On the Things I Wouldn't Trade...

So a few weeks back I wrote a post on things I missed. Now, here is more of what I love about my new home.

I think it is really fun to cross the road. Although at home this activity was not particularly stimulating, I have encountered entirely new methods since living here. The goal is to not get run over. It is normal, however, to have your life flash before your eyes multiple times while crossing a four lane road. The trick is to take it in parts. You will never find an opening large enough to make it all the way across in one shot, but if you take it one lane at a time, you're good as gold. Look both ways? I think not. You look the one direction until you get across the lanes coming from that direction, then you start looking the other way. One step at a time... literally.

I love shopping in the open market. I love that you can bargain for all your food, and that you know the people you buy from. I love that things are only available when they're available, and you have to plan meal substitutions on the fly. And most of all, I love being a part of these people's lives as I talk to their children and make faces at their babies. I love that I work at a place that has actually helped many of their babies come into the world.



I really love the food. Whenever I have the choice, when Mcdonalds or KFC is an option, I find  myself instead, searching out the little Filipino  food stands and eating rice, pork on a stick, or squid. I find myself asking where the locals eat, and enjoying the adventure of not knowing exactly what I'm eating. The flavor is wonderful! I actually crave rice if I haven't eaten it in a day or two.





Just look at these options, will you?! Fried eggplant, stewed chicken livers, intestine,curry, egg drop soup, seafood.... So much goodness in one place!









I like to ride Jeepneys.What is a Jeepney? Well, its only about the most common form of transportation around. For 8 pesos, or roughly 20 cents, you can ride along as far as you wish. The neat thing about Jeepneys is that they will stop and pick you up anywhere along their route. Here, it is very normal for people to stop in the middle of the road,  make a turn across a couple lanes of traffic, or just drive across an intersection without waiting for a break in the cross traffic. So, you flag one down, hop on, and hold on for dear life! One of the perks is that you get to meet cute kids like these.

Another, is that you get very close to the culture. These vehicles are roughly the size and shape of a mini-van, many are smaller. Average capacity ranges from 17-25 persons. The benches run the long way, with a single aisle up the middle, and a handle overhead. You must aim for the open spot on the bench and wiggle your hips in... full body contact with the people on either side of you. It is customary for people to scoot when the Jeepney pulls over for a new passenger. However, for some reason that is not extremely logical to me, they always scoot closer to the back of the Jeepney.
Practically, what this means is that instead of just hopping in and scooting onto the bench at the end, you and all your baggage must crawl across every set of knees, all the way to the front of the bench where the open spot is! If you are the first one off, you repeat the acrobatics upon disembarkation. An additional bonus of being tall, is that you often sit knee to knee... or beyond... with the person across from you. It truly is a full contact scenario. It's really great though, because anywhere you decide you want to stop, you just knock on the top of the vehicle, or call out, "Diri lang." (just here) and they pull over for you! I'm convinced that we need Jeepneys in the States.

 I love the people I work with. We have adventures such as the midnight changing of a lightbulb...


And my supervisor is so very skilled... I have so much to learn!
I love to help little people into the world. I love that every shift I see precious new life. I see families being born, daddies crying, mommies smiling, and babies breathing their first breaths. This is above and beyond what I could've ever asked for, and I LOVE MY LIFE!!!