Center Meeting with Connie--February 29, 2016

Even running on three hours of sleep, my extra day of 2016 was well spent. One of my favorite center meetings I have been too. I am sad they only meet once a month instead of every week. Brad and I went with Connie. She is the only girl mentor and speaks great English because she served her mission in Salt Lake. She is pretty funny and her centers are always really good. They always have lunch and make it a fun thing. She has a great relationship with her clients which I think makes a huge difference. On our way to the meeting we met with a few who are in arrears. It took awhile to get the meeting going because they had to collect the money and go to the bank and then come back for the lunch and what they call SDA. Connie does it and they women love it. The extra time gave us a lot of time to visit though and play with Nanay Esther's little three year old named Yda. Brad let the boys play games on his phone. Yda and I played with her bucket of toys for at least an hour. She loved to line them up and say the name of everything she placed in line. SDA means social development agenda. Connie does it to teach her new center a new skill, idea, or something to sell. Today she taught them how to make homemade Tocino. That took her quite awhile because it is supposed to marinate. The center came and we laughed a lot. They are a funny center and they loved us. Our message was a quick intro to interweave which will finally be getting rolled out in the next few weeks. We talked about saving and a little about record keeping. Along with the SDA I told them it is good to get new ideas and try to be different than everyone else. But then I explained that it is good to stick with something you are the best at and already know a lot about. I asked each Nanay to go around in a circle and say something they were the best at, a hobby, their families favorite thing she makes, what she enjoys doing, etc. It was a good discussion. For the next SDA next month they are going to all pitch in the cost and make homemade dish soap. Then they are going to split up the bottles and each sell some. The money is going to come back into the center as the centers group savings. I gave them all my number and Facebook and they seemed like they actually wanted my help maybe. It was a good day no matter how tired. Back to real life. Stinky rivers and poop-covered streets. I forgot to mention, on the bus ride to the airport yesterday the little shacks and neighborhoods along the beach looked a lot like the pictures Fig sent me of his mission. Super cool. And of course, humbling as ever.

Weekend In Boracay--February 29, 2016

First, let me just try to explain where I am right now. Because actually I have no idea. Our flight got delayed to 12:15 and we are at the Kalibo airport. Except for here is the things about the "international" Kalibo airport. It doesn't have wifi or power and the waiting room is tiny so since our flight is so late we can't even go in the airport. We are all sunburned wondering around this tiny little place in the dark. No seven eleven or anything. We were walking down the street and we saw this gated place with all these tourists walking inside. Now we are noticing every single tourist is Chinese. At the end of this entrance there are two hidden jewelry shops with ridiculously priced stuff in either Chinese or American currency. Along the walkway are these little hits with red lights. We decided to lay down in one of these huts and now it is pouring and I mean POURING rain. A few drops are getting through the wooden roof but we are mostly staying dry. We still have three hours to wait it out so I doubt it will rain like this all night. Now back to the beginning. Another airport story. Our 2:30 flight was delayed until 5:30 and we got to the airport at 11:00. Security took about five minutes and there was no traffic because it was a holiday. We used up all our free wifi in a couple hours but luckily I had enough time to set up my new roommates! I am going to be living with Daphne, Keasha, Hadley Jensen, and one of Hadley's friends. Thank goodness I happened to get on Facebook for five minutes and see that first. Hadley is going to figure out where since neither Daf, Keash, or me live in Logan haha Sad not to be in the little grey house but five girls won't fit! Sorry Andrew! After a lot of waiting at the airport, discovering my kindle was dead and I didn't bring the charger, and that the audible Harry Potter didn't download we finally boarded. Thank goodness for the cherry sours mom snuck to the Philippines in David's suitcase. It took another two hour bus ride and a fifteen minute boat ride to get to Boracay and by that time the sunset was long gone. We walked up and down the beach for awhile. White beach is a fun place, I am sure it is even more fun if you drink. The beach has a nice path lined with shops and restaurants for miles and miles. Brad is pretty well traveled and even before we saw it in the daylight he said it was the best foreign beach he had ever been to. We finished off the night about midnight with seven eleven soft serve sitting on the beach with a bunch of guys trying to sell us stuff. The next morning I got up early and went on a run. It is beautiful. I had the hotel breakfast. I had my choice between a few things but settled for scrambled eggs and Tocino both times. I am pretty sure Tocino is a form of spam but I am over it. After I went straight out to the beach and plopped down for a good five hours. My chest got fried and my shoulders a little bit too. I am not as bad as poor Wendy though. We walked to the end of white beach that afternoon and got our free shakes from the famous Jonah's Fruitshakes.  Of course, I had to go mango. We chilled that afternoon on the beach some more and walked around. That night I had the best pizza I have ever tasted. And it came free in our hotel package. We are still talking about it. Kind of reminded me of something at setabellos but better. We finished off the night with watching the fire dancers all along the beach at the different resorts and then out first halo-halo. Well not first halo halo ever but from a place called Halowich. Basically their halo halo or just what they call "ice" is tiny ice pebbles that kind of look like the little beads in a diaper you can see when it explodes covered in milk or sweet and condensed milk or something I don't really even know. It has all sorts of different kinds of fruit from watermelon to pineapple, mango, and banana. Theirs was topped with mango soft serve and chocolate sauce. Oh I forgot a very important part. In the middle are cornflakes and layer of powdery stuff that I thought kind of looked like evaporated milk. I know you are probably thinking this sounds disgusting but we went back Saturday night too. And instead of three of us sharing the "couples ice" just brad and I shared and finished it. Easy. We think they could be big in Utah. Call it the next frozen yogurt or soda shop trend. Saturday morning I woke up early to the sad sound of rain and no morning run. It rained until about eleven. After breakfast we bunkered down and watched American idol. Kelly Clarkson sang a new song while eight months pregnant at the end. I cried. We decided it would be fun to swim in the rain and headed to the ocean with our waterproof phone cases we bought for 50 pesos the day before. Of course it stopped raining right as we got out there which was of course a good thing but we were a little disappointed. We swam and then ate another killer free pizza from a different place in station 1. After lunch we decided sail boating would be a good activity. Because of the weather we couldn't go all the way around but settled on the cheaper hour long option that went up and back down white beach. It was so pretty and so so much fun! There were moments that were exhilarating and moments that were relaxing. That night Wendy wanted to get her hair braided and I did it with her for a good roommate bonding moment. Mine looked nothing like the picture I pointed too and I kind of look like the girl with the shaved head off hunger games but it was fun and only 150 pesos and I have no one to impress. We had another free meal that night of chicken and rice. The night ended with more walking around the beach and a halo halo. Sunday morning I was bummed because I learned there is no church on the island. I found that out when I looked it up Saturday morning but at that point there was nothing I could do. I just assumed there would be but we all know what assuming does. I did decide I wouldn't get in the water or put on my swimsuit. Thanks mom and dad :) We are breakfast at a place I had researched before and heard was great. And it was. It is called Sunny Side Cafe in Station 3. I got a veggie omelet and the other two got huge pancakes. One was a apple crumble thing and the other mango creme. I helped Wendy finish hers. It was really good. They claimed the best pancake they have ever eaten. I wouldn't go that far though. But I have tried plenty of pancakes stretching from St George to Logan thanks to Dad so maybe I am kind of a pancake snob. They are really thick, almost like cake or a sugar cookie even. Still way good though. I was happy I found a place that everyone loved. We walked over to the other side of the island and checked out the kite surfing. That is literally all there is over there. It is pretty amazing though. I thought of will and his kite. This is like one of those kites but even bigger and then you basically wakeboard behind it. There were so many kite surfers and it was really cool to see. Brad even did an hour and a half lesson. He said it was totally worth the money and the guy said a few more hours and he could be getting in the air and doing flips and stuff. Wendy and I hung out and took pictures for him. We walked back to white beach and I grabbed a few souvenirs. I have one that I think the family is really going to love. It doesn't scream Boracay but I am excited to give it to you. I think Davey will love it. We are lunch at a Mexican place but I still wasn't hungry. My first time eating Mexican food in over a month and I settle with a plain quesadilla what was a i thinking. But the mango salsa was amazing. I am buying some mango peach salsa from Costco as soon as I get home. And now a bus ride, a boat ride, and a lot of hours later here I am. We laughed thinking about how this can be a life lesson... You can eat breakfast in the most beautiful place and just in one day end up where we are now. Tomorrow will be long but it was a good weekend, even with sunburned lips and shoulders. The sand was incredible but I followed the rules and didn't steal any. Also, it is a tourist island... But full of Chinese and South Koreans. I hardly talked to any other Americans. I don't know why people don't come here! Compared to other islands like this it is so cheap! Definitely worth the money! And now only two and a half more hours to go... Until... We board. Hopefully. 

