Summer of Quirky Showers

Disclaimer: So you don't read this and assume I am a shower snob, I have bathed in some very "unique" ways and locations before...from buckets to sinks. I'm just always grateful to be clean!  I'm just making light of all my crazy showers this summer.

I've have showered in six different showers this summer on my Pacific adventure. (No, not six times.)  Chances are there will be another shower location on my trip home (I hope).    

My first shower was in the Narita airport (Japan).  Overall, this has probably been the most normal shower of the summer.  But simply because it was IN an airport, it made the list.  As you can see, Perry very much enjoyed his shower. :)  

Next were my Saipan showers. Saipan showers have been questionable over the years due to the fact that I haven't always had hot water. Thankfully, the Buchers DO have hot water. They also had crazy high water pressure.  (So high, that it destroyed a water hose one day when I was there. When they called the water company, they discovered it was way higher than it should be.  Normally it is between 25-40psi and it was reading at 130 psi!) Since they had a removable shower nozzle, even a trickle of water was strong enough for it to go berserk and flood the floor.)  My other Saipan shower spot is the spa.  During the years of no hot water, this was my choice shower location because they did have hot water.  But it is so loud...and there is this thudding sound that hurts my head.  It is very strange.  

Moving on to Guam.  The person that tiled the guest bathroom kind of left an arch in the middle of the shower, so the water can't reach the drain. Therefore, after every shower you had to squeegee the excess water to the drain.  The in the last week, the ants attacked the parsonage.  So, at the end of the shower, you would be standing in water with hundreds of dead, floating ants. (Still beats the roaches a few years back!)  Normally, the shower at the hotel where we had the youth retreat would have received high marks, but somehow I got the short straw--bathing after a hundred teens.  They are filthy creatures, if you haven't noticed.  

Then there was the Philippines.  At my campground location, I was sharing with 4 other islanders and me.  There was never enough hot water. (And by hot, I mean warm water.) The hotel shower started off amazing.  Awesome shower head, perfect water pressure, hot water....and then I realized the hot water lasted 48 seconds.  (Great water pressure and cold water are not compatible.)

So, there you have it folks.  The summer of quirky showers.  (And if you think I'm going home to an amazing shower.  Well, I have a hole in the side of my tub.  But maybe I'll get my bathroom redone this summer! Of course, I said that last summer.)  

Catch the Wave: Guahan

The Guam youth retreat was awesome!  (I didn't exactly feel great...and I was so tired from my Philippines trip...but it was still awesome.)  We ate lots and lots and lots of great food.  We did lots of swimming.   We had an Easter egg hunt with really great prizes. (It was an "Easter" theme.)  We had four services, several quiet times, and a prayer walk.  (And did I mention we ate lots and lots and lots of good food?)  Somehow, I cannot seem to find a single picture of Perry.  Poor guy.  He was there though. Froze with me in the hotel room for a second year in a row.  On Sunday morning, the youth also led the music for the the Sunday service and some gave their testimonies.  Great weekend!

I ended the weekend with a celebratory lumpia from my favorite Guam restaurant (2nd favorite Saipan restaurant), Troung's.

Last Day in the PI

On my last full day in the Philippines, I had the honor of going to the very first place I ever went in the PI back on November 11, 2005. (I remember because it was Veterans Day and a US Navy band was playing.) I went to the Manila American Cemetery where many US soldiers were buried during WWII.  It is the largest cemetery of buried WWII soldiers of over 17,000.  It is a beautiful Cemetery.  I'm not sure a platypus was allowed, but I made sure to bust him out only around people I knew and not around any other visitors. 

After the historical portion of our day, we fought traffic to get to Greenhills, the happiest shopping in the world. Well, maybe not THE world. You see...I was born to haggle. My parents taught me at a young age in our many trips to Mexico. So, I have no problems arguing a price. I just go with the mindset that there is nothing I have to have so I don't overspend.  I was able to score a few Christmas presents before my departure.  

Later that evening, I joined the American delegates for the largest (and fanciest) buffet I have ever seen.  Leaving Manila is a good thing....between Midnight Meal and buffets, I'm going to be fat. 

