I Have Arrived

We'll the day has finally arrived! After months of debate over if I was going, when I was going, and for how long, I have finally made it to the Philippines. It took a 22 hr flight, in which I was squeezed between two people the whole time. Two stops, one in LA and the other in Guam. And a little confusion about wither my name is spelled "Chabot" or "Chobot", that's right 5 years working for my boss and he still doesn't know how to spell my last name. But at the end of the day, actually two days because it's Sunday over here, I finally made it to the Philippines. At the moment I'm resting up after a long trip, but on my way to my room a couple things caught my attention. First, the humidity. As soon as you leave the airport the humidity slaps you in the face. Mind you I left the airport around 6:30 am, I imagine it gets worse. The second thing that I noticed was the poverty. You definitely notice right away, that this country has it's struggles. And third, you notice the polite, happy nature of the people. Everyone so far has gone out of their way to be helpful, speak English to me (English is considered the second language of the Philippines), and everyone has been calling me "Sir". Which is weird cause I'm not that old, so I call them "Sir" right back. I'm not sure they're expecting that. In any event, I just wanted to check in and let everyone know I've landed and that the adventure has begun.

July 11, 12:19 PM