Oh, I forgot about one more thing I ate. I had read about these calamansi muffins from a famous placed called real coffee and grabbed one on our way out. I just ate it while we were at the airport. Really good. Calamansi is basically there version of a lime. They are super tiny. Sometimes we squeeze them in soy sauce. They are everywhere. But yeah, the muffin, which was more like a cupcake, was super good like I read. 

Update: 3:30 AM just walked in the door. The soft white sand and sun and ocean were worth it though. 

Pictures

The Battles of Leyte

Oh and I ate chicken intestines today!

The outside of a guyabano or soursop

Remmie doesn't look like it, but I promise she loved me.

The palangke

Mam Babes

Happy Sunday--February 21, 2016

Happy Stake Conference. It was good. Not much in English but the spirit was still there. It is always a wonderful privilege and feeling to sustain the prophet and apostles of our church. We were the only Americans there besides one Elder. I also saw friends from the office and the La Torres and got to meet their three beautiful daughters who are 13 and 11 (twins). After church Wendy, Brad, and I made our way to the Manila American Cemetery. It was beautiful. I was struck with a lot of emotions. It is so clean and nice in the middle of this dirty city. The Philippines gave America the land for free and it is not taxed. If it were not for America, the Philippines would be part of Japan today. The memorial in the middle of the circle-shaped cemetery has the name of every missing American or Filipino who died. They also have these amazing giant mosaic murals of all of the war plans for every battle or area in the Pacific. I did not always understand them but I especially loved seeing the battleships and knowing about Grandpa Hansen's battles in Luzon and Leyte. There was even a mural dedicated to the submarine efforts and I thought of Grandpa Henderson. Lots of emotions rolled through my head but I couldn't stop thinking about (and talking about) those two. I also thought a lot about that July 4th in St George when Grandpa Hansen bore his testimony in church and talked about his friends who did not make it. I couldn't help but think if some of them were there or their names etched on the walls. I am so grateful for my freedom and for men and women who fight for our country. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and a love for my heritage. It was well worth the trip and I was so happy we went. There was even a picture of the USS Pennsylvania (Grandpa Hansen's ship) leading the pack of battleships in the brochure I picked up. A few weeks ago I used Grandpa Hansen in my FHE lesson and talked about his time in the Philippines. Can't remember if I wrote home about that. That evening Brad and I went to the YSA FHE at our Sunday School teachers' home. It last three hours and was a lot of fun. We visited a lot and then finally had the song, prayer, thought. We also introduced ourselves and played a little get to know you game. Filipinos think EVERY WORD anyone says is funny. I love it. The sisters brought an investigator and taught the lesson. I absolutely love the sisters. Sometimes I wish it was me serving a mission with them instead. I think of my cute friends and tear up almost every time I see them. I get along really well with Sister Lloyd. This is her first area and she is beautiful and from New Zealand. The game consisted of lining up in two lines across from each other and blowing a ping pong ball the the other side. Very sanitary. Don't worry but our team won the whole tournament and we got to first! I had already eaten dinner but tried everything. Some really good fish, some (sadly) cold lumpia, and an ulam with hotdogs in it. There was Filipino Spaghetti but I was seriously stuffed from the three cups of green beans I had eaten just before we came. For dessert we had "mango float" and I loved it. Just layers of cream and sweet and condensed milk, graham crackers, and mangos. It sits in the fridge over night or at least for awhile in the freezer or something so the graham crackers are kind of soggy but it reminded me of when we used to dip them in milk :) The Filipinos are loud and I love them. It was a very good Sunday indeed. Even if we got home from FHE at 10 pm! I am so grateful to be making friends and to have this beautiful gospel in my life! I am so grateful for all my missionary friends spreading that beautiful message across the globe! I love you all. 

