A Family that Shoots Together Stays Together

A more appropriate title would be: The Family that Shoots Each Other Stays Together

Thanks to Grandpa Dan we went paintball shooting Christmas Eve.  Wow is that fun!  I am a pretty good shot thanks to a previous life as a sharp shooter.

Man talked our two Jeepney drivers into shooting with us - they had smiles bigger than anything.  The cost to shoot was way above what either of them could squander away; the likelihood of either man ever getting to paintball is slim, and to get to shoot white guys?  nill!

This is just a bit scary.

Ack!  My pants are too big for my body.

Ready for a tour in Afghanistan...Except Biz needs to find that missing flip flop. 

Babes with Bullets

Making a Living

There is definitely a way of spreading the money around the lower economic classes, even the middle class (the upper class holds tightly to what they have....). 
Even a poor (by American standards) family will hire a 'house helper', not that they seem to actually need the help but I think it's a way to share what they have, while not just giving hand outs. 

Every little village, which may just be 10 or 12 huts around a central toilet, has a sari sari shop.  Obviously the villagers could go the extra bit and buy their goods at a lower price, but for the most part villagers shop at the sari sari where they pay 1-2 pesos more for an item, again sharing what they have but not just giving it away. 

A sari sari shop.

Portable sari sari shop.

My picture of Shannon taking a picture of herself with two guys.  

Doors really are overrated in this heat.  

These guys wash cars; they asked me to take their picture. 

This is a Jeepney.  Originally pieced together with leftovers from WWII, they are now built by Jeep and function as large taxis/small buses.  The vehicles have bench seats, no seat belts, and no limit to how many people can cram into and on top of them. 

There was no longer a coffee shop under this bridge, but what a great idea.  

This is the view from the former coffee shop, not sure if it would inspire more caffeine or less?

This man sold turkeys door to door.  Turkey Salesman.  Nice.

Boys who repair tires.

Happy New Year's Eve

We are heading to the beach after lunch, then back home, then to dinner with local friends at their new restaurant, then to White Beach to dodge fireworks.

Take Care and may you be a blessing to someone in 2013. 

IloIlo - more than just a fun name

We arrived on the island of Panay at the North end, and headed south via the East coast.  There were 14 of us in a rented van - not one with 14 seats exactly, but we squeezed in.  I can't get over how caution gets thrown to the wind and we just have to do as the locals do here.  Not really seatbelts, not even seats for everyone, a driver who speeds up in school zones, passing on blind corners going up hill.  Sure is good for improving one's prayer life and faith in the Almighty!

Darn, I really did want to hire this guy.

That Brian and his store; guess he thought the extra N would keep me in the dark.  

This is just funny in a city full of traffic jams.  I could not detect any other drivers paying attention to this order.

Ronald would be proud.  And just look at the delivery truck, what a load of fries could fit in that!

I came here so often that they started hanging up the closed sign as I rounded the corner.  

I love what folks do with what they have.  My pic does not do this little garden on the edge of a second story nipa hut justice - it was really pretty.

These two cutie patooties hanging out in their Dad's bike trike.  Love the basket purse.  We wandered through old parts of the city where few foreigners go, everyone was so smiley and many people wanted their pictures taken. 

More tomorrow - got to get to bed. 

Frugal Decor

Here in the Philippines the Christmas season began the end of October, just after the Day of the Dead where they visit graves and pray for the souls of dead relatives. 

It is impressive what can be done to decorate when you think reuse and recycle.

Love this use for old cd's.  

A Christmas tree made completely of beer cans.  

Bottle tops, peeled back soda cans, and old shells.

Understated but leaving no doubt that this, too, is a Christmas tree.

We've just returned from 9 days on the island of Panay.  We traveled with the Johnstons, a few of our single lady friends, and the Russells even showed up for a few days.  We had a great trip and I'll be posting more pics.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and my Dad's birthday!  Happy Birthday Dad!

Between the Lines

We have a helper who comes to our home and cleans and cooks twice each week.  Seems odd to call Rhea our helper as she has become much more than that.  We adore her, she is gentle and quiet, one of those people you just like from the start.

