Day 20: Going Home :(

Sad day.. I'm leaving the Philippines! I'm all packed (mostly) and just hanging around until we have to leave. Another long trip on a plane. Woo. But really, I'm glad to go home too. I've missed seeing everyone. And I've missed mac n cheese. (Although I had a small bowl once at a restaurant haha)

All right, continuing from the last blog. After Bag of Beans, we drove home. We all kept falling asleep in the back seat, waking up randomly. When we were close to home, Mark's mom asked if we wanted to go to the Mall of Asia, so that's when we went. haha So that was Day 16!

Ate Jackie, Mark, and I went on the public bus and then the MRT to Megamall to finish our shopping. Mark wanted to get some stuff and I finished getting my pasalubong (coming home presents: pah-sah-loo-bong). It wasn't that bad going public! The bus was easy to get on and off and wasn't too too crowded the time we went, then the MRT felt just like the trolley back home! Lucky us it wasn't crowded. Ate told us when it's rush hour, the line to get on everything is LONG! So yep, we went back using the MRT and bus too.

Yesterday, we went to the mall again. I took the bus and the MRT AGAIN! So now I'm a pro at public transportation here.. lol. Not really. :-P At the mall, I got something special.. but it's a secret. :) It's my birthday present to myself. Once I come home, I'll be able to show everyone. Haha yayyy!

So yep. Last days of the Philippines! I hope everyone had fun reading my blog and everything I did! :) I'll see you all soon!
<3 Erin

Here's pictures from Tagaytay and Mall of Asia!

Day 17: Shopping is coming to an end!

Hellooo all! I slept in a bit today and got to have some Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast. :) We bought some when we went to the Mall of Asia yesterday. The Mall of Asia is the THIRD largest mall in the WORLD! Woo! Mark and I practically walked the whole thing.. just window shopping. We didn't go into many stores.

The trip to the mall was a surprise since we had only planned to go to Tagaytay to view and take some pictures of the Taal Volcano. We had a little bit later of a start since we had to register for classes.. so we ran into some traffic on the way there. The highway that you take has construction going on, on the southern route. So, we were driving for a long time. I fell asleep a lot, so it made the trip seem shorter. When we got there, the volcano was kind of covered by the clouds, making it hard to see in the pictures I took. After that, we stopped for lunch at Josephine's, a really nice restaurant that has lots of pretty trees around and looked like it had a good view if you went out on the patio in back. But, it was SUPER windy and actually cold, so I didn't go outside haha.

After lunch, we stopped for dessert at this place called Bag of Beans. It has yummy bread and dessert and coffee, so we made a stop. Mark and I shared a chocolate shake and a banana split while everyone else has warm bread and coffee. There was this really funny bird that talks, so Mark had some fun talking to him. He would say hello, hi, and what in English.. then have you eaten and called you ugly in Tagalog! :-P We got a video of it saying most things.. oh! And it would meow like a cat! haha It was a very entertaining bird.

...well I think I'll have to finish this later since I have to go get ready. Mark, Ate Jackie, and I are going to Megamall today. We're taking public transportation!! Tito Boy has the car, so we have to make our own way there by catching a bus then taking the MTR? I believe that's what it's called. It's the train that goes by the mall, so.. a new adventure for me! :)

Bye all!
<3 Erin

Day 16: Super earlyyy

Good morning alllll... it's bright and early here since Mark and I had to get up early to register for classes. Ehh.

We're planning on leaving early since we are visiting an active volcano ..somewhere. I can't remember the place. But I will have pictures for tomorrow!

Yesterday, Day 15 (January 13th), we went shopping at Greenhills Mall after lunch. It was AWESOME! I bought some things for myself and something for my mommy. :) I know she'll like my presents from here. Haha!!

Well, time to get a quick breakfast and go! Hope my State peeps got their classes today and that everyone else is having a great day!
<3 Erin

Days 11-14: Tropical Boracay Paradise!

Oh my goodness. Boracay was really a tropical paradise! I loved every minute there! :)

Getting there on the other hand, was slightly a hassle. We woke up early and left around 5:30 am. We got there in time to wait for our flight, but it ended up raining! Of all mornings to rain.. this was one of them. So our flight was delayed for about two hours. The boys (Kuya Jet, Kuya Allan, and Mark) didn't mind because they all had their PSP games to play with. We left and flew to Caticlan, where we caught a ride to the port where we took a boat to the island where Boracay is. It was so much fun just getting there! Mark and I felt like we were on Amazing Race or something. haha! After the boat ride, next was a bicycle ride. We all crammed onto this little motorcycle with a side car, with our luggage. To get to our hotel, you walked down this little alley with houses and other hotels. It was super close to the beach. Just a minute's walk away!

