Walking home from the beach this afternoon, I was thinking "uh oh, Kyle's not gonna like this." I held in my hand a box with 10 seashells that I bought from kids on the beach.
The story goes like this. I was sitting on the beach watching boats pass by when 7 local kids sat down in front of me with their baskets of shells. In our 3 days on Malapascua, we'd probably passed these kids 5 times and told them "no thanks". But every other time Kyle was with me, and they didn't surround me with their cute smiles. This time, they sat down with me talking about learning English and playing with my light hair and skin. Then they lanuched into this really cute shell selling presentation and I forgot the word "no" existed.
Philippines
I'm a total sap. My husband's not gonna be happy.
Written by Bessie about Philippines. Feelin' sad
4 comments
Everybody was Cock-Fu Fighting
Written by Kyle about Philippines. Feelin' amused
As we walked across Malapascua Island, we ran into one of the Philippines passions: cock fighting. Yes, yes, I understand the animal rights issues with cock fighting; I don't condone it per se, but it is pretty much as close to a national past time as the Fiipinos have, so I'm going to watch. When in Rome...
In any case, they're serious about cock fighting just like England is serious about soccer (or football if you prefer that name better). I've even seen commercials on Filipino TV advertising feed for your rooster that promises your prized feathery friend will get big and strong and will go on to kick the plumage of another red-bearded rival before he can say "cockle-doodle-do". Well, it might not have said that word by word, but I imagine that's probably what the pitch says in Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines.
In any case, they're serious about cock fighting just like England is serious about soccer (or football if you prefer that name better). I've even seen commercials on Filipino TV advertising feed for your rooster that promises your prized feathery friend will get big and strong and will go on to kick the plumage of another red-bearded rival before he can say "cockle-doodle-do". Well, it might not have said that word by word, but I imagine that's probably what the pitch says in Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines.
Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy
Written by Kyle about Philippines. Feelin' normal
One of the things that I love about a lot of developing countries is how close people are to their source of food. Do you want to know where that milk came from? That cow over there. That rice? It came from my friends and neighbors. That rash? Well, that's another story...
Anyway, the residents of Malapascua, living on a small island, obviously eat a lot of fish. And it's not the packaged, frozen, and shipped fish that I am used to growing up in the middle of the US. This is fresh as a newborn baby's ass fish. This is fresh as the Prince of Bel-Air fish. This fish is so fresh that it might stand up on my plate, slap me, then run back into the ocean.
Anyway, the residents of Malapascua, living on a small island, obviously eat a lot of fish. And it's not the packaged, frozen, and shipped fish that I am used to growing up in the middle of the US. This is fresh as a newborn baby's ass fish. This is fresh as the Prince of Bel-Air fish. This fish is so fresh that it might stand up on my plate, slap me, then run back into the ocean.
What not to miss on Malapascua Island, Philippines
Written by Bessie about Philippines. Feelin' normal
Here are my tips of things not to miss:
- Get in the water. There are a number of dive shops on the island, one of which was visited by National Geographic a few years back. Thresher sharks and ship wrecks seem to be the main attraction. We're more of the snorkeling types and saw a number of live coral beds around the island in all shades of blues. Our highlights were clown fish peeking in and out of anemone, schools of black and white stripe fish, and a sea snake.
A Filipino New Year
Written by Kyle about Philippines. Feelin' happy
We picked Malapascua as a place to relax, not as a place to party, so we weren't too surprised that there weren't any big parties for New Year's on the island. In fact, we found pretty much the only place that had 10 or more people and it was a basketball court that had been gussied up by the locals with big speakers and disco lights. So, when given some lemons, you buy a 1000 mL beer from the store and dance with Filipinos.
On that note, I was surprised to find that the Filipinos on the island were terrible dancers. They all did a version of the "akward white guy" where the feet stay planted while the waste sways irrythmically and the eyes are focused on anything that is not near the dance floor. The only people able to pull off any dance moves, us included, were all under the age of 10. Maybe rhythm is lost during aging much like hearing and bladder control?
On that note, I was surprised to find that the Filipinos on the island were terrible dancers. They all did a version of the "akward white guy" where the feet stay planted while the waste sways irrythmically and the eyes are focused on anything that is not near the dance floor. The only people able to pull off any dance moves, us included, were all under the age of 10. Maybe rhythm is lost during aging much like hearing and bladder control?
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We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.Point us towards cheap eats and a place to sleep, and we just might call it home.
We've been on the road 1467 days, traveled 113,376 miles and volunteered 1,448 hours.
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