June 22, 2010 - 44 Hours

After almost 44 hours of travel, we have arrived!!! We began our journey, needing to be at the airport by 5:30am, on my 4th day of summer vacation. Not sleeping much the night before though, proved to help the hours go by during our flights, as I was able to catch a few naps along the way. We had a 6 hour flight to Honolulu, a 2 hour layover, and an 11 hour light to Manila. I still don't understand why it takes 11 hours from Honolulu, in the middle of the Pacific, when it takes 9 hours from Seattle. If anyone can answer that, I'd love to know. I'm guessing maybe a bigger plane that flies faster? Anyways, we landed in Manila completely exhausted. It was such a long day... about 24 hours after leaving Seattle... and we still weren't done. We grabbed a quick bite at the KFC next door and were all in bed by 8pm, ready for our 5am wake-up knock. Every single room woke up super early. I was up at 2am wide awake, trying not to wake my roommate. She soon was awake and we got ready for our day of more travel. We were showered and doing our quiet times by 4am. The team took advantage of our free breakfast of plain bread, friend bananas, fried eggs and garlic rice and then headed off early to the airport. It was the first time ever, we were ready to go a lot earlier than planned and it was so great to arrive at the domestic airport without having to rush and run to catch our flight like we normally do. After arriving in Bohol, a 2 hour flight, we loaded up our bags into our friend, Along's, truck. Our team then, loaded our carry-ons and ourselves into the bus. We drove straight to ICM (Island City Mall) where we had a long list of things to buy, consisting of craft supplies, games, toys, field activities, drama equipment, and prizes. When we were done and had completely exhausted the workers there, we brought everything outside in search of our bus... which was nowhere to be found. Joshua, our leader, circled the mall in a trike (a motorcycle with a cab attached) and still no bus. Our passports and all our carry-ons (including Joshua's and my computers) were on that bus. No panic... the driver was our normal driver's brother... we didn't know him, but we trust our normal driver, Leo, so we thought we could trust this guy. Assuming he'd show up later, we hired a jeepnee to store all 12 boxes and later drive them to our house. We ate lunch at Greenwich, a Filipino fast food pizza chain and then headed downstairs to tackle our massive food list. On our way down the escalator, several girl team members in front of me started screaming and Joshua's 13 year old son was jumping up and down screaming. The escalator had grabbed Caleb's flip flop and took his foot with it. His toe was banged up and bleeding, but mostly Caleb was in shock over what happened. I ran to the pharmacy to buy hydrogen peroxide and gauze but they ended up taking Caleb to the hospital. He is alright and has been a trooper ever since. After our food shopping spree of 7 carts, we still couldn't find our bus. Panic hadn't started in yet, but it was in the back of our minds... passports, money, computers... all gone! One of our team members, however, started walking down the street and saw our bus in the distance. Phew!!! Only this time it was Leo driving! I guess his brother drove to their shop and they traded drivers and didn't let us know he'd be leaving. All is well now, as as we loaded everything in to the jeepnee and the bus. We took off for home, the Sunrise House! We drove through the city and the main perimeter road prior to turning onto the barrio road. We drove along the single lane road that is about 30% paved and 70% clay and rock = lots of deep pot holes and bumps for us! It's fun to wave at the people in their one bedroom, bamboo built houses looking out of their open air windows. these are the types of "huts" you see in pictures. However, as we turn up the steep, windy driveway that leads to the Sunrise House, the atmosphere changes. The Sunrise House is absolutely majestic and takes my breath away ever year. It is a modern house, built on top of a hill, overlooking the Loay jungle and Loboc River. I smile though, when I hear the oohs and aahs from the team members in which it's their first time here. It's absolutely paradise! We arrived home around 4pm, well enough to see the house and the surrounding in broad daylight. We unloaded and got settled as our exhaustion hit us yet again. 44 hours of travel... I was ready for a deep sleep. The team went off to practice their dramas as I hunkered down to unload the groceries and make dinner for 18 people. Something easy for the Philippines.... tuna boats and grilled cheese sandwiches with a side of bananas. I think the last time I ate tuna was in the Philippines last year. We don't get a lot of protein here, so getting a good shot of it with tuna is helpful. We were all in bed by 8pm again tonight, laying down with the room spinning around us, excited for the happenings of tomorrow!