I can't believe it. We are here in Davao, Philippines. We arrived on Sunday August 5th at 9am Philippine time which would be 8pm on Saturday August 4th central time. We arrived with quite the culture shock. We ended up on a flight with another couple who are going to be teachers here as well. The principal of the school picked all of us up at the airport and thus began our crazy adventure. Even just driving down the street there where tons of motorcycles who don't understand staying in your own lane, tin roofs, people staring at the "white people," dirt roads, women walking with huge bundles of branches on their heads, open markets, cows and goats walking in the road, and much more. It was one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had. We felt like we were in a movie.
After our culture shocking car ride, we arrived at the guesthouse which is where we will be staying until we can find an apartment or house to rent. The guest house is on the campus of the elementary and high school. The campus is really beautiful! It's so green! There are plants trees and grass everywhere. I will have to take pictures and post them!
After getting settled into our rooms, we went over to the Principal's house for lunch, where we tried some of the local fruit!! I think I am going to really like trying so many new fruits! They're so different, but really good.
The rest of our day was filled with getting a tour of the school and neighborhood, and we even made it to a local mall! That was quite the experience! I have never felt so out of place. The mall was crowded, and everyone was staring at us! That's just one of the many things we are going to have to get use to. I knew it before we got here, but it is quite a different actuallyliving it. We will get stared at all the time.
We made it back to the guesthouse at about 6pm and we were exhausted. We fell asleep at about 7pm. I slept pretty good, but I did wake up at about 1:30am and could not get back to sleep for about an hour. My goal was to sleep until 5 am and I woke up at 5:15am! Not bad!
Well, I will keep trying to blog our experience here and will even try to take some pictures so you can get a little taste of what it's like here!
Johnson
3 comments:
"WOW" you made it!!God is so good.after reading your story how can people deny that He is not real.God was so good to have had a couple flying on the same plane and going to the same place.We love you and will continue to pray for you.
Melissa
Glad to hear you arrived safely! My husband is Filipino and we're looking forward to reading about your experiences, so keep us posted! You're in our thoughts and prayers!
Thanks so much for keeping us posted with up-to-date thoughts and feelings about what you are experiencing there. It makes me want to get out my journals and read what I wrote about our first days in Senegal. There is nothing quite like being in another culture for the first time! You are definitely in our daily prayers!
Marsha (Mom)
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