PHILIPPINES TRIP RE-CAP!!!!!!!!!

I've been working on this post for about 3 days. I'm tired

HULLO. I FINALLy typed up the giant end-all posts about my 12+ day trip to the Philipines :D It's plenty lengthy, but I took a bajillion photos, so those should at least be worth the skim. :3


HUEG POST AHEAD.




I'm pretty sure I cover everything of interest that I remember, but if I remember anything I didn't mention, I'll probably add it to a new post or something.
Anyway, onward we go :D


DAY 00.1

Hay kuya.

Sooo Tuesday night, after hanging out and watching HTTYD2 with Ashley and her family and Sabrina for Ashley's birthday, my brother arrived at the house with In-n-Out. Talks were had and silly pokemon were shared. Twas a fair night.


DAY 00.2
I passed on sleeping until it got to be about 4am and decided an hourlong nap was necessary before we left for the airport at 6am. With three suitcases, three giant duffel bags, and one overweight LBC box, we arrived at the airport and waited some long minutes in the baggage check-in lines.

brother: We're down to two agents.
me: ... --I thoughtyousaidasians
brother: noagents,wat

When we finally got past security/TSA, it time to chill. With a while to spare before boarding, my family chilled in the big open area of McCarren's D gate with the big windowed area and had our breakfast, only to be greeted by a bird hangin out on the beams. I made him my buddy until we had to go.

After a brief dispute over trying to wake up a girl that was passed out at the gate as everyone was boarding, we were on the plane and set to Seattle for our first stop. It was a quick flight. I was preoccupied by the window as usual so time seemed to pass okay. I skimmed a couple pages of the comics I brought along to hold my attention for the lull times. Twas a decent 2-3 hours of chill time.

Our time in the Seattle airport was fairly spent. We rushed over to our connecting gate so we could have some time to chill and find food for me and my brother. After getting all settled, my brother and I had noticed a fastfood sushiplace and were really banking on getting our lunch from there.  After standing in line for 3 minutes, however, we decided against it since our next stop would be in Japan, so we figured we'll just get whatever food in Seattle and find real sushis in Japan :D

To our despair, after some hour long delay in taxi-ing the plane after being all boarded, the plane was set to be late on arrival. Our hourandahalf long adventure in the Tokyo-Narita airport would be cut short to just 25 minutes. Ah well.

DAY 00.3

My family and I were settled in the center aisle of the giant boeing plane, a fairly boring and uncomfortable place in my opinion. I was placed in the aisle seat so I wouldn't be trapped next to a stranger in the center, but with neighbors that closed the windows, I was faaaaaaaairly bored most of the flight. I did get to watch, like, 4 movies on the plane, though, all of which I hadn't seen before. The Veronica Mars Movie (good for fanboys/girls), The Great Budapest Hotel (I was a little sleepy during, but it was still pretty good), Pitch Perfect (whiiich was fantastic), and World's End (I could feel all the Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg in my bones). After that, I watched some episodes of Louie until we landed in Narita. A nice long 9hour flight done.

After landing, my family hurried along to our connecting gate while my brother and I briefly spazzed about actually being in Japan and how it was rEAL because we're nerds. We only had time to potty and peek/stand outside of and oggle all the cutethings at the tiny convenience store right next to the gate. And then we were on our way once again.

About to leave Narita...

Back in the window seat, I was immediately taken by the view of the ocean below. I kept trying to look for giant whales conveniently passing along but it's pretty hard to see much at a bajillion meters up in the sky. My family passed out fairly quickly beside me as I pittered around in more of my comics and occupied myself with random whatevers on the seat tv for the next 4 hours.

More nerds.

