Home again home again Gigidy Gig

Hi to All,
Sorry we have not posted in a few weeks been very busy.
We all made it home, some by plane, some by taxi, but we made it.
We would like to thank all the people who made our trip so enjoyable.
Everone was just wonderful to us District 3860 is full of giving Rotarians.
We would not have made it wothout you all.
We will be posting pictures very soon so stay in touch.
Boo

Gumby

Well we are being flexible again,

Our flight from GenSan was canceled and we have had to stay another day. So tomorrow we will go to Manila and sit in the airport for three hours and then fly to Cebu City. We also had to cancel out trip to one of the islands and to the Douglas Mc Arthur.
oh well one more night in the country wont hurt us. I hope.
More later.
Boo

Half way

Hi All,
We are half way with out adventure and getting ready to head to Cebu City tomorrow.
We are all looking forward to it.We have seen some beautiful country but ready for the city and a Starbucks!.
We are finding the heat gets to us more than we thought and still having a hard time getting good Internet service but we will try to keep you posted.All the team has been great troopers in some difficult times. We all could use a good hot shower.
Best to you all at home and our thoughts are with you all.
Boo

more pictures

home

We just got the information on the weather in Va, and hope all is well with everyone.
We are still in GenSan and planning to leave on Thursday to go to Cebu City which will give us a chance to see a bigger city. We have been in the country side for about a week now. The people are wonderful.
Boo

Doing well

Hi all, we are still having fun and living out of suite cases.

Yesterday was Jessica's Birthday and we got celebrate by going to the beach and today we went diving with one f the clubs. Only Jessica went under but the rest got to snorkel.

I have finally gotten to a site that has WYFI so I am able to send some pictures. Don't be alarmed by anything we are really fine.

Boo

Lessons 5 & 6

Long car trips in vans and videoke are both fun. First, car trips. We have learned something very valuable about ourselves and our ability to make fun when there is none. On the way from Davao to Gensan, we discovered that we have an uncanny ability to amuse ourselves in any situation whether tired, cranky, hungry, or homesick. Second, in Marbel, we learned that vidoeoke IS fun. We had, as a result of a general lack of knowledge and a good ole American fear of signing in public, thought that videoke couldn't possibly be any fun at all, but we were wrong. After much coaxing and convincing, we decided to join a few Rotarians in a rousing session of videoke after one fellowship meeting and we were all surprised at how badly we sang, but how good it felt. Achy Breaky Heart and I Will Survive were among our favorites. (PS all Filipinos are good singers...its in their blood or something.)

Lesson 4

Filipinos are the most hospitable people in the world. We have want of nothing here. What they have they will give us; we only have to ask, and when the give it to us, they give us a lot. On Monday, we went to a rotary meeting in a city named Tagum. They were wonderful, and they toured us all around the city. For lunch, we went to a coffee shop owned by one of the Rotarians. Victoria, Carver, and Jessica had ordered lunch earlier in the day because of their vegetarian, dietary needs. Victoria had ordered soup, Carver had ordered a tuna sandwich, and Jessica had ordered a crepe. Well, that's what everyone got. All three dishes. The food just kept coming and coming. We also had fruit, which has been a staple of our diet, and coffee and sodas. We could not eat it all. Now we know, you have to tell them EXACTLY what you want, and then you will receive it.

Lesson 3

Always take toilet paper. So much of our trip has been spent in beautiful houses and hotels and meeting places. We have been treated like queens here. The food has been abundant, the entertainment has been frequent, and the sights and sounds of each city have been interesting and different, but so have the bathrooms. You never know what you are going to run into when you venture to the Comfort Room. We have learned a couple of things. 1: always take tissues or toilet paper with you. 2: sometimes a shower must be taken with a bucket and a scoop. 3: showers must be taken cold. We are learning so much about this different culture; it's almost hard to believe.

Lesson 2

Don't play with the sea urchins. On Saturday, we traveled to an island near Davao called the Sunken Island where one of the Rotary members has a beach house. Here a beach house is just an open structure with a kitchen, a place for escaping the sun. No one here goes out in the sun on purpose, and they all think were funny because we like to tan. While there, Jessica swam into a sea urchin and was stung. All of the locals urged her to try the indigenous anecdote: urine. She did not. Instead, one of our new friends, Rebel, had her bathe her foot in vinegar. Oh, the adventures we have had.

lesson 1

Ok after over 24 hours traveling we were half the way there.
We had to stay in Tokyo for the night, Lesson we learned ,always pack a change of clothing when you travel.
You will never know when you will need to stay over night in a strange country.
We did fine and are her now and had our first meeting this afternoon. More at another time. best to all.
B00

Here are some web sites about the places we will visit and our hosting District 3860 http://www.rotarydistrict3860.org/index.php
and our home district 7600
http://www.rotary7600.org/

http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/maps.htm

Only Three more days

We received our passports and visas today and it looks like we are on our way.
Tentative plans are for us to leave from Richmond Va on Monday and proceed to Manila then on to Davao , Philippines. Our bags are packed and ready to go!
We will keep you posted of all our adventures right here so stay tuned.
Boo, Jessica, Victoria, Rhian, Carver.

15 days

As travel plans come together and we begin to pack our bags, we would like to formally welcome all friends and family to our new blog spot! We will post pictures and updates every chance that we get, so you will all know what we are up to, what wonderful sights we have seen, and what interesting local delicacies we have eaten (look for reports and pictures of at least one brave soul eating balut-check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpUW0b8G9Dk). Please leave your comments, your love, and any important messages, and cross your fingers for us; we leave in 15 days!