Feeling Loved--February 19, 2016

This past week I was sick. Nothing extreme but kind of a nasty cold. I thought for sure a sinus infection was coming on but by the end of the weekend I was feeling so much better. Because of being sick I kept working out but was getting really discouraged because I felt so crappy and couldn't go very long or feel very strong. Then we found out we already used up our wifi and can't stream anything until March 1. So I haven't been able to do yoga in the mornings either. I started getting really negative and down on myself. I also was starting to feel a tinge of homesickness. Work was hard and I was struggling just a tiny bit. I remember Friday morning kneeling by my bed before we left for work and praying and asking telling Heavenly Father that I really needed to feel His love today. I pleaded to know He loved me. I thought of when President Nelson spoke at the CES fireside recently. In my journal I wrote that he asked us to ask Heavenly Father three questions. In the moment, as I prayed, I only remembered the first one, "Am I an elect Son or Daughter of God?" I asked to know if that was true. Still feeling like my head was going to explode I headed off for the day.

 It was an office day which are good and bad. I don't think Mike Glauser (USU faculty over SEED) wants us there as much as Mentors (the company) does but we are still trying to figure out our exact place in making a difference in this big old world so we do have our office days. Oh and this was the morning we had rice porridge for breakfast. I let myself splurge and have a Luna protein bar after. If they weren't a dollar each and 200 calories I could live off those. Anyway, instead of helping in the accounting department I spent the morning doing some research and finishing reading through the church's "Starting and Growing my Business" self-reliance program (Go Uncle Justy/Justie!...can't decide which spelling looks more masculine...or at least as masculine as the name Uncle Justie can be). Anyway, I had done quite a bit of talking around the office to find out how things truly work and why they do things the way they do. In most micro-finance mentoring and teaching programs the clients meet every week and receive homework assignments and such. Before someone receives a loan they must also go through a program before they even receive a loan. To my understanding that is how things are run in Peru and Ghana. Manila is a little but different though. It started off like that and they continued having weekly center meetings until about a year ago. A weekly center meeting is a great opportunity for teaching and reporting, however, Mentors couldn't afford to make their clients meet weekly anymore. The micro finance market in Manila is highly highly saturated and they were going to go under if they required new clients to go through a curriculum before receiving their loan or meeting weekly. Basically,if a woman needed a loan and didn't like the requirements Mentors wanted met, she would just go elsewhere. And as far as the real motivated and business-savvy women who truly want to grow their business and would happily meet weekly and keep commitments, well, there just aren't enough of them to compete in Manila. And thus, this is how Mentors Philippines transitioned from MENTORS Philippines to a lending program. In my opinion, not only does NOT meeting weekly NOT provide a good opportunity for teaching and growth it also attracts clients that may not really want to grow or don't payback on time. They are in a hard situation and the solution isn't simple or easy. Currently, the centers meet once a month and the group leaders every week. Because of this it is hard to have constant relationships with the Nanays in the grameen groups. I had to figure out how to teach them and make a difference with them, even if we couldn't see them consistently.  I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what the most important message or lesson I can give them with limited interaction (these groups are different that the IL or individual loan clients I work with). Usually we emphasize record keeping. Okay, so back to Friday morning, I worked on creating a handout that had examples of what record keeping actually looks like. It starts with a budget, leads to a income and expense log, and then is completed on an income statement or profit and loss statement. My handout also gives some reasons why to record keep. It is hard because the women in the grameen groups are often making so little it is hard to teach the idea of having separate business and personal expenses and paying themselves a commission. Sometimes we can teach that but not too often. A lot of the time they have little idea of what is going on financially in their business and if it is even profitable at all. We also are going to teach the concept of saving. Mentors requires them to make deposits into a savings account but they still don't always get it. A lot of Filipinos live by what they call "hand to mouth". The women in the grameen groups definitely do. This means they have a hard time seeing in the future and spend all that they make that day, after all they do need to eat. But it isn't always as bad as they think and saving just a little, even a few pesos a day, could help them see that. Joel taught me about this. We even had the idea of doing some recycling and making them homemade piggy banks. I also have had the idea to create a little play for lack of better words or example of what recording keeping "looks" like... They write down how much they buy the items for their sari-sari store and then writing down how much the jeepney cost to get home and then how much they sell every single item for. It all sounds silly but I really want to help these women and realistically speaking, I think that I will only get to meet or see each of them a few times, if that, while I am here. I spent all morning trying to make a handout. While staring at spreadsheets and a computer screen didn't make me feel "loved" yet, telling you guys about it has made me realize that I probably accomplish more than I think I do here. I am trying and I am learning, A LOT. 

