A Day At The Market

Here is a little info on Filipino culture so you are not lost for future stories.

-Pedestrians never ever ever have the right away

• Crossing the street is similar to the game frogger

- It is normal for a clerk to follow you around in a department store

• They literally stand beside you and watch you look at clothes or try on shoes...you take two steps and they take two steps. This does take some getting use to!

- A napkin is a sanitary pad, you need to ask for a tissue or table napkin when eating.

• I have found that we do not use napkins at all anyway and I am starting to wonder if they sell them anywhere. This is weird for me because I use about 10 at every meal.

- Public bathrooms will not have toilet paper and sometimes no seat

• We carry tissue in our bag
• Also some toilets are gravity fed so you just pour water from a bucket into the toilet

-It is culturally unacceptable to go anywhere alone.

• Filipinos will feel shame for you and follow you to cover the shame you do not actually feel as an American

-Raised eyebrows means 'yes'

• In the US we would take this as flirting. This too will take time to adjust.

-All Filipinos are nice and will always want to help you

• Always ask 10 people for directions then decide what way to go. The locals will give you any directions just to help you if they do not actually know.

Update
Last night I went over to the other house for supper because the seniors were having a graduation celebration. About 15-20 of us sat around the dinning room table to share two large pans of lasagna, four loafs of home-made bread, a fresh salad, and cheese cake. It was a fun night and I heard several interesting stories about the girls' experiences followed by a lot of laughter. We ended the night with a movie, way too much popcorn and a sleepover.

I woke up with the sun a little before 6 which I'm sure everyone thought I was crazy for. Tilly and I went for a run and then cooked up some pancakes and eggs with Casey. Apparently we are the only ones who are woken by the sun and roosters in our neighbor's yard. I feel rested and get to enjoy every hour of the day so I can't complain.

After lunch Casey and I decided to find our way down town to the market which we had never been to before. We asked the girls for directions and hopped on a jeepney. The locals laughed as we got in and both bumped our head on the roof. Some how we made it across town to the market. It was filled with venders selling fruit, veggies, meat, rice, rice, rice, clothes and some livestock. We were greeted by everyone which is common. Most Filipinos just want to say hi and never harass or flirt. Of the 100 greetings we received the most interesting was from an elderly man who yelled, "hello, hey you American Idol. You come back here." It was an interesting day to say the least. When we were done at the market we asked about 5 people how to get to the mall which we thought was in walking distance. It was not. A nice lady helped us get a motorcycle that has a cab connected to it and made sure we knew the cost so he would not over charge us. Oh, she also said it would be safer and cheaper than taking the jeepney which was the opposite information told to us by the missionaries. It was only 2 pesos more so we hopped on. We made it down the street when another motorcycle/cart bumped the back of us. Not sure if it was friendly bumper cars or bad driving. Guess we will never know but Casey and I just laughed and had a fun time.

At the mall we went into a large department store where I was immediately followed by a clerk as I looked at some clothes. I thought about asking her opinion for fun like we were best friends but I decided to save that for a later date. When Casey and I went to the second floor of the department store we saw a stand right off the escalator that was selling water bottles which I needed. I was browsing through them unable to make up my mind as the man showed off several. Of course as I picked one up and put it back a waterfall of bottles began to drop to the floor and make a lot of noise. Ahead of me were at least 10 cash registers and EVERYONE looked over and stared. All Casey and I could do was laugh and I was just thinking, 'what happened to the culture act of shame?' The missionaries told us if something embarrassing happened that Filipinos would act like they didn't see it. Ex: if you trip and fall no one will help you up because they didn't 'see it'. Or if you spill your groceries all over the sidewalk everyone will continue to walk by because they don't want you to feel shame. I looked up and saw a lot of eyes and some were laughing with me! Oh gosh what a day!

Tonight was my first night in my own house with my roommates so we cooked supper together. Chicken and asparagus...can't say I am starving.

Fun Fact for the day: The locals put ice in your root beer float so the ice cream will float. :D

I work morning shift tomorrow! Talk to you soon! Enjoy the pictures

A large grocery store is in the mall

Venders are also in the middle of the mall similar to those at a fair

My basic cell phone that is so simple I can barely work it

Mango seeds/hard shell with soft/slimy seeds inside that you eat

Jack Fruit/rubbery but sweet like candy

Jack Fruit

I nice young man selling chickens

goats for sale

Our motorcycle ride

The Pharmacy on the street

Houses surrounding the market