Corregidor Island

On Monday, the Micronesian group joined the US group for a tour of Corregidor Island.  (For military/WWII buffs, this was an island that housed US military...including families....along with some Filipino military. It was destroyed by the Japanese just a few weeks after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Three years later, the US military was able to capture it back and eventually return it to the Filipino government. Today it is just a tourist site as the buildings stand as they were left after the 1941 bombings.  Quite fascinating...look it up!)

We were not overly happy of a 5am departure to the port after a week of no sleep, but in the end it was completely worth it. We had a one and a half hour ferry ride to get to the island.  

Once we arrived, everyone had been assigned trolleys for the tour. The trolleys took you around stopping at various buildings and sites for pictures.  

This building housed the single American soldiers.

This building was the mile long barracks (but in reality only 3/4 mile long). It had stores, barber,  indoor pool, etc.

This building was the theater. Soon after bombing started, it was used as a hospital.

Officers housing included more pools, golf course, dance halls, etc.  This has truly been a paradise military facility. Of course, you can't have a military grounds without guns...

oops

Here is the lighthouse. (My Micronesia girls are waving from the top.) The foundation was built in the late 1800s.  This is the are where we had our buffet lunch.

Several memorials are present.  Here is the US memorial.  The museum nearby had lots of pictures of the days the island was vibrant.

The island was full of tunnels.  Various legs of the tunnels held ammo or hospitals, etc.  The US used these to regain control from the Japanese by pouring gasoline in the vents.  

This was an incredible tour that Perry and I both enjoyed. I would love to do it again! There is one hotel that tourists can stay. It would be awesome to stay there and get to spend time exploring the ruins.  It was so much like Tinian on a much, MUCH larger level.

Sometimes, you just break the rules. :)

Very Tall Hotel

After a week at "camp for big kids," Perry and I stayed in a VERY tall hotel in Manila for three nights.  We were on floor 43 (and we had friends on floor 51).  Here are some of the shots of the view.  (Well, the best shots one can take through a dirty window. I'm guessing the window washers aren't too keen on climbing that high!)

The night view.

The usual view: SMOG.

The rare view....no smog after the rain. (And there are mountains back there! Who knew!?)

So. Many. Buildings.

NYI Convention--After the Fact

Between crummy internet and no sleep (mostly the no sleep part), I couldn't ever post again. So here is the "after the fact" report.  

I forgot to mention earlier that the campground houses the largest free spinning top in the world.  The director has a great ministry in sharing the gospel through spinning tops.  A few years ago (since I had been previously), they made the largest top!  It is pretty awesome to watch spin. 

So what happened at my conference?  Lots of awesome music....an incredible culture presentation where we dressed in traditional clothes of our culture..... 

Three of the Micronesia delegates in Chuukese dresses. 

and presented songs or dance...and workshops. I had the honor or teaching a games workshop.  I assumed it would be one time for one hour.  It was presented twice and each one was TWO hours!  But there were lots of laughs and I hope the various counties now have new games.  It even seems some of the countries want me to come present in their country....that could be fun.  We had lots of awesome church services with great (but LOUD) music.  I also learned some new silly songs...and a couple I can do with my elementary music kids. 

Catching up with my friends from the 2007 trip to South Africa!  

Here is my breakout group for the week.  Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Korea, and Micronesia are represented. 

I don't think I ever had four consecutive hours of sleep in one day...and usually that was all I got. :( Needless to say, I was exhausted (and cranky) by the end. It was tough having five girls in a room (me on a TOP bunk)....with the room being about the size of my office back home. We also all had big suitcases...and some two or three.  (I also caught way too many sunrises for my liking.)

Perry and I got to hit the pool a few times. I was at a campground which is a beautiful facility about a two hour drive from Metro Manila.  They have a great swimming pool with a water slide. It was a blast watching the different countries and their approach to water slides.  The Filipinos are masters in big splashes at the end.  BIG SPLASHES! The delegates from Paupa New Guinea were all laughs as well. :)

We enjoyed exploring the campground too....

That is a very high rope bridge.

It was unusually cool in the evening.  It is rainy season in the Philippines, and "Mother Nature" has taken full advantage of that. Lots of rain...and crazy cool temperatures. I'm was actually "cold" at night (which was mostly due to the heat of Saipan/Guam). But when the sun came out...it was HOT!