So after the work on the handout, I ate my pack lunch and decided a Diet Coke and a trip to deliver a letter to the office might spread some Emi self-love. On my way home I stopped at the park in the middle of City Hall to drink my diet coke and get some sunshine. There is also a school there. Not only was I the only white person there but I was also the only person who choose to sit in the sun. Two girls about my age came and sat by me and we started talking. There was also a 13 year old (looked 8) boy who just came and parked his bike by me. The two girls worked there and were on their lunch break and the boy and his little brother just ride their bikes around all day while their uncle is at work, every single day. Before I knew it more little kids from the elementary school were gathering around. Soon there was a crowd of at least thirty. (Emily had posted a snapstory of this experience with the children. I assumed she was visiting a client at school or something because there were so many kids gathered around her laughing and smiling and talking to her...it warmed my heart to learn that it all began with a plea that morning to her Heavenly Father to know how he felt about her...and on her lunch break she had started on a park bench by herself and ended up surrounded by joyful smiles and laughter, all drawn to her for her friendly smile and demeanor. What a special answer to her plea to her Father.  Ironically by the end of the week, I had sensed she was a little down and Thursday night at family prayers we prayed a little harder and little more specifically than usual for Ems...she's 15 hours ahead of us, so do the math...). They think I am an "artista". Some of them even thought I was Arianna Grande. It wasn't the fact that they think I am pretty though and all their pictures and videos that made me feel loved. It was talking to the two girls about themselves and life in the Philippines and my life in America that made me feel God's love. Of course, everyone's smiles, laughs, and joy for life helped me to be happy too. They think I am the most beautiful person ever, even when I think otherwise. I hope though to be beautiful for my heart and not my skin or hair color. I told everyone I would come back on Wednesday and they all followed and yelled my name as I walked away. I will have to think of a game or something we can do at lunch Wednesday. If only I spoke Tagalog... dang it. Yoga Glo also showed me some love too when they refunded me my money for the month of February and gave me three free months. It made me so happy. I still haven't been able to do a class. But hopefully coming March I will be able to. We watched Pursuit of Happiness for foodie Friday (love Joel) which also has a good message. That night I felt like a local because we got to the movie theater without taking an Uber. We saw Zootopia (yes, a kids animated Disney movie) and it was so so good! It had me laughing out loud. I don't think it comes out until March 4th in the states. You guys have to go for me!

This is already long but I feel impress to share one more thing. My sisters don't need to read the whole email but I learned something new and I want to share. Last Sunday at church I felt impressed that I should re do my Individual Worth and Divine Nature personal progress values. The first one in individual was how they first experience of a value usually is, read a list of scriptures and write in your journal how you feel or what you learned. This is what I wrote that night, 

Individual Worth

#1 – February 14, 2016

I loved these scriptures. Today, is Valentine’s Day and I was prompted by the Spirit today to complete the individual worth and divine nature values again. Out of the batch of scriptures my favorite was in Abraham 3: 22-23. I learned that we were organized or created before the world was because we are God’s greatest creation. We are not God’s greatest creation though for what we look like but for who we are. I came to earth to receive a mortal body. That means, that in this organization before the world was that I had not received a body yet. I was noble and great for simply what my spirit was. I was a soul who was in the presence of God. He chose Abraham to accomplish the things He needed him to accomplish for who Abraham’s spirit or soul was. I know that I was chosen to accomplish a great work. I was given a body to fulfill that great purpose. My body must be healthy to fulfill His will but I was not given my body for what it looks like but for what it can do, which is fulfill God’s plan. I know Heavenly Father loves me because of what I read in the scriptures. I also know that he is mindful of me because of the angels he has placed in my life. Part of their plans were to be a blessing in my life. It is not what they look like that has blessed my life but the comfort, friendship, advice, love, joy, and light they have shown. 

Abraham 3: 22-23

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And god saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham thou art one of them; though was chosen before thou was born."

Then next experience is about patriarchal blessings. I read mine and noticed that it says I am a "choice SPIRIT from my Father in Heaven". It confirmed to me what I had learned the other night. I am grateful for my body and I came to earth to receive a body. Our bodies can DO amazing and wonderful things. But we are also more than just bodies. I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me. I am also grateful for family and friends who love me. I am even more grateful that I have family and friends who I LOVE and that I have knowledge of a Savior and Father in Heaven who I LOVE. 

Joy--February 18, 2016

Thursday are for meeting IL clients with Mam Babes. Love her even if is she is 3 hours late for our meetings. We went to a printing Xerox shop that also does t shirt printing. The owners name is Joy and she is happy and beautiful. She is a rockstar. We didn't even have to give her the record keeping speech, she does it already! It helps her husband is an accountant. I am excited to work with her. She is going to meet with us at the office. I think we will be teaching her how to manage her employees. She couldn't say much because they were right there while we were talking but I think she was implying she struggles with them a little bit. We also want to help her come up with a marketing plan for the t shirt printing. That is the lowest selling service but the t shirts have the highest profit margin. The next client we went to see wasn't home, this the third week we have tried to visit her. 

Hamburgers for Breakfast--February 20,2016

Yes, Nanay made us hamburgers for breakfast. Sadly, I think I have actually had a left-over hamburger or a turkey burger for breakfast once or twice in America. She is so sweet though. She knows we are American and I think she meant it as a thoughtful gesture. After we asked her if Filipinos have hamburgers for breakfast, she laughed and said "oh no!" We told her Americans don't either and she was quite surprised. This week was a little on the different side for food. One ulam was basically full of a jackfruit that is picked before it is ripe while it is still a vegetable. It kind of looks like cow stomach... But the taste wasn't too bad. Kind of like a mushroom maybe. For breakfast we had chicken and toasted garlic porridge. She did buy guyabanos though so we got to have that in the form of a smoothie this time! I love it. It is a fruit that kind of tastes like a sweet tart. They also call it sour sap. For foodie Friday we had young coconut milk straight from the coconut and a street food which is fried quail eggs. Yep, I tried one. 