Some nerds

Our arrival in Manila was greeted by a light rain. It was nearly midnight-ish when we landed and we were eeexhausted. Running around in lines to get through immigration/passport things and grab our luggage amidst a million other people was a "fun time". But there was an odd "home"-y feeling about being surrounded by a crowd of people all speaking in tagalog. By the time we were outside waiting for a relative to pick us up, the humidity finally slapped us in the face. I was fairly use to it after all the time in Savannah but still, that sticky sweaty feeling is not something you get used to. Yuck :P

Finally, our ride arrived. My mom's brother, tito Biboy, and their sister's husband, tito Obet came to our aid in moving our giant bags and boxes through the moist labyrinth of a parking lot, where we were greeted by the cutest of cousins of mine. Mom told me later on that they were shy to go with the uncles to help with our luggage because they were worried about us being snobby and about their english, but that was sooner a problem of the past.

As we piled into two vans, a heavy rain began to pour and we were straight onto the road. I was situated in the back of the van and watched as cars few by and beeped and switched lanes (or made lanes) every other moment. I passed out from sleepy at some point, apparently. My brother, who was in the front seat, said that we almost died a couple times.

Santa Grandma :D

When I awoke, the rain had stopped and we were outside of my grandma(mom's mom)'s tiny house/single room apartment, where we piled in all our luggage with about ten people. Unpacking the box of gifts from home felt like Christmas Day. It was a long night and eventually it was time to sleep, so everyone piled up on the floor while I conquered passed out on the bed where the a/c was with my dad.

DAY 01
Waking up to yummy food cooked up by my grandma and auntie was great. We ate in turns since the table had only room for four, but it was really nice, seeing how everyone interacted. I noticed everyone calling my mom "mommy ninang", which she later told me was them calling her "mommy godmother", because she gave them so many things. I thought it was cute when I didn't understand and moreso when I did.

After eating all the yums, my dad, brother, and I headed down the street to hang out at my tita Weng's shop. It's a little shop for buying cigarettes, sodas, small snacks, packages of laundry soap, etc. My brother and I were fascinated by all the things. The last time we visited (back when I was six or eight), she had a video game cafe, where it was just tvs with videogame systems connected to them. My brother and I use to waste away hours and hours just playing all the sega saturn  and playstation games that we never had. Good times. But the new store was plentiful and stocked nicely.

get out of the road dorks

hi dad

TINIEST TICTACS

the rare iLighter, from apple.

Tiny baby oil

THE BEST PHOTO I'VE EVER TAKEN.

panoramas are fun

Dad also got a haircut while we chilled.

After hanging out there for a couple minutes, my brother and I were driven over to our tita Lilet's house to greet her and meet Steven, another cousin of ours. Steven was a little shy, but tita Let was so excited to see us, it was great. We interrupted her lunch though, so we we headed back out to tita Weng's to wait on whatever was happening next.

lookit these dorks

When everyone was all ready, my brother, dad, our cousins Lilay and Bradley, and I all hopped into a jeepney and rode it to the mall area. We stopped by the Terraces, which was a fairly new mall, so there were a ton of empty stores here and there, but it was really nice and clean. And after that, we headed across the street to SM City, one of the malls that's all over the Philipines. On of the branches is apparently one of the top ten largest malls in the world, the Mall of Asia. I thought that was super cool. SM City Fairview is the one we went to, and that one was already pretty big in my opinion.

Nerd on his way to the mall

nerd at the mall.

eaty times

There, however, we experienced the routine that is mall shopping in the Philippines. At the entrance, security checks your bags, pats your back and lets you in. In the halls of the mall, there are workers standing around calling to you and giving you flyers and things. And inside the stores, there are at least 5 customer service persons on hand and at least one of them will be following you around the shop, ready to help you. At first, it was a little uncomfortable, but after a few stops into stores, it felt a little less like crowding and more like being waited on. So still fairly uncomfortable. But my parents said that at least everyone is guaranteed a job, which is a nice thought.

On top of the workers though, SM City was bUSTLING with people. It was insane to me. It felt like navigating through the halls of middle school during passing periods. So bizarre. The bunch of us gathered up into a food place and had some lunch before splitting off again to wander through the oceans of people. I think my brother and I just bought some clothes before we all headed out again.

checkin the facebooks

After the mall, we made a stop at the church where my grandpa (mom's dad)'s ashes were. We stayed for the mass and spent a little time saying hellos to Grandpa. It was really nice to see him again.

