Day 3 motto: Is This Real Life?

Where to start?! After finally catching up on some sleep we made our way to one of the oldest stone churches in the Philippines. We were guided around the church by our guide Greg, an American who has lived in the Philippines for the past 24 years (he may or may not be in the C.I.A.).

I wish I could tell you that the stone building made for a cool tour, with our informative guide but that wasn't the case. We bought our first folding fans and got our arm workout for the day. At the church we visited the botanical garden where an Augustinian monk cataloged over 1,200 of the Philippines diverse plant species, including the coconut tree. Who knew that so much could be done with a coconut? The milk inside has tons of electrolytes, are a medium chain saturated fat which is found in only one other place in nature (breast milk). In sort, it is verrryyy good for you.

Next, we rode in a horse drawn buggies to Fort Santiago. This is the horse that Kelly, Ray, Adam, Bowen, and I (Broghan) rode in, his name was Rocky :). He took us around Intramuros and showed us the less touristy side of the walled city.

Then we split off into our small groups with our student leaders. Some of us went to the mall, while others did yoga on the skydeck. Those who went to the mall had a fun time trying different foods, and we realized that even fast food is different in Manila (McDonalds serves rice and KFC sells Spaghetti!) We then traveled to Riza park in Jeepneys and caught a glimse of various famous statues.

Next was dinner, we went to a Chinese restaurant and the food was never ending, literally. The highlight of dinner was the karaoke: Moon River, Disturbia, Don't Stop Believin', and Baby stole the show.

After that it was back on the bus for a quick stop to see the dancing fountains. As if they read our karaoke addled minds, Bad Romance came on and flames shot out of the water. It was magical. The most colorful and musical fountain that I've ever seen.

Peace Out, see you tomorrow. Kelly and Broghan :)