But first let me take a selfie...--February 20, 2016

Here is a funny for the week. So I was on my way to the post office (it is less than a five minute walk from the office on a busy road so I just went by myself) and I saw a police officer on the side of the road. I asked him what time the post office opened just to be sure and he said 8:00 so I was fine. I mailed my letters and was on my way back when he yelled to me to ask me if I found it, I gave him a thumbs up but then he waved me over. He was directing traffic into city hall. He asked me where I was from and then asked if he could take a picture with me. He whipped out his cell phone right in the middle of the road and we took a selfie. For some reason, I don't think that would fly in the United States. He was nice though and I was on my way. We always joke that we are going to cause a crash one day. When we walk down the street all the drivers just stare as they drive by. Everybody stares! It was really weird at first but I am getting used to it. I think we are six of about two dozen expats that live in all of Pasig. They always yell, "hey joe!" to the boys but they never really yell at the girls don't worry, they just stare haha 

DILC--February 19, 2016

The DILC is the Discovery Island Learning Center, or Che La Lorre's preschool, soon to be just school! We are busy working on getting ready for the expansion of grades 1-3 in June. This past week when we met we finalized projected expenses so she can budget and start ordering chairs, supplies, etc. We went over what costs we think are necessary and where she may be able to cut some. The biggest accomplishment of the meeting was helping her figure out where to set her new tuition price. She also makes some profit off of the uniforms. She has been collecting different flyers from schools around the city and even pretended to be a mother to get a quote. She will be the first school in the burangay to offer 1-3 which is good. She wants to be affordable though and she doesn't include field trips or books in the tuition cost. We help finalize the preschool admissions form but are still finishing the grade school form. The expansion is a little bit of a risk but I think it will pay off in the end. I am pushing for her to give a small incentive for early bird sign ups to get a better idea of how many students will be enrolled and also to get some capital to purchase supplies and uniforms. We went to lunch with her and Charles after which was a lot of fun. I had a steak, salad, and potatoes for six dollars! And some REALLY a good ice cream. The best part was Charles bringing his camera on a tripod to the restaurant to take pictures of his food before he ate it. And the of us on timer cam. Love them. 

Pictures

Siopoa (Show Pow)--Feburary 13, 2016

We had foodie Wednesday instead of foodie Friday. Wednesday was mostly an office day with a trip to the post office! It is just a five minute walk. I helped with accounting and reformatting some spreadsheets. Wendy and I are trying to figure out how to help them make their accounting more efficient. They do a lot up there. Upstairs is full of papers and receipts. I am trying to better understand the whole process but it is taking awhile to figure it all out. Some of it feels like busy work but I know that a lot of it is necessary for the audit. Definitely could help them get more digital. But even though there is an SM on every corner I have to remind myself this is still considered a third world country with a different culture. I love everyone in the office though. I couldn't say that enough. Loving them definitely makes all the difference. Back to the show...pow! Get if? Basically it is a Chinese/Filipino food sold at every seven eleven and lots of other little stores and even nicer restaurants. It is a steamed bum with a filling inside. My kind of tasted like a sloppy joe. With the most enriched bread you could think of. I heard the saying here for the first time here, "the whiter the bread the sooner your dead!" 

PPI--February 9, 2016

Something about Filipinos, they love acronyms. They could come up with one for anything. Just one used a ton in the office is the PPI. Can't remember what it stands for exactly. Something to do with poverty and index and something else. Basically it is a ten question survey given to all the clients. We go and meet them at their business or house and then ask them the questions. In Tagalog! Or Taglish I should say. I have to admit, I don't sound too bad! I just need to work on memorizing some Tagalog now instead of just being able to read it. I played barbies with a little girl named Mika Ella. We also got to take Carlos scooter for a ride around the quiet neighborhood block. Made me miss the motorcycle. And Andrew! I had a good chuckle thinking about dad being nervous when Andrew and I took off on it. And for good reason! I also bought little Coca Cola sugar gummies for a piso each, or one peso. I think that is the equivalent to about a half a penny. Anyway, all this PPI data we are collecting, I am still trying to figure out exactly what they are going to do with it. The Nanays get a certain score for whatever their answer is. Some questions are: how many people live in your house? What is the your highest level of education? Do you have a tv/refrigerator/couch? What is your house made out of? And by the way, Nanay made lumpia for breakfast so it was a good day. 

