1/16/11
We have had quite a full weekend her e in the Philippines, brushing up on both our history and shopping skills! Yesterday, we began our Saturday by traveling about 2 hours away to the Manila/American Cemetery and War Memorial. The memorial was two long structures of huge flat columns that listed (floor to ceiling!) names of Filipino and American individuals in the Navy and Air force who had died during World War II. The memorial area was so beautiful and peaceful. Surrounding the building were rows and rows of crosses that stretched for yards away, marking graves of the hundreds that were buried there at the site. It looked very similar to the Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S. – very beautiful. Maybe I just didn’t pay attention in history class in high school, but I had never realized the huge part that the Philippines played in that war and all that happened on this Philippine soil….but more on that when I talk about Sunday.
We spent the entire afternoon at a shopping area called Greenhills, which is known for being a big knock-off mall (they sell bags and other merchandise imitations from expensive brands like Coach and Prada for really, really cheap). They also had tons of other authentic, Filipino merchandise just set up at little stalls all over the buildings, and you barter for everything! It was really crowded and at first kind of intimidating – I’m pretty sure we got ripped off our first few purchases because we really didn’t know what we were doing with the whole bartering thing, but we got better as we went along! I bought a lot of souvenirs to bring back as gifts for people, and was really happy with my bargains! Once I did get separated from the group I was with, and was a bit nervous at first because the place was really big and people were everywhere, but I eventually found other Taylor people and stuck with them. Did not buy any purses….though it was very tempting! I told myself I could get one “fun” item as a souvenir for myself, and I found a really cute black sundress with little flowers embroidered on it – I love it! We left the mall at 5 pm and it was POURING outside! (p.s. We were told it NEVER rains here during January, and it’s rained about 3 nights that we’ve been here, plus this time during the day!) It’s always a fun rain, though, because it’s warm and it helps to cool things off of for awhile. After dinner, I typed a reflection paper about the lesson I taught on Friday.
The best part of my day was not the impressive memorial or the amazing bargains, or even the fun bonding time with friends. It was the hour that I sat with 2 orphans cuddled on my lap (first it was Angel and PJ, then Angel left and Christian crawled in), falling asleep to the murmur of SpongeBob on TV and the other sounds of Faith Children’s Home. As I stroked their little arms and hugged them tighter to myself, so many emotions rushed through me…the joy and love I had towards those children, the peacefulness of the quiet evening, the longing to just be a mother and do that with my own kids, the sadness in knowing my time here with them is quickly running out, and the desire to just pick them up right then and take them home with me. I was close to tears, simply overwhelmed by the moment. It seems I’ve given my heart away to these children, piece by piece, just like I knew I would….
Today was a long, exciting day as well – though very windy and much cooler than any of the other days we’ve been here. We left the house at 6am to drive to the port right outside Manila to take an hour-long ferry ride out to Corregidor – one of the thousands of other Philippine islands – the site of major WWII happenings. We took an open (safari-like) bus to different sites around the island, our tour guide narrating their significance and letting us get out and explore the ruins and huge guns at certain spots. We saw quite a few barracks and garrisons that were once used by Philippine, American, and Japanese military men as possession of the island changed hands throughout the war – apparently the Philippines were brought into the war only one day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when the Japanese also bombed the Filipinos. Corregidor became a target of conquer for the Japanese – the feeling was that if Corregidor was captured, the rest of the Philippines would be easily acquired. The Filipinos did an incredible job holding the Japanese for several months, despite the fact that the promised American supply ships never arrived. The island eventually fell to the Japanese, but eventually the United States won it back for the Filipinos.
Besides seeing ruins, our tour included a “lights and sounds show” inside a huge tunnel that was built as a bomb shelter and actually housed the Philippine president for some time in order to protect him from the Japanese. We walked through the tunnel to different sections off to the side watched and listened to a very informational production that gave a good explanation of what all happened on the island during the war. We also received a very classy buffet lunch at the hotel on the island, our tables overlooking the beautiful bay. We all walked up into a lighthouse, also with breath-taking views. The end of our tour was a stop at the Pacific War Memorial, with its huge white dome and alter dedicated to those who died for the cause of Corregidor, the Philippines, and freedom. It was really neat to visit a historical site in a different country than the U.S. and to see the war from another view. Even though the Philippines and the U.S. were on the same side, I liked seeing a site that was important to this country.
Our ferry ride back to the main land was pretty exciting – the wind had really picked up and the waves were really big! Our boat was small enough for us to feel A LOT of rocking, and waves were crashing up on the sides of the boat!! We were really glad to reach solid ground….haha. We ended our day with a few hours at the Mall of Asia – the biggest mall in Asia and apparently in the entire world! We broke up into small groups, all given money for dinner. 5 other girls and I did a little bit of shopping for specific gifts we still wanted to get, and then spend most of our time sitting out on the balcony outside a café restaurant, eating dinner, talking, and watching the sunset to the sound of blasting party music. It was really fun - I zoomed out for a second and the fact that I was basically one my own out with friends at this semi-fancy restaurant was awesome but weird…Am I really growing up??? Haha..but I absolutely loved it! We got a little surprise from our waiters – they brought out a “green mango” dish for us to try on the house!! We’re not sure exactly why they did that – perhaps the fact that we were 6 young American females haha – but we got a kick out of it (although the dish was a bit strange tasting).
Had a great talk with Catherine on the bus ride back to the house – I love her! Will go to bed soon – last week of school begins tomorrow!! (Sorry I haven't been putting up pictures on these last few posts - I've taken a ton, but it takes really long to load them onto the computer and I really need to get to bed!) Please be in prayer for our team during this last week as we begin to prepare ourselves to leave - it's going to be very very hard for all of us.
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