You asked for it...

My good friend, Stacy, asked some questions for me to answer in a post so here goes. If any of you have questions or would like to see a certain topic for our blog, let us know!

1. How do your kids keep in contact with their grandparents?
The main way we (and the kids) stay in touch with their grandparents is through Skype. It's this free program you can download, and then you can chat back and forth or talk free (if you have a microphone) to anyone else who is on Skype too. We chat with our families several times a week this way, and the kids usually talk to them once a week or so. Download it too, and we will stay in touch more often!

2. How has the Philippines changed since you last lived there, and what has stayed the same? Manila is still awful, except worse. Still dirty and polluted and crowded beyond belief. The worse part is the dozens of cops at every intersection waiting to catch you doing something "illegal". I counted - no joke - 23 cops at one medium-sized intersection. Conveniently, they don't post signs for what is legal or illegal at any given intersection, they just pull you over and demand your license. We were pulled over after turning left at a small intersection. We looked carefully for signs 1st, but there were none. But there WAS a cop literally crouched down and hiding behind a cement wall. He jumped out in front of us to demand a bribe. Driving there is incredibly stressful - way more so than before. Faith Academy seems the same, except bigger - lots of ongoing building projects. Once you get out of the city, it is as beautiful as ever. Not much has changed in the province that I can tell. It is still relaxed and slow-paced and beautiful. The people are just as friendly and full of smiles as I remembered them to be. I don't know that the poverty is worse, but it has hit me harder this time... I know the need for Christ is the same as it was before, but it seems much bigger this time. Probably because that is why we are here - my focus has changed since I was here last.

3. Have you taken a cultural trip to Jollibee...what did the kids think of it?
We have been to Jollibee, and that is one thing that hasn't changed. Not surprisingly, the kids loved it (they don't have the most discerning palates - Ben ate a live worm recently). We have no plans to return in the near future... (FYI for those who didn't grow up here - Jollibee is a really bad McDonalds knockoff.) There are plenty of restaurants that we do love here - mostly Filipino ones that serve great pancit bihon and pork bbqs.

4. Are you to the point yet with your language studies that you are able to understand Pinoy TV & 'get' Filipino humor?
Do you EVER get to where you can really "get" Filipino humor? And really think it's funny? We're not there yet anyway. We like to tease and be teased by our language coaches and neighbors, but we are a long ways from being able to follow and be amused by humor on TV. Watching Pinoy TV - which we try to do some every day for exposure to the language - is very discouraging because it shows how much we have to learn yet. While we may be doing great in conversational Tagalog, we are a LONG way from being able to really follow Pinoy TV - especially the high-speed ones.