Mom saying hello

hi grandpa <3

After saying our goodbyes, we headed down to tita Carina's house, in which I was greeted by many hungry looking cats at the gate. I was told not to touch them, so I had to resist urges to pet the cuties. As we gathered up inside the house, we were greeted by many faces, young and old, familiar and unfamilar. I was a little out of my element so I crowded around my mom, dad, and brother for a while before getting more comfortable. I think I got a little sick for a while, but I beared it and waited for the ick to pass. Overall it was a nice time with family and I got to chitchat with my cutie cousin Onjang while my brother and our other cousins drank outside and talked about relationships. Twas a good time.


DAY 02

on the road again

My mom, dad, brother and I headed back to Grandma's house to regroup and get our things together and packed for a long drive to Aringay to visit Grandma Nellie (dad's mom) for Grandpa Dencio(dad's dad)'s death anniversary thing. We drove out at 2am, so I was pretty pooped. I passed out in the backseat for a little while and stayed up wen the sun came out while my dad drove. He was flying down the street and passing cars in the one-lane streets as we drove through mountains. I remember feeling pretty pukey from watching the road, but I was alright. It was a nice little trip up to Aringay.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the sweet maids in grandma's house who take care of everything for her. There was a little puppy scurrying around at our feet whose name we discovered was "Bing". It was a little ball of fluff. We were fairly early, though, so mom and dad took my brother and I to walk around the neighborhood.

The walk through the neighborhood was really fascinating and nice. My brother was remembering a ton of stuff about the place from when he was little while my parents told us all about how my dad went about courting my mom and how their relationship blossomed. It was really sweet. We stopped by my mom's grandparent's house and hung out there for a while. My brother was stricken with so much nostalgia, it was really nice to see.

We walked back to grandma's house just as her car arrived with herself and my dad's siblings. It was super sweet seeing my dad with the handful of his siblings and their mom. You can tell what dorks they are when they're all together, taking selfies.

sibling selfie before lunch

As soon as everyone was settled, my parents, brother, and I were driven out to visit grandpa's grave. It was nestled right under a tree which I really liked. We said our hellos and said a brief prayer before heading back out. Dad asked if we could go along the long way so they could show us the school my parents went to, so we did. Seeing all my roots and whatnot was really uplifting. I really enjoyed all the exploring we got to do.

hi grandpa

say a little prayer for youu

gate to the church and school

Mom and dad's highschool :D

When we got back to the house, after gathering the internet router password from one of the maids, there were a few people slipping into the house already for the ceremony, so my family escaped upstairs and we all took a nap. We politely asked  dad to wake us when the ceremony started, and I wound up waking up to the sound of prayer and song downstairs. I poked my mom and brother awake and we found the downstairs area packed with people, so we lingered on the stairs and watched the ceremony. It was actually really touching to see. My dad and his siblings and Grandma all sat together in front of the altar and prayed with black veils on their heads while grandpa's sister (i believe??) exchanged the black veils for white ones as the black ones were tossed on the floor in front of the altar. At the end, all the veils were dropped on the floor and grandma, dad and his siblings changed from their black and white clothes to something bright and colorful. It was fun to see.

View from the stairs

behind the stairs

White hankies :D

and the black veils on the ground

After all the celebrating and eating of foods, it was apparently time to karaoke until night, so that happened. By this time, my legs were a battlefield for mosquito/bug bites. I passed out with a cup of vinegar by my feet to try to keep them away. It kinda worked.

The doom karaoke machine.

DAY 03

Roosters were my alarm clock the next day. I think it was about 4am when I woke up, and I was all right with that. We headed out at about 5am to go attend mass at the church by mom and dad's highschool. It was a really beautiful church, I regret not taking pictures of the interior. I brought my Bible with me, though, so even though the sermon was all in tagalog, I still read along. It was nice, sans the mosquitos that were buzzing around my legs.