Year Of The Monkey--February 8, 2016

Happy Chinese New Year! Really the Filipinos don't celebrate it at all but they love having work off so they take it. Apparently there is a pretty big Chinese population here but I honestly don't see many. We started off the day bright and early with super bowl Monday. We got to Buffalo Wild Wings at 7 AM. I ordered wings for breakfast. I had never had them on the bone! I always go boneless. I probably watched more of the actually super bowl game than I ever have in America. There are always too many fun aunts and cousins to talk to instead. They didn't show commercials but we did get to see halftime. I recovered from the early morning by laying out by the pool. We headed off to china town Happy Chinese New Year! Really the Filipinos don't celebrate it at all but they love having work off. Apparently there is a pretty big Chinese population here but I honestly don't see many. We started off the day bright and early with super bowl Monday. We got to Buffalo Wild Wings at 7 AM. I ordered wings for breakfast. I had never had them on the bone! I always go boneless. I probably watched more of the actually super bowl game than I ever have in America. There are always too many fun aunts and cousins to talk to instead. They didn't show commercials but we did get to see halftime. I recovered from the early morning by laying out by the pool that afternoon. We headed off to china town that night. I was bummed we weren't there during the day for all the dragon parades and celebrations but I have really learned to take a backseat here. It took us forever to get there and our first-day-on-the-job uber driver successfully got me very carsick, got pulled over, didn't use the app or gps, was on his phone the whole time, rolled into the car behind us, and tried driving down the walking streets of china town and then wouldn't let us out. Luckily his phone died and the ride only ended up costing 47 pesos. He definitely lost some money on that one, and his bumper on a brand new car. We met the Australians (three students studying micro-finance for a few weeks in Manila) and celebrated with our favorite Chinese food here... Chowking! haha It was actually my first time and it was pretty good. And I tried a halo halo. Halo halos are Filipino I believe. It is like ice, milk, and all other sorts of jellies, fruit, and sweet and condensed milks. I ate so much fried rice it felt like there was a balloon in my stomach for the next three days! We walked around and saw all the cute lanterns. People stared a lot like always. Basically, foreigners don't go to Manila. Or spend more than a few days here. So ratio of Americans to Filipinos in this city is ridiculously low. The Australians tried balute. They were begging me to but I just wasn't feeling it. Plus, the office would be so sad if I tried it when they weren't there. They said it just tastes like a hard boiled egg... Which I hate so that is good. But my taste buds have been changing a lot so who knows, maybe by the time I am 21 or have a baby it will be my favorite food. I am turning into mom. Which isn't a bad thing. Veggies are yummy. Anyway, it was a good day off. I finished off  Monday with an Instagram post saying how 2016 was going to be the luckiest year yet. I woke up Tuesday morning to an email from Andrew and my Huntsman Scholar acceptance. I think I might be right on that one...the luckiest year yet. Living in a third world country, turning 20, Drew coming home, lots of learning, and Europe. I can't wait to see what else is sneaks it way into this crazy life. 

You Could Be Drinking 2% If You Wanted--February 12, 2016

My favorite moment of the week totally reminded me of a scene from Napoleon Dynamite. In fact, it is the scene that Brack stars in. So on Tuesday I asked Nanay if she could make me some brown rice and then I would just keep it in the fridge and eat it all week. It took a little bit more explaining but she agreed. The next morning we are all just sitting there and out of no where Nanay says, "Emily, you think you are fat?" It took me a minute but then I realized she was referring to the brown rice request. We all got a good laugh especially when we compared it to Napoleon asking Deb if she drank 1% because she thought she was fat. 

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries--February 11, 2016

So I decided to make a treat for Nanay and everyone in the office for Valentine's Day. And because of all the free time we have, why not? It is hard to find recipes you can actually cook here. Even brownie and cookies mixes are pretty ridiculously expensive. Well, at least when you compare them to 99 cent price in the states. I then remembered how dad usually gets us chocolate covered strawberries on Valentine's Day (wish I could make some of grandma's heart sugar cookies... ) So I dipped the strawberries in chocolate, white chocolate, and Oreos. Everyone loved them! They had never heard of that combo! I have been trying to think of a recipe I can teach Nanay how to make so if you have any ideas send them to me! 

Foodie Friday--February 6, 2016

During language/culture class Friday afternoons we get to have foodie Friday. Before the food though Joel fills us in on all the office "gossip". I need to video him too because it makes it all the more funny. Sometimes I wonder if he should be telling us everything he does but it is just the Filipino culture. Everybody else in the office knows so he doesn't want us to feel left out. For as shy as they are they sure don't have a problem being blunt and honest when it comes down to it. Joel always brings a good laugh. He told us a cool story during our meeting too though. In 2012, the Philippines was really struggling with the amount of fast offerings they were receiving from the members and the amount that was needed. Meanwhile there was a stake conference going in Zimbabwe where the general authority was asking them to fast and pay fast offerings. He told them to fast for two meals. A year or two later he returned and asked how the fast offerings we going. With great pride the members explained they had been blessed for doing as he asked and had fast for two days every month. He said, wait I said only to fast for two meals. And they responded "Brother, here in Zimbabwe we only eat one meal a day". Back to the Philippines.... A year or two later the fast offerings received was not self sufficient for the church here. In 2014 they had another conference where the topic was stressed again. The general authority explained that the supplemental fast offering money was not coming from the United States or Western Europe but from Zimbabwe, from a people so obedient and faithful they fast for two days. Joel's point was that the Philippines is indeed a third world country, but people have more money than they think and we have to teach them about being grateful and doing what they can with what they have. The Filipinos tend to get stuck and have a hard time seeing a vision but always want more and more. Back to foodie Friday, it was a safe bet. Ice cream. But the Filipinos do it a little different, instead of a cone or cup they like to put their ice cream in a roll it pandesal like a sandwich. Apparently the only logical thing to do with something you can't eat rice with is to eat it with bread. It actually isn't too bad! We had mango and ube flavored. The classics. 