Communication is difficult with most Filipinos on this island.  Because of the tourism and the lure of financial gain many Filipinos come from other islands to live in the slum area and find work here... Boracay attracts the poorest of the poor.  English is spoken better on many of the other islands, not so much here.  

So when Rhea invited us to her wedding where she and her husband were to be married after 10+ years together, we were excited to be guests.  The government and some of the Catholic churches sponsor mass weddings for free to encourage couples to officially get married.  On Rhea's wedding day there were about 70 couples getting married in the big Catholic Church on Boracay.  Man and I were unsure how to dress for the occasion, not wanting to outdo or whatever our Western hangups brought to mind.  So we 'dressed down', even wearing flip flops.

Arriving at the church we realized that beautiful dresses had been brought in for all the brides, each one different.  The grooms all wore traditional Filipino clothing.  Ring pillows were provided as well as rings, veils were provided, candles, etc.  The church was beautiful.

We asked if we should go in and get seats.  Imagine our surprise when in a round about way Rhea explained that we were to walk the bride and groom down the isle: we were to be matron of honor and the best man!  Wow did we feel uncomfortable! 

The whole service was in Tagalog so we copied what everyone else was doing.  We walked them down the isle, found the pew with their names on it, tied them together (not sure if that's a Catholic thing or Filipino deal), put on Rhea's veil, made a donation to the church (another surprise).  It was a full service with Holy water sprinkled everywhere, communion, mea culpa and amens and peace be with you..... I think, it was in Tagalog so I'm guessing at this. 

We were very honored to be given such a place in their wedding.  After the ceremony we went to the beach where one of the big resorts had tables set up in the sand and provided a free buffet.  Then we went to Rhea and Pepin's home for more celebrating.  Their home was the humblest home we've been into here, and we've been to some really poor places.  Again it was very nice, really good people.  What an honor.   Our level of living feels so extravagant. 

death and falling coconuts

Our beloved Gizmo died.  I loved that puppy, more than I love most critters.  I had poured all of my love and caring and heartbreak over every dying, hurting dog I pass each day....into that one adorable little puppy.  And now he is dead, and I am still shaken.  My best guess is that he found bones in the neighbors trash, ate them, and ended up with a puncture in his intestines.  There is nothing to be done here about such things. 

The arrival of "the kitty from the plastic bag" was timely in that it has softened the loss of Gizmo, at least for Brian and the kids.  I am not a big fan of cats; I've had many, but decided that never again did I want a litter box, or scratched furniture.  The official name of the cat in question is Oliver McDougal, Olive for short.  He is cute.  Of course there is no cat litter here so he uses what shredded paper we can find, so far he uses his paper box each and every time. 

Yo dreams of being a wildlife photographer.  Not butts about it, he has potential.  I think he will get to the bottom of things.  Yo will be the head and not the tail.  Do you want to see behind the photographer and his inspiration?  Be on the look out in a few years. 

photo credit: Yosef Lee Kropp

We did get a Thanksgiving dinner on Panay, and there was turkey.  Our friend K makes awesome mashed spuds, amazing gravy, and out of this world stuffing.  The turkey was good, comparable to a wild turkey in the states (wild turkey with feathers, not in a bottle). 

En route to our Thanksgiving feast.

The school at Carla Ati village performed for us.  They were so cute and did an amazing job.

Mr. R carving the turkey that they roasted over a fire, good thing we have fire as the power was out all day.

And here is "Brave Girl" the donut seller.  This guy was a big hit.  He shows up at the R house every day around 1pm. 

We should have just bought all of them!

Our tribe in a trike.

A coconut fell on me the other day.  It's not funny, really it's not.  People die from being hit on the head with coconuts around here.  Fortunately it was not fully grown or else I'd be writing from someplace else.... Even though it was small, the size of a lemon, it hurt badly.  Imagine a rock falling from a tree 30 feet and hitting the top of your head.  It hurt for days.  Then yesterday as I walked to work thinking deep thoughts I walked into a piece of rebar sticking from a building,  right on the top of my  head, another bump!  This place is built for folks who don't top 5 feet - I must get a helmet.