Philippines update #3

Just got back from Boracay with Martina. Beautiful island. I shouldn't even try to describe it because I wouldn't do it justice.

Picture this...

Ocean, beach, $10 massage, Jonah's Shake (Pineapple/Mango), and my favourite song Cruisin' playing on the iPod
Can you say woooooooooooooooooooooow
haha

It's Wednesday at around 530PM and GAT starts on Monday at 3 but meetup is at 8am that morning. GAT is the Great Adventure Tour, which is the main reason I'm in the Philippines.

I got to ride a tricycle (not the kind you're imaging, like the ones with training wheels for kids haha). Here they just call it a tric (pronounced trike). It's basically a motorcycle connected to another compartment with seats so people can sit in it. They're used here like taxis basically. I got to ride it twice in Boracay, but they say it's much more dangerous here in Manila since they're more careless.

Stuff is so cheap here, but then again pay is so much less too. My cousin Martina and I were discussing minimum wage differences between the Philippines and Canada. Speaking in terms of Pesos, people here earn about 300-400 pesos minimum wage per DAY, while people in Canada earn $9/hr which is 360 pesos per HOUR. Crazy.

Our dog here is bella. She's great. Fat. Cute. We would say she is "ma lambing", which means she's very sweet and cuddly. She's sitting beside me as I type.


I'm brushing up on my Tagalog woohoo. I've been trying to use it as much as I can in public.

In Boracay I met a friend of my cousin named MARIA ISABEL. They call her Isa, which is the obvious choice. Why my parents chose to add a "Y" to the end of my name is still a mystery. I guess because it sounds more native filipino, like the names people had a long while back. This girl is so independent; she's a PR Manager at the Shangrila Hotel in Boracay, 28 years old, pretty, smart, lives in the Hotel with a BEAUTIFUL room facing the beach and ocean. Too bad she's quitting after only a couple weeks working there.

I'm dark. Hella dark. And it's only been a week.
Okay maybe i'm exaggerating a bit but I feel like i'm roasting in the heat sometimes.
I've been doing a lot of walking and portion sizes aren't huge here like they are in Canada, and you know what they say, "it's all about portion control". Sooo sorry to disappoint some of you, but I probably won't be a giant dark balloon when I get back. Probably just dark. haha

Til next time =)
DEUCES!