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 :)

Day 2: A Day in the Life of Lady Gaga

Mabuhay!

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

Day 1: Welcome to the Philippines.

This has been a very, very long day.

Our GIEU team left for our adventure on Monday and arrived in the Philippines early Wednesday morning. As if the tedium of day-long plane rides was not enough, we were welcomed at the Manila airport by near 100% humidity as well as a mass of people at the customs gate created by twelve other flights arriving at the same time. After the cacophony that was the luggage claim, we finally got to relax on the air conditioned bus ride to the hotel.

Through the windows of the tour bus was a mixture of both the new and familiar. Between the cranky-looking jeepneys and bright neon lights of sidewalk shops were those ever famous McDonald’s golden arches as well as numerous 7-11 stores. Somehow, the combination of these two sights eased our anxiety of being in a new land. 

As we arrived at the Bayleaf hotel during the new Wednesday morning, we could not have expected what happened next. Our team casually rode the elevators up to the skydeck, and witnessed an amazing view of the city.

Some of us raised our arms in joy while others cheered; all in concert with the flashing of digital cameras. We were served delicious sandwiches and salads along with ice-chilled tea. As we all sat together and enjoyed the meal prepared by our gracious hotel hosts, the discomfort of the plane rides evaporated into the air.

As truly amazing as the skyline of Manila was to us weary travellers, it is not the sole reason for our trip.  We have come to the Philippines to give and take so much more from the Filipino culture , but the soft shades of light of Manila will do for now.
So now we take a well-deserved rest as the true first day of our journey begins in a few hours. 

Mabuhay!