I’ve only been in Manila for 19 hours

I slept like a baby last night. While it’s only a little after 6am Saturday morning here, I thought I would get up to try to acclimate myself to both the new time zone and my work schedule. The shuttle will pick me up between 6:40 and 7 am Monday thru Friday. And I also wanted to share a little about my last couple days with you all.

First things first, the Internet connection here is spotty. I had it when I first came in but haven’t been able to get online since. It’s like that across the entire residence. I guess it’s so irregular, one of the past interns staying in my room frequented an internet café to complete an online class when he was here.

The Flight: wasn’t that bad! I left from JFK and had 5 hours in the air to Vancouver. The first meal was served, I watched a movie, and slept a little. In Vancouver, about a 1/3 of the passengers deplaned as Vancouver was their final destination, and new passengers got on. A cleaning crew also boarded and did a quick pick-up. Somehow, I slept through this entire part of the flight.

Before I knew it, we were off to Hong Kong – just another 11 hours, J. I slept some more, ate a couple more meals, watched a few more movies, and before I knew it we were beginning our decent. Easy. Even for the baby seated next to me; he only cried once (thank god!).

The Hong Kong airport is surrounded by hills and islands. I short layover and a quick flight later (with another meal!) and I was in Manila. My boss met me before immigration, which went smoothly. Once I had my bag, we were off.

My Residency: I’m staying in a village (the local term for gated neighborhood/community) in the guest house of the Deputy Chief of Mission and her daughter. Because of who I’m staying with, I’m not sure how many details I can give, but let me just say it’s very nice; and big; with my own bathroom; and a private swimming pool; and AC. If you’re still curious, lets skype.

But here are some generic pictures for you of my room and the backyard!

The First Day: was good! I unpacked, took a nap and a shower, and went out to dinner with the DCM and her daughter. I can’t wait to explore a little bit more today!