On our first day, we put our stuff in the room and changed into swim clothes, then just walked around. We swam a bit, then explored the shops and food places. Everywhere you go, there are vendors along the beach asking if you want sunglasses, necklaces, pearls (who knows if they're real or not), massages, hair braiding, and all sorts of things! We took a picture of this sand castle that some locals do everyday.. it says Boracay and the date on it. It's really nifty! For dinner we had this HUGE buffet. It cost only P250 each, which is $5 for us. NICE! haha

The second day was a LOT more fun. We ate breakfast, then went jet-skiing! It was fun, and super crazy since it was windy and the water was choppy, so everywhere you went, water would spray in your face. The only bummer about it was you had to follow a path.. I guess this was explained during the beginning of the ride when Mark was driving, but I was hanging on the back, not listening. So when I asked to switch places I started driving wherever I wanted and Mark told me I couldn't do that... whoops! After that, I think we swam some more, waiting for our time to go on the banana boat! That was sooo much fun and scary! The water was still choppy, so the banana boat would bounce around off the waves. All of us managed to stay on, but Mark pushed me off when our turn was up. After showering, we all went and played billiards at one of the bar & restaurant places. We played 9-ball, where you take turns trying to hit the balls 1-9 in the pockets, in order. Something new I learned! haha After, we bought some shakes and got to lay on some of the chairs the restaurant owns. They came over after awhile saying each drink buys ONE chair. We had bought three shakes and each had our own chair.. so we ended up playing in the sand and building a tank. LOL I'll try and get the pictures we took of it. We were going to build a sandcastle, but it turned out a little different. :-P At night, we went to this restaurant where they have kareoke rooms. We ate dinner and sang.. fun! Afterwards, we went to bed.

The third day, after breakfast, the boys and Ate Justine went kayaking. Ate Abby and I sat on some chairs and watched them. We had some sodas and got to relax while the others got tired. haha :) We ended up laying on the beach after lunch for awhile since we were all kind of tired. I think I got a little burned, but not much. It was nice just to lay in the sun for awhile and nap. Later in the afternoon, Ate Justine, Mark, and I did this underwater walking thing where you wear a helmet that pumps oxygen in it. It's not quite like a scuba helmet.. but close enough to that. So, you put on the helmet and walk underwater and feed the fish bread. It was SO COOL! There were all sorts of fishes swimming around, little ones and some bigger ones. Some fish were on the sea bottom and kept swimming around our feet. We had the diver take some pictures of us with Justine's underwater camera.. so maybe I'll be able to see them and get a copy for myself. After getting showered and dressed, we ended up going back to the kareoke place for dinner and singing. Can't go wrong with that! lol

On our last day there, we woke up, ate, and went shopping for souveneirs! There's tons of little stalls in what they call "d'mall", so we ended up walking around there for a couple hours before checking out. While walking around the mall, we walk out to the shore and there was this parade or some sort of festival going on. TONS of people lined the beach! I got a picture, but you can't tell how far down the crowd goes.. I couldn't even see how far they went!! I think it was a festival celebrating the clans on the beach because people were walking around in groups everywhere, playing music and dancing. They all had on t-shirts that said stuff, but I can't be sure.

It was a really nice day, so I was a little sad to leave. It was such a nice place, with palms everywhere you look, white sandy beaches, and cheap food and drinks. :) After another bike ride to the airport, we got more travel hassle. Turns out a plane crashlanded on the landing strip, so our flight was transferred to another airport. We all hopped on a bus and drove for about two hours to Kalibo Airport. It was really nice in the beginning seeing all the green and mountains. But after that long, being squished in a seat with a stranger, and kids beign noisy.. not so fun. We finally got on our flight around 7 pm.. getting home around 8pm and HOME home around 9! I went straight to bed since I was so tired and Mark got sick the last day.. so now today, we're just resting.

I think this week is planned for shopping and (hopefully, maybe) another massage? :):) Who knows.. plus I think we might get a tour of the President's house since Kuya Allan works as one of the official photographers. Nifty!
<3 Erin

P.S. I'm hoping to get pictures from the other cameras.. if there are any more good ones, I'll try and post them!!!

Day 9: More Pampering!

Morning all! It's 9:30 am and we've just finished breakfast. It's a little humid, but cloudy and cool. It started lightly drizzling when we walked down to breakfast. Today will be another day of just relaxing and not doing much. I believe all that's planned is a trip to the market for some snacks. The one exciting thing is though, we're going to be taking a jeep! Haha..

