I Speak Your Language

The Philippines has two official languages: Tagalog and English.  Most people in Metro Manila speak both, and due to the long running association between America and the Philippines, there are certain English words that have "invaded" Tagalog.  One of my favorite things is to listen to local radio (it's usually on when we ride in cabs) and find the English words that pepper Tagalog. It's like this: tagalog tagalog tagalog tagalog weekend tagalog tagalog.  I often think, "You guys really don't have a word for 'weekend?'" Many times there WAS a Tagalog equivalent, but the English word has become the "cooler" way of saying it. 

Here are some of my favorite English words and phrases that I've picked out.  Do they have a Tagalog word?  I don't know, but it has certainly amused me to hear these words in the midst of what is otherwise unintelligible to me:

weekend
make-up
transfer
forest
life vest
effort
labor
reduce
teenager
cellular phone
legal insights
guarantee
fair market value
lunch
end of month
winner of the pocketbook
ex-girlfriend

And my all time favorite: Tagalog tagalog tagalog tagalog tagalog Total Emotional Breakdown.

Stitch-A-Roo

Looks like Kiki's diving career is finished before it really even started- she knocked her chin this morning at the pool doing a fancy backwards jump at the pool (I was even participating) and came out of the water screaming.  I took one look and had flashbacks to the Grover Boys' Picnic- thanks to Charlie I know that fat hanging out of a gaping wound is NOT GOOD.  I managed to keep my cool- I think.  I felt like I was keeping it together okay even though inside all I was saying was, "Holy S***.  She's bleeding bad.  Why are my hands shaking?"  But I find myself wondering in hindsight if I was as cool as I think I was.  I called Bruce at work- he rejected my call the first time but when I called immediately back he knew it was serious- and told him to grab a cab stat and come get us and take us to St. Luke's.  A lovely neighbor helped me get my crap together and consoled Kate (who was sobbing).  Fortunately the hospital is only 4 blocks away, so we made it in record time. 

The hospital seemed quite competent and attentive and did send FOUR doctors to tell us she was going to need stitches. ("Yeah," I thought, "I had that part figured out before we were even out of the water.") The cut was 3 cm. long (We're on the metric system now) and took 7 stitches.  Kiki was not a model patient, but the doctor was kind of no-nonsense about the stitches.  No hiding the needle or any business like that- it was more like, "Keep it down kid, I've got to concentrate here," and that was fine.  It's not like you can rationalize your screaming 5 year old out of not wanting a shot, so it's better just to get that crap over with as quickly as possible.  We did make them wait while Bruce ran home for the purple blankie- we needed all the calming influences we could get. 

We were in and out in an hour, inContact picked up the $220 bill, and after a short detour to McDonald's for lunch, she is resting comfortably at home.

Valentine's Day

The best thing about home school is that there is no frantic scrambling to throw together a sufficiently creative Valentine for 30 unappreciative kids who are also unaware that half of their mothers are involved in some kind of secret ultra-competitive Valentine's-off.  It was low-key gifts and treats at home for us, and it was a lovely time.

We stocked up on art supplies and Kate drew her little heart out.

Speaking of secret competitions: Sunday was a Red, White, and Black-off for us Mormon moms.  We had to get a picture of our unintentional (promise) coordination.  The lady on the left, while not participating in our dress contest, has the admirable achievement of convincing Kiki to go to Primary class.

That wasn't even the most exciting part of Sunday, either!

David Archuleta came to our ward!

And I was so busy dealing with Kiki and writing Kate's Primary talk I forgot all about that I didn't even notice him even though he was on the row right in front of us!

And I played piano for a musical number so I'm sure he is super impressed!

On Valentine's Day, we exchanged gifts then Bruce headed off to work, where he received the best present ever: word that his boss had "resigned."  I'll not go into specifics, but those who are in the know regarding his struggles with this person will perhaps understand the happiness that we felt.  The girls and I went to lunch with my pal Cathy and then to Institute.  It was fun to hang with my Mormon gals for an afternoon.  Then, it was time for a celebratory dinner with Bruce at a Japanese place down the street.  Kiki was mad because she wanted Ramen noodles for her Valentine's dinner, and we had told her to zip it because the rest of us wanted teriyaki chicken.  We managed to con her into trying a steamed dumpling, which she immediately spit out, saying, "Now I DOUBLE don't want to eat here!"

