well, today i cried.

i was down in the nursery and deborah came in and said she had a request from a group of people at faith academy, which is a christian school for missionaries kids.  they were wondering if they could do something at the children's home for christmas.  most of the foreign staff goes home and the local staff are mostly off, so this would be really great for the kids.

she asked me what i was going to be doing, would i want to be involved, etc.  then she asked about christmas for my family, is it a big deal or just another holiday, and i got a big old boo-hoo going and the more we talked the more tears fell.

once i got started, there was no going back.  completely took me by surprise.

even though, christmas is the biggest bestest holiday at our house. and we do make a big deal of being together.  beth and grace and i were apart one year, and we agreed that none of us liked it, not one bit.  

evidently i better plan on staying pretty busy that day!

sigh.

on a somewhat brighter note, i had to get an extension on my visa.  wow, do that in a developing nation, sheesh!   thank goodness jorge drove and isabell went with me, as she has been here since may, and was renewing again as well. 

when an american citizen enters the the philippines, you must have an ongoing plane ticket within one year.  guess they don't want you hangin' around.  but, you only have to leave and can come right back. most people get a cheap ticket to shanghai and fly out and back.  duh.  anyway, when you enter the philippines, you automatically get a 30 day visa stamp in your passport when you go thru customs.

before the 30 days expire, you have to take your passport, a 2x2" photo, and P3030/$70, to the immigration office.  i went to the one here in taytay.  think, 1940.

these were from the car, hopefully i will visit downtown taytay and do some walking around very soon.  you see the tricycles that we use for public transportation, just a motorcycle with a covered sidecar.  we saw one with a pig in it the other day.

first stop, i took my passport to an office and waited in line for a lady to made a photocopy of the info page and a copy of the current visa page. that cost P20 for each copy, about 45¢.

then i got a big legal size 2 sided form.  think, a copy of a copy of a copy for a few years.  we actually went outside on the sidewalk to this table and chairs to sit and fill out the form.

it included a reference from a local person, listing their name, address and phone.  then we went from tiny crowded office to tiny crowded office getting all the stuff stamped recorded and whatever they were doing, but it took about an hour and a half.  however, a man did come by with a big tray of snacks, and he gave isabell and i along with the office staff, a treat.  he had fried sweet potatoes coated in some kind of gooey deliciousness, and deep fried sticky rice balls on a stick, and banana's wrapped in like won ton wraps and fried, then coated with some sweet yumminess.  uh, yes please.

everyone was pleasant even though the work conditions were cramped and it was a tedious process. we actually signed for the passport at the end, in a paper notebook like kids use in school. no computer.  they did use a computer (alledgedly) to check and make sure i'm not on the  "blacklist, watchlist, hold or intelligence derogatory records list".  whew!

i have to renew again in 30 days, but will get a 59 day visa next time.  59 days makes sense because, uhhhhhh?

tonight, i switched rooms at the midwife student apartment where i am currently staying.  kim returned to germany, so i moved my things into the room she was using. everything here is very moldy, due to the high humidity.  more about that later.   this room has two windows, so more light and a better breeze.  i hope.  

you know how we joke, it's not the heat, it's the humidity.  well, they weren't talking about michigan, heh, but here, it is really true.  check out the "feels like temp".

wish me luck!

here is a picture of one of my filipino babies . . .

and here is my sweet michigan baby!

thank goodness for her mommy, who sends me gobs of photos and videos every day.  and i love each and every one!  and i show them off to everyone here.

please stay in touch, i love to hear from you all!

xoxo     jo