I was just about to pack it up and go home, when one of the women was laughing and pointing at my snorkel, as if she'd never seen such a thing. I asked if she'd like to borrow it and she shyly nodded. I showed her how to put on the mask, but she was too anxious and put her face in the water without the snorkel in her mouth. She came up sputtering and instantly decided that this contraption was not for her. Her friends all had a laugh and one of the men asked to use it. Washing it off in the saltwater, I handed it over. He immediately put on the mask--upside down. The nose part was on his forehead and his nose was smashed into the mask. His friends laughed, and we finally got it off and back on again, properly. But he too immediately gave up after only a second underwater. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working for them, when one of the men said, "I can't breathe through my nose!" Right you are dude! Snorkels don't work unless you use your mouth! Oh, and they also don't work unless the snorkel is actually IN your mouth! We had laugh after laugh and I bonded with the locals as ten or more people tried something new that day. But pretty soon I was tired of being on show. I gathered my clothes and my unread book and hit the road on foot. It wasn't long before one of my new-snorkeling friends pulled up behind me and offered me a ride on his motorbike and I made it back to my hotel just in time to shower and check out.
On my last day, I decided to go to the beach. I got up early and had a lovely 1 1/2 hour run. Near the end of my run, I passed Aeman's hotel just as he was coming out to get a trike to go to the port. He was to board a boat at 8am which would arrive in Manila at 10pm that night. However, instead of the 14 hours it should have taken, he arrived in Manila the next day at 2pm, a full thirty hours and 16 hours late. Anyway, I tried to turn off the road before he saw me in my sweaty red-faced glory, but to no avail. We talked for a second and then he said, "I don't want you to get cold," as if that could happen in 85 degree weather. He meant he didn't want me to get cooled down in the middle of my run, so I laughed and kept running. 
After a shower and breakfast, I headed to the beach. The beach was called "Pristine Beach." Sadly, it was anything but. The water was cloudy with silt and curned up dirt. The shore was littered with plastic rubbish. I put on my snorkel hoping to see anything worth looking at under water. Being the only light-skinned person in the midst of maybe two hundred Filipinos, and being the only one with a snorkel, I stood out just a bit. I was snorkeling but the only thing to see was sand and garbage.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Snicker, A Snorkel
Monday, May 26, 2008
Perfectly Underdressed
Don't you hate it when you show up for a date in backpacker pants and a tank top, and then your date comes along dressed to the nines in slacks and a ironed polo shirt? Never happened to you? Lucky you!
Earlier in my room, I had surveyed my clothing options. Never imagining I'd have a date with a handsome Libyan man, I had brought nothing worthy of dinner at a romantic restaurant. My two pair of backpacker pants, my running shorts, my casual t-shirts, and worse--my sports bras, presented nothing even remotely date-attire-like. I didn't even have makeup or a hair dryer. Throwing on a yellow tank top and burgundy capris, running a comb through my hair and slicking on some lip gloss, I grinned ruefully at myself in the mirror and skipped out the door. Hey, attitude is everything right? So forget the clothes. I still have my sexy confident self and that would have to be good enough! Humph!
And it was. From the minute Aeman stepped out of the trike and a smile crossed his face, he was a complete gentleman. "Hey!" he grinned. "You found me!" All the tables were reserved, but that didn't phase him. We sat and talked, and after a wait for a table, they led us to a table beside the town mayor. Which meant that all evening long, we were in the background of everyone's photos!
We chatted and laughed about life in the Philippines and the humorous expat experience. He ordered and time flew by as we ate and he told me about his life in Libya and about growing up with 13 brothers and sisters. He told me about his Mom and Dad's arranged marriage, and we laughed together at how different our upbringing was. He told me the history of Libya, along with throwing in that his great grandfather was the king of Libya*, until Qaddafi (Gadhafi?) began a revolution and installed himself as the ruler. He told me about the house his father built with 20 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and 5 kitchens.* Too soon, the wait staff was clearing our dishes and the kitchen staff was turning off the lights and heading home. It seemed like it had only been a few minutes but one glance at my watch told me we'd been there five hours!
After Aeman paid the bill, we stepped outside into the tropical night air. He shook my hand and said goodnight and put me in a trike. I rode home smiling, and he texted later to say, "I had a really good time getting to know you. I hope to see you again." Smile and sigh!
It's a lovely Puerto Princesa memory. Hey, at this point, any date that doesn't end with "Sleep with me" is a good date in my book!
*Do I believe him? I don't know. The source of all "reliable" information (aka. the internet) neither confirms nor refutes his story and his identity.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Mishaps and Miscommunication
I have to get out of Manila. In five years here, I've had one (disastrous) date. In two nights in Puerto Princesa, I had two different men ask to join me for dinner.
Aeman and I had a fun day being the odd ones out, in a group of six Filipinos who all knew each other. Though the swimming in the rain had brought out the laughter and conversation, still it was two against six. So when he leaned over and said, "Dinner?", I was interested. He's an intriguing man. I said, "I'm thinking of going to a restaurant my friend recommended. I think it's called Ka Kui. I don't even know exactly where it is." He said, "Don't worry. I have to go shower and find the ship port. I'll text you and we can meet there." But I was unintentionally playing hard-to-get.