After mass, dad (and I) were reminded that that day was his and mom's anniversary. So they were set on a little alone time with me and my brother and they wanted to walk back to grandma's, rather than ride the van with everyone. When my dad's siblings saw, though, they decided they wanted to tag along too. It was still a nice walk.

getting ready for a photo

another photo

ONE MORE SELFIE

checkin those pichers

We got back to the house and hung out for a little while, having breakfast with the aunties and uncles and grandma, and looking at old photos with tita Sylvia. A little while later, mom and dad decided they wanted to go on a walk with me and my brother again, so we gathered up outside the house, but were sooner joined again by my dad's siblings once again. They're really silly. My dad wanted to show us the river that he fell into from a bridge though, so we went to see that with everyone.

So many "selfies"

reminscing on good times

standin by the river

wheeeyy

Several photos and selfies later, my dad said the fisherman that saved him and carried him back to his house and revived him is still living somewhere in the neighborhood, so we venture through the little shacks and houses and trees to find this saving grace. He was a real big guy but you could feel that heart of gold in him as we all  greeted him with smiles and gratefulness.

on the way to meet the man

found an oreo duck

and found the fisherman

such a nice dude

yay family photo :D

In the hut

We all ventured on after, my parents, brother, and I stopping for a moment to sit in a little hut next to the basketball court my dad use to play in with his friends as my mom watched in the very hut. At this moment, my brother was determined to get a perfect photo for our parent's anniversary. When we rejoined the aunties and uncles, my brother handled my camera and snapped a ton of pictures of my mom and dad as they walked along the path from the basketball court to mom's grandparent's house, the path my dad use to take when he wanted to see her when they were young. My bro is a super sap. But he got the best photo.

yaay

working on the photo

getting closer

Brobro took over camera controll

and here's the photo

Dad scratched that into the wall wayway back in the day

uncle adding his own business to the wall

admiring his handiwork

my favorite photo of Steven just enjoying life

Our group met up with all the relatives from mom's side who were staying at mom's grandparent's house. We hung out there a while, getting our plans all together before heading back to Grandma Nellie's for lunch.

After the meal, it was time for us to head out. We gathered up our things and hopped onto my brother's nightmare--a tricycle, the motorbikes with a cart attached to the side. It's like a taxi in the philippines and there's tons of them all over, but my brother is teeerrified of them. Mom made him sit on the back of the bike while my mom and I bunched up in the cart. I was fine, I enjoyed the breeze as the motorcycle putted along. My brother apparently whiteknuckled the bars he held onto the whole way.

in the tricycle like a queen

then mom told me to work the waterpipe thing :D

no one else knew about the picture being taken so I just looked like a weird.

Reuniting with mom's side of the family again, we headed back onto the road again to drive to a small beach resort nearby called China Sea. We rented out an almost apartment style suite suitable for 10-15 people. For a while, it was just my parents, brother, and auntie hanging out while we waited on everyone else to arrive, so my brother wanted to get a drink or two at the poolside bar during the wait. I forget what he got me but it was fruity and light so I was okay. My brother and I saw my mom renting one of the hotel style rooms and wondered if it was a room just for her and dad for their anniversary. Hmmmm.

The vieww

the sssuite

spotted a wild blurdad

o u

wut

at the burrr

thumbs up to ocean

the speshul  room ;D

Soon, the others arrived and piled into the suite and met us at the bar area and we all trekked over to the beach where we bounced around in the water and built weird... things in the sand. I randomly got stung by something in the water, though. I have no idea what it was or if it actually stung me, but I have these odd little freckles on my legs from the "stings" now. Ah well, adding more to the battlefield of scars on my legs.

some nerds on the beach

the poopysand castle my brother and I made :D

wheee

Dad was out like a light

After some minutes on the beach with my cousins, I hopped into the pool to sooth the stings and hang out with my dad and Onjang. It was pretty nice and chill. When I was done with swims, I changed and hung out in the big suit with the family and had dinner with everyone. At this point I was getting a little overwhelmed, so I snuck back out and chilled in the quiet hotelstyle room where my dad was allready passed out and mom looked as if she were well on her way after him. Mom requested two extra mattresses for my brother and I to sleep on the floor and I slowly dozed off to the sound of my brother and cousins laughing and yelling outside.

