I Made It!

I have successfully made it to the Philippines! Actually, as of today, I have been here for one week and 3 days. A lot can happen in just over a week, especially when you are in a foreign country! In this post, I will tell you a little about my trip over here and some of the things I have learned so far.

On the way to the Philippines, I had a lay-over in Seoul, South Korea. A layover is when your plane lands at an airport that is in a place that is not your destination. The picture below from Google Earth shows where South Korea is on the globe. (You can click on any of the photos to make them larger).

The arrow points to South Korea.

After my layover in South Korea, I flew on another plane to Manila. Manila is the capital of the Philippines.

This map shows the overall route from Illinois to South Korea to the Philippines.

The plane that I took from Manila to Caticlan was a much smaller plane than the others, and I was only allowed to carry 22 pounds of luggage on it. I brought more than that because I will be staying in the country for 10 months. I was able to send the rest of my luggage on a cargo plane. A cargo plane only carries goods; it doesn't carry passengers. After my flight to Caticlan (see the picture in the sidebar), I took a short boat ride over to the island of Boracay.

Passengers getting on the boats at Caticlan.

On the way: I took this photo from the boat I was on;
the other boat in the picture looks like the one I was riding on.

Passengers getting off the boat at Boracay.

After I arrived in the Philippines, I had jet lag for a little while. According to dictionary.com, the definition of jet lag is "a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythms after high-speed air travel through several time zones." In other words, your body is mixed up because of the time-difference from traveling across the globe, so I was not always sleepy at night and would wake up wide-awake very early in the morning (around 4:00 a.m.). There is a 12 hour time difference between here and eastern time in the U.S.A. For example, right now, it is 11:25 a.m. on Saturday in the Philippines, and it is 11:25 p.m. on Friday night in Auburn, Indiana. So, basically, I am living in tomorrow for you! :-) That is what happens when you cross the International Date Line. Watch the short video below if you are interested in learning more about how the Internationl Date Line works. It's pretty cool!


                                           

Right now, it is rainy season on Boracay Island. In the Philippines, they have two seasons: rainy season and dry season. Rainy season lasts from May to October, and dry season is from November to April. It has rained every day since I have arrived on the island. Some days it rains for just a little while and other days it rains almost all day. Because you never know when it will start raining (or how hard), I have learned that it is important to carry around a poncho or an umbrella everywhere I go.

My roommate, Carla, and I wearing our ponchos.

The two most common forms of transportation that I have used since coming to the Philippines are walking and trikes. When you hear the word "trike," you may think of a little bike with three wheels that kids ride. That is a kind of trike, but not the kind I am referring to. A trike is basically a Filipino taxi. It has a motorbike on one side and a passenger car beside it.

The vehicles in this picture are trikes.

I have tried a few new foods since I arrived in the Philippines. One of the foods that I have tried is called rombutan. It is a reddish hairy-looking fruit with a soft and sweet clearish center. You eat it by breaking through the outer layer and taking out the clearish center. You eat the center, but you have to make sure you spit out the pit. I have also tried pondesol, which is a type of biscuit.

Rombutan

We recently moved into our apartment. Our first meal was eggplant and fried eggs (called tortang talong here) with fresh pineapple and pancit noodles on the side. It was delicious!

I am going to be a master at cutting up a pineapple by the time I leave!

My roomate, Carla, with our first meal of tortang talong, pineapple, and pancit noodles with soy sauce.

I will start teaching soon. I met some of the students and was able to take a tour of the school at which I will be teaching. The name of the school is Agape Boracay Academy. I am excited to get started!

The picture below is from one of the beaches on Boracay. When it is not raining, the beauty of the island shines through even more!

More to come soon from Boracay Island!

- Miss Eb