Filippino Americans

As of today we have been in Bontoc 6 weeks. So how are we doing making the transition to life in the Philippines?

We are like our beautiful brown-skinned neighbors in many ways:

• We eat a large quantity of rice
• Our laundry is hung up outside and inside to dry
• We walk everywhere in the official footwear, flip-flops

• We visit the market almost daily to purchase our food
• We never put toilet paper in the toilet
• We carry a cellphone and send a text when we need to communicate
• We use more soy sauce than ketchup
• Our front door is open most of the time
• We offer all of our guests something to eat
• And this week a few of us even had lice

But not to worry we are still Americans.

• Our skin turns a pretty shade of pink after being outside too long
• We spend time emailing, blogging, surfing the net, watching movies, and reading
• We homeschool, which baffles the locals when most school children are seen walking to school in their uniforms
• We eat cheese (not for too much longer as our $22 supply is almost depleted), baked potatoes, peanut butter sandwiches with Peter Pan peanut butter and pizza (we found yeast after much searching one week ago and have made the most delicious pizza in a borrowed toaster oven twice this week)

• We prefer chicken breast to feet, necks, and internals
• We speak in English
• We expect water when we turn on the tap
• We like to take warm showers
• We are relieved when we see western style toilets - not sure we will ever feel at ease with squattie potties
• We expect meetings and events to start on time
• We take pictures of things like rice drying

• We still forget to take our umbrellas everywhere so have often been caught walking in the rain, it is the rainy season, which brings many lectures from the Filipinos

No matter how we adapt, we will still be "Americano" to the children we pass on the street. The blonde hair and blue eyes seems to give us away.