I'm here! Finally after months of prep... I'm in Manila. I've got a hotel room for the next couple nights in order to rest (and hopefully catch up to local time) and I'll start FH stuff for real on Monday. Not sure what to say... except it was an intense and interesting trip... and I'm definitely excited, but also definitely overwhelmed at the moment.
Manila is unlike anything I've ever seen. And yet, despite being a different culture, with a different language, and a crazy place with a twisted history, it's amazing how much can be the same. It's bizarre to go from children naked in the street taking a shower or running up an begging from you to a huge western-style mall selling $100 jeans. And yet, the disparity between rich and poor exists side by side in America too. Everywhere you turn is a 7-eleven, a Wendy's, or a McDonalds. Even found a starbucks. And yet, Wendy's sells spaghetti and there were no slurpees in 7-eleven. Western music everywhere (nothing like hearing blondie (sp?) on my cab-ride from the airport). I've only seen 3 white people since I landed, all of them in this mall, and 2 of them only because they are sitting in this internet cafe with me. It's going to take a little getting used to being noticed everywhere immediately.
At this point, I feel pretty overwhelmed... and pretty useless. We flew in over entire cities that are just shanty-towns constructed around garbage dumps. The poverty is intense, and yet, as much as I want to help, the cultural/language barrier seems just as intense and insurmountable. Sure, everyone (seriously, as far as I can tell) speaks English. But only to me. To each other they speak tagalog... and I immediately reinforce the fact that I'm an outsider when I speak. I will be glad to have some guidance once I start training for real, but at the moment, I'm just praying for inspiration and trusting that God brought me here for a reason. I definitely can't see the reason yet, but it's there.
Alright, time to get some food and then some sleep. Looking forward to brushing my teeth now that I have some bottled water (didn't think of that the first time I went to the room, and I made it as far as the sink with the toothbrush before stopping). I love and miss you all... and despite my being overwhelmed, I'm incredibly grateful and excited to be here. I appreciate the prayers!
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I'm leaving in a few hours, but I'm glad to see that you have arrived and thankful for the few words on the intense outsider culture shock. (At least I won't be the only one sticking out...)
You're in my thoughts and I can't wait to catch up on your experiences when I return home!
Take care,
Jess
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