DAY 04
I woke up at about 6am to the sound of my dad putzing around the room. Mom woke up some minutes after as I pondered waking up my brother. She told me he and the cousins were being kids on the beach until 4am, so I decided to let him sleep a little more until tito Biboy arrived with breakfast for us. After eating, we packed up our stuff again and got ready to head back to Manila.

where did the beach go

chillin by the burr

late photo establishing where we are :D

waitin to head out

Brief commotion about who was going with who, and finally we were on the road to the bus stop. My dad, brother, Lilay and Nini (her twin), Bradley, Onjang, and I were all gonna pile into a charter bus and "experience" the 6-7 hours busride from Aringay to Manila. I didn't think it was too bad since I had the window and got to watch all the scenery pass, but my brother was apparently struggling with the length of time doing nothing. Ah well. I got to chat with Onjang more.

At the busplace

mmm dat aircon

check out the nerds

some hours later

We finally arrived in Manila and we were all starving and tired. The bunch of us had a quick meal at a Chow King before splitting off into taxis and going through some intense traffic to get back to grandma's little house. When everyone was settled back into the house again, I took that time to rest. My brother and Bradley went off to go get some shwarma meanwhile. It was prettttyyy good.

waitin on foods

waitin on taxis

ZOOMING THROUGH TRAFFIC

and then it was sleeptime

DAY 05

yummyyums

This day was a rest day between the travelings. After some time of discussing videogames and spoilering something of Game of Thrones to my brother, dad, my brother, Bradley and I ventured out to SM once more. Mostly hungry, we wandered into a brand new takoyaki restaurant that was just opening and had some delicious takoyakis. The place is called Tamayaki. Super cutes. At some point we wandered into an arcade and played this strangely awesome shooting game that integrated elevator doors into it???? It was kindof amazing. Interesting arcade shooters draw me in like a moth to the light so as soon as I saw the machine, I had to play.

delicious yums

the awesum game of awesum

patiently waiting in the elevator

kiLLIN IT

After buying a bunch of souvenirs and things, we headed on back to grandma's to chill and pack for our next adventure. Lots of discussion about my brother's clothes getting stained by the poolwater in China Sea. My brother, Bradley, and another cousin, Eddieboy, ended up getting shwarma again, and they bought me a milktea while they were out there, too. Sweeties.

chill time

DAY 06
We were leaving early on again to head out to a villa in Tagaytay, so I took a little nap and heard about grandma attempting to take a nap, on the two chairs at the table, but scared herself awake when the chairs slid apart. Oh you silly grandma <3

on the road againn

We all headed out in two vans to a villa all the way up the mountain. We got a bit lost for a while and you could feel the tension and impatience for a while, until the breath of relieve on our arrival at the villa. The villa was super nice and tucked away in this grassy/tree-y area. It felt like it was in a neighborhood of sorts, but I had no complaints. It was really nice. Once again, there was a karaoke machine nestled in the backyard by the pool, so I already knew what was going on with that.

asking directions from all the tricycle drivers

poolside of the villa

hi dad

cat buddy

As soon as everyone settled in, funtimes and food began. I had to shoo a random cat that wandered in through an open window, but I ended up hanging out with it and giving it some headpets. Poor baby just wanted some attentions. It sat on my chair after I went inside and looked like it was waiting for me. I spent time in the pool with my cousins, too. My brother was apparently breaking out all over his chest when he got in the pool water, so he stayed out and just watched the karaokes happen.

pepper rolls and cheeserolls........

latenight karaokes

As the night carried on, food happened and I wound up tucking myself away in the room my parents were planning on staying in. I was plenty sleepies so I easily fell asleep.

DAY 07

After a little breakfast, everything was packed back up and we headed to a little amusement park ranch with this giant ferris wheel. The ranch was sitting pretty high up on the mountain, so the ferris wheel was pretty impressive in that sense. We had a nice lunch out in the open air to celebrate mom and grandma's birthday, then the handful of us cousins meandered to the zipline to try to have a few of us ride, but the price was tooooo much, so we wandered over to the swingy boat ride thing because the price was enough for us all to ride. It was a fun time.

fancy nuns

wheyyyy

sorting out the foods

getting ready to barf

When all of the fun was done, we headed back onto the road back to Manila. I was a bit tuckered out by the time we got back so I had to rest on the bed for a long time while everyone else went out to do stuff.

