moondreamer

The journey to Sagada, Mountain Province has been well worth it. The escape to the mountains where everything is green, fresh and exhaust free was worth the gruelling 15 hour bus ride. By some power beyond, we made it from Makati, Manila to Quezon City in 30 minutes in the midst of high traffic. And, if I hadn't stressed enough how crazy traffic congestion is , it was by some miracle or our Rally-racing qualified driver who brought us to our destination 5 minutes before departure. WHEW!!!! We knew we were leaving the comforts of US standards when we boarded our A/C bus with no C.R. (bathroom). I promised myself not to drink too much water on this ride. The seats were small and our numb bottoms missed the comfort of our personal transport. We knew ... read more

We just arrived from a few days in the province/suburbs of Manila: Cavite where my family is from. Our Auntie Andy made us feel right at home and gave Jing and I a few lessons on the family tree. Our Jocson lot is actually abutts Y. Jocson St. I believe 5th generation Jocson. There is one newly built home next to my grandmothers home which is barely standing and, unbelievably, there are 6 people still living there. They are squatting there, according to my aunt. I just wonder how they survive the typhoons. Otherwise, it was great to see where all the family have come from. It is no surprise as to why the extended family remains to have such strong ties to one another. Truly, everyone is a cousin in some way or another. We ... read more

This is a test run before the actual trip. So, welcome to my BLOG. Some of you have read last years blog to Costa Rica and this time I am off to the Philippines with a new Fiance and baby in tow, ok, not in tow but in my belly! A few picture of Sylvain and I and our two cats, Tigre and Pooh. And one of my little avocado (this weeks size). Don't forget to leave your name with your comments. It should be a great adventure. ... read more

Last weekend we took a 6-7 hour leisurely drive to Puerto Viejo on the Carribean side. Me Encanta!!!!! I love that place. Everything is slow and tranquil. The colors are brilliant and the tourism does not seem so overwhelming as in Manuel Antonio. The ocean is blue and the water is completely clear. I reintroduced myself to Scuba diving after having a fear of it after I first became certified. Pura Vida. Entonces, I swallowed that fear and took a quick refresher and made a beach dive there. We rented a small 4x4 Daihatsu Terio and drove there with 5 people. It was a little intimate. We thought we would be able to somehow get A/C when we arrived but soon realized that 5 person room wouldn't accomodate our us. That is life. we laid out ... read more

entonces.... Let me describe my town of Quepos, Costa Rica. In one word.... drum roll... Can you say Tijuana???????? Mira, I wasn´t really prepared for my trip mentally because I had been staying in decent places since I arrived here in Costa Rica, but when my house sister picked me up and we drove into town with a taxi, I felt like I was a deer in headlights. Acutally, I live on a nice street or shall I say my house is off a paved street (nice). I finally arrived with my sister, Kiara (15yo) to a very clean and tidy house. I met my house mother, Tere, and she was instantly warm. I shared the house with her husband and daughter, grandson, and 2 other students. There is no air conditioning and only cold showers!!!!! ... read more

Buenas Tardes mis amigos! Me encanta Manuel Antonio. Finalmente pura vida! So, I moved from my panoramic ocean view and lazy hammock to my Costa Rican family down in el barrio de Boca Vieja. Its definitely a change from the "upper east side". Sin embargo, I'll be able to practice my Spanish all day long. I began my Spanish classes at D'Amore yesterday and was happy to see that I wasn't the oldest one in class!!!! However, there are lots of young 20's around. The class is challenging and I actually spent 2 hours yesterday reviewing my verb usage as I had completely forgotten how to use anything except present and past tense. ugh! So, what have I been doing since Saturday? Absolutely nothing! I've gone to the beach everyday to boogie board, swim or just ... read more

We (yup, he made it, too). We had a comedy of errors yesterday with me forgetting my wallet in kayla´s car (luckily, she came back) and moises not having a ticket to board the plane. that took one hour to solve. Believe me, i was going to make sure he got on that plane; however, now, i´m reconsidering. lets say its been nothing but hell!!!!!!! We stayed at a hostel last night and i must admit it was fairly organized and clean, but its been a long time since i´ve stayed in a hostel. well, the positive is that we were able to go out last night in San jose to have a few beers. We rented our car and that was an ordeal, but we finally made it out with a few loud decibals on ... read more