It looked warm enough as I looked out of my window this morning—the sun was shining, boys were playing football on the field, girls were out in hoodies, short shorts and flip flops (standard American girl apparel, as Susanna pointed out). The moment I stepped out of Centro Maria, however, the brutal wind cut through my cheap Surplus store sweater and I immediately wanted to go back inside, dress in my pjs and a thick woolen sweater and skip mass altogether. But being the good (guilt ridden) Catholic girl that I am, I shivered my way to (and throughout) mass but tried to suck it up and consider it as my penance.

Now I know why people check the temperature constantly here. In the Philippines, no one really bothers. No one I know goes beyond, “Ang init init naman ngayon a, mag sando na nga ako” or “woohoo, sweater weather!” or ‘asa akong paying? Yati, nagulan na pud”—yun lang. Its either hot or cold, no complications.


Menu for the day: Had coffee, cake (yes, cake), apple juice, and a banana for breakfast. Lunch was uncooked pizza, chicken arroz caldo or something to that effect and soda. Granola bar, chocolate chip ice cream for snack. Dinner was the best: hot and spicy century tuna and hot jasmine rice, care of Sheila, Kristine and Neneth.


Did my laundry today, cleaned my room and read one reading. Damn I’m lagging behind my reading schedule. Maybe that's because I get sucked into doing unnecessary things, like going out to the Filipino store, or playing the guitar or writing pointless blog entries about my mundane life. It was unbearably cold in the laundry room. I wonder how I’m going to take doing my laundry in the winter time; not looking forward to it at all. When I took the clothes out of the dryer, was greeted by a blast of warmth. I wished I could magically turn into a little Thumbelina-like creature, enter inside the dryer and roll around the freshly laundered, toasty clothes.

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Even though I’ve been outwardly happy, I’m not feeling well. Talking with lola on the phone shook me up and it made me feel so far away—which I am—and helpless. “I’m on the bed. The doctors are making me take strong medicine” was all I could decipher. I want to be there with her, snuggle under the covers with my lola and my mom and my aunts and uncles. Now.