August 2012
Downpour in Davao
Since I included a post about the rain in Manila I thought I would make a short video of some of the rain here in Davao as well. It usually rains in the evenings. It was really pouring on this night. (I couldn’t get the editor on YouTube to cooperate so it’s sideways again.)
An umbrella is a necessity when you travel here, just in case it rains while you are out. Unfortunately I forgot to take my umbrella with me when I went to school one evening. It poured – similarly to the video. I was drenched when I got home. (I run across a soccer field to get to the gate by my apartment.) Here’s a photo of me once I got home.
Fun with Food
I decided to make a post about food – so this may not be a good one to read if you’re hungry. 🙂 I like to eat and I often take pictures of my food when I travel overseas. I have included pictures of food I have had here in the Philippines and also some things I have made. (YES, I am actually doing some cooking – and even enjoying it!) I am enjoying cooking some things and learning how to adapt recipes based on what I have access to here in the Philippines.
This is my first trip to Jollibee since I returned to the Philippines. It is a fast food place similar to McDonald’s. The spaghetti you see on my plate is different than in the States though – it’s sweet, cold, and has tiny hotdog-type pieces cut up in it. It’s not too bad as long as you aren’t expecting Italian spaghetti. 🙂
This is the first dish I cooked here in the Philippines – hamburger helper. This is one of my favorite recipes from home. It was a little drier than I’m used to, but turned out pretty well. I’m going to try to improve it a little more in the next week or so.
The first Saturday after school started (August 3) Ruth (my housemate) and I decided to go out for lunch. We went to Abreeza, one of the malls here, and found a restaurant called Mooon. (yes, the 3 letter o’s are intentional) They had many choices including a few Mexican options. I enjoyed the taco-type dish I ordered; I can’t remember the name now.
They also had some soda choices I haven’t seen before. Ruth tried the Dalandan soda and I tried the Calamansi soda. Dalandan was similar to an orange flavor, but maybe a little sour. Calamansi is similar to a lemon or lime flavor. I really liked the Calamansi soda.
We have had 2 long weekends in a row, which has been a nice break. Our first Monday off I went to Paradise Island with a family from school. (There will be another post with pictures from that trip). While I was there I tried Halo Halo, which means mix mix. It is ice, ice cream, and a mixture of fruit, cornflakes, red beans, corn, and whatever else you might happen to have. This was the first time I have had this. It’s a popular Filipino food, but I didn’t try it when I was here before. You mix everything together and eat it. It just doesn’t taste the same unless you mix all of the ingredients together. I know some of the ingredients look like jell-o, but they’re really different types of fruit.
I also made a cheese ball – more like a cheese spread. I tried it my first day in the Philippines since Becky’s mom sent it with us as a snack for school. It was so good that I got the recipe. I had a chance to make it this week and it turned out well! The outside has parsley on it, which is why it looks green. I am so thankful that I can buy cream cheese and other cheese here.
My Apartment
I will slowly try to catch you up on some of the things I’ve been doing since I have been in Davao. I moved into the apartment with Ruth and it is very nice. One of the best parts is how safe it is and how close it is to school. I take about 10 steps and I am on the soccer field at the school.
This picture was taken while I was still organizing. Of course the fan is wonderful!
As you turn to the left you can see my air con! So thankful to have this. 🙂
There’s a little closet around that corner and a small, built-in desk.
I plan to do some organizing/rearranging in my room still but for now it’s good the way it is.
Below are some pictures of other parts of the apartment. It’s two levels. Upstairs are the bedrooms (Ruth’s and mine) and the bathroom. Downstairs is the living room, kitchen, bodega, and another bathroom and little outside part. As we decorate more I’ll update the pictures.
Please note the hot water heater in the shower (larger view below).
I am SO thankful to have this hot water heater.
Then we make our way downstairs…
This is the view of the living room and front door (and book shelf on the right) from the stairs. We use the fan in this picture and another fan we have while we are downstairs.
Here is our table and the cabinet where some dishes and tupperware are kept. The microwave and toaster oven are on the cart to the left of that cabinet.
You can the microwave and toaster oven on the right side of this picture. We have a cart between that shelf and the oven. On the left side of this picture you can see parts of the ref (short for refrigerator here) and freezer.
There are a couple other small parts to the apartment on the first floor, but that’s mainly it. The washing machine goes outside in a little area. I’ll update more pictures of the aparment later.
Rain in Manila
This post is a little late but I have been pretty busy with the start of school.
It is rainy season here in the Philippines and during my first week here (in Manila) I took a short video to show you how hard it can rain. I was organizing my suitcase to be ready to fly to Davao and all of a sudden I heard a noise, which I thought was an airplane taking off. When I looked out the window this is what I saw…
(sorry for the video being sideways – I’m not sure how to edit that on my computer)
Then this past week there has been a lot of flooding in Manila and on other parts of the island of Luzon. Please pray for the MANY people impacted by the floods.