I mentioned that I made some turron the other day. I've uploaded the pictures, so here's one to share!

Yesterday, we went to the HUGE SM Megamall. Mark's mom and I went to get our nails done! I got a mani/pedi.. just in time for our trip to Boracay, the beach resort. We're leaving for that tomorrow sometime. Very exciting! After being pampered, Mark and I walked around the mall for a bit. We had a little dinner at KFC and had some Dairy Queen for dessert. We ended up walking around for almost 3 hours! We had gotten to the mall around 4:30 and left at 9 pm. We went to bed pretty soon after we got home because all the walking around had worn us out.

I'll be at Boracay from the 8th to the 11th. I'm not sure when we're leaving OR coming back, but I'm sure I'm going to have LOTS to write about and more pictures to post when I come back!
<3 Erin

Bleh..

So, I was told that my blog didn't work... I tried fixing it, so hopefully it's all better! :)

Also, I wanted to say sorry for the crazy way it looks. The box where I type everything makes it look much cleaner than it turns out. Blehhhh.

So, yep! I'm glad everyone is enjoying the blog. I really like doing this and sharing everything I've been up to!

Bye all!!
<3 Erin

Days 5-8: Trip up to Baguio & Spa!

Woo! I just had a super fun last few days. Baguio was so awesome!

The day before we left, we just hung around, resting, getting ready, and the like. The next morning, we left at 4 am! We stopped once for breakfast at Jollibee then got to Baguio around 10 am. On the way, we drove past all sorts of towns and fields. It was such an amazing sight, with mountains in the background and green rice fields right next to the road. *sigh*.. Anyway, we stayed at Camp John Hay, in this really nice multi-level townhouse. It has three bedrooms, plus we brought a tent, for all the family! There were about 20 or more all together, I think? After unpacking and eating, we drove to the Lourdes Grotto, where there are about 400 steps of stairs leading up to a little grotto of Our Lady of Fatima. If you walk up all the steps, you can make a prayer or wish, and because you've walked up all the stairs, it will come true! After walking up the steps, we went to Burnham Park and some of the family went rowboating. They came back and were all laughing because they had almost tipped over! We went back to Camp John Hay to eat and go to bed.

The next day, we woke up and some of the family went outside to warm up by playing hopskotch and jump-rope. It was really cold up in the mountains.. really different from how it feels back down here in Valenzuela. We walked to breakfast at this little buffet of rice, egg, and meat on the campsite. After, we drove to where all the shops are at the top of this mountain area. There were tons of little vendors selling everything from beanies to.. BARREL MEN! I bought some, plus some other gs for people. :) I bought myself a shirt and Tita Min (Mark's aunt) bought me this black scarf. All of the family is so giving here! I can't seem to thank them enough. We also took some pictures of the view. It was so pretty! You could see all sorts of houses and buildings built on the side of the mountain. Everywhere you go in Baguio, there are all sorts of trees and just, GREEN. Plus, the air quality wasn't as bad up there.. haha! After that, we made a stop at The Good Shepherd to buy some dessert treats and jams. I bought a couple things for my parents to try when I get back. Later in the day, a few of the cousins and I went to horseback riding. I took Miguel, Ate Justine's son, riding with me. It was his first horse ride and he was SO excited! He loved Rainbow (the horse) and kept petting him while riding. :) Super cute. After dinner, we went back to the house and played charades and other games for cash prizes! We played girls versus boys.. and we won 300 pesos! :)

On the last day in Baguio, we woke up early and had breakfast and packed. In Camp John Hay, they have this Butterfly Sanctuary. The guy who runs the place picks up butterflies and puts them on you. I got some pictures with them! He put them on my face one time.. it tickled so much haha. Mark got one on his nose! lol The little kids liked seeing the butterflies and made sure to be verryyy still when the butterflies were placed on them. On the way home, we made two stops for pictures. One at the Police Station.. they have a really nice view of the "famous zigzag road". The second was this huge lion head! And that finishes the trip to Baguio!!

Today, I was asked to help make turron, which is like a banana fritter. I helped wrap the bananas in the flour wrapper. I have a picture, but I haven't loaded it yet.. I'll put it up later! They were fried after we finished and we had it for dessert after lunch. :) Masarap!

In the afternoon, we went to... THE SPA! When Mark's mom comes home, she said she loves to get pampered. So we're made a trip to the spa. Mark and I tried the volcanic rock massage. It was soooo good. They put hot rocks all over your back and under your legs and even between your toes! I kept laughing when they were massaging my feet. We're going to try and go again, to try another massage maybe or a facial. Can't wait!

Miss you all!
<3 Erin