I finally got to ask my co-workers about some of the things I had been observing, when we drove home from work together on Friday. The chickens with all the plumage? These are special Filipino chickens (and apparently taste better too!). The beautiful cows with the big curvy horns - carabao. Clear Black Valentines - a shampoo made by Unilever (not a holiday for goths!). Spending 2+ hours in traffic on a Friday? Normal. :-) [View Full Entry]

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I am still in the Philippines. Once again, my co-workers have given me a window on the country I would not have had otherwise. And that window is....the life of the upper-middle-class professional city-dwelling Filipino/a! I can't say I mind. It is extremely hot here, and it is nice to have a driver. It's very nice to sit in an air-conditioned coffee shop. Oh, lest I forget, these people love coffee as much as I do. Another thing that ties our two countries together. First, let me say I LOVE how out the gay people are here. Out and totally embracing [View Full Entry]

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Actually it wasn't THAT bizarre. But I did try some new foods for me! Most of this post will be about my lunch at Josephines, overlooking the beautiful Taal lake and volcano. But first let me say the best mangos in the world are from the Philippines! The food here is really great, and even the cafeteria has tasty food. I admit that I like Asian food more than American food on any day of the week. That said, I have been trying not to eat too much because if I gain weight, it takes me a lot to work it [View Full Entry]

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I have spent a long time in the road in the Philippines. 3 hours a day, back and forth to the office. I have read so many Filipino billboards and signs that I am starting to learn Tagalog words and am even starting to get jokes that make reference to local advertising campaigns. There are only a few highways here, and the rest of the time you are driving through little villages, and farmland, and would-be suburbia. So, it can be slow.going, and yet it is pretty entertaining. The first 45 minute is highway driving out of Manila, and then it's [View Full Entry]

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I was supposed to be in the Philippines today. Or at least, flying over the Arctic circle on my way to the Philippines, via Tokyo. But instead, my plane in Boston was delayed by mechanical problems and weather, and I was stranded in Minneapolis. Better here than NWA's other hub - Detroit. NWA provided lodging at the Days Inn in Bloomington and a few meal vouchers. I had 24 hours to kill until the next flight to Manila. It wasn't long before I learned that a very famous place was right here in Bloomington - the Mall of America. America is [View Full Entry]

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On our last day, we had the chance to see Islamic Cairo. We started at the Ibn Tulun mosque, the oldest mosque in Cairo. It really shows how the mosque was at once a religious building, a fortress, and a school, even sometimes a hospital. It is not the largest or grandest mosque I have ever seen, but it has an old majesty and a fascinating history. Its minaret spirals around the outside with stairs, inspired by the lighthouse of Alexandria. There is a similar mosque in Samarra, but that was actually inspired by this mosque. Who knew? Our tour leader [View Full Entry]

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Philae temple is another beautiful temple, built similarly to Edfu. This one is dedicated to Isis. It hasa beautiful setting, but it is still too crowded. From Aswan, you take a ferry across the Nile to the island where the temple has been moved. It's previous island is underwater now, but the spot is still visible from its new location. It looks so natural in its new location that it's hard to imagine that it was moved so recently! I really got annoyed with the giant Japanese tour group that showed up. My group of 15 waited patiently to enter the [View Full Entry]

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Although not as well-known as Karnak, the Great Pyramid, or the Valley of the Kings - Edfu temple is well-known in Egypt for being the most intact temple. It was built during the reign of the Ptolemies over a century's time. It's great pylon is still standing at its full height. The temple is dedicated to the God Horus - the god of protection - who takes the form of a while falcon. His image is depicted at a grand size on this pylon (large wall in front of the temple proper). As I looked up at the pylon, a white [View Full Entry]

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Unfortunately, not much to say about our Nile Cruise on the MS Nile Treasure. From the first moment we saw it, we knew we had a bottom rung cruise. The rooms had a stinky smell, either like mold or sewage depending on the room. There were no balconies and some of the rooms didn't have windows that opened, even. The main problem was that our engine broke - one of the two - and we went very slow. The ship told everyone that they deliberately turned it off so that we could "enjoy the scenery". But when we were stuck at [View Full Entry]

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The entire day was spent on the west bank. Ballooning over Luxor We rose very early, long before sunrise, to take a ferry across the river. Tea and cookies were provided. From here, we took a shuttle bus to the hot air balloons. There were many more balloons than I expected, showing how popular this activity has become. Climbing into the balloons was an adventure of its own. Each balloon basket had 4 compartments, each of which could hold 4-5 people. I helped my mom into one, but somehow she ended up with one leg up and the other down in [View Full Entry]

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