DAY 08

yumsssrfsr

Once again, we headed out to SM so my brother could check out all the things and buy more stuff before he left the next morning. We had some breakfast before Bradley took us and Eddieboy into the toy store to tempt my brother to get these adorable Godzilla toys we saw the other day. My brother refused, so we went across the hall to J.CO Donuts, the Krispy Kreme of Asia, buT BETTER.  SO MUCH BETTER. (I want a box of Avocado Dicaprios, pls) We bought a box of the mini donuts for us to eat while we were in the mall. All of them are delicious. Wandering more, we got to a Milk Tea place where we got some teas and ate our minidonuts. All the yums. Afterwards, we circled around the mall again and wound up between the toystore and  J.COs. I found I had a couple pesos to spend so after my brother bought the whole donuts for the gathering later on, I dove back into the toystore while my brother complained and I bought him one of the Godzillas. Bradley snuck a Mothra and bought that with me.  Bradley later came back and bought the three others to complete the set as much as he could. It was fun :D We spent the rest of the time windowshopping at the Terraces mall.

gettin donutsss

maybe some gelato

and some tea i guesssss

cutesvf

so cutedhfgds

the terraces mall is so snazzy

just some cute violins and cellos that I wanted in my life

When that was all done, we briefly returned to Grandma's so my brother could quickly pack a couple things before we headed to tita Carina's house again to celebrate mom&grandma's birthday, as well as my brother's farewell. It was a long night of bonding and singing, laughter and tears, but overall, it was a wonderful night.

all dat traffic

fooddds

yay cake :D

the birthday girls

hangin out outside

in the dark

fffffffffireworks :3

at the airportss

Gathering up my brother's things from Grandma's, we headed out at 3am to drop my brother off at the airport, and away he went. I passed out on the way back after mom pointed the Mall of Asia out to me, as well as where she use to go to school at. But yeah, I was out like a light as soon as we got back to grandma's.

DAY 09
The next few days were more relaxing than the ones before, since we were piling in all our traveling for when my brother was around. My dad got his stuff together to head back up to Aringay so he could spend time while his mom and siblings while the rest of us relaxed for the most part. I went along on the drive to drop my dad off at the busstation, but I started to get extremely queasy about the carride. Mom and grandma did their best to calm my nerves after dad left by giving me a smelling oil. Itt kinda helped, but I reaally needed some time on non-moving ground. We stopped at the church of my grandma's patron saint, Our Lady of Perpetual Health. I immediately got out and joined them in the church for some quiet time as I recovered to the sound of chirping bats on the ceiling.

so pretties

chirpchirp

theprayercandle place

the candles I picked out for me and my brobro

with mom's candles for herself and dad <3

After some peace and prayer, we headed back onto the road and I was placed in the front passenger's seat to ease my carsickness. It helped more that I expected it to. While I was okay, we drove along through the area of town where my mom and her siblings grew up together and listened to them get nostalgic. It was great, but along the way, when night started to fall, my eyes were struggling to stay open. The moment we arrived at Grandma's house, I collapsed on the bed and passed out.

DAY 10
The next morning, more relaxing happened, and my mom, grandma, tita Let, tita Weng and I all went on a shopping trip at SM again. They wanted to buy some food and more things for grandma, but we also ended up buying this bug zapper swatter that I saw a guy at McDonalds use. Mom intented to buy it for me to take home with us, but the wattage for the charger is much too strong for the power outlets in the US. So it's staying at Grandma's for now. I also ended up spending mom's money on a toy and clothes, whoops.

grandma playing the candy crushes

fooooodsfvhjbfsk

Somewhere along the way, Grandma wandered off and we had to wait in the eating area for tito Biboy to find her for us. When she was finally found, tita Carina and Onjang joined us for lunch untill we parted ways again, and we headed back out to pick dad up from the bus station. Mom and dad greeted eachother as if they hadn't seen eachother for months, it was sweet and silly.