I was grateful to again get to represent the Micronesia District Church of the Nazarene at the Manila site.  Hopefully I will be back in four more years (or sooner)!

Philippines: Midnight Meal. :)

Due to our crazy schedule, we have an interesting eating schedule.  This includes MIDNIGHT meal!
 
Since this is my third time for this particular conference, I know that this is dangerous. (Especially this is buffet style with amazing food....fresh fruit, amazing homemade pastries, etc .) I made rules.

Rule #1. You do not have to eat every meal. (I am allowed only three meals a day.)
Rule #2. You are not allowed to purchase anything from the snack bar. (But those mango shakes for 50pesos look so amazing.)
Rule #3. You do not need to eat rice at every meal. You may only have rice at one meal. (Portion for rice is to be American size, small, NOT Asian rice portion, super-duper big)

With these new rules, I hope to keep weight gain to 5lbs.

Philippines!

I. My blog tool is all in Tagalog! Good think I know a little Taglish. :)
II. If I didn't give it away, Perry and I are in the Philippines. We arrived on Monday night at about 9pm.  We are here for a convention that happens every four years in the Church of the Nazarene.  The "main" site for the conference is in Indiana.  But since the US visa laws aren't always country friendly, in 2009 the church decided to have satellite sites.  I am here with 180 people from countries all over the Asia Pacific. Some I can share like the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, many of the island countries (like me...Micronesia) and others I cannot share due to sensitivity to their identities.  3 of the days are business...voting on resolutions, electing officers, etc.  Some days are workshops, church services, games, and very little sleep.

I. My blog tool is all in Tagalog! Good think I know a little Taglish. :)

II. If I didn't give it away, Perry and I are in the Philippines. We arrived on Monday night at about 9pm.  We are here for a convention that happens every four years in the Church of the Nazarene.  The "main" site for the conference is in Indiana.  But since the US visa laws aren't always country friendly, in 2009 the church decided to have satellite sites.  I am here with 180 people from countries all over the Asia Pacific. Some I can share like the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, many of the island countries (like me...Micronesia) and others I cannot share due to sensitivity to their identities.  3 of the days are business...voting on resolutions, electing officers, etc.  Some days are workshops, church services, games, and very little sleep. Since the main part of this particular conference is in the US, Manila is 12 hours difference. So we have the theme, "Up All Night." When the US has a session at 1pm, we are meeting at 1am.  So....we don't conclude until 5am.  HOWEVER, when I was here 8 years ago at this particular location there was no air con in our sleeping quarters.  Hallelujah they now have that so we can actually sleep in the day when it is so hot.  (Sort of)

With that said, I may not report in so often due to just catching a nap here and there.  This kind of schedule is hard on this old lady. I am also struggling to post on websites due to a weak internet connection. I do have pics, but they will have to come later. This is no way they are going to be posted while I am here. (Also, my posts may be separated in more than one part.)

VBS Year 12 is in the Books, Almost

Aside for the Sunday program, Perry and I have survived another year of VBS.  It seems the kids had a really great week.  The teens probably had just as much fun.  (And I would dare to say, that I even saw the adults smile a little too.)  We were blessed with enough workers and plenty of food!

As kids gathered on Friday night, I looked up to see a rainbow over my old apartment. (Bottom left).

Today, Perry and I had a little pool time as we gazed at the ocean.  It's always nice to prepare for my programs and lessons with that kind of view.  I wonder if I could build that kind of view in Byng as I prepare for band and elementary music programs? OR...maybe I should take a trip to the beach before every event!

Tonight, I left my camera again.  I got to celebrate big time with a trip to Outback.  (The preacher's daughter  had a birthday this week and that was her restaurant of choice.  I was happy to oblige!)  The prices are marked up about 50% to what they would be in a menu back home. That is ridiculous.  I did enjoy my meal.  A couple from church (that happens to own a business or two on island) was dining there as well. They sent us an appetizer as a gift, so that was fun.  Then we came back to the parsonage to celebrate with a peanut butter cup ice cream cake.  Now that I'm five pounds heavier than when I got up.....