I Love To See The Temple -- February 6, 2016

Saturday was our first rainy day, but it was a happy one. I started off the morning with an amazing self-love class on yoga glow. It was all about strong root legs but with a super ton of chest and posture opening and stretches. It is amazing what different poses and flows can do to your mind and body. I have to get up around 6 or 7 to do my yoga but it is pretty nice way to start the day. Nanay made beef calenendria (or something like that) for breakfast. Basically dinner for breakfast but I am a crazy person who loves to eat sweet potatoes or left-over pizza (that is the best!!) for breakfast so I really don't mind. We went to the temple which is about a 35 minute drive with traffic. Maybe longer. But it is only about 4 miles away. If I had the Pathfinder here and the roads of Logan, oh the places I could go! It is a really pretty temple. My favorite is the stained glass. It is a fairly old temple so I think it must have been recently renovated. The people inside were the happiest I have ever met. Brad and I did baptisms. The water was so shallow!!! I felt bad and did my best to bend my legs. I did 20! I swear I'm bountiful they let you do like three haha I missed brad getting baptized but apparently it was quite the spectacle. The older guy baptizing went in with him the first time! I think they only did about five. Haha I love the gospel and this truly is a world wide church. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of it. I am grateful to my parents for raising me in the gospel. They have truly made me who I am today. I have been thinking a lot about them and what they have taught me. Lately, little traditions we have had over the years have been popping into my mind. Mom and Dad I love you very much. I wouldn't be here without you both I can promise you that. I also love my siblings, they are one of the absolute greatest blessings in my life. I am so grateful for all of my family. I never realized how truly lucky I was to have the family I do. To have aunts and uncles who feel more like older siblings. I never understood how rare that is. My family is the greatest blessing in my life and I have grateful we are eternal. I thought of grandpa on Wednesday. It is still hard to think life just keeps on going without him. But again, I know this life on earth is just temporary and we will all be together again. I often think how happy he would be to know I was here. He always supported me and thought whatever I was doing was wonderful. My heart is so full right now. So much love for you guys it could burst! We are so lucky! Love you to the moon and back and even more like mom always said!

Mam Baby-- February 7, 2016

Yes, her name is Baby. No, it is just a nickname but everyone calls her that. Everyone in the office calls her Mam Babes and our group group started calling her Mam Bae. I think my favorite is Babes. She is over all of the ILP clients and she is a rockstar. She is 57 and never married. She joined the church 13 years ago. She is a hoot. She is loud, loving, and the funniest lady we have ever met. She took us Thursday to visit a clients who own a bakery, a pet accessory store, and copy Xerox place. The woman who owned the bakery started crying when she was talking about how grateful she was for us and how much she needed our help. Of course it made me cry, too. She speaks little English though so that is a bummer for me. Mam Baby taught us about the word "papa yummy". Apparently you say it when you think a boy is really cute. Telling you about the way she says it doesn't do it justice so I will have to take a video and send it. Because she knows about all the newest trends we didn't have to teach her what bae meant. She loves Facebook quizzes. She also loves to say the word "WOW" and eat. I love the people here a lot. I am trying to help the best I can but when I get frustrated with the work, I remember I have so many people in the office that are blessing my life and teaching me so much.  

Wannabe Foodie--February 4, 2015

I will be honest, I had a hard time remembering all the names of things when I first got here, but as my Tagalog is improving so is my ability to remember all the names of the Filipino dishes. I am sure I am forgetting some of the favorites I ate the first couple of weeks. Number one thing to know, they eat a lot of rice. It isn't just a joke. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner without fail. I think they definitely eat more rice here than in China, Thailand, or Vietnam. It could be we aren't eating out as much but most restaurants here just have the same thing, ulams and rice. The ulam is what goes on the rice. Sometimes, they all sound the same or start to taste the same. But I love the ulams. The only bummer is, rice is definitely cheaper than the ulam so there never seems to be enough ulam. Also, Taylor and Bergen hate fish so I haven't tried any of that because they asked Nanay not to cook it but I am excited to try it on the islands. Anyway, in no particular order here goes some of my favorites: (I feel like Andrew raving about his friend bananas and homemade fruit smoothies ;))

1. Pan Desal - David bought these the first morning we were here and I have been thinking about them ever since. I ate them when they were still warm and they were delicious. I know there is a place down the street but I don't want to find out exactly because I know I will get hooked. They are only a breakfast bread and they only sell them until about 8 or 9 in the morning. 

2. Bikol Express - This is one of my favorite ulams yet and I had it for the first time just the other night. I actually looked up a recipe to send home for you guys to make! It is basically pork or chicken (they hardly ever eat beef here) with an ulam of onions, coconut milk and cream, and lots of spicy peppers. Nanay might have even put a little bit of curry in it. I am sure it would be even better on quinoa or something.

3. Mangoes - Didn't like them before I came here but now they are addicting. They are famous here for a reason. Green mangoes are okay too, a lot tarter and crunchier. They like to eat the green ones with shrimp paste but I am not into that. 

4. Adobo - I couldn't get too far down the list without mentioning adobo. When ever you ask a Filipino what there favorite food is this is a very common answer. Think soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic. It is pretty salty but my favorite is with pineapple in it. I like it a lot but this is one you probably want to eat with some rice. 

5. Lumpia Shanghai - Filipino version of a spring roll. Ground pork and vegetables fried in a wrapping. I could eat them like candy. Only weird thing, we had them for breakfast. I didn't mind, I always eat dinner foods for breakfast (and breakfast for dinner haha) but it kind of weird the others out. 

6. Chicken Curry - Maybe its not Filipino but chicken curry is always good.

7. Seven Eleven Soft Serve - 18 pesos (about 39 US cents) for soft serve in a waffle cone. It might be one of my favorite foods here ;)

8. Fruit Salad (And any fruit smoothie!!!) - I love any fruit here. I have had good fruit salad things at the mall but my favorite was one Nanay made. They put the fruit in some sort of coconut milk or something. They don't have milk here so I am sure it is either some powdered or can stuff. Anyway, the one Nanay made was full of coconut strings with pineapple, apples, mangoes, and watermelon. Only twist, it always had chunks of cheese in it. Not my fav

9. Chop Suey - I didn't know there was actually a food called that. Basically an ulam full of chopped vegetables. 

10. Pancit - Pretty good. Rice noodles with soy sauce or something, vegetables, and little pieces of meat.

11. Ube flavored things - Everything is ube flavored. Ube is a root crop and bright purple/indigo. I can't find the actual food but they make all their sweets ube flavored. It is kind of like describing the taste of salt... It just tastes like Ube. But it is a pretty mild flavor. 

12. Leche Flan - A carmel custard. Probably made with sweet and condensed milk and eggs. Super super rich. I think I will probably like creme brulee when I get home. 

