Tricycle

my cousin's son Patrick and his tricycle

Marian is Patrick's mother; Mertz is his dad's nickname

The tricycle is the most likely common mode of transportation in any province in the Philippines.  Usually about 9 students can fit in one.  Julie Ann said sometimes 12 can fit in a tricycle, plus the driver.  For students the fare is 5 pesos; for adults it's 10 except for senior citizens who pay 8 pesos.

Family gathering

Plant life in the area of my uncle's home

orchid

quisao- in the water lily family

pomelo tree

papaya tree

mango tree

Kristal Kish, cousin Cynthia's 3rd child, joined 11 others as my newest godchild.  Kristal, along with 7 other babies were baptized at St. Ildefonso Catholic Church in Tanay, our neighborning town. Afterwards we gathered at Villa Nina's (Cynthia's parents' home).  Some of the dishes served included inihaw na bangus (broiled milkfish cooked over charcoal), lumpia Shanghai (eggrolls), sweet/sour fish, menudo, embotido (meat, bell peppers, garlic, onion.  In the olden days it was wrapped in banana leaf and steamed.  These days people use aluminum foil.),  rice, and buko (young coconut and other fruits) salad.  Because the area is up a mountain, and has lots of trees, it was cooler here.

Aftermath

The winds began in earnest at 3 am.  Electricity was off beginning at 4 am, returning 11 hours later. It was a long day.  Praise the Lord we came through ok.  In our area of Pililla, Rizal, Typhoon Glenda was mostly wind-- not water.  There was no flooding for the most part.  By 9:30 the wind had died down considerably, and it was just sprinkling.

My Uncle Warly went to the river to see what it was like.  He returned promptly saying the river had gone over its banks.  My Aunt Alphonsa and I walked to the river where I saw massive water lilies crowding the river.  This was why the river went over the banks.  There was police in the river, standing on the water lilies, hacking away at the water lilies.

By the time my cousin Julie Ann came, it was only a few minutes before she had organized people from the barrio to gather coffee, cups, sugar, and water to give the police and other townspeople working to get control of the water lilies.

After lunch Julie Ann and I returned to the river and saw a much calmer river with no water lilies.  We walked around and saw a tree downed from the storm.  Workers from the barangay were cutting it down.  We also saw several downed banana plants and other soft wood trees bent over.

Later I heard from my Godmother Luvie who reported that in the area where they have their chicken farm, about 15 minuters from where I'm staying, part of the roofing on a couple of buildings had blown off during the storm.

Thanks for your prayers.  I'm hoping it'll be a long while before another typhoon makes landfall.

First Storm

Typhoon Glenda is expected to make landfall tomorrow.  The rains began today and it was signal #2 which meant students including college, had no school today.  They will have another day off from school tomorrow.  It was rather tricky logging onto the internet today.  I'll get on the internet as soon as I can in  the next days or so.  Please don't worry; I ask for prayers instead.

First days

Since I was without the internet the first 3 days of being in the Philippines, here's a summary of what has happened.

It was a fairly smooth flight except for the last leg.  At one point there was great turbulence and I thought I was on a roller-coaster.  There was screaming and frankly I was scared.  Later I talked with a couple of people whose juice, coffee, or other drink spilled on them during the turbulence.

We arrived early at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 1/2 hour early.  Going through immigration and customs wasn't as harrowing as first glance.  Despite two full flights arriving simultaneously, the entire waiting including getting my luggages took less than an hour.  If/when you visit the Philippines, try to go on Philippine Airlines.  I felt that Terminal 2 which solely caters to this airline to be more organized than Terminal 1 which I've used several times.

Leaving the airport was another story.  Lots of cars even at 4:55 am.

My cousin Freddy and I stopped at McDo (the term Pilipinos use for McDonald's).  He ordered hotcakes and I had longosino (sausage) and rice.  My aunt and uncle (the one who had an anuerism, for whom I returned on an emergency in 2011) were very happy to see me.  I cried when I hugged my uncle; he was still in the brink of death when I last saw him.  Praise the Lord for the great improvement.  He is still receiving therapy, but he can walk slowly and he can talk.  He struggles with his hearing, and he has for years.  Interestingly we had McDo again for supper.  Their special was BFF fries with burgers or chicken/spaghetti.  I hardly go to McDonald's in the States, and here I went twice in one day!

On Saturday I went with my uncle and aunt to my uncles' appointment to the audiologist.  It was a 1 1/2 hour drive to St. Luke's Hospital, Quezon City.  My aunt gave the doctor and his staff fruit, for their appreciation.  There were already other bags of fruit on a counter in the office.  Only in the Philippines.

We ate lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant and  I was reminded of the Vietnamese restaurant near Applebee's on 103rd.

By late afternoon I left the Manila area, headed for Pililla.

Sunday, sweet Sunday

4:20 am wake up!  I'm not kidding either.  For those of you who know me well, you know this isn't normal. Smile.  Either I'm too excited to sleep anymore and waste my time or it's still part of jet lag, who knows.  The last 3 days that I've awakened in the Philippines:  5 am, 4:30 am, and today's 4:20.

Breakfast was rice, fried fish, banana, suman (sweet rice wrapped in banana leaves and boiled), coffee.  Suman isn't particularly sweet even though it's made with sweet rice.  Sweet rice is also sticky which makes it easier to wrap.

My aunt Alfonsa and I happened to ride a tricycle to church.  I had looked out the window and had seen one of my cousins, her husband, and 2-year-old foster child riding the tricycle.  When I asked where they were going, Julie said, "To church."  I asked if we could ride with them.

St. Mary Magdalene Church is beautiful!  The new addition since 2011 is that the ceiling had been painted with various saints, including the two newest saints in the Catholic Church:  St. Pope John XXIII and St. Pope John Paul II.  My aunt slipped into the pew and I followed her.  When I looked up there was the face of St. Francis Xavier (patron of the church I attend in St. Joe) and next was the face of St. Joseph (patron of the city I live in the U.S.).  For those who know me, you know I considered this a blessing.  I am indeed where I'm supposed to be at this time.

During Mass I'm not ashamed to let you know that I cried a couple of times.  I felt so blessed to be back.  The church of my youth, where memories of people who love me taught me about God, embraced me once again.  The Mass was conducted in Tagalog and English and I was able to respond to many of the prayers and hymns.  I understood the gospel  and the sermon about the farmer who sowed on good soil.

My aunt and I walked back to their house, normally a 10 minute walk.  Today it took almost 5 hours as we stopped at several relatives' homes where I was greeted with lots of hugs and we were served snacks.  Again, this is not an exaggeration!  It is impolite not to have a bite or a drink, so we didn't need lunch when we returned to the house.

Mid-afternoon my goddaughter Reggie came for a visit.  I learned that my name sake Taina is a freshman at the University of Rizal, Pililla branch.  She wants to become a history teacher.  Reggie's youngest, Queenie is in preK.

Today begins the novena for the Feast Day of our patron:  St. Mary Magdalene.  The Aglipay Church had a Caracol.  Band members walked around town with the statue of the saint.  My aunt says they will do this for the next 8 days.  Tomorrow I hope to be around so I can take pictures.

One day before

It continues to rain hard in St. Joe, preparing me for the typhoons that hit the Philippines.  After repacking several times, suitcases are ready and well below the 50 lb limit.  Yeah!

Please continue to pray for safe travels.  Thank you.  The next time I write, I'll be in tropical Philippines.