Philippines Day 1

Although Maryann and I were excited, we were tired from our long flight. Paranoia set in as soon as we got off the plane because we weren't sure where to go. Luckily, we asked a lady before getting off the plane what the procedures were and she helped us out. The people who worked there were helpful, but there was one thing missing. WiFi. Taiwan had Free WiFi. I was counting on this to get a hold of whomever I needed to-- just in case. So we grab out luggage, and start walking towards the exit and I wasn't sure where to look for my cousin.. I felt like a lost child.. then I remembered the lady in the plane saying.. you have to go outside down to the bottom where everyone waits. So I eagerly followed everyone and tried to act like we fit in. There are all these people selling phone sim cards, loads, and I would have used it except, I didn't know how and didn't want to look like a tourist that people can take advantage of. Finally, I saw my cousin and I felt like a lost child finding their parent. As we were on the streets outside the airport, we saw many beggars carrying babies appearing to be breastfeeding. It was pretty sad for Maryann and I so we were going to give them some dollars. Our cousin advised us not to because apparently those babies may just be borrowed babies.

Kuya Eric, (my cousin) was kind enough to take us to moms house. It took a couple hours to get there and when we got out the car, we looked for our mom and I just started crying and hugged her for about 5 minutes. Then Maryann hugged her and her nose started bleeding. Then, we decided to drive down my Papa Jimmy's house which is just around the corner. We thought about staying there, but hadn't planned it in advance and didn't want to intrude. We went to the Palenke (Wet Market) to purchase a sim card, and got lunch. We ate and left to Cha Vicky's house (where we are staying for the entire trip)

We met our neighbors that evening and hung out with mom and Cha Lita. Then we tried to plan out the evening but we were too tired. We finally fell asleep uncertain about how this trip was going to go, who was going to drive us around, etc.