"Aeman," I said hesitatingly, "I have only one bar of power left on my phone. It might die. So, I'm going home to shower too. And then I'm going to find Ka Kui. If you meet me there, great! If not, have a safe trip home."
Awhile later, after I was freshly showered and glowing from a little hint of sun, I stood at the desk of my hotel. "Where's Ka Kui?" I inquired. "You mean Kalui?" they said. "Probably," I replied, with a sinking feeling in my stomach. A few minutes later, after a ride on a trike like this one, I arrived at Kalui. Walking in, I noticed a beautiful and romantic restaurant, complete with a "Reserved" sign on every table. And no sign of Aeman.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Swimming in the Rain
As we left, a sign in the parking area caught my eye. It read something like this, “This parking is for costumers only.” And if you don’t have a costume, don’t even THINK about parking here!
On the way back to town, we all tried to sleep. Aeman quietly leaned over and said, “Do you have plans tonight? If not, maybe we can have dinner together.” Stay tuned!
*Haha! Just kidding!
After leaving the Underground River, we stopped at this beach for a lunch of rice, fish, veggies and soup. It was delicious and as soon as my tummy was full, I was restless to get into the water. Aeman disappeared so I said to the other six, "Are any of you interested in swimming?" They debated and said, "If you are!" I said, "I am if you are." Soon I was in my itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini* and frolicking in the waves while the others were nowhere in sight. But feeling a little lonely, I looked back to the shore and saw Aeman and one of the other guys engrossed in conversation. Then they looked up and the other guy pointed to me. Aeman waved the shorts he’d just bought. I laughed to myself and soon he joined me in the water. Before long, all eight of us were splashing and laughing and sharing my snorkel. The best part was, it was raining. If you’ve never gone swimming in the rain, you have to try it. It ranks right up there with sitting in a hot tub while it snows. The water was crystal clear and the most beautiful turquoise blue. And if you go underwater, you can watch the downpour from the underside. It's pretty cool! Oh, and if you have a snorkel, you can check out other people without them knowing it. Just so you know! (You can also share your snorkel, providing HOURS of entertainment for all. Don't worry, the salt water washes away all the cooties.) All too soon, our guide was waving for us to come in so we could head home. :-(
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Great Expectations
I've learned that sometimes anticipation results in unreasonable expectations. After waiting in "line" for nearly an hour, and in the midst of a downpour, we boarded the boat. The boat man paddled us into the cave entrance and we spent the next 45 minutes looking at these. The underground river is under a small island, which is uninhabited. The length of the entire river is 8Km long, but the boat tour only takes you 1.5km of that. The rest is accessible only by special permit from the government, and part of that includes walking or swimming since the space is very narrow. (The underground river was discovered by an American in the 1890's. Go Americans!) When I said that the island is uninhabited, I mean by humans. There are lots of monkeys and giant lizards on the island. 
It wasn't the most exciting trip I've ever been on, but it certainly accomplished its purpose--to make me feel like I was far far far away! 
Oh, and the guy antagonizing the beast? That's Aeman. I won't be showing you the picture of me...one eye on the monster and the other on the camera=look of insanity!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Potty Talk
I have to share this. I'm sorry to all of you who are grossed out by potty talk. Please don't read this post.
Ok, anyone still out there? In this country, as in many others, water shortages are worries we think about often. I watched a cooking show once where she just let the water run and run, and I cringed at the waste. This is something my ignorant self didn't think of before living outside the US. The downside of water conservation is that there's a little saying here.
"If it's yellow, let it mellow.
If it's brown, flush it down."
Where I come from, you still flush each and every time. I will never get over that. And working in an elementary school, there are few things gross-er than going into the bathroom and seeing a not flushed toilet. Unless it is of course, sitting down only to realize that the water IN the toilet isn't the only present the last occupant left.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Day Trippin'
Only a few short hours after "Dan" dropped me off at my hotel, I was up again. I had breakfast on the roof of my hotel/pension. (When you go, stay at Puerto Pension. It was only 795 pesos, including breakfast. I had the tiniest room you've ever seen, but it was clean and comfortable and the view from the rooftop restaurant is worth the stay.)
I had no sooner returned to my room than the phone was ringing, telling me my the tour bus to take me to the Underground River had arrived. I grabbed my suit and snorkel and ran out the door. There were already 6 people in the van when I arrived. They all knew each other, and that left space in the back seat for me and the other man they picked up. The eight of us set off, and only 15 minutes into the trip, in true organized-tour style, we stopped at a rest stop for water, chips, drinks, lotion, whatever. I got out for a stretch because the trip was meant to be a 2-3 hour ride over bumpy country roads. When we got back in the van, my seat mate handed me a bag of chips and a drink. Nice, right? Since food always opens doors, he and I started talking. Aeman was from Libya but studying here for his PhD in Rural Development. We talked about his four years and my five years here as we bounced along, trying to avoid the potholes but hitting more than we missed. Eventually we arrived at the port, where we boarded a boat. We took a 20 minute boat ride, then a 10 minute hike, and finally arrived at the boat that would take us underground. 
