Monday had it all. It was "up & at 'em" first thing and off to an adventure in downtown Manila. It was a long drive, but it reminded me of driving into Seattle: busy with traffic, but no one is really getting at top speeds like in the US. We went through the city to the Adoption board to obtain the necessary papers to 1) leave manila and 2) enter the US. What should have taken 30 minutes tops, took about 90 minutes. There was a mispelling and the papers needed a reprint. The kids held it together though! They provided a few snacks and coffee and so we were good to go!
Then we headed to KFC for what coop believes to be filippino fried chicken (it's at a lot of filippino events, and i don't think he's ever been to the KFC in the US!) hahaha. (just a note here: feeding 8 people cost us something like $15. (i KNOW!) cheeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaap! Then we started what i think was one of the best/worst parts of the trip so far. We drove through DT to Fort Santiago. I had my video running to capture this stuff! It was wild. cars, people, cars, cabs, waaaaaah! The kids were coming unglued and getting sick, so we did a little reconfigure and everything was better. Dess is Henry's new bud as they sat together...Dess now knows ALL Henry's knock knock Jokes. lucky lucky Dess. (side bar about Dess: I love him. I love his heart and how patient he is. I love that he is my soul mate with the cameras and it was not unlike being on this trip with my Dad: we posed here and there and oops, one more please. Ultimately, i love what he has been for Rey and what kinds of lengths he will go to for children and mommies like me. Superdess.)
Fort Santiago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Ocean Park is really fantastic - we loved seeing all the fish. They had a tide pool thing where you can pet the sea slugs and whatnot, the overhead tanks of sharks and BIG stingrays, and all number of cool things. There was also a display of fish embryos developing in stages. It was a great AIR CONDITIONED break. We then drove by the Mall of asia which gave me palpitations in the bad way (you should have seen the size of it!) and began to head home. Thank God Raymond didn't stop, i think there would have been a mutiny!
On the way home, Dess and Raymond took us by some significant places. I had sent a message a while back that i wanted to capture some images for Rey's later life - not for now - of where he came from. First we drove to the area where Rey was found on the street. It was busy with traffic and crowded, so I just snapped a few pics from the car. Also, Superdess jumped out and took pictures of the area. The next stop was harder - it's the squatter area where Rey was raised. Again, Superdess took care of business - jumping out to get a few memories for us. (i told you he is just awesome, didn't I!?!) I looked back at the sleeping boy with his ipod buds hanging out of his ears, legs akimbo, flopped half on his brother coop, and it was really hard. maybe it's because it's not that hard to imagine him in a stretched out shirt, dirty bare feet and begging for money. There were kids just like that all over. We started asking Dess more about what he knows about Rey. We got the kind of thing that you should know, but you don't want to know. We got some answers, and some reasons to KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that he is a walking miracle! He really is. for ex: this place has TB. Most social workers that go work in the streets end up getting treatment. But rey lived there, was exposed...and has never shown signs of it. Perfect chest exray. ??? YAH! He's got some good stock & angels watching over him. I included a pic over the canal from Ft Santiago of some dwellings. I have seen worse here and better (and mansions and BMWs!) but this is a typical scene.
we came 'home' to the hotel and had room service (feed a family of 5 roomservice for $20? seriously!) and then hit the rooftop pool AGAIN!
but one interesting moment that was really sad - we had a local guy asking us some questions about why we are here (many locals have asked this, and they think we are rich, and they think we have a house here). He turned to Rey and asked him some questions in english and Tagalog: one was "where is your mommy?" (OF COURSE REY POINTED TO ME!! ) but the guy said "no, i mean your real mommy" and you should have seen Rey's face fall. i mean it DROPPED FLAT. We ended the convo and i made sure to smooth it over. But i anticipate we just got the first of many people asking things like that. It is gonna happen. The guy was just curious, meant no harm. But a comment like that doesn't go un-noted by a kid. It will take time to smooth this over.
Okay, are you sick of me yet? :) I can put one of those 'unsubscribe' messages at the bottom of the page?
how awkward it will be when i keep sending these from Boise. They will be like " oh , today i went to WINCO, and then i had the car washed. I cut my finger on the phone bill ...blah blah blah."
oh, i kill me.
just 2 days left, and an EARLY FLIGHT on thursday.
We are playing it close to home today. Canceled 6hr rt to beach for a low key day swimming/bowling/arcade at mall. :)
I may not have souvenirs for anyone at this rate, so please forgive. You can come see the best souvenir of all.
ps: here's something that my co-adoptive mommy Rebecca shared.
(get the kleenex)
all my love,
Camille
"Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.
1. The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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