The rest of the time after that was spent adjusting luggage for when we leave.

of course dad passed out

DAY 11
I didn't do much this day. I kinda just lounged around Grandma's house while watching tv and poking at my cellphone and ipod. My mom and grandma went out to important grownup stuffs while I chilled with dad. When they came back, the found out about a death in the family, so mom, grandma and some of the aunties went along to go to the funeral wake. I developed a headache from exposing myself to too many bright little screens so I just made myself go to sleep early.

more packin

chillin

DAY 12

miniature display model of the future condoo 

So my parents have been looking into buying a new van for the family in the Philippines, one that everyone could pile into comfortably. They found one from Toyota called a Grandia or something, 12-ish seater, which was kindof amazing. But along the few days we had been in the Philippines, my mom and dad started looking into these condos being built in the future and found this one planned to be built right next to SM City and Terraces malls. Mom was determined to buy it so that my brother and I, if we ever ventured into the Philippines on our own, would have a place to stay that was close to SM and Terraces, where everything was. So I joined mom and dad  on their last visit to the  company building the condo and checked out the models of the condos. It was actually really nice and I wouldn't mind having to live there or something once it's all done. My parents still want to get a new van for them, but I guess that's on hold for now.

the cutest condo

waiting on food again

yumsss

After seeing the condo, we went back and relaxed at grandmas until all the cousins and relatives came and spent time with us before we had to leave in the morning. I had a nice time chatting with my cousins and playing all the various iphone games on Bradley's phone. I enjoyed the final few hours we all had together.

of course mom and dad passed out

silly geese

DAY 13
And away we were, taken away by van to the airport once more. I was a little pooped since I hadn't slept like my parents did, so I was set to just sit around and be a butt the rest of the time. I got some naps at some point, maybe on the plane to Japan. I forget, my mermory gets all fuzzy around then. I just remember frog purses. Or something.

at the airports againss

nommin

Plane to Narita Japan was pretty chill. And our stopover was an hour or so, so my mom and I got to browse the entirety of this one shop and spend all of our money there. Souveniers and chocolates galore.

dad in japan

i dunno why i'm putting this here but okay

On the plane from Japan to Seattle, we were stuck in the middle again, and I wasn't about to fall asleep in the aisle seat, so I rewatched as many comedy movies as I could until I didn't wanna watch any more.

We had a couple hours in Seattle as well, so my parents and I shopped around there, looking at the rather fancy airport that we brieezed over the time before. There was live music randomly everywhere and it was kindof awesome.

Seattle airport is so nice

eatin our yums

Finally, we hopped on the smallest plane and flew back home. The plane was small but the occupants were even fewer. My dad was in a row by himself and my mom ended up taking a row for herself so she could stretch her legs and nap. A bunch of other people did the same, so I also took advantage of that and had a little nap. It was a nice. 

waitin on dad to get his truck at Trump

And with a flyover and a turn, we landed safely in Vegas no problem. I was a little eager to get into my bed as soon as we got home, but we ended up buying Filipino food from a store on the way back to the house because we're silly. And even when we were in the house, I ended up unpacking all of my luggage before finally collapsing into my bed to tend to my jetlag.















SUMMARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip. I had a blast hanging out with all my cousins and relatives that I haven't seen since I was 6 or 8, and it was wonderful to see all the places my parents and brother used to live there. Being in a different setting, seeing new places, trying all the foods and seeing all the culture was awesome. I'd absolutely love to go back someday soon. I love everyone there and I can't wait to see them all again already. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful loving family and these amazingly fascinating roots--It's so awesome. I'd love to go back and learn even more about my family. Maybe by the time I go back, I'll have an actual grasp on some actual Tagalog so I can follow conversations and not make everyone hurt their brains over the english coming out of my mouth.

ONE DAY WE WILL RETURN~
But for now, I'll just be a weird and chill at home all day long.