|
|
Sunday:
I got up extra early today just to walk along the
beach one more time. Oh, beach, I'm going to miss you
so much! The more I think about it, the more I wish I
had extended my visa . . .
We waited in the tiny Caticlan airport on the main
island where Bryant flew back to Manila, and I flew on
to Cebu City, the largest city in the Visayas, and
also the transport hub of the Visayas. Once again,
there was some turbulence on my tiny tiny little
airplane! At the airport, I found a very nice taxi
driver to take me into town. Mel was extremely
helpful and kind, and by the end of the taxi ride he
had offered to put me up with his family the next time
I come to the Philippines! I'm constantly amazed at
the generosity of Filipinos. We made arrangements for
Mel to pick me up later that night to take me back to
the airport (I only have 12 hours here!), and he
dropped me at the Hotel de Mercedes, where I asked
very nicely to leave my bag while I did some
exploring. They very nicely agreed to watch my bag
for free, which was pretty cool. And so I started out
to explore Cebu on foot. Cebu City, at least the
downtown part is dirty and kind of sketchy! I was
definitely on guard as I navigated the maze-like
streets. First I came across Cebu Cathedral, which is
a very beautiful old church. But since it was a
Sunday morning, I didn't go in, as I didn't want to
interrupt any services. Next I walked to Fort San
Pedro, an old triangular fortress that is now a garden
and ruin. After that, I walked over to the Basilica
del Santo Nino, which is an incredible and very
imposing cathedral. There's actually a huge open air
area for services in addition to the massive and
beautiful interior of the church itself. Even though
there wasn't actually a service going on at the time,
the church was packed, so I felt slightly guilty about
taking pictures, but I managed to sneak a few in.
This was my first real taste of the religious
fanaticism of Filipino culture-- there were actually
people crawling all the way to the altar! Outside the
church there is a little rotunda that houses
Magellan's cross. Magellan was the first of the
Spanish explorers to discover the Philippines, and he
paid for it with his life after a deadly battle with a
Filipino chief. Apparently when he first arrived in
Cebu, the first thing he did was have a cross erected
to mark his territory.
After seeing these main sites, I had had enough of
dirty, sweaty, seamy downtown, and not really knowing
what else to do with my time in Cebu, I did as the
locals do-- I took a cab to SM Mall, which is this
gigantic miniature city of a mall. I spent several
hours just sitting around, killing time, and getting
my shoe fixed . . . my cheap Cambodian-made knock-off
Pumas have been worn into the ground! Ha! I'm
starting to think I should just invest in the real
thing-- 2 Southeast Asian trips, 2 pairs of fake Pumas
destroyed in the process.
Bored of the mall, I headed back to Hotel de Mercedes
for some dinner and to check my email-- Carlo has
already emailed! Sweet! Finally at 9pm, Mel the taxi
driver came to pick me up and take me back to the
airport, where I waited for another 3 hours for my
flight back to Seoul. And thus, the end of my
vacation! As for the Philippines, I think I'm hooked.
I've barely stepped on the plane, and I'm already
thinking about when I can come back, and what islands
I want to go to this time . . . in 3 weeks, I've seen
real city life, volcanoes, rice terraces carved into
mountains, Spanish colonial towns and one of the best
beaches in the world, met some great friends and an
awesome boy, hiked, snorkelled, sailed, rode
motorcycles . . . never a dull moment in the
Philippines, and I'm already anticipating the next
trip!
|
|
|
|
Tuesday:
Back to salsa class tonight. It feels like I've been
gone forever, and I've forgotten how to dance! After
class, Bryan (Helen's brother, who is also going to be
my co-teacher when I start teaching the beginner's
class) and several other dancers all took me out for a
welcome home dinner and drinking session! Lots of
fun, that ended in a noraebang.
Sidenote: Carlo has been emailing every day, and
there's even talk of him coming to visit me in Seoul!
Very impractical, and not likely to actually happen,
but it's fun to flirt via email.
|
|
|
|
Friday:
I met Garan in Haebangchon for a "catch-up" session
tonight. Things are still sucking at the job for
him-- they're still firing him, despite having
admitted that he's an excellent teacher, and despite
giving him back all of his classes, all because of a
few stupid sick days that are perfectly within his
contract, and all because they can't allow his idiot
of a boss to "lose face". The real kicker is that the
labour board says Garan could likely win this case, if
his damn hagwon wasn't owned by one of the largest
newspapers in Seoul . . . basically he's screwed. In
other news, he's moved into a new apartment, which
ironically turned out to be my friend Joe's old
apartment! In fact, I spent New Year's Eve there!
Also, Garan and his new roommate are looking for a 3rd
roommate . . . and I've been looking to move out of my
ugly little apartment . . . this place is around the
corner from the rehearsal studio, within walking
distance to the dance studio, and close to most of my
friends' apartments, plus it's the same price as my
crappy little apartment now. It's a little farther
away from the school, but not terribly far. Plus
having a really good friend as a roommate could be
really fun! Once I meet his roommate, it looks like
I'll be moving in!
|
|
|
|
Saturday:
8 hours of solid dancing tonight! After the
intermediate class, I ended up sticking around to help
with the beginners' class, and once the practise party
started, I didn't get a chance to sit down! There
aren't so many experienced female dancers at the
studio, so I end up getting asked to dance a lot!
Afterwards, we all headed over to Caliente for even
more dancing, and after that, to Spy Bar for yet even
more dancing! At least it's good to be back in some
ways . . .
|
|
