Manila Zoo, part 2 and other ramblings

Maramara Family

I am convinced that this country has entirely too much good food. I noticed someone's status on Facebook about all the food stops she made in one day. Not only is it good, it's also very accessible and can be very affordable (if you're not gourmet). This morning I went to the Commission on Higher Education Department (or something like that... CHED for short) and I left later than usual, so I stopped by the corner bakeshop on the way out and bought a 3 peso "cheese bread" which is a whole lot of air and sugar and calories. It was still good! I made it to CHED in two and a half hours. There wasn't any traffic... it was just far away and a lot of transfers to get there. I didn't actually know how to get to CHED, but I knew it was located in the Univresity of the Philippines campus. Oh, www.ph-commute.com is my new best friend. It told me how to get to UP and then I wandered around and asked people what jeeps to take and asked the drivers to tell me when to get off. They're very obliging and helpful, so it wasn't a problem. I got to CHED, dropped off all my papers for evaluation and left. It was ten minutes max. All that for 10 minutes! Oh well -- it was necessary. (I even dressed like a professional teacher just in case I met the evaluator!) I took a different route home and made a pitstop at Mang Inasal. Mang Inasal has really good food and unlimited rice. I just had halo-halo because I was hot and hungry but not hungry enough to eat a real meal. I eventually did make it home in spite of wandering around trying to find where to cross the street. :P This afternoon I had to go pick up a skirt at the tailor's and because I'm so terribly lazy when it comes to feeding myself, I walked to a corner store where they have sold ihaw (pork barbecue) for as long as I can remember and got some for dinner. Good news... the only thing that has changed is the price. It's still delicious! It was too early to eat dinner, so I washed the dog and cleaned the guinea pig cage and now I'm doing this to get my mind off eating. :P Seriously... there is too much good food here than what's good for me. People wonder why I eat so little in the States... come here and you'll learn what real eating is! :)




Before I left for college, I didn't notice cultural things as much. Now that I've been gone for 6 years, I notice a lot more cultural distinctions. For example, this is such a community-oriented/social culture. Here, we have the concept of "kasama." A kasama is a person who goes with you/ companion. "Two are better than one" is something that everyone holds to. When I went to PRC with Hapi  on Wednesday, there was a sign outside saying that you weren't allowed to bring a kasama. (It wasn't a busy time, so they didn't care that she came.) Being without someone else is almost horrifying to people. My parents were away for a day and a half and people were concerned that I might need someone to walk me home or stay with me. They announced it in prayer meeting and prayed for me because I was all alone. I have a bit of an independent spirit and I like to do things alone because I can do them the way I want and at the pace I want. This idea of kasama is something I need to work on. We were made for one another, to help us on in this life, and spur one another on to glory. We are to help others and to be helped. I am not good at that. I don't even like people helping me in the kitchen if they don't know exactly what they're doing. When I worked in the cafeteria, there was a girl who didn't know how to mop a floor. Rather than taking time to teach her properly, I took over and did her job and sent her home because I was so frustrated. I need to slow down and help others and let myself be helped by others. I need to be more of a kasama.

I like public transportation. Ask me again in about a month after I've used it every single day and I might have a different answer, but  right now, I still like it. I especially like jeeps because it allows for a lot of people watching. I watched a little boy sit on a jeep and stuff his face with a chocolate-filled donut. I watched an 11-year-old boy accompany his little sister home on the jeep. He carried her bright pink backpack and let her use her bright pink umbrella all by herself. I watched 2 little girls get on wearing fleece jackets all zipped up with the hoods up and I wondered what old-wives-tale their mom believed because it made me hotter just looking at them. I didn't even mind my 2 and a half hour trip to CHED because it allowed for a lot of people watching and noticing things (something that is harder to do when driving).

Let's break for pictures!

On the way home... I think this picture is hilarious!

Ethan enjoyed his first trip to the zoo

The last time I was in these boats was when I was 5!

Ethan and his Tita Hapi

Joash felt the need to edit the oiliness of our faces and add teeth whitening and eye sparkling... what can you say, he's a digital artist.

Joash is better at taking pictures than being in pictures.

At least the ostrich didn't look so bad.

The braid girls :)

Yep, it was a well-documented trip.

Cotton candy, anyone?

Play? Play! Play! Play! He could be Ben's friend.

Philippine deer

Weird type of horse/zebra

Grandfather and grandson

A guinea pig even got a place in the zoo!

The giraffes died but there are fake ones!

Camera-savvy siblings

Joash's cousins!

Childplay and imagination are the same in every culture.

The similarity is striking!

The poor elephant is confined to a concrete cage.

The big kids

1993 trip with the Maramaras and Martinez kids. Hapi is wearing the bright yellow shorts and David is in front of her. Hannah, Joash, and I are the ones on the other side. 

Those were some boring paragraphs above, but I'm lazy and I don't like to write in my journal (evidenced by the fact that it's 7 years old and still not finished) because it hurts my hand and I type faster than I write. Now about the zoo. I made it to the zoo in spite of being directionally challenged. I walked about 10 minutes in the opposite direction of the zoo. I knew it was by the Manila Hospital, so you'd think I would have turned around and followed the ambulances that were going the other way but nooo... I just looked at them and kept walking the opposite direction. The zoo seems to have gotten smaller. The animals are still sickly. It was fun though. We took about 400 pictures thanks to 4 digital cameras. I went to Manila Zoo with the Maramaras back in 1993 and I think there are about 10 pictures of the entire trip. Oh how we've progressed. :P I've included some pictures to make this post somewhat more interesting. Check the watermark on the pictures. If it says "Joash" on the left, I stole it from Joash. If it says "May 5, 2011" on the right, it's from my camera. If they don't have a watermark at all, they're Hapi's pictures. :)