13. Chicken inasal - This is my favorite fast food (Mang inasal) because it is marinated and grilled chicken. I swear a chicken breast doesn't exist in this country though. 

Now I am craving all of this! The best part about Philippines... Anything that tastes good (and is so unhealthy) is cheap as dirt!!!

I have had other things that I have tried but aren't my favorite but are famous here like sinigang (nanay could just maybe not be the best at cooking it....) and hopia (just like a bad papery cookie).

Of course we have things like eggs, different types of sweet processed meats, canned corn beef (definitely not my favorite) and rice for breakfast a lot. 

The MOA--January 30, 2016

Well first off, this one guy in the office. The running joke here is how much he loves me. I think that is just how he is and I get embarrassed when everyone teases me. Filipinos are just blunt and honest. He is hard to describe. Very hard worker, super nice guy but also like a little all-over-the place sometimes. He loves to have fun. They all love to have fun! Anyway, he is the one who took us to the Mall of Asia. We opted to just meet him there using an uber instead of taking a trike, jeepney, and train. It is pretty far away. Especially on the way there because of traffic. Bergen and Taylor had a little date night so it was Wendy, Brad, me, and good old office buddy. He talks a lot. And showed us probably every picture on his phone. We got salads at chilis. I had been craving a good salad since I got here. Our favorite thing at the mall our DQ blizzards. Pretty cheap compared to the US and always reminds me of home. Well not really because we were never allowed to get blizzards. The MOA is just about every other mall here. Seriously they are everywhere. There aren't parks or places to go in Manila so everyone just goes to the mall. They are clean and cool. There was a small firework show but the finale lasted about 1 second and I missed taking a picture. We mostly just walk around a lot. But hey, I can say I have been to the biggest mall in Asia and that is really saying something because Asia has some really big malls. Another funny moment, apparently he (the office buddy) is coming over tonight to make apple pie for FHE , I mean I am not complaining. But look forward to that story coming up next. Oh also, he loves to take blurry selfies and post them on Facebook. He used to sneak pictures of me but Wendy told him that was creepy so now he just says "Emily!" And I turn and he takes a picture. He explained it isn't creepy anymore because he is telling me. He keeps us laughing! I love these Filipinos! Such great people!

Boodle Fight--January 29, 2016

Friday was a regular office day. Wendy and I were working on some bank reconciliation and quickbook reconciliations from the accounting department when Joel came in. I don't think I have really described much about Joel yet. He is the best. He is in charge of the interns this go-around. He is also like the superman at the office, not sure his official title, he does a little bit of everything. He definitely keeps this place running but with little recognition. I wish I could record him. He is hilarious and we love him a lot. We keeps us filled in on everything and we go to him with most questions. He came in Friday with a serious face and said we needed to talk. He asked if we move all of our stuff to the corner of the room. All of our stomachs dropped. (Just the day before they had to fire some people because there was an affair going on in the office.... A married couple worked there and one of them was having an affair with another employee. There were lots of tears in the office that day.) He sat us all down and asked if we had been looking for trouble because he had heard some things. We were all racking our brains and it was silent. He wrote the word "fight" on the board. Then "boodle fight". Then he broke the joke. A boodle fight is just a meal/activity. You lay banana leaves all over the able. Put a line or piles of rice down the table and then your ulam, we had pork. And then you eat with your hands! It is called a boodle fight because you "fight" with your elbows to make sure you get your food. Mam Novie, Mam Dang, and some other ladies joined us too. It was really fun. I have to say I have never eaten a meal of rice with my hands. 

La Torres--February 1, 2016

Cheryl anddddddd (I can never remember his name...Their names on Facebook are different than what they go by sometimes) her husband are awesome. They are members of the church and met on you guessed it their mission. That is how all the Filipino Mormons meet their spouses. They are awesome though and really really want our help which is a nice feeling. Brad and I are mentoring them. We are focusing on her preschool. What we are really helping with is the expansion happening. In June she is going to also offer grades 1-3 and they are expanding to more classrooms. And by that I mean making even more of their house part of the school. They are smart but could still use some help. Hopefully we can help them reach their max occupation and cut some costs so it starts to be more profitable. Right now, she is only about breaking even. We chatted for almost two hours. I am sure you will be hearing more about them so I won't bore you with all the details! The preschool is called Discovery Island Learning Center. They are still in the poverty bracket but of course a little better off than the grameen women. After our meeting we worked on a promo she is going to send out to her current parents. There will be a renewal and referral incentive to celebrate their 8th anniversary and thank their current clients. Lots and lots more coming with them in the next months! They are great! 

FHE--February 1, 2016

I didn't want to give it away in the title but no apple pie. And he was 1.5 hours late but that was okay. We worked it out. But everyone was exhausted for some reason. There is always a debate how many verses to sing in the song. We get along well but there are a lot of strong personalities in the group. David always insists on all of them, so we sing all of them, but Bergen always mentions she just wants to sing one. I had the lesson and I made it short. I showed pictures of Grandpa Hansen and  the USS Pennsylvania and told them where the picture was taken (headed into battle in the Philippines) and what mom and I had read about his battles in the Philippines from his history book. Then I showed a video from President Monson about the Bismark battleship. Sometimes my rudder gets hit and I feel like I am going in circles. Sometimes Satan is working on me and sometimes it is just my own pride. But I know that if we keep in constant communication with the Lord and truly strive to follow His will that we will be unsinkable. Our office friend loves to be in charge of the game and none of us were feeling it tonight.... But we played one of his Filipino games. This one had something to do with a chorister and singing fruit names. Sometimes we all purposefully try to lose. I don't know if I was relieved of disappointed about the apple pie. Filipinos tend to mess American food up. Heck, they probably put rice in their pies.