manila + boracay

i made it to manila last tuesday and have since had a fun-filled time in the philippines! i have been taking lots of photos and have even tried some really crazy filipino foods here (pork and chicken intestines and ox tail soup). my first impressions of the philippines were very friendly. charles family is very welcoming and friendly. everyday some one offers to take us out and show us around. my first day there charles and went to a fancy mall (where you have to pass thru security to enter) for lunch and once i saw taco bell, i absolutely could NOT pass it so it was TB for lunch and i was a very happy camper. philippines reminds me a lot of latin america mixed with asia mixed with american culture. i love it!

here are a few photos so far:

charles and i on white beach on boracay island (one of the two sunny times we got!)
the sun setting outside charles' family's house in quezon city, a suburb of manila.
white beach, boracay.
charles, me, tito boy (uncle) and cousin boom
yep, that's me eating chicken intestines! wasnt too bad really!

philippines + vietnam

tomorrow i leave for the philippines!!! i am so excited. my flight leaves from osaka at 7:30 pm and paranoid me is of course leaving with ample extra time. i catch a 3 hour bus ride to osaka at 9:15 am so i've given myself about a 4 hour cushion! charles will meet me at the airport in manila at 10:30 and the adventure begins. we will be staying with his family for the first few days and he is going to show me around, take me shopping and meet his family. a few days later we will head to boracay for some island-beach fun. hopefully its not raining so much but it is typhoon season so i am expecting rain. it's ok though, rain doesn't stop us oregonians! :) 

at some point we will buy tickets for vietnam and head over around july 30 or so and make plans as we go. i am thinking we will likely fly in to ho chi minh and catch another domestic flight up to northern vietnam hanoi and then go from there train, bussing or flying making our back down south and hopefully getting to see some mekong delta too. a few beaches will get thrown in, too. i am so excited to see everything, try the food, lounge on a beach, get an hour massage for four dollars, buy some cheap, cheap souvenirs and take a billion photos. 

there was talk of going to bali too so that is always on the back burner. we will have to see how the time in vietnam pans out. most of my friends here in japan are traveling too. some headed also the philippines, thailand and bali. i can't wait to see how everyone's trips went at the end of the summer. 

today i just have a few errands to do and final packing. as my reward (and deadline) i am meeting a friend for dinner  tonight at outback. we want steaks :P  tomorrow it's an early rise so i can not be rushed and leave my apartment in tip-top clean condition (yes mom, i cleaned really good) and head off for an amazing trip with chuck! 

yesterday i found an incredible shoe store and got myself a little prezzie: 

school + vacation

the last few weeks at school have been pretty slow. they haven't been giving me too much to do at school. lots of sitting around trying to stay cool. it has been incredibly hot! about 80 - 90 degrees which doesn't sound that bad but when you add in the crazy humidity, it is pretty unbearable. monday was sports day at my school so i spent the morning out on the field. it was blistering. it's the kind of heat where standing, doing nothing will cause a sweat. i sort of hate it. thank god for the air conditioning in my apartment and in the teachers room at school. the halls and classrooms get so stuffy, upwards of eighty degrees! sometimes i just sweat up a storm at the front of the classroom. it's embarrassing but oh well, i'm not designed for this weather!

tomorrow is my last day of school then summer vacation begins. i will spend the weekend getting ready for my big trip packing and cleaning. right now charles is en route to the philippines from LA. he will arrive on thursday and i will meet him there next week! my flight is tuesday evening out of osaka so i will take a 3 hr bus ride over in the morning, grab lunch, maybe look around osaka station for a minute and then catch a train or shuttle out to the airport. i will land at 10:30 pm in manila where charles will fetch me. we will probably stay in manila for a few days and then head to boracay, an island beach area. then we'll plan what we will do for vietnam! i am so excited to have an adventure!

happy + mac

i never knew how cheered up i could be by kraft mac n cheese. seriously, good!