Travel Completed

Well, the rest of the trip went well, and I arrived in Davao yesterday morning (9/12) at 6:10am without any complications. Unfortunately, I had no time to post anything, because I had Orientation that morning, and then had to do some necessary shopping before hitting the hay... (For the first time in my life, I experienced JetLag--seemed more like being drugged to me...but oh well).

It seemed like this entire trip, there were a lot of guys in the AirForce or Navy traveling on our planes.. On our flight from Seattle to Seoul, there were 40 AirForce airmen on our flight. That flight was definitely my favorite, because my row (3 guys and me) had some really good conversations..
Interestingly, everyone I talked to was pretty surprised I was going to Mindanao...

The guy to my right (25ish) was from Seattle, but I think of Hong Kong descent, and Asians in general are extremely observant and polite...  The guy to my left was around 50, past Naval man who currently works with steel on the submarines, and makes sure they're all good to go.  Then on his left, was a 23 year old AirForce airman. During the last couple hours, we had the chance to talk quite a bit, and found that we had a LOT in common... Not only were we both born in Anchorage, AK but our values seemed very similar too. It was a pity our seats weren't next together, because I have a feeling we would have talked the whole flight non-stop. As it was, we went around the world on most subjects, but unfortunately didn't have time to flush each subject out completely.

It's always encouraging to find kindred spirits, especially in those that are serving our Country in any capacity. They have a really hard lot though, since most of those they work with don't agree. It is such a blessing to be able to encourage those who are serving our Country, as a sister (in Christ), and pray for them too.

Sa Manila Airport (2am) ...Backpacks make good pillows

Since our Seattle flight was an hour late in arriving, I barely made it to my connecting flight, and sat next to an older Asian couple. Customs and changing airports went smoothly in Manila, and the 5.5 hour layover went pretty well...was able to sleep for a few hours, and found quite a few people who live in Mindanao.

The flight to Davao went pretty fast, and they had this video playing 'Gags: Just for Laughs' and boy were some absolutely hilarious!! One was a gal on a bicycle with a 'child' (mummy) wrapped up in a child seat behind her. It was attached in a way that all she'd have to do is push a button and the seat would fall off and trail behind her, freaking onlookers out.

Another one: A person is asked to keep an eye on a car, but are distracted with this teen on crutches who drops his papers. When they get back to the car from helping him, they find a NASA satellite with smoke coming from it has fallen from space (sound effects and all) onto the hood of the car they were supposed to watch. Then a black van full on men in black suits talking on their cell phones pull up, load the satellite in the back of the van, warn the witnesses to shush, and speed off.

Anyway, arrived in Davao at 0610, and Ate´ Heather picked me up. The dorm homes moved from next to the clinic to about a 15 minutes walk away. I'm living in the same house as Brittany-a girl I met at the Butuan Missions last year.

Orientation went well yesterday, though I had a problem staying awake towards the end. Karissa (another intern) arrived a few days ago, and so we had Orientation together. Then we both went to Victoria Mall and got some necessities. It was fun knowing exactly where everything was still. Then, we went to MMC, and I shocked a ton of people there...the Filipinos went ecstatic to see me again (almost like seeing a ghost)... I still haven't met up with my 'favorite people'...They had either been on Night Shift or were out, so hopefully I'll see them all today. I'm hoping to spend the afternoon today with Sylvette..

Karissa and I talked for hours at her dorm, but finally my eyes were seeing double and I practically just dropped. One of the girls woke me up for dinner, but I was so tired (and was even talking incoherently), that I skipped dinner, and she helped me back to my dorm where I slept for 8 hrs..and now I feel much better. I was told it was 'JetLag'..something I've never experienced before.... It really felt more like I'd been drugged or something...

My first shift is on Saturday. The weather here is really nice. Semi-hot, pretty humid, and a little overcast....not too bad, actually.... They're having some cool weather right now.