Phillipines Day 1 and 2

Well, a hop, skip, and a layover in San Francisco, Hawaii, and Guam later, I somehow made it to the Philippines. It was the longest plane ride I have ever taken. I am wondering how people who do this for a living handle it. On the way there, I was cranky, tired, and in Guam I lost track of what day it was. Even now, I am still adjusting to the humidity, and time difference. My Aunt Jovana is the one who made our itinerary, my mom is taking pictures like a Japanese tourist, and I think I am going to gain at least ten pounds from all the food I've been trying. Lol. But everyone here has been nothing short of welcoming so far. After we arrived at the Manila airport, the first place my Aunt Pinky and Jovana took us was a 24 hour spa. There we got to eat, have a full body massage, and we ended up hanging out there until 5 in the morning. I fell asleep while I was there. Mom said she could hear me snore, and I learned that in America, I am not known for my tipping. However, abroad I am apparently a very generous tipper. Linda, (my mom’s friend) and I left the ladies who gave us a massage ten American dollars each as a tip. It wasn't until afterward we learned that ten American dollars for them is a very, very generous tip. After the spa, we went to Pajsangan falls. There we rode in a canoe literally through a waterfall. It was when I got to see my Aunt Pinky’s adventurous side. She was the one who was going "one more time" after we went through the falls, and we did get to go through it again- yeah! lol After drying off, we had lunch at this place called Exotic Restaurant. There, they have a peacock for display, and a huge, fat snake which scared the daylights out of me. Our food was served on a banana leaf. I learned my palette is not that exotic. I liked the chicken more than the snake that was served. After that, we made the 6 hour car ride back to Aunt Pinky’s place in Daet, Camarinez Norte. On the way there, we stopped at some religious shrine where we got to see statues of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, and you can attempt to make an over 100 step climb to the top of a hill where there is the biggest statue of Jesus Christ I have ever seen. After we got finally got to Aunt Pinky’s place, we unpacked, ate dinner, and now everyone is starting to turn in for the night. Tomorrow we are going to see my grandparents here before breakfast, and if the weather is nice, we will be going to the beach. This vacation has reminded me that my mom and I have opposite views of vacation. My mom still likes to get up, and see everything she can. I'm the kind that's happy with some music, a beach to lay on for the day, some music to listen to, and a cute cabana boy. But, I learned I have very interesting relatives here. All my mom’s sisters are really well established and respected here, and one of the first things my cousin Jason asked me was how many boyfriends do I want when I told him I was single, and he asked about my single American girl friends. So, just by that, I can tell it is going to be an interesting trip.