You gotta love this place

You really have to love this place. Although the heat, humidity, politics and pollution do get a bit overwhelming at times, the smiling faces and courteous people more than make up for it. I have been in the Philippines for over a week now and am finally beginning to settle down. I've had my share of home sickness, heat rashes, stomach complaints and crazy traffic conditions, but after all that I'm finally starting to get used to life here. I have even been able to negotiate Manila via the MRT (train), Taxi's, Jeepney's, FX's and Tricycle's BY MYSELF! As you tell, I am very proud of this accomplishment. I have been staying with a friend (Matt Will) who lives in Quezon City for the past week and this afternoon I am heading off to a place called Tanauan in Batangas to stay with a local Filipino family and bond with the local people. I will be there for the next month with occassional trips back to Manila, but being free from the pollution and traffic will be something I won't miss that much. Well, I have to go. My ride to Batangas is about leave.

Farewell to the Familiar

Well, today is officially my last day in the Land of Oz for quite some time. It's been quite hectic lately with all my travelling but an awesome opportunity to catch up with people. Let's see... Since I last blogged I drove from Kalgoorlie to Perth with my parents and then flew "home" to Melbourne the following day. Then I did some sorting and catching up with friends and family. Then I bid farewell to everyone and caught a ride with Uncle Romy and Auntie Olive to Sydney with a night stop over in Gundagai. Following this was a four day retreat with a bunch of friends in Collaroy on the coast of Sydney. After that I drove down to Canberra to spend some time with all my immediate family. That was pretty cool. We went to a place called Cockington Green which is a huge miniature village. It will all make sense when I put the photo's up. I can't do it at the moment, but will as soon as I can. I took heaps of photos of the family and enjoyed playing with my nieces and nephew. The next day was the BIG farewell. I'm not sure what it was, but it wasn't as teary and emotional as I had anticipated. Maybe it's because I've been saying goodbye for such a long time. I left for Sydney with a friend of mine who generously offered to drive me all the way. I couldn't believe it! He drove me there, hung out with me, had dinner and then left Sydney to drive back to Canberra again at 10.30pm. Eric, you're a legend! For the past couple of days I've been laying low and chilling out. It's been great. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to consider the big move. Maybe that's been a good thing because now that I think about it I feel a little like I'm standing on a huge platform about to take the plunge with only a bungy cord to stop me from falling flat on my face when I arrive in the Philippines. No, it's not that bad! But the suspense is quite incredible. Well, here I go... The next time I write I'll be in the Philippines. Farwell to the familiar!