Family and other musings

This post may be all over the place but it's been an eventful visit so far and I don't know what day or time it is supposed to be.

It's hot here.  I know this is not a huge revelation of sorts, but every Filipino is talking about El Niño.

"This is hot, even for us." 

"This is the hottest May on record." 

"It's not supposed to be this warm this time of year."

For two Americans who hate the heat (making Virginia an interesting choice of home), I assure you: it's horribly hot here.

Also, internet is an interesting thing here.  Apparently, the Philippines has the slowest internet in all of Asia.  I'll tell you what, it's really a lovely vacation for that reason alone.  This is the first chance I've had to connect to wifi since Minneapolis Airport and I've enjoyed the break. I've promised only to keep tabs on emails so they don't get out of control and to blog. That's about it.  Truly a refreshing thing.  

Despite that, I will say I totally take our wifi and 3G for granted back home.  It can be frustrating to wait for pages to load or emails to come in here, but at the same time, I can easily just walk away and say, "to hell with it, I barely can check a thing anyway." Goddamn, I love vacation.

I should mention that today was election day in the Philippines. Everyone is up for election. So no matter where I go, I can't escape a Presidential election.  I will, however, try to steal a Manny Pacquiao "para Senador" poster before I go.  Because.

While our bodies still try to figure out what day or time it is, one thing that did come in handy was that we got to watch Game of Thrones this morning. In actual time (13 hours ahead).  We usually have to wait until Monday night before that can happen.  Score.

Yesterday, when we got into the car to head north, I was surprised to hear the familiar strains of "Hamilton" playing. So, again, no matter where I go, Hamilton is also there.  I have no issue with this one. In fact, major props to my cousins for being very cultured.  But clearly, Hamilton is making it's way around the world. Werk!

But yesterday was the actual reason we came out here in the first place, to go to my cousin's wedding in Tagaytay.  I mean, you can't pick a more scenic place to get married:



Right? That was the view from the Chapel. I failed to get an adequate picture of the actual chapel itself, but thanks to the interwebs, I could find this shot.  I assure you, it is the cutest thing ever.



It was an intimate, circular chapel with great windows and breeze.  It was really lovely.  And the newlyweds were just gorgeous.  The energy was so positive, so happy, so great - everything about it was fantastic.  The heat was just a distraction.

The reception was also in a fantastic spot with another great view. We think the Taal volcano is on the other side, but you get the idea.



What made everything about yesterday much more special was the fact that it was a reunion for many of my family. If you read my previous post, then you'll know that this was an important moment for my generation of my family. I have lost touch with some of them, sadly, more than I'd like to admit. But seeing each other again, you just couldn't erase the happy off of us. It doesn't matter the years or the distance, really.  Just to be together again was just amazingly great for the soul.

So we are two days into this vacation (you lose a day coming over). I got to go to an amazingly beautiful part of the Philippines.  I have already gotten more sleep than I usually do in a week and I get to eat amazing food. I get to see Pete experience this for the first time.  I am sweating a lot.  I'm still singing Hamilton.  I've seen family I haven't seen in ages. 

Everything about this trip so far is amazing. And worth the time traveled already. I can't wait for the rest of the week. And I already know Saturday will come too soon.

I should try to get some sleep. It's midnight here.  And now that we're up north in my mom's true homeland, there's going to be plenty to see and more folks to visit tomorrow. More soon.

But in the meantime, here's some fun pics from yesterday:

These fellas join me as the older members of the cousins.

And the some of the younger cousins.

I drank this thing. It was called a "Bob Marley".
It was fantastic.

But we went all in for the shots...
including the lovely bride and her new husband.  Because, family.

No Filipino wedding is complete without fireworks.