time to focus our attention on the feature attraction, the beloved Butandings (the Filipino name for whale sharks).

We were each assigned to a boat with 6 people in it.  Now, mind you, I was filled with plenty of apprehension on the first day.  I’m not a big physical activity person to begin with and on top of that, I strongly dislike getting wet (which my family can highly attest to).  Not a good combination.  I was thinking it’d be a miracle if I could manage to get myself over the side of the boat (flashback to my scuba failure).

Here’s how the process worked.  We had a Butanding guide that was a trained spotter and swimmer.  He could pull us along if we got tired.  He would stand at the front of the boat and look for large shadows in the water (indicating a whale).  He would then give a signal and we had about 1 minute to get our gear on and get all 6 of us seated on one side of the boat, perching on a 2 inch wide ledge (while the boat was still moving).  Not the safest thing I’ve ever done!  Then he’d shout GO GO GO and we had to plunge into the ocean in the next 5 seconds and swim furiously behind him.  Then, all of a sudden he’d stop and point down.  We immediately plunged our faces into the ocean and lo and behold, a bus-sized whale was coming directly at us.  It was the wildest thing.  Here’s an example of what our first glimpse looked like:

No lie, the thing was about 5 feet from us and didn’t mind one bit!  Notice the murky water – that’s because of all the plankton in it.  That made it tricky because you wouldn’t notice it was there until you were practically on top of it!  Now, upon locating the shark, you needed to immediately regain your composure and begin swimming with it in order to keep up with the 1-2 knot pace that it goes at.

I liked to start near the head (pictured above) and then allow my self to slow gradually and move down the length of it.  This is going to sound odd, but the thing it most reminded me of was swimming with the sea turtles in Hawaii.  Yes, it’s mammoth, but it’s a gentle giant.  There were periods when we’d be swimming alongside it for 20-30 minutes and at times you could forget that others were around you.  It was as if time was suspended and it was just you and the whale moving in sync with the water drowning out the chaos above.  Pure magic.

And just about the time when you’d forgotten that other people existed, you’d get kicked in the head with a flipper by some obnoxious, flailing tourist that didn’t know how to swim.  So annoying.  And if they accidentally touched the whale shark, then it would dive down to a deeper depth where no one could see it.  GRRR.  The crowding was definitely the frustrating part.  They were supposed to limit it to 1 boat of 6 people per shark, but since it was low season still, they weren’t enforcing the rule.  Therefore, at any given moment in time there may be as few as 6 or as many as 30.  Word to the wise: protect your head!

Complaints aside, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!  There’s no way to ignore the “awe”someness of nature when side by side with this beautiful creature.  Thankfully, in Sorsogon, the region where Donsol is located, they’ve created an awareness and preservation program.  Despite that, things still happen to the animals.  One heart-breaking moment was scoping out this giant beast and seeing that his tail had been cut by a propeller.  Nick managed to get a really clear picture of it below.  So sad!

The Stats:

• Total time on the water looking for sharks: 8 hours
• Injuries sustained: Technically 0, although I have a very nasty bruise on my leg from someone’s flipper
• False jumps into the water: 6
• Number of swims with a shark: 4
• Shortest swim: 1 minute
• Longest swim: 25-30 minutes
• Number of sharks seen: 2 different ones, we think.  We ended up with the cut-tail shark more than once
• Value of the experience: PRICELESS