She continues to shock me- she rejected a dumpling, then ate two skewers of...

QUAIL EGGS.

Because dumplings are sick.

And I still wound up cooking her Ramen.  Happy Valentine's.

These are some ladies in the branch at a birthday party last week.  They are a great group, and I'm really going to miss them.

The other night Kiki fell asleep at 6 and didn't wake up until 8 the next morning.

I took this picture because I couldn't get over how HUGE she looked.

She must be having a growth spurt.

We have a new park by our house- a real park with TOYS!

It's very, very exciting.

The time is flying by!  We are at six weeks and counting.  I'm getting excited to be home and be in my old life again (I swear to you that I am going to eat Mexican food while I run through Target singing "America the Beautiful"), but I'm getting sad to leave behind my friends and the opportunity I've had to spend so much time with the girls.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get all my souvenirs home- hopefully the girls don't mind leaving behind all of their clothes and toys.

Quiet Fun

Bruce said the other day that no one will think he's been working here since all we post are pictures of the traveling and fun times.

"But 180 pictures of you in a dress shirt would be boring," I replied.

He does work a lot, just to put that on the record.  This weekend though, he was off AND we had nowhere to go.  As it turns out, it was one of my favorite weekends here- just hanging out around town.  We started Thursday night with a session at the Manila Temple with Chris and Jen.  We had to leave by 5:15 for the 7:00 session even though the temple is less than 5 miles away because of the traffic.  The temple is (maybe!) just a little bigger than our stake center at home.  We rented all of our clothes for 70 pesos ($1.60) total, and could have kept them for 72 hours.  There was no chapel to wait in- we went right to the room where we were doing the session and waited there- it fit about 35 to 40 people. I was chatting quietly with another couple while we waited, telling them about the 100 child Primary at home, and that it was the smallest Primary in the stake, to which the husband said, "It sounds like a factory."  It kind of is!  It has been good for me to be away from Utah and experience the church in a different way- it's not always been easy to be in our little branch, but I've learned a lot. 

Going to the temple is always a good way to start a weekend.  So was the long run Jen and I went on Saturday morning.  We are getting into a really good routine with our runs and I look forward to them all week.  When I got home, Kate was ready to run too, and I didn't have the heart to tell her I was pooped, so I sucked it up and went another couple of miles on top of the dozen I'd already logged.  I must love her, I guess.  The weather has been beautiful- in the 70's or 80's all the time with these lovely breezes blowing through- so we enjoyed a walk to Jamba Juice on Saturday then went to a movie and home to swim.  Sunday was church then naps then a most enjoyable dinner with friends.  It almost seems like God went a little overboard when He blessed us in friendships here, but I'm not complaining.

I feel lucky that we are living in Fort Bonifacio- it's one of the nicest and cleanest areas in Metro Manila.  There are a lot of things for us to do close by and more green space than most other places.   

On another note, I've realized looking back that I have written tons about Kiki and life here- she's an easy subject because she lives life in such a large fashion and has thoroughly embraced almost everything Filipino.  Kate is not so easy to tell about...she is terribly homesick and cries a lot of days.  She has made friends here, but everyone lives so far apart that weekday playdates are difficult to negotiate and so I think she is a little lonely.  I've also noticed that the hustle and bustle of city life really seems to intimidate her.  She's always been a quiet kid, but when we go out and about here she CLINGS to me.  She always has to be touching me or hanging on to me, and I realize that life outside of familiar surroundings is overwhelming and scary to her.  I feel bad that the experience here, while allowing Kiki to expand in her personality, has done the opposite for Kate.  She seems to be shrinking.  When we are with friends, she is her old self, which is a comfort to me, but a trip to the mall or grocery store is stressful for her. and unfortunately those kinds of things are just part of everyday life for us. 

I wish I knew what to do.  I pray that when we get home she will be back to her old self.