Thanks to a fellow team member (Patrick), the news that Lady Gaga was in Manila spread quickly. Just falling short of trying to found out where she was staying in Manila, today we got to experience one of her songs first-hand: Paparazzi. How did we go from everyday university students to overnight celebrities? It was all thanks to the gracious hospitality and welcoming attitude of the students, faculty, and staff of PLM (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila or the University of the City of Manila), the staff at the art and history museums, City Hall, and all of our other hosts today!
We started off our day meeting our student guides from PLM. From there, we headed to their university for a tour of their programs. Everyone was very welcoming and we were greeted with shell necklaces and a traditional Filipino dance performance. Most noticeably however, were the men recording our every stop with cameras and video cameras. None of us are too camera shy and we think we enjoyed our 15 minutes of fame. Before lunch, we watched a few videos by the College of Tourism promoting the Philippines. You can check out their campaigns at morefunmaker.com and see why it's more fun in the Philippines :)
After lunch and some more festive and lively performances by a local dance company (student dance scholars), we hopped on a bus to check out the National Museum in intramuros (or old Manila). Our very knowledgeable tour guide filled us in on the history of the Philippines as it pertained to artwork, artifacts, fossils, and biodiversity. The next stop of the day was at City Hall where the real fanfare awaited us. When our bus pulled in, there was an entire marching band playing as we stepped off the bus on to a red carpet leading into City Hall. The Filipino people definitely know how to make their guests feel special!
We wrapped up our day eating at Barbara's, a buffet-style restaurant with good food and more cultural performances. We were also welcomed there and a few of our own even had the opportunity to show off their traditional Filipino dance skills in front of the entire restaurant (kudos to Patrick, Broghan, and Richard!) Overall, despite jet lag catching up to most of us, we felt very welcomed into a city halfway around the world, 8,000 miles from home, and we are looking forward to tomorrow! Mangandang gabi po!
~Amanda and Katie
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