| 01 May 2005
Waking up in a puddle of sweat is super. I lifted my head from my pillow this morning, but the pillow came with it.
I went to the bathroom for my morning whaz, to discover they don't have proper plumbing. There was a toilet bowl, with no tank on the back and no seat. To flush, there's a faucet on the wall, and a bucket you fill up. Great!
We got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. They had "hanging rice" and fish on the table for us. Hanging rice is a fistful of rice wrapped in a leaf, and I assume - left to hang for a while. It had a gelatinous texture to it, which was odd since it was incredibly dry in your mouth, and proved to be difficult to swallow without water.
Leo - one of Lyla's cousin's sons - get used to that kind of reference, was going to take us out to see some sights and such. And I didn't bring my camera. Why?
We got into his car and headed over to a mall parking lot. It's so strange to be in a poverty stricken area one minute, then chilling out at McDonald's the next. In the Philippines, you're either really poor or really rich. I didn't meet any really rich people. We met up with a couple of Leo's friends - Julius and Gilbert. Julius had a truck, so we all got into his vehicle and took off to a temple.
And what a temple it was! Multi-leveled up the side of a hill, with ponds and sculptures abound. And why the fuck didn't I bring my camera? Once we were done there, we started heading toward an old fortress used to hold of the Spaniards, back in the day. We had to go past the house to get there, so we swung by so I could grab my camera on the way.
We spent some time at the oldest church in Cebu, and Magelen's Cross, which symbolizes the introduction of Christianity to these people. (Side note - Cebu's first 'hero' killed Magelen and cut off his head.)
We had arrived in the Philippines during Holy Week - Easter, and we passed many crowds of people parading behind guys dressed as Jesus, dragging a cross to whatever destination they were off to. What was pretty strange though, was when they arrive, they actually get crucified. Don't get excited - it's a clean nail between bones. The next stop was lunch, and when asked what we felt like eating, I replied "Anything but seafood", because as we know, I like anything but seafood.
We drove for a while longer, and overheard Leo describing to Lyla the place we were going to stop to eat. "You pick out whatever fish you want, and then they will cook it and serve it to you."
What a prick! The only thing I don't eat is fish, and they decide to bring us to a fish place anyway? Sheesh. Some family...
So we arrive at this shoreside restaurant, and I noticed a stall selling fruit on the other side of the parking lot, so I picked up some oranges and met up with the rest of them as they tried to decide on what fish they all wanted. We were seated and some garlic rice was served, so I started filling up on that when the fish arrived. "You gonna eat some of that, Greg?" asked Julian
"No, man. I don't eat fish." I replied.
"What do you mean? You said you wanted seafood! You said 'Anything, but seafood.'"
"In Canada, that means I'll eat anything EXCEPT for seafood."
"Oh...I thought it meant you'd eat anything, but seafood is best."
So that became a running joke for the next few days, and we'd all roar whenever someone said it. It was always said as though it's true meaning suddenly dawned on them.
We headed over to the beach next, and just sat on the steps of the pier and drank some beer while watching the ocean.
As the sun started to set, we went back home with a crate of beer in hand. We sat out on the patio and ate roast chicken and rice - which I think is a great idea, why don't we do that here? They way they drink at these "gatherings" is there is one glass, and the first guy fills it and the second guy drinks it, who in turn refills it and on and on around the table it goes. It's some sort of bonding, brotherhood thing. .
We chatted late, late into the night, and a guy dropped by who looked like a Philippino Rob Schneider, wearing a Canada shirt, and we all drank and laughed in the dark. It was great. Except when that damn pregnant cat stole half of our chicken. Fucker.