| |
The highlight of our week was probably the same as yours: STAR WARS!!!
We definitely agree that George Lucas has redeemed himself, and Hayden
Christensen has come close. When we went to buy our tickets, the
people at the ticket counter looked at us dubiously and started
talking among themselves. We thought they were discussing whether or
not they were going to let the baby in. Turns out they were deciding
whether to make her pay for a ticket. They eventually decided that
they would, so we paid 101 pesos ($2.00) each. I guess it was good
that we paid for her, because she actually watched most of the movie.
Like her daddy, she was more into the action parts. She especially
enjoyed the light saber fight between Obi Wan and Lord Grievous. We
already want to go back and see it again, but we'll try to wait a week
or so.
We are finally settled in what will be our permanent home in the
Philippines (well, for the next month or two, anyway). So far, we've
sent mostly pictures of the undeveloped wildlands of the Philippines.
Lest the grandparents think that their granddaughter is living in a
mud hut with headhunters, we've decided to send some pictures of urban
Manila. We have included a picture of a free open-air showing of
Saturday Night Fever at a local mall.
We are living in Makati on the second floor of a pink apartment building
in a cute little two-level apartment down the hall from a group of BYU
students working with NGO's in the Philippines. There's a swimming
pool on the roof (and a lovely view of the surrounding highrises) and
a security guard at the door (but there's a security guard at the door
of practically every building in Manila).
Since we left Gary's house on Saturday, he and Sheila have been
blessed with a baby boy, so we're happy for them and wish them well.
We spent a few days back in Pension Natividad, our first home in the
Philippines before starting to apartment hunt. We met Elmer, our
dashing, kind, and eminently helpful administrative contact in PEZA
(the government organization that administers the economic zones where
the companies for the study are located). He gave Tony a list of
companies and promised to pre-contact them, so we have high hopes of
getting most of our interviews from them.
We also met Claire, the Philippines' best kept secret. She's the BYU
travel office's contact here in Manila, and she helped us find an
apartment, gave us a tour of Glorietta (Manila's most prestigious
mall), introduced us to the six BYU interns who are also spending
their summer here in the Philippines, and provided us with hangers, a
garbage can, and various other necessities. Claire has friends and
contacts everywhere, and her talents range from interior decorating to
massage. She is marvelous with babies, and Axa adores her.
When we first looked at the apartment on Wednsday afternoon, the
landlady told us it would be cleaned before we came back the next day,
and the burnt-out lightbulb would be replaced. When we turned up
around eleven the next morning, it looked exactly the same. We decided
to check the air conditioning (probably the most important item in
housing in the Philippines). After we ran it for 20 minutes, the
aparment was still hotter than the street outside. Tony made up a
little list (fix a/c, sweep/mop upstairs and downstairs, replace the
lightbulb, etc.) We went off to the mall to have lunch, and she
promised everything would be done when we returned at 1:00. Upon our
return, we went up to see the apartment, and it still looked exactly
the same. We went back to the landlady's office, and she informed us
that they had bought a lightbulb. Everything, she assured us, would be
finished by 2:30. We waited around till 2:30, and they really did
start working on it, so we felt better. By the time we came back from
the store with pillows, sheets, and food for the refrigerator,
everything was done. Or so we thought. When we tried to cook rice that
night, it took forever on the rickety old, one-burner, electric, stove
they'd given us. In the morning we exchanged the stove for one that
looked nicer and newer. However, when we turned it on to use it, it
started spouting cockoaches. Tony sent Sarah and Axa over to the BYU
interns' apartment and stood by the stove and pounced on them as they
ran out, eliminating at least thirty. He ran the stove until it was
hot enough to kill everything left inside and scoured the apartment
for survivors. We're hoping that's the end of the saga.
We'd like to thank everyone who's been writing us and helping us feel
like we're still connected to the rest of the world, and also all of
our faithful readers, without whom we could not enjoy writing our
weekly novella.
Love,
Sarah, Tony, and Axa
p.s.- We have included a picture of Axa "riding the bag" for those of
you who were wondering.
|
|
Our apartment building roof in Makati. |
Upstairs and downstairs at our apartment. |
Dining with Gary and Family. |
Sending you all an email from our favorite internet cafe, Netopia. |
Saturday Night Fever at the mall in Makati |
STAR WARS!!! |
riding the bag |
|