Journey to the Philippines : October 2013

Monday, October 28, 2013

Sipalay

October 26th, 2013

We're on semester break!!

Wednesday, we left for Sipalay; after 4 hours of driving on Philippine roads, we reached our destination. We ate lunch, napped, walked the beach, ate dinner, and went to bed.

This is where we stayed.

Pathway to the beach.

Hermit crab

The next morning we rented a boat, and I got my first taste of snorkeling. It was incredible! The water was completely clear, and there were hundreds of fish. The fish were beautiful, their colors were vibrant and striking . Gods glory is so evident in his creation sometimes, it is breathtaking!

Job 12:7-10

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
  or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.

Being in the water was honestly fascinating. I loved being able to see the different colors and varieties of fish. I saw an eel with a little one underneath and lots of "Nemos" in sea anemone.
One of the rather uncomfortable things was constantly being stung by micro jelly fish. Those little things hurt! But it was definitely worth it.

Later on that day we grabbed our goggles and snorkels and decided to swim in the water. We swam about half of a kilometer out, and the water was still only waist deep. Being as graceful as I am, I managed to step on a sea urchin. One word: PAINFUL! Thankfully, I succeeded in dodging someone having to urinate on my foot. Sir Nathan pulled it out, and it never amounted to anything more than it being irritating.

Sea Urchin

The water was different shades of blue depending on where we were.

Star fish! I actually took this on the way home while the boat was moving.

Friday morning the boys and I walked the beach again. We gathered a few more shells, packed up, and made our way home. Sipalay was beautiful, and I am REALLY looking forward to the next time I get to snorkel.

I hope this finds everyone well!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Misadventures at lunchtime

10/13/13

(Written by Jake and Sarah)

Walking in to Mang Inasal, a restaurant here in Bacolod which specializes in marinated grilled chicken, we gathered at the front to place our order.
We looked around the room, it was fairly crowded that day. The general buzz of activity hanging thick in the air....
Jake sauntered off confidently to find us an open table. Once the order was placed, we went to take our seats, only to realize he had found a table without enough seats. Upon this realization, the grown ups retreated to a table behind us. He, however, had realized that there were no tables available with enough seating and so therefore had strategically chosen two open tables beside each other...
While waiting for the chicken paa (leg) and chicken pecho (breast) to arrive, we heard a deafening whoosh of the release of pressurized gas emanating from behind the counter.
Panic and chaos broke out all through out the restaurant; people screamed and ran for the doors. Children were pulled behind tables and chairs as they were covered by their parents bodies; mothers clutched babies.
The boys and I sat, watching bemusedly as people rushed passed us. We glared danger right in the eye and dared it to come for us.
Almost as suddenly as the panic had come, it drifted away, and the restaurant was ushered back into normality. The next few minutes were spent calming children and resuming previous activities. People chatted nervously about the harrowing experience.
The boys and I slowly began to chuckle as it was discovered that the event had been, in fact, a hose that had popped off the CO2 tanks for the soda machine.
Jake looked around the room at the frazzled customers and back at us and let out a stiffled laugh, for he out of all of us had faced it with an air of nonchalance and fearlessness.

As the Luthers say, "This is life in the Philippines."