Hi, Mom. Just to let you know that the doctor told me I had an infection. It is nothing serious though, mostly just a bother. You can stop worrying now. I'm ok! I'm actually feeling much better now anyway.
The past few days have been fun. There has been a festival going on all week, which is a very big deal here in Tacloban City. The children even got a day off of school for it. There has been all sorts of activities, including a parade of lights. My friends and I took a group of the local girls to the parade. We had a lot of fun...except somebody told us that the parade started at 2pm, so we went downtown around 11am to get a good spot...well, it wasn't actually supposed to start until 5, and of course it ran on Filipino time, so it didn't start until after 6:30. Needless to say, it was a long day out in the heat. While we were waiting for a parade to start a camera crew came up to me and interviewed me for the news (because, once again, white skin=celebrity in the Philippines). After the interviewer left, my friends told me a story about how they had been on Filipino news the day before. This story is so hilarious I had to share. So, in the Philippines, they call the country "Pilipinas" and the people are called "Pinas." At the end of the interview, the news crew asked my friends to all shout together, "I love Pinas!" Well...you can imagine what it sounds like they're shouting! My friends cracked up, and the film crew didn't understand why they were laughing. They did it anyway, so somewhere on the news there is a segment with a group of Americans shouting, "I love Pinas!" Hilarious.
Yesterday I went to the hardware store to purchase a light switch for my host family, as the one in the bathroom broke. The store clerk who helped me out approached me with a pen and piece of paper, and said, "Can I have your number?" He was all ready with a pen and paper! I couldn't tell him that I didn't have a phone here because I was holding my phone in my hand! I felt bad, but I told him that I didn't give my number out. Later on all the store clerks kept shouting, "Alissa mahusay!" Mahusay means beautiful in Waray Waray. They said that all of the girls in my group of friends were beautiful, but I was the most beautiful. Is it sad that I've gotten used to this happening everywhere I go? It's all because of my pale skin. It's going to be a shock when I go home and lose my celebrity status! Funny, right?
I bought my host family cake to celebrate Daddy's birthday. They were so happy. We had some left over, so I took it to some of the neighbors who live across from us. They were so excited. They invited me in for a beer and to hang out with them. They were asking me all about the US and what life is like there. They all saw that I have a ring on my hand (right, not left). I have your wedding ring, and I haven't taken it off in two months. They all thought that I was married, but I explained that it was your wedding ring. One of the guys told me that he was an only child and had also lost his mother. It was a really nice moment and nice connection. We exchanged numbers so that we could stay in touch. It's nice to know that someone else has been through the same kind of situation and I'm not alone.
I miss you so much, Mama. I've had a little bit of a hard time recently. I called Dad the other night and just cried. I'm getting through the days, but sometimes it's harder than others. I love you more than anything.
I think I'm going to go downtown today. I haven't spent much time down there, and I think I'll explore a little.
The past few days have been fun. There has been a festival going on all week, which is a very big deal here in Tacloban City. The children even got a day off of school for it. There has been all sorts of activities, including a parade of lights. My friends and I took a group of the local girls to the parade. We had a lot of fun...except somebody told us that the parade started at 2pm, so we went downtown around 11am to get a good spot...well, it wasn't actually supposed to start until 5, and of course it ran on Filipino time, so it didn't start until after 6:30. Needless to say, it was a long day out in the heat. While we were waiting for a parade to start a camera crew came up to me and interviewed me for the news (because, once again, white skin=celebrity in the Philippines). After the interviewer left, my friends told me a story about how they had been on Filipino news the day before. This story is so hilarious I had to share. So, in the Philippines, they call the country "Pilipinas" and the people are called "Pinas." At the end of the interview, the news crew asked my friends to all shout together, "I love Pinas!" Well...you can imagine what it sounds like they're shouting! My friends cracked up, and the film crew didn't understand why they were laughing. They did it anyway, so somewhere on the news there is a segment with a group of Americans shouting, "I love Pinas!" Hilarious.
Yesterday I went to the hardware store to purchase a light switch for my host family, as the one in the bathroom broke. The store clerk who helped me out approached me with a pen and piece of paper, and said, "Can I have your number?" He was all ready with a pen and paper! I couldn't tell him that I didn't have a phone here because I was holding my phone in my hand! I felt bad, but I told him that I didn't give my number out. Later on all the store clerks kept shouting, "Alissa mahusay!" Mahusay means beautiful in Waray Waray. They said that all of the girls in my group of friends were beautiful, but I was the most beautiful. Is it sad that I've gotten used to this happening everywhere I go? It's all because of my pale skin. It's going to be a shock when I go home and lose my celebrity status! Funny, right?
I bought my host family cake to celebrate Daddy's birthday. They were so happy. We had some left over, so I took it to some of the neighbors who live across from us. They were so excited. They invited me in for a beer and to hang out with them. They were asking me all about the US and what life is like there. They all saw that I have a ring on my hand (right, not left). I have your wedding ring, and I haven't taken it off in two months. They all thought that I was married, but I explained that it was your wedding ring. One of the guys told me that he was an only child and had also lost his mother. It was a really nice moment and nice connection. We exchanged numbers so that we could stay in touch. It's nice to know that someone else has been through the same kind of situation and I'm not alone.
I miss you so much, Mama. I've had a little bit of a hard time recently. I called Dad the other night and just cried. I'm getting through the days, but sometimes it's harder than others. I love you more than anything.
I think I'm going to go downtown today. I haven't spent much time down there